Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-13
THE HOME GARDENER
CARE OF THE LAWN.

A great many lawns look rather ragged
at this season, with bare spots here and
there, where the crab grass died out
last Autumn after having sniothered out
the better grasses, Just what to do with
these unkempt lawns is a problem. Left
alone the returning crab grass will fill
the empty places and by early June the
surface will again be covered with mat
of green. A better plan than to wait
for the crab grass is 10 looser: the SOIL
in these bare spots and to SOW grass
seed.
One can easily understand why the
park caretakers prefer to sow grass in
/ the Autumn. The weather is then cool
and usually moist, annual grasses and
weeds are dying down and the. young
grass plants have a chance to grow
vigorously and form light sod BY
Spring the young grasses ere sufficiently
established to hold their own with thu
new crop of weeds.
Manure is often used as top dress
ing for lawns, but is not to be recon-
mended on account of the weeds that in
variably come with it. Manure may
better be used in making new lawns
where it is 70 Pc spaded deeply into the
soil. A very a4eFable fertilizer for the
lawn, fornnula Suggested by one OF
the Department of Agriculture soil fer
tllity investigators, consists of three
parts of cottonseed meal and one part
of Sulphate of ammonia, this to be used
at the rate Of one pound per 100 square
feet of grass. This fertilizer should be
| washed down to the roots with the hose
or distributed before rain. Good feed
ing may be expected to do a whole lot
toward keeping the lawn In condition.
Lining the lawn is not beneficial prac-
ttce; in fact. it may be harmful. since
1t encourages chickweed, plantain and
other grass weeds. Sulphate of am
monla, on the other hand, encourages
the growth of better grasses and dis
courages these weeds by making the soil
more acid.
The creeping bent grasses are I'M
ooubtediy going to be used in the best
| lawns OF the future. These are propa-
gated by the use Of small pieces of sod
OF by scattering small plants over the
surface and covering lightly with soil.
AT Arlington Farm, Virginia, there may
| be seen some fine areas of lawn de-
veloped with bent grasses. The turf is
literally almost like velvet carpet and,
what is more significant the bent grass
SodS, once established, are very per-
manent, In an experiment at the Mis-
souri, Botanical Garden at st. Louis. IS
! piats, embracing practically all the lawn
| grasses and mixtures available, were
! planted in 1922. Six years later only
| z plats survived, of which were
! bent grasses. The others. including
orchard grass, meadow foxtail. sweet
vernal, BERMUDA grass, Canada blue
grass, red top, Italian rye, white clover
and seven special mixtures, were dead.
| This conservative institution is an ar
| dent booster for the bent grasses. but
| urges modest start. Autumn is recon-
mended as the best time for planting
/ the bent grasses. The article ends with
the admonition, mo stand of grass
| worthy of the name lawn" can be OBJ
| tanned without the expenditure of care
and money, and after once established it
cannot be neglected any more than a
flower or vegetable garden