THEHOUSE & GARDEN

MAKING

BOOKSIT is the intention of the publishers to make

this series of little volumes, of whichMaking a Lawn is one, a complete library ofauthoritative and well illustrated handbooksdealing with the activities of the home-makerand amateur gardener. Text, pictures and dia-grams will, in each respective book, aim tomake perfectly clear the possibility of having,and the means of having, some of the moreimportant features of a modern country or sub-urban home. Among the titles already issued orplanned for early publication are the following:Making a Rose Garden,' Making a Tennis Court/Making a Garden Bloom ThiB Year,' Making aFireplace/ Making Roads and Paths/ Makinga POUlt7'1JHouse; Making a Hotbed and Cold-frame/ Making Built-in Bookcase,. Shelves and&at,/ Making a Rock Garden; Making a WaterGarden/ Making a Perennial Border; Makinga Shrubbery GrouP/ Making a Naturalized BulbGarden,' with others to be announced later.

MAKINGA.LAWN

By LUKE J. DOOGUESUPERINTENDENT 0)1' BOSTON PUBLIC GROUNDS DEPA.RTMENT

NEW YORK

McBRIDE, NAST & COMPANY1912

OOPYRIGHT, 1912, BYMCBRIDE, NAST & 00.

Fourth Edition, Janual7. 1914

Third Edition, May, 1913

Second Edition, April, 1913

Published March, 1912

CONTENTS

THE SMALL LAWN, OLD AND NEW

PAGEl

1

THE TREATMENT OF LARGE AREAS 8

GRASS SEED •• 13

SOWING THE SEED • 24

SODDING • 28

GOOD LOAM J.ND FERTILIZERS • 31

LAWN-MOWER, ROLLER, AND HOSE • 37

WEEDS AND OTHER PESTS •• 46

THE ILLUSTRATIONS

THE LAWN IS AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT

IN THE SETTING FOR A COUNTRY PLACE

FrontispieC8FACING

PAGEA PATH OF STEPPING-STONES TO SAVE

LABOR IN MOWING 4

A SUCCESSFUL COVEBING OF A STEEPLY

SLOPING BANK • 14

GOLF COURSE AND PUTTING-GREEN 20

THE RESULT OF A CHElAP, READY-MADE

MIXTURE OF GRASS SEED . 28

ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT PLACES

TO MAKE A LAWN-UNDEB LABGE

SHADE TBEES 34

THE NECESSITY FOB AN OCCASIONAL

CLEANING OF THE LAWN-MOWEB 40

THE ONLY SUBE WAY TO EBADICATE

WEEDS • 48

MAKINGA LAWN

Making a Lawn

THE SMALL LAWN, OLD ANDNEW

TO the thousands of anxious inquirers,seeking solution of lawn difficulties,

it would be more than delightful to saythat a fine lawn could be had by very hardwishing, but honesty compels one tochange the words "hard wishing" to"hard work," in order to keep strictIywithin the truth. A well-made lawn isa testimonial to a hustler, whether thearea is small or large.

The majority of inquiries about lawnneeds come from people having smallplaces, from a few hundred to a fewthou-sand feet, and the symptoms described

2 Making a Lawn

can be divided into two classes: one where

they want to make grass grow where ithas never grown before, and the otherwhere the call is for information to assistin restoring old lawns that have petered

out. Let us take up the last conditionfirst.

Where grass has grown for some yearsit is conclusive evidence that there must

be soil beneath, which, perhaps because ofneglect, has ceased to supply the nour-ishment necessary to maintain the vigorof the sod growing upon it. As a con-

sequence, weeds gradually creep in andfinally crowd out every blade of grass.

A condition like this is easily remediedand an improvement brought about inshort order and at very small expense.

In the first place make a general clear-ing up of the weeds and do it as thor-oughly as possible. Take them out with a

The Small Lawn, Old and New 3

strong knife, cutting deep into theground. An asparagus knife is the best

for this purpose.If the place under treatment were to

he spaded up, this weed-cleaning with theknife would not be necessary, but the ob-ject in this instance is to disturb the

soil as little as possible.With the weeds out of the way, go over

the whole place with a sharp rake andscratch the earth to the depth of halfan inch. In doing this remember to be nottoo severe on spots where there is anygrass growing, applying the rake lightlyhere. After the raking, sow grass seedthickly and evenly, raking it in, and finishby watering and rolling. Be sure to rollheavily, water regularly, and good re-

sults will surely come.This, in brief, is the most practical

way to treat the conditions described.

