GREY'S SPECIAL 
LAWN SEED MIXTURE 
GREY’S SPECIAL RECLEANED LAWN SEED. 
A mixture which cannot be excelled for gen- 
eral lawn purposes. Sow 150 Ibs. per acre. 
1 Ib., 60c; 5 Ibs., $2.75; 10 Ibs., $5.00; bu. 
(32 Ibs.), $15.00; 100 Ibs., $45.00. 

LAWN FACTS every home owner should know 
Before you make your lawn, consider your 
soil. A heavy soil, predominantly clay, can be 
lightened by the addition of sand and humus, 
well spaded in. A light soil can be improved 
with a top dressing of heavier soil, or by add- 
ing humus in the form of peat moss, or commer- 
cial humus. 
1 
Top dressing is always valuable in helping 
new seedlings and encouraging the spread of 
older grass, while leveling the lawn surface as 
well. Use a bushel of good, rich, weed-free soil 
to 100 square feet, with more in the low spots. 
Peat moss is a valuable addition to light or 
heavy soils. It is an effective remedy for exces- 
sive dissipation of moisture, keeping the soil 
particles loose and friable. Either spade it into 
the soil or apply as a top dressing, at least half 
an inch deep. With a very heavy clay soil, use 
one inch or more. 
2 
Feed the soil before you seed, so that the 
planting to follow will not lack food for its all- 
42 
important early growth. Feeding restores nitro- 
gen, phosphorus, potash, etc., after plant growth 
has deprived the soil of these vital elements. 
Hormones, however, have necessary supple- 
mentary functions not to be confused with the 
feeding upon which they basically depend. 
Mix lawn food with top dressing or distribute 
it evenly over the top dressing with a fertilizer 
spreader. Don’t use fresh manure; it usually 
contains weed seeds. We can supply you with 
lawn foods of the correct value for local and 
individual requirements. 
Consider tree feeding as part of your lawn- 
building campaign. If trees are well fed, they 
will not compete with grass for the nourishment 
from the soil they share. Ask us about methods, 
foods and equipment for fertilizing your trees 
effectively. 
3 
Seeding may be done by hand, or with a 
spreader. To decrease the possibility of leaving 
bare spaces, distribution should be made in two 
directions, one at right angles to the other. 
Apply about one pound of seed to each 200 
square feet of lawn. Do not skimp on seed, 
either in quality or distribution, for seed is the 
cheapest part of your lawn-making operation. 
Ample seeding insures the dense turf necessary 
during the early life of the lawn for checking 
the introduction and development of weeds. 
Beat the weeds with lots of seeds. 
4 
Seed early in the season. Grass seed is not 
damaged by freezing temperature or any other 
weather condition except standing water. Long 
before you begin work on your flower garden, 
you can start your lawn, for seedlings need a 
chance to grow sturdy before weeds germinate. 
While the frost is still in the ground, the checked 
or honeycombed condition of the soil provides 
ideal shelter for the seed without raking in. 
Where possible, sowing over light spring snow 
simplifies even distribution. 
Planting necessarily delayed even until mid- 
summer is successful, however, if diligently 
followed by ample watering and weeding. But 
grass in the shade of trees thrives well all 
through the season only when sown early 
enough to get a good start before the foliage 
has a chance to deprive it of food and light. 
Even though repeated seeding should be re- 
quired, persistence here is sure to bring success. 
5 
Seed on a calm day or early in the morning, 
when the seed will fall where you want it. If 
the frost is out of the ground, rake the seed 
into the soil lightly, or brush it in by dragging 
some light, flexible object, as a sack. Be sure 
you have the seed covered with one-eighth of 
an inch of fine soil or new top dressing. Now 
you are ready to roll lightly to bring soil par- 
ticles into contact with the seed. 
On sloping ground, a tightly-drawn staked 
covering will prevent the seed from washing 
away and keep the soil moist for the seedlings. 
Use the regular lawn netting sold for this pur- 
pese, or loosely-woven burlap. 
6 
Rolling may be properly employed for pressing 
the soil firmly around new seed and around 
grass roots disturbed by winter. Use a light 
water-ballast roller, empty to one-third full. Soil 
becomes compacted if rolled too often—or when 
wet and sticky. For leveling a lawn, use top 
dressing—never a roller. 
7 
Moisture. Every lawn has its special character- 
istics with respect to the amount of water re- 
quired and the measures called for in retaining 
moisture. Note the foregoing recommendations 
concerning the use of peat moss. 
To determine how much water you must use, 
look for the answer down beneath the surface. 
Cut a small plug of soil, two or three inches 
deep. If only the upper inch is dry, normal 
watering is sufficient. But if the soil looks dry 
very much below that, use plenty of water for 
positive surface and subsoil penetration. 
Ample watering is much better than mere 
“sprinkling” on almost any type of soil. It en- 
courages deep roots well below the drier upper 
soil of hot summer days. High ground, espe- 
_ cially if unshaded, will need more water than 
lower spots with bordering trees. 
8 
Mow new grass only after it has reached a 
growth between two and three inches. Do not 
delay until it topples. Set the mower to cut at 
about two inches. Too close cutting of new or 
old grass, unless done very frequently, may 
cause injury by exposure to the sunlight after 
the shade of a denser growth. Mowed cuttings 
help the lawn if not too deep. But don’t leave 
fallen leaves; they are worthless as fertilizer 
until fully decayed. And grass from any well- 
selected seed needs no winter protection. 
