THE FORMATION OF LAWNS FROM SEED 369 



just as easily starved as any other crop, and the feeding of it has to 

 be accomplished under disadvantages to which other crops are not 

 subject. Vegetables in a well-ordered garden are changed from plot 

 to plot so as to tax the soil for different constituents, and the land is 

 not only frequently manured, but is broken up and exposed to atmo- 

 spheric influences which increase its fertility. Grass is a fixed crop, 

 which chiefly derives its nourishment from a few inches near the 

 surface, and the only way of refreshing it is by harrowing and top- 

 dressing. Hence there are obvious reasons for putting the land into 

 good heart before sowing. Well-rotted stable manure is always bene- 

 ficial, but that which is fresh should be avoided because of its ten- 

 dency to make the soil hollow. Where artificial manure is more con- 

 venient, two cwt. of superphosphate of lime, one cwt. of Peruvian 

 guano, and one cwt. of bone dust, mixed together, constitute an excel- 

 lent dressing. The quantities named are sufficient for an acre, and 

 the mixture can be sown when the processes of raking and rolling 

 are in progress. Sutton's Concentrated Manure can also be recom- 

 mended, as it contains all the constituents essential to the growth 

 of fine grasses and clovers. Three cwt. required per acre. After 

 the application of artificial manure not less than ten days should 

 elapse before sowing the grasses, or some of the seed germs may be 

 destroyed. The artificials named can also be added to three or four 

 times their own bulk of sifted loam as a valuable spring dressing for 

 the growing turf. 



SURFACE PREPARATION. A fine friable surface is of utmost 

 consequence for insuring the success of the seed, and therefore in 

 levelling the ground there must be a diligent use of the rake and roller. 

 To go over the ground once with each implement is not sufficient. 

 Repeated raking will clear the land of stones, unless very full of 

 them, in which case it may have to be covered with two or three 

 inches of fine rich earth. And after every raking the roller should 

 follow, each time in a different direction. These operations reveal 

 inequalities, pulverise the clods, and make the soil firm. Grasses, 

 particularly the finer varieties, cannot germinate when covered with 

 clods, and many seeds will be lost altogether if buried to a greater 

 depth than a quarter of an inch. 



SELECTION OF SEEDS. The selection of grasses and clovers 

 which are to form a sward should be regarded as in the highest 

 degree important. They must be permanent in character, adapted 

 to the soil, and entirely free from coarse-growing varieties. On land 

 which is liable to burn, clovers maintain their verdure under a hot 



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