PUBLISHED FIVE TIMES YEARLY AND DISTRIBUTED FREE TO LOVERS OF BEAUTIFUL TURF Vol. VIII No. 1 February 1935 P E P P E R G R A SS Other Names: Tongue Grass and Birds' Pepper. Annual and Winter Annual. Time of Bloom: May to September. Seeding Time: Late June to October. Range: North Ameri- ca east of Minnesota. Habitat: Fields, road- sides, waste places and lawns. Peppergrass is a pest which impure seed may spread freely. The seeds are frequently found as an impurity in clover and grass seeds. In- ferior lawn mixtures have been found to contain enough of this species to cause serious infesta- tion. Birds are also prolific carriers of Peppergrass, and it may also be introduced in top soil from an infested field. The seeds retain their life through a great many seasons. They have been known to live in the 6oil for as long as 40 years. green deeply indented leaves much like Shepherd's Purse, with which Pepper- grass is often confused. Shepherd's Purse, however, stands more erect and is less branched. A Peppergrass plant when in seed has the appearance of a miniature tree, the nu- merous small flat pods taking the place of leaves. The upper leaves, which are lance shape, fall away when the seeds begin to ripen. The lower leaves are spatulate in outline. The flowers are white and very tiny. Two red- dish-yellow heart shaped seeds form in each round flat- tened pod. The weather last fall ap- peared to be to the liking of Peppergrass. Much of it was in evidence and we received many specimens for identifica- tion. MEANS OF CONTROL While not classified as a noxious weed in most states, Peppergrass is decidedly con- spicuous and very unsightly when it ap- pears in a lawn. The stems are six inches to two feet tall and much branched. The autumn plants produce a rosette of dark Peppergrass PEPPERGRASS is conspicuous in a lawn because it lifts its head above the desirable grasses. It isn't likely to gain a Lepidium Apstalum foothold without being ob- served. The stems are some- what wiry so the mower often fails to cut them off. Where the weed is not growing too extensively the best control measure is to pull the individual plants while the ground is soft or cut them out with a weeding knife. Large patches may be brought into submission by using a spray of iron sulphate as directed in the August, 1930 issue of Lawn Care, page 2. (John Chapman), Johnny AppleseecTs G r a ve Beautified with Scott Seed With the arrival of each Arbor Day, school children hear the story of Johnny Appleseed that quaint, eccentric character who as the early colonists worked westward, trav- elled over Indiana, Ohio and western Pennsylvania, scattering apple seeds and planting apple trees. An account of his life is presented here through the cour- tesy of Robert C. Harris of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Secretary of the Johnny Apple- seed Memorial Commission: " Took! There comes Johnny Apple- seed.' "Sure enough, there he came leading the old gray mare which was loaded down with a cargo of young apple trees and sacks of apple seed. "It was natural that Johnny Appleseed should catch the eyes of the children, for on that day he wore a coffee sack for a shirt and a tin pan for a hat. He had a boot on the left foot but his right foot was bare. "In spite of his appearance, he was held in respect and awe by everyone who knew him. He was welcomed in every home and cabin. Children ran after him and begged him to tell them a story or to read to them from the Bible which he always carried with him. It was a com- mon sight to see a group of children huddled around him while he read the Beatitudes to them. One of his favorite passages was, 'Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.' He would not harm a living thing, not even a snake. "Johnny Appleseed, as his name im- plies, was a nurseryman. It is estimated that he planted or supplied trees for orchards over a space of many thousand acres. He wanted every settler to have an orchard. Often he exchanged trees for old clothing and then gave away the clothing to someone that he felt needed it. Probate papers on file in the County Clerk's office show that at the time of his death he owned four tracts of land in Allen County, Indiana. Three of the tracts were on the Maumee River. He had a nursery of 15,000 apple trees down the Maumee about ten miles from the present city of Fort Wayne. The land is in section 28 along the north bank of the Maumee River in Milan Township. This land, consisting of 42.7 acres, was sold to Peter Schlinck March 18, 1849, just four years to the day after Johnny Appleseed died. The land now belongs to Edward Schlinck, a grandson of Peter Schlinck. "There are many apple trees in Allen County that came from this nursery. They are now more than 90 years old, but they still produce good apples. There is an old apple tree about seven feet in circumference that is still stand- ing on the very spot of the old nursery. "Johnny Appleseed died in the home of William Worth, just a short distance up the St. Joe River along the old feeder canal. He was buried just at the north edge of the present city of Fort Wayne. It is near this spot that a suitable memo- rial has been erected to Johnny Apple- seed." It may be news to many people that is a Men's Garden Club of there America. The president of this organiza- tion is Don White of Fort Wayne, In- diana. A commendable project which is being undertaken by The Men's Garden Club is the beautification of the resting place of Johnny Appleseed. Twelve la- borers were put to work last October and an area comprising 15,000 square feet was converted into lawn. Eight Flower- ing Crabapple trees have been set out, miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii as have twenty-four various types of Honeysuckle, while the Honey Locusts, Elms, Oaks and Wild Cherry already on the grounds have been preserved. A clump of Lilac that had not had atten- tion for twenty years was revived. A fine, vigorous sod is assured through the use of Scott's Seed and Turf Builder. Two M o re D a n d e l i on Stories A re Received ASPRING issue of Lawn Care would not be complete without some ref- erence to the Dandelion. The following comment was received last summer from Judge Samuel E. Kramer of Cleveland, Ohio: "This may be of interest to the dan- delion fighters brigade. Twelve years ago I acquired a lawn fully equipped with dandelions. I took them out, simply cut- ting the roots as far down as I could get them. Each succeeding year the crop grew smaller. This year there was not a dandelion plant in the lawn!