72 LAWNS 



skating very extensive repairs by turfing or 

 reseeding. A drop or two of gasoline is said 

 to be effective. 



THE RESULT OF SOUR SOIL 



Sour grass (or sorrel) and moss are pests on 

 many lawns and are sure indicators of un- 

 satisfactory ground conditions. The lawn 

 which has become infested with these weeds 

 is in all probability sour and badly drained. 

 The easiest immediate remedy is by winter 

 dressings of air slacked lime at the rate of 

 one bushel to a thousand square feet of lawn. 

 Better, however, it would be to underdrain 

 by sinking lines of tile. Land can be over- 

 drained, an extreme which must be avoided, 

 and for which it is not possible to lay down any 

 definite rules. It is a matter of judgment, and, 

 generally, some good idea of the number of 

 drain ditches that should be put in can be 

 ascertained from some local farmer or gar- 

 dener who has had experience with the soil 

 of the locality. Bottom lands will always 

 need more drainage than up-lands. The 

 advantage of attacking these weeds by a 

 surface dressing of lime is especially marked 



