March Sowing and Planting 



fine tilth, the seed may be sown in confident anticipation 

 of its germinating. 



The protection of freshly-sown grass seed is one of 

 the annoyances of gardening, yet birds must be kept 

 away, or they will take the lot. When the area to be 

 protected is small, the use of fish netting placed on short 

 sticks to raise it above the ground is perhaps the most 

 satisfactory ; there are many varieties of bird scares, but 

 it is doubtful if any of them fulfil their purpose. On 

 a newly-sown lawn of large extent the services of a 

 boy with clappers, especially very early in the morning, 

 is to be recommended. After all, the annoyance does 

 not last long, for in favourable weather the seeds show 

 through in about a fortnight, and then are safe, for 

 it is the seeds, not the seedlings, that the birds seek. 

 The use of a preparation called Horticol, to be obtained 

 from nurserymen, is said to prevent the seeds being 

 attacked by birds. 



Enriching the Lawn. Lawns on which the grass 

 is thin may be improved by a dressing of sifted soil 

 with which bonemeal or guano or any of the advertised 

 lawn manures is mixed. It will soon be washed in by 

 the rains, and the grass will then derive benefit from 

 its application. On lawns infested with clover the use 

 of nitrate of soda and sulphate of ammonia is recom- 

 mended ; these substances are mixed in equal parts, four 

 times the amount of soil being added. When the newly- 

 sown grass on patchy lawns has made some progress, it 

 may be assisted by watering with a solution of nitrate 

 of soda once a week for three or four weeks, J oz. to 

 1 gallon of water. 



There is little doubt that the unsatisfactory state of 

 many lawns is due to poverty of soil; year after year 

 the lawn is mown, the cut grass being removed; it is 

 probably given hard wear, yet nothing is done to 

 counteract the impoverishment of the soil. The lawn, 

 as well as the flower beds and borders, needs to be en- 



