The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-02-16
Making Lawns in Georgia.

While there are great many
grasses of one kind or another and
many of these more or less adapted to
the purpose of lawn-making in the
more Northern section of our country,
there are only two or three that give
real satisfaction in the extreme South
that is below the latitude of Atlanta.
OF course a chief element of satisfac-
ton in lawn-making is permanency.
One cannot afford to be renewing
lawns every two or three years. If
'1aid" Alright lawn should endure for
q number of years. requiring only a
top dressing now and then. There is
a good deal yet to be learned about
lawns in the South. still enough is al
ready known to enable us to have as
nice a lawn, during the summer at
any rate, as one could desire. Not
that our lawns should be green only
during the period of warm weather
from April to November. say-but we
mean to say that with Bermuda grass
alone land not referring to the St. Au-
gustine and Louisiana Evergreen
grasses-both valuable for the pur-
pose, we can have as pretty lawns as
can be found anywhere outside of the
cities, where abundant water is
available. And Bermuda grass sup
plemented with white clover sown on
the Bermuda stubble at the last now
ing of the grass in October will give
almost uninterrupted green for almost
the entire year. AS the grass becomes
al. \
flourish above it's decaying stubble
The two thus alternating make a most
satisfactory lawn anywhere in the
South.
We have had no experience with or
observation of either the ST Augustine
Cor st. Lucie grass or the grass known
as Louisiana or Evergreen" grass,
but from what we have read of them
we are quite sure that they a re both
available in the highest degree for
Southern use. The difficulty is the
seeds of these are not readily pro-
curable-that is we have found ii so
while with Bermuda it's roots can be
had almost for the digging all over
the country and even the seeds can be
procured now at reasonable prices
In making lawn of Bermuda the
roots are altogether the most reliable
and should be used every time. Two or
three hundred pounds of the roots go
a long ways in establishing a small
lawn and they are easily sent from one
place to another in either bags or bar
rels.
While the autumn is the best time
for starting the lawn, with a little
more care it can be done nearly as
well in the spring. from February I'M
til April.
There is much in laying the founda-
ton just right. The soil should be
We'll prepared with plow and harrow
Cor rake) and roller can be used to
advantage, too. If the soil requires 1t
should be deeply broken and then
well pulverized, leaving ii, if possible,
as level as a billiard table. With a
garden pillow or other suitable imple-
ment small burrows about two inches
deep should be laid off, twelve to
twenty-four inches apart-as close as
twelve If seed roots are abundant, else
twenty-four If they are to be made
to go as far as possible. Drop the roots
evenly along the burrows and then
after light covering of SOIL run a
roller over it. In the absence of q
roller heavy barrel can be used or
even pressing with the feet will an
swer, where the plat is small.
If not already in possession it will
pay TO buy garden pillow Costing, $50
to cultivate the grass with for a cou-
pie of months. This can be done with
hoe or rake, however, where the area
is small After planting the grass the
next most important thing is to begin
the utter destruction of weeds that
will contend with the grass for pos
session.
Rank stable manure should never be
applied to a lawn either at the Begin
ming or later, as top dressing. Such
manure is always full of weed seeds
OF one kind or another
The best fertilizer is a mixture of
cotton seed meal and acid phosphate,
one part of meal to three parts of
phosphate. To supply potash and lime
use any ashes that accumulate about
the place-spreading them literally as
a top dressing. ANY of the potash
salts may be used for this purpose in
lieu of ashes After the lawn has been
we'll established 1t should be cared for
II should not be trampled in wet
weather. 1t should be moved as oft
en- as necessary. A hundred pounds of
nitrate of soda applied in April or
May will always be a good investment
Our people are beginning to appre-
ciate lawns and there is nothing that
beautifies place in town or out more
than we'll kept lawn, with here and
there beautiful tree or shrub, wheth-
er 1t be orange or oleander or tea
olive, or banana tree, or what not
s. A c