Evening star., 1936-04-09
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES Z. TRAcEWELL.

| be suitable for the alkaline types Of
| grasses. It Is no wonder that poor re-
| suits, or no results, or even harmful re-
| suits, are secured when fertilizers for
acid grasses are put on lawns for which
they are not suited.
~ 80
The question Of weeds in lawns is al
ways uppermoSt, when the truth Is that
| IL should be crowded out Just as the
weeds themselves are crowded out-by
| putting in so much grass seed that moth
| ing else can grow.
This will mean that some attention to
the bare spots will have 10 be given at
least twice year, in early Fall and early
Spring.
Some persons have developed q keen
sense as to just how far the old grass
will spread over bare spot in time
Others, not possessing this sense, will
| do well to take the spots as they show
up, and put plenty of grass seed in them
at the proper season.
This business of permitting a lawn to
run itself, year after year, is not so
| good. 1t is something like the idea of
| letting an aquarium run untouched by
| human hand for several years. This, as
feat, may be good, but as good care is
scarcely up to par. In addition, the
idea has led many persons to attempt
who have neither the knowledge nor
| skill to attain it. The result has been
many dirty, ill-managed tanks, when all
the time they might have been things of
| beauty and happy homes for the fishes
by the addition of fresh water every week
| and the Junking of the idea that a tank
| should be able to take care of itself
without human care.
| X
Now a lawn is a somewhat similar
proposition. 1t can, if necessary, run
along for years with no attention other
than moving. But then the moss will
grow in all the shady spots, and bare
patches will come to offer ready harbor
| to flying weed seeds.
| The ideal Of seeding all bare spots,
on the other hand. as fast as they ap-
| pear. and whenever they appear in
| Spring, Summer and Fall, repoSes Solidly
on the natural basis that if grass is
| present there is no room for anything
else.
Give grass chance. 1t is as much a
weed as anything else; that is. it will
! fight it out with dandelions, even, if it
! can get established first.
This is much better and easier way
| to battle undesirable weeds than to try
| roofing or pulling them out after they
are established. 1t presupposes that the
lawn maker have bag of chosen seed
! handy at all times, and, second, be not
afraid of dipping into it.
| The way to SOW grass seed, when or
wherever sown, is to put in about twice
as much as ones inclination is, then to
! calmly double that amount. so that in
! the end one has sown about four times
as much seed as the first inclination is.
This gives the birds one-fourth, the
wind another fourth and allows a third
fourth for rotting and failure to germi-
nate.
The final one-fourth, then, is what
does the work, but if this is all that is
put in, in the first place, it may be seen
what a small amount Of seed ever comes
to maturity.
Re-seeding, at the proper time. is one
of the real secrets of an average good
lawn. A few pounds, after all, will go
a long way in this type Of seeding. 1t is
false economy to try to save here, for
the lawn is background for both house
and garden.