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B 433 
 L8 
 opy 1 
 
 Beautify the Lawn to Reflect 
 Your Personality 
 
 The Ninth 
 
 of a Series of Monographs 
 
 on the Improvement of 
 
 Plant Life 
 
 ISSUED BY 
 
 The Luther Burbank Society 
 
 SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA 
 
 COPYRIGHT 1915, BY LUTHER BURBANK PRESS 
 
 Wont>^aph 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 There is a crispness in the home grown Let- 
 tuce whicli the green grocer neither keeps nor 
 sells; a delicacy of flavor and an evanescent bloom 
 in the home grown Grape or Plum, which money 
 spent with the fruiterer can never buy. A fresh 
 fragrance and undrooping charm in the home 
 grown Rose, which even tlie most skilled florist 
 cannot preserve; and above all, there is a joy in 
 the production of our own vegetables, our own 
 fruits and our own flowers — a joy in making our 
 door-yards blossom and bear, a joy in making our 
 own soil yield, which far exceeds the profits our 
 gardens give. 
 
 It is the hope of the Luther Rurbank Society 
 that this series of Monographs, with their simple, 
 practical instructions, will be of help, not alone to 
 those who now have kitchen-gardens and front- 
 yard flower-plots — but to those, as well, who do 
 not yet know the allurement of the home garden, 
 thus opening up for them this great field of undi- 
 luted pleasure. 
 
 M 28 I91b 
 
 ©CI,A401538 
 

 BEAUTIFY THE LAWN TO 
 REFLECT YOUR PERSONALITY 
 
 IT is ciiiphatically true that the things around 
 us in Nature are our chief teacliers in the 
 world of beauty. 
 
 The things we see in the big outdoors are 
 the great themes of all art. Painting, poetry, and 
 music endeavor to interpret to us what we may 
 see face to face. We may visit a great art gallery 
 or hear the best music; but every day we have the 
 everlasting hills. "Occasionally a line of poetry 
 will stir our whole soul," says Frank Waugh, "but 
 every breath of wind in the pine trees can tell the 
 same story." 
 
 And not only is this true in the world of beauty 
 but the power of environment upon every living 
 species has been accepted as the fundamental law 
 of life. We have found that we are able to select, 
 create or regulate this outside influence. It is this 
 created environment that reflects our personalities. 
 
 [3] 
 
In every coiiimunity there arc people whose 
 personalities are reflected in their homes. Even 
 though they may be secluded in their habits, and 
 may not be in close touch with their neighbors, 
 their homes are pointed out as the "prettiest 
 places in town" and they are recognized as citizens 
 to be commended for their civic pride and 
 enterprise. 
 
 It was for this reason that Jim Phetteplace was 
 the most talked of man in Holbrook. He lived on 
 the main street of the town and no one passed his 
 home without taking particular notice of it. 
 
 Jim spent considerable time in keeping up the 
 lawn and flowers, it is true, but it was well worth 
 vhile, because in addition to being the most talked 
 )f man in the place, he was also one of the hap- 
 piest. He enjoyed every minute devoted to the 
 beautifying of his little "nest," 
 
 Phetteplace's home was indeed a picture. The 
 bungalow of simple design was smoothed into the 
 back-ground by a border of shrubs and flowers, 
 and a top-covering formed by three mammoth oak 
 trees, two of which were near the rear, the other 
 one standing just behind the house, reached above 
 the roof just high enough to produce the proper 
 symmetry. 
 
 Along the curb were four elm trees, so perfectly 
 
 [4] 
 
developed that a person driving along the road 
 could not help but enjoy three delightful vistas of 
 the house. No matter from what angle the home 
 was viewed, it was attractive. It reflected Phette- 
 place's personality and this reflection brought oul 
 the harmony and happiness of his life. 
 
 There was nothing unusual about the bungalow, 
 nothing particularly unique about the trees or the 
 flowers. The lawn was not much" different from 
 any other good lawn, but it was the combination 
 of all these that produced the picture that so 
 impressed the passer-by. On every side was har- 
 mony; on every side was depicted the poetry of 
 nature. 
 
