78 MANUAL OF GARDENING 



solved South Carolina rock may be used instead, but the appH- 

 cation will need to be heavier if similar results are expected. 

 Yellow and poor grass may often be reinvigorated by an appli- 

 cation of two hundred to three hundred pounds to the acre of 

 nitrate of soda. Wood ashes are often good, particularly on 

 soils that tend to be acid. Muriate of potash is not so often 

 used, although it may produce excellent results in some cases. 

 There is no invariable rule. The best plan is for the lawn-maker 

 to try the different treatments on a little piece or corner of the 

 lawn; in this way, he should secure more valuable information 

 than can be got otherwise. 



The first operation after draining and grading is the plowing 

 or spading of the surface. If the area is large enough to admit 

 a team, the surface is worked down by means of harrows of 

 various kinds. Afterwards it is leveled by means of shovels and 

 hoes, and finally by garden rakes. The more finely and com- 

 pletely the soil is pulverized, the quicker the lawn may be 

 secured, and the more permanent are the results. 



The kind of grass. 



The best grass for the body or foundation of lawns in the 

 North is June-grass or Kentucky blue-grass {Poa pratensis), 

 not Canada blue-grass (Poa compressa). 



Whether white clover or other seed should be sown with the 

 grass seed is very largely a personal question. Some persons 

 like it, and others do not. If it is desired, it may be sown 

 directly after the grass seed is sown, at the rate of one to four 

 quarts or more to the acre. 



For special purposes, other grasses may be used for lawns. 

 Various kinds of lawn mixtures are on the market, for particu- 

 lar uses, and some of them are very good. 



A superintendent of parks in one of the Eastern cities gives 

 the following experience on kinds of grass: '' For the meadows 

 on the large parks we generally use extra recleaned Kentucky 



