THE GARDEN BOOK OF CALIFORNIA 



a good growth in our peculiar climate on first trial. I have 

 noticed that the average professional gardener has more posi- 

 tive opinions upon this subject than any other of garden- 

 making. I have noticed, too, that those are almost as nu- 

 merous as localities, and that prejudice for or against particu- 

 lar theories of lawn-making is marked. 



Lawns and gardens are an expense in California, and the 

 man or woman who thinks to scratch up the ground and sow 

 a little seed, has very little idea of what it means to make a 

 lawn. While I am sure that returns on the expenditure for 

 this particular form of luxury are the largest possible to con- 

 ceive, yet it is only right to say that the planting of a lawn is 

 merely an initial expense, the keeping it up being where the 

 cost comes in. The following directions for lawn-making 

 were written by an experienced California gardener, and 

 cannot, I think, be improved upon for conciseness and practi- 

 cality; let me preface these directions, however, with the 

 remark that it is usually economy to employ a competent 

 man to get the grass well up, or at least to superintend the 

 work. 



"Grade the ground to the proper level and shape. If 

 the soil is not moist enough for spading, make it so, then 

 cover evenly with an abundance of well-decomposed and 

 pulverized manure. Spade very deep, mixing the dressing 

 and soil as thoroughly as possible. Rake well and roll, first 

 with a light and then with a heavier roller ; or a board a foot 

 wide with one's weight will pack the surface sufficiendy. 

 This packing is necessary to prevent the uneven settling of 



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