 The grass-sward, or lawn itself, was wide and 
 deep. The house sat back from the road some 
 fifty feet. Perhaps you would not call a fifty foot 
 lawn a large lawn, but lawns, you know, must be 
 laid out according to the size of the grounds, and 
 Phetteplace's place was a small one. 
 
 The conventional yard fence had disappeared. 
 There was a single path that lead up to the front 
 door of the bungalow — not a straight path with 
 sharp angles, but a gracefully curved one. It was 
 a "natural" path. Nature does nothing stiffly or 
 on abrupt or rigid lines. 
 
 The path was made of stones placed some 
 
 [5] 
 
distance apart, unlike an ordinary side walk. 
 There were patches of grass between each two and 
 they might have been called "stepping stones." 
 The lawn mower ran over their edges without 
 ditriculty because they were all placed flush with 
 the top of the soil. 
 
 At first glance it appeared that the bungalow 
 was built without corners. The sharp angles were 
 covered by climbing vines and tail shrubs so that 
 the entire building blended, as it were, into the 
 picture. 
 
 The entrance to the house was wide and 
 hospitable. Pots of drooping vines were set on 
 either side of the entrance and vines covered the 
 porch posts and seemed to invite one to the com- 
 forts within. 
 
 There were no plants or trees in the lawn. The 
 only object that interfered with its continuity from 
 one end to the other was the path of stepping 
 stones. The grading indicated that Phetteplace 
 not only had a good knowledge of landscape 
 gardening but also an intuitive artistic conception 
 of the best effect that could be produced under 
 existing circumstances. 
 
 A more simple arrangement could hardly be 
 imagined, yet everyone admitted that no lawn 
 could have been more attractive. Beginning at the 
 
 [6] 
 
side walk, the edge curved gently, following for a 
 short distance the contour of the path, then it 
 dodged in hetween two bushes and from there on 
 followed a rather irregular coiu'sc to the edge of 
 the bungalow. A low growing, weeping elm 
 bounded it there and the drooping branches of 
 this tree hid the trunk and blended in with the 
 delightful green of the grass. 
 
 On the other side it was of similar arrangement, 
 but had an entirely different outline. The boun- 
 dary was made in curves and without any angles 
 of any kind. Even the connection with the wide 
 walk was smoothed away by a dwarf lilac bush. 
 
 So simple was the picture that the onlooker felt 
 that it would be an easy matter to duplicate it. It 
 was the result, however, of a great deal of patient 
 and painstaking labor. Just as the painter of a 
 picture requires months of thought and labor to 
 produce his best work, so the building of this home 
 represented months, of careful planning and 
 painstaking execution. 
 
 When Phetteplace bought his home, it was in 
 a very rundown condition. A wabbly fence divided 
 his lot from the next one. On the other side was 
 a ragged hedge that had received no attention since 
 it had been put in. The house itself was dilapidated 
 and what passed for a lawn was overgrown with 
 weeds. 
 
Phetteplace first sketched the picture of his 
 ideal home in his mind. It was only an outline, 
 but it was the beginning of the picture. Each day 
 he added something to it. New ideas came to him 
 as the work progressed. After one bush had been 
 planted and had made some growth, an opening 
 for another appeared. 
 
 The lawn itself was made anew. The first 
 work was a work of destruction. All of the soil 
 was turned over and the lawn was made to look 
 more like a vegetable garden than anything else. 
 The weeds were turned under, and the soil was 
 allowed to remain this way for sometime. Then 
 a liberal coating of rotted barnyard manure was 
 applied and worked into the soil by a series of 
 spadings, and water was applied every morning 
 for several weeks. 
 
 After the soil had been allowed to dry for three 
 or four days, it was spaded up again and the lumps 
 pulverized. The treatment from this time on was 
 a continuous process of pulverizing, fertilizing 
 and leveling. No seed was sown until the surface 
 was as nearly perfect as Phetteplace could make it. 
 
 The stepping stones had been arranged and 
 placed on good foundations and the soil had been 
 leveled and firmed about them. The outline of 
 
 [8] 
 
shrubbery had been arranged and the bushes and 
 flowers about the house planted. 
 
