Round the Year in the Garden 



them, but so far as the welfare of the lawn is concerned 

 it is probable that just as much harm as good is done. 

 The casts on golf greens are more than usually exasper- 

 ating, because the greens are in constant use throughout 

 the year. Garden lawns, however, are not very tempting 

 to walk upon in winter and, when practicable, it is, I 

 think, far better not to destroy worms in this wholesale 

 fashion, but to content oneself with sweeping off the 

 casts with the garden besom, for the very act of doing 

 so benefits the grass. 



Weeds on the Lawn. The subject of weeds on the 

 lawn is, alas ! one of perennial interest, for they are always 

 with us. A weed has been defined as a plant in the 

 wrong place, and this is certainly true of those that 

 infest the lawn. Weeds may be divided into two 

 classes, tap-rooted and fibrous-rooted. The former have 

 strong roots that descend deeply ; common examples are 

 Dandelion, Plantain and Dock. These, if not the most 

 difficult to get rid of, occasion the greatest labour, 

 for dressings of various kinds that may be considered 

 likely to destroy shallow-rooting weeds have little real 

 effect upon them. The simplest and the best remedy, 

 short of digging them out by means of a handfork, is 

 to pierce the centre of each one with a pointed stick, 

 having a little notch at the end, that has been dipped 

 in some poisonous liquid, such as sulphuric acid. The 

 Buttercups (particularly Ranunculus repens), though not 

 accurately described as tap-rooted, are most efficiently 

 dealt with in the same way. The best time to do this 

 work is during late autumn or winter, when the weeds are 

 comparatively dormant and their recuperative powers 

 are at their lowest. Lawn sand may also be applied for 

 their destruction, though it is most effective in the case of 

 Daisies. 



The fibrous-rooted weeds, those of which the roots 

 are near the surface, are many and varied, and they 

 are probably more harmful, if less unsightly, than the 



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