THE FORMATION AXD CARE OF LAWNS AND GOLF-GREENS. 15 



close upon £100. This of course includes labour involved in cutting, 

 carting, and relaying, in addition to the actual prime cost. In view 

 of the fact that a mixture of the very finest grasses obtainable, of 

 guaranteed purity and germination, and amply sufficient in quantity 

 to sow an acre, can be obtained for £G or £S, it will be seen that 

 turfing is a practice not to be resorted to without the strongest possible 

 reasons. 



It is certain that a lawn prepared in the way it should be, and sown 

 down with the finest seeds, will, if properly tended, produce an infinitely 

 finer turf than can ever be obtained by the process of turfing ; while, with 

 reference to the formation of a lawn by this means, it is perhaps sufficient 

 to say that from a sowing of pure seed of high germinating power I have 

 known lawns fit to play on in from eight to ten weeks from the date of 

 sowing. I need hardly say, how^ever, that such results are only obtainable 

 in exceptional circumstances. 



Apart from all these considerations, there may be isolated cases 

 where turfing can with advantage be resorted to, and it may be ad- 

 visable, therefore, to point out that the turves should be laid in the 

 autumn. If laid in the spring there is always the possibility of a period 

 of warm weather in April or the beginning of May, when the sections 

 will invariably separate under the influence of a hot sun, and despite the 

 filling in of cracks with soil and the sowing of seed the lawn may be 

 perfectly useless during the whole of the summer. 



The Choice op Seeds to Sow. 



With the choice of seeds to sow we come to that part of my subject 

 which undoubtedly contains more features of interest than any other. 



Notwithstanding the great advance w^hich has been made during the 

 last few years, even now only the most acute observers realise the immense 

 importance attaching to the selection and relative proportion of grasses in 

 the formation of a lawn. Just as the undue preponderance of a drug, 

 useful in itself if kept wdthin correct proportions, in a doctor's prescription 

 may have the most serious results, so in a mixture of grasses the value 

 of a prescription may be entirely destroyed by the inclusion of an excess 

 of one particular variety. 



It must also be remembered that grasses vary considerably in vigour 

 and to some extent in habit according to their surroundings, and with the 

 object of getting the best results the peculiar conditions of each particular 

 case must be carefully considered. A knowledge, therefore, of the native 

 or indigenous herbage of the district is often essential to success. 



I cannot now enter upon an elaborate and technical explanation of 

 the structure of a grass, but perhaps I may briefly refer to one or 

 two points to demonstrate the desirability of, at any rate, a limited 

 acquaintance with a few of these distinctive characters. 



There is no great difficulty in recognising a grass when it is in flower 

 in the hedgerow or in a meadow ; but in the case of turf no such guide is 

 available, and consequently a certain amount of botanical knowledge and 

 experience is necessary, with a view of determining the species of which 

 it is composed. 



