PUBLISHED FIVE TIMES YEARLY AND DISTRIBUTED FREE TO LOVERS OF BEAUTIFUL TURF Vol. VIII No. 5 September 1935 SUMMER INJURY TO TURF (CONCLUDED FROM THE A U G U ST ISSUE ) Insect Pests IN the east a lot of turf was destroyed during the past summer by Chinch Bugs. These small, innocent looking in- sects damage grass by sucking the juices from the stems and blades. They work in colonies, usually starting with a small clump of grass and moving out in circular area. Chinch Bugs in the three stages of development can usually be found operat- ing in the outer edges of infested patches of turf. (For further description and control methods see LAWN CARE V o l. VI, No. 5, Sept. 1933.) The Sod Web Worm must come in for its share of blame for some of the turf ills of the past summer. This pest can do a lot of damage after it gets started because it works fast and is very difficult to control. Various insecticides are used including Lead Arsenate and Pyrethrum extracts. (LAWN CARE A u- gust 1931, September 1931, June 1932.) Common Cutworms can hardly be classed as serious pests in lawns but this year they seem to have appeared in some places in such increased numbers that aside from their direct damage to grass they have caused a lot of grief indirectly. This has been due to the action of birds in tearing up good turf trying to get to them. The presence of cutworms can be readily determined by flooding the ground thoroughly with water from a hose. This will cause them to come to the surface. Cutworms are usually controlled by scat- tering poison bran mash bait thinly through the sod. An effective poison can be made from the following formula: POISON BRAN MASH 1 quart water 1 level tablespoon Paris green Yi oz. amylacetate (banana oil) 2 tablespoons cheap molasses Mix bran and Paris green dry. Mix the molasses with the water and mix thoroughly with the bran and Paris green. Finally mix with the amylacetate. Scatter thinly over the turf late in the evening. Is just as effective if placed in small piles under pieces of boards to keep it away from chickens and birds. In addition to Chinch Bugs, the east has also been favored by the activities of the grubs of Japanese and Asiatic beetles. These pests sever the root system of turf so completely that after their operations large pieces of sod can be lifted from the ground just like a blanket. Japanese Beetles seem to be extending their operations further west all the time in spite of a rigid quarantine. Even with- out them there trouble throughout the west. This comes from is still grub COPYRIGHT. 1935. BY O. M. SCOTT & S O NS CO. the grub of the ordinary May beetle or June bug. Either type of grub is readily controlled with Lead Arsenate. (See L A WN CARE J u n e - J u ly 1 9 2 9 .) Maintenance Hints We hope these articles have not been too discouraging. Most lawns will prob- ably never become victims of these pests or the diseases previously described, but we believe readers of L A WN CARE will want to know about them anyhow. As with all other lawn problems, sum- mer injury will be less severe if the cor- rect maintenance practices are followed the year around. A few of what we be- lieve to be the important ones are listed here. Mowing. During the summer months the height of cut should be at least inches. This will leave a considerably longer growth of grass than is the com- mon practice, but the grass will be better able to fight off weeds, disease, insect pests and the unfavorable effect of ex- treme heat. A longer top growth means a deeper root system, and greater pro- duction of food reserves in the more ex- tensive above-ground growth. This rec- ommendation does not apply to Creeping Bent lawns. Watering. Keep the soil moist but not puddled. Soak the ground occasionally instead of giving daily light sprinklings. Some lawns will need to be watered every day or two, others at weekly intervals. The type of soil, exposure to sunlight and weather conditions vary so much that no hard and fast rules can be laid down. Liming. We do not suggest an annual "whitewash" of lawns as often practiced. Some soils do need lime occasionally, par- ticularly those where the drainage is fertilizers poor or where acid-reacting have been used constantly for many years. Have your soil tested before lim- ing to be sure it is needed. Drainage. Poor surface and subsoil drainage is the rule rather than the ex- ception. Good drainage will insure bet- ter turf the year around by providing quick removal of excess moisture, thereby assuring a supply of air for the roots. In rebuilding a lawn or making a new one take care of the drainage first. Fall Improvements turf in most Since mid-August there has been a pronounced improvement in the general condition of sections, "'horter days with less intense sunlight as well as generally cooler weather com- bined to bring about the improvement. Then, too, insects such as web worms and grubs have been less active. It is surprising to note the remarkable recuperative ability of established grass. Where there is a fair root system, new shoots can be seen developing from dark brown spots where it looked like there was no life left. Of course weeds and crab grass have survived. Nature is quick in filling bare places with some sort of vegetation, so where grass is weak or thin weeds are certain to flourish. Wherever grass has not revived, prepa- rations should be made to re-seed the lawn at once. It is well to remove the dead grass by a thorough and vigorous raking. Follow with an application of Turf Builder. Then sow seed and either rake or roll it in or cover with good soil. A regular topdressing of lawns with soil is advisable providing it is possible to get soil that is free from the seeds of crab- grass and other weeds. Topdressing will not only insure better germination and seedling growth, but also helps to keep the lawn area smooth and level. Every person anxious to have a nice lawn should keep a supply of compost on hand at all times. This makes the ideal topdressing. F or directions see L A WN CARE V o l u me VI, No. 1, February 1933. m I am the owner of a Scott Creeping stolons. like a beautiful green lawn, planted with your Bent My grass looks rug.