G R A 



G R A 



two cr three times the first summer, especially 

 if it were sown in spring; as the oftener it is 

 mowed and rolled, the thicker and finer it will 

 grow ; and, if it be intended to keep the Grass 

 tolerably fine, mowing will be requisite once a 

 week or fortnight, according to the growth, from 

 April till October, and rolling once a week or 

 fortnight, in moderately dry weather ; and oc- 

 casionally in the winter season. In this way 

 a good turf may be formed in a few years. 



In the second method, which should always 

 be employed where it can with convenience, the 

 best turf is that of a fine pastured common or 

 down, where the sward is fine and short. 



The best season for laying the tuff is from Sep- 

 tember till March or April, though it will grow 

 at almost any time of the year, even, if there be 

 occasion, in summer. 



Turf for this use is mostly cut or flayed with 

 an iron instrument called a turfing-iron ; all the 

 turfs being cut of an equal width, length, and 

 thickness ; the proper size is a foot wide, a yard 

 long, and about an inch in thickness. They 

 should be first marked by a line, the proper 

 width, length, and depth, and then cut with a 

 racer or cutter, first longways a foot wide, 

 then across in yard lengths, proceeding afterwards 

 to cut them up ; having particular regard to cut 

 them level, all an equal thickness, otherwise it 

 will be impossible to lay them level. As they are 

 cut, they should be rolled each up close and 

 tight, the grass side inwards, and piled up by 

 tens, especially if ihey are cut by the hundred, 

 which is mostly the case. This is usually done 

 atfromabouta shilling to fifteen-pence the hun- 

 dred, according to the nature of the soil, as 

 whether soft and easy to cut, or hard and stony. 

 A man will cut from three to five, six, or seven 

 hundred a day, or more, if very soft easy-cut- 

 ting turf, with a person to race them out, and 

 roll them up, as they are cut. 



The method of laying them is very easy : they 

 are placed regularly turf and turf, unrolling them 

 as they are laid, joining them up quite close 

 edge to edge, and making good all deficiency of 

 broken parts as the work proceeds ; and as soon 

 as laid, they should be well beaten with broad 

 heavy wooden beaters, as flat pieces of elm or 

 oak plank, two inches thick, fifteen or eighteen 

 inches long, and a foot broad, having long 

 handles fixed slanting in the middles of the up- 

 per side. With these beat the grass regularly 

 all over, and then roll it well with a heavy iron 

 or stone roller, repeating these operations in 

 moist weather. 



When very dry hot weather succeeds, so as 

 to occasion the turf to shrink and open at the 

 joints, a good watering is of much advantage. 

 7 



The management of short Grass-ground after 

 it has been thus laid down, is that of mowing it 

 in summer frequently, to keep it short and fine, 

 like a pastured down; poling occasionally with 

 a long pole, to scatter the worm-casts, which 

 greatly deface all short grass, and rolling it fre- 

 quently both to take up the scattered worm-casts 

 to make the surface clean, and to render it 

 smooth, firm, and even. 



Mowing once a week, ten days, or fortnight, 

 or according to its general growth, during the 

 summer, is necessary, especially for the prin- 

 cipal home lawns, and other short Grass-grounds- 

 in the most conspicuous parts, which parts should 

 always be kept very close and fine, like the sward 

 of a fine pastured down or common : it is per- 

 formed with a short grass-scythe; and dewy 

 mornings, or moist weather, must always be 

 chosen for the work, as it will be impossible to 

 mow short Grass properly in dry weather. Pre- 

 vious to mowing, it is of advantage sometimes to 

 pole and roll the grass the day beforeit is intended 

 to mow : in performing the work of mowing, pro- 

 per attention is necessary not to score, or leave 

 the marks of the strokes of the scythe, which has 

 a very unsightly appearance ; to prevent which 

 as much as possible, the point of the scythe 

 should be laid out rather wide, an inch or two 

 beyond the measure of heel and point, especially 

 for very short grass; keeping the point rather 

 out, and not drawing that part too fast inward, 

 gathering the grass neatly to the left in a range, 

 and after having mowed thus to the end of the 

 swarth, to mow it lightly back again, in order to 

 trim off all scores and other irregularities, una- 

 voidably left the first time in executing thework. 



After it has been all thus mown over, pro- 

 ceed to sweep up the mowings of each swarth re- 

 gularly, by standing in the middle, sweeping it 

 along alternately to the right and left to the end 

 of the swarth, forming all the grass in a range 

 on each side ; then sweep up the ranges in 

 large heaps, and carry the whole off" direct- 

 ly in a wheel-barrow, large basket, or other con- 

 trivance. 



The business of poling is performed by a long 

 taper pliable ashen pole, fifteen or eighteen feet^ 

 long, by passing it backwards and forwards in" 

 rather dry weather, so as to break and scatter 

 the worm-casts about. The grass should be 

 afterwards rolled with a wooden roller when the 

 surface is a little moist, but not too wet, by 

 which the earth will all adhere to the roller, and 

 render the surface perfectly clean ; the work be- 

 ing repeated, as there may be occasion, the year 

 round ; and in mowing-time, if the surface is 

 foul, it is particularly necessary to pole and roll 

 on the day previous to mowing, by which a clean 



