THE LAWN. 



779 



Grasses," &c. — and we have no higher authority 

 — it is taken : — 



MR LAWSON'S list OF LAWN GRASSES, ETC. 



Kinds and quantities of Grass Seeds required for sowing an 

 imperial acre, for fine Lavms and Bowling-greens, <&c., 

 kept constantly under tlie scythe. Sown without a crop 

 of barley or other grain, a practice which sJtould not be 

 foUowed where fine Uivms are required. 



Mi 



45^ 



46 



" In cases where primary expense is deemed 

 secondary to ultimate effect, 2 lb. of the ever- 

 green wood meadow-grass (Poa nemoralis var. 

 sempervirens) may be added to the quantities 

 given above ; and where the ground is shaded 

 by trees, both Poa nemoralis and P. nemoralis 

 sempervirens should be substituted for equal 

 quantities of the two Festucas (given above), 

 such quantities being dependent on the extent 

 and depth of the shade. In walks, bowling- 

 greens, &c., which are wished to be kept as dry 

 as possible, especially towards the end of the 

 season, Trifolium repens should be sparingly 

 introduced ; and when it is intended to mow the 

 grass by machine instead of the common scythes, 

 greater proportions of the hard and fine-leaved 

 Festucas may be sown." 



Much of the fine appearance of our lawns 

 depends on regularity in mowing : if they are 

 left too long in the spring before the operation 

 is commenced, or if allowed to grow strong 

 during summer, and more especially if not 

 closely mown at the latest period in autumn, 

 they become coarse, the stronger grasses over- 

 growing the weaker and best, the smoothness 

 of the surface is destroyed, and ultimately the 

 whole becomes patchy and unsightly. Besides 

 regularity in mowing, sweeping and rolling are 

 important matters in fine lawn management; 

 and hence one of the many advantages of 

 Shauks's mowing machine, which at one opera- 

 tion not only cuts the grass, but gathers it 

 cleanly up, and rolls the ground at the same 

 time. The saving in labour is also material. 

 We calculate, after ten years' use of the largest 

 size of these machines, that we effect a saving 

 of twelve men during the mowing season. To 

 those who have not employed it, we may state 

 that ours has required no repairs during that 

 period, imless when the cutters may accidentally 

 come in contact with a stone, in which case, from 

 their being highly tempered, their cutting edges 

 are liable to become notched. In such cases 

 (which, however, rarely occur) we despatch the 

 cutters to the maker for repair. As it may happen 

 to those at a distance from Arbroath that some 

 time may be lost ere the cutters be returned, 

 we arranged with the Messrs Shanks (and we 



advise every purchaser to do the same) to sup- 

 ply us with a double set of cutters, so that, 

 should one set meet with an accident, the other 

 is substituted for it. Ours is drawn by a horse 

 guided by a man. There are smaller mowing- 

 machines recommended to be drawn by men ; 

 in these we have found no economy whatever. 

 The best scythes are those manufactured by 

 Linley of Sheffield; these we employ in mowing 

 round shrubs, or in small pieces of grass where 

 the machine cannot be conveniently used. 



All lawns, unless the subsoil be a porous allu- 

 vial gravel, should be thoroughly drained at 

 their formation, and a drain should be carried 

 along the bottom of each terrace slope, so that 

 they may be at all times dry and comfortable to 

 walk upon. 



Worms are rather annoying at particular 

 seasons, by casting up the material they have 

 removed during their tunnelling operations. 

 Whether these extraordinary undertakings, by 

 which miles of subterranean tunnels are formed 

 in a single lawn, are merely executed by the 

 worm in search of food, or whether it may not 

 be necessary also for their existence to secure 

 for themselves by this means reservoirs of air, 

 we know not ; but of one thing we are certain, 

 that by these very perforations air is admitted 

 to the roots of plants, upon which so much of 

 their health depends. Those who think dif- 

 ferently from us will find lime-water sufficiently 

 mortal in its effects ; 6 or 8 pounds weight 

 of hot lime being thrown into a hogshead of 

 water, and applied the day after to the grass 

 through the rose of a watering-pot, when it has 

 become sufficiently clarified, and drawn from 

 the vessel by a spigot placed a few inches from 

 its bottom. Those, however, who have sufficient 

 humanity, will sweep the worm-casts up as they 

 appear, or disperse them over the lawn, which 

 will act as a good top-dressing, and encourage 

 the growth of the weaker grasses. A far more 

 useful operation than the destruction of woiTus, 

 would be the destruction of all coarse grasses, 

 and such weeds as may exist in them — the 

 dandelion and broad - leaved plantain in par- 

 ticular. 



Mossy lawns. — Old grass lawns, more especi- 

 ally in humid climates and pent-up situations, 

 are very liable to become overgrown with vari- 

 ous species of mosses, rendering them less firm 

 to tread upon, and, by choking out the grasses, 

 destroying that cheerful green appearance which 

 makes our lawns the admiration of all strangers. 

 A writer in the " Quarterly Review " remarks : 

 " Most gardeners strive to eradicate the moss 

 from their grass ; it seems to us that it should 

 rather be encouraged : it renders the lawn much 

 moie soft to the foot, prevents it being dried up in 

 hot weathei", and saves much labour in mowing. 

 The most perfect kind of lawns is perhaps that 

 which consists of only one kind of grass ; but 

 for the generality a mossy surface would be far 

 better than the mangy bare aspect we so often 

 see." To this we can by no means subscribe, 

 unless it be in shady walks, and places where it 

 would be impossible to get grass to grow. There, 

 indeed, nothing can be better than a mossy cover- 

 ing ; but on the. broad expanse of lawn, whether 



