Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1910-03-10
MAKING A
LAWN

DidHlSndHk, .aIler investigating the
matter carefully, last spring decided
that the best way to deal with the
half-acre of ground surrounding his
new suburban home was to seed it
heavily and just let the grass grow
at its own sweet will
eff you don't cut the new grass all
summer" Bramshank explained to his
wife, 1T gets chance to thicken up
and the next year you have splen-
did lawn. l think we can stand the
long grass for one season."
ooh, certainly" agreed Mrs. Bran
shank, who has an inventive mind.
"And when it gets tall enough, say
about August, we can hang Japanese
lanters through it and give garden
party! 1t will be nice, too, to serve
afternoon tea under the shade of the
bluegrass!"
That's all right" said Bramshank
Indignantly, "but I'm going to do it
all the same!"
Nobody could say that Bramshank
was stingy with the seed He got a
huge quantity from dealer who was
going out of business and anxious to
dispose of his stock at cut rates. and
he painstakingly sprinkled all of it
over his yard on the theory that if
little was good a great deal was bet
ter.
When the first tender shoots of
green began to color the ground Bran
shank positively chortled with Joy and
pride. He took practically all the
credit to himself for the rapidity and
thickness of the growth, though he did
grudgingly allow trifle of it to the
seed man. HE said it was special
variety of seed" Bramshank told his
wife, "and believe he was right. Just
look at it,"
After few weeks that was all the
Bramshank family did-look at the
lawn. Indeed, the whole suburb con-
tracted the habit of sauntering over
to look at the Bramshank place, for
nobody had ever seen anything like
the grass that was growing there. 1t
was Hackinny who first broke the
news.
Say, "he hailed Bramshank from
the sidewalk, when did you decide
to take up truck gardening? Aren't
you afraid so much grass mixed in will
interfere with the vegetables?"
Bramshank after one pallid glance
over his weird-looking estate reeled
up against a porch pillar with blind
ing light breaking over him. The rea-
son his lawn looked SO queer was
that half the seed was the seed of as
sorted garden vegetables.
There was carelessness about the
groupings which might have appealed
to an artistic nature but which only
further agonized the Bramshanks
There would be a little bunch Of toma-
to plants, say, in the middle of the
lawn and thanking them a thinly scat
tered array of feathery carrot tops.
Green onions, lettuce, cucumbers,
muskmelons and cabbages hilariously
fraternized in the widest confusion.
AS he searched further Bramshank
found Indian corn sturdily pushing it's
way up in various spots. Also there
were turnips and parsley and many
more things. In fact, as Mrs. Bram-
shank said a banana grove was all
that was lacking to make their half
acre complete botanical collection
for the entire western hemisphere!
Now, vegetables are all very well in
their place, but nobody would choose
to have them scattered all over a
lawn. To be sure, Bramshank could
have moved them down, but he wou1e.
have had to NOW also such grass as
there was-and anyhow Mrs Bran
shank had a frugal mind. She believed
in accepting the goods the fates pro-
vided, so she refused to allow the gar
den-lawn to be destroyed
Bramshank said the real reason for
her refusal was that she had fallen
in love with two tomato plants on the
lee side of the library window and that
she could not resist the appeal of the
tender young carrots pathetically flour
fishing near the lilac bushes. There
was something touching also about the
manner in which the cucumber vines
the struggling grass about them.
The worst of it was that all summer
| Bramshank toiled in the garden he
hadn't expected to have at all 1t
seemed rank foolishness not to take
care of the enthusiastic tomatoes and
other garden truck. The whole neigh
borhood took to running over to get
| parsley from the Bramshank front
lawn because the idea was so unique
and not every one can pick lettuce
from along the front of his town prop
erty.
The Bramshanks raised several
bushels of tomatoes, three dozen ears
of green corn. cucumbers enough to
start a pickle factory and untold guam.
titles of small truck. Bramshank had
to get up an hour earlier each morning
all summer long properly to care for
his vegetables, besides bearing the
jeers of his neighbors. And by fall
there wasn't any grass at all.
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