amounts of organic matter will be needed than is 
necessary for ordinary soils. Well rotted manure and 
cultivated peat or humus, are preferred sources of 
organic matter for lawn soil improvement. The thor- 
ough incorporation of 1 to 2 pounds of such ma- 
terials on each square foot of surface, will be ade- 
quate provided it is thoroughly mixed with the upper 
4 or 5 inches of soil. 
Liming to Correct Soil Acidity—Contrary to pop- 
ular belief, strongly acid soils are undesirable for 
lawns. Turf on such soils suffers severely from 
drought in summer and is unable to resist attacks of 
diseases and insects, and fails to respond properly to 
fertilization. Soil acidity is corrected by the addition 
of either hydrated lime or finely ground limestone. 
The amount of lime required depends on the present 
degree of soil acidity and the form of lime. In gen- 
eral 50 pounds of hydrated lime or 75 pounds of 
ground limestone for each 1,000 square feet of sur- 
face will be adequate, Thorough incorporation of lime 
with the upper few inches of soil is desirable. 
Fertilizer—In general, the more valuable turf 
grasses thrive on fairly fertile soils and are able to 
compete more successfully with weeds under these 
conditions. This is true even for those grasses which 
are somewhat tolerant of low soil fertility. The incor- 
poration of 20 to 30 pounds of a complete commer- 
cial fertilizer prior to seeding the new lawn, will 
ensure a proper supply of plant food. In general, a 
fertilizer which analyses approximately 5% nitrogen, 
10% phosphoric acid, and 5% potash, will prove 
suitable for most types of soil. Wherever extremely 
infertile sub-soils and excavated material are ex- 
posed, the quantity of fertilizer may be increased. 
Uniform distribution of fertilizer is essential since 
movement in the soil is downward and not lateral. For 
convenience, the organic matter, lime, and fertilizer 
may all be incorporated simultaneously in the seed 
bed. 
Choosing Lawn Grasses—Cheap lawn seed mix- 
tures are a common source of failure, since the pre- 
dominating species included do not endure regular 
mowing. The best results will be obtained by using 
Quality Lawn Mixtures Blended by Doughten 
and sold through established hardware stores, seed 
stores, nurseries and other seed outlets. Insist on 

DOUGHTEN BRANDS remove the doubt in seed buying 