 Lack of pure grass seed, and the right variety 
 is one of tlie chief causes of the failure and un- 
 certainty of lawns. So Phetteplace was careful 
 about his combination. It consisted of Kentucky 
 Blue grass, Red Top, and English Rye grass. 
 Kentucky Blue grass makes a good lawn, but this 
 being rather a slow growing variet}^ the others 
 were sown with it to give the lawn an earlier start. 
 
 About a month after the seed was sown the 
 lawn was an attractive green. The rye grass made 
 its first appearance, but it soon spent its course. 
 The Red Top then covered the surface. This was 
 finally overgrown by a thick growth of Kentucky 
 Blue grass, which by its strength, helped by the 
 greater time it had had for development, over- 
 shadowed the two other varieties. 
 
 The combination used consisted of twelve 
 pounds of Kentucky Blue grass seed, five pounds 
 Red Top, and three pounds English Rye grass. 
 The seed was sown rather thickly and was care- 
 fully raked into the thoroughly pulverized surface. 
 
 From the time the seed was sown, no weed 
 ever had an opportunity to make a start. Phette- 
 place was on the lookout every morning and his 
 eye had been so thoroughly trained that he could 
 
 [9] 
 
see the first outcropping of a weed, even though 
 it might be smaller than the grass blades that 
 surrounded it. 
 
 He knew most of the weeds by name, too, and 
 exactly how deep the roots extended. It wasn't 
 the top of the plant that interested him so much, 
 but the roots. He always made his weeding count, 
 and figured that it was never necessary to perforin 
 a task more than once if it was done right the first 
 
 time. 
 
 * * * 
 
 On the north side of Holbrook there is another 
 home quite as well known among the town people 
 as Phetteplace's. It has an extensive lawn in front 
 of it — larger than Phetteplace's — but one would 
 not be attracted by its beauty as he passed by. 
 
 There has been work done on this northside 
 home, it is true, and the owner spends almost as 
 much time and labor on his grounds as does 
 Phetteplace, but his work does not count for much 
 because his plans have been misdirected from the 
 outset. 
 
 As in Phetteplace's little garden the personality 
 of the owner is reflected in his home surroundings, 
 but it isn't the same sort of personality. He is a 
 careless man. He doesn't seem to understand that 
 a job imperfectly done must be done over again 
 at greater cost. He doesn't - devote his time to 
 
 [10] 
 
beautifying his grounds because he enjoys it, but 
 because he considers it a sort of necessary evil. 
 
 Although the size of this "other man's" lawn 
 is some 200 feet each way, the space for grass is so 
 taken up by the excessive planting of shrubs and 
 flowers that he seldom ever uses the mower. When 
 the grass is cut it is done with a hand sickle. 
 
 In front of the place is a neglected and broken 
 down fence. The gate stands ajar, balanced on a 
 single hinge. The pickets are out of place and two 
 or three of the posts have rotted off and allowed 
 the fence to fall. 
 
 The shrubs and flowers have been planted 
 where the lawn should be and the sharp angles 
 of the house make it stand out like a barn on a 
 barren hilltop. 
 
 The flowers, when they do bloom, look weak 
 and sickly. The colors do not harmonize at all, 
 even the plants themselves are of such a variation 
 in height that there is no harmony even when the 
 blossoms are not to be seen. 
 
 Once upon a time a circular bed had been 
 planned in the lawn; stones were piled around the 
 edges, and dirt thrown into the center. Now this 
 bed stands as a monument to the carelessness of 
 the owner rather than as a tribute to his genius as 
 a landscapist. 
 
 [ii: 
 
But let us get this depressing picture of the 
 careless man's place out of our minds and go back 
 to Phetteplace and his pretty home. Get it fixed 
 so firmly in your mind, that you will duplicate it in 
 your own home. The lawn is bound to reflect your 
 personality unless you hire some one else to take 
 care of it, and if you have a lawn made by a care- 
 less workman, it will probably reflect his per- 
 sonality instead of your own. 
 
 This life is too short to neglect the wonderful 
 benefits that come from having a real home in the 
 country. No matter what your circumstances, you 
 cannot afford to live in a city flat, nor can you 
 afford to work so hard at your business that you 
 will not have time to care for your home. 
 
