THE COURTS Lawn King's Sandler acquitted in New Jersey Joe Sandler, president of Lawn King, Inc., Fairfield, N.J., was recently acquitted in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, on charges of multiple violations of the New Jersey Antitrust Act. Sandler's earlier conviction, in mid-1978, was based on four points. The New Jersey attorney general said Lawn King forced its franchisees to: (1) buy chemi- cals and equipment from Lawn King or approved companies; (2) use advertising designed by Lawn King; (3) charge the same price in every location; and (4) work within exclusive terri-tories. On appeal, Sandler's attor-neys argued there was insuf- ficient evidence" to support the TURF Bluegrass seed yields down 50% this year Yields of Kentucky bluegrass seed are down an average as 50 percent this year, say a number of seed company executives in Oregon and Washington state. Reason for the poor yields, according to Doyle Jacklin, Jacklin Seed Co., Post Falls, Idaho is the rainy weather that hit the Northwest last fall. The wet weather hampered seed companies' efforts to burn fields after harvesting. "Without a good burn on the fields, the yield per acre is substantially lowered," Jacklin told LAWN CARE INDUSTRY. Harry Stalford of Inter-national Seeds, Inc., Halsey, Ore. and Mike Robinson, Pickseed West, Tangent, Ore. both also said that their bluegrass and other grass seed yields were down. Stalford said prices are up 10 to 15 percent, and that the company's main distributors are on about 50 percent allocation of the amount of seed they sold last year. contention that Sandler was guilty of price fixing and tying arrangements or to support the court's conclusion that Lawn King's advertising restrictions upon resale of the franchises "constituted unreasonable restraints of trade commerce." "There was one franchisor who was the ringleader . . . who went to the attorney general claiming that we were forcing him to buy chemicals and seed that he could buy a lot cheaper from somebody else," Sandler said. "And it simply wasn't true." Although he will not have to pay $43,120 he was fined during the initial anti-trust action, (His average salary for the past five years) Sandler said the court proceedings have been very costly. COMPANIES Montgomery Ward tests lawn market in Chicago Montgomery Ward's home services department last month began test marketing a lawn spray program in two Chicago suburbs, and if the test goes well the company expects to expand its program throughout the Chicago area and to other cities as early as next year. Direct mail brochures were mailed to residents in the Chicago suburbs of Park Ridge and Des Plaines the first week in July by the national retail chain. Craig Jasper, of the com-miN f ^ffllServing lawn maintenance Ł jm^/ki and chemical lawn | care professionals. INDUSTRY AUGUST 1979 Ł VOL. 3, NO. 8 Ł A Harvest Publication ASSOCIATIONS PLCAA excom meets in Chicago; plans mailing to lawn businessmen The executive committee of the newly formed Professional Lawn Care Association of America (PLCAA) met last month at its executive offices in Chicago and set membership categories and dues, discussed activities the association hopes to get involved in, made initial plans for a national meeting, conference and trade show and planned mailings to prospective members. QUICK STARTS Are lawn care businessmen formulators? page 2 Smuts more prevalent in fall page 6 Equipment and materials for lawn building page 8 Franchising: McDonald's of the future? page 16 Keep contact with cancelled clients page 24 Billboard advertising grows in popularity page 25 MEMOS MEETING DATES NEWSMAKERS COST CUTTINGS TOOLS, TIPS & TECHNIQUES. MONEYWISE PRODUCTS MARKETING IDEA FILE . 2 . 3 . 4 . 6 .23 .24 .24 .25 Member classifications are as follows: Regular Š owner-operated business or franchisee, $200; Associate Š firms engaged in business related to lawn care (mostly manufacturers and sup-pliers), $500; and Affiliate Š operating branch or division of a Regular member, $100. The executive committee also designated a Founder category for those companies who donated $400 at the original organizational meeting held in June in Cincinnati. Members who join before the end of the year are eligible for Founder status. What is your main source for fertilizer purchases? For a c( MARKI looks at The stuj lawn ca and kee 29tee id Hj-I toV í W HidJM is^i ÍN vt01 siDnaodd 3dLij¿ii Łd/JiVto toJi -¿>¿3-1103 Sä -s 3attle, see )f indepth >s thrives, ustomers, >ut getting pany's home services depart-ment, said that initial results of the test market were good. He said that Montgomery Ward studied the lawn care market for two years prior to beginning its test marketing program last month. He said that the Montgomery Ward price would be substan-tially higher than that of major competitors in the Chicago area. But he also said that the company would be providing guaranteed, follow-up service in hopes of keeping customers "for 10 years or as long as they own their home, not just for a year or two." The Montgomery Ward pro-gram is offering materials marketed by Agro-Chem, Frank-lin Park, 111. under the "Green Magic" name. "We know there is a market here because Sears folded up earlier this year with 10,000 customers," Jasper told LAWN CARE INDUSTRY. He said that Montgomery Ward has strong merchandising in the Midwest and the West Coast, and that any expansion out of Chicago would probably be in these geographi- cal areas. He mentioned Kansas City, Houston and cities on the West Coast as strong possi- bilities for expansion. The PLCAA hopes to have a national conference and trade show as early as next year. Pos-sible sites being discussed are: Louisville, Ky.; Atlanta; Chicago; Denver; New Orleans; Cincin- nati, Ohio; Minneapolis; Michi-gan and other cities. Members and potential mem-bers will be asked what site and what dates would be best for the conference in forthcoming mail-ings. President of the PLCAA is Jerry Faulring, Hydro Lawn, Suite 301, 656 Quince Orchard Rd., Gaithersburg, MD 20760, 301-948-5252. Inquiries should be directed to: Glenn W. Bostrom, executive director, PLCAA, 435 N. Michi-gan Ave., Suite 1717, Chicago, IL 60611, 312-644-0828. What is your main source of pesticide purchases? 78% Local Dealers or Distributors Source: 1978 LCI survey College students receive first-hand experience on using turf maintenance equipment during field day exercises at a recent turf seminar sponsored by Jacob sen Division of Textron, Inc., Racine, Wis. MAINTENANCE Jacobsen hosts college seminar Basic management, equip-ment maintenance and field ex-perience were just part of the curriculum for the 12th Annual College Student Turf Seminar re-cently sponsored by Jacobsen Division of Textron, Inc. Held at Jacobsen head-quarters in Racine, Wis., 48 stu-dents from colleges and univer-sities throughout the United States and Canada attended the seminar. Selected by their pro-fessors on the basis of academic achievement, most of the stu- dents were scheduled to grad-uate with degrees in turf. Other subjects covered were training on engines, mowers, mo-wing units, turf tractors, hydrau-lics, budgeting and life cycle costing, and safety systems and modules. IAWN OIRE INDUSTRY Editor: ROBERT EARLEY Associate Editor: BRUCE SHANK Technical Editor: RON MORRIS Assistant Editor: DAN MORELAND Graphic Director: RAYMOND GIBSON Publishing Director: RICHARD J. W. FOSTER Executive Editor: DAVID J. SLAYBAUGH Research Services: CLARENCE ARNOLD Advertising Production: CHRIS SIMKO MARKETING/SALES Circulation & List Rental: TERRI HUTSENPILLER (216) 651-5500 Marketing & Merchandising Services: FRAN FRANZAK (216) 651-5500 New York Office: BRIAN HARRIS (212) 421-1350 757 Third Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017 Midwest Office: JOE GUARISE, JEFF DREAZEN (312) 236-9425 333 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Illinois 60601 Southern Office: DICK GORE (404) 233-1817 3091 Maple Dr., Atlanta, Ga. 30305 Northwest Office: BOB MIEROW (206) 363-2864 1333 N.W. Norcross, Seattle, WA 98177 Classified: DOROTHY LOWE (216) 651-5500 9800 Detroit Ave., Cleveland, Ohio 44102 CORPORATE OFFICERS Chairman: JAMES MILHOLLAND JR. President: HUGH CHRONISTER Senior Vice President: BERNIE KRZYS Senior Vice President: DAYTON MATLICK Vice President: CHARLES QUINDLEN LAWN CARE INDUSTRY is published every month by The Har-vest Publishing Company, a subsidiarv of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. at 9800 Detroit Ave., Cleveland, Ohio 44102 (2161 651-5500. Copyright 1979 by The Harvest Publishing Company. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not ne repro-duced either in whole or in part without consent of copyright owner. Controlled circulation postage paid at Cleveland, Ohio. SUBSCRIPTIONS: to Lawn Care Industry are solicited only from owners, managers, operators, buyers, merchandisers, agronomists, technicians, dealers, distributors and manufacturers of products associated with the lawn care and maintenance business. Position and company connection must he indicated on subscription orders. Publisher reserves the right to approve all subscription re-quests. Single copy cost $1.00 for current issue. All back issues $1.25 each. Foreign $1.25. Subscription rates: $10.00 one year, $18.00 two years, $23.00 three years. Group and foreign air mail rates available on request. SUBSCRIBERS: Send change-of-address notices, correspondence regarding subscription service to Fulfillment Manager, Lawn Care Industry. 9800 Detroit Ave., Cleveland. Ohio 44102. Change of Address notices should he sent promptly, provide old as well as new address, attach address label from recent issue. Please allow one month for change of address to become effective. POSTMASTER: Please send form 3579 to Fulfillment Manager, Lawn Care In-dustry, 9800 Detroit Ave., Cleveland, Ohio 44102. The Harvest Publishing Company, a subsidiary of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.. publishers of WEEDS TREES a TtJRF. PEST CONTROL. NPCA Extra, GOLF BUSINESS. HARVEST MEMOS Industry demand for turf grads: It used to be, and not so very long ago, that the only avenues for employment open to graduates of accredited two- and four-year turf programs were golf courses, chemical sales or university teaching and research. That situation is changing, according to former University of Maryland turf professor Dr. Charles Darrah, who recently signed on with ChemLawn Corp., Columbus, Ohio, in a research capacity. "The lawn care industry has created a big demand for good turf people," Dr. Darrah told LAWN CARE INDUSTRY recently. "The demand is so good, in fact, that it is becoming hard for lawn care companies to find good technical people. I got perhaps 10 solid requests a year from lawn care com-panies for my graduates, and it was very difficult to fill them." Dr. Darrah is not the only one who has noted the increased demand for qualified turf students by the growing lawn care industry. Dr. James Beard of Texas A & M University re-cently said that a good percentage of his graduates are going into the lawn care industry. The reasons for this demand are simple Š the lawn care industry is a growth industry, whereas other segments of the green industry, particularly golf courses, have just about top-ped out in employment needs. A continuous debate among golf course superintendents is whether or not there are too many turf grads attempting to get into an industry that just doesn't have the need. A quick check of employment advertisements in the spring in some metropolitan areas also shows that in some cases, lawn care companies are asking for people with chemical lawn care experience. Just a few years ago, most lawn care companies were willing to take anybody and train them. Now the industry is getting more selective, and it seems like it will continue along these lines for some time to come. Are lawn care businessmen formulators? That is a good question. In Missouri, Dr. Paul Schnare of Atkins Lawn Pros in Columbia reports that it appears the state is viewing lawn care businessmen as formulators because they change the composition of a fertilizer by diluting it with water, in a spray operation. The state is threatening to step up inspection pro-grams, and if there is more than a three percent leeway in the stated analysis of fertilizer in a spray tank, the company will be levied a 50 cents per pound penalty. Hmmmmm, let's see. Take a 1,200-gallon tank topped off, multiply it times about nine pounds per gallon, then multiply that by a 50-cent fine per pound, and you have a penalty in excess of $5,000, Dr. Schnare notes. He also says that the state is requiring that lawn care firms indicate on billings to customer what the guaranteed analysis of the formulation is, and separate as a price figure how much of the total cost is for materials and how much of it is for service. Dr. Schnare notes that this could open up a "can of worms" in regards to the Missouri state sales tax. Another part of the plan is that lawn care firms would have to pay an inspection fee of 30 cents per ton on fertilizer. Dr. Schnare and others have had meetings with represen-tatives from the state Department of Agriculture, and they hope to get a ruling saying that lawn care businessmen are not formulators, but rather end users of fertilizer products. U.S. pesticide market: The 1979 United States pesticide market (user expenditures) has been estimated by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to be $5.1 billion, of which home and garden use accounted for $0.6 billion, or 12 percent. At the basic producer level, the EPA estimated the 1979 U.S. pesticide market at more than $2.87 billion. Using the 12 percent figure it estimates for home and garden use, the breakdown of total estimates by type of pesticide would be: herbicides, $208.8 million; insecticides, $96 million; and fungicides, $20.04 million. The EPA estimated that in 1979, total pesticide research and development expenditures (for the total pesticide market) would be $275 million and that EPA-related research and development expenditures would be $80 million. MEETING DATES USDA Turfgrass Field Day, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center-West, Beltsville, Md., Aug. 22. Contact: Jack Murray, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, MD 20705. Rhode Island Turfgrass Field Day, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, August 22. Contact: Dr. C. R. Skoeley, Department of Plant & Soil Science, Uni-versity of Rhode Island, Kingston, R.I. 022881. The Fertilizer Institute Trade Fair, Stouffer's Riverfront Towers, Sheraton St. Louis and Mayfair Hotel, St. Louis, Mo., Aug. 22-23. Contact: Doug Culkin, TFI, 1015 18th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036, 202-466-2700. Illinois Turfgrass Field Day, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, 111., Septem-ber 11. Contact: Dr. John Street, 106D Horticulture Field Lab, University of Il-linois, Champaign-Urbana, 111. 