LANDSCAPE GARDENING STUDIES 



and raking. If the soil is sandy it might be well 

 to roll it before a final, very light raking, so that 

 when the seed is put in it will not be planted too 

 deep. Whether the seed be sawn with a machine, 

 in order to spread it evenly, or by hand, it should 

 be sown in both directions. After seeding, the 

 lawn should be rolled and kept watered if the soil 

 requires it. 



The foundation of every lawn should be blue- 

 grass, either Kentucky or Canadian. It is long- 

 lived and very hardy, making a thick compact sod 

 that endures drought well. A lawn made of this 

 grass will not come to perfection until the third year. 

 Other grasses, quick-growing and suited to fill in 

 while the blue-grass is coming to maturity, may 

 be mixed in. Such are Pace's rye grass and Rhode 

 Island bent; the latter, by the way, does specially 

 well in sandy soil. In shady places the best grass 

 is wood meadow (Poa sylvestris). Very soon after 

 the grass comes up, almost as soon as the mowing- 

 machine will nip it, cutting should be started. 

 Only in this way can the lawn be made to grow 

 compactly and luxuriantly. The knives of the 

 mowing-machine should not be set too low in 

 doing this cutting, especially in hot periods and 

 dry weather. 



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