58 BRITISH GRASSES. 



old one. If the situation is not naturally dry, the 

 ground must be trenched and drained, and a new sur- 

 face of fine fresh soil laid. The seed for sowing lawns 

 must be carefully selected. The following mixture is 

 highly recommended : — 



Agrostis vulgaris, var. tenuifolium. Festuca duriuscula. Festuca 

 ovina. Cynosurus cristatus. Poa pratensis. Avena flavescens. Tri- 

 folium repens and minus. 



In the article of the ■ Gardener's Weekly Magazine ' 

 already quoted, the " stuffs generally sold as " Lawn 

 seed " is denounced as " only fit to feed sparrows with." 

 But really good clean seed may be had from Messrs. 

 Wheeler at Is. per lb. All the first-class seedsmen are 

 doubtless reliable in this respect. Upon land prepared 

 as described, this seed should be thickly sown in the 

 proportion of 50 lbs. to an acre. 



Mr. Wheeler says, " Lawns, if becoming patchy, may 

 be sown with an admixture of grass seeds in their bald 

 places ; but as baldness usually proceeds from damp or 

 wearing out, or both, a little draining should be done 

 for the one, and some manure be employed for the 

 other." He considers moss in lawns to be a sign of 

 poverty, and prescribes a top-dressing of guano and soot 

 as a remedy against the moss. The presence of moss 

 is so delightful to the foot, that one cannot but regret 

 that it is not approved of in lawns. Mr. Wheeler gives 

 one piece of advice regarding the keeping of a lawn 

 which is exactly to our taste ; he advises that, to avoid 

 the annoyance of worms, larvae, insects, and ants^ 

 blackbirds, starlings, and thrushes should be encou- 

 raged, for they destroy the pests above-mentioned, and 

 there are rarely to be seen bald patches on a lawn 



