LAWNS AND THEIR UPKEEP. 



375 



be transferred to the desired place, and give the necessary finish to 

 the work. 



Another great advantage of this method over any other is that 

 most weeds cannot grow through the fabric. Anyone who has had 

 experience of a seeded lawn under ordinary conditions knows only 

 too well how troublesome weeds are in the early stages. Being in- 

 digenous, they grow with greater vigour than the grasses, and occasion 

 an enormous amount of labour to root them out, at the same time 

 damaging the young grasses very considerably during the process. 



Besides these weeds, there are always some native grasses that will 

 grow at the same time as those that were sown, and as these are difficult 

 to discriminate in the early stages they are allowed to grow with the 

 others until their true character is developed, when they have also 

 to be rooted out. Those disadvantages are avoided by this special 

 system, and if a lawn is desired to be exclusively of any one particular 

 kind of grass it can easily be grown under these conditions. One 

 point to be observed when this is desired is that the initial preparation 

 of the ground is such that will suit the particular kind of grass it is 

 intended to grow. For example, the preparation necessary to grow 

 Festuca rubra will not answer so well for Poa pmtensis. 



City lawns could be produced more rapidly and more satisfactorily 

 by this method than by the means generally adopted. The great 

 length of time taken by the usual S3^stem of seeding in securing a 

 lawn has caused turf in many instances to be introduced from country 

 districts. This is rarely a success, and the reason is not difficult to 

 find. There are but few grasses that will grow well in towns, and 

 these are seldom introduced with country turf. The kinds intro- 

 duced vary with the district they are imported from, and it is 

 very rare, outside a city radius, to find turf so exclusively composed 

 of JPoas as that found within the city boundaries. 



The species of Poa which are best suited for such places have been 

 a matter of discussion for many years.' My experience favours Poa 

 trivialis for the more open spaces, and Poa pratensis where there is 

 more shade. Where the shade is exceptionally dense, I have used with 

 great success the perennial dog's-tail (Cynosurus cristatus). Close to 

 the stems of large trees I have found this to succeed better than any 

 other grass. Poa annua is sometimes recommended, but rarely 

 used, no doubt in some measure owing to the difficulty in obtaining 

 the seed. 



This, in my opinion, is a wise provision of nature, for, as its name 

 impUes, an annual grass cannot be good for a permanent lawn. Poa 

 distans is sometimes confused with Poa annua, but, although they are 

 in some respects alike, Poa distans is a perennial. 



Turfing Lawns. 



Lawns that are to be turfed over require very much the same 

 initial preparation as that advised for seeded lawns. The ground 



