NEWS ^ VIEWS 



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This group of Michigan Farm Bureau delegates recently toured the Chicago office building 

 of the Illinois Agricultural Association. Fourth from right Is I. E. Parett, lAA. 



For A Beautiful Lawn 



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ORE lawns are poor from too 

 short mowing than from lack 

 of plant food. Doesn't sound 

 reasonable, does it.' But it's 

 true. 



At Purdue hundreds of lawn soils are 

 tested each year. We find generally 

 that available phosphate and potash are 

 high, nitrogen is adequate except per- 

 haps during cool weather in the sprmg, 

 and lime is seldom needed where hard 

 water is used for watering. 



This means that the grass is not 

 starving for plant food. What then? 

 The plant is actually starving for ener- 

 gy building nutrients. It cannot get 

 enough energy from the sunlight to 

 make enough sugars for proper growth. 

 The leaves have been cut too short ! 



And well-fertilized grass starves even 

 more as a result of too short cutting be- 

 cause it pushes its stems and leaves up 

 faster, and is cut short more often 

 than poorly fed grass. 



There are other bad features to 

 short mowing. Common broad-leaved 

 lawn weeds as dandelions and plantain 

 thrive where the lawn is short because 

 their first leaves lie close to the ground 

 and escape the mower. 



When grasses on a well-fertilized 

 soil are permitted to grow long these 

 weeds find the going tough. They are 

 crowded out to a large extent. The 



new weed killing chemicals do best 

 under these conditions. 



This doesn't mean that lawns should 

 not be fertilized but plant food, top- 

 dressing and reseeding will not make 

 a good lawn if the grass doesn't get 

 enough energy to grow well. 



Most of us mow short to keep the 

 mower tracks from showing. The first 



HAND DECORATION 



Colorful tablecloths always add cheer to a 

 meal. Here's one way of decorating checked 

 fabric to moke an attractively bright cloth 

 at a small cost. Applique circles of scarlet 

 cotton at each corner for cherries anci 

 finish with green appliqued leaves and 

 embroidery. For free Instructions send a 

 stamped, self-addressed envelope to Wom- 

 en's Editor, Illinois Agricultural Association 

 Record, 43 East Ohio Street, Chicago 1 1, III. 



effect is like a clean shave and hair- 

 cut — it looks neat. But this can be 

 deceptive. Those who try cutting lawns 

 high haven't liked the beat down look 

 and wheel tracks. 



At first high-cut grass looks thin. 

 But after a few high cuttings the mat 

 thickens and wheel tracks go away in 

 about a day. 



Good lawns also require adequate 

 sunlight. Low tree branches are bad. 

 Trim high if you want better grass, 

 and plant shade grasses in such places. 

 The fescue type grasses are better than 

 blue grass for shaded spots. 



Midsummer watering encourages 

 crabgrass which in turn crowds out the 

 better grasses and looks bad after the 

 first frost. It also leaves a poor winter 

 sod. 



Bluegrass can live through severe 

 droughts. An unwatered bluegrass , 

 lawn will look brown and dead in the 

 heat and droughts of July and August 

 but will spring to life again. If the 

 lawn is not watered these critical 

 months crabgrass will not take over. 



The result of no watering in mid- 

 summer is often a better lawn in the 

 fall and winter. 



i^are ^n (iSuuina C^an 



/■^roiona oLife of ^/^o3e 



If you think your nylon hose are run- 

 ning away with you — developing too 

 many snags and runs — the fault may be 

 in buying. 



Perhaps you're purchasing hose that 

 weren't designed by the maker to suit 

 your everyday needs, suggests Miss Edna 

 R. Gray, clothing specialist, University 

 of Illinois College of Agriculture. Some- 

 times women buy and wear the sheerest 

 nylons for heavier duty than they can 

 take, she says. 



Sheerness in silk and nylon is indi- 

 cated by the word denier. A 15 -denier 

 nylon is especially thin, best for dress up 

 and evening wear. A 30-denier nylon is 

 better suited to averyday wear. 



Before buying new hose, check which 

 length and denier has worn best for you, 

 which brand has seemed most satisfactory. 

 Miss Gray suggests. Then report your 

 preference to your retailer. 



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L A. A. RECORD 



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