—well, may- be one or two if you looked for them. Incidentally the doctors all advised, and with apparent good reason, that this lawn would have to be replanted. Using your seed and Turf Builder and dig- ging out weeds, it is a pretty nice lawn now." Another dandelion story was torn from the house organ of the General Electric Company by Mr. Charles S. Ru ifner, a customer at Schenectady, New York. It reads as follows: "C. C. Adams in the Central District G. E. office at Chicago believes he has solved the dandelion problem with his G. E. vacuum cleaner. He works on the assumption that if the dandelions can be prevented from seeding, the day will be saved. Taking his cleaner into the yard he attaches a long extension cord. He then attaches the tube and the head for cleaning upholstery. Starting the motor he drops the head over the nearest patch of white blossoms and they disappear like magic. When he has covered the area within reach of the hose he moves the cleaner, repeating the operation and soon all the blossoms are gone. Then he is free to dig or dose the plants them- selves." Dandelion killing experiences are be- coming most intriguing. Are there others? — ^— "Recently I inquired of Mrs. T. Ray- mond Pierce of Wellesley what she did to have such a beautiful lawn. She told me of your seed and of the Turf Builder which she used as a fertilizer."—Miss GERTRUDE A. POMEROY, Wellesley, Mass. Spring M a i n t e n a n ce Hints IT ISN'T a bit too early to make plans for the spring renovation of your lawn. The earlier you get started the bet- ter will be the results. Those who like to seed on honey- combed ground will no doubt find condi- tions favorable some time in late Febru- ary or early March. Scattering the seed after a light snow is a good plan as it is easier to do an even job of seeding. As the snow thaws the seed settles into the ground. Lawns should be raked thoroughly as soon as the ground has thawed. This serves to scarify the surface soil and also to remove leaves, dead grass and other debris that may have accumulated over winter. The next step is an application of the right grass food. From recent experi- ments we know it is best to do this even if the ground is frozen. As soon as the grass starts growing the food becomes available thereby giving the grass an ex- tra push ahead of crab grass and other weeds which do not start until late spring. If fertilizer is put on while the weather is still quite cool there is no clanger of burning even though it is not Pi washed or brushed in. Early feeding was formerly discouraged because it was sup- posed that there was considerable loss of food elements from washing and leach- ing. It now appears that this loss is negligible. Additional evidence appears every day that the right way to maintain turf is to seed and feed regularly. But it is necessary to maintain the proper balance between these treatments. Seed should be used to replace dead plants and to cover bare areas, while food is needed to nourish and strengthen the live grass plants. Regular feeding is the most im- portant factor in weed control. It makes the grass plants more sturdy and aggres- sive, enabling them to crowd the weeds. The explanation of this lies in the fact that the general cultural practices of lawn maintenance, such as frequent mow- ing, are more favorable to grass than to most weeds. Unless seeding was done before it should follow the fertilizer application. Rake it in lightly or cover it with some good weed-free soil applied as a top dressing. A coating of about one-quarter inch will be beneficial to the seed as well as to the established plants. Spring rolling is important. A heavy roller is not required since the purpose is simply to firm grass crowns and roots into the soil. It is a mistake to try to level a lawn by rolling. If the roller used is heavy enough to accomplish that, it will pack the soil causing it to bake dur- ing the summer months. Sandy soil can stand heavier rolling than clay soils. It is best to roll after seeding but the time element is most important. Usually there are just a few days in spring when a lawn is dry enough to be rolled without packing the soil, and yet sufficiently moist so the rolling does some good. A lawn ought to be rolled then even if it is necessary to roll again after seeding. Shade Problem W i ll Continue in Next Issue THE shade problem discussion begun in our March-April, 1934, issue and carried on in the midsummer and August issues will be continued next month. When completed we believe Lawn Care will have presented the most complete and thorough discourse on this subject in print. It is our intention to reprint the whole article in small pamph- let form when the final instalment has been run. The Shade Problem has been given a great deal of study. — A— v Three Prizes for Scott's Creeping Bent The Garden Clubs of Wood-Ridge, New Jersey, conducted a garden beauti- fication contest last fall. The three first prize gardens had acquired the most beautiful settings possible with turf of Scott's Creeping Bent. Previous Issues of L a wn Care There have been thirty-two previous issues of Lawn Care and the following lawn pests have been discussed: Plantain, Crab Grass, Dandelions, Moss, Grubs and Beetles, Chickweed, Buckhorn, Ground Ivy, Yarrow, Earthworms, Heal- all, Ants, Speedwell, Creeping Buttercup, Sod Web-Worms, Moles, Knot-Grass, Sorrel, Quack-Grass, Spotted Spurge, Yellow Trefoil, Goose Grass, Nimble Will, Knawell, Shepherd's Purse, Chinch Bugs, Sedge, Terraces, the Shade Prob- lem, and Purslane. For the complete series allow 10c to cover mailing costs. For 50c postage paid you may secure a loose-leaf, imitation leather binder con- taining a full set of bulletins, with ca- pacity for the issues of the next five years.