4 Making a Lawn

If, however, you should find that theground shows patches of moss and sorrel,the treatment just suggested will not ap-

ply. The land is probably sour, andshould be plowed up, limed, and allowed

to lay rough all winter. Use about a

bushel and a half of air-slaked lime toevery thousand square feet.

When the object is to make a lawnwhere there never has been one, the plow

or the spade is the most effective weapon.

It must be kept in mind that grass ona lawn is a great feeder, and no soil canbe made too rich to supply its food re-quirements. A lawn is a permanentplanting, not something that is to lastmerely for a season.

Start this work of preparation for anew lawn in the fall. Spade the land to

the depth of two feet, or, better still,

run a plow: through it, if the size of

The Small Lawn, Old and New 5

the place warrants. Work in plenty ofwell-rotted manure, and during the winterthe frost and snow will greatly improveconditions, killing the weeds, and mellow-ing the soil as nothing else Can.

In the spring, harrow and cross-har-row the plot, smooth out the surface,rake fine, and sowyour seed. If,however,the soil is gravelly, there is no use tryingto doctor it up with the expectation ofgetting good results.

As has been said, you need a good loamin which to grow grass, so that if it isnot good you must dig out what is thereto the depth of two feet and replace itwith suitable soil.

There is no short-cut for reaching re-sults with the aid of fertilizers, for allthe chemicals in the land will amount tobut little if the soil conditions are notproper to receive them.

6 Making a Lawn

It is simply a question of supplyingthe material to get results.

A NEW WAY TO RENOVATE A SMALL

LAWN

On a small place where the necessity forradical treatment is apparent, yet where

it is not advisable to upset the premisesat that particular time, results can bereached in a way that will be effectual.

Take a round stick about an inch indiameter and three feet long, and sharpenone end of it. At frequent intervals aboutthe grounds drive the stick to the depth ofabout two feet. Make many such holes,and into these ram a mixture of finelypowdered manure, hardwood ashes, andbone meal. Cover the holes with loam,and on the top of each put a piece ofsod and beat it down with the back ofa spade.

The Small Lawn) Old and New 7

In a short time the good effects ofthis treatment will manifest themselves,and during the subsequent season thetreatment can be extended to the partsnot touched before. It practically meansthat the land will be as thoroughly reno-vated as if it had been plowed and har-rowed. This is no fanciful idea, for the

operation justifies results whenever tried.

It is advisable to water liberally and reg-ularly for some time.

Of course this applies particularly tovery small places, and nothing will begained by treating large areas this way.

Shrubs and trees are greatly benefitedby this method of administering nourish-ment, and where old plants have grown

for a long time and are seemingly stunted,this feeding will stimulate them to imme--

diate growth.

THE TREATMENT OF LARGEAREAS

WHILE it is a very simple matterto shape up a small grass plot,

renovating it as to soil and all that isnecessary to lay the foundation of a suc-cessful lawn, it becomes another matterwhen large areas are in question. Hereit requires taste, experience, and famili-arity with prevailing conditions to enableone successfullyto get out of the problemall that there is in it. If we have nothad the necessary experience, it wouldnot be safe to venture upon doing thework without expert advice.

Developinga large area means the mak-ing of a picture that, year in and yearout, is to be before our eyes, and unless

8

The Treatment of Large Areas 9

there is a most harmonious relation ofall accessories-trees, contours, vistas,

roads, and so on-there is sure to come 8.

time of wearying monotony, caused by arealization of the fact that we had notbeen quite equal, through our lack of ex-perience, to develop the place as it mighthave been developed.

A piece of ground in the rough mustfirst be shaped up by draining, removingtrees or stones, planning roads and such

things, before the smoothing process canbe attempted, and it is in this roughing-

out process where the future landscapepicture is either made or destroyed.

Here is where the professional land-scape man can save you many dollarsand much disappointment. I have seen

so many sad results in cases of land de-velopment where too much confidence has

been the stumbling-block on the road to

10 Making a Lawn

success, that I feel justified in harping

on the necessity of asking advice from

those who are competent to give it.

