P U B L I S H ED FIVE TIMES YEARLY A ND DISTRIBUTED FREE TO LOVERS OF B E A U T I F UL T U RF Vol. IX No. 4 August 1936 WHY SEED L A W NS IN THE FALL? 1 4 . o N e v i t u c e s n o C HABITS are hard to break even when it comes to lawn making. In the face of evidence to the effect that fall is the proper time of year to seed a lawn, 70% still choose spring. Within the past five years, however, " L a wn Care" readers have been turning to fall and largely because they have had an opportunity compare spring and fall seeding results. themselves to Experiments Favor September In practically all experiments, the best turf has been produced from early September sowing and, strange as it may seem, winter seedings have corn- pared very favorably with those made earlier in the season. Of course, grass from September sowing gets a good tart before freezing weather while the winter seedings do not germinate until the following spring. But even so, the turf will develop much more rapidly than if planting had been delayed until spring. Winter seeding is especially suggested where building operations delay the planting of a new lawn. Care- takers of football fields also find winter seeding advantageous. Four Reasons for Fall Seeding The advantages of seeding, which we make a practice of repeating annually, are as follows: fall First.—The weather is more favor- able than in the spring. Cool nights, adequate rainfall and good warm soil combine to establish an ideal growing condition. New grass such a situation conducive to a slow, normal growth. Even when spring grass seed- lings are able to get started, many per- ish from the hot, dry summer. finds to a Second.—F- 11 sown grasses root more deeply. It is Nature's precaution against the rigors of winter. The roots from fall sowing branch out or stool, thus tending to form a thicker, healthier sod. From spring seeding, grass is in- clined top-heavy growth, whereas in the fall the growing empha- sis is more upon root development. Spring seeded grass grows so rapidly that only a weak root system develops. Such roots are unable to get down to the soil moisture and food supply. reserve lush Third.—Fall is a dormant period for weeds. They enter upon a season of in- activity which is just the time for new grass to take possession of every avail- able inch of lawn area. When spring comes with its luxuriant weed growth, the new grass from fall seeding will have become firmly established and in good fighting fettle. lawn Fourth.—If a new is being started, the soil is readily workable in the fall, while in the spring it is usually too wet to be broken up and put into proper seeding condition. Moreover, in COPYRIGHT. 1936. BY O. M. SCOTT a SONS CO. the spring the soil is too cold for seed to germinate readily, while in the fall, as already explained, the stored-up heat from a summer's sun insures quick and maximum growth. The proper seeding period is be- tween mid-August and late October, depending upon the climate. In the ex- treme north spring seeding is possibly safer. For example, in northern Min- nesota it is believed wise to seed in the spring although the Experiment Sta- tion there feels that seeding by the end of August is equally desirable. Novem- ber or December seeding would be jus- tified if a new lawn could not be made ready for sowing before that date. The new grass from such a seeding will start as soon as the ground warms up the following spring. This grass is cer- tain to develop ahead of that planted in the spring since the latter must be de- layed until the ground dries sufficiently to work. Too often such a period does not come until near the season of hot, dry weather. If any "Lawn Care" readers have had fall versus spring seeding experi- ences, we shall be very glad to know about them. © Two More Oldsters Who Read Lawn Care Report In the April issue of this bulletin we mentioned the fact that Mr. J. A. Schil- ling of Lafayette, Indiana, then 78 years of age was a faithful reader of "Lawn Care" and invited any others who are Mr. Schilling's seniors to make themselves known. Again Indiana re- sponded. Mr. B. W. Burrell of Elkhart announces that he is 80 years "young," a faithful reader of our literature and a sower of Scott's Seed. Now comes Mr. Franklin P. Shumway, Advertising and Business Counselor, of 453 Washington Street, Boston, Massachusetts, with the following comment: m "I will be 80 years old in October and have read 'Lawn Care' and used Scott's Seed and Turf Builder for many years. They are the best I have ever known from my 30 years' experience in keeping up a lawn." We wish Messrs. Schilling, Burrell and Shumway might get together for a lawn conference. With their combined 238 years they should be able to solve some pretty knotty problems. Are there others eligible to join this select group of "Lawnsters"? Yellow Jacket Exterminator Devised by Physician "In the April issue of 4Lawn Care,' you are uncertain what serious pest may be predicted for the coming sea- son, so allow me to tell of one not yet mentioned in your paper. © "Lawns and their care have con- sumed much of my open time and en- ergy in recent years, and here is an experience which may be of interest to some of your readers, especially those who live in the country. "The sickle or lawn mower has ceased to operate and the operator has left the scene most hastily. It was caused by yellow jackets. They are lit- tle fellows that live in the ground and have a powerful resistance for their size. Did you ever meet such a pest? We have almost every summer. "Here is a hundred per cent remedy: Drive a stake near the entrance, so it can be located after dark, then bide your time. Look up an old piece of fly screen wire eight inches square, and with the help of a flash light, place it squarely on the entrance to the nest. Pour into this through your screen a teacup of gasoline, and out they come under the screen. A match completes the treatment."