The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1915-08-14
IMPROVING THE LAWN.
Repair, Improvement, and General
Management.

Washington, Aug. S.--The i'm.
provement of an old lawn is very
much more difficult problem than es.
tablishing new one. In many cases
1t is impracticable to attempt the i'm.
provement of an old lawn that is in
bad condition says the specialists OF
the United States Department Of Ag-
riculture However, If reasonably
good turf obtains, 1t is possible to bet
ter IL materially by reseeding, fertil-
izing, and watering. In the major
ity Of cases Improvement is desired in
the spring. since at this season many
bare spots are i'm evidence as the re-
suit of the preceding winter. If the
areas to be improved are small, they
can be handworked and reseeded with
little difficulty. If they are large it is
usually advisable to spade them up,
work thoroughly, and seed, as In the
case of starting new lawn. In any
event. reseeding should be done early
in the spring with a liberal quantity
of the mixture before described.
When the stand of grass Is thin over
the entire lawn or a greater portion
of it. a special seeder equipped with
small dicks has been found very salts
factory for cutting the seed into the
sod and thereby producing favorable
for termination and sub
sequent growth. In the early spring,
however, the soil is usually loose as
a result of the freezing and thawing
and Is in sufficient open condition to
permit the seed to be covered with
little difficulty. After seeding, If the
ground has become quite dry, rolling
Is usually beneficial. Care should be
taken when moving or watering the
newly seeded areas to avoid disturb
ing the young grass. This caution al
ways applies In a measure to fall
Sc ding, although there is not so
much danger of damage in the case Of
the latter.
Fcrtillzing.
The management of the lawn after
1t is once established Is an extremely
important matter, and there are a
few general practices that should be
followed carefully. Beginning in the
early spring, the first thing to do is
to remove with rake the top dress
ing that has been applied the fall be-
fore. After removing this it Is usu-
ally advisable to apply some fertilizer,
even though the soil is already reason
ably fertile. One of the very best
fertilizers for the lawn in the spring
" nitrate OF sofia, but on account OF
its quick action and its caustic effect
extreme caution should be used in it's
application. Five pounds of nitrate
OF soda are sufficient for 1000 square
feet of lawn, and If applied in solu-
tion with the watering pot and the
grass then thoroughly watered with q
hose, there is little danger of scalding.
Bone meal is probably the best COM
mercial fertilizer to use on a lawn,
considering the danger from the mis-
use Of nitrate of soda. Bone meal
can be used without taking any spe-
cial caution in it's application. as it is
in no way INJURIOUS to the grass. Eight
pounds to 1000 square feet Is q liber-
al application. Any commercial fer
tilizer that Is used should be applied
early in the spring when the grass be-
gins to grow. In fact, bone meal can
be used to advantage every month
during the growing season, except
perhaps July and August. Fertilizing
through the season Is especially bene-
hcial in keeping the grass stimulated
at times when 1t would otherwise be
more or less inactive. Pulverized lime
stone as a top dressing is very help
ful. and an application of this sub
stance can be made either in the fall
winter or spring. Lime corrects the
acidity Of the surface soil and Is USE
full in checking the growth Of moss
and various other plants that are dct.
rimcntal to the grass.