Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-04-11

nlicaI for the average suburbanite. II
would be folly to buy several varieties
of grass seed separately and then mix
! them. This can be done well only by
an expert. Do not make the mistake
of purchasing cheap grass seed. The
| lawn will he a more or less permanent
| fixture when properly started and
taken care of, and it behooves the
| owner to go to little expense at the
start. Kentucky bluegrass probably
| gives uniformly best results in most
! sections of the United States.
| When one purchases a lawn mix
| ture he will get immediate results
with fair amount of good fortune
The bluegrass does not become well
established for about three years. Sc
some of the other varieties in the mix
| ture come up at once. and later give
place to the bluegrass, when it has
attained its growth. Then, in a mix
ture one sort of grass acts as nurse
crop. for others. English rye, for ex-
| ample, makes good sod for one year
and then is winter-killed. The next
year the other varieties in the mix
ture, such as red top, takes it's place
| Red top does best in acid soils Blue
| grass appears to prefer neutral OF
limestone soils. In purchasing grass
seed one should know his soil
| After the lawn is planted the work
| is just well begun. Eternal vigilance
! is the price of a good lawn. The best
| way to combat the weeds, which are
! always part of any lawn during the
| first season, is to cut off their tops
| before they come to flower to pre-
vent seed production. Dandelions
dock and plantains however, must
| be cut out by the roots, or they will
return and be constant pest. A lit
tie copper sulphate, applied imme-
diately after cutting, also makes their
return practically impossible.
Cutting the Grass.
There are many small points which
are the "hobbies" of various experts
on lawns. Some believe in first cut
ting the grass when it is about three
inches high, and leaving the cuttings
as a sort of mulch; although this is
advocated more In the fall of the
year than in the spring. 1t is pretty
generally admitted that rolling the
ground, after planting, with a three
UNDERGROUND roller, overcomes the
ordinary looSening of the soil, incl
I dent to the frost leaving the ground
| early in the year. Moving previous
to the time the grass goes to seed is
| claimed to encourage a very strong
and healthy growth.
| II you have not purchased a lawn
mower, there are several excellent
kinds in the market at present. Some
have self-sharpening blades, making
1t unnecessary to have the machine
crippled with dull-cutting edges
Others have attached grass-catchers,
so arranged that the busy suburban
lite may cut his lawn and gather the
cut grass in one and the same opera
ton.
Contrary to the method generally
employed by the average suburban.
lite, light surface sprinklngs of lawns
are declared worse than useless by
those who know most about them.
The light surface sprinkling merely
checks Transportation for a little while
and relieves evaporation from the
surface of the ground only for a
short period of time. Gardeners say
that the right way to water lawn is
to lay the hose on the ground and to
permit the water to thoroughly soak
into one spot for a full hour Then
the hose should be moved to another
place and the same thing repeated
Getting the lawn in shape. and
keeping 1t so, is no idle task 1t re-
quires the services of an expert to
properly manage the thing every time
without fail About all the ordinary
suburbanite can do is to follow the
simple suggestions outlined above,
and with them as a guide SOW his
seed and keep after the lawn until it
is a lawn. And, if the initial effort
is not wholly satisfactory, the thing
to do is to "try and try again" for
a well-appointed and handsome lawn,
of whatever size. is a thing to be de-
sired. and, in the out -of- town dis
tricts, is practically a necessity.