 If you do either of these, both your business 
 and your body will suffer. The body needs the 
 recreation that comes from a close touch with 
 Nature. Your business needs the best service your 
 mind and body can give it and if you get away 
 from Nature altogether you probably will not be 
 capable of giving the mental and physical service 
 
 your business demands. 
 
 * * * 
 
 There are, of course, choices in the selection of 
 soil for a good lawn, but sometimes we must con- 
 tent ourselves with the kind of soil that we can get 
 rather than the kind that we know is best. There 
 
 [12] 
 
are two or three general principles that apply 
 alike to all kinds of soils. The methods of applying 
 these principles, however, vary according to the 
 kind of soil in which the seed is to be sown. 
 
 The grass roots must have a firm foundation. 
 They must grow in a soil that will retain sufficient 
 moisture to feed them, but still not hold the water 
 so persistently that the roots will die from the 
 excess of moisture. If the soil should be of this 
 nature, some means must be taken to drain it. 
 
 Sometimes it is worth while to cart away the 
 surface soil and replace it with a mellow loam 
 that is just right for the seed. This, of course, is 
 expensive and should not be done if there is any 
 way out of it. 
 
 When it is done, it is usually necessary to take 
 away the soil to a depth of from a foot to eighteen 
 inches all over the plot to be planted. A particu- 
 larly ideal seed bed can then be made if a mellow, 
 black, rich soil is secured. 
 
 Work in plenty of fertilizer and plenty of 
 moisture with the soil and see that it is well settled 
 and packed before the seed is planted. If this is 
 not done there will be settlings here and there 
 making little hills or valleys over the surface. If 
 there are any pipes to be laid beneath the lawn, 
 this work should be done before the seed is planted 
 
 [13] 
 
and the holes well packed and the soil thoroughly 
 settled before the lawn is started. 
 
 A friend of the writer has found the following 
 method a good way to "make over" an old lawn. 
 A stick about an inch in diameter and three feet 
 long was sharpened at one end and driven into 
 the earth a couple of feet below the surface in 
 different places. Into the holes thus made was 
 tamped a rich mixture of finely powdered ferti- 
 lizer composed of hard wood ashes and bone meal. 
 After filling the holes they were thoroughly soaked 
 with water. Little pieces of sod were then fitted 
 onto the holes and packed down with the back of 
 a spade. This added food started the grass and 
 
 made a new lawn in a short time. 
 
 * * * 
 
 You should be very cautious regarding the pur- 
 chase of grass seed. Unfortunately not all dealers 
 who have seed to sell are entirely honest and so 
 one must know something about grass seed before 
 he buys it. It is a very easy matter to add chaff 
 and sweepings to seed and they increase the weight 
 and greatly decrease the value. Moreover, lawn 
 seed is pretty expensive and when you buy chaff- 
 doctored seed you pay as much for the chaff as 
 you do for the good seed. 
 
 The right way to buy grass seed is to secure 
 samples of the different kinds of seed from differ- 
 
 [14] 
 
ent dealers. Take very small amounts of the 
 various samples of the same kind of seed and place 
 them in small piles in a row. Flatten them out 
 with a knife blade so that every seed can be 
 examined carefully. At first glance you will see 
 considerable difference in the samples and if you 
 use a small magnifying glass or reading glass you 
 will be able to notice even a greater difference. 
 
 Some samples will be composed of plump seeds 
 with a healthy appearance. Others will be partly 
 plump seeds and partly chaff. Of course, there 
 will be some foreign matter in every sample, but 
 the sample that has the least in is the one that is 
 most valuable. 
 
 This experiment will teach you the real shape 
 and characteristics of the different kinds of seed, 
 and if you give it some study you will find it 
 greatly to your advantage. Remember that when 
 grass seed is planted it is sown — not for a single 
 year's crop — but for all time to come and should 
 be right in the beginning. 
 
 There are many kinds of grass seeds suitable 
 for lawns, each with a special use. Kentucky Blue 
 grass (Poa pratensis) is the best all round grass 
 for lawns. It grows slowly but is vigorous and can 
 be grown in almost any kind of soil, except in one 
 strong in acid. It thrives in the south and north, 
 in the east and west. 
 