SAVING TREES

Great consideration should be given tothe matter of saving trees, whether theseare large or small. Small trees can behandled like so much merchandise, andsuccessfully moved from place to place.It is preferable to move these in winter.Dig about them so that there will be aball of earth large enough to keep intact;then it is necessary merely to allow thisball to freeze up lJard before tilting itonto a stone drag, shifting it and itsfellows to positions that will most bene-fit the landscape.

Large trees can be moved, but at con-sidera.ble expense, and such work should

The Treatment of Large Areas I I

be left to the professionals. They havethe facilities and from experience theknowledge and knack of it, and this meansmuch for success. Some companies willeven give a bond to guarantee their work.

Trees about which the grade is to beraised should be protected, so that thesoil will not come within some distance

of the trunk. A rough piling of stonesabout the tree, or a circle of drain pipeabout it will give the needed protection.

Trees play such a vital part in the adorn-ment of a piece of land, whether largeor small, that none that is needed shouldbe sacrificed until every effort to save ithas failed.

DRAINING LAND

Where the soil is soggy and retains toomuch moisture, this condition must be

remedied before attempting to make it

12 Making a Lawn

into a lawn. The remedy is found bydraining, and this is done by diggingditches or laying tiles under ground atvarying distances apart, all tending to-wards the lowest part of the land, towhich the water must be induced to flow.The number of drains is to be determinedby existing conditions.

Land that could not be used beforewill, after a system of drainage has beeninstalled, be so benefited that most any-thing can be grown upon it. Lawns madeon such land are always luxuriant andresist the effect of drought even of longduration, drawing upon the supply ofwater that extends deep down below thesurface.

GRASS SEED

SO much has been written on the sub-ject of lawn-making that about

everyone interested in this work is fullycompetent, theoretically at least, to carrythrough the process of land renovationand preparation, whether it be for asmall lawn or an area consisting of acres.The subject along these lines has been ex-haustively treated, but, strange to say,the equally important subject of grassseed has been rather neglected. While

many amateurs can talk freely on thepreparation of the land, they are not soconfident when treating of grass seed. Itseems strange that this is the case whenso much depends on the suitability of the

grass seed to the land for the making13

14 Making a Lawn

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 unsuitableand too difficult of pronunciation forsuch commonplace things. There is, how-ever, just as much individuality in a plantproduced from a grass seed as in the

choicest plant in a greenhouse. One kindof grass seed will produce a low-growingplant while another grows high; one wantsa moist situation, another a dry one; somewill germinate in the shade, others willnot, and so on through the list. If aperson knows each kind and its possi-bilities and requirements, he will be ableto choose the grass best suited for hiswants, and by careful trials arrange themixtures with better success than the manin the wholesale house who is obliged to

Grass Seed 15

guess at what is best for his wants. Start

out, then, in the primer class and tabu-late some of the best grasses used forlawns, and tag them with both their

names, the botanical and the commonones.

Kentucky Blue Grass-Poa pratensis.Fine for lawns; grows slowly but vigor-

ously almost everywhere but on an acidsoil.

Red Top-Agrostis vulgaris. Showsresults more quickly than Blue Grass; willthrive on a sandy soil; fine in combina-

tion with Blue Grass.English Rye Grass-Lolium perenne.

Grows quickly and shows almost immedi-ate results; good to combine with theslow-growing Blue Grass.

Various-leaved Fescue--FestucQ hete-rophyZla. Good for shady; and moistplaces.

16 Making a Lawn

Rhode Island Bent-Agro8ti8 canina.Has a creeping habit; good for putting-greens, sandy soils.

Creeping Bent-Agro8tis 8tolonifera.Creeping habit; good for sandy places

and to bind banks or sloping places. Com-

bined with Rhode Island Bent for putting-greens.

Crested Dog's-tail-Cynosurus crista-tU8. Forms a low and compact sward;good for slopes and shady places.

Wood Meadow Grass-Poa ne'morali,.Good for shady places; is very hardy.

Red Fescue--F estuca rubra. Thriveson poor soils and gravelly banks.

White Clover-Trifolium repens. Goodfor slopes; not to be recommended for alawn.

Sheep Fescue--F estuca ovina. Goodfor light, dry soils.

