THE LAWN 



air when they ripen, and settle here, there, and 

 everywhere, and wherever they come in contact 

 with the ground they germinate, and a colony of 

 young plants establishes itself. Because the Bur- 

 dock and Thistle attempt to develop an up-reach- 

 ing top it is an easy matter to keep them down by 

 mowing, but the Dandelion and Plantain hug the 

 soil so closely that the mower slips over them 

 without coming in contact with their crowns, and 

 so they live on, and on, and spread by a multipli- 

 cation of their roots until they often gain entire 

 possession of the soil, in spots. When this hap- 

 pens, the best thing to do is to spade up the patch, 

 and rake every weed-root out of it, and then re- 

 seed it. If this is done early in spring the newly- 

 seeded place will not be noticeable by mid- 

 summer. 



We frequently see weed-killers advertised in 

 the catalogues of the florist. Most, if not all, of 

 them will do all that is claimed for them, but — 

 they will do just as deadly work on the grass, if 

 they get to it, as they do on the weed, therefore 

 they are of no practical use, as it is impossible 

 to apply them to weeds without their coming in 

 contact with the sward. 



Ants often do great damage to the lawn by 

 burrowing under the sward and throwing up 



31 