 [15] 
 
Red Top (Agrostis vulgaris) starts its growth 
 more quickly than Blue grass, but is not so good 
 for a permanent lawn grass. It has the advantage 
 of being unusually well adapted to sandy soil. It 
 is good to sow under some conditions with Ken- 
 tucky Blue grass. 
 
 English Rye grass (Loliiim pereniie) is also a 
 rapid growing variety and produces almost imme- 
 diate results on a good soil. For this reason it 
 makes a good combination with Blue grasS' for it 
 serves to give a pleasing appearance to the lawn 
 until the Blue grass gets a start. 
 
 Various-leaved Fescue (Festaca heterophijsia) 
 is especially well adapted to shady spots and moist 
 places. Sometimes there are places between the 
 buildings or under large trees where the blue grass 
 does not get sufTicicnt sun to thrive as it should or 
 there may be a very wet soil that cannot be 
 properly drained. It is on these spots that the 
 Fescue should be used. 
 
 Rhode Island Bent (Agrostis canina) is one of 
 the creeping grasses and is especially well adapted 
 to sandy soil. Very often there is splendid use for 
 it on a sandy terrace or slope. 
 
 Creeping Bent (Agrostis stolonifera) is also 
 good for sandy soils and is largely used for sandy 
 
 [16] 
 
banks. It makes a good combination with Rhode 
 Island Bent. 
 
 Crested Dog's Tail (Cynosiiriis critstatiis) is 
 another variety especially adapted to slopes and 
 shady spots. It forms a compact sod and does not 
 need quite so much mowing as some other 
 varieties. 
 
 Wood Meadow grass (Poa nemoralis) is a 
 hardy grass used considerably in northern climates 
 for shady places. 
 
 Red Fescue {Festica riiba) : When other 
 grasses fail because of the poorness of the soil this 
 is the variety to plant. It thrives even on gravelly 
 banks. 
 
 White Clover (Trifolium repens) : While this 
 is often found in an open lawn, it is not to be 
 especially recommended for this purpose. It is 
 better for slopes. It does, however, make a quick 
 start when the soil is just right for it. 
 
 Sheep Fescue (Festiica ovina) is another 
 variety especially adapted to light and dry soils. 
 
 You will see by this list that the only real stan- 
 dard lawn grass is Kentucky Blue grass. The 
 others are recommended primarily for special 
 uses. The main problem then is to select the best 
 seed of Blue grass. 
 
 As has already been suggested, samples of seed 
 
 [17] 
 
should be secured from different houses and 
 examined. After you have found the sample that 
 seems best from a physical examination, give it a 
 germination test. Sometimes seed that is old or 
 that has not been properly treated will look 
 healthy but may not have the power to germinate. 
 
 In order to be sure on this point, count out a 
 hundred or a thousand seeds, all of which appear 
 to be normal, and place them on a plate between 
 two damp blotters. By keeping the blotters damp, 
 the seeds that are really alive will soon germinate. 
 The germinating seeds must be kept in a place not 
 colder than an ordinary even temperature. 
 
 As soon as the tiny seeds throw out shoots long 
 enough to be readily distinguished, the number of 
 seeds germinating should be counted. This will 
 give the percentage of vitality and will indicate 
 the real value of the seed. 
 
 You cannot expect every seed to grow, of 
 course, but a large percentage of them should 
 grow. If you find that half the number of seeds 
 have failed to germinate, do not buy the seed. If 
 you must use seed that is weak in germination you 
 must increase the amount sown according to the 
 percentage of germination. If only 75% of the 
 seed grow it would be necessary to use one-fourth 
 more seed than had been originally planned. 
 
 [18] 
 
As has already been suggested, it is often a good 
 plan to sow a mixture of two or more kinds of seed 
 in order to give the lawn a good start. A few 
 combinations are suggested here : 
 
 Kentucky Blue grass, twelve pounds 
 Red Top, five pounds 
 English Rye grass, three pounds 
 This quantity should make a bushel and the 
 seed should be sown at the rate of three and one- 
 half or four bushels per acre. 
 