Now, with 80 much as a referellce ]i-

Grass Seed 17

brary, you will have sufficient knowledgeof the kinds of seeds to draw from to

make combinations that will fit any situa-

tion. I would further suggest that yougo to a wholesale house and get a sampleof each of these seeds and examine them.Get just a little of each in an envelope.Make a comparative examination of theseeds, holding a little in the palm of the

hand. As you look at each seed repeatits name a few times and recall its char-acteristics, and you will be surprised to

find that on the second or third trial everyname will suggest itself the moment youreyes rest on the seed. With a knowledgeof the seeds you can then go to your deal-er and tell him what you want-not neces-sarily what he thinks you want. You arethen a better judge than he is.

H is worth while following the subjectfarther, for the results will more than

18 Making a Lawn

repay the trouble. Test the seeds. Makeshallow boxes and fill them with loam,

and sow each kind of seed just as you

would on a lawn. Put a label at the headof the box and on it the time of sowing

the seed. Do this with as many as you

can. Then watch and make notes of

the time it takes for germination. Notealso the character of the blades. Havingfinished this you will have a very liberaleducation in the subject of grass.

Should you not care to do as suggestedabove, you will be dependent on others toget what you most need. If you shouldgo to a dozen people and ask them to sug-gest a combination of seeds, they wouldall give them readily to you, but no twoproportions would be alike. If you should

ask lor a single grass, the majority wouldsuggest Kentucky :Blue Grass. For a

single grass there is nothing better suited

Grass Seed

for all conditions. There is this objectionto it, however: it is not a nervous man'sgrass. You cannot plant it to-day andhave a lawn next month. If you can af-ford to wait, sow Kentucky Blue and your

patience will be well rewarded. Itmakes apermanent lawn.

To introduce the ready-made lawn, usea combination of Kentucky Blue,Red Top,and English Rye. The Blue Grass isslow, but the Rye and Red Top producespeedier results. The first month willsee the newly seeded space a carpet ofgreen. In time the Rye passes, the RedTop continues to cover, while the BlueGrass grows sturdier each day until itcrowds everything out by virtue of its own

strength. Use U lbs. of Kentucky BlueGrass, 5 lbs. of Red Top and 8 lbs. ofEnglish Rye Grass to the bushel, andSOW 3 1-! to 4 bushels to the acre. This

20 Making a Lawn

makes a reliable combination. It is com-mon to hear people asking for grass thatwill 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 shadedthat no grass known could be made togerminate there. In places where tbere

is no heavy dripping and where the groundis not absolutely dark, use the following:

Kentucky Blue Grass, Wood MeadowGrass, Various-leaved Fescue, and CrestedDog's-tail. Use 35 per cent. of the firsttwo and 15 per cent. of the last two.

For conditions that require a quick-growing grass, and something that will

bind and make a holding upon slopes un-der difficult conditions, the following isrecommended: Kentucky Blue Grass, 80per cent. ; R. I. Bent, SO per cent.; Creep-ing Bent~ ~5 per cent.; Sheep Fescue,

Grass Seed 21

10 per cent., and White Clover, 5 percent. This is one of the places whereWhite Clover is an essential. Under theseconditions it fuI1ils its mission perfectly.While all the named kinds may not flour-ish, there will be enough to make the worksuccessful.

The turf on a putting-green must bedense and low, and tough enough to standa lot of rough usage. A combination ofRhode Island Bent and Creeping Bent isabout the best thing for this purpose. Tocheck up, just refer back to your sched-ule and see what it says regarding thequalities of these grasses.

The soil on a putting-green should beof a sandy nature. This keeps the grassstunted through lack of much food, andconsequentlybetter fits it for its purpose.

Never buy grass seed by the bushel.Buy it by' weigh~ or stip.ula~ that there

22 Making a Lawn

shall be so many pounds to the bushel.It will cost you a. high price, but it willbe far cheaper in the end than to buysomething inexpensivethat has more thana third of sweepings and useless bulk.You certainly lose nothing by buying thevery best seed that your dealer can offeryou.

Do not be ashamed to ask for samplesbefore buying, and also get samples froma number of places and compare the dif-ferent seeds. Spread them out in yourhand and see if they are clean and withoutchaff. A seed with a large proportion ofdust and chaff is not worth buying. Itshould be your consideration to see wheth-er you are getting what you pay for.If you show evidences of knowin~ theproper seeds you will receive a most re-spectful hearing from the tradesman. Donot balk at the price of re-cleaned seed.

