I he Dandelion in Colorado 
29 
favorable conditions, of competing successfully with most other 
j plants in occupying the soil. Blue Grass does best on strong deep 
j clay loams with good drainage, but where there is always moisture 
I present. On light sandy soils it is difficult to maintain a dense sod 
| without the use of ample water and the application of fertilizers 
and winter mulch. Many lawns are started on poorly prepared 
; to roun( i, which often consists of the subsoil excavated in digging 
I *! ie cellai for the dwelling or which has had the surface soil en- 
| tirely removed in grading. Or, in some cases, the foundation upon 
which a lawn is to be made is built up from a varied assortment 
j of old mortar, bricks, rock fragments, coal ashes and dump-heap 
rubbish mingled with some earth and covered with a thin layer 
■ of top soil. A lawn which has been started on a suitable soil after 
deep and thorough preparation, using plenty of the best grade of 
lawn grass seed obtainable, should resist the encroachment of 
1 weeds and last for a long time without reseeding. 
It is a matter of common observation that the presence of thin 
places and bare spots of ground in a lawn serve as invitations for 
the entrance of weeds. In some cases good results have been se¬ 
cured by occasional re-seeding of the lawn, especially where the 
grass has died out or become thin. Sometimes the temporary lack 
of water for irrigation in summer or the extreme dryness which 
occasionally prevails in winter cause the grass to die out in cer¬ 
tain places. I hese areas should be well seeded again as soon as 
the damage is discovered the next spring in order to keep up a 
full stand of grass. In one case inspected, the lawn, which at first 
consisted principally of dandelions' had been quite well reclaimed 
by seeding thickly with blue grass and white clover seed raked 
into the surface of the soil but without other effort at removing 
the weeds. 
! 
One lawn which the writer has had under observation during 
several seasons has actually improved to such an extent that the 
dandelions have been greatly decreased in numbers and vigor sim- 
ply by giving regular attention in the matter of watering and clip¬ 
ping the lawn. This lawn was established, however, on a fertile soil 
capable of producing heavy crops of alfalfa, sugar beets and grain. 
In many cases it is difficult to maintain a good lawn on ac¬ 
count of the soil being filled with the roots of shrubs and trees be¬ 
sides being shaded to such an extent that the grass cannot suc¬ 
cessfully compete with the more adaptable dandelion. When for 
any reason the lawn grass has become badly depleted and the 
ground covered with dandelions, it will often give better results 
to plow or spade up the ground, preferably in autumn, remove all 
dandelion roots and rubbish, and re-seed it the following spring 
