443 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
as soon as the grass is a few inches 
long. The cutting will make the 
grass thick, and frequent rolling of 
the lawn helps the formation of a 
good turf. 
No hard and fast rules can be laid 
down as to when and how often a 
lawn should be cut. The growth of 
grass is dependent on weather condi- 
tions, the amount of water given, etc. 
Do not cut too close, never closer 
than one and one-half inches and do 
not let the grass get longer than four 
inches, for if allowed to grow too 
long, the lower parts will lose color. 
This holds good during spring and 
early summer, but during the months 
of July and August it is better to 
leave it a little longer. If possible 
let the clippings of the grass lie; 
they will act as a mulch to the roots 
and will dry very quickly in the sun 
so that in a short time they can not 
be seen. 
"If the grass has been left too long 
the clippings should be raked off or 
better still caught by a grass carrier 
attached to the lawn mower. By us- 
ing a grass catcher instead of a rake 
the lawn is left smooth and undis- 
turbed. Do not discontinue cutting 
too early in fall for if the grass is 
left too long over winter it will 
sometimes rot or mold. 
Reseeding. — If there are bare 
patches in the lawn, reseed them, re- 
membering that by keeping the weeds 
opt the grass is kept in. Always have 
some grass seed on hand for this 
purpose. Whenever a bare spot is 
found, take a sharp iron rake and 
rake it up deeply and loosely, seed 
it, rake again lightly and roll or com- 
pact the soil with the back of a spade. 
Watering. — Watering is important 
but I dare say more lawns are ruined 
by too much water than by not water- 
ing enough. When it becomes neces- 
sary to water, apply enough to thor- 
oughly saturate the soil to a good 
depth, then do not water again until 
the soil really needs the water. If 
watered too much the soil becomes 
sour and unfit for the growth of 
grasses. The general practice is to 
give the lawn a daily sprinkling, sat- 
urating the ground only an inch or 
so; this practice leaves the subsoil in 
a very dry condition and the roots 
will naturally have a tendency to be 
drawn toward the moist soil near the 
surface, exposing them to the hot sun, 
which results in injury if watering 
should happen to be neglected for a 
short time. 
Weeds. — All weeds should be 
promptly eradicated and removed as 
soon as they appear. If the lawn has 
been properly prepared and kept the 
weed problem is not apt to be very 
serious. Such weeds as dock, the 
plantains, dandelions and daisies, 
should be cut out, care being taken 
to see that the roots are entirely re- 
moved. After weeding always sow a 
little grass seed to take their place. 
All strong growing bunch or turf 
grasses should be considered as weeds 
and cut out. The lawn mower will, 
as a rule, take care of most of the 
annual weeds, eradicating them by 
preventing them from producing 
seeds. The crab grass (Panicum san- 
guinale) is the worst of all weeds, as 
it is an annual which first becomes 
noticeable in the month of June. It 
then grows very rapidly and the more 
it is cut the more it spreads, throwing 
out runners which root at every node 
or joint and finally taking complete 
possession of the ground. I do not 
know of any method of absolutely 
eradicating crab grass, but it may 
easily be held in check by the fol- 
lowing method: 
Fighting crab grass. — During the 
month of July and the first half of 
August cut the lawn as little as pos- 
sible and when cutting adjust the 
mower to cut as high as you possibly 
can. The leaves of the lawn grasses 
will then shade the soil sufficiently 
to prevent the stems of the crab 
grass from coming in contact with 
the ground, thereby preventing them 
from taking root. Then about the 
15th to the 20th of August cut the 
grass down low, rake the lawn with 
a toothed iron rake (sharp) to make 
the remaining crab grass stand up, 
set the mower for very low cutting, 
cut again, rake once more as before 
and now seed the lawn lightly, cut 
again and let the clippings remain 
to protect the grass. Water the 
lawn thoroughly. It will now be 
found that most of the crab grass 
has been destroyed. This treatment 
will naturally leave the lawn some- 
what yellow and unattractive for a 
few days, but you should be amply 
repaid by the results’ obtained. 
Fertilizing. — All lawns should have 
a top dressing of well decomposed 
stable manure at least once every 
three or four years, and other fer- 
tilizers should be used whenever the 
lawn needs enriching. Sheep manure 
and wood ashes are excellent for the 
top dressing of lawns. They may be 
used mixed in equal parts, at the 
rate of 200 pounds to the acre. Ap- 
ply just before growth commences in 
spring. Bone meal is a slow working 
but very beneficial fertilizer; use 400 
pounds to the acre. Apply in fall 
and winter. 
Nitrate of soda is one of the best 
and quickest working fertilizers. It 
should be applied early in spring just 
as growth commences. Use about 
200 pounds to the acre. This will 
give wonderful results. It will make 
the grass grow very fast and inten- 
sify the color remarkably. This fer- 
tilizer must be used very carefully as 
otherwise considerable damage may 
be done to the lawn, by the nitrate 
of soda absorbing the moisture from 
the soil or from the plant tissues. 
This can, however, only occur if ap- 
plied in too large quantities or when 
applied in dry weather. It should be 
sprinkled over the lawn just in ad- 
vance of a rain storm. 
Air slaked lime will neutralize 
acidity in soils and thereby make them 
more suitable for Kentucky blue 
grass, which as we have seen forms 
the basis of most lawn mixtures. 
Lime should be used as a winter 
dressing at the rate of thirty-five or 
forty bushels to the acre. The dress- 
ing of lime is especially beneficial 
when the lawn is infested with sour 
grass sorrel and moss. 
Lawn pests. — The small red and 
black ants are often very destructive 
to lawns; the best means to destroy 
them is by the use of bisulphide of 
carbon. Bisulphide of carbon is a 
liquid which, when poured down the 
holes in the lawn easily sinks into 
the ground' and the fumes of it being 
heavier than air will penetrate down- 
ward and into the remotest burrows 
of the ants. Pour a tablespoonful 
into the opening of the nest and im- 
mediately cover with a handful of 
earth, tightly packed down. 
Bisulphide of carbon is a violent 
poison and should be handled with 
care. It also is highly inflammable 
and the vapor explodes easily. It 
should be kept away from fire and 
naked light. Two or three hours af- 
ter treatment the lawn should be 
thoroughly watered and rolled with 
a heavy roller. 
Moles are sometimes a serious pest 
in lawns; they should be caught in 
traps. Heavy rolling of the lawn has 
a tendency to drive the moles out. 
The white grub, which is the larva 
of the May beetle, sometimes does 
much damage, mostly, however, in 
lawns which have been neglected. 
Spray with kerosene emulsion or take 
some unslaked lime, place it in a bar- 
rel and cover with water. Let it 
stand over night, then sprinkle the 
