With the knowledge gained by a very little study of grass seed properties you will know what to sow in sunny and in shady places to give 
an evenly covered lawn 
Grass Seed Mixtures and How to Use Them 
THE SIMPLICITY OF THE APPARENTLY COMPLEX MIXTURES OF LAWN SEEDS—WHAT 
TO USE FOR SHADY, HILLY AND MOIST PLACES—HOW TO HAVE A REALLY GOOD LAWN 
by Luke J. Doogue 
Photographs by Henry Fuerman, N. R. Graves and others 
S O much has been written on the subject of lawn-making that 
about everyone interested in this work is fully competent, 
theoretically at least, to carry through the process of land renova¬ 
tion and preparation, whether it be for a small lawn or an area 
consisting of acres. The subject along these lines has been very 
exhaustively treated, but, strange to say. the equally important 
subject of grass seed lias been rather neglected. While many 
amateurs can talk freely on the preparation of the land, they are 
not so confident when treating of grass seed. It seems strange 
that this is the case when so much depends on the suitability of 
the grass seed to the land for the making 
of a successful lawn. The only reason, as 
far as I can see, why people are not versed 
in this matter is that they have been 
frightened by the botanical names of 
grasses, which seem wholly unsuitable, and 
too difficult of pronunciation, for such 
commonplace things. There is, however, 
just as much individuality in a plant pro¬ 
duced from a grass seed as in the choicest 
plant in a greenhouse. One kind of grass 
seed will produce a low-growing plant 
while another grows high; one wants a 
moist situation, another a dry one; some 
will germinate in the shade, others will not. 
and so on through the list. If a person 
knows each kind and its possibilities and 
requirements he will be able to choose the 
grass best suited for his wants, and by 
careful trials arrange the mixtures with 
better success than the man in the whole¬ 
sale house who is obliged to guess at what 
is best for his wants. Start out, then, in 
the primer class and tabulate some of the best grasses used for 
lawns and tag them with both their names, the botanical and the 
common ones. 
Kentucky Blue Grass — Poa pratensis. — Fine for lawns ; grows 
slowly but vigorously almost everywhere but on an acid soil. 
Red top — Agrostis vulgaris. —Shows results more quickly than 
blue grass; will thrive on a sandy soil; fine in combination with 
blue grass. 
English rye grass — Lolium pcrenne. — Grows quickly and shows 
almost immediate results ; good to combine with the slow-growing 
blue grass. 
Various-leaved fescue— Festuca hete- 
rophylla. — Good for shady and moist 
places. 
Rhode Island bent — Agrostis canina .— 
Has a creeping habit; good for putting- 
greens, sandy soils. 
Creeping bent — Agrostis stolinifera .— 
Creeping habit; good for sandy places 
and to bind banks or sloping places. 
Combined with Rhode Island bent for 
putting-greens. 
Crested dog’s-tail — Cynosurus crista- 
tus. —Forms a low and compact sward; 
good for slopes and shady places. 
Wood meadow grass — Poa nemoralis. 
— Good for shady places ; is very hardy. 
Red fescue — Festuca rubra. — Thrives 
on poor soils and gravelly banks. 
White clover — good for slopes; not to 
be recommended for a lawn. 
Sheep fescue — Festuca ovina. — Good 
for light, dry soils. 
Take apart your lawnmower before 
the spring rush starts to clean and oil 
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