Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-11-04

to the growth. The idea IL to get such
a luxuriant growth Of grass, which one
wants, that It win choke out the weeds
and ranker growths, which one does
not want.
Most gardeners viii say this is what
they have always tried to do. Perhaps
that is true, in q sense, but perhaps
they have had the single idea OF grass,
and not OF grass as q choke for weeds,
etc,
The choke idea must be kept In mind.
Even with the use Of animal manure,
which always introduces an abundance
Of weed seeds into lawn, it is possible
to get q luxuriant growth or grass, II
one will take care to pull on the leaves
Of the weeds as regularly as they ap-
pear. This is not difncult task on q
small lawn.
perhaps the better thought In mod
ern grass cultivation tends to let manure
alone. and to rely on the artificial fer
tilizers. There are two schools OF
thought here, one which relies on what
may be called straight fertilizers, and
those which make q liberal use OF SUI
phate Of ammonia, which gives the
grass an acid cast. :.
weeds do better In poor soil than
grass. so the idea Of both schools Is 70
get a luxuriant growth Of grass in rich
soil. not only for itself, as an end, but
also to choke out the weeds by sheer
force of numbers, as 1t were.
We would advise our correspondent
therefore, to stop digging UP the lawn.
and to 90 in heavily for. cultivation. Il
the decision is made to use sulphate OF
ammonia, which Is worth trying, II
must be used rather sparsely, ana not
out on until Spring. Any store which
sells 1t can give full directions TOT It's
use. and the quantity necessary per
thousand square feet.
Then. If crab grass persists, the gar
dener must be equally persistent. Gran
hold of stalk, and pull gently, Some
times it will rip up for a distance OF
or Z feet, but If the pulling IS MI
done too vigorously, little damage VIII
be done to the lawn. II too much turf
begins to come up, stop pulling, ana
cut OF the section at that point.
other weeds, including the dandelion
must have their leaves pulled on week.
". Not even q weed can stann Sucn
treatment. And every time q patch OF
weed leaves are pulled out, SOW grass
in the space left.
The chances are that soon the weeds
will be in a minimum. A few gooo
weeds never hurt any lawn. Sometimes
one is inclined to feel that too mucn
| SLreSS has Dccu put OIl q WOSAASSo @~"-
It is a difficult thing TO achieve, ano
seldom gives any particularly better et-
feet than a good lawn with the weeos
kept under, as suggested.
No one who Is struggling with poor
lawn should omit the consideration OF
two factors; shade and the possibility
Of gas In the soil. The shady lawn Is
and always will be problem. The
best solution lies in obtaining q mix
ture Of really good shady lawn
grasses. These mixtures are expensive
but are worth the money.
A small leak in q gas main VIII make
a good lawn impossible to achieve. This
amount Of gas cannot be smelled, and
we do not know how its presence may
be determined, except by soil analysis.
Such an analysis would be good
thing, In any event, II one Is serious
about finding out why grass viii not
grow. Without it, gardener y al-
ways working in the dark. Mostly he
Is successful in spite Of his ignorance
But where he is not, such determine
/ ton Of exact soil characteristics would
seem an essential.
These hints and suggestions are not
definitive, and are not meant to be;
the hope lies in the approach to the
lawn problem, as to any other, from
every possible angle. Thus one may
hit upon some one thing which will
prove the answer to the problem. We
would suggest, finally, that even rank
grass Ii better than no grass at all.