61801, 217-333-2123. Farwest Show, Memorial Coliseum, Por-tland, Ore., Aug. 24-26. Contact: Dan O. Barnhart, 0224 S.W. Hamilton St., Por-tland. Ore. 97201, 503-221-1182. Sponsored by Oregon Association of Nurserymen. National Lawn & Garden Distributors Association Annual Convention, Fair-mont Hotel, New Orleans, La., Sept. 9-12. Contact: Nancy S. Irving, National Lawn & Garden Distributors Association, 1900 Arch St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19103, 215-564-3484. Garden Industries of America Con-ference and Trade Show, Convention and Exposition Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, Sept. 14-16. Contact: Paul Anderson, Box 1092, Minneapolis, Minn. 55440, 612-374- 5200. Virginia Tech Turfgrass Field Days and Trade Show, Virginia Polytechnic In-stitute and State University, Blacksburg, Va., Sept. 19-20. Contact: John F. Shoulders, Dept. of Agronomy, VPI & SU, Blacksburg, Va. 24061, 703-951-5797. Budget and Planning Seminar, sponsored by California Landscape Contractors Association and Associated Landscape Contractors of America, Hyatt House, Los Angeles, Sept. 20-21. Contact: CLCA, 1419 21st St., Sacramento, Calif. 95814, 916-448- 2522. Northwest Turfgrass Conference, Pope and Talbot Convention Center, Port Ludlow, Wash., Sept. 24-27. Contact: Dr. Roy Gross, Western Washington Re-search and Extension Center, Puyallup, Wash. 98371, 206-845-6613. Florida Nursery and Allied Trade Show, Expo Hall, State Fairgrounds, Tampa, Fla., Sept. 28-30. Contact: FNATS, Inc., P.O. Box 16796, Temple Terrace, Fla. 33687,813-985-8511. Turf Equipment, Irrigation and Supplies Field Day, Rutgers University, Staaium and golf course, Route 18 (River Road), Piscataway, N.J., Oct. 2. Sponsored by Golf Course Superintendents Association of New Jersey. Contact: Dr. Henry Indyk, Box 231, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J. 08903, 201-932-9453. Kentucky Turfgrass Conference, Executive Inn, Owensboro, Ky., Oct. 9-10. Contact: Dr. A. J. Powell, Jr., University of Kentucky, N-222G Agricultural Science North, Lexington, KY 40506, 606-258-5606. Central Plains Turf Foundation/Kansas State University Turf Conference, K-State Union, KSU, Manhattan, Kan., Oct. 10-12. Contact: Dr. Robert Carrow, Dept. of Horticulture, Waters Hall, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan. 66506, 913-532-6170. Florida Turfgrass Association Annual Meeting, Holiday Inn Central/Curtis Hix-son Hall, Tampa, Fla., Oct. 14-17. Contact: David DeBra, 1520 Edgewater Dr., Suite E, Orlando, Fla., 32804 305-425-1581. 19th Annual Southern California Turf-grass/Landscape Materials and Equip-ment Educational Exposition, Orange County Fairgrounds, Costa Mesa, Calif., Oct. 17-18. Contact: Ed McNeill, SCTC, 1000 Concha St., Altadena, Calif. 91001, 213-798-1715. Southern Turfgrass Conference, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, Oct. 18-19. Contact: Dr. Araen Baltensperger, Department of Agronomy, Box 30, NMSU, Las Cruces, N.M. 88003. Turf Irrigation Short Course, sponsored by Sprinkler Irrigation Association, San Diego, Oct. 16-18. Contact: IA, 13975 Con-necticut Ave., Silver Spring, Md. 20906, 301-871-1200. Professional Grounds Maintenance Soci-ety Annual Meeting, Baltimore Hilton, Oct. 21-24. Contact: Allan Shulder, 19 Hawthorne Ave., Pikesville, Md. 212068, 301-653-2742. Michigan Green Industry Seminar and Trade Show, Davisburg, Mich., Oct. 23-24. Contact: Gregory Patcham, Michigan State University, Cooperative Extension Service, North Office Building, Pontiac, Mich. 48053, 313-858-0887. National Institute of Parks and Grounds Management, Opryland Hotel, Nashville, Tenn. Oct. 28-Nov. 2. Contact: Erik Madisen, P.O. Box 1936, Appleton, Wis. 54910,414-733-2301. Atlantic Seedsmens Association Annual Meeting, Belmont Hotel Golf Beach Club, Warwick, Bermuda, Oct. 29-Nov. 2. Con-tact: Margaret Herbst, 101 Park Ave., New York, N.Y., 10017, 212-685-5917. Maintenance Symposium, sponsored by Associated Landscape Contractors of America, Red Carpet Inn, Milwaukee, Nov. 6-9. Contact: John Shaw, ALCA, 1750 Old Meadow Rd., McLean, VA 22102, 703-821-8611. Missouri Lawn & Turf Conference, Ramada Inn, Columbia, Mo., Nov. 7-9. Contact: Dr. John H. Dunn, Horticulture Department, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, 314-882-7838. California Landscape Contractors Association Annual Convention, Hilton Riviera Hotel, Palm Springs, Calif., Nov. 8-11. Contact: CLCA, 1419 21st St., Sacra-mento, Calif. 95814, 916-448-2252. South Carolina Turf Conference, Clemson University, Nov. 13-14. Contact: Dr. Landon Miller, Department of Horti-culture, Clemson University, Clemson, S.C.29631. New York State Turfgrass Conference and Trade Show, War Memorial Stadium, Syracuse, N.Y., Nov. 13-15. Contact: Ann Reilly, 210 Cartwright Blvd., Massapequa Park, N.Y. 11762, 516-541-9034. Planning and Budgeting Seminar, sponsored by Associated Landscape Con-tractors of America, Ramada O'Hare Inn, Chicago, Nov. 15-16. Contact: ALCA, 1750 Old Meadow Rd., McLean, Va. 22102, 703-821-8611. Southern Turfgrass Conference, Camelot Inn, Little Rock, Ark., Nov. 18-20. Contact: Dr. G. Euel Coats, Drawer CP, Missis-sippi State, MS 39762, 601-325-3138. Texas Turfgrass Conference, Texas A & M Conference Center, College Station, Texas, Dec. 3-5. Contact: Dr. Richard Du-ble, Department of Soil and Crop Science, Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas, 77843, 713-845-1551. Delaware Turfgrass Association Annual Meeting, Hercules Country Club, De. 4. Contact: Dr. William Mitchell, Agricul-ture Hall, University of Delaware, Newark, Del. 19711. Ohio Turfgrass Conference, Cincinnati Convention Exposition Center, Dec. 4-6. Contact: Dr. David Martin, 1827 Neil Ave., Columbus, Ohio 43210, 614-422-2592. An EXCEL HUSTLER mower out-hustles any out-front mower any time, any place. And does it mow! EXCEL HUSTLER 275,285, or new 295 cuts the straightaway down to size with a smooth, even cut, up to 6' swaths. But where the EXCEL HUSTLER really shines is turning neatly around every bush and tree, signpost and picnic table. With every turn, operators turn into fans of its drive-wheel steering and fingertip control. Does more than mow. Team an EXCEL HUS-TLER tractor with attachments and it works all year long. Cuts all kinds of grass. Cleans dirt, litter, sand, leaves, etc. from walks and parkings. And what it does to snow is enough to warm a groundskeeper's heart! The tractor is the core of EXCEL HUSTLER performance. Dual hydrostatic drive directs power V independently to drive wheels, controlling both v speed and direction of travel. Because one wheel can move forward while its mate reverses, the operator can turn a full 360° circle within the mow-er's own length! No steering wheel can match the response of twin hand levers, nor even approach their ease of operation. Naturally safer in design, both the 275 and 285 (and the new 295) have low center of gravity. Weight is focused over the drive wheels, and operator has unobstructed view of the front cut and trim edge. Watch for a field demo or write for free literature and Distributor's name. Call toll-free (800) 835-3260; in Kansas or Canada, call (316) 327-4911 collect. EXCEL HUSTLER turf and groundskeep-ing equipment is built right by Excel Industries, Inc., Box 727, Hesston, Kansas 67062. For GSA: GS-07S-03665 For HUD: OAH(CO)m 2635 Mms Turf Equipment ThereS a Difference! EXCEL INDUSTRIES, INC. Box 727/Hesston, Kansas 67062 / (316) 327-4911 / (800) 835-3260 OS t^ 05 rH o D < oc H c/3 D Q z w « < u 2 < J NEWSMAKERS Dr. Robert M. Barry, technical director of R. W. Collins, Inc., a Florida-based company with chemical lawn care and pest control divisions, has announced the following appointments in Florida: Steve Leker, a graduate of Mississippi State University, and Ed Bell, a graduate of Murray State College, have joined the company's turf specialists in the Orlando branch office. David Sutton, a graduate of the University of Georgia, has joined the company as a turf spe-cialist in the New Port Richey branch office. Vivian Napier, a graduate of Mississippi State University, and Bob Smith, a graduate of the Uni-versity of South Florida, have joined Collins as turf specialists in the Fort Myers branch office. Mark Flowers, a graduate of the University of Georgia, has joined the company as a turf spe-cialist in the St. Petersburg branch office. Dr. David Martin, turfgrass extension specialist and teacher in the Department of Agronomy at Ohio State University, and also executive secretary of the Ohio Turfgrass Foundation, has taken a position with Chem-Lawn Corp., Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Martin will work out of the com-pany's Detroit office. Don B. Weakley has been pro-moted to vice president and director of marketing for Snap-per mowers, tractors and other products of McDonough Power Equipment, McDonough, Ga. George A. Juergens, lawn and garden marketing manager for Agway, Inc., Syracuse, N.Y., has been named vice president of sales for Didier Mfg. Co., Franks-ville, Wis. F. Michael Kyle has joined The Toro Co., Minneapolis, as manager of internal audit in ex-pansion of the company's fi-nance department. Changes in two key marketing positions for Weather-matic Div., Telsco Industries, Dallas have been announced by Charles S. Putnam, vice president of sales. Alex Garza has been promoted to Southwest regional sales manager. Also, Donald L. Cooper has assumed duties as national customer services manager. Kirk W. Reimers has been named chief engineer of OMC Lincoln, a division of Outboard Marine Corp., Lincoln, Neb. The company manufactures Cushman-Ryman professional turf maintenance products. Reimers Glagolich Werner and Jurgen Gramckow of Southland Sod Farms, Camarillo, Calif, have an-nounced the addition of Chuck Glagolich to their staff. The Toro Co., Minneapolis,; has appointed Charels Perrottet to the new position of director of corporate planning and develop- ment. Union Carbide Corp.'s Agri-cultural Products Div., Jackson-ville, Fla. has made the following appointments: John H. Kirch to vice president and general manager of herbicides and growth regulators; Robert W. Lichtman to vice president and general manager of specialty business and new ventures; John R. McWhirter to vice president and general manager of insecti-cides and intermediates; and Francis A. Pastor to vice presi-dent of domestic sales, marketing and product development. L & A Enterprises, a new com-pany, has been formed by Larry Evans. Evans started and managed the chemical and turf-grass division for the past six years for Ramsey Seed, and has now purchased that division. It is based in Manteca, Calif. Martin Darrah Dr. Charles H. Darrah, turf specialist in the Department of Agronomy at the University of Maryland, has joined ChemLawn Corp., Columbus, Ohio. He will be involved with turf fertility research at the com-pany's research facilities in Columbus. Dr. Thomas Turner, a graduate of Pennsylvania State University, will assume some of Dr. Darrah's duties at the Uni-versity of Maryland. John Thomas is branch manager for ChemLawn Corp., at its Ann Arbor, Mich, offices. Dr. A. Martin Petrovic has joined the faculty of the Depart-ment of Floriculture and Orna-mental Horticulture in the New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University as a professor of turf-grass science. He recently com-pleted his Ph.D. work in the Department of Crops and Soils Sciences at Michigan State University. Bob Bethel is landscape main-tenance division manager for Peoria Landscaping Co., af- filiated with Green View Nur-sery, Inc., in Illinois. Norman Palmer is in the purchasing department for ChemLawn Corp., working out of the Hunt Valley, Md. offices for the company. An in: Cylinder and crankcase assembly of The Green Machine 22.5 cc engine. !.2 H.P. in a 6-lb package. Over 5 years of field exposure have helped create new standards of 2-cycle performance. MEETINGS Lawn care, nitrogen symposium featured at Illinois turf conference A special lawn care program and a symposium on nitrogen will be featured at this year's Il-linois Turfgrass Conference and Trade Show, set for Dec. 18-20 at the Ramada Inn Convention Cen-ter, Champaign, 111. Last year's lawn care sessions were packed, and conference planners will be expanding meeting rooms for these sessions, members of the Illinois Turfgrass Foundation told LAWN CARE INDUSTRY. Speakers already line up in-clude: Dr. Bobby G. Joyner, plant pathologist for ChemLawn's Plant Diagnostic Laboratories, Columbus, Ohio; Dr. Houston B. Couch, Virginia Polytechnic In- stitute and State University, Blacksburg; Dr. Donald Wad- dington, Pennsylvania State Uni-versity; Dr. Paul Rieke, Michigan State University; and Dr. Donald B. White, University of Min- nesota. For further information, con-tact: Dr. John R. Street, Turfgrass Extension Specialist, 106D Horti-culture Field Lab, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 111. 