 For a real shady spot, the following mixture 
 ought to succeed : 
 
 35% Kentucky Blue grass 
 35% Wood Meadow grass 
 15% Various-leaved Fescue 
 15% Crested Dog's Tail. 
 Where it is necessary to use quick growing 
 grass to prevent the shifting of the soil on a steep 
 slope, the following combination will be useful : 
 30% Kentucky Blue grass 
 30% Rhode Island Bent 
 25% Creeping Bent 
 10% Sheep Fescue 
 5% White Clover. 
 Do not omit the White Clover, for it is very 
 essential in this particular combination. Even if 
 some of these varieties do not find the location 
 
 [19] 
 
congenial, it is almost sure that the others will 
 and the sowing will be a success. If only two 
 varieties are sown at a time, they might be just 
 the ones that were not adapted to the conditions 
 and so the sowing would be a failure and you 
 would have no lawn until the next season. 
 
 It is not a simple task to sow grass seed. The 
 slightest wind blows the seed to places where you 
 do not want it. One of the worst mistakes that 
 can be made in sowing grass is to allow it to drop 
 onto the soil in bunches. A lawn is not a lawn 
 unless it is evenly carpeted with a vigorous growth 
 of grass and when the seed is not spread evenly 
 the grass, of course, will be very uneven, and a 
 poor lawn should be considered as inexcusable a 
 home-feature as a ragged or soiled carpet. 
 
 Choose a time early in the morning or late in 
 the evening when there is no wind, scatter the seed 
 by hand, holding the hand as near to the soil as 
 possible, and let the seed sift out between the 
 fingers as the arm is swung in a semi-circle. Swing 
 the arm both ways, scattering the seed as you go. 
 
 The best time to start the lawn is early in the 
 spring. Just as soon as the frost is out of the 
 ground the soil must be thoroughly prepared and 
 as soon as the soil is ready, the seed should be 
 sown. This gives the grass a chance to make 
 
 [20] 
 
headway before fall. If the seed is sown late in 
 the season it may not get enough start to hold it 
 over winter. 
 
 In severe climates it is best to protect the lawn 
 the first winter. Scatter over it a fairly thick 
 covering of coarse barn yard manure. This will 
 not only give protection from the cold but will also 
 add fertility. 
 
 Plenty of moisture should be supplied during 
 the first summer. If rains are not frequent enough 
 to keep the soil well watered, irrigate. In localities 
 where there is little or no rairr during the summer, 
 it will be necessary to apply even more water. 
 
 This matter of irrigation is an important one 
 and one in which many persons make a mistake. 
 Very often a sprinkler is used to distribute the 
 water but does not do the work well. A circular 
 sprinkler only covers a round space and when it is 
 moved to another part of the lawn there is usually 
 a spot on each side that has not been wet. 
 
 The most effective way of watering the lawn 
 is to use a lawn pipe with small nozzles inserted 
 every six inches. When the water is turned into 
 this pipe it is distributed through the various small 
 nozzles and covers the area thoroughly. 
 
 Tliis pipe should be raised from the ground 
 three or four feet in order to give the best service. 
 
 [21] 
 
The nozzles needed in this system of irrigation 
 may be purchased from any hardware dealer. 
 
 Sometimes it is almost impossible to get a lawn 
 started by sowing seed, and when this is so sod 
 must be transplanted. Take the sod up carefully, 
 cutting it in strips about twelve inches wide and 
 thick enough so as not to injure the roots. Cut it 
 into lengths convenient to handle and transplant 
 these where the new lawn is to be made. 
 
 See that the surface of the soil upon which the 
 sod is to be laid is perfectly level and well 
 dampened before the sod is put in place. Lay the 
 strips close together and pack them in solid by 
 spanking with the back of a spade. Plenty of 
 moisture must be supplied. The grass will soon 
 take hold and the lawn will be assured. 
 
 This method is often resorted to in a lawn on a 
 side hill or a steep bank. Where seed can be 
 sown this plan should not be used because it is 
 more ditficult and more expensive to get a real 
 good lawn in this way. 
 
 One important caution must be given in the 
 way of fertilizing. If manure is used, only that 
 thoroughly decomposed should be applied. The 
 reason for this is that fresh mamu'e always con- 
 tains more or less weed seeds. You would not think 
 of taking a handful of weed seeds and scattering 
 
 [22] 
 
them on your lawn, but this is practically what 
 you do when you apply fresh barn yard manure. 
 Thoroughly decomposed manure usually has at 
 least a part of the seeds destroyed. 
 
