58 THE COMPLETE GARDEN 



best where the summers are cool and moist; that is, in the northeastern 

 states and on the northwest coast. When the soil is limy, other 

 grasses, such as blue grass and white clover, tend to crowd out creeping 

 bent. It should be sown alone except that combined with red fescue 

 it will be satisfactory for a few years, after which the two grasses tend 

 to separate and make circular mats. 



There are standard mixtures on the market offered by the more 

 reliable firms for special uses such as on golf greens, fairways, and 

 shady locations. 



In the section south of Washington, D. C., except in the higher 

 altitudes, it is not advisable to use Kentucky blue grass. White 

 clover, in this section of the country, becomes the prevailing grass in 

 lawns. In the northern part of this area, white clover, redtop, and 

 Rhode Island bent make an excellent lawn, but not a lawn as per- 

 manent in character as the northern turf. 



SODDING. Sodding instead of seeding has the following advantages: 

 (i) grass of a known texture can be obtained; (2) an immediate stand of 

 grass is secured; (3) sod can be laid at any season except when the ground 

 is frozen. The disadvantages, however, are quite numerous: (i) a 

 seeded lawn is as good and generally is better within a year; (2) 

 the expense of sodding a lawn is great; (3) it is usually difficult 

 to procure good sod; (4) sod will heave on heavy soils if laid too 

 late in the fall; (5) it is difficult to get perfect unions between sods. 

 Sod is generally used along the edges of walks, borders, banks, and 

 close to buildings, when seeding an area; and also on areas such as 

 terraces and laundry yards which are to be used immediately. The 

 preparation of a lawn for sodding is the same as for seeding. Sod 

 should be laid on a firm foundation; that is, the soil should be thor- 

 oughly tamped before any sod is placed upon it. The best sod is 

 secured from pastures which are on a heavy type of soil. Pasture 

 turf is cropped and therefore forms a dense growth which can be 

 removed in thin layers. Cut the sod about one and one-half inches 

 thick, twelve inches wide, and three feet long. A foot-wide board 

 should be laid on the turf and the strips cut along either side with an 

 edger. The sod is lifted with a spade or preferably with a turfing 

 iron. The strips are rolled up, grass side in, and should be relaid as 

 soon as possible. When laying sod, fill the junctions with fine soil 

 and then beat it down with the back of a spade or with a sod pounder, 



