68 



MAKING LAWNS. 



Where the ground is unobstructed by trees 

 or buildings, the quickest and simplest way 

 of preparation is by first plowing and then 

 reducing, fining, and leveling with harrows 

 and other tools, such as a farmer or gardener 

 uses for obtaining a fine degree of tilth. 



The object to be attained is a deep, rich, 

 mellow soil of great uniformity of character. 

 A lawn that runs into a sandy knoll at one 

 corner, and a bed of clay at another, and 

 overlies in one place a deep fill of coal-ashes, 

 and in another a pile of old chips of un- 

 known depth, cannot be expected to be 

 uniform in color or durability. 



When a lawn is to be made by plow and 

 harrow on land with but slight inequalities 

 of surface, an instrument called a ''float" 

 is used to great advantage. This is simply a 

 two-inch plank, eight feet long, set on edge, 

 with two stakes, five feet long, inserted in 

 such a way, that when the ends rest iipon the 

 ground behind, the plank will present an 

 angle of about twelve degrees to the perpen- 

 dicular. Two holes are bored in the plank to 

 attach a chain to draw it by. When suffi- 

 ciently weighted, such an inclement rapidly 

 planes down the higher places and deposits 

 the surplus soil in the depressions. The 

 error is often committed of making the plan- 

 ing or floating the last operation. This leaves 

 the higher points with only an inch or two 

 of mellowed soil, while the depressions re- 

 ceive an addition of that planed from the 

 higher places. After the first floating, the 

 spots that have suffered by the operation 

 should be thickly covered with rotted man- 

 ure, and the whole re-plowed, harrowed, and 

 again floated. Often this process can be 

 profitably repeated a third time. This may 

 seem like taking a good deal of trouble, but 

 it should be remembered that the beauty of 

 a lawn depends upon a rich carpet of verdure 

 of a uniform deep green, which cannot be had 

 without depth and fertility of soil. 



In making small lawns with spade and 

 rake, a wheel-barrow of rotted manure should 

 be constantly on hand, and used freely where 

 needed. Inequalties should be leveled before 

 spading is begun, and the soil made deep, 

 rich, mellow and fine before the grass seed 

 is sown. Autumn or early spring is the best 

 time for sowing the seed ; but where abund- 

 ance of water can be had, a lawn can be 

 seeded at any time during summer. If seeded 

 thickly, after mid-summer very little an- 

 noyance will be experiened from weeds. 

 It will be necessary, if the weather is clear 

 and hot, to water several times daily, as 

 neglect for a single hour beneath an August 

 sun will kill the sprouting seed and young 

 grass. 



Our climate and soil are so variable 

 that it is not possible to name grasses that 

 will succeed everywhere equally well. Eed 

 Top, Agrostis vulgaris, and June Grass, or 

 Kentucky Blue Grass, Poa pratensis, are 

 the best grasses for American lawns, and 

 should be sown at the rate of one bushel 

 of the former to two of the latter per 

 acre. White Clover is often added, but to 

 no special advantage. Timothy, Orchard 

 Grass, and Red Clover are totally unfit for 

 lawns, and should never be used. Most 



English lawn grasses -are unsuited to our 

 climate, and soon give way to native weeds 

 and grasses. Grain should never be sown 

 with lawn grasses ; it is of no benefit what- 

 ever. 



Small lawns may be sodded, but the same 

 preparation of the ground should be made 

 as for seeding. Last year, about the first 

 of June, I made a small lawn by removing 

 about half a rod of sod for a Verbena bed, 

 and, cutting it into small pieces, had them 

 planted with a garden trowel at intervals of 

 sixteen inches in the prepared ground. The 

 grass all lived, and now covers the ground. 

 The weeds were mowed as often as they got 

 three inches high, and it did not seem that 

 there were any more than in lawns seeded in 

 the spring. Simply scattering small pieces 

 of sod on prepared soil, and forcing them 

 into the ground with a maul, is nearly as 

 good as planting, if done early. 



A good lawn cannot be maintained on very 

 sandy ground, and such soil should, where 

 possible, be treated to a heavy application 

 of clay before seeding. 



All under-drains, water, and gas-pipes 

 should of course be put down before the 

 lawn is made. Where the lawn is large, and 

 horse-power is used in preparing the ground, 

 it is generally most convenient to make the 

 walks and drives after the grass is well estab- 

 lished ; but where hand-labor is used, it is 

 best to make them first, using the stones and 

 other imperishable debris for filling in, and 

 the soil for grading and leveling. 



L. B. Pierce. 



EXTERMINATING SORREL PROM LAWNS. 



The troublesome plant ( Oxalis acctosella), 

 recognized in different parts of the country 

 as Horse-sorrel, Wood-sorrel, or Field-sorrel, 

 frequently roots out from lawns every spear 

 of Grass and every stool of White Clover, and 

 this, where the soil is a light, sandy charac- 

 ter, in the short space of two or three years. 

