S^^KSJS^W^^lif ;; '-'? "' - 433 py The Maintenanci of Lawns Courses k Foreword I' ^1 In this day of keen business competition, it has come to pass that the advertisements and advertising literature of commercial houses cannot well be ignored. From them, not only can we learn of new products and inventions that may be of real advantage to us, but also, they put forth their information in a concise, practical, and easily intelligible manner ; prime requisites of efficient sales- manship. It is a common experience to find in the publications of trustworthy concerns, reliable scientific information well worth reading, and which will stand the test of closest ex- pert scrutiny. Old time advertisements with their general promises, cure-alls, and extravagant claims, are as much out of date as the erstwhile loquacious, smooth-tongued salesman. So in this booklet, we are explicit about the limitations as well as the possibilities of Takoma Odorless Lawn Plant Food, and also are informative regarding problems which confront lawn growers, even though we may be unable to advise our product as a remedial measure in all cases. ODORLESS PLANT FOOD COMPANY. / ©cl.A4;^H'^l4 HE planting that surrounds a suburban home and gives to it its setting is fully as important, if not more so, than the architecture of the residence. The selection and arrangement of this planting indicates the occupant's taste; the care it receives, his character. ^ In the appearance of a suburban home nothing surpasses the lawn in importance. The lawn is the first feature that catches our eye; its appearance is the last impression we carry away. If you admire a place you will find, nine times out of ten, it is because it has a good lawn. It has been aptly said that the greensward is the canvas upon which all archi- tectural and landscape effects are produced. THE MAINTENANCE OF LAWNS ^ Whether the lawn be large or small ; whether it consist of a small grass plot alongside the walk leading into a city house or contain broad acres of land in front of the resi- dence of a suburban estate, it is always in the forefront. Whether it may be a cause of constant daily annoyance to its owner and to passersby or a source of increasing satis- faction, depends entirely on how the lawn is kept. ARRANGEMENT OF LAWN AND SHRUBBERY. f| It is hardly germane to the scope of this booklet to touch on the subject of how lawns should be laid out, not only in order to give the most pleasing appearance, but also in order to make their proper care a lighter burden, in fact an enjoy- ment. ^ Suffice it to say here, that the most pleasing lawns are those that have an uninterrupted sweep bordered on the edges by groups of shrubbery and trees, in front of which the fiower seeds, bulbs and perennials are planted. ^ It is a mistake too commonly made by the inexperienced to mar the sweep of the lawn by a young tree planted here. Page i THE MAINTENANCE OF LAWNS a flower bed planted there arbitrarily in the middle of the lawn. Such indiscriminate planting greatly detracts from the ornamental possibilities of the place. ^ Economically such planting is wrong because these larger, coarser feeding plants are bound to draw heavily on the nourishment in the soil to the detriment of the more tender lawn grass to which this plant food properly belongs. Shaded lawns are almost invariably starved for this reason. If both trees and shrubs with their myriad of fine feeding roots, and lawn grass have to be grown on the same area, increased applications of plant food are imperative. Lawns of this character respond very promptly to applications of Takoma Odorless Lawn Plant Food. ^ Practically such planting is incorrect, because the man who mows the lawn has all these impedimenta to avoid with- out injury and each one must be trimmed around by hand. This doubles the work and the time required to accomplish it. To mow an open lawn is a pleasure, but to mow a lawn dotted every here and there with some kind of plant, tree or shrub is a task. It is but a natural consequence that the open lawn usually receives the benefit of prompt and fre- quent cutting, whereas the crowded lawn will tend to be injured by neglect in mowing. Page 5 THE MAINTENANCE OF LAWNS ^lf you have acquired a place with a lawn marred and encumbered by plants, be advised, notwithstanding the prob- able criticism of neighbors, to dig up these intruders as soon as you can — immediately, before you get accustomed to them. Of course, you can transplant them in some other location, as, in the border. ^A well arranged lawn can be made lo give the maximum eifect with the minimum effort and expense. The grounds around any home must be utilized in some way. From a practical labor saving standpoint as much of the area as possible should be put in lawn. It can be kept up satisfac- torily with much less attention than if the ground were devoted to any other purpose, such as a flower, vegetable or formal garden. HOW TO ESTABLISH A LAWN. fl There are so many good publications on the proper methods for preparing, grading, seeding and fertilizing a newly made lawn, that it is unnecessary to touch on these subjects here. We will gladly send anyone interested the Page 6 THE MAINTENANCE OF LAWNS titles of Government publications and text books thoroughly covering the subject. © But let this be emphasized here. Do not l6ave it to your Builder to give you a lawn, or you will probably regret it. Too often it happens that a builder, with his attention focused on the residence only, leaves his trash strewn around, covers it with stiff bottom clay removed in excava- ting for the cellar and then covers up this multitude of sins with some beautiful appearing grass sods. He has fin- ished his contract. You may be pleased at first but you soon discover to your increasing annoyance that the grass in these sods dies out from starvation, and is replaced by either weeds or bare ground. ^ If you are going to allow the builder or contractor to establish your lawn insist that all trash be removed, and also any stiff clay; that a very liberal quantity of fine manure be mixed with the excavated material, or else, at least three inches of good top soil be spread before any sod is laid. Then, keep the sods properly fertilized, and they will endure. Page 7 HOW TO MAINTAIN A LAWN. PROBLEM of maintenance is rarely as interesting and as willingly faced as a problem in construction. Maintenance, whether it be of a building, road, garden or lawn, necessitating as it does, periodic regular attention lacks the novelty experienced in constructing it new the first time. ^ Few undertake to keep the weeds out of their gardens during the heat of midsummer with the same alacrity as they planted these gardens in the early spring. Yet, if a garden be not maintained free of weeds it fails to accom- plish its purpose no