LAWNS. 
Well-made and properly-kept lawns are one of the most attrac- 
tive features of any garden. Golf courses and tennis courts also are 
popular or otherwise to a great extent according to the condition of 
the lawns and greens. As bad greens and lawns are the rule rather 
than the exception in this country, the following instructions and 
remarks will, I hope, be found useful by those interested in the form- 
ation of new lawns or in the renovation of existing lones. 
In the tropics, there are many difficulties to face in the proper 
upkeep of our lawns, but with a little careful attention most of those 
may be overcome. Be a lawn ever so well made it will rapidly go to 
pieces if the strictest supervision is not given afterwards. Heavy 
tropical rains and scorching suns are severe trials to most lawns and 
and the native gardner is not less an evil. It is my experienqe that the 
Malay gardner has n^ t the slightest conception of what a good sward 
means nor does he seem to understand the meaning of the word level. 
It is true that most tennis courts in this country, and I have seen 
and played on a great many, are spoilt by the scythe. This may 
sound strange, but it is nevertheless true. The gardener is given a 
scythe and his master tells him that he must cut the court at stated 
intervals. Then he proceeds to spoil the lawn with clock-like pre- 
cision. He doe 5 * not cut the grass as a good scythesman would, but 
bites and drags at it until he succeeds in dragging a good deal of the 
grass out by the roots and laying bare stripes and patches of earth 
all over the court. His scythe is badly set which is probably not his 
fault as he may never have seen one set properly. The result of this 
is that he either cuts too low as above stated or too high leaving a 
spongy “ sole ” and I must say that the latter is the most usual result 
and the spongy court or green is more difficult to play on than a bare 
patchy one. 
It is surprising that so few mowing machines are met with in 
eastern gardens especially in these days when such machines are so 
cheap as to be within everyone's reach. 
It is true that one finds them on most well-organised golf courses 
and in a few private gardens and in those places one almost always 
finds good tennis courts and golf greens. 
It is quite possible, with proper care, to produce in this country 
that beautiful velvet sward which one finds on tennis courts at home 
and on the greens of St. Andrew’s, and Prestwick. 
The form and extent of the lawn under construction will vary in 
almost every case, the larger the area it covers the better will be 
the effect produced if the work is well done. The majority of lawns 
in this country are those surrounding private residences and it is 
principally for guidance in the formation of those that these remarks 
are written. 
