LAWNS 



rate of 250 pounds for the plot is advisable if the earth 

 is soggy and acid. When angle worms abound in great 

 numbers it is a pretty good indication of its being 

 needed, badly. 



Grass seeds are offered by the best seedsmen in 

 mixtures which will usually do all that is promised for 

 them; it is not therefore the part of wisdom for the 

 beginner to undertake the working out of a combina- 

 tion for himself, for the proportions vary for varying 

 conditions. The grasses that are most generally com- 

 bined, however, are redtop {agrostis vulgaris), Rhode 

 Island bent grass {agrostis canina), English rye (lolium 

 perenne) and white clover (trifolium repens). 



These form a most successful mixture for the 

 northern states. In the south the Bermuda grass 

 {cynodon dactylon) and the awnless brome grass {hro- 

 mus inermis) are used extensively because they with- 

 stand drought. The so-called Bermuda grass is not 

 hardy north of Virginia, however. The famous Ken- 

 tucky blue grass is excellent where it is good, but it 

 dislikes sour and acid soils, it is slow in establishing 

 strong turf, its color fails in hot weather, and 

 it is really no better than the right kind of a 

 mixture. 



Mixtures for shade, for slopes, for the seaside, for 

 arid places, and for establishing especially strong turf 

 which will stand tramping without deteriorating, are 

 all obtainable of reputable seedsmen. It is simply a 

 matter of selecting the necessary kind. 



Seed should be sown on a quiet day, in early spring 



105 



