The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1915-07-07
IMPROVING THE LAWN
TIMELY HINTS on CARE AND
MAN.AGESIENTS OF LAWNS.

United States Department of Agri-
culture Officials Give Instructions
About Keeping up Grassy Plots.
Improving an old lawn is very
much more difficult problem than
establishing new one. In many
cases it is impracticable to attempt
the improvement of an old lawn that
is in bad condition, say the special
lists of the United States department
of agriculture. However, if a rea-
sonably good turf obtains, it is pos
sible to better it materially by re-
seedlings, fertilizing and watering. In
the majority of cases improvement
is desired in the spring, since at this
season Lany bare spots are in evi-
dence as the result 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 advis-
able to spade them up, work thor
oughly, and seed, as in the case of
starting new lawn.
When the stanc of grass is thin
over the entire lawn or greater
portion of it, a special seeder equip
ped with small disks has been found
very satisfactory for cutting the seed
into the sod and thereby producing
favorable conditions for termination
and subsequent growth. In the early
spring, however, the soil is usually
loose Gs result of the freezing and
thawing and is in sufficiently open
condition to permit the seed to be
covered with little difficulty. After
seeding, if the ground has become
quite dry, rolling is usually benefl-
cial. Care should be taken when
moving or watering the newly seed
ed areas to avoid disturbing the
young grass. This caution always
applies in a measure to fall seeding
although there is not. so much dan
ger of damage in this wcy at this
season.
The management of the lawn after
it is once established is an extreme
ly important matter, and there are 3
few general practices that should be
followed carefully. Beginning in the
early spring, the first thing to do ii
to remove with rake the top dress,
! ing that has been applied the fall
before. After removing this It Is
| usually advisable to apply some fer,
tilizer, even though the soil is already
reasonc bly, fertile. one of the very
best fertilizers for the lawn in the
spring is nitrate of soda, but on ac'
| count of its quick action and its caus'
tic effect extreme caution should be
| used in it's application. Five pounds
of nitrate of soda are sufficient fol
1000 square feet of lawn, and if ap'
| piled in solution with the watering
pot and the grass then thoroughly
watered with hose, there is little
| danger of scalding. Bone meal /:
probably the best commercial fertili
zer to use on lawn, considering the
| danger from the misuse of nitrate
Of soda. Bone meal can be usee
without taking any special caution II
| it's application, as it is in no way in
| furious to the grass. Eight. pound:
to 1000 square feet is liberal ap'
| Dlication. Any commercial fertilizer
| that is used should be applied earl!
! in the spring, When the grass begin:
to grow. In fact, bone meal can be
used to advantage every month dur
ing the growing season, except per
haps July and August. FertiliziT
| through the season is especially ben
efcial in keeping the grass stimulat
| ed at times when it would otherwise
| be more or less inactive. Pulverizec
| limestone as a top dressing is yer!
helpful, and an application of thi:
substance can be made either in the
fall, winter, or spring. Lime cor
rects the acidity of the surface sol
and is useful in checking the growth
of moss and various other plants tha
are detrimental to the grass.
There is no hard and fast rule tt
be followed in connection with NOW
| ing the lawn, but clipping twice
week is not apt to injure it, and vii
induce the formation of a good turf
Too frequent clipping, however, is
| drain on the vitality of the grass anc
frequently results in injury.
There is some difference of opinion
as to whether clippings should be re-
moved after moving, but in genera
their removal is advised, especially
| during wet weather, since if left tc
| lie or the surface they are condu
Give to the growth of molds, which
in turn produce injury to the turf
On new seedlings, however, or where
the grass is thin, clippings can fire.
quently be allowed to remain with
benefit.
Now seedlings should not be clip
ped closely, and during the ho'
weather of midsummer and earl!
fall the mower should be set high fol
old and new grass alike. The roller
should be used discreetly. New gras:
is frequently benefited by a Egh'
rolling after the first. cutting. Ole
sod should be rolled in the spring tc
firm the surface that has been loos'
ened by freezing and thawing, but
during midseason it is very doubtful.
| if the lawn should be rolled ever
I lightly, especially where the soil is
| of heavy nature.
There are probably more mistakes
made in connection with the water
| ing of the lawn than in any Other
| phase of it's management. The prac,
tice of sprinkling as it is almost uni,
versally followed is fundamentally
| wrong, not that the. sprinkler does
not furnish enough water to the grass
| during the season but that it does
not furnish it in properly distributed
quantities. Sprinkling for a short
| period may appear to wet the sod
thoroughly, but in reality the water
does not penetrate much below the
surface. This encourages the for
nation of surface roots and makes
the grass less resistant to severe
conditions of weather and useage.
Except in rare cases, the lawn
should not be watered oftener than