 To stimulate the growth of grass on your lawn 
 in spring, hard wood ashes and bone meal should 
 be used as a top dressing. These are always free 
 from seeds and possess the right quantities of 
 elements that the grass usually needs. They 
 should be applied liberally, scattering the mixture 
 on the lawn until it is white. If this is done before' 
 a rain, the rain will wash the plant food into the 
 soil and it is at once taken to the roots. 
 
 Do not be in too big a hurry to mow your lawn. 
 Young grass should be given a good start before 
 it is cut. It is usually better not to attempt to clip 
 the lawn at all until it is at least three inches high. 
 In fact, it will be better to let it grow even taller 
 than this and then mow it with a scythe. 
 
 The first few times you cut your lawn the mow- 
 ing should be done late in the afternoon or in the 
 evening and the grass left on the lawn for pro- 
 tection for a few days. After the grass has made 
 a good start more frequent cuttings — even as often 
 as twice a week — will be a benefit rather than an 
 injury provided, of course, plenty of water is 
 applied. 
 
 [23] 
 
A roller is beneficial to a young lawn for two 
 reasons. If it is used after every cutting it will 
 have a tendency to roll out any little hills and in 
 the same way gradually fill up any slight depres- 
 sions. The leveling of the lawn is not completed 
 when the seed is sown. The work must be con- 
 tinued for a year at least. Moreover, the use of 
 the roller has a tendency to make the grass grow 
 more compactly and a compact sod is exactly what 
 is desired. 
 
 For this same reason it is a good plan to use a 
 grass catcher on the lawn mower rather than to 
 rake up the clippings. The use of a rake has a 
 tendency to do just the opposite of the work done 
 by the roller — that is, it pulls the grass out and 
 prevents the establishing of a thick sod. 
 
 A grass catcher to fit on the rear of the mower 
 is not very expensive. If you do not care to pur- 
 chase one it is not a difficult matter to make one 
 yourself. An old gunny sack can be attached to a 
 wire frame that will hang just back of the roller 
 and catch practically all of the clippings. In 
 addition to being rid of them on the lawn, the 
 clippings are worth considerable for chicken feed. 
 
 If the grass is cut frequently there will be no 
 harm in leaving the clippings on the lawn, but 
 when it is allowed to grow until it is rather tall 
 
 [24] 
 
before it is cut it will be better for the lawn to 
 have the clippings taken aWay. 
 
 Purchase a good lawn mower. You will need 
 it often and if you buy a mower that will last 
 several years you will be able to do better work 
 on your lawn than if you buy a new one every few 
 months. 
 
 Get a mower with high wheels. It is easier to 
 run. Do not purchase one with too wide a cutting 
 bar, however, unless you have an unusually large 
 lawn and must use the wide knife to save time. 
 The small mower will do the best work. 
 
 Use plenty of good oil, for the machine will do 
 its best only when it is well taken care of. At least 
 once a year the wheels should be removed and 
 every part thoroughly cleaned. Grass and grit 
 work into the bearings and not only make the 
 machine work hard but make it wear out too 
 quickly. 
 
 After the first year it will be necessary to use 
 a heavy roller on the lawn at least once or twice 
 every spring. This is particularly needed in the 
 . colder climates where freezing and thawing has a 
 tendency to crack the soil and make it uneven in 
 places. The heavy roller will level the sod and 
 pack it about the grass roots, making it possible 
 for them to get a good start. A good roller doesn't 
 
 [25] 
 
cost much and a very satisfactory kind is one tliat 
 is fdled with water to give it weight. This is more 
 easily liandled too, especially when you want to 
 store it for the winter. 
 
 Careful watch must be kept on the weeds. 
 There is always a danger of weeds making a start 
 in the lawn. You will never finish with this part 
 of the work. Sometimes weed seeds are brought 
 by the wind, others are brought by birds and other 
 animals. You may even carry some yourself and 
 drop them from your clothing. 
 