—MRS. brook, Long Island, N. Y. M A L C O LM D. JESSUP, L y n- Fake Seed Seller in its in- A g a in at Large WH EN L A WN C A RE w as fancy an article appeared describ- ing the strange goings on of a man who styled himself Dr. Miller and went about the country selling a marvelous grass seed which at that time he called "Herbae Mira" (June-July 1929). This grass had (as the happy faculty, it was alleged the press would say) of growing just "so high" and then stopping. In other words you never had to mow it. A great many well meaning Americans invested in the seed, usually to the extent of $1.00 per pound. Later it was learned that the seed was Domestic Rye Grass worth about 10c per pound and of course no whiz for fine lawns. As to its growing to a certain height and then stopping only part of the claim is allowed—it grew only as high as the Doctor said before he left town! After that it settled down to usual Rye Grass procedure. There was a merry chase after Dr. Miller. Those who were stung did not always lead in the pursuit because they were somewhat embarrassed at being taken in. But Better Business Bureaus and Chambers of Commerce finally picked him up and for a few years he went into seclusion at Leavenworth, Kansas. Dozens of Scott customers wrote to us at the time about Herbae Mira, not always because they had bought but be- cause they entertained that faint hope that some day a variety of grass which would go into a hesitation after growing three inches high might come to light. We supposed the story was ended with that prison sentence but not so. Just a week ago Dr. Miller showed up in Akron, Ohio (we must be easier in this state) and with his same livery, Packard car and chauffeur, and began to dispense his famous seed, this time Tasmanian Grass. And folks bought it! We know some who did; one man to the extent of a twenty-five dollar bag. Dr. Miller has that P. T. Barnum manner which few seem to resist. No further word of his whereabouts has been received. Someone asked him why if his grass was so unusual it was not on the general mar- ket. His reply was that it was brand new and he was the first to introduce it. May we repeat what we said in July 1929: "Please accept this admonition in the friendly spirit in which it is given: Do n't fall for anything radically new or novel in the realm of plant life without consult- ing your Experiment Station, County Agent or the Department of Agriculture at Washington. They have nothing to sell and you may be sure they are abreast of the times." m Scott's Seed Makes the Editorial Column A S C O TT customer of long and cred- itable standing is Mr. Henry D. Gerts, an executive of Gerts and Loeifler, Inc., Tie Silk tycoons, 65 Madison Ave- nue, New York. As he rode to the office Mr. Gerts spied this item in the Haddon Ivins editorial column of the Hudson ( N. Y.) Dispatch: "The greenest grass I've seen on any lawn, thus early in the season, is that in the front yard of Edward Hobza at 315 Park Avenue, Weehawken. This lawn is so far ahead of any other I've seen, that it stands out conspicuously, and beauti- fully. Mr. Hobza's property is in that section of Park Avenue that lies on the steep slope of the Palisades, just south of the municipal building. And strangely enough, it happens that most of his neighbors warned him, back in 1914, that the grass would never grow there. The house being high up on the side of the steepness, the front yard is of necessity built in terraces, with very sharp slants connecting them. This makes it more dif- ficult to take care of, but that has not deterred this lover of things beautiful from having a beautiful lawn. The grass is rolled each spring. Then it is watered every day during the summer, and is cut once a week during the warm months. Another thing that accounts for this out- standingly beautiful lawn, according to its owner, is the grass seed which he used in the beginning; he sent all the way to Marysville, Ohio, for it and claims it to be the finest in the world." Someone may be kind enough to ask what Mr. Hobza sowed. The answer in that event would be Scott's Regular Mix- ture; diet, Scott's Turf Builder. ® Broker Takes Time O ut For Crabgrass MR. GEORGE FRAYNE of Albany, New York, Hemphill, Noyes and Company broker, has a happy weed philosophy. Here it is: "Crab Grass information is particu- larly applicable to me as I have it rather well represented in certain sections of my lawn. While I hate it with a deep bit- terness, nevertheless if the lawn was per- fect, and without weeds of any kind, I would miss a lot of fun just the same. "Your missives strike me in a soft spot, because, while Mrs. Frayne is the flower raiser, I am the lawn specialist. I can spend happy hours poking around on my lawn with a superannuated screw- driver, which I find excellent at rooting out dandelions. "I have a lot of low, velvety-leafed weed, a bad spreader in certain spots with runners underground which are a noxious thing. My method is to yank these things out and then sprinkle seed on the spot where their roots were, and trust the young grass to win out. "I like the way you write and am glad to be on the list. In return when I need a new seed supply or some of your lawn building fertilizer, I'll give you an order. Many thanks to you." Scott Publications This issue of Lawn Care is just one of a series of such bulletins published five times each year. Subscriptions are free to anyone interested. In addition you can obtain several other Scott publications on lawns, including the following: Lawns—The amateur gardener's guide to better lawns. Condensed but very com- plete information on soils, fertilizing and seeding. Free. Bent Lawns—A practical discussion of the most beautiful of all lawn grasses. Tells how to plant with either seed or stolons. Many natural color illustrations. Free. Lawn Care—This is the thirty-fifth issue of these bulletins which have been pub- lished continuously since 1928. In pre- vious numbers the following lawn prob- lems have been discussed: 1928—Crab Grass, Dandelions. 1929—Moss, Grubs and Beetles, Chick- 1930—Ground Ivy, Yarrow, Earthworms, weed, Buckhorn. Heal-all, Ants. 1931—Speedwell, Creeping Buttercup, Moles, Knot Grass. 1932—Sheep Sorrel, Quack Grass, Spurge, Trefoil, Goose Grass. 1933—Nimble Will, Knawel, Terraces, Shepherd's Purse, Chinch Bugs. 1934—Sedge, Shade, Purslane. 1935—Peppergrass, Shade, Crabgrass, Summer Injury to Turf. Send 10 cents in coin or stamps for all back issues in a paper cover. A Lawn Care Binders loose-leaf binder of imita- tion leather con- taining all back issues of Lawn Care with an in- dex, is available. Kindly send 50 cents to partly defray costs. This binder will serve as a convenient file for all lawn information.