P U B L IS H E D IN F E B R U A R Y , M A R C H . A P R IL . A U G U S T A N D S E P T E M B E R B Y O. M. S C O T T & S O N S C O ., M A R Y S V IL L E , O H IO A pril 1939________________ t w e l f t h y e a r________________Number 55 «EG U.S. PAT. OFF NEW THREAT TO DANDELIONS THE lawn weed which holds the spotlight each spring and provides a fertile field for wisecracking as well as for the inventive genius of lawn- makers, is the well known Dandelion. Its capers and the novel methods by which home owners have lain in its wake, have been interspersed through the pages of Lawn Care since the first in 1928. issue T h e s u b j e c t again looms and primarily be­ cause of the news value of a story wherein “ Dog Bites Dan­ delion,w e feel constrained to r e p r o d u c e a rather unique photograph. It is note­ worthy to have a dog acclaimed for his help with a lawn problem. Hundreds of let­ ters are received each year calling for some method of discouraging canine lawn activity. Some months ago a Lawn Care reader sent an intriguing newspaper clipping. It was apparently one of those down-in-the-corner stories which one suspects of being the offspring of an inspired imagination. The item told of a certain dog at Ann Arbor, Michi­ gan, that took care of the family’s Dan­ delion digging. Being a bit skeptical we wrote for the facts and got them along with a picture of the canny canine. Here she is, “ Boots,” pride of the Gallup family living at 408 Awixa Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan. “ Parade of Youth” published in Wash­ ington, D. C., carried the story soon after it appeared in the Ann Arbor News. We now quote from Mrs. Blanche Gallup who kindly re­ sponded to our inquiry: “ T h e story a bo u t ‘ Boots ’ pulling Dande­ lions was really on the level. She has been doing it three years and learned it with­ out special train­ ing. We work in our g a r d e n a great de al and we think she got the id ea from watching us dig. ‘ Boots’ is a Toy Manchester Terrier and her digging does practically no damage to the lawn. She locates the Dandelions purely from smell and never makes a mistake. First she bites off the top, then proceeds to dig out the root. She keeps on digging until there is no trace of the root left. Then she passes on to the next plant. I have watched her from the house 1 C O P Y R I G H T 1 9 3 9 B Y O . M. S C O T T & S O N S C O . u many times digging as though her life depended on it. She has even become so excited while digging that she would snap and growl if we tried to stop her. She never molests any of the flow­ ers or any other plants. My son ‘Buddy’ fills in the holes afterwards and plants grass seed and in a short time the lawn is as good as new.” For the Hall of Weed-Killing Fame we nominate “ Boots” and “ Buddy.” Weeds are no match for such a team. Other Suggestions While we are on the Dandelion sub­ ject again, it seems opportune to in­ clude a few more comments from readers. The first comes from Mr. Gage H. Avery, La Grange, Illinois: “I have no Dandelions in my lawn because for about fifteen years I have gone over it several times during the growing season and applied just a few drops of gasoline on the crown of each plant. Formerly I did this with an ordinary machine oil-can which re­ quired stooping over but for several years now I have been using one of the ‘Dandelion Canes.’ You can doctor the Dandelions very rapidly while strolling about the lawn, using this cane. “Incidentally, for several years I have been using soiled naphtha. This knocks them dead as it will Burdock, Plantain, and other weeds. In some cases where the ground is hard in the summer time, I have lifted out Dandelion roots about one foot long which had shrunk up to the size of a match a few days after killing them as above. The naphtha does not spread on the ground more than an inch or two which space is shaded by the Dandelion leaves. It evaporates immediately and apparently has no permanent effect on the soil.” Another Idea from Illinois From Mr. E. M. Moore, Vice Presi­ dent, Barretts, Inc., Joliet, Illinois, we have the following: 2 “I have noticed your remarks about Dandelions and I have quite overcome the Dandelion problem. It is a very simple method. I take an ordinary table knife and sharpen it to a point. When the Dandelions are in bloom I go out each noon and take the ones that are in bloom. I do not pretend to get those that are not in bloom. I cut them two or three inches under the ground and while other lawns around have many Dandelions I have not had a single bloom for two or three weeks. I am so pleased with my success that I thought I would let you have my experience.” Michigan Customer Has Proposal The following suggestion is made by the Greenkeeper of the Golf Club at Glen Lake, Michigan, near Saginaw: “Dip toothpicks in sulphuric acid and stick them in the crown of the Dandelion plants. Leave them there a v^hile and the plant absorbs the acid. Go around later and gather them up. The toothpicks also serve as markers to see if the plant is really killed.” Elephant Appetites May we here acknowledge the re­ ceipt of several copies of a cartoon from “Scotts Scrapbook,” a King Syndicate feature in which the following appears: “Dandelions are a great delicacy to elephants. The big animals have been used at the Belfast, Ireland, Zoo to keep the lawns clear of this weed.” So we take you from dogs to ele­ phants in this further discussion of a subject which seems to have no bounds. • Moles Constant Threat To Good Lawns In previous issues of Lawn Care we have discussed various mole-killing methods. Others have since been re­ ported, while a constant stream of let­ ters from lawn owners indicate that moles are becoming more and more of a threat to good turf. To Mr. Frank T. O’Neal, President of The O’Neal Flour Company, Springfield, Missouri, we are indebted for the following: [also called bisulphide] “I am much interested in the mole cures that have been recommended in Lawn Care. Now I’ll tell mine and it has been 100% effective in my lawn. Last summer moles had honeycombed an area of 200 square feet with their tunnels. My wife turned her