 We observed several lawns during the sea- 

 son of 1882, which had been graded and 

 highly manured only two years previous, that 

 were entirely overrun with Sorrel of a lux- 

 uriant growth. It had been the practice to 

 top-dress the lawns with stable manure from 

 horses and cows which had consumed hay in 

 which there was a large quantity of Sorrel- 

 seed. Early in the growing season the Sor- 

 rel-seed germinated, and the young plants 

 took root, grew rapidly, and in a short time 

 occupied the entire lawn. That such a lux- 

 uriant growth of Sorrel should appear in the 

 course of a few months is usually a puzzling 

 mystery to those who are not familiar with 

 its habit of propagation. In clay soil the 

 roots of Grass and Clover will maintain their 

 positions in the lawn and choke out the Sor- 

 rel, provided the land is kept in a medium 

 state of fertility. 



In the spring of 1882 a luxuriant growth 

 of Sorrel appeared on the lawn of a neigh- 

 bor, and, prior to the 20th of May, it was 

 in blossom, and from one to two feet high. 

 Not a sjiear of Grass or Clover could be seen 

 on the lawn. He was considerably puzzled 

 to determine how to exterminate that trou- 

 blesome intruder. As the soil was then 

 unusually dry, he adopted our advice to 

 plow the ground with narrow and shallow 

 furrows, not more than three or four inches 

 in depth, followed by harrowing thoroughly 

 three or four times. This work was done 



before any seed had been matured. As the 

 weather continued hot and dry for several 

 days, every root and branch of Sorrel on 

 that lawn withered and died. I watched the 

 growth during the entire season, and to my 

 glad surprise not a solitary plant of Sorrel 

 appeared until the latter part of October, 

 when one could see here and there a few 

 small seedlings, which had sprung from the 

 seeds that had for a long time, perhaps, laid 

 dormant in the soil. 



Field Sorrel is by no means difficult to exter- 

 minate, provided one will manage properly. 

 Let the Sorrel grow until the blossoms ap- 

 pear; then, when the soil is dry and the 

 weather hot, let the entire ground be plowed 

 as shallow as possible, and turn up all the 

 roots. The main roots of Sorrel-plants 

 grow near the surface of the ground. Con- 

 sequently, they will be more effectively 

 exterminated by plowing shallow, thus 

 keeping the roots near the surface, where 

 they will be fully exposed to the sun and 

 the withering influences of dry weather. One 

 of the most important considerations is to 

 spread no top-dressing on lawns in which 

 there exists seeds of weeds. Where the soil 

 is light and mellow, and the lawns are top- 

 dressed with manure from animals fed on 

 hay containing weeds that have matured 

 their seeds, it will be utterly impossible to 

 keep lawns free from Sorrel and other 

 noxious weeds. S. E. T. 



INCLOSING GROUNDS. 



The question is often asked, Shall we 

 throw our grounds open to the public street 

 by the removal of all fences ? If your 

 grounds are occupied only with well grown 

 shade trees, and you have nothing but trees 

 and lawn, you may remove all barriers. 

 Perhaps even then you may desire some 

 seclusion by planting a scattered belt or 

 broken line of small trees and shrubs on the 

 public side. But if, on the contrary, you 

 have costly plants and rare flower beds, or 

 loaded fruit-trees, it maybe best to diminish 

 the temptation to stragglers by imposing 

 some kind of barrier. If the street is two 

 feet or more lower than the grounds, with a 

 wall or sloping bank, but little more will be 

 needed, or at most a line of small shrubs on 

 the crest of the bank. In the absence of this 

 natural inequality of the ground, larger and 

 denser plantings will be required, and if the 

 shrubs employed for this purpose are placed 

 in somewhat irregular line, with occasional 

 openings opposite to masses of growth 

 farther in, they will not present the stiffness 

 and obtrusivenes's of a straight uniform 

 hedge. 



Evergreens may be freely employed, and 

 the larger ones, such as Norway Spruce, or 

 Hemlock, may be easilykept within moderate 

 bounds by cutting back every few years to 

 the forks of shorter branches. This work, 

 however, will be likely to be neglected at 

 the right time, and it may be better to set 

 the dwarf species only, which will require no 

 further care. Among those may be named 

 the dwarf varieties of the Norway Spruce, 

 the dwarf White Spruce, some of the varie- 

 ties of the Juniper, and other shrubby Ever- 

 greens ; but the finest thing of the kind is 

 the Tree-box, the best varieties of which 

 make a compact and beautiful bush, requir- 

 ing no pruning. — J. J. Thomas, before the 

 Western New-York Horticultural Society. 



