TURF. 



tions where no regular peat-bogs are 

 to be found, turf becomes a very use- 

 ful fuel. It is pared otl" the surface 

 with tiie heath growing on it, in dry 

 weather, in sods of a convenient size, 

 generally round and about one foot in 

 diameter. The thickness of the sod 

 depends on the depth and abundance 

 of the roots found in it, as they are 

 the sole canse of the turf continuing 

 to burn when the blaze caused by the 

 burning of the heath is over. As the 

 soil of the places where turf is usual- 

 ly cut is generally of a sandy nature, 

 turf ashes are not so valuable for ma- 

 nuring the land as peat ashes ; still 

 they contain portions of potash and 

 other vegetable salts, and produce a 

 very good effect when spread as a 

 top-dressing on moist meadows the 

 soil of which is chiefly composed of 

 clay. 



" Turf is used for many other pur- 

 poses, as well as for fuel ; laid like 

 tiles on a roof, overlapping each oth- 

 er, they form an excellent and cheap 

 protection against rain ; cut some- 

 what thicker, and in tlie shape of 

 bricks, they serve to build walls, 

 which are durable. 



" The surface of good pastures, es- 

 pecially of commons, is often pared 

 for the purpose of forming an artifi- 

 cial turf for ornament, or for the pur- 

 poses of pasture. In the first case, 

 those spots are chosen where the 

 grass is of the finest and closest pile. 

 The surface is pared as thin as can 

 conveniently be done, so that the 

 sward shall not break. A proper 

 spot having been chosen, it is divided 

 by the spade, or some sharp instru- 

 ment like a knife stuck across a long 

 handle, into strips about a foot wide ; 

 and a very sharp flat instrument with 

 a bent handle, so as to work horizon- 

 tally, is thrust an inch, or a little 

 more, below the surface, paring off 

 the strip which has been marked. 

 As the workman who cuts the sod 

 advances, another rolls it up before 

 him, until it is of a proper size to be 

 carried off. A cut is then made 

 across the strip, and another roll is 

 begun. Thus a large space may be 

 completely bared, or parallel strips 

 Y v y2 



may be cut out, leaving some of the 

 turf uncut between iheni. In this 

 case the loss of the herbage will be 

 soonest repaired by the spreading of 

 the grasses from the strips which are 

 left. When an ornamental lawn is 

 to be formed by laying down the turf, 

 the ground is levelled, or laid in any 

 desired form. It is well rolled and 

 beaten, to make it firm ; and if the 

 weather is dry, it is well watered bu- 

 fove the turf is applied. As lawns 

 require frequent mowing, a close, 

 slow-growing turf is a great advan- 

 tage ; it should therefore be taken, if 

 possible, from a poor, thin soil. If 

 the ground to be covered is of a rich 

 quality, it is best to remove the soil 

 and lay some of the poorer subsoil 

 bare, to place the turf on : a rich 

 moist soil would make the grass grow 

 too rank, and require constant mow- 

 ing and rolling to keep it down. Brick- 

 bats and rubbish are ol'ten spread 

 over the ground, where a lawn is to be 

 formed by turfing it over : these not 

 only form a poorer soil, but also keep 

 it drier by their porosity. It need 

 not be observed, that where turfing 

 is resorted to, to cover bare places in 

 meadows or pasture, the reverse of 

 all this should be done, and manure 

 spread over the places where the turf 

 is to be laid, so that the roots may 

 be invigorated and a rich pile of grass 

 may spring up. 



"When there are banks and ine- 

 ', qualities in pastures, it is often use- 

 I ful to pare off all the turf, rolling it 

 1 up from the places which are to be 

 I levelled. The superfluous soil is 

 I then removed, and if it has been long 

 I in the form of a dry bank, it is spread 

 j over the grass, which it greatly in- 

 vigorates. The new surl'ace is en- 

 I riched with manure if it requires it, 

 , and in moist weather, or after wa- 

 tering it. the turf is unrolled over it 

 and well beaten down. A heavy 

 roller drawn over it will greatly as- 

 sist its rooting, and thus an unsight- 

 ly bank, on which the grass was usu- 

 ally either coarse or burned up, ac- 

 cording as the season was wet or dry, 

 becomes a good and neat pasture. 

 Another important use of turf is to 



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