Round the Year in the Garden 



riched occasionally. It is advisable when mowing a 

 lawn 011 which the sward is thin to dispense with a 

 grass box and to allow the cuttings to remain ; providing 

 the grass is cut regularly and before it gets long the 

 cuttings are not unsightly. There is little doubt that a 

 lawn so treated lasts in health longer than one from 

 which the cut grass is removed. Not the least of the 

 benefits of the grass cuttings is that they help to keep 

 the soil moist during dry weather, and as they are soon 

 washed out of sight by rain or by water from the hose, 

 the advantages of this method, where it is practicable, 

 outweigh the disadvantages. 



The Weedy Lawn. The use of lawn sand offers 

 the best means of getting rid of Daisies; though it 

 causes the grass to turn brown, this recovers its normal 

 colouring as fresh growth develops. Early in April is 

 the time for its application. The removal of such coarse 

 weeds as Dandelion and Plantain is a tedious task, and 

 there is probably no better method than rooting out 

 each one ; it is not sufficient to cut off the top, for others 

 will soon grow if the root is left intact. Piercing the 

 heart of each with a pointed wooden skewer dipped in 

 sulphuric acid is also to be recommended, though this 

 may not prove altogether so effective as rooting up the 

 weeds. So far as I know, there is no substance that one 

 can apply broadcast for getting rid of these coarse- 

 growing, deep and strong-rooting weeds. It often 

 happens that the lawn verge becomes worn and uneven, 

 and consequently unsightly. This may be remedied by 

 a simple expedient. All that one has to do is to cut off 

 a marginal strip of turf, about 12 or 15 inches wide, 

 turn it round, and replace it so that the worn edge is in 

 contact with the lawn and the new, straight edge near 

 the path. The small space between the broken edge 

 and the lawn proper is filled with sifted soil ; seeds are 

 sown there, and soon it will be difficult to detect any 

 signs of the patching. 



