32 SATURDAY IN MY GARDEN 



fold in years to come, by preventing the decay of turf, and the 

 cracking of surface soil in excessively dry weather. The pipes 

 should be laid about twelve feet apart if the lawn be compara- 

 tively small, and fifteen feet apart if the area be extensive. They 

 need not be placed more than eighteen inches below the surface, 

 but in order to clear off the water they should have a fall of six 

 inches in the direction of the main drain, which may either be a 

 large pipe or a fairly big hole deeply dug and filled with rubble 

 and stones. 



Diagram 2 gives some valuable hints on the procedure 

 next to be adopted, if seed is to be sown. After deciding upon 

 the extent and shape of the proposed lawn, carefully mark it out 

 with a line. If the piece of ground is fairly level no preliminary 

 digging need be done. The first essential will be to provide a 

 considerable quantity of manure with which to enrich the soil. 



I This should be composed of fresh peat moss stable manure con- 

 taining old, weH-rotted straw. It should be distributed evenly in 



| heaps over the surface of the ground, so as to be in readiness for in- 

 corporating with the soil when the ground is dug. The digging 

 need not be very deep, especially if there is a good natural drainage 



(to the soil. But the ground should be turned over to a depth of 

 at least a foot, otherwise in dry seasons the grass will "become 

 brown owing to lack of an efficient root-run. During the 

 operation of digging the manure should be incorporated with 

 the soil in such a manner that the bulk_of it remains within two 

 or three inches of the surface. In this way tEe roots of the 

 young grass will reach the manure quickly, and will thus receive 

 help and sustenance when they are most required. 



The seed-bed must be prepared by thoroughly breaking up the 

 larger clods of soil, and by removing large stones and all weed 

 roots with an iron-toothed rake. The ground should then be 

 raked fine, and afterwards rolled until the surface becomes quite 

 true and firm, so that when it is walked on it hardly shows the 

 imprint of the foot. 



Sow the seed thickly at the rate of about qnejounce tq_the 

 J square yard, or two pounds to the square rod and while carrying 