Grass Seed 23It means that you are going to get some-thing for your money. It is worth muchmore than the seed sold in bulk that isnot re-cleaned.

SOWING THE SEED

THE nearest thing, by way of compar-ison, to a lawn is a bed of plants

that you set out in your garden everyspring. When you think it is plantingtime you go to this bed with spade orfork and turn the earth up from the deepbottom, putting in plenty of well-rottedmanure, thus ministering to the soil ac-cording to its needs. Then you set outthe plants, and if weedsgrow up you digthem out, after which you water the spotintelligently. For this labor your rewardComesto you in the shape of an abun-dance of bloom and foliage.

Just as truly is a lawn a bed of plantsneeding an equal amount of treatment.Grass is nothing but a collection of thou-...

Sowing the Seed 25

sands of little plants crowded together,which must have nourishment, and fromwhich the weedsmust be taken. Likewisethe soil must be given water as it is neededand the earth must be made mellow forthe roots, to a good depth. It makes nodifference how much you pay for yourgrass seed,how good or bad it is, or whatkind of fertilizers you use, if the bed isnot properly prepared in the first place.Without this fundamental preparation,grass plants will not grow, or if they do,will not thrive.It is quite a trick to sow grass seed

evenly so that it will germinate withoutgiving the plot a spotty effect. It shouldbe spread at the rate of about threebushels to the acre, and this sowing canbe successfully done only on a quiet day.Even a very light wind is liable to pile upyour seed on your neighbor's lot or on

.2~ Making a Lawn

your own in places not wanted. Keepthe seed in a pail whilesowing, and, aftertaking a handful, bend close to the soiland let the seed feed through the fingersas the arm swings back and forth in asemicircle. This is very much easier tosay than to do, but a little experiencewill make one quite proficient. To helpstill more, sow the seed two ways, one atright angles to the other. After sowing,rake lightly and then finish the work byputting a heavy roller Over it.

While thick sowing has the advantageof discouraging a growth of weeds, thereis a limit that cannot be safely passed.Seed too thickly sown will mat and dampout, leaving great patches on the lawn.Do not exceed the quantity suggestedabove.

Spring Bowingshould be done just asBOOnas the frost is out of the ground.

Sounng the Seed 27

This early sowing gives the young grass

a chance to establish itself before theseVere Summer heat comes on. Careful

watering is necessary, with a fine spray,and if regularly done will induce rapidgermination. In watering do not wash

out the seed by too heavy a stream.

SODDING

L IKE seeding, sodding should be donein the early spring or fall to get

the best results. Oftentimes it is neces-sary to do the work in midsummer andthis, while not advisable, can be succesS-fully accomplished if the sods are laidSoonafter they are cut and then copiouslywatered every day until all danger ofdrying out has passed.

In butting the sods together, use a.Woodenmallet, and pound the sod intoclose contact with the loam beneath, flat-tening all joints so that the growth willbe uniform.

On large seededareas outline these witha border of sods, which gives a well-de-fined edge and trim appearance to the

:a8

Sodding

work. If you should know of a placewhere there is a particularly fine growthof grass, it would be a paying proposi-tion to buy sufficient sods from it toanswer your needs. Sods, cut and deliv-ered, will cost about eight cents per squarefoot. This price may be shaded some-what if the sods are bought in bulk andthe cutting and carting is done by your-self. Under any circumstances the workwill be expensive.

On banks and terraces it is preferableto use sods rather than seeding. The sodscan be held in place with wooden pegsdriven through them seven or eight inchesinto the bank. Over this work scatter

SOme seed and give a light dressing ofloam; then pound the whole to an evensurface.

When the bank is too steep to hold thesoda pegged in this way, they should be

30 Making a Lawn

piled upon each other horizontally, sothat the ends will form the surface of thebank. This effects the double purpose ofcreating a permanent sward and also adepth of ten inches of loam upon whichit can feed.

GOOD LOAM AND FERTILIZERS

LOAl\! is scarce; that is, good loam isscarce. To help make up the de-

ficiency,everyone should form a compostheap, and into it pile leaves, lawn rak-ings, pieces of sod, and all such matter,all of which will be reduced in time bydecompositionto the much-desiredhumus.A small quantity of this humus, mixedwith fairly good loam, will make goodloam of it all, and suitable for sustainingplant life.