—Dr. S. D. Ruggles, Portsmouth, Ohio. Effect of Hot, Dry Weather on Turf AS ONE observes the dry, parched lawns abounding in those sections where rainfall has been about fifty per cent of normal and temperatures over a hundred have the question arises: Is this turf permanently dam- aged or will it recover? raged, Judging from past experience, the greater proportion of these scorched areas will revive to a surprising degree with the advent of fall rains. Mature perennial grasses have become suffi- ciently well-rooted to withstand the dry, hot weather so those lawns where such varieties predominate will come back. Lawns from new spring seeding have less recovery possibilities and so have those temporary grasses. Good, healthy turf can often w i t h s t a nd w e e ks of unfavorable weather. lawns made up of The worst feature of such an ordeal is the encroachment of weeds which are equipped by nature to fight their own battles. During that period of hot weather the grass was dormant and un- able to ofier successful competition. So weeds had their inning. These weeds are now forming their seeds for next year's growth. Fertilizing your lawn this fall and planting good grass seed is one of the best ways of reducing the weed menace next year. Q Dairy Goat Challenged As Killer of Dandelions A READER of "Lawn Care," Mr. Leonard Lipman of the Synthetic Nitrogen Products Corporation, 285 Madison Avenue, New York City, re- cently asked leave to reprint the Dairy Goat Dandelion article of March 1936 supplied by Mr. Brox. Mr. Lipman points out that while some use goats, others use the Dandelion Killer manu- factured by his company. This instru- ment is called the "LL" Handy Appli- cator while the material which does the "dirty work" is called "Dandelion- Killer." It comes in cans which are af- fixed to the handle of the appliance. When you push down on the handle a small "dab" of killer is released into the crown of the weed which, accord- ing to the advertisement, sounds the death-knell. The applicator and three one-pound boxes of the powder sell for $2.00 postage paid. Orders will be filled direct from New York if a local dis- tributor cannot be located. Many other killers of this type may be found on the market but most of them discharge a liquid instead of a powder. And now that we are mentioning lawn tools, may we also refer to a spiked tamp made by the Pick Manu- facturing Company of Omaha, Ne- braska. This tamp is usable for break- ing up clods and aerating the turf. The base may be inverted and the smooth part used for tamping heaved areas after the spring thaw or for leveling mole runways. This Spike Tamp sells for $3.50 and may be purchased direct as well as through hardware dealers. ® Kills Crab Grass With Kerosene Blow Torch ON A PLOT of about 1000 square feet I tried a different and to me a new method of crab grass control. Since my purpose was to destroy the seed, I did not mow this plot after the seed began to form. By the middle of September the crab grass was from six to eight inches high and was about all that could be seen on this plot. I se- cured a commercial kerosene weed burner and burned off everything to the ground. The surface was then scratched with a steel rake and 10 pounds of Turf Builder and 2 pounds of Regular Mixture seed was applied. Within a week some of the original lawn grass was sending up new shoots and within six weeks the new seed had sprouted and it was hard to tell the grass had ever been burned. This year very little crab grass appeared and was easily removed by hand weeding. This is now the best plot of grass I have. © The torch I used burns about one gallon of kerosene per hour, and from 200 to 300 square feet per hour can be burned."—P. S. Rodeheaver, 227 Holly Ave., Takoma Park, Md. "Save the Lawn" Slogan Used by Park Board THE Chicago Park District launched the Lawn" campaign early in 1936. "Nothing is more essen- tial to make our city truly beautiful this sumer than fine sturdy lawns," an- nounced Mr. George T. Donoghue, General Superintendent of the Park District, at the outset of the season. a "Save The co-operation of civic bodies, parent-teacher associations and garden clubs was sought. A prize of $100.00 was offered for the most suitable poster to be hung in every public and paro- chial schoolroom of the city. The same design was then to be reproduced on metal and erected on park lawns when seed has been sowed. The whole plan was to urge the public to keep off of newly seeded ground and give the grass a chance to deliver a lawn. The poster which won the prize reads as follows: "Please Save This Lawn for Summer." Other cities and towns may find this Chicago project worth imitating. © Lawn Bowling Continues Popular Our reference in April "Lawn Care" to lawn bowling brought forth many requests for the article on this subject by Prof. Pickett of Iowa State College. It was news to Mr. H. L. Hilton, Hart- ford, Connecticut, President of the American Lawn Bowling Association, that any Iowans were interested in the game. The story of Lawn Bowling as of- fered in April has been requested by scores of "Lawn Care" readers. Copies are still available. 0 Scott Publications This issue of "Lawn Care" is 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 publica- tions on lawns, including the following: gardener's guide to better lawns. Condensed but very complete information on soils, fer- tilizing and seeding. Free. Lawns—The amateur the most beautiful of all Bent Lawns—A practical discussion of lawn grasses. Tells how to plant with either seed or stolons. Several natural color illustrations. Free. Lawn Care—In previous numbers the following lawn problems have been discussed: 1928—Crab Grass, Dandelions. 1929—Moss, Grubs and Beetles, Chick- weed, Buckhorn. 1930—Ground Ivy, Yarrow, Earth- worms, 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, Crab Grass, Summer Injury to Turf. 1936—White Clover Annua. in Lawns, Poa For 50c an attractive stiff-back binder containing all issues, will be supplied.