42 
House & Garden 
A velvety lawn is not a perpetually self-maintaining stretch of grass that will 
withstand abuse and neglect. Its possession is bought by careful preparation, suit¬ 
able soil, good seed and thorough, well considered care 
GREEN LAWNS AND GRASS SEED FOR EVERY STATE 
A Summing Up of the Best Varieties for All 
Conditions and How to Sow and Care for Them 
HUGH SMITH 
T ime was when the lawn, as popularly 
conceived, belonged almost exclusively 
to large estates. It called for a setting un¬ 
mistakably grand, a setting wherein ivy- 
covered brownstone and turreted gables 
seemed essential to the effect of the sward 
itself. In a word, lawn spelled wealth. 
Happily, now, those days 
are past. The increase of 
homebuilding by all classes, 
an awakening to home beau¬ 
tification, and an increased 
civic conscience have made 
the production and mainte¬ 
nance of lawns a matter of 
general interest. 
Yet fundamental princi¬ 
ples are often disregarded in 
lawn making. Poor results 
follow. It is difficult to im¬ 
press on some people the 
fact that a lawn is not a per¬ 
petual, self - maintaining 
stretch of grass that will 
withstand every conceivable 
sort of neglect and abuse. 
To the average man its 
making is but the process of 
scattering an unknown seed 
mixture, purchased at any 
corner store, over a piece of 
ground that has been deco¬ 
rated with parallel scratches 
by his garden rake. Once 
the seed is sown he carries 
no further responsibility for 
the product that is to result. 
Lawn Soils 
The character of the soil 
is the first consideration in 
successful lawn making. 
Whenever possible a sweet, mellow loam 
should be secured, and tbe lawn soil should 
have depth. Several feet of rich black 
earth is the proper foundation to work from. 
A layer of an inch or two of soil over a 
sterile, heterogeneous mass of refuse is the 
cause of many failures. The capillary con¬ 
nection between the surface soil and the 
subsoil must be good, so remove all debris 
from the ground before placing the surface 
layer upon it. 
Besides depth there should be uniformity 
of texture. Let no great lumps of earth be 
intermixed with the surface soil. Remove 
all stones and other rifraff. 
The lawn is not like a cul¬ 
tivated field that can be 
plowed and planted with a 
rotation of crops. Lawn 
soil must furnish available 
plant food in large quanti¬ 
ties over a considerable 
period of time. This means 
that there must be a large 
amount of humus in it. It is 
best to build up the soil to a 
high degree of fertility be¬ 
fore the grass cover is 
grown upon it; it is much 
easier to incorporate the hu¬ 
mus with the soil at this time. 
Surface and Drainage 
Stable manure, preferably 
that which is well rotted, 
should then be applied and 
plowed under. The surface 
should then be thoroughly 
worked into a smooth seed 
bed ; simply having a smooth 
appearance on top does not 
mean much. The upper soil 
should be worked over with 
a garden rake until it is of 
very fine texture; in fact, it 
should form a dust mulch. 
The soil must have suffi¬ 
cient drainage. Low, wet 
spots become sour. It is dif- 
NORTHERN DIVISION 
Soil Condition 
Major Grasses 
Supplementary 
Grasses 
{Only 5% to 
15% of each 
in mixture) 
Major Grasses 
Supplementary 
Grasses for 
Winter 
Loam 
Clay loam 
Sandy loam 
General 
Ky. blue 
R. I. bent 
Creeping bent 
Canada blue (in dry 
situations) 
White clover 
Redtop 
Bermuda grass 
St. Lucie grass 
Lippia canescens 
Lippia nodiflora 
Italian rye 
Perennial rye 
White clover 
Clay soil 
R. I. bent 
Ky. blue 
Redtop 
Creeping bent 
Redtop 
White clover 
Bermuda grass 
St. Lucie grass 
St. Augustine grass 
Italian rye 
White clover 
Sandy soil 
Kentucky blue 
Canada blue (dry situ¬ 
ations) 
R. I. bent 
Creeping bent 
Sheep fescue 
White clover 
Bermuda grass 
Carpet grass 
Lippia cancscens 
Lippia nodiflora 
Italian rye 
White clover 
Extreme sandy Beach grass 
condition 
Slightly acid Redtop 
condition R. I. bent 
Creeping bent 
Brackish con- Dense flowered bent 
ditions 
Semi-arid con¬ 
ditions 
Shady condi¬ 
tions 
Slopes and 
terraces 
Buffalo grass 
Native grasses 
Canada blue 
(deep 
Wood meadow 
shade) 
Red fescue 
Crested dog’s tail 
Ky. blue 
Various leaved fescue 
Redtop 
Dense flowered bent 
Sow 
oats, rye 
o r timothy 
with mixture 
for given 
soil. 
SOUTHERN DIVISION 
Bermuda grass 
St. Lucie grass 
St. Augustine grass 
St. Augustine grass 
Bermuda grass 
Bermuda grass 
St. Lucie grass 
Lippia cancscens 
Lippia nodiflora 