In the fall, when the leaves are fallingfrom the trees, it is 8. good idea to gatherup from the gutters the accumulatedleaves and put them in the compost heap.There may be a little expense and trouble

31

32 Making a Lawn

to it, but there is no question as to thefact that you willbe fully repaid whenyoufind the necessity for some real loam.

Near cities loam of very inferior qualitywill cost at least $~ per cubic yard, andif one has a quantity of leaf-mould, madeas suggested, and will mix it with thisloam, a very desirable quality can be pro-duced. The leaf-mould is the life of thesoil and absolutely essential to satisfac-tory results.

SPRING TOP-DRESSING

A lawn that has been properly madewill not suffer if it is not given a yearlydressing, for it will have sufficient foodsupply in the ground to keep it going foryears.

Strange as it may seem, many goodlawns have been ruined by being given aheavy application of manure year after

Good Loam and Fertilizers 33

year. When a top-dressing is necessaryon soil that is good, Canada hardwoodashes and bone meal will supply all the

nourishment that is necessary. Spread theashes thickly on the lawn until they showwhite on the grass, and do the work pref-erably before a rain, so that the nourish-ment may be washed into the soil.

The Canada hardwood ashes, as usuallyfound in the market, contain from one tofive per cent. of potash, but to get theresults you are looking for, the ashesshould contain from seven to nine percent. of potash. In purchasing this fer-tilizer in large quantities demand a guar-anteed analysis, otherwise you are liableto get something little better than whatyou take out of your stove, and wholly

useless for lawn purposes. There aregood ashes on the market and they canbe had if one goes after them vigorously

34 Making a L{lfWn

enough and gives some indication of aknowledge of what good ashes are.

When it is not possible to get what youare looking for, I would recommend mix-ing muriate of potash with finely siftedloam, and spreading it broadcast overthe grass. This treatment is always effi-cacious, as you are absolutely sure of

getting what is necessary for the land.

MANURE TOP-DRESSING

Many prefer to use a top-dressing ofmanure, regardless of conditions. It

IS sure to bring more or less weeds.If you decide to use it, however, get

the thoroughly decomposed kind, as thismeans a minimum of weeds. I do notWant to create the impression that I am

trying to belittle the fertilizing value ofmanure. I believe in having a liberalquantity of it incorporated with the soil

Good Loam and Fertilizers 35

when the lawn is made, and I also believethat on such a soil Canada ashes and bonemeal are very much more suitable to keepit up to pitch than is a top-dressing ofmanure.

When manure is used for a top-dress-ing, do not get it on too thick, and donot leave it too long on the grass in the

spring. Nothing is to be gained by eitherof these mistakes and much killing outis apt to result.

There was a time, some years ago, whenit was possible to buy sheep manure thatwas worth something, but at the presenttime it is sold in powder form, and in-vites a strong suspicion of adulteration

and of containing very much more thanwhat is being paid for. If it is possiblefor you to get good sheep manure, usethat by all means. It is efficient, cleanly,

and produces very few weeds. It is best

36 Making a Lawn

used at the rate of about a ton to theacre.

Nitrate of soda is a very vigorous stim-ulant and produces quick results. It is

economical, requiring but small quanti-

ties to cover large areas. Spread broad-cast, about 175 lbs. to the acre ; or, dis-

solved, 3 lbs. to every 100 gals. of water.

The dry application should be madealways before a rainstorm, otherwise much

burning is apt to result to the grass. Foran occasional application it is all rightto use this, but for year-in-and-year-outfertilizer, it should be alternated withother things.

LAWN-MOWER, ROLLER, ANDHOSE

AFTER you have your ground made,your seed sown and germinated,

your trouble is not all over, for it is acritical period through which to carrythe tender grass to a hardy condition.

Young grass should not be cut beforeit is three inches high, and this means thata scythe should be used in preference toa lawn-mower, as it is difficult to get theblades high enough to allow this length.In cutting for the first time, try to do iton a cloudy day, as this will prevent anypossibility of scorching or burning. Aftera few weeks the grass will have so tough-ened that it will be benefited by frequentcuttings-even twice a week.

37

38 Making a Lawn

The roller should be used after every

cutting, and although it may seemingly beworking injury by crushing down the ten-

der grass, it is in reality making sure a

solid and compact sod. In the middle ofthe summer when the weather is very hot,be careful not to crop too close, as the

roots are liable to be killed out by theSun.

