September Waning and Waking Flowers 



are hot then, the nights are cool and dewy, and the 

 seedling grass makes excellent progress, if less rapid than 

 in spring. There is little danger of its being damaged by 

 frost, if my experience is to be relied upon. On one 

 occasion I was obliged to delay sowing down a lawn until 

 the first week in November, and within three weeks of sow- 

 ing there were several cold nights, on which 10 and 12 

 of frost were registered. I fully expected to be obliged to 

 sow again in March or April, but December was mild and 

 wet, the grass came up splendidly, and I had a better lawn 

 the following year than I could have hoped for from a 

 sowing in spring. 



Renovating the Lawn. As full instructions are given 

 in the notes dealing with work in April, concerning the 

 best method of sowing grass seed, there is no need to 

 describe it now, but it may be worth while to give a little 

 advice upon the renovation of a patchy lawn, a task that 

 is no doubt undertaken more frequently than that of 

 sowing a fresh one. I am convinced that it may be 

 done more profitably now than in spring. It is necessary 

 first to dig up the bare patches with fork or spade, to 

 make the soil loose, and so form a good "seed bed." 

 Nothing is more inimical to satisfactory germination than 

 hard ground. If a thin scattering of wood ashes is spread 

 over the lawn and* raked in, a satisfactory start will have 

 been made. A covering of sifted soil, an inch or more in 

 thickness, is then scattered over the lawn and trodden 

 down. Then follows the rake to make a level surface, and 

 the seed is sown thickly, in both directions, from north to 

 south, and from east to west, to ensure a full and even 

 distribution. The seed is raked into the soil, which is then 

 well rolled. Protection from birds is essential. The use 

 of a preparation called Horticol, to be obtained from seeds- 

 men, is said to have the effect of keeping away birds ; a 

 satisfactory plan when the area of ground is small is to 

 stretch black thread over the surface by attaching it to 

 small sticks. 



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