40 



afterwards raked evenly and smoothly without disturbing the; regularity 

 of the seeds, and this will afford sufficient covering. By passing a light 

 wooden roller over the surface a finer pulverization will be given, and 

 the pressure will tend to preserve the moisture of the soil from rapid 

 evaporation. A. finely pulverized, firm surface acts as a substitute for 

 mulching. 



The ordinary care given to crops, such as weeding, hoeing, or merely 

 loosening the surface, will be necessary when the young plants appear 

 above the soil, so as to encourage their growth. There are various 

 kinds of hand cultivators now in use which answer an admirable pur- 

 pose in removing weeds from young plants that are iu drills, especially 

 on light soils, and even on tenacious soils they can be used to advantage 

 when the soil is softened from previous rains; but judgment is required 

 in selecting the best time to work on these soils; if tramped upon when 

 wet they become caked and lumpy; on the other hand, when stirred at 

 the proper time they ean be finely pulverized. 



Very small seeds can be sown in boxes and covered with glass, or 

 otherwise protected against rapid evaporation. Such coverings may 

 be removed when the young plants have sufficient roots to supply 

 moisture to the leaves. 



MAKING AND KEEPING LAWNS. 



To have a perfect lawn it is absolutely necessary to have it properly 

 laid down to begin with. The primary requisite is the proper prepara- 

 tion of the ground. There is nothing that can be done to the soil with the 

 view of making it productive and in the best condition for plant growth 

 that is not necessary to be done to soil intended to support a permanent 

 green lawn. Draining, deep working, manuring, and thorough pulver- 

 ization are all requisites to the best degree of success. In preparing a 

 lawn of any great size, where it is practicable to use a plow, the work 

 should be done with exact thoroughness. It will in all cases be best 

 to work the ground in autumn if it is of a clayey character. It should 

 be turned over as deeply as practicable, and a subsoil plow should follow 

 in each farrow, breaking up but not turning over the subsoil, nor 

 bringing any of it to the surface. Subsoiling is often so slovenly per- 

 formed that it is of but little benefit, but it is of so much importance 

 that special care should be given to its proper execution, so that it be 

 someching more than a mere scratching of the ground. In the imme- 

 diate preparation of the surface previous to seeding in spring, the ground 

 should again be plowed over so as to turn under any of the poorer portions 

 of subsoil which may have been brought to the surface by the previous 

 deep plowing. This is very important where the subsoil is at all of a 

 clayey, adhesive nature, as a surface soil of this character prevents the 

 uniform growth of the young grass plants, and becomes hard and com- 

 pact on the surface, destroying the grass even after it has vegetated. 



