22 



COUNTRY LAWNS 



Lawns in the country, where 

 there is no water service, should 

 not be cut too short during the 

 summer months. The turf gets 



a good deal of protection from the shade of the grass, 

 and close mowing deprives it of this protection. Three 

 inches will be found manageable and neat-looking and. 

 at the same time, long enough to shade the roots appre- 

 ciably. The best lawn mixture to use for such places con- 

 tains 75% Rhode Island Bent and 2S% Kentucky Blue 

 Grass. The Bent has a very deep green color, which it 

 retains during the hot period, and it accommodates itself 

 fairly well to dry locations. It is the basis of the best 

 Newport lawns. 



Do not cut too frecjuently 



during the first vear, say every 

 CARE OF THE LAWN ^^^^ ^[^^^^^ ^^^^^ j^^^p 



sharp to reduce the pulling as 

 much as possible. It will also ease the pushing and save 

 your back from fatigue, unless you do the work by proxy, 

 in which case it will save somebody else's back, which is 

 the same thing. Frequent rolling will also be a great 

 help by firming the ground on the roots and thus prevent 

 drying out. 



Even with thorough prep- 

 aration of the soil watering will 

 WATERING required during periods of 



prolonged drought, but speaking 

 in a general way the ordinary sprinkling as commonly 

 practiced does more harm than good. It does lessen the 

 transpiration of the leaves, and it does temporarily replace 

 the loss by evaporation from the surface of the ground, 

 and lastly it does act as a whip or spur to goad the grass 

 to a better growth during the trying season ; but all these 

 are merely incidental benefits and do not inure to the 

 permanent betterment of the lawn. The trouble is that sprinkling 

 does not reach the root field where water is needed, and instead 

 of creeping downward for moisture the roots will crawl up near 

 the surface, where they will be exposed to much winter injury by 

 frost and where, too, the plant food is more nearly exhausted. 



Most grass plants will normally root about four inches deep, 

 and that is where the water is needed. It is evident that the 

 ordinary sprinkling does not soak the ground more than an inch 

 or two. When watering is done it should be done so thoroughly 

 as to soak the ground for at least six inches, and then there should 

 be an interval of a few days witlmut watering to give a breathing- 



Plsite 10 



SIDE ENTRANCE TO A MANSION 



This is the side entrance to a mansion — virtually a back yard. It is a Decora- 

 tion Day scene, for the Spiraea Van Houttei is in full bloom. The solid mass of 

 one kind of shrubs looks like nature's own setting — it is nature's way to grow plants 

 in colonies — and the effect is so softening that the severe architecture is forgotten. 

 The detached subject that looks like one shrub is really composed of three shrubs 

 planted three feet apart triangularly and developed to one large mass of foliage. 

 The tall trees in the background serve as a shady bower and, at the same time, 

 give privacy to the two yards which they separate. Observe that they are grown 

 in their natural pose and have not been headed up. The three plants at the turn 

 of the walk and the one beyond are Yucca Filamentosa. The vines on the house 

 at the rear are Ampelopsis Veitchii, otherwise known as Boston Ivy. 



spell, so the air mav enter the ground and keep it sweet and in 

 good heart. 



This can be done at one operation 

 by using a dressing of well-rotted manure 

 in the fall, whicli is the best kind of 

 winter protection In the spring the 

 coarser fiber is raked away and the finer particles percolate among 

 the grass roots to add fertility to the soil and, at the same time, 

 impro\'e its mechanical condition by making it more porous and 

 retentive of water. It is important, however, that the manure be 

 well-rotted, to guard against the introduction of weed seeds. 



MULCHING AND 



FERTILIZING 