61801,217-333-7847. EQUIPMENT Briggs acquires diesel engine manufacturer Briggs & Stratton Corp., Wauwatosa, Wis. has reached an aggreement in principle to ac-quire for cash the business of Farymann Diesel GmbH & Co. KG. Farymann is a small, privately held German manufac-turer of diesel engines. Its pro-duct line includes both air- and water-cooled models con-centrated in engines under 20 horsepower. The company also announced that it has begun construction on its 744,000-square-foot dis-tribution center and light manu-facturing facility in Menomonee Falls, Wis. Total cost for the pro-ject, expected to be completed in early 1981, is $35 million. MEETINGS Personnel management featured at Florida show A four-hour personnel management section is planned for the 27th Annual Florida Turf-grass Association Conference and Show Oct. 14-17 at the Curtis Hixon Convention Center in Tampa. Ronald C. Frame, noted lec-The Green Machine trimmer-pruner-cutter. side look at a classic. In 1972, The Green Machine in-troduced a gas-powered string trim-mer employing a new concept Šextreme light weight combined with amazing torque. It proved the ideal tool for high production weed and grass trimming, as well as brush cutting and tree prun-ing. From the start, Green Machines set new industry standards for qualityŠand new records for time-saving and money-making. The reasons are basic: ingenious design and a fanatic devotion to excellence. For instance, The Green Machine positively-located rings. You'll also see a crankshaft and rod assembly of high-carbon steel, pre-cision-machined, and aligned to -.001 -inch tolerances, running with high-speed ball-type main bearings and needle-type rod journal bearings. Easy starting with RES. Long engine life is a recog-nized Green Machine virtue. So is easy starting. Thanks to a proven, reliable fuel pump and carburetor design. Plus an im-portant Green Machine exclusive: Positive Fuel Shut-off. Engine "kill" is accomplished by stopping the fuel supply to the engine, rather than by cutting the ignition. This means that all of the fuel in the model 3000 engines have been dyno-meter tested Š at full throttle and full load Š for 200 hours. That's eq-ual to 600 hours of field operation. Actual field operation of 1000 to 1500 hours is common-place. Chrome and hone To understand what's behind Green Machine performance, just take a look inside a model 3000 engine. You'll see a precision die-cast cylinder with polished chrome- plated boreŠplus such refinements as piston-port fuel timing and almost five square inches of scavenge porting. Running inside that chrome-protected cylinder, you'll see a precision die-cast aluminum piston, micro-honed and fitted with double, A f Fresh fuel is used for each start. Conventional "ignition kill" al-lows the fuel and oil mixture to remain in the chamber and car-buretor where it can become stale and even, with time, create a residue that prevents starting. Nine heads and blades Green Machine introduced the first professional-quality Tap-For-Cord automatic string-feed head. A total of five different string trimmer heads are now offered as well as four quick-change blades. A string trimmer...and more The Green Machine is a great string trimmer-and a great brush cutter, and tree pruner. With accessory metal blades, one man can clear up to an acre of brush a day, cutting easily through vines up to %-inch thick. Tree branches up to three inches thick can be sliced through easilyŠ in a single stroke. See what's in it for you The Green Machine is saving time and making money for thousands of users in every field: park and municipal, high-way, cemetary, estate, golf course, institution, landscape, farm, school, rental yard. Crews equipped with little more than mowers and Green Machines are completing massive groundsrkeeping chores in hours, instead of days. See what The Green Machine can do for your bus-iness. Contact your dealer or write for our new, colorful brochures. Take time now to look into a classic. HMC, 22133 / S. Vermont, A Torrance, Ž CA 90502 The Green Macht ne9 A yard-care classic. turer will lead the session plan-ned to help provide solutions for lawn care businessmen and other turf managers who have personnel/motivation problems. Theme of the conference is "The Broader Aspects of Effective Turf Management." More than 125 booths have been allocated to manufacturers and suppliers to exhibit latest products and equipment. For further information, con-tact: FTGA, 1520 Edgewater Dr., Suite E, Orlando, Fla. 32804, 305-425-1581. MEETINGS California landscapers schedule panel seminar for Pacific trade show Always one of the best-attended seminars at the Pacific Horticultural Trade Show, this year's panel of speakers sched-uled by the California Landscape Contractors Association pro-mises to be one of the seminar highlights during this year's three-day event set for Sept. 6-8 at the Long Beach Convention Center. The seminars will be held on the second day of the show. Some of the areas to be covered in the panel seminar devoted to problems on landscape mainte-nance include programming fer-tilizers for landscaping. Sched-uled speakers are Paul Rogers, Evans Humphreys Kellogg Supply, Inc. and Richard Angelo, Stay-Green, Inc. Phil Babcock, an independent con-sultant, will cover the subject of chemical safety. John L. Ramirez of Johns-Manville Sales Corp. will deal with irrigation system maintenance and repair while the subject of turf maintenance will be handled by Ralph Evans of American Gardens, Cal Turf, Inc. Coordinating the seminar is Robb Swearengin, state chair-man for the CLCA trade shows. Seminar moderator is Archie Humphreys, CLCA's state chair-man for the CLCA's associate members and a member of the CLCA executive board. Both Swearengin and Humphreys are with Hydro-Scape Products, Inc. For further information, con-tact: Richard C. Staples, PHTS, 1419 21st St., Sacramento, CA 95814, 916-443-7373. o D < > oc p C/3 D Q 2 w a: < u 2 COST CUTTINGS Service station sites will be up for grabs If you are looking for a new location for your lawn care business office, a good investment may be waiting for you where service stations are now fighting for survival. Bill Quinn, editor of Outdoor Power Equipment, reports that an oil company executive he recently talked to predicted that perhaps 35 percent of the service stations now in ex-istence will be out of business in less than three years. Also, Art Brown, president of Great Lakes Lawn Spray in Farmington Hills, Mich., and secretary-treasurer of the Lawn Sprayers Association of Michigan, says that in the 1980's many lawn spray companies will be using slow-release liquid fertilizer formulations. He also suggests that these fertilizers could possibly be stored underground in large tanks or reser-voirs, with some lawn spray companies making use of former service stations with good, visible locations. Service stations make sense, especially with the cost of constructing a free-standing building going sky-high, as many lawn care businessmen have learned. DISEASE Flag and stripe smut more prevalent in fall Flag and stripe smuts are favored by cooltemperatures, es-pecially extended periods of 50-60°F. Thus, smut is usually more prevalent in the spring and fall, according to Dr. Philip O. Larsen, plant pathologist with Ohio State University. However, spring infection and growth is often not recognized until early summer. The soot-like material is actually a mass of smut spores or seeds. These spores infest the soil where they are capable of germ-inating and producing an infec-tion thread which can invade grass seedlings, or young tillers. The fungus grows system-ically in the plant tissue and once a plant is infected, the fungus remains there until the plant dies. Plants grown at 90°F. for prolonged periods of time usually do not show symptoms as the fungus is less active under these conditions. Symptoms. Patches of infec-ted plants a few inches to a foot or more in diameter are often noticed in the turf, Dr. Larsen said. Infected plants in this area are often a pale green to slightly yellow in color and stunted. Close observation may reveal long, yellow-green streaks in the leaves when early stages are pre-sent. As the disease advances, the leaf blades curl and gray to black stripes are present. A black, soot-like dust rubs off these stripes. In the advanced stages of growth of the fungus, the leaves twist, curl and split from the tip downward. The turf has a gray and ragged appearance. Control. Disease-resistant varieties should be planted when possible, Dr. Larsen said. How-ever, grass varieties differ in resistance to smuts. Very suscep-tible bluegrasses include Cougar, Merion and Windsor Common, Troy, Prato and Newport are moderately susceptible. Warren's A-20 and A-34, OSU's Larsen: Systemic fungicides available for control of smut diseases perform best when applied in late fall or early spring. Since they must penetrate the thatch layer, aerify soil prior to treatment. Anheuser Dwarf, Baron, Belturf, Delft, Delta, Fylking, Kenblue, Park, Pennstar and Sodco show good resistance. However, resistance may not be stable due to numerous races of each smut fungus. The creeping bentgrasses reported as susceptible to stripe smut include Arlington, Cohan-sey, Congressional, Evansville, Old Orchard, Penncross, Pennlu, Seaside, Toronto and Washing-ton. In addition, ryegrasses are also susceptible. Smuts are seldom a problem on a new lawn, Dr. Larsen said. After two or three years, an ex-tremely well-maintained suscep-tible lawn may show smut. He recommends to maintain turf in good vigor, but do not overdo it, especially during drought periods. Systemic fungicides are available for control of smut dis-eases. These materials perform best when applied in late fall or early spring. Since they must penetrate the thatch layer, aerify the soil and be sure soil is moist prior to treatment. Benomyl (Tersan 1991) or methyl thiophanate (Fungo) are among fungicides that will control the diseases. One application should be sufficient, but a second may be used; but check on disease con-trol from the first application. The materials will remain in the soil and plants for several weeks, giving desired level of protection to living plants, Dr. Larsen said. M i V FROM BOLENS POWER YOU NEED FROM PEOPLE YOU KNOW. 24 hp. loader backhoe. Match the work that you need done with the right Bolens Diesel, and you'll have a tractor that works when and where you need it. To get the right Bolens Diesel, see your Bolens dealer. He'll suggest one that has the maneuverability and versatility that you need to get the job done. Day after day. Year after year. And if after all that dependable service something should go wrong, just give him a call. He's been factory-trained so he knows © 1979 FMC Corporation what makes a Bolens Diesel tick. And the parts are in-stock. Or available within 24-hours. And that minimizes downtime. There are 4 Bolens Diesels ranging from 15 to 24 hp. All with proven technology from Iseki, Japan's largest maker of farm equip- ment. Each is water-cooled, has multi-speed PTO, a 3-point hitch, and a choice of 2 or 4-wheel drive. Plus a variety of custom-matched, quick-change attachments, from mowers to snowthrowers and backhoes to front-end loaders. Or anything in-between. The Bolens Diesel and the Bolens dealer. Equally capable. Equally dependable. See them today. For the name of the Bolens Die-sel dealer nearest you, call 800-447-4700 toll-free anytime (in Illinois, call 800-322-4400). Or write the FMC Corpo-ration, Port Washington, Wisconsin 53074. r* > Z n > 70 tn Z a c CD H 70 m-> C o The natural choice The elite bluegrass growing in the sun is Glade. The elite bluegrass growing in the shade is Glade. That makes it the natural choice for all lawns. It performs well in up to 60% shade with a higher resistance to powdery mildew. Addi- tionally, Glade has better-than-dverage resistance to Fu- sarium blight It's now used as a prime ingredient for forti- fication in many professional turf grass mixes. A Rutgers selection, Glade has outstanding medium to deep green color. Low-growing Giade germinates and establishes fast, developing a thick rhizome and root system for close-knit sod. why Giade Kentucky bluegrass is the natural choice. Specify Glade for your next turf grass mix. It's available at your local wholesale seed distributor. Another fine, quality-controlled product of Jacklin Seed Company. ^ i f' S I . . . 'V Ł» ' , * " ' ' 'V Ł .'Ł u . J,' "\> : ¡¿¡¿M} t^&îmlM Ł m^i m * SM Ł TmiV'f' . w UjÉm mäm 8 Ü D < >< OC H CD D Q Z w c* < u z £ < n4 LAWN BUILDING Lofts: Turf seed forthe professional Lofts Pedigreed Seed, Inc., Bound Brook, N.J. offers several turf seed blends and mixtures for the lawn care businessman, ac-cording to Marie Pompei of the company's agronomy and research department. "The four most popularly used products are Lofts Tri-plex Blue, Tri-plex Rye, Tri-plex General and Tri-plex Shady blends and mixtures," she told LAWN CARE INDUSTRY. "Each is specially designed for a specific condition." Lofts Tri-plex Blue and Rye are blends are of three different improved cultivars. A blend dif- fers from a mixture in that it is a combination of two or more cultivars of the same specie of grass. A mixture is a combi-nation of two or more different grass species. "The advantages of using a blend of grasses instead of a single cultivar is that the combi-nation gives improved turf quality and better overall perfor- mance since the strengths of each cultivar are accentuated and the weaknesses are mini-mized," she said. Blends also display a higher quality turf when observed over an extended period of time since certain grass cultivars have bet-ter winter or summer perfor-mance and seasonal disease resistance than others, she said. Baron Kentucky bluegrass is included in many of Lofts high-quality blends and mixtures as a result of its excellent turf perfor- mance and the availability of its seed. Baron offers a rich, dark green color, winter-hardiness, Also available gas engine and mounting base. For both Volume and Pressure Use Hypro series 5200 Big Twin piston pumps. Here's a rugged two-cylinder piston pump that will deliver up to 10 gpm at 400 psi (600 rpm) for tree spraying, area spraying, fogging, or termite pretreating. Handles many kinds of weed and pest control chemicals including wettable powder suspensions. Available with solid shaft or with hollow shaft for direct tractor, truck, or jeep PTO mounting. FEATURES: Leather or impregnated fabric piston cups. Heavy duty ball bearings. Suction & discharge ports tapped NPT. A DIVISION OF LEAR SIEGLER. INC 347 Fifth Avenue NW, St. Paul, Minnesota 55112 Circle 132 on free information card fast