Watering 
If the lawn has been properly prepared with a good depth of 
soil it is seldom necessary to water the lawn except in dry seasons. 
When watering is necessary it should be done before the grass 
turns brown, and should be thorough. Surface sprinklings are 
of no avail — enough water should be applied to penetrate to the 
moist soil below. Perhaps the best method of applying water is 
by means of a lawn-sprinkler, but care must be taken to allow it 
to play long enough to achieve the effect desired. 
Fall Treatment 
It is advisable to suspend mowing operations in late fall, so 
as to allow the grass to pass through the winter with rather 
more than the regulation two inches of growth. 
Opinions are divided as to the value of mulching the lawn 
with manure in the fall. Proponents claim that it protects the 
grass and provides fertility. In the vicinity of New York it is 
unnecessary to provide a mulch for purposes of protection, and 
by the use of concentrated fertilizers plant food may be added to 
the soil. Opponents say that it introduces weed seeds and is 
unsightly. It is, without doubt, unsightly, but there is little 
danger of introducing weed seeds if the manure is well decayed. 
The practice of applying fresh manure is to be condemned be- 
cause it not only contains weed seeds, but is also unsightly and 
malodorous. 
Fertilizers 
Fertility may be maintained by the use of an annual mulch of 
well-decayed stable manure, as already mentioned under the 
heading “Fall Treatment’’, or by the use of more concentrated 
fertilizers. 
One of the best lawn fertilizers is ground bone applied in the 
fall at the rate of 10 pounds to 400 square feet. This will supply 
phosphorus and some nitrogen. To provide all the elements it is 
usually necessary to supply, this may be supplemented by a 
dressingof unleached hardwood ashes in the spring at the rate of 
15-20 pounds to 400 square feet. When growth begins, nitrate of 
soda at the rate of 1-2 pounds to 400 square feet may be applied 
to advantage. Later in the season, about the beginning of June, 
another dressing of nitrate of soda may be given. This helps to 
promote a rich dark green color in the grass. 
Another means of supplying fertility is to use a complete 
commercial fertilizer analyzing about 3 % nitrogen, 8 % phos- 
phoric acid, and 5 % potash at the rate of 10-15 pounds to 400 
square feet. 
