BECKERT SEED AND BULB COMPANY 



1 



How to Care for Your Lawn 



Nothing will add to the appearance and, for that matter, actually enhance the value of 

 your home to such a degree as a well-made, well-kept lawn. It makes the most appropriate 

 setting for trees, shrubs, and flowers, and helps to make a house "home." 



SOIL. The soil for a fine lawn requires a 

 very thorough preparation as the physical 

 composition cannot be materially changed 

 once the lawn is established. The ideal 

 lawn soil is well drained, well fertilized and 

 heavy enough to hold moisture without be- 

 coming soggy. 



Raw subsoil exposed in grading should be 

 covered or replaced by at least 8 inches of 

 good top soil. If good top soil is not avail- 

 able, the soil may be gradually conditioned 

 by turning under successive cover crops. 



Sandy soils should have body added to 

 them by turning under well-rotted manure, 

 Humus or Peat Moss. 



Stiff clay soils will be benefited by the 

 addition of sand or finely sifted ashes. Peat 

 Moss is also excellent for breaking up 

 clayey soils. 



FERTILIZING. Thoroughly rotted barn- 

 yard manure is the best fertilizer to mix 

 with the soil before making a law%i, but 

 unfortunately it is very difficult to obtain. 

 Fresh manure is invariably full of weed 

 seeds and should not be used. Pulverized 

 Sheep Manure is an ideal lawn fertilizer. 

 Apply at the rate of 100 pounds per 1000 

 square feet and as an additional fertilizer 

 apply Bone Meal. 50 pounds per 1000 square 

 feet. Sheep Manure and Bone Meal are best 

 applied after spading and raked in. If 

 barnyard manure is used, it should be 

 dug in. 



PREPARATION. Spade or plow as deeply 

 as soil conditions permit; then rake roughly 

 to fill in hollow spaces, removing all rub- 

 bish, coarse lumps and stones. At this stage, 

 particularly if much grading or filling has 

 been necessary, allow the ground to settle 

 for a week or ten days before the final fine 

 raking. This will also give weed seeds, that 

 have been brought to the surface, a chance 

 to sprout so that they will be killed by the 

 final raking. 



CHOICE OP SEED. High grade depend- 

 able lawn mixtures will, as a rule, give bet- 

 ter results than the separate grasses alone. 

 B. S. & B. Co. Lawn Mixture contains one 

 variety that sprouts quickly, one variety 

 that makes dense lateral roots, another that 

 is deep rooting, and still another because 

 of its ability to withstand drought. Our 

 other mixtures, Evergreen, Shadyland, and 



Terrace are made with the same care and 

 will be found to be the best in the market 

 for their particular purposes. 



SEEDING. To insure a thick, even stand 

 sow plenty of seed, 1 pound for each 250 

 square feet or an excessive quantity will do 

 no harm. The best way to be sure of sow- 

 ing seed evenly is to divide it in half and go 

 over the plot twice, making the second 

 sowing at right angles to the first. 



COVERING THE SEED. The seeds in 

 our lawn mixtures are very fine and should 

 be covered lightly, in fact rolling with a 

 medium weight roller to press the seed 

 into the soil is the best method. 



WATERING. It is often nece-sary m 

 dry weather to water the lawn. This should 

 be done in the late afternoon or e\ ening to 

 prevent scalding and a thorough soaking 

 twice a week is better than nightly light 

 sprinkling. 



MOWING. Frequent mowings will help 

 to produce a fine thick turf. Do not set the 

 blades too close to the ground in hot 

 weather. 



ROLLING. All lawns should be rolled in 

 the spring to bring the roots in firm contact 

 with the soil and to level <»ut bumps and 

 hollows that have appeared over winter. An 

 occasional rolling in the summer is also 

 beneficial. 



FEEDING. All lawns, new and old, re- 

 quire a top dressing or feeding in spring 

 and fall, and we know of no belter fertilizer 

 to use for this purpose than f?one Meal, 

 applied at the rate of 50 pounds per 1000 

 square feet. For summer feeding use one- 

 half the above quantity and water thor- 

 oughly after applying. 



RE SEE DING. Reseed lightly in the 

 spring and fall, even on well established 

 turfs. Large bare spots should be dug up. 

 well fertilized and reseeded, while small 

 bare spots need only to be scratched deeply 

 with a steel rake so as to make a fine seed- 

 bed. 



THE USE OF LIME. Many of the finer 

 turf grasses grow best on a slightly acid 

 soil, so that lime should be applied only on 

 very acid soil, as shown by the growth of 

 green moss, plantain or sour grass. Apply 

 at the rate of 50 pounds per 1000 square 

 feet. 



Terrace Mixture 



Terrace Mixture is, as the name implies, a special mixture for slopes and terraces. It is 

 made up from a number of deep rooting, drought-resisting grasses, and once established 

 makes a thick, long lasting turf. 



Prices, lb., 60c; 2 lbs., $1.15; 5 lbs., $2.75; 10 lbs., $5.00; 25 lbs., $11.50; 100 lbs., $43.00. 

 postage or express extra. For Quick Service, Phone AT. 1129. 



Florida Humus 



New Life Por Your Lawns. 



The growth of your lawn depends on moisture and available plant food. If your soil 

 does not contain moisture retentive humus, the growth is bound to suffer during dry spells 

 regardless of the amount of water applied. If soil bacteria is lacking, the grass will also 

 suffer, for it is the soil bacteria that reduce plant foods to a form that can be assimilated 

 by the roots. 



Florida Humus is pure decayed vegetable matter, containing approximately 3% organic 

 nitrogen (the best source of nitrogen for plants). Florida Kvunus absorbs 5. SI times its own 

 weight in water. Florida Humus, when mixed with Milorganite and composted for one week 

 showed three times as many soil bacteria as the best dairy manure, proving that it is an 

 ideal medium for the growth of soil bacteria, so necessary to the growth of all vegetation. 



Prices, delivered in Pittsburgh, 100 lbs., $3.25; 200 lbs., $5.50; ton, $45.00. Write for 

 car lot prices. 