germination and disease resistance, she said. Lofts Tri-plex Blue contains any three of the following blue-grasses according to their avail-ability: Baron, Ram I, Touch-down and Majestic. This high-quality blend is excellent for sunny areas where a refined, disease-resistant turf is desired, she said. Tri-plex Rye is a blend of Yorktown.II, Derby and Diplo-mat perennial ryegrasses. This attractive, fine-textured blend displays wear tolerance, winter-hardiness and fast establish-ment, she said. Lofts Tri-plex General is an all-purpose mixture of Baron Kentucky bluegrass, Jamestown chewings fescue and Yorktown II perennial ryegrass. This mixture gives an excellent-performing turf that combines wear toler-ance and shade adaptability with attractiveness, she said. Lofts Tri-plex Shade is a mix-ture that combines the shade tolerance of Ram I Kentucky bluegrass and Jamestown che-wings fescue with the wear toler-ance and fast establishment of Yorktown II perennial ryegrass, she said. LAWN BUILDING Yard Marvel: Motor rake, plugger/aerator Yard Marvel Mfg. Co., Inc., Spokane, Wash, manufactures a line of motor rakes and plugger/aerators for the lawn care businessman. Paul F. Hastings, president of the com-pany, said that lawn care businessmen use the plugger/aerators because of the unit's ability to get into small areas, and because of their portability. Dimensions of the plugger-aerator are 17 inches wide by 30V2 inches long, by 23 inches STOP FISHING AROUND! Isn't it time you used a product made for cutting grass, not catching fish. LEECO the leading supplier in the industry, for replacement nylon cord, offering the most complete package program for replace-ment coils, spools, bulk nylon, trimmer heads, and other trimmer accessories. SEE YOU AT NATIONAL HARDWARE SHOW, BOOTH #2414 LEECO Mtowjafituruuf, Ite. P. 0. Box 331 Calimesa, California 92320 Phone (714) 795-2594 - 795-6443 high. It offers fully enclosed chain reduction drive. Hastings explained the ad-vantages of aerating with a plugger-type unit: "It revitalizes the lawn by opening up the root structure of the grass. It breaks up the surface so water can penetrate, thus water goes deeper and does not evaporate as fast. This also applies to the application of fertilizers after plugging." LAWN BUILDING Aquatrols: Wetting agents to build lawns Aquatrols Corp. of America, Pennsauken, N.J. markets Aqua-GRO and Aqua-GRO S for the lawn care businessman, accord- ing to marketing manager Demie S. Moore. Aqua-GRO is a 100 percent active ingredient, blended low-foaming wetting agent that improves water movement, she said. The improved water move-ment results in faster pene-tration, uniform dispersion and better drainage of water, as well as more rapid germination and grass establishment. Aqua-GRO S is a spreadable granular form of Aqua-GRO. Drainage and aeration are obviously very important, she said. It is the water movement in the soil that really gets air to the rootzone. Based on research con- ducted at many universities, the improved infiltration and drainage in an Aqua-GRO-treated soil provides this op-timum rootzone moisture and aeration resulting in better root development, she said. Aqua-GRO can also be an important step towards easier maintenance and more effective pesticide control. Work by Dr. Harry Niemczyk of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center and others has shown significant improve-ment in grub control programs because the incorporation of the wetting agent allows uniform dispersion of chemicals through- out the rootzone, she said. I LAWN BUILDING Power Spike: Disc spiker for lawns Power Spike Mfg. Co., Walters, Okla., manufactures the Power Spike disc spiker for lawn work. It will spike as much as 4,- 000 square feet in 10 minutes, the company said. Advantages of disc spiking are: relieves localized dry spots; increases moisture infiltration; relieves compaction at the immediate surface; lets oxygen and moisture enter the soil; ideal tool for preparing compacted areas for seeding and to disc spike the seed in; better results can be obtained from the use of pesticides when preceded by disc spiking, because it allows penetration of mat and thatch. Enter a trial subscription by returning this card. Read LAWN CARE IN-DUSTRY for: Ł Timely reports on how other lawn care and maintenance companies handle their business problems. Ł Useful tips on the tools of your profession: Direct mail, selling, customer service, equipment care, business management, service techniques. Ł Ideas, facts and figures to maximize your business development and profits. Edited to help you do a more ef-fective job. WWN OIRE INDUSTRY 9800 Detroit Ave. Cleveland, Ohio 44102 LAWN CARE INDUSTRY READER SERVICE CARDŠ AUGUST 1979. ? z o > 50 M z a c cn H 50 > c o INSIDE THE INDUSTRY Next month in LAWN CARE INDUSTRY Introducing FOLIAN®.. the easy-to-use liquid fertilizer that's safe and effective on any kind of turf. FOLIAN is a complete fertilizer. Its special formulation of N-P-K, sulfur and iron gets nutrients directly into grass tissue. And FOLIAN will not cause tip burn when used as directed. Convenient to use FOLIAN is the only turf-builder you'll ever need. It saves you time because there's no mixing or agitation required before using FOLIAN. And FOLIAN can be applied in more concentrated form than most other liquids. As a result, you can service more lawns per truckload with fewer wasted man-hours. A clear solution of the highest quality, FOLIAN won't settle out in your tanks. It's compatible with most pesticides, too. Greens lawns fast Because of its patented formulation and foliar activity, FOLIAN greens up turf quicklyŠfaster than dry fertilizers or suspensions. And at the recommended rates, FOLIAN supplies enough residual fertilizer in the soil to keep grass green and healthy for many weeks. Good for your business Your customers will love the results FOLIAN gives. And you'll appreciate FOLIAN's convenience. Best of all, FOLIAN makes your lawn care service more valuable. It means repeat business from satisfied customers and greater confidence in you. Give FOLIAN a try and discover how it can mean more green for both of you. To find out more about how to get started using FOLIAN, call toll-free 800-228-2178 Omaha, Neb., 800-446-1841/800-446-1845 Hopewell, Va. or write Allied Chemical Corporation, Dept. AG, Box 2120, Houston, TX 77001. < Chemical Plant Foods FOLIAN complete liquid fertilizer. 10 LAWN BUILDING Š Ampel: Pelletized g limestone and gypsum o D < > DC H CO D Q Z u DC < u z < J American Pelletizing Corp., Des Moines, Iowa, manu-factures and markets pelletized forms of limestone, gypsum and dolomitic limestone for the lawn care businessman. According to the company's R.G. Vite, the pelletizing processs provides a virtually dust-free way to apply lime- stome and gypsum. The Ampel process consists of mixing finely ground limestone or gypsum with a binder, producing a hard fertil- izer-sized pellet. The pellet breaks down as soon as it is rained on, thereby releasing valuable nutrients into the soil. The turf benefits immediately. These pellets are easily spread with any type fertilizer equipment or they can be blen-ded into a lawn care business-man's fertilizer mix. Dust is nearly eliminated and accurate broadcasting rates are insured, Vite said. On new turf, 40 pounds per 1,-000 square feet of limestome is recommended prior to seeding. On established turf, 10 to 20 pounds of limestone per year is recommended. About 40 pounds per 1,000 square feet of gypsum is recommended both in spring and fall, Vite said. LAWN BUILDING Pickseed: More turf varieties on the way Pickseed West, Inc., Tangent, Ore. has a Kentucky bluegrass and three new turf-type peren- nial ryegrasses available for the lawn care businessman at pre-sent, and is developing a number of new varieties that should be available soon, according to marketing manager Mike Robin-son. Touchdown Kentucky blue-grass has a resistance to Helminthosporium leaf spot, crown rot, leaf rust, stripe smut and powdery mildew, Robinson said. It also offers early spring green-up, rapid establishment and sod development, resis-tance to drought, heat and sum- mer stress, it is an aggressive turf that in part suppresses weeds including Poa annua has the ability to thrive under medium levels of fertilization and has very good shade tolerance, he said. The three perennial rye-grasses selected by Dr. C. Reed Funk of Rutgers University han-dled by Pickseed are Fiesta, Blazer and Dasher. Fiesta is a dark green, fine-textured grass. It produces a low-growing persistent dense turf, will germinate quickly and has excellent seedling vigor. It is also characterized by an extensive tiller development and has superior mowing qualities, he said. It has very good winter-hardiness and withstands sum-mer stress well. It also has very good resistance to summer brown patch and crown rust. Blazer is a leafy, persistent turf-type cultivar which pro-duces a moderately low-growing turf with a dark green color. It establishes quickly and easily on a wide range of soil types. Mo-wing qualities are superior to common perennial ryegrass and many popular-name varieties. It is highly adaptable and performs well in both winter and summer conditions. It has excellent resis-tance to large brown patch dis-ease and winter brown blight. It performs extremely well in the Midwest and Northeast, he said. Dasher produces a low-growing, fine-textured turf. It has excellent germination seedling vigor and will establish a very dense turf quickly. It has performed particularly well in the West and Southwest. It com- petes well with Poa annua, Robinson said. For further information, con-tact: Mike Robinson, marketing manager, Pickseed West, Inc., Box 888, Tangent, OR 97389, 503-926-8886. LAWN BUILDING Fine Fescue Commission, Manhattan Rye Assn. Scott Lamb is executive secre-tary of both the Oregon Fine Fescue Commission and the Manhattan Ryegrass Growers Association, both based in Salem, Ore. He explained the advantages of each grass for the lawn care businessman: "Oregon fine fescue is ex-tremely fine-bladed and grows very erect which makes it an excellent lawn grass," Lamb said. "Fine fescues require less fertilizer and water than most lawn grasses, and shade and drought tolerance are its strong points. However, it does well in full sun in most cool-season regions of the country. Manhattan fine-leafed peren-nial ryegrass is one of the first fine-leafed varieties to come on the market, he said. It is a favor-ite in cool-season areas for lawns, and does not require a "keep-off" sign, because it bounces back. It is quick to estab- lish and dark green in color. LAWN BUILDING Cyclone: Broadcast spreading equipment New this year to the line of broadcast spreading equipment manufactured by The Cyclone Seeder Co. is the Model 29 unit, which features 10-inch pneu-matic tires and a wider spread than earlier models, according to the company's Paul Speicher. The unit is designed for pro-fessional use, and it features an aluminum gear box and die-cast gears. The 2-Step Huf Renewal Plan with Roundup and Pennfine. One. "Rvo. v t Maäi wjwœt Spray Roundup® on the turf area to be renewed. With just one application of Roundup® herbicide by Monsanto, you can control or destroy most unwanted vegetation. Including stubborn intruders like annual bluegrass, bermudagrass, quackgrass, johnsongrass, tall fescue, and kikuyu grass. In a matter of days, Roundup circulates throughout these weeds. Even into the below-ground roots, destroying the entire plant. Yet Roundup has no residual soil activity. That means there is no injury to new seedings planted after application. Spread Pennfine Perennial Ryegrass seed over the area treated with Roundup. After applying Roundup, seed with fast-growing, fine-leafed Pennfine Perennial Ryegrass. Pennfine was developed by Dr. Joe Duich at Pennsyl-vania State University. Pennfine has been proven to germinate quicker, grow denser, and resist disease better than traditional ryegrasses. And it penetrates compact soil, sending its roots to depths of 12 to 18 inches. These qualities make Pennfine an excellent choice for turf renewal and help to explain why it's used by turf profes-sionals from coast to coast. In a short time, you'll see the proof for yourself. ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW THE LABEL FOR ROUNDUP.