Seed

Much difficulty is often experienced in obtaining a good mixture of

grass seed for the lawn, and different mixtures are recommended and sold

for sowing lawns, some of which are entirely worthless. Great pains

should be taken to have nothing but first-class seeds, which should be

obtained direct of some responsible dealer. The finest sward we ever saw

was made from the following mixture:



10 quarts Rhode Island Bent-grass.

4 " White Clover.

8 " Kentucky Blue-grass.

6 " Red-top Grass.



Sow at the rate of six bushels to the acre. Grass seed can be sown in

the fall any time from the first of October to the first of December. If

the seed be sound, a good sward may be expected the following summer,

and a good turf may be expected from spring sown seeds if the season is

not too dry. The dryer the ground is when the seeds are sown, the

better. To keep the lawn in a flourishing condition, fresh and green all

summer, it will need a top-dressing of well-rotted manure applied in the

fall, at least once every two years. Grass roots derive their

nourishment close to the surface, hence the great advantage of

top-dressing. In some localities where the frost "heaves" the sod to any

extent during the winter, it will be advantageous to roll it down in the

spring with a heavy roller, doing it just after a heavy rain. When the

ground is soft and pliable, this will make the surface smooth, and in

proper condition for the lawn-mower to pass over it.



Frequent mowing will thicken the sward. It is not necessary to sow oats,

as some do, to shade the ground until the seeds have started, that is an

"old fogy" notion, and is now obsolete.