savagery loose upon them and killed several by striking just behind the moving spot with a sharp, pointed hoe. But it re­ quired too much vigilance to find them at work. With a sharp pointed stick, I made a hole in the tunnel, then in­ serted a funnel and poured down into the run a teaspoonful of carbon disul­ phide then sealed the hole with damp earth, but did not press down the run. I repeated this at about 6 foot spaces along the ridges. The moles stopped their opera­ tions. In a day or so, I tamped down the runways. I don’t think there has been a mole on the place since. From curiosity, I took one whiff of carbon disulphide to see what it was like. I don’t wonder at the moles’ disappear­ ing! They just couldn’t take it, neither could I. A concentrated essence of spoiled cabbage would be rare fragrance as compared with carbon disulphide. I don’t know that its fumes are par­ ticularly deadly. Perhaps the moles could have escaped if they wanted to, But one whiff of C. D. fumes and they lost all desire to live—just didn’t give a darn.” Cemetery Official Has Remedy This suggestion from Butler, Mis­ souri, is made by Superintendent S. L. Rook, of Oak Hill Cemetery: “I have been using common salt and turpentine with good results for moles. Take a heaping tablespoonful of salt and saturate it with the turpentine; make a hole in the run with an old lawn mower blade which is about 1% inches wide, then place the saturated salt in the run. Do not get dirt on the salt but leave it so the mole will drag through it. The moles seem to die in great agony in a very few minutes as I experimented with a live mole and know it will kill them.” • Englishman Sends Moss Control Suggestion The following suggestion for Moss control comes from England: “It might interest some of your read­ ers to know that copper sulphate gives much better control of moss in England than potassium permanganate. Pos­ sibly some of your readers might like to try it out; herewith is the method: Dissolve 20 ounces (1% pounds) of crystalline copper sulphate in a wooden barrel containing 40 gallons of water; then apply the solution over the lawn at the rate of 1 gallon per 4 square yards (30 gallons per 1000 square feet). The application may be made at any period in the year, provided the soil is moist and the grasses are active. Spring­ time appears to be the best time for the treatment, since the dead moss can be raked out easily. Later in the season, the raking out of the dead material spoils the appearance of the lawn for a time. One application of the solution at the stated strength is effective in England for two to three years. Stron­ ger solutions are not advisable and may prove slightly toxic to the grasses, par­ ticularly if the soil is acid.” Mr. C. D. Dempster, Stafford, England. Prefers Straw to Burlap for Covering “I was especially interested in the article on burlap covering for lawns— when seeding in mid-summer. I have used burlap and find it not only expen­ sive, but when left too long, the grass grows through and too much is up­ 3 rooted in removing it. Then, too, it is unsightly. Here is an experience I had with another covering: A new church had been completed and the ground leveled. It was a rather heavy clay soil, that I knew would bake—so as fast as a section of it would be seeded, we covered it with coarse straw. We werfc careful to shake out the straw thor­ oughly to get away from the chaff and weed seeds present and used only the coarse stems. After covering, it was thoroughly soaked and it was soaked once a week for three or four weeks. You will note I didn’t say sprinkled or watered. The seeding was done on July 5th with a temperature of 93 de­ grees in the shade—and not a tree on the place. “The straw was raked off about Sep­ tember first and we had as fine a catch of lawn as you ever saw. This was about four or five years ago and today the lawn is a lovely green carpet.” • Beetle Quarantine Affects Soil Samples To prevent the spread of Japanese Beetles westward the Department of Agriculture is enforcing a rigid quar­ antine against the shipment of soil from the eastern states. If you wish to mail soil samples to us for analysis find out at your post office if soil from your city is affected by this regulation. If so, make certain to address the package to O. M. Scott & Sons Co., 629 Grove Street, Jersey City, New Jersey. Other­ wise mail it to us at Marysville, Ohio. There will be no hesitancy on the part of the authorities about shipping the soil to our New Jersey address which is within the zone of quarantine. After the soil has been tested at that office you will be written the detailed results. Scott Literature Lawn Care—Subjects featured previous bulletins include: 1928 Plantain, Sodium Chlorate. 1929 Compost, Moss, Web Worms, in Iron Sulphate, Buckhorn. 1930 Ground Ivy, Yarrow, Earth­ worms, Heal-All, Ants. 1931 Speedwell, Creeping Buttercup, Moles, Knotweed. 1932 Sheep Sorrel, Quackgrass, Spurge, Trefoil, Goosegrass. 1933 Nimble Will, Knawel, Terraces, Shepherd’s Purse, Ground Covers. 1934 Sedge, Shade, Purslane. 1935 Peppergrass, Crabgrass, Summer Injury. 1936 Clover, Poa Annua, Henbit, Fall Seeding, Foxtail. 1937 Honeycombed Soil, Grubworms, Orchard Grass, Soils, Injury from Excess Moisture. 1938 Dandelions, Chinch Bugs, Bur­ lap Protection, Wild Garlic. 1939 Chick weed, Science of Mowing. If your file is not complete, please be sure to ask for the missing issues. A full set of bulletins with index in stiff paper binding will be sent for 25c. Binder—An attractive imitation leather, loose-leaf binder. Contains all Lawn Care bulletins, with ample room for future issues—$1.00 postage paid. For 20c additional, you may have a name printed in gold on the cover. Bent Lawns—A practical discussion of the most beautiful of all grasses. Tells how to plant with either seed or stolons. Illustrated in color. Free. Good Lawns—The amateur garden­ er’s guide to better lawns. Contains complete outline for building new lawns and improving old ones. Free. O. M. SCOTT & SONS CO. M A R Y S V IL L E • • O H IO EVERY PACKAGE OF SCOTTS LAWN SEED BEARS THIS TRADE-MARK AND IS SEALED FOR YOUR PROTECTION 4