® ROUNDUP® IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF MONSANTO CO.. ST. LOUIS. MO. MONSANTO COMPANY 1979 PENNFINE PERENNIAL RYEGRASS HAS BEEN ACCORDED U.S. PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION CERTIFICATE NO. 7200019 LAWN BUILDING Turf-Seed: New bluegrass this fall Turf-seed, Inc., Hubbard, Ore. has a new Kentucky blue-grass coming into production this fall Š Columbia. The bluegrass was bred for resistance to leaf rust, the com-pany said. Rust spores were introduced to plants used in the breeding program, and only those found to be resistant were used in the final cross for this new variety of bluegrass. Medium-width blade, dark green color and erect growing habit are all descriptions of this new addition to the bluegrass varieties available to the lawn care businessman. For more information, contact: Turf-Seed, Inc., Box 250, Hubbard, Ore. 97032, 503-951-9171. LAWN BUILDING Water-In: Chemical aeration and mulch Liquid Water-In, manu-factured by Water-In, Inc., Alta- dena, Calif, is a soil conditioner which can improve the activa-tion of fertilizer, according to company president Larry Houchin. "Through the process of breaking up hard soil Š giving complete water penetration Š plants and lawns get a better start as well as grow better dur-ing the season," he said. The company also manufactures dry Water-In, which is simply per-lite with the liquid product blen- ded into it. Lawn care businessman Bob Cohen, president of The Green Scene, Los Angeles, uses the pro-duct and said: "We used to mechanically aerate our lawns in spring and fall. Unfortunately, we found many lawns blocked by gates and fencing, and the obstacles of the in-ground sprinkler system made maneuvering our tractor-aerator difficult, time-consuming and of-ten potentially damaging to our customer's property. "We serviced about half of our lawns with mechanical aera-tion, and the other half with what we called 'chemical aeration,' using dry Water-In. We could observe no difference in appear-ance in the lawns that were mechanically aerated versus those chemically treated. "On new seedlings, with mechanical seedbed-prepa- ration equipment, we topdress with dry Water-In as a 'chemical mulch' and use IBDU as the fertilizer. Customer seems to prefer this approach to using manure, and we prefer the process because it takes less time to apply and there is less Free *It will have cost you nothing to see how dramatically the 2-Step T\irf Renewal Plan can improve your turf. Our free kit contains enough Roundup and Pennfine to renew about 200 square feet of turf. And when you see the results, you can judge for yourself just how well this new concept in turf renewal works. Roundup and Pennfine -the 2-Step TYirf Renewal Plan. Put Our Free Kit to the Test. Find out for yourself how effectively these two superior products work together in a simple turf renewal program. All it will cost you is the price of a stamp. Name (Please print) Company or Institution Address State Zip Send this coupon to: Turf Renewal Plan, Box 923, Minneapolis, MN 55440 Note: this offer is restricted to turf professionals-those whose livelihood depends on the maintenance of quality turf. Limit one per company or course. Offer void where prohibited by law. material bulk. Furthermore, the effect of the 'chemical top- dressing' seems to be that of breaking up the top surface soil into an ultra-fine mud which covers the seed with a thin layer of soil. Thus the seed is effec-tively surrounded with soil, yet is still exposed to the warmth of the sun. We get faster germination and better growth as a result. "Based on our experience with mechanically aerated versus chemically aerated lawns, The Green Scene has gone com-pletely to the chemical approach. Now we use liquid Water-In on every service and on all types of lawns." LAWN BUILDING Equipment, materials manufacturers listed The following is a partial listing of companies that manufacture or market equip-ment, seed and materials for lawn building: O.M. Scott & Sons Marysville, OH 43040 513-644-2900 Seed, spreaders Seaboard Seed Co. P.O. Box 106 Bristol, IL 60512 312-553-5801 Seed American Pelletizing Corp. P.O. Box 3628 Des Moines, IA 50322 Lime, gypsum Aquatrols Corp. of America 1432 Union Ave. Pennsauken, NJ 08110 609-665-1130 Wetting agents Cushman-Ryan P.O. Box 82409 Lincoln, NE 68501 Equipment Derby Tiller Co. P.O. Box 21 Rumson, NJ 07760 201-741-0601 Equipment Gandy Co. 528 Ganrud Rd. Owatonna, MN 55060 507-451-5430 Equipment Hahn 1625 Garvin St. Evansville, IN 47717 812-424-0931 Equipment International Seeds, Inc. P.O. Box 168 Halsey, OR 97348 503-369-2251 Seed Jacobsen Dav. of Textron, Inc. 1721 Packard Ave. Racine, WI 53403 414-637-6711 Equipment il > ? 2 n > PO m 2 a c CD H PO > C O e acklin Seed Co. . 17300 Jacklin Ave. Post Falls, ID 83854 208-773-7581 Seed F.D. Kees Mfg. Co. 700 Park Ave. Beatrice, NE 68310 402-223-2391 Equipment Lofts Pedigreed Seed, Inc. P.O. Box 146 Bound Brook, NJ 08805 201-356-8700 Seed to page 21 wmwiiin aw'mmm^m^^m^^mmamm^^mm^^^mmm^^m^mmm LAWN CA re industry Marketplace by BobEarley Editor Seattle You fly into Seattle, rent a car, turn on the radio and just about the first thing you hear is an ad for Washington Tree Ser-vice, one of the largest lawn and tree care companies in the Seat-tle area. Although larger than most companies, Washington Tree Service's program is somewhat typical of the work being done in the area. It's no secret that Seat- tle is a logging area, and many companies provide both lawn and tree care for their customers. In addition to Washington Tree Service, a listing of some of the better known lawn and tree care companies in Seattle and Tacoma to the south would have to include: A-l Spray Service, Tacoma; Eastside Spraying Ser- vice, Kirkland; Earth Enter-prises, Auburn; Giffords the Gardeners, Olympia; Grow It Green Landscape, Tacoma; Lawn Craft, Seattle and Belle- vue; Pete's Spray Service, Puyallup; Seattle Gardening Service; and Evergreen Services Corp., Bellevue. If a landscape maintenance businessman is going to grow past the two-man stage, he has to make an effort to develop his organization to the point where he can get out of the field and into the office. Once he is in the office almost full-time, the real work of run- ning the business Š the hard part Š begins, according to Rod Bailey, president of Evergreen Services Corp., based in the Seattle suburb of Bellevue. "Lack of financial manage-ment knowledge is one of the biggest obstacles to growth the lawn care businessman faces," Bailey told LAWN CARE IN-DUSTRY. "You have to learn how to work with banks and develop a long-range plan. And you have to have your finger on cost control, knowing what it costs you to operate, so you can charge appropriately for service and make money at it." Many lawn care business-men don't like to be in debt, and they finance their growth out of earnings. This is all well and fine, Bailey says, if you have truly met your objectives of where you want your business to be. "But money is simply a business tool, just like a mower or a spray tank," Bailey said. "Our business is a highly lever- aged business in a basically highly leveraged industry, but we know how to manage our debt. All money costs is the inter-est." When he goes to the bank, a lawn care businessman needs to be able to sell his banker on why he needs money for his business, and he obviously has to convince his banker how and when he will be able to pay the loan back. To do this, a pro forma profit/loss projection and a pro forma cash flow projection is necessary, along with a three-to-five year operating plan. "Then all you have to do is sell the bank on the idea that you can indeed do what you say you can," Bailey said. But he says that a lawn care businessman should not go into debt unless he knows how to manage that debt. There are many places to go to learn how to manage money, including seminars put on by banks, seminars put on by trade associ-ations, publications put out by the federal Small Business Administration, just to name a few. Bailey is a former manage-ment consultant who became in-volved with Evergreen Services Corp., about 10 years ago. The company has three small offices in different parts of the general Seattle area, in addition to the main office in Bellevue. The company has about 63 employes at peak times of the year, about 45 of which are kept on the payroll the full year. About 15 of the employes are in the design/build landscape division and the rest are in maintenance. Bailey says that the com-pany's objective is to have about 40 percent landscape installa-tion work, and the rest mainte-nance. Evergreen works at about 400 individual property sites for about 250 customers. Almost all of the company's work is commercial. One of the main reasons for this, as Bailey notes, is: "The specs on a residential job change every time the home-owner walks out into his back-yard. With commercial accounts, your relationship is usually only with one individual. As long as your work is satisfactory, the specs seldom change. And you don't have to do the personal kind of public relations neces-sary on residential accounts." Many landscapers involved A view of downtown Seattle, with the sports Kingdome. in both construction and mainte- nance say that the installation segment of their business is the most profitable. Bailey does not agree, saying that his mainte-nance division is more profit-able. "For one thing, our outstand-ing receivables for maintenance are about 25 days, while our outstanding receivables for construction are perhaps 45 to 60 days," he said. He says that how internal accounting decisions are handled in such areas as general administrative costs also deter-mine how profitable each divi-sion is. "Your risks are always going to be higher on construction, while I really feel that mainte-nance is depression-proof," he says. During the economic slow-down of 1973, Evergreen's business increased. Part of this was due to the fact that the com-pany's commercial accounts wanted their sites looking good to bring whatever limited business there was at the time in. But, he says, the company did put many of its accounts on a low-mainte- nance "survival" program to keep them on the books. "We know what our costs are, and we never cut price to com-pete," he said. "We have lost some accounts because of this, but 98 percent of our business is return business. There are only two accounts we have lost that have not come back to us." He said there is not much bidding on maintenance work in the Seattle market, because the industry is relatively new. Most of Evergreen's work comes from getting the maintenance contract after it has finished the installa-tion. He estimates the company locks in maintenance contracts on 90 percent of its installations. "We never respond to a bid request when we can see no reason for the account to be un-happy with the maintenance it is receiving, he said. This kind of situation means the account is simply shopping price, and we don't want to get into that." Allan Pease, 38, was one of the first Lawn-A-Mat franchise dealers to move into the Seattle area back in 1966. At the franchise company's peak, there were four Lawn-A-Mat dealers working the Seattle area. Now there are two left, Pease, and Jack Moschatel. They have banded together for promotion purposes under the name Lawn Craft. Moschatel services Seattle and east; Pease services homes out of his suburban Bellevue of-fice and to the west. He has at least three basic philosophies of running a lawn care business: Ł "You can't make money running over cement," or make sure you don't get too spread out in the area that you service (he services a 30-mile radius). Waiter Johnson Pease Hartzeil Bailey Seattle/Tacoma lawn care companies The follow is a partial listing of lawn care businessmen and companies operating in the Seat-tle/Tacoma metropolitan area: James Ely A-l Spray Service Tacoma, Wash. AAA Spraying Seattle, Wash. Aabear Landscape Services Kent, Wash. American Lawn & Tree Service Seattle, Wash. Forrest Beals Beat's Spraying & Landscaping Tacoma, Wash. Ward Hartzell Beauti-care Gardening Service Mountlake Terrace, Wash. Ray Haan Bellingham Chemical Bellingham, Wash. Bruce McCormack Botanical Services Bothell, Wash. Paul Bunyan Forest Co. Seattle, Wash. Bill Gildroy Cascade Spraying Service Lake Stevens, Wash. Steve Harris Cascara Tree & Spray Service Bothell, Wash. Chemi-Serve Seattle, Wash. John Beheyt Bill Harlan Spraying i . Wash. Kirkland Andrew Elliott Earth Enterprises Auburn, Wash. John Smith Evergreen Aerating & Gardening Seattle, Wash. Rodney Bailey Evergreen Services Corp. Bellevue, Wash. Peter Allard Four Seasons Gardening Sérvice Bellevue, Wash. Tex Gifford Giffords the Gardeners Olmpia, Wash. ael Jo r It Gr Grow It Green Landscape Tacoma, Wash. Walden Haines Haines Tree & Spray Service Bellingham, Wash. Hystad's Spraying Service Seattle, Wash. Jerry's Lawn Service Seattle, Wash. David Johnson Johnson & Sons Grounds Maintenance Tacoma, Wash. Kittle Landscape Gardening Seattle, Wash. Laughlin Spraying & Pest Control Service Seattle, Wash. Allen Pease Lawn Craft of East Side Bellevue, Wash. Jack Moschatel Lawn Craft of Seattle Seattle, Wash. Don Horton Master Gardener Seattle, Wash. McBreen's Spray & Aerating Service Seattle, Wash. John Messmer Messmer's Landscape Service Kent, Wash. Nature's Design Service Bellevue, Wasn. Paramount Services Seattle, Wash. Peter Tovoli Pete's Spray Service Puyallup, Wash. Puget Sound Tree Service Seattle, Wash. Rainier Tree Service Bothell, Wash. Ron Polland Ron's Yard Care Puyallup, Wash. William Bergstrom Hillard Viydo Seattle Gardening Service Seattle, Wash. Steven Nelson Steve's Lawn Service Tacoma, Wash. Westermayer Bob Peery Terra Tacoma, Wash. Michael Thornhill Thornhill Services Gig Harbor, Wash. Ed Walter BudJohnson sningto Seattle, Wash Beheyt r* > n > 50 m 2 a c CD H 50 > C o Wash ineton Tree Service Rueben Weedman Weedman's Landscaping Kent, Wash. Sandro Westermayer Westermayer Spray Service Redmond, Wasn. Professional lawn care is one of today s fastest growing industries. And PERF-A-LAWN is one of the largest, most successful companies in the industry. Why? Because we offer the most liberal and most productive franchise program in lawn care. Our franchise fee is one of the lowest, giving you the opportunity of a lifetime to start your own successful lawn care business with c minimum investment. Wf provide thorough training in every step of the lawn care process at no extra cost to you. We supply free continuing technological assistance covering new product advances, new equipment, along with innovations in application techniques. We provide you with virtually everything you need to begin business. And PERF-A-LAWN is widely recognized... with corporate branches and franchisees in eight states and 22 major marketing areas. Read what two of PERF-A-LAWN's many successful franchisees have to say: "We could not have chosen a better company. They helped and supported us through the first years'.'-Steve Juntgen, Ft. Wayne. "The extensive training is excellent. They are truly experts!'