LAWNS AND GRASS PLOTS 15 



When the lawn is to be produced entirely by seeding, 

 somewhat different methods will naturally be employed. 

 After the general levelling of the surface, a close, fine 

 tilth must be secured by a systematic course of rolling 

 and raking. Satisfactory germination is not possible in 

 rough, lumpy soil. After each raking, roll the ground 

 firmly, changing the direction on each occasion. Unless 

 the soil is already rich, a dressing of one or other of the 

 concentrated lawn fertilisers should be given, applying 

 it a fortnight before the date fixed upon for seeding. 

 Spring sowings are preferable to those made in autumn ; 

 from the middle of March to the end of April being the 

 best time. A whole chapter might easily be devoted to 

 discussing the several kinds of lawn grasses, their suita- 

 bility or otherwise for various soils, and the proportions 

 and ingredients of the numerous mixtures. Such 

 questions, however, are outside the scope of the present 

 work. Any nurseryman of repute will supply a good 

 mixture, and if the class of soil — heavy, light, peat, 

 loam, or sand — is specified, its composition may with 

 safety be left to him. 



In actual sowing, be generous in the matter of quantity. 

 The fine grasses of which lawn mixtures are composed 

 do not spread like the coarser meadow varieties, and 

 niggardly sowing will cause patches and bare spots 

 which, besides looking unsightly, have to be filled in 

 later. A bushel of seed is none too much to sow a 

 quarter acre lawn, and this quantity if regularly distributed 

 will produce a close sward, at the same time allowing 

 for probable losses in the way of non-germination and 

 the depredations of birds. A calm, windless day must 

 be chosen for sowing and the seed should be scattered 

 evenly. It is, moreover, better to sow half the quantity 

 first, distributing it from left to right across the ground ; 

 afterwards repeat the operation with the second half, 

 only in this case working lengthways, so that the first 



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