Evening star., 1925-05-26
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

penetrates the surface soil. Every
| night this slight penetration continues,
so that the grass gets to looking for
ward to water on-the surface.
So the roots begin to grow upward.
During the growing season they are
not apparent in the ground, but when
| Winter comes, they begin to lie un-
exposed. The result is the death of the
individual grass plants. for grass is a
| plant like other plants. A lawn is
merely a colony OF them.
! X X * J;
The way to avoid this upward turn
ing of the grass roots is to soak the
lawn when you do water it.
Lawn experts unite in declaring for
a thorough watering once a week, or
| even less often, in preference to the
daily light sprinkling.
BY thorough soaking they mean just
that. Splatter the water on until you
can hear 1t beating down upon the
grass as the water does in bath tub
| Water upon water-that is the
ideal
The best method Of securing this
splatter is to take the fancy nozzle of
the nose, and allow the water to pour
| out.
| To do this, of course requires more
hose than the average person possesses
AT least rs feet will be required for
the smallest back yard. with 100 or
more feet necessary for a 50-foot lot
(width).
In this sort of watering it is nee.
essary to stand almost over the spot
to be wetted, wherefore arises the
necessity for the longer length of
hose. No more can one sit on the
porch and allow the water to make
a graceful curve into the air, in order
to hit that difficult spot out by the
fence.
Now it becomes necessary to stand
all the time. Painfully, square foot
by square foot, the entire lawn must
be gone over The yard must be
soaked with water. Make it stand in
puddles, listen to the patter of wa.
ter on water, water out of the hose
on water standing brimful in slight
depressions
| When the yard has been gone over
in this fashion, 1t has been watered
What II all the poetry OF sprinkling
Is lost? Who wants poetry in the
back yard, anyway? What the house
holder does want is beauty, and he is
in fair way to get it, If he sticks to
his resolve
BY his self-imposed restraint he Is
really watering his grass, not tanta
lizing 1t, inviting the sun to come ou,
next day and burn it up. Water
pouring rather sloppily out of the hose
soaks down, down, down to the bot
tom OF the grass sea, and there Nc
Ginty Roots drink II up eagerly
When the sun beams forth next day
the grass shoots f1aunt fresh and
green in the face of his rays
Dry me up. you shrimp" roars
the grass blade. Try to dry me up
IL you cam
The best part of such watering is
that 1t does not have to be repeated
every night. Once a week will be
sufficient. and when Nature sends a
good shower. probably once every two
weeks would be ample.
What we are doing, of course, is our
best to initiate Mother Nature. Wher
she sends a rain, usually she sends a
good soaking one. She seldom "sprin
kles."
While allowing the water to pour
out of the hose for two hours nigh,
seem TO be wasteful of water. It really
is saving of it, something to be KEEP,
in mind in a great city during the
Summer.
Instead of having the water on six
evenings a week, it will be on but one
When this saving of water is con
sidered along with the benefit to the
grass, there would seem to be nc
reason left for the old way of sprin
king the yard.