-Virgil Huffman, Toledo. If you're looking for a money-making franchise opportunity, look to PERF-A-LAWN. The profits are now. The growth is now. The future is now. Mail coupon today for free franchise kit. 85 Quick Road. New Carlisle. Ohio 45344 Gentlemen: Hurry send full details on your high-profit, low-investment PERF-A-LAWN franchise I understand there is no obligation Name Market in which I will operate Address-City-State--Zip-Ł "The key to survival in this business is diversification." Ł "When you start out, you have to promote your business heavily (he particularly likes radio). After you have estab-lished yourself, it is wasting money to advertise as much." In the lawn care portion of his business he has about 600 customers on the books and charges 4V2 cents a square foot for four visits a year, including fertilization, weed, disease and insect control, aeration and seeding. He charges $5 per 1,000 square feet for applying dolo-mitic limestone when it is neces-sary (usually 50 pounds per 1,000 square feet once a year in spring or fall). His average customer has between 4,000 and 5,000 square feet of lawn and his average charge per customer is about $200 per year. He says lawn care is about one-third of his business, land-scape installation and resi- dential re-landscaping comprise the other two-thirds. He has nine trucks on the road and employs his foreman and lead people year-round, and about 12 to 15 people at peak times of the year. "We give overtime and longer hours (his people work 10-hour days as a rule) because it allows my people to earn a better wage," he said. When he first started out in the business, he went down to one of the major Seattle radio stations Š KVI Š and talked to Bob Hardwick, a top morning drive-time disc jockey. He dis-cussed his program with Hard- wick, let Hardwick ride his aeration-and application com- bine, and set up a program of ad-lib radio commercials, the kind that Hardwick winds into his ongoing morning radio patter. "It has worked well for us, and built up a good solid com- pany identification," Pease said. He has also done the same thing with the host of a Seattle radio sports call-in program, with the same positive results. "The radio has worked excel-lently for us," he said. He and Moschatel spend about $15,000 a year on advertising/promotion, and about 75 percent of it goes into radio. He has done some television advertising in the past, but says the cost is too pro- hibitive for the amount of leads it produces. He has been happy with his newspaper advertising, usually an ad three or four columns wide and about four inches deep. "What triggers the customer to call?" he asks. "It is hard to tell. We get a good response from the newspaper, but I think that is the final action that results from the identification we have built up with our radio advertising pro-gram." The reason for his diversifica-tion is the fact that what he calls his "lawn rejuvenation" pro-gram was only an eight-month business. "I needed something to fill in the rest of the year, to allow me to keep my people," he said. "I saw the climate of things changing around here because so much construction was going on, and I figured I might as well get some of the business. "This definitely not a declin-ing market," Pease says. "We have experienced a steady 10 to 20 percent growth every year we have been in business." John Beheyt, 59, bought East-side Spraying Service, Kirkland, in 1946 and now runs it with Bill Harlan. The company has more than 3,000 customers receiving anywhere from two to six sprays a year. Their work is split 50/50 between lawn work and tree work, and 85 percent of their work is spray. Lawn fertilizer is applied with Cyclone spreaders. The company has more than 20 persons employed year-round and grosses more $700,000 yearly. He has been in business just about as long as any lawn care businessman in the country. Here are some of his opinions on the industry and his place in it: Ł "We only do work that the customer needs. Our crews make a determination on the spot what is needed, and that is all the customer gets. Ł "We have seven 1,000-gallon stainless steel tank spray trucks on the road. We build them ourselves one-third cheaper than what we would have to pay for them. The tank carries water only, and our chemicals are metered in. On an average day my men go through two tanks, or about 25 jobs. Ł "We fertilize our lawns five times a year, and it takes eight pounds of nitrogen per 1,-000 square feet yearly. You need that much because the grass grows all year long up here. We use eight tons of fertilizer per application three times a year, and 12 tons per application in early spring and late in the year. Ł "We have converted all of our vehicles to propane, and it saves us half on fuel costs and gives us longer engine life. It costs about $500 to modify a 360 V-8 engine; it would cost $1,100 to have it done outside our shop. Ł We keep two guys on each truck for safety. One guy can do $400 worth of business a day busting his tail where two guys can do $1,000 comfortably because they are working to-gether. But you of course are only making money when the spray gun is open, so we keep our routes tight. A few are only one mile in diameter. Ł "Just about all of our customers receive both lawn and tree servicing. Even though our work is split about 50/50, the large majority of our complaints come from lawn work. Each of our trucks handles about 550 ac- counts, so they really don't have time to handle too many com- plaints. We have two full-time salesmen who do nothing but sell and answer complaints. It keeps them very busy." Control 15 major lawn pests with versatile SEVIN carbaryl insecticide. They nip, munch, burrow and bite. As sure as grass is green, lawn pests will try to make life miserable. You can minimize the misery STOP! ALL PESTICIDES CAN BE HARMFUL With SEVIN TO HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT r^rh^r\/l IF MISUSED. READ THE LABEL CARE- Uai / 1 FULLY AND USE ONLY AS DIRECTED. |HSeCtlClde And protect lawns from as many as 15 different problem pests. Both the most common ones and the worst: ants, bluegrass bi 11 bugs, chiggers, chinch bugs, cutworms, ear-wigs, European chafer, fall armyworm, fleas, green June beetle, leafhoppers, millipedes, mosquitoes, sod webworms (lawn moths) and ticks. Broad registration only starts the list of SEVIN benefits. It's also compatible with many other commonly used insecticides, miticides, fungicides and foliar nutri-ents. And residents can resume using the grounds or yard as soon as the spray dries. There's a choice of SEATTLE Follow-through wins customers One of our strongest points is our dependability," says Hillard Viydo. "Our customers know, that, rain or shine, we'll take care of their lawns on the sched-uled days." Keeping strictly to schedule is only one aspect of the thorough follow-through which charac-terizes every aspect of the Seat- tle Gardening Service, co-owned by Hillard Viydo, 27 and Bill Bergstrom, 30. Responding more and more quickly to customer queries has also increased business. Bergstrom says, "we handle every call very quickly, and try to get out estimates on the same day." Bergstrom adds, that, whereas, before, they got one out of three customers they gave es-timates for, now the figure is close to sixty percent. Helping to speed up the es-timates are pre-printed sheets with space for the customer's name, address, and phone, and types of work desired printed out so that a simple check mark on the appropriate line can provide the necessary information. Customer queries come from ads in the Yellow Pages or local papers, as well as fliers that go out with each monthly billing. The fliers provide educational information on other services, such as fertilizing, thatching, or aerating, sometimes at special discounts, or sales on garden tools, hoses, or sprinklers. Because they try to provide something fresh every month, Viydo says, "we feel many customers actually look forward now to their billing, because of the different services our en-closed fliers offer." Another source of customer queries, as well as company follow-through, are index-sized cards which state, "Dear Customer: It has been brought to our attention by our men that your yard is in need of the follo- wing:" A place for a check mark is then provided in front of thatching, aerating, weeding, trimming, fertilizer, lime, or other. The card closes with, "If you would like to discuss our sug-gestions, please call us." The company address and phone are listed. Viydo says, "we're very con-scientous about this, and make the suggestion only if we believe the customer needs it." To aid in this, each man always works the same yard. This builds a customer rapport and con- fidence. It also allows the man to thoroughly know the needs of the yard, as well as increase the speed with which he gets the job done. Viydo says, that, over a year's time, 30 percent of the customers respond positively to the suggestions offered. In order to strengthen this follow-through aspect of their business, Viydo and Bergstrom have continually worked at in-creasing efficiency in terms of organization and employee- relations. One big organizational improvement (as well as gas sav-ings) has resulted from gradually narrowing down the geo-graphical area in which they work. Viydo says, "Before, it would take our three trucks a day to do 20 jobs within a 20 block period. Now a single truck will do 20 jubs a day within a six block period." The customer has also become much more selective in the work they choose. Viydo says, "At first we took any job at all related to lawn care or gar-dening. But now we've narrowed it down to mainly mowing, fertilizing, thatching, and aerating." He adds that they've also become more discrimin- ating in terms of choosing customers. They turn down badly kept yards in which it's clear that the customers aren't going to cooperate through such basics as watering, etc. They also turn down especially finicky or demanding customers. Viydo says, "Before we had to take anybody. But now we have enough jobs so we choose only those jobs that will make us a profit." Even once a job is taken on, if the company finds that the reward doesn't justify the effort, it will tell the customer that it can't help it, and pull out. Ac- curate records including both drive and work time, as well as gas and material costs help in determining whether any partic-ular job is profitable or not. By narrowing their focus within a tight geographical area, and choosing lawns that can be kept looking well, the Seattle Gardening Service also increase positive word-of-mouth advertis- ing, as well as the simple fact of the customers' neighbors seeing the company's trucks on the street that much more often. A further customer qualifica-tion is that basic prices are given directly over the phone. This automatically weeds out people looking for unprofessional prices, and save time by cutting out that many more unproduc-tive estimates. The basic mowing prices quoted are $20 per man hour, $11.50 minimum on a weekly basis, and $14.50 on a two week basis. Fertilizing is $10.50 mini-mum, aerating is $20 minimum; and thatching is $25 minimum. The first job is done by the hour, to establish a fair price in terms of a lawn that is either well kept or overgrown. This first time by the hour rate is agreed upon both verbally and in writing. After the first time, the company gives an estimate which is held to. However, if the customer chooses to miss a scheduled mowing, even once, then the next mowing will revert back to the hourly rate. The Seattle Gardening Ser-to page 20 degradable; and when compared with other insecticides, it ranks low in toxi-city to people,animals, birds and fish. So it's probably no surprise to hear that SEVI N carbaryl is one of the largest selling insecticides in the United States today For more information about SEVIN, contact your pesticide supplier or Union Carbide at the address below. Make SEVIN carbaryl insecticide your answer to pest control too. SEVIN es» CARBARYL INSECTICIDE ^^^^^ ? Z n > 70 m a C C/2 H 70 >< > a o How Roundup® helped Jim Siegfried renovate this fairway in days,without closing it for one minute. Take a good look at this good-looking fairway. Last fall, Jim Siegfried found a way to clean it up, without tearing it up Šat the height of his club's busy season. With Roundup" herbicide by Monsanto. Jim is the Greens Superintendent at Losantiville Country Club, Cincinnati, where bermudagrass had become a serious problem on the 18th fairway. To control it, Jim applied Roundup onceŠwhile the weeds were still actively growingŠright at the start of the Labor Day weekend. "That's really 'prime time' here',' Jim told us. "But after we applied Roundup, we kept the fairway in play the whole weekend, and after. The members played right over it, with no problem!' Since Roundup has no residual soil activity, and won't wash or leach out of treated areas to injure desirable plants, Jim simply took normal pre-cautions against spray driftŠand didn't worry about damaging desirable vegetation along the fairway. Even better, he was able to re-seed right into the dying bermudagrass only 7 days after applying RoundupŠ without loss of playing time or incon- venience to the membership. Reinfestation won't be a big prob-lem for Jim, either. He knows that Roundup destroyed the rhizomes of the treated weeds, helping prevent their regrowth. Jim thinks he'll use Roundup again this yearŠand apparently some club members hope so, too. "As soon as they saw how good this fairway looks, some of the members started asking when I'm going to do the same for -10, where we have some more bermuda. I'll probably tackle that with Roundup this fall!' If controlling many tough emerged weeds and grasses is a problem for you, see your local Monsanto representative or chemical dealer soon for your supply of Roundup. Roundup. It worked for Jim Siegfried It can work for you Circle 136 on free information card Monsanto There's never been a herbicide like this before. Short story of great beauty. This little bluegrass came to market from Sweden and became a best seller. Fylking Kentucky bluegrass forms a luxurious, low-growing, fine-textured thick turf. It establishes fast, develops a greater density of rhizomes and roots. Fylking is tough, with improved resistance to many diseases, and better tolerates drought, heat, cold, smog and foot traffic. Greens up early, stays green through summer and late into fall. Great as the backbone bargain for lawn turf seed mixes. Fylking performs well when cut low (even low as one-half inch). Fylking Kentucky bluegrass costs less than most other elite blues. In short, insist that this best seller be included in every lawn seed mix. Fylking Kentucky bluegrass. FYLKING KENTUCKY BLUEGRASS ~ Another fine, quality-controlled product of Jacklin Seed Company. « .... TOOLS, TIPS & TECHNIQUES Techniques for controlling annual grasses Preemergence herbicides have been used to control crabgrass for only the last 10-15 years. They offer 80 to 90 percent con-trol of crabgrass with little or no photo-toxicity to desirable