Los Angeles herald., 1910-01-23
JANUARY %, 1910.
THE LAWN


u much depends as upon a good
lawn. After the buildings are finished
and the preliminary grading complet-
ed follows the smoothing and prepara-
ton of the soil for the lawn. A good
lawn cannot be made on poor soil; II
the natural character of the soil is
poor the first thing to be done is to
make it rich and deep as possible. In
grading away from buildings a per-
feet level should be avoided, for the
reason that the surface water will not
readily pass away; while the rounded
surface that can as well be produced
is much more natural and much more
beautiful.
The perfectly fiat surface is rarely
ever found in nature except on the
surface of water or Doggy lowlands,
and it is very difficult to ornament or
to keep in perfect condition.
Where land is free from stones or
other obstruction a liberal dressing of
rich compost should be plowed under
as deep as possible. In addition to
the above application a goodly supply
of standard lawn fertilizer should be
thoroughly worked in upon the sur
face. More failures in laWn-making
come from a scanty supply of plant
food in the soil than from any other
liberal must be the supply of plant
food used.
Too much care cannot be given to
the proper fertilizer used in making
the lawn. The lack of care in selec-
ton of fertilizers has been the cause
of hundreds of weedy and unsightly
lawns in our own city. A common
error is made in purchasing the So
called fertilizers that are furnished by
the city teamsters, who secure the
manure from cattle or horse corrals,
screen it and mix it with other mate
rial and sell it for lawn fertilizers.
These fertilizers almost always con-
tain the seeds of salt or DEVILS grass
and bur clover and many well made
lawn that has been given the best of
attention in the start has been ruined
by the use of poor fertilizers.
After the soil has been made ready
it is a good plan to water it regularly
just the same as if the ground had
been seeded. This will start the weed
seeds that have been dormant and
will enable us to turn over the entire
surface in about three weeks after the
water has been applied.
If salt or devil grass or bur clover
makes its appearance, pull 1t out. Be
particular about this, for it will save
you many hours work or a consider
able expense in the future.
To obtain a perfectly smooth, even
surface the land should be raked, then
rolled, the depressions made by the
roller filled up, then raked again and
this work repeated until a satisfac-
tory surface is obtained.
All trees and shrubs should if pos
sible be planted before the grass seed
is sown. If planting cannot be done
before it should be delayed until the
grass has become well established;
otherwise the lawn will be very much
cut up in the process of planting.
Kinds of Seed
Only those grasses that make fine
spreading growth by underground
stems give good results in lawn-mak-
ing. The Kentucky blue grass is the
best for general purposes, as this grass
spreads rapidly by underground stems
that quickly fill up any vacant spaces
between the grass plants, thus pre-
venting the growth of weeds. This
grass also succeeds on a greater va
riety of soil than any other kind.
White clover is often used in max
ing a lawn, as it grows close to the
ground and fills up all spaces not &C.
cupied by grass roots, thus prevent