August, 1918 
The Secret of a Good Lawn. 
By H. G. Reading. 
[ W'ritten expressly for The Flower Grower. ] 
The foundation of a good lawn is good 
soil. But not every lawn whose foun- 
dation is good soil is a good lawn. 
The first and most important require- 
ment for a fine lawn is to keep the 
weeds out of it. Keeping the weeds 
out is not nearly as hard a task as it 
might appear to be. An early start 
and persistent effort will soon conquer 
the weed problem ; but if delayed, or 
the work be not thoroughly done, so 
that the weeds are allowed to mature 
and seed, the task is increased very 
greatly ; for, as is well expressed by 
John Burroughs, " Weeds are so full of 
expedients, and the one engrossing 
purpose with them is to multiply.” 
The commonest weeds that infest 
lawns are the dandelion, the plantain 
and the dock — all persistent perennials. 
The annuals that appear in a new lawn 
need not occasion any worry, for the 
lawn mower will prevent their going 
to seed. Dandelions should be eradi- 
cated promptly as soon as their golden 
yellow flowers reveal their presence. 
Docks root deeply and are very tenaci- 
ous of life, so their digging must be 
carefully and thoroughly done. Plan- 
tains can be pulled up easily during the 
month of August, while at other times 
their removal is more difficult, requir- 
ing a tool. While engaged in digging 
up or pulling any weeds it is a good 
plan to have some white clover seed 
within reach and drop a seed or two in 
each hole. These quickly germinate, 
and the clover soon gives a good ac- 
count of itself. 
A mistake that many people make is 
to spread stable manure on their lawns; 
the manure had better been dug in the 
soil when the lawn was first made. 
There are other fertilizers far more 
valuable for use as a top dressing, and 
stable manure always brings a new 
crop of weeds to eventually ruin the 
lawn if not eradicated. The very best 
fertilizer known for a lawn is cotton- 
seed meal. A ton to the acre would 
be a liberal rate of application, and it 
is best applied just before a drizzling 
rain. On a newly made lawn it should 
be sown broadcast when the young 
grass has attained a growth of about 
two inches. It may also be used on an 
old lawn to good advantage, and the 
effect will be immediate and lasting. 
I first learned of the value of cotton- 
seed meal as a lawn fertilizer by read- 
ing one of Mrs. Ely’s garden books a 
few years ago, and if the book had 
contained nothing else, this one bit of 
advice would have been well worth its 
cost. I have succeeded by the use of 
cotton-seed meal in making grass grow 
on hard beaten paths where none could 
ever be made to grow before, and it 
gives such vigor to a lawn that it is 
far more resistent to the burning rays 
of the sun in dry, hot weather. Mrs. 
Ely states that she had been asked to 
desist from using it by her men be- 
cause it made the grass grow so luxuri- 
ously that they were compelled to cut 
Slower (Brower 
it every third day during a rainy spring 
season. 
A liberal sowing of wood ashes, or 
better still, a mixture of wood ashes 
and bone meal, is highly beneficial as 
an early spring tonic, and it may be 
used annually on the lawn with profit. 
The appearance of either moss or 
sorrel indicates a sour soil condition 
and the need of lime. Lime can be 
spread broadcast at any time during 
the winter or early spring, and since 
clover and some of the grasses demand 
for their best development a soil de- 
void of acidity, the importance of an 
occasional liming is obvious. 
Most authorities agree that the best 
grass for a beautiful lawn is the Ken- 
tucky blue grass. Naturally, it can- 
not do well except in a heavily limed 
soil. Mrs. Ely’s own preference is a 
mixture of one-third each Kentucky 
blue grass, red top and Rhode Island 
bent. Under the dense shade of trees 
where no grass usually grows a good 
sod can be produced by first spading 
up, then spreading leaf mold to the 
depth of a couple of inches, and sowing 
wood meadow grass seed. 
In purchasing grass seed for the 
lawn, it always pays to get the best 
recleaned seed, as that offers better in- 
surance against weeds. Lawn seed 
should be sown on a still day and 
raked in very lightly. Thorough 
and persistent rolling is beneficial, and 
a new lawn should be watered co- 
piously. The first crop of grass should 
not be' cut until it has attained a 
growth of six inches ; even on an es- 
tablished lawn the mower should not be 
set to cut less than two inches. Lawns 
should be cut often, leaving the short 
cuttings lie to decay and follow na- 
ture’s own way of fertilizing the 
ground. 
Reports from Gladiolus growers in- 
dicate for the most part that the grow- 
ing season has been a favorable one. 
Although the weather has averaged 
cool this seems to agree well with 
Gladioli and although the period of 
blooming has averaged late, the quality 
of bloom will doubtless be the better 
for the delay. However, extreme heat 
following a cool spell is likely to cause 
“sunburning” of the buds. While 
drought has been reported for short 
periods in some sections, generally 
the rainfall has been fairly well dis- 
tributed and so far the Gladiolus season 
may be said to be a good one. 
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CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING. 
Growers having surplus stock for sale will find 
this department effective in disposing of it. Five 
lines ( about forty words ) $1.00 per insertion. Ad- 
ditional lines 1 5c. each. 
E. K1RCHHOFFCO., Pembroke, N.Y., growers 
of the finest Gladioli, such as Pendleton. Pan- 
ama, Niagara, Pink Perfection, Europa, Mrs. Fryer, 
War, Peace, etc. Correspondence solicited. 
A/TUNSELL & HARVEY, Ashtabula, Ohio, growers 
AV1 of GLADIOLI and PEONIES. Would appreci- 
ate your order for Peony roots for fall delivery, at 
least the request for a price list. 
pEONIES TO EXCHANGE — Have fine collection of 
± “ Pleas Brand ” and imported varieties which I 
will exchange for varieties not in my garden. What 
have you ? Will also consider some of the scarcer va- 
rieties of Iris. 
Chas. F. Wassenberg, Van Wert, Ohio. 
89 
G L A D I O L 1 
Booklet giving valuable culture directions free. 
CEDAR ACRES 
B. HAMMOND TRACY, Box 27, Wenham, Mass. 
0. CemoiiR $ Son 
nurserymen, nancy, Trance 
GLADIOLI 
Lemoinei and Nanceianus 
Catalogue, printed in English, on application. 
I W. F. SHEARER ] 
! Gladiolus Grower 
| 504 South College Si. Angola, Ind. { 
Vaughan’s Seed Store 
CHICAGO NEW YORK 
Importers and Growers of all Bulbs 
CATALOG unit SPEC I A!. Pit ICES FREE 
Our deliveries of Dutch Bulbs last year was a re- 
markable record of prompt and accurate handling. 
Colorado Grown Bulbs & Seed 
Specialize on 
Dahlias, Cannas, Gladioli 
H. E. Mason, - - Rocky Ford, Colo. 
IRIS and PEONIES 
Our Iris list contains only those varieties that 
have artistic blending of delicate shades. They 
may well be called the "Poor Man’s Orchid.” 
Our Peony list contains only those varieties 
that have proven popular and warrant planting 
in every garden. 
Both these flowers are very hardy and need 
no winter protection, unless it be in very ex- 
posed locations. Send for list and make your 
choice. We will send cultural directions and 
PREPAY expressage on all orders received be- 
fore AUG. 1. 
ORCHADOTTE FARMS 
Box M West Point, Pa. 
GLEN P. HOWARD 
IOWA GROWN 
GLADIOLI 
Box 524 HARLAN, IOWA 
GLADIOLUS “MRS. WATT” 
AND OTHER CHOICE VARIETIES. 
HOMER F. CHASE 
Grower of Gladioli 
Wilton - New Hampshire 