matter how carefully it may have been prepared. ^ Under this heading there is ample opportunity for this booklet to be of decided use. It is noteworthy that the majority of publications have confined their attentions chiefly to the original preparation of lawns, and given little regard to methods of maintenance for established lawns. The principal question about a lawn is — How are you going to maintain it? Not only to keep it up to its present stand- ard, but to make it better from year to year? A lawn has to endure a long time. You have not the opportunity to renew it every season. Paje 8 THE MAINTENANCE OF LAWNS ^ This is the eyer-present problem we must face with our lawns, namely, their maintenance, as they are not self -sus- taining and will deteriorate if neglected. ^ But fortunately, it is not a difficult matter to keep lawns in excellent condition and comparatively little expense or labor is required. ^ Considering the time which must in any event be spent in caring for the lawn, it is unquestionably worth while to have a lawn worthy of the name and the attention devoted to it, if we can do so. DIFFICULTY HERETOFORE ENCOUNTERED IN SE- CURING NEEDED SUPPLIES. DRMERLY the suburban resident lacked the benefit of needed instructions on the proper maintenance of lawns. In addition, it has been increasingly dif- ficult for him to secure his needed supplies. In the first place, lawns need food. How could he, then, procure this food? From the fertilizer I':it.a- 9 THE MAINTENANCE OF LAWNS manufacturers? They made no plant foods for lawns. The kinds they manufactured were for farm crops, and their salesmen and advertising literature were distributed among farming communities, the object being to dispose of their product in carload lots. Tonnage output was the main con- sideration with them. They could not afford to cater to suburban needs. ^ Some of the seed houses in the larger cities undertook to supply this demand as an accommodation to their customers. While they offered to sell fertilizer in small quantities, they were not manufacturers and handled only the standard brands of the fertilizer manufacturers, which, as just stated, are designed for farm crops and not for lawns and gardens. As an additional handicap these seed houses have no satis- factory method of delivering, in small quantities, the fertil- izers they may handle to the outlying suburban districts. n Consequently the suburban resident turned to the nearest livery stable for manure as the only practical method of securing plant food of any kind. ^ Takoma Odorless Plant Foods for Lawns and Gardens are correctly made to meet the specific needs of lawns, golf courses and gardens. Unlike other houses, we have con- Pagre 10 THE MAINTENANCE OF LAWNS ceived and perfected a mail delivery plan by which we can easily reach anyone regardless of his location. Owing to the odorless character of these plant foods, shipment is made by parcel post as well as by express and freight. Unusually prompt conveyance to your door of any sized order is thus effected. We simply divide up the order and mail it in as many fifty-pound packages as are required to fill it. Orders up to and including two hundred pounds, within the two zone limit, are more readily and economically mailed than they can be shipped by any other means. t| Then too, lawns often need lime. How could it be ascer- tained whether a lawn was in need of lime, and if so, how much and what kind? The farmers throughout the United States in almost every agricultural county have County Agents representing the United States Department of Agri- culture who advise them, answer their inquiries, and assist them in obtaining their needs. But the man who lives in the suburbs, even though he may own ten acres or more, is obliged to solve his own problems as best he may. ^ You can examine your soil yourself with a simple test to see whether or not lime is needed. All you require are some strips of blue litmus paper procurable at any drug store, or we will gladly send you some. When the grround is moderatelr moist take a handful of the soil, and make a compact ball of It. Cut this ball in half with a knife. Lay a strip of the litmus paper between the two halves, leaving one end stickini; out so you can locate it, and press the two halves together firmly to bring: the soil in close contact with the paper. In fifteen minutes remove the paper, and, if it has turned red lime is needed: if it retains its original blue color. lime is not neadad. p Page U NEED OF FOOD. HILE other practices explained later on, must be observed to successfully maintain a lawn, the pri- mary requisite is food. ^ Takoma Odorless Lawn Plant Food fills this need more economically and more satisfactorily than any other yon can procure. But, whether you get it from us or from some one else, do not forget that your lawn needs to be fed. fl The successful farmer every time whether he raises cotton, hay, peaches or what not, is the one who has the most thorough understanding of the plant food needs of the crops he raises. C| Plants cannot grow without nourishment. Nothing living can grow without food. This seems a simple fact, yet many fail to realize it! Grass, flowers, shrubs, and vegetables — any growing plants — have the same appetite as a growing child. ^ An area in grass contains many, many more plants than a similar area in some cultivated crop. The need of more food for lawns is therefore apparent, and this must be sup- plied if the grass is to survive. Page IS THE MAINTENANCE OF LAWNS ^The leafage of all plants in the vegetable kingdom is green. Just because your lawn area may remain covered with a green growth, do not fail to realize that green weeds may be stealthily replacing the lawn grass. If so, you are gradually losing the velvety turf and soon will be face to face with the necessity of making the lawn over. ^The various state experiment stations and the United States Department of Agriculture have conducted few ex- periments concerning correct fertilization for established lawns. But in recent years, as a result of widespread dem- onstrations, definite conclusions have been reached by the leading agriculturists of this country regarding the proper fertilization of hay crops. A lawn is a grass crop like hay. But a lawn is expected to endure longer than a hay meadow; consequently, these conclusions should apply even more em- phatically to lawns than they do to hay crops. ^A brief summary of the latest recommendations for fer- tilizing hay crops is here given. A list of the references is appended for those who may wish to investigate the subject in greater detail (a). (a) "Forasre Crops," by H B. Voorhiees, Director of the N«w Jersey Experiment Stations. The Macmillan Co. 1911. Pages 317-319. . "Fertilizers and Manures," by A. D. Hall, Director of the Rothamsted