NEW AND OLD LAWNS. 29 



"lawn enricher," mixed with finely sifted coal or wood 

 ashes, in equal parts, may be sowed on the lawn, about 

 as thick as sand is usually strewn on the floor, and rolled 

 ddwn, or where the soil is light or sandy, clay or marl, 

 broken fine and sown on while dry, will be found excel- 

 lent to encourage the growth of grass. 



Mowing should be begun in spring as soon as the grass 

 re two or three inches high, and continued every seven 

 or eight days until the cessation of growth in fall. If the 

 lawn is gone over with a mower once a week, the clip- 

 pings are best left on, as the sun quickly shrivels them 

 up so that they never appear unsightly ; but if mowing 

 is delayed two or three weeks, then the grass must be 

 raked off, which should always be done with the regular 

 lawn rake, as the ordinary toothed rake injures the grass. 



It sometimes happens that the soil contains seeds of 

 perennial plants, such as Dandelion, Dock or Thistles, 

 which seriously interfere with the beauty of the lawn. 

 When such occur, there is no other remedy than the slow 

 process of cutting them out with a knife ; it is not neces- 

 sary to take them out by the root. If the " crowns" of 

 these perennial weeds are cut just below the surface, they 

 will not grow again. It is a common belief that the seeds 

 of these weeds are in the grass seed. This is rarely the 

 case ; they are generally wafted from adjoining lands and 

 will often lie dormant, if buried deeply in the soil, for 

 years, until the preparation of the soil for the lawn brings 

 them near the surface. 



To Renovate Lawns. Lawns that have become worn 

 out by neglect or other causes, and where it is not con- 

 venient or desirable to renew them by plowing up, may 

 be greatly benefited by running a light harrow over, if 

 the surface is large, or by a sharp, steel rake for smaller 

 areas, after stirring the surface by such means judiciously, 

 so as not to too severely hurt the roots. Lawn grass 

 should be sown over the surface after harrowing or raking 