When cutting your grass you will findit a great saving to have some sort of agrass-catcher on your lawn-mower. Onecan be made easily, but very handy oneSare sold at a small price. They preventthe wear and tear to a lawn that resultsfrom the hard raking necessary when notUSed.

There is a good grass-catcher that fitsinto the back of all machines; it is veryefFective and costs about fifty cents. Itso ei'ectively catches all the grass that

Lawn-mower, Roller, and Hose 39

comes from the machine that little rakingis afterwards necessary. If you preferthe rake it is best to use a wooden one,as iron teeth do great damage to a heavysod.

Where the grass is cut frequently theclippings may safely be left on theground, but heavy grass should be al-ways gathered up.

THE LAWN-MOWER

There are hundreds of ma.kes of lawn-mowers on the market, but of these veryfew will stand the test of a season's hardusage. These few will be found to be thestandard makes of good design, and cost-ing a seemingly high price. When youcan get a lawn-mower with a pound of teayou may be sure that it is time to besuspicious, regardless of the pretty paint

and ornamentation that makes it & 8Y.JD-

40 Making a L(J!Wn

phony of colors. A good mower meansthat your lawn will look well after beingcut with it, and it also means that thefirst seemingly high cost will be all thatyou will be called upon to expend in yearsto come. Such a mower is practicallyindestructible.

Once or twice during the season, giveit an overhauling. Grass and grit willcreep in, and unless it is removed theefficiencyof the machine will be greatlyreduced.

It sounds like automobile parlance tosay" Use good oil," but this really ap-plies equally as strongly to a lawn-mower.Cheap oil is expensive in the long run, asit thickens up and clogs the bearings, andmakes it impossible for the mower to doits best work.

This may seem like straining a pointto get down to such trivial details, but it

Lawn-mower, Roller, and Hose 41

is just these little things that go to make

up the getting and keeping of a lawn.

THE ROLLER

Next to having good seed to sow, onproperly prepared ground, the great es-sential in lawn-making is a proper kind ofroller to use as occasion requires. Fewpeople realize just how important a parta roller plays in the upkeep of any grassarea, but it is no exaggeration to say thatwithout one, successful results will bedifficult if not impossible of achievement.Use a roller-a heavy roller-on yourlawn early in the spring to repair thedamage that the freezing and thawing

has caused in the winter.The early rolling levels the surface,

packs the earth about the grass rootsand makes it possible for them to draw

the moisture from deep down in the

42 Making a Lawn

ground. A roller is to be used often, not

once each season. Its consistent usemeans that you will have fewer weeds,thicker and better colored grass; the dis-figuring moles will find the ground too

difficult to burrow through, moisture willbe retained longer, and a noticeably bet-

ter condition will be noted throughout thewhole lawn.

The old-time stone roller was an in-strument of torture, and almost whollyunsuited for lawn work as suggested.

There are now on the market dozens ofball-bearing rollers that are very easilyhandled. The adjustable kind, in whichthere are compartments to hold eithersand or water to vary the weight, is thekind that should be purchased. With ityou have a roller light enough to use forseeding, or heavy enough for road work,and the prices are not prohibitive.

Lawn-mower, Roller, and Hose 43

THE HOSE

The hose is a subject to which verylittle attention is given. Paradoxical asit may seem, all rubber hose is not rubberhose, and because of this many lawns suf-fer from want of water, because the sup-posedly rubber hose has proved, whenmost needed, to be a combination of paperand scrap. A first-qClality hose will costfrom twenty to thirty cents a foot-afrightful price when comparison is madeto the bargain price of four cents a foot.The expensive kind will last for years,and even after it begins to show signs ofwear it can be used many years longer by

proper repairing. The cheap hose burstsonce, and its usefulness is at an end, asthe first burst is only a preliminary of

tota.l dissolution.When a good hose bursts it is best re-

44 Making a Lawn

paired by cutting entirely through itand removing the damaged part, and thenjoining the ends with a little brass sleevethat is easily inserted into each of theseveredendsand whichhas reversedprongsto prevent its slipping out. This is one ofthe best ready-made menders on the mar-ket,. and it prolongs the life of a hose foryears.

