Science and Practice in Farm CultivationBuckman, James
Science
Science and Practice in Farm Cultivation
Buckman, James
Agriculture
2. _Lawn Weeds._—Plantains, dandelions, and daisies can only be
considered weeds whenever they occur in grass, but especially in the
lawn. They are easily guarded against, if in laying down turf we only
choose clean specimens, or in laying down seeds we obtain pure samples,
and sow them on well-cleaned ground. But however careful we may be, we
shall be sure of a few weeds. These can be kept under by cutting them
out with a knife, taking care to drop a pinch of salt on the crowns that
we leave behind; and then, if we use a little fine lawn-grass seed to
the vacant places, and well roll after the process, we shall certainly
keep them under. This should be done in spring, and not in autumn, as we
shall then be more certain of success, upon the principle before
explained.
If, despite all we do, a few crowns still send up shoots, our mowing
must always be frequent enough to prevent their seeding; and as in the
height of summer, seeding, in the case of all three of the plants, will
take place in a few days, such neglect as our own lawn once got when we
were away for a month’s vacation, in not being mowed sufficiently often,
may take years to remedy.
3. _The Mixture of Grasses_ is secured by constant mowing and rolling,
by which means anything like a wild method of grass-growth is avoided.
When, however, a lawn is left for a long time without such careful
treatment, some of the grasses are sure to stool out and grow bunchy. In
this case, the quickest way of putting the matter to rights will be to
remove the offending tufts, and introduce new turf, taking care to keep
the whole in order by the scythe and the roller.
Talking, however, of these implements of lawn-culture reminds one to
remark that with some the scythe and roller are almost discarded, at
least in summer. Our own lawn is rolled with an iron roller during the
winter and early spring; but when mowing begins, we prefer the new
lawn-mowing machines. We have now used one of Samuelson’s for four
years, and it has not cost us a single sixpence for repairs; a strong
boy can use it, and it possesses the advantages of cutting close and
evenly, collecting not only the cut grass but scattered leaves as it
goes, and, withal, most completely rolling the turf at the same time. We
are, too, not awoke by scythe whetting at four o’clock in the morning,
to secure the dew upon the grass, as the dry part of the day is perhaps
the best for the use of the mowing-machine.
There is, then, no excuse for weeds or bunchy grass with a
mowing-machine, as the whole operation, as here described, is done in
less time than was formerly occupied in the scythe in mowing alone.
4. _Evenness in height_ is a matter of importance for the lawn; for if
we have grasses together, some of which make three inches of growth
while the majority are growing but one inch, the whole look uneven and
ugly.
[Illustration: _Fig. 31._ The Taller Grasses.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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