 Every time you walk across the lawn be on the 
 look-out for weeds. Weeds, in one way, are like 
 a fire : When the^^ are first discovered they are 
 easily destroyed, but if left to make a start, they 
 become a very serious problem. 
 
 A good strong knife that can be inserted to 
 some depth below the surface, and one with a 
 V-shaped sharpened point, is the type most useful 
 for grubbing out weeds. 
 
 It is easier to remove the weeds on a newly 
 made lawn because the sod and the soil are not 
 packed so firmly, but if the lawn is a few years 
 old it will be more ditTicult to keep it clear of 
 weeds. For this reason see that the first work is 
 done thoroughly. 
 
 Just remember that any plant that is not the 
 
 [26] 
 
kind you desire on your lawn is a weed and it 
 should be removed. Sometimes, for example, the 
 lawn beneath a fruit tree will be spoiled by the 
 seeds of the tree dropping into the grass and mak- 
 ing a start. The only way to stop this trouble is to 
 dig out the roots and see to it that all the seeds 
 are picked up everp year before they have an 
 opportunity to take hold. 
 
 There are some preparations that will kill 
 weeds, but usually they kill the grass as well, and 
 the only safe place to use them is in a roadway 
 or on a sidewalk. 
 
 One of the greatest pests on a lawn is the 
 gopher. A single animal may sometimes destroy 
 a large lawn. The gopher is not contented with 
 making a single opening to his burrow, but con- 
 tinues to throw up dirt and dig holes over all the 
 lawn. 
 
 There are only two successful methods of get- 
 ting rid of gophers. One is to place poisoned grain 
 in the openings and the other the use of a poison- 
 ous gas. Poisoned grain is perhaps the best 
 because the poisonous gas may easily escape from 
 another opening to the burrow and its value thus 
 be lost. 
 
 Sometimes a colony of ants will get into a lawn 
 and destroy parts of it. One of the best methods 
 
 [27[ 
 
to get rid of ants is to use carbon bisulphide. This, 
 however, is a dangerous preparation and must be 
 handled with great caution. It is both poisonous 
 and explosive and will destroy the grass roots with 
 which it comes in contact. 
 
 The safest way is to drive a stick into the 
 burrow of the ants and pour in a small quantity of 
 the liquid, then stop up the holes quickly with soil 
 and pack the surface of the hill firmly. This kills 
 the ants, but it will take some time to restore the 
 
 portion of the lawn they have destroyed. 
 
 * * * 
 
 When the landscape architect puts his mate- 
 rials together, — his lawns, trees, shrubs and 
 flowers, — he is composing pictures in the same 
 sense and the same way as does the landscape 
 painter. And in it all he reflects his personality. 
 It is this putting of himself into the work that adds 
 to the joy of the work and final accomplishment. 
 Just try it and have some of the joy for yourself. 
 
 [28] 
 
Plant Life Series 
 
 A series of monographs for 1914-1915 to create a general interest 
 in agriculture, horticulture, and floriculture with instructions to 
 make it possible for everybody to grow his or her own fruits, flowers, 
 and vegetables, the following being the first twelve titles : 
 
 1. Give The Boy His Chance. 
 
 2. Start the Boy Right. 
 
 3. How Nature Makes Plants to Our Order. 
 
 4. Vegetables — From Your Own Garden to the Table or Market. 
 
 5. Vegetables — What, and When to Plant — on Your Own Soil. 
 
 6. The Joy of Raising Your Own Flowers. 
 
 7. Flowers — What, How and When to Plant — At Your Own 
 Home. 
 
 8. Two Acres — A Competence with Contentment. 
 
 9. Beautify the Lawn to Reflect Your Personality. 
 
 10. Better Fruits and More of Them. 
 
 11. Small Fruit Grov/ing for Home or Market. 
 
 12. Canning, Preserving, Candy Making — Profitable Business 
 Plans for the Folks at Home. 
 
 13. Farm Management. 
 
 14. Better Grass Crops for Better Live Stock. 
 
 15. Improvement in Grains. 
 
 These monographs are not for sale. They are issued for distribution to 
 
 merr.bers of The Luther Burbank Society, and to others 
 
 only on recommendation of members 
 
000 925 252 6 
 
 I. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 DODmaSESEb