Keep your hose on a reel. Empty it ofwater before winding up, and never allowit to lie baking in the sun. This latteris a very commonfault and is the causeof much good hose being spoiled.

Another seemingly trivial yet impor-tant thing is to caution against so fasten-ing the hose to the tap that it pulls awayfrom it at right-angles.

For ordinary purposes the half-inchsize of hose is the best. It costs less inthe first place, is more easily; handled,

Lawn-mower, Roller, and Hose 45

and the wear and tear is much less than

on the larger sizes.You never see a gardener using any

spraying contrivance on the end of a hose.In his thumb and forefinger, which heskillfully moves over the flowing stream,he has a combination of sprayers thatcan produce the heaviest stream or thefinest mist at will. This is to be recom-mended, but few will care to follow thecourse of training necessary to acquirethe efficiency of the gardener.

WEEDS AND OTHER PESTS

EVEN if you paid a thousand dollarsa bushel for your grass seed, and

then spent as much more on the prepara-tion of your land, you could not, I am

sorry to say, escape having weeds.The thing to do when you have them is

to get rid of them, and this is accom-

plished only by getting right after themwith a persistence proportionate to theabundance of the weeds. The knife isthe only real weapon for this. After dig-ging out your weeds, sow in grass seedwith the idea of making the grass grow sothick that there will be no place for theweeds to creep in. Dandelions and plan-tains are simple matters that can behandled easily, but where Crab Grass

46

Weeds and Other Pests 47

shows up, there is certainly work aheadto get the best of it. It is a destroyerof the first rank, a veritable pest. It isan annual that seeds itself each year andkills out under the first frost, leavinggreat bald spaces in the lawn to showwhere it has been. Even after it has beenkilled by the frost its baneful influenceis not ended, for it has spread broadcastits seeds for the next year's crop.

When you find it, dig it out. It meanswork and lots of it, but it is the only wayto conquer it. Set the blades of themower low, and after dragging the grassup with a rake, run the machine over it;

and this should be done early in the year,before July. There is no weed to equal

this as a nuisance.On newly-made lawns the weeds are

easily removed, and they should be care-fully watched so as not to allow them to

48 Making a Lawn

get too far ahead. Chickweedis almostas bad as Crab Grass, and when you findthe combination, Crab Grass and Chick-weed, the simplest solution is to spade orplow the place up in the fall and leave itexposed for the winter.

For the broad-leaved varieties of weedsthere is a preparation of what is calledsand on the market that I have tried withvery good success. I sprinkle it on theweedsand within an hour afterwards they'have shriveled and turned black.

While it doubtless is very efficientin de-stroying the top growth, I am unable tosay that it is at all injurious to the roots,and may, perhaps, evenstimulate them torenewed growth the following season.However, my experience with it was ahappy one, for just as soon as the weedsdied down I sowed in grass seed, whichquickly germinated.

Weeds and Other Pests 49

WORMS, ANTS, AND MOLES

Very often earthworms become verydisfiguring on a grass plot. Where thereare many present it is an indication thatthe earth is in poor condition, compacted,and needing humus. An application ofstrong lime-water will drive many to thesurface, where they can be swept up; ora heavy rolling with a 1,500-lb. roller willdo much to discourage them.It is surprising how much damage a

colony of ants can do on a lawn. Theyshould be looked after the first time theyare noticed, for they work rapidly, andthe longer neglected the more difficult itit is to eradicate them.

There are many remediesrecommended,but the best one lies in the use of bisul-phide of carbon. This is very effective,but it has come into such common use

5° Making a Lawn

that a word of caution should be givenas to its handling. It is very volatile

and, when near flame, powerfully explo-SIve, and should be handled with greatcare. Pour it into the runways of theants, and then throw over these a mat.

The fumes will speedily kill all the ants.A better way, however, is to drive a stickinto the ground in several places wherethe colony is located, and in these holes

pour the carbon, afterwards pluggingthe holes up tightly.

Moles are frequently found on lawns,but they are not serious because theycan be easily controlled by heavily rollingor by traps made to catch them. Wherethere is a suspicion of the presence ofmoles, no time should be lost in gettingafter them. They sometimes work for along time before their destructive boringsare evident, and then it will take much

Weeds and Other Pests 5 I

labor to get ahead of them. Keep theheavy roller going as an excellent pre-ventive.