THE LAWN 71 
safe one to follow. There is nothing more trying for 
grass than to let it go to seed, but if the lawn is clipped 
closer than two inches, the plants will not have sufficient 
leaf area to carry on future growth successfully. 
Destroying weeds. Annual weeds are usually kept 
down by mowing. Such plants as dandelion, dock, and 
plantain must be removed by cutting them out with 
a knife. The crowns of the weeds should be cut just 
below the surface, before the plants scatter seeds. This 
will.remove the bud from which new growth would start. 
Renovating lawns. Lawns that have patches of soil only 
partly covered, or lawns that have a thin stand of grass, 
should be raked over with a sharp iron garden rake in 
the spring or fall, when the soil is saturated with moisture. 
All uneven places should be filled with good rich soil ; 
then the required amount of seed should be sown and 
raked in. The yard may then be given its usual care. 
Top-dressing. Well-established lawns will be improved 
if given a mulch of well-rotted stable manure in November 
or December. If the soil is good, a coating every other year 
is sufficient. It should contain much fine material, which 
will be carried beneath the surface of the grass by the 
rains and snows of the winter. All rough material must be 
raked off in the spring, when the grass begins to grow. 
Instead of the top-dressing of manure, fine bone meal 
may be used at the rate of about two pounds for one 
hundred square feet. The fertilizer will be improved if 
an equal part of finely sifted coal or wood ashes is mixed 
with the meal. Use a screen as fine as a flour sifter. 