species. They are available in granular as well as sprayable formulations and are frequently combined with fertilizers for weeding and feeding in a single operation. Although all products are effective un-der most conditions, research done by Dr. Barry Troutman has indicated some general trends in relative effectiveness of these products. Dr. Troutman is a weed scientist with Chem- Lawn Corp., and is based at the Columbus, Ohio company's research facility in Atlanta, Ga. Dr. Troutman said that Betasan consistently gives better single-application control of annual grasses than Dacthal or Tupersan. Under conditions of short crabgrass germination periods like those that normally occur in areas such as north and central Ohio, the differences among Betasan, Dacthal and Tupersan are minimal. He said that the greatest advantage of Betasan usage is realized in markets such as Cincinnati, where crabgrass often germinates late in the season. Betasan is also advantageous where summer conditions are unfavorable for bluegrass growth. Like Betasan, the new herbicide Ronstar is extremely effective as a single-application treatment. "Our research with Ronstar indicates that the label rate of four pounds per acre may be higher than required for single- application annual grass control," Dr. Troutman told more than 400 persons in attendance at lawn care sessions during last year's Ohio Turfgrass Conference in Columbus. "Supple-mental applications of half- to three-fourths of the initial ap-plication rate can be used to increase the effectiveness of both Dacthal and Tupersan in heavy-pressure markets." ^ Phytotoxicity. Betasan, Dacthal and Tupersan are not pro-hibitively toxic to established turf, but their use un seedling turf should be strictly governed by label recommendations, Dr. Troutman said. Repeated use of Dacthal in blue-grass/fine fescue turf will tend to eliminate the fine fescue. Ronstar is toxic to bentgrass and will burn most grasses and weeds if applied to wet foliage. Timing and effectiveness. Preemergence herbicides are designed to be applied two or three weeks prior to germina-tion of crabgrass. In 1978, at ChemLawn's Columbus research center, Dacthal performed best when applied in mid-May. March and April treatments may have been too early for op-timal control. Supplemental Dacthal applications were re- quired to provide significant foxtail control where the initial applications were made in March or April. Betasan, Tuper-san and Ronstar appeared to offer more latitude in treatment timing than Dacthal. Tupersan is the only product that has displayed signifi-cant postemergence crabgrass activity, therefore, it is critical that Betasan, Dacthal and Ronstar be applied before crab-grass germinates, Dr. Troutman said. Early postemergence control of foxtail and crabgrass can be obtained by combining MSMA with the preemergence herbicide. In this combina-tion, the MSMA kills young seedlings and the preemergence prevents establishment of additional seedlings. He said MSMA in combination with Dacthal, Betasan or Tupersan work well on foxtail but either Betasan or Tupersan is required with MSMA to provide crabgrass control when crabgrass seedlings are in the two-leaf stage. Some slight dis-coloration of Kentucky bluegrass turf is apt to result from these combination treatments. Why do preemergence herbicides fail? Preemergence her-bicides may fail for a variety of reasons, Dr. Troutman said. Label rates are based on research in which herbicides are precisely applied. Variation of rate as little as 25 percent below the label rate may result in poor weed control. Ob-viously, skips caused by poor application technique will result in poor control. "Warm, moist soil conditions favor the activity of mi-crobes that degrade herbicides," he said. "When optimal con-ditions occur, more rapid breakdown may result in poor con-trol. Normally, preemergence herbicides persist in the soil at effective concentrations for from two to four months. Even under normal breakdown conditions, ample moisture in August may stimulate germination at a time when the herbi-cide concentration is not strong enough to be effective." Effectiveness of these herbicides depends on the estab-lishment of a continuous herbicide barrier along the soil sur-face. This barrier may be interrupted by any activity that dis- rupts the soil surface. Heavy traffic, aerification, dethatching, earthworm activity or soil cracking are all possi- ble causes of sufficient soil disruption to decrease herbicide effectiveness. Thatch accumulation also plays an important roll in herbi-cide effectiveness, he said. Research in Illinois has shown that preemergence herbicides are more mobile in thatch than in soil. They also showed that herbicide degradation is more rapid in thatch than in soil. From these data, Dr. Troutman said, it would seem reasonable that in wet years, pre-emergence herbicides may not be present in sufficient con-centrations to prevent crabgrass germination in the upper thatch levels. H MEETINGS Park and grounds management conference set for Nashville The Ninth Annual National Institute on Park and Grounds Management will be held Oct. 28 through Nov. 1 at the Opryland Hotel, Nashville, Tenn. Experts in management, oper-ations and maintenance will staff three conference programs relating to large outdoor areas. For further information, con-tact: National Institute, Box 1936, Appleton, Wis. 54913, 414-733-2301. MEETINGS Farwest show set for Portland The 7th Annual Farwest Show, one of the country's largest regional nursery, garden and allied trades shows, will be held Aug. 24-26 in Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Ore. The show, sponsored by the Oregon Association of Nursery-men, features 60,000 square feet of exhibits. It also features 18 indepth seminars dealing with topics in the green industry. For further information, con-tact: Oregon Association of Nurserymen, 0224 S.W. Hamilton St. Portland, Ore. 97201, 503-221-1182. Wit O^o An L & M Lawncare franchise for the right person. An opportunity to join a growing industry, using our unique system of both Liquid and Granual application in one step operation. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOC for complete information call: (216) 481 5000 Ed Thuning ® JGSTAWnCARÊ 19506 Nottingham Rd., Cleveland, Ohio 44110 Custom Designed for Lawn Care Consolidated Services, makers of quality lawn care equipment, offers you two standard units or we will custom-build to your specifications. These features and more are available. Contact us direct, today. Ł Choice of tanks, sizes & material Ł Low center of gravity & clearance Ł Powered rewind reels Ł One-piece welded construction Ł Mechanical or sparge line agitation P^j] Consolidated Services 401 South College St. Piqua, Ohio 45356 PH: (513) 773-3109 i central LAWN CARE V do J "We've checked your credit, Mr. Stone, and we can take care of your front yard this year, and your back yard next year. . Circle 107 on free information card Circle 119 on free information card Ü < >« oc -to D Q Z w a: < u z < PRODUCTS Hose repair kit A hose repair kit which can be used on any size plastic hose and most rubber hoses is available from L. R. Nelson Corp. Hoses are repaired by sim-ply cutting off the leaky section and slipping on a high impact, ABS plastic coupling. The price of the kit is $1.89. Circle 207 on free information card WHEN THERE'S NO SUBSTITUTE FOR THE BEST! Model # PC 1200 fiberglass tank equipped with fiberglass pump cover, Model #D 200 gal-lon mixing tank shown mounted on a custom truck body by Strong Enterprises. Bottom view of the Model #PC 1200 tank showing to best advantage the integral molded mounting base and steel hold-down lugs designed for ease in mounting on your truck and eliminating costly installation. THE Tuflex Manufacturing process allows a five year warranty on all tanks. is the only manufacturer to specialize in seamless fiberglass spray tanks specifically for the pest control and lawn care industry. Remember when crafts-manship was an art...at Tuflex it still is! The exclusive Tuflex process carries a full five year warranty on all handcrafted seam-less fiberglass tanks. For economy prices and more information on our complete line of tanks, write or call now: Tuflex Manufacturing Company Post Office Box 13143 Port Everglades, Florida 33316 (305)525-8815 Circle 114 on free information card "Moto-Cast" spreader Leisure Lawn's four-wheel drive "Moto-Cast" spreader features a constant speed drive train and stainless steel impeller for ease of application. The spreader is powered by a 3V2-horsepower Briggs & Stratton industrial engine. Other stan- dard features include turf-trac tires, torque limiter, H-D welded chasis, and high capacity hopper. A ramp for easy loading and unloading is optional. Circle 211 on free information card Coated fertilizer A 100 percent sulfur-coated fertilizer in a 20-6-12 and iron formulation is available from Lakeshore Equipment & Supply Co. The soluble nutrient sources in the fertilizer are coated with a sulfur membrane which controls the release of nutrients. Circle 209 on free information card 5 Pelletized Profit? Now, big limestone & gypsum profits in a virtually dust-free pellet form. Ł Opens up a whole new market segment for your lawn care business .. without the mess of dusty, uncontrolled spreader applications. Ł Economical, yet highly profitable. Ł Works with any type spreader, including broad-cast. Ł Lets you increase customer service plus decrease your fertilizer costs. Ł Ideal for slack periods because REVEILLE can be applied practically year 'round. Available in bag or bulk, both REVEILLE Limestone and Gypsum fit perfectly into liquid or dry lawn care operations. MARKETING IDEA FILE Billboard advertising grows in popularity Billboard advertising has traditionally been the domain of the alcohol and tobacco industries, but the lawn care industry has recently expressed an interest in this often maligned ad-vertising medium. In fact, this year Davey Lawnscape, Kent, Ohio, invested a portion of its hard-earned advertising dollar into the develop- ment of a billboard campaign. John Reeves, sales coordinator for Davey, said his company hung 15 billboards in the Pitts- burgh metropolitan area at a cost of about $4,200. The billboards were hung between mid-April and mid-March, at the height of the lawn care buying season. "We selected Pittsburgh primarily because there are only three major accesses in and out of the city," Reeves said. "We figured if we were to spot billboards on any of those thoroughfares and also hang some in the inner city, it would work out pretty well." Reeves estimated that Davey's billboards were viewed 16.8 times per month by the average commuter. "That gave us a viewing audience of close to five million," he said. Mark Morgan, manager of Davey's Pittsburgh office, ad-ded, "The philosophy is to get the people while they're going and coming from work because billboards are zoned out of many suburbs. So we put them along the main roads leading to and from the areas where we wanted to develop our business." And has it developed their business! "The Pittsburgh of-fice was shooting for $640,000 in business this year and they're already at $658,000," Reeves said. "I can attribute a lot of that to our billboard advertising and to our good name in Pittsburgh." We cure sick lawns. oaveyiMM W Lawnscape Call 7710330 Davey Lawnscape, Kent, Ohio, hung this billboard throughout the Pittsburgh area. Note Davey's distinctive logo, Moe D. Lawn. Reeves said the key to a successful billboard campaign is good placement. "I'd say we placed 11 of our 15 boards exact-ly where we wanted them. And I think that!s the key because if you just say you want 15 boards they'll just slap them up anywhere," he said. Even though billboard advertising has grown in popularity in recent years it continues to be viewed skeptically by many lawn care professionals. There are a number of reasons for this skepticism including: Ł The success or failure of a billboard campaign is more difficult to monitor than traditional advertising mediums. Ł The audience is less likely to act directly in response to a billboard advertisement as opposed to a direct mail or newspaper advertisement. Ł Billboard advertising is non-traditional and therefore unacceptable to many of the more conservative executives in the lawn care industry. Ł Billboards are costlier than the more popular forms of advertising used in the lawn care industry. (I.E. direct mail, telephone directories, newspaper ads, etc.) However, Reeves doesn't see cost as a deterrent to billboard advertising. "If I were to run a full-page ad in the Cleveland 'Plain Dealer' the cost would be between $2,000 and $3,000," he said. "For $4,200 we ran 15 boards for a month and that includes the development costs ($1,500) plus the cost of the space ($2,700)." Whatever the benefits or pitfalls of billboard advertising, it is almost universally accepted that billboards are most suc-cessful when used in conjunction with other forms of adver-tising. "If you were to have a total billboard campaign I don't think it would be very successful," Reeves said, "but as a sup-portive piece of advertising it's worth looking into." LIMESTONE & GYPSUM PELLETS American Pelletizing Corp Ł P O Box 3628 Ł Des Momes. Iowa 50322 Circle 139 on free information card tígm 2NÊMÊ tm^mmmmgmmam läEflraj *Ł WÊÊÊ ' - t\. M& In most cases the customer/client relationship would end there, but Crawford said, that is a mistake. "We try to keep in touch with them so when their financial situation improves they will remember us," she said. And how does Pennturf Ł Ł B^fc keep in touch? "The customer may cancel the service, but they will probably still fertilize their lawns, so we sell them n - our fertilizers," she said. Keep in contact with cancelled clients Pennturf purchases its fertilizers from Lakeshore Equip-ment & Supply Co., Elyria, Ohio, but the bags carry the Penn-Lawn care operators should make it a point to find out turf label. Further, Pennturfs logo is prominently displayed why a particular client has cancelled their service, according on the front of the bag, along with a description of the to Deborah Crawford, co-owner