HOUSE AND GARDEN 
Ap 
RIL, 19II 
- „, it §S - 
For steep banks, white clover, creeping bent, sheep fescue and Rhode Island bent, with 
the old stand-bv. Kentucky blue erass. will fill the bill 
Now, with so much as a reference li¬ 
brary, you will have sufficient knowledge 
of the kinds of seeds to draw from to make 
combinations that will lit any situation. 
1 would further suggest that you go to a 
wholesale house and get a sample of each 
of these seeds and examine them. Get 
just a little of each in an envelope. 
Make a comparative examination of the 
seeds, holding a little in the palm of the 
hand. As you look at each seed repeat its 
name a few times and recall its charac¬ 
teristics, and you will be surprised to find 
that on the second or thii*d trial every 
name will suggest itself the moment your 
eyes rest on the seed. With a knowledge 
of the seeds you can then go to your 
dealer and tell him what you want — not necessarily what he 
thinks you want. You are then a better judge than he is. 
It is worth while following the subject farther, for the results 
rye passes, the red top continues to cover, while the blue grass 
grows sturdier each day until it crowds everything out by virtue of 
its own strength. Use twelve pounds of Kentucky blue grass, five 
Here is a coarse mixture of many things, including 
probably a large quantity of “sweepings” 
will more than repay the trouble. Test the seeds. 
Make shallow boxes and fill them with loam and sow 
each kind of seed just as you would on a lawn. Put a 
label at the head of the box and on it the time of sow¬ 
ing the seed. Do this with as many as you can. Then 
watch and make notes of the time it takes for germination. Note 
this and also the character of the blades. Having finished this 
you will have a very liberal education in the subject of grass. 
Should you not care to do as suggested above you will be de¬ 
pendent on others to get what you most need. If you should go 
to a dozen people and ask them to suggest a combination of seeds 
they would all give them readily to you, 
but no two proportions would be alike. 
If you should ask for a single grass the 
majority would suggest Kentucky blue 
grass. For a single grass there is noth¬ 
ing better suited for all conditions. There 
is this objection to it, however: it is not 
a nervous man’s grass. You cannot 
plant it today and have a lawn next 
month. If you can afford to wait, sow 
Kentucky blue and your patience will be 
well rewarded. It makes a permanent 
lawn. 
To introduce the ready-made lawn, use 
a combination of Kentucky blue, red top 
and English rye. The blue grass is slow, 
but the rye and red top produce speedier 
results. The first month will see the newly 
seeded space a carpet of green. Tn time the 
A fl a t-b laded 
knife, notched 
for weeding 
Dandelion appears along the edge. Deep digging with 
a knife by hand is the only way to get it out 
pounds of red top and three pounds of English rye 
grass to the bushel, and sow three and one-half to four 
bushels to the acre. This makes a reliable combination. 
It is common to hear people asking for grass that 
will grow in shady places, but it is always difficult to 
determine the degree of shade. A place may be shaded and yet 
suitable for growing grass, or it may be so shaded that no grass 
known could be made to germinate there. In places where.there 
is no heavy dripping and where the ground is not absolutely 
dark, use the following: 
(Continued on page 278) 
A scheme of garden paths that saves labor in mowing, as the lawnmower may be run directly 
over the stones, leaving no edges to be trimmed 
