The Springfield herald., 1913-04-25
BACK YARD FARMER
Interesting Pointers on Garden
ing for the City Man or
Suburbanite.
WHAT TO PLANT AND WHEN
Advice by an Expert on Agricultural
Matters-MakIno \ Good Lawn
Rules for Feeding Horsss-.
Growing BIaekberrIes.

BY PROF. JOHN WILLARD BoLTE.
The custom of covering the ground
about our homes with a grass sod or
lawn Ia a very old one. Lawns are
mentioned In one way or other in the
histories of practically every nation
with which we are familiar. In early
days they were used only by the
mighty in the land. the reigning fam
lilies and the nobility, principally be-
cause no one else possessed sufhcient
land to grow grass or anything else
on.
Probably these lawns were rather
rough in contour. and we imagine that
they were not of very great extent.
as they had to be clipped by means of
sickles or hand shears. Later on In
England and France it became custom
ary to pasture flock of sheep on the
lawns and park grounds about the
country homes. and this charming pas
toral custom still maintains In many
places. Quite q number of our city
parks and clubs In this country follow
this practice to advantage.
The sheep eat the herbage close to
the ground, and they clean up grass
and weeds alike. Their droppings en-
rich the soil, they are not heavy
enough to cut up or pack the surfafce,
and their appearance and associations
cannot but give keen enjoyment to all
lovers Of nature.
II your grass stand is thin. patchy
or weedy, 1t will be good plan to
SOW some grass seed on the moist
ground as early as possible. having
first raked 1t over and scratched up
the surface. Sow the seed broadcast
and SOW 1t thickly. A good CONNER
cial fertilizer sown at this time will
help the old sod and the new seed
lings. 1t is not advisable to use barn.
yard manure in the spring under most
circumstances, but 1t will have an ex-
cellent effect on any lawn II spread on
thickly in the fall. When this has
been done, rake 1t of as early as pos
sible in the spring and SOW your grass
seed over the bare spots as soon as
the manure has been raked of. Horse
manure is better than COW manure
for almost any garden or lawn pur-
poses, because 1t is lighter and more
porous. warns up quicker and its fer
ti1izing elements are much more
quickly available. Be careful about.
the sources from which you secure ma
nure, as 1t may contain live weed seeds
which will take possession of your
lawn In a very short time. 1t Is an
excellent plan to roll. the lawn thor
oughly from time to time, while 1t Is
ina reasonably moist condition. The
rough places will be leveled, the whole
sod will be smoothed, and better con-
nection will be formed between the
sod and the water contained in the
subsoil.
AS soon as the snow Is gone and the
sod is firm enough to walk on, 1t
should be raked thoroughly with an
iron rake, to remove the dead grass
and leaves from the roots of the grass.
Be careful not to drive or walk on the
lawn at any time when it Is soft
enough to show the tracks, as an ir-
reparable amount OF damage can be
done in this way
The grass should not be cut until 1t
has secured a good lush growth, but
after the first cutting and throughout
the spring months, it should be kept
trimmed short and the clippings should
be caught in a carrier of your mower,
SO as to prevent them from covering
up the growing grass. After the
weather becomes hot, and particular
ly II 1t is dry 1t is not well to cut the
lawn so often, as the sun Is liable to
kill the roots II they are too much ex-
posed