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BECKERT SEED AND BULB COMPANY 



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." 

 SOIIi. 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. 



FEBTIZiIZING-. Thoroughly rotted barn- 

 yard manure is the best fertilizer to mix 

 with the soil before making a lawn, 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 

 aPDly Bone Meal or Vigoro, 50 pounds per 

 1000 square feet. Sheep Manure, Bone Meal 

 and Vigoro are best applied after spading 

 and raked in. If barnyard manure is used, 

 it should be dug in. 



FBEPABATION. 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 fill- 

 ing 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 SEX:i}. High grade depend- 

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

 ter results than the separate grasses alone. 

 B. S & B. Co.'s Evergreen Lawn Mixture 

 contains one variety that sprouts quickly, 

 one variety that makes dense lateral roots, 

 another that is deep rooting, and still an- 

 other because of its ability to withstand 

 drought. Our other mixtures, Shadyland, 

 Terrace and Putting Green are made with 



the same care and will be found to be the 

 best in the market for their particular pur- 

 poses. 



SEEDING. To insure a thick, even stand. 



sow plenty of seed, 1 pound for each 300 

 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 KBiED. 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 necessary in 

 dry weather to water the lawn. This should 

 be done in the late afternoon or evening 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. 



BOIiIiING. All lawns should be rolled in 

 the Spring to bring the roots in firm contact 

 with the soil and to level out 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 better ferti- 

 lizer to use for this purpose than Vigoro, 

 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. 



BESEEDING. 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 be scratched deeply 

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

 bed. 



TECE USE OP IiIME. 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. 



Creeping Bent Lawn Mixture 



All of us have admired and envied the soft, rug-like texture of the turf on golf putting 

 greens. The finest of these are sown with the Bent Grasses, which have very fine blades 

 and send out creeping root stalks, making a thick, even velvety turf. 



In our experiments, in search for the best grasses for lawns, we have planted test plots 

 of the various special grasses, both alone and in mixtures. These plots have invariably 

 shown that the Bent varieties and mixtures of the Bents are superior to other grasses in 

 producing a smooth, closely matted, beautiful green turf. 



This special Creeping Bent Mixture contains only Seaside Bent (Argrostis maritima). 

 European Bent (Agrostis species), and Fancy Recleaned Red Top (Agrostis alba). Planted 

 on rich, heavy, acid soils where plenty of moisture can be supplied, it will produce the 

 finest turf imaginable. 



Only acid fertilizers, such as Sulphate of Ammonia, and Floranid, should be used on 

 Bent lawns, and the use of lime entirely avoided. Sow at the rate of one pound to 300 

 square feet. Price, lb., $1.25; 5 lbs., $6.00; 10 lbs., $11.50; 25 lbs., $26.25; 100 lbs., $100.00, 

 postag-e or express extra. 



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., $1.10; 5 lbs., $2.50; 10 lbs., $4.25; 25 lbs., $10.50; 100 lbs., $40.00, 

 postage or express extra. 