of Pennturf Lawn Care Co., material and spreading instructions. Clinton, Pa. According to Crawford, there are a number of advantages "Many times the customer has cancelled because they to utilizing this marketing tool. First, it keeps Pennturf in con-can't afford a professional lawn care service anymore and tact with its cancelled clients. not because of poor results," she said. "In those cases the Second, it provides Pennturf with a number of call-back operator should make every attempt to stay in contact with opportunities to ask the customer if they need more fertilizer, the client." And third, if the client does renew the service, Pennturf has This is particularly true in areas of high unemployment or some idea of how the lawn has been taken care of in the in areas where the local economy may be in trouble. For ex- interim. ample, Crawford said, in Pittsburgh last year a number of Thus far Bill Ehrlich, co-owner of Pennturf, said the pro- customers employed in the steel industry cancelled their cedure has been fairly successful. "We lost five percent of lawn service because of the depressed state of the steel in- our customers last year," he said. "About three percent dustry in the United States. Reports of stiff competition from moved and we're still in contact with the other two percent." foreign steel producers caused many clients to be more And Ehrlich figures Pennturf has a good chance of renewing budget-conscious and the result was a number of customers that two percent as long as the lines of communication remain decided to take care of their lawns themselves. open. i s i PRODUCTS Twin-cylinder engine A new 18-horsepower, twin-cylinder, aluminum alloy engine is offered by Briggs & Stratton Corp. Available in both horizon- tal crankshaft and vertical crankshaft versions, the engine features electric starter and dual-circuit alternator, satlelite exhaust valves, and a dual ele-ment air cleaner. A horizontal crankshaft industrial/commer- cial model with standard dual ball bearings and optional cast iron cylinder sleeve is also available. Circle 203 on free information card Three-point sprayers The Broyhill Co.'s 1205 Series sprayers incorporate the conve-nience of tractor three-point mounting with high-pressure piston pump and mechanical agitator performance. The unit is available in 100- and 150-gallon polyethylene tank sizes and the pump and stainless steel agitator are powered by the tractor PTO. Options include spray gun and 10- or 20-inch-spacing boom assemblies. Circle 210 on free information card Organic base fertilizer A new organic-base fertilizer made for metroplex soil con-ditions has been introduced by Nortex Wholesale Nursery Dis-tributors, Inc. Called "Organic Special," the fertilizer features a 12-4-8 formulation and seven percent elemental sulfurs as soil acidifiers. Becuase of its organic base the fertilizer can be used throughout the year and on all common turf grasses including St. Augustine, Bermuda, and Fescue. It can also be used on trees, shrubs, and ground covers. Circle 208 on free information card Landscape edging EZY-LOK landscape edging resists weathering and soil acids and is made with chemical inhibitors which prevent deterioration from ultra-violet rays. The edging measures Va-inch by four inches and is black in color to blend with the earth. EZY-LOK is available in 25-foot lengths which lock together easily. The edging can be purchased directly from Joseph T. Ryerson & Son, Inc. in multiples of 100 feet. Circle 213 on free information card SPRAYING SYSTEMS CO. Tee/et: SPRAY NOZZLES AND ACCESSORIES SPRAY BOOM CONTROL VALVES PRESSURE RELIEF VALVES Jl f LINE and SUCTION STRAINERS Vari Spacing, Split-Eyelet and Hose Shank BODIES and NOZZLES SPRAY GUNS Over 800 I« INTERCHANGEABLE SPRAY TIP TYPES AND CAPACITIES. tapered edge, even and wide angle flat spray ... hollow and full cone ... disc type hollow and full cone ... and flow regulators. The most complete line for spraying herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, liquid fertilizers and foam solutions. All materials. For complete information write for Catalog 36 ... and for foam spraying ask for Data Sheets 13602 and 13626. OPRAYINCi SYSTEMS CO. North Ave. at Schmale Rd., Wheaton, III. 60187 Telephone: 312 665-5000 / Telex No. 72-8409 PROMPT SHIPMENT FROM STOCK ^^ Custom-made binder easily holds entire years copies of LCI magazine. Green binder with logo protects your magazines and gives your library a neat appearance. Magazines can be inserted as they are received....send check or money order to: LAWN CARE INDUSTRY 9800 Detroif Ave. Ł Cleveland, Ohio 44102 o D < oc H CO D a z w a: < u z £ < BEHIND THIS ISSUE With this issue, LAWN CARE INDUSTRY enters its third year of publication. As the industry it serves grows, the monthly tabloid you are holding in your hands is now more than ever the work of more and more people. People like our Northwest marketing representative Bob Mierow, who works out of Seat-tle. He spends most of his time with people like Bill Meyer of Turf-Seed, Inc., Hubbard, Ore. (pictured in the photo at far up-per right), helping to explain the growing lawn care industry and develop marketing plans for these manufacturers to serve it. Bob also spends as much time as he can talking to people like Rod Bailey, president of Ever-green Services Corp., Seattle, a lawn care businessman. And he stays in touch with groups like the International Pesticide Ap-plicators Association, learning as much as he can about the chang-ing lawn care industry so that he can bring the best possible information to his clients. The magazine's other mar-keting representatives (you'll be hearing more about them in the future) are Brian Harris, who works out of New York, Joe Guarise and Jeff Dreazen, who works out of Chicago, and Atlanta-based Dick Gore. Yes, the magazine is becom-ing the work of more and more people, but not all of them are employed by Harvest Publishing Co. Beginning next month, LAWN CARE INDUSTRY will begin a Mierow, with Bailey [left] and Meyer new feature based on a whole lot of input we have received from you Š the readers. In each issue of the magazine, there is a tear-out "Editor's Information Card" in which we solicit comments on articles in the magazine and ask for ideas for articles you the readers feel would be useful to you. In the past two years, we have received hundreds of these cards telling us what you like and what you don't like about what has ap-peared in LAWN CARE INDUSTRY. In our kickoff of "Inside the Industry" next month, we are go-ing to print some of the com-ments we have received from across the industry to give you an idea of the kind of people who make up the lawn care industry and tell you a little about what is on their minds. We will also take a look at mtgmm some of the new (and the best of the old) lawn spray equipment on the market. It is all part of the evolution of the magazine to keep up with the evolution of the lawn care in- dustry. We've spent two years profiling lawn care businessmen across the country, monitoring market activity in major metro- politan areas. Now we will be zeroing on issues and topics you have told us are important. Watch for "Inside the In-dustry" beginning next month in LAWN CARE INDUSTRY. U ^y CLASSIFIED t When answering ads where box number only is given, please address as follows: Box number, c/o LAWN CARE IN-DUSTRY, Dorothy Lowe, Box 6951 Cleveland, Ohio 44101. Rates: 35c a word for line ads, 65c a word for display ads. Box numbers add $1 for mailing. All classified ads must be received by the publisher before the 10th of the month preceding publication and be accompanied by cash or money order covering full payment. Mail aa copy to Dorothy Lowe LAWN CARE INDUSTRY, Box 6951, Cleveland, Ohio 44101 HELP WANTED ASSISTANT MANAGER applicator osition open at new branch in Pitts-burgh, Pa., of established chemical lawn care. Super opportunity with E early bonus, good salary and enefits. Send complete resume in-cluding experience, salary, history and requirements to Green Lawn, 2605 Alma Drive, Fort Wayne, Ind. 46809. WANTED TO BUY WANTED TO BUY, lawn service. Box 12, Lawn Care Industry, Box 6951, Cleveland, Ohio 44101. hose reels, PTO pumps and all fresh mechanically. Reliable Landscape, Inc., 678 West Street, Muskegon, Michigan 49442. Phone: 616 773-1034. FOR SALE 1000 gallon spray tanker with 25 gallon auxiliary tank within. Separated tank allows custom mix-ing through inductor system. Spray granular and soluables. Elect, reel and hose mounted on 1970 Ford flat-bed. 50 gallon auxiliary taqkL317 "ice, George. 317 873-5937 873-5231 office evenings USED EQUIPMENT ONE SIDE BY SIDE Twin 500 Gals. each Ve" thick stainless steel tanks. Also have 1969 Chevrolet C50,1600 (4 compartment) gal. tank truck. Has FOR SALE 1976 Chevy 500 gallon spray tanker. 18,000 miles. Bean pump, mechanical agitation. Cab rust proofed. Elect, reel and hose. 317 873-5231 office, George. 317 873-5937 evenings. NEW SELF-PROPELLED Jacobsen coring areator. Used six times. Cost Technical ^^Intructional Books BOOK Š üfimfí V* O Symcndi ir,: " Tree Identification by George W. D. Symonds A pictorial key to trees with i Ł more than 1,500 illustrations. With this book you can identify trees by looking at leaves, buds, branching, fruit and bark. HardbookŠ$17.00 PaperbackŠ$8.00 Home Landscape by Garrett Eckbo Provides designs examples, and current innovations and refinements to older traditional designs. Covers all aspects of residentail landscape design. $13.00 Shrub Identification by George W. D. Symonds Same as The Tree Identification Book on shrubs. Contains more than 3,500 illustrations from which to make identification. HardbackŠ$17.00 PaperbackŠ$8.00 Ornamental Conifers by Charles R. Harrison More than 550 photos with plant descriptions and complete notes on their cultivation in both hemispheres. $18.00 \ WYMAPTS 1 GARDENING ENCYCLOPEDIA Donald Wyman ¿wtic plant Manual Gardening Encyclopedia by Donald Wyman This revised, updated edition includes information on gardening practices, plants, methods of cultivation, fertilizers, and pesticides. 1,200 plus pages with 10,000 articles, 200 drawings, 170 photos. $20.00 Exotic Plant Management by Alfred Byrd Graf A pictorial reference for S plant identification of the best in cultivated tropicalia. Plants are grouped into growing locations and uses. $37.50 Mail to: Book Dept. Harvest Business Publications 9800 Detroit Ave. Cleveland, OH 44102 Address City, State, Zip Code Master Charge or Visa (Circle one) Acct. No. Please send the following books. I have enclosed a check or authorized a charge for the total amount. Title Quantity Total Price Expiration Date . Signature Add $1.25 per book for handling and shipping . Total Enclosed . $857 new. Will sell for $500. 317 873-5231 office, George. 317 873-5937 evenings. BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY BUILD YOUR OWN ESTATE WHILE EARNING A FINE LIVIN£^ mm ¿tv*^^ service compafi^^^^WKim; a self starter to share in ownership and manage a local lawn care service business. Previous lawn care experi- ence is desirable but not necessary. Investment requirement is flexible. Please reply to Leisure Lawn Inc., P.O. Box 73, West Carrollton, Ohio 45449 or call Harry Slone 513 866-2402. ADVERTISERS Allied Chemical Co 9 American Pelletizing Corp 24 Ashland Chemical Co cover III Consolidated Services 23 Excel Industries 3 FMC 6 HMC 4-5 Hypro, Div. of Lear Siegler 8 Jacklin Seed Co 7,22 L & M Lawncare 23 Leeco Mfg 8 Lofts Pedigreed Seed, Ine cover IV Monsanto 21 Perf-A-Lawn 13 Professional Turf Specialties 20 Satoh Agricultural Machine Mfg 20 S.P.I.C./Monsanto 10-11 Spraying Systems Co 25 Tuflex Mfg 24 Union Carbide Corp 14-15 New Controlled-Release, Non-Burning Liquid Nitrogen for Lawn Applications. Ashland LIQUID FERTILIZER If you'd like to find a liquid nitrogen source that offers convenience in handling and blend-ing, as well as improved performanceoverdry products, the new SLO-RELEASE products from Ashland Chemical could be your answer. <$loRele^ge 25 is a clear liquid 26% organic nitrogen solution with excellent non-burning characteristics. 25 lets you: Apply any time during the growing season and be assured of non-burning, controlled-release feeding.* Expect complete nitrogen utilization during one growing season.* 25 blends easily with insecticides, herbicides, and P and K. There are more good reasons why you should test SLO-RELEASE 25 and our other SLO-RELEASE products this spring. *When applied at normally acceptable nitrogen rates. Yes, I'm interested in your SLO-RELEASE products. Ł Send Technical Literature. Ł Have your salesman call. Phone Number ( Just fill in the coupon and mail it to Chemical Systems Division, P.O. Box 2219, Columbus, OH 43216. Ashland Ashland Chemical Company DIVISION OF ASHLANO OIL.INC There's no blue rass better KENTUCKY BLU Philip Horowitz: Lawn Doctor of Edison/Metuchen. New Jersey /t 'Baron assures me of quick germination, a deep green color and a thick stand. That's what my customers want. That's what Baron gives them. Of course there are those homeowners who abuse their lawns. Baron stands up to more of this abuse better than any other bluegrass. 'I'm convinced the less nitrogen you use, the less disease you'll have. Baron performs very well with less fertilizer than other bluegrasses. Plus Baron has a natural disease resistance all its own. My customers love trouble-free lawns. 'I service a heck of a lot of lawns each year and I get a fantastic renewal rate. I must be doing something right. Dealing with Lofts has surely been a help. They're reliable. When they say they'll deliver.. .they deliver. Today, that's almost miraculous. I know Baron and Lofts will continue to be a major part of my program for a long time to come." Circle 130 on free information card f LOFTS Lofts Pedigreed Seed, Inc. Bound Brook. N.J. 08805 / (201) 356-8700 Lofts/New England Arlington, Mass. 02174 617-648-7550 Great Western Seed Co. Albany, Ore. 97321 503-926-2636 Lofts Kellogg Seed Co. Milwaukee, Wis. 53201 414-276-0373 Lofts/New York Cambridge, N.Y. 12816 518-677-8808 Lofts/Maryland Landover, Md. 20785 301-322-8111 Oseco Ltd. Ontario, Canada 416-457-5080 LAW DOCTOR « «-