ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 4 49 



In hard, clayey loams, where a suffi- 

 ciently comminuted surface is not so 

 easily obtained, the ground should be 

 prepared in the latter portion of the year, 

 and plowed over, so as to leave a rough 

 surface to be acted upon by frosts during 

 the winter. This will insure a friability 

 not easily attainable by mechanical means 

 on tenacious soils. The seeds should be 

 sown as early as can be done in the 

 spring, but not until the ground is dry. 

 Working a clayey soil when it is wet is 

 ruinous to the future crop. 



In the immediate preparation of the 

 ground before seeding, the surface should 

 be pulverized by the harrow and roller if 

 necessary. The seed will be sufficiently 

 covered by passing a light harrow or 

 roller over the ground. The former is 

 best in clayey or baking soils, and the 

 roller on light and sandy soil. 



The best grasses for permanent lawns 

 are red top (Agrostis vulgaris,) and June 

 grass (Poa pratensis.) The following 

 proportions have been used in the lawns 

 of the Department, with great satisfac- 

 tion: one bushel red top, two bushels 

 June grass, one quart timothy, and two 

 pounds white clover, to each acre of 

 land. These should be thoroughly mixed 

 before sowing. This is heavy seeding, 

 but experiments demonstrate that a good 

 lawn can be secured only by seeding 

 heavily, when sown in the spring; autumn 

 sowing may be thinner, but the thick 

 seeding will be the most satisfactory. 

 There is no grass equal to the June grass 

 for fine lawns ; this is also known as 

 green grass, and Kentucky blue grass. 

 The red top also forms a good sward 

 where the soil is good, and the summers 

 comparatively cool and moist; but dur- 

 ing dry, warm weather it becomes hard 

 and wiry. The timothy grass vegetates 

 quickly, and greatly assists the growth of 

 the others. The clover is also valuable, 

 in rapidly producing a thick, close sod. 



The practice of sowing oats, barley, or 

 other grains with the grasses, under the 

 impression that they will protect the 

 young plants from sun and drought, is 

 altogether wrong, as it practically does 

 much more harm than good. The larger 

 growing plants rob the soil of its moisture, 

 to the destruction of the tender and more 

 feebly rooting grass plants. No such 

 protection is necessary, even were it pos- 

 29 



sible to supply it without injury. With 

 fair preparation of ground, and seed put 

 in as soon as practicable in the spring, 

 the lawn will be fit to mow in June at 

 latest. 



A very successful improver, especially 

 in the making of lawns, sows down in 

 August and adds about two pounds of 

 turnip seed to the acre. The gradual 

 growth of the turnip foliage forms a con- 

 genial damp shade for the vegetation and 

 spread of the young grass plants. The 

 larger [leaves of the vegetable also pro- 

 tect the grass against injury from the- 

 early frosts. Their gradual decay and 

 ultimate removal are effected before the 

 grasses are so far advanced as to be hurt 

 by continuous shade, and a thick sward 

 is secured before winter. A slight cov- 

 ering of strawy manure will be of ad- 

 vantage to autumn-sown lawns, particu- 

 larly so if the soil inclines to be wet, and 

 therefore liable to have the young plants 

 thrown to the surface by the alternate 

 action of freezing and thawing. A heavy 

 roller should be passed over it as early in 

 the spring as the firmness of the soil will' 

 admit, in order to tighten the earth, 

 around the roots, and press down such 

 plants as have been loosened during the 

 winter. 



While it is true that a fine lawn can- 

 not be produced without good prepara- 

 tion, it is equally true that a fine lawn 

 cannot be maintained without frequent 

 mowing. The recent improvements in 

 lawn mowers leave but little to be desired 

 so far as mowing facilities are concerned. 

 They also roll the lawn at the same time 

 that it is cut, which is essential to the 

 most perfect keeping. That which was 

 formerly regarded as a formidable opera- 

 tion is now one of the easiest, and the : 

 lawn is kept in good order at less cost 

 than any other portion of the pleasure? 

 grounds. One of the best points in the.- 

 lawn mower is its incapacity for cutting 

 long grass, thus compelling frequent 

 mowing, which is the great secret in keep- 

 ing a superior lawn. Mow early and of- 

 ten is the rule. Even on newly seeded 

 lawns the mower should be at work as 

 soon as the grass is high enough to cut ; 

 indeed much injury results from procras- 

 tination at this time; weeds will gain the 

 ascendancy, and unequal growths follow. 

 A lawn sown down in April was cut six. 



