19th Year No. 89 P U B L I S H ED FIVE T I M ES Y E A R LY F OR L A W N T H U S I A S TS G O OD L A W NS M A DE EASIER ONE OF the first bands of maraud- ers to make a mass appearance each spring is the pompous Dandelion clan. Dandelions have survived some of the most heinous punishments and in- genious tortures that an aroused popu- lace could devise. They've been seared by acids, pumped full of poisons, stabbed by stickers of every description from hypodermic needles to rusty-tined garden forks. They've been railed and ranted, cussed and discussed—but never truly eradicated. That is, not until now, for Dandelions fall easy prey to Scotts 4-X. There are other weeds, too, such as Chickweed and Speedwell, that can be liquidated early. No good neighbor will want to pass up the opportunity of doing exactly that. Later, Buckhorn and Plantain will rear their ugly heads and the hunting will again be good. Take a look out the window now. If you see Dandelions in yellow blossom or on the verge of opening a jaundiced eye, then right now is the time to con- sign them to oblivion. First timers with Scotts 4-X are always spellbound by its effectiveness on weeds and the way it ignores grasses. So completely does leave grasses alone, they aren't even discolored. it M a i n t e n a n ce Revised New medicines like sulfa and peni- cillin have revised methods of treating human ailments. Scotts 4-X weed con- trol is likewise causing changes in the treatment of turf ailments. For instance, many homeowners, for- merly resigned to the bondage of a weedy carpet, can now rejoice. Instead of digging up the area and starting from scratch, many such lawns can now be salvaged by a weed treatment, an application of good grass food and some clean weedfree seed. In localities where Crabgrass abounds, such renovation should be made early in the spring or postponed until late summer to avoid an invasion of Crab- grass. This pest is a late arrival and quickly takes advantage of any vacancy. It is a situation to escape if at all pos- sible because Crabgrass is one of the weeds still requiring cultural control as described in L A WN C A RE NO. 70. Even the most successful weed con- trol is not a cure-all. Lawns still have to be well fed, sensibly mowed, and reinforced with the sturdy plants pro- it early. That's another way of saying give even sturdiest grasses the chance to get well entrenched before hot dry weather. On a lawn already established but needing some reinforcement, seeding like feeding can be made either before or after the weed treatment. So seeding or weeding should each be done at whatever particular time will net the best results, without consideration for the other. In the case of a new lawn, seed will have been sown before the necessity of weed treating arises. The question then is, will the weed treatment injure the baby grass? If too young and tender, it may be retarded but not permanently damaged. Better wait until several weeks after the first mowing. M o w i ng a nd W e e d i ng Never mow a lawn just before or just after a weed treatment if maximum weeding results are desired. The reason for this is obvious if one realizes that the effectiveness of Scotts 4-X results from its being absorbed through the weed leaves. Cut off these leaves just before treating and much of the surface on which the solution should adhere is no longer there. Similarly, if these weed leaves are cut off by mowing immediately after treatment, when they haven't yet ab- sorbed the solution, effectiveness is also reduced. seed. Bare duced by quality spots should not be neglected. If you're plan- ning to weed your lawn this season, and it looks as though everyone is, fit it in as part of your whole lawn pro- gram—FEED, SEED, WEED. L a w ns N e ed Three M e a ls It makes no difference whether you feed your lawn before or after applying Scotts 4-X. The is that it be fed. An appalling percentage of lawns suffer from malnutrition. important thing involve This has always been true, a fact probably resulting from failure to rec- ognize that a lawn is dynamic, that its growth processes intake and output. Just conduct a little investiga- tion of your own and find out how true it is that the prize winning lawns pic- tured in advertisements have a notable common factor in their upbringing— they are frequently and adequately fed. During the past few years there have been restrictions that necessitated put- ting most lawns on a ration diet. You can tell they've lost weight just to look at them. Now comes the time, without delay, to restore those areas to good health. Each season their rehabilitation is postponed the more difficult becomes the task. Supplies of good grass food are ample again and there is a reasonable number of spreaders to assure uniform applica- tions. But be humane in your consid- eration of grass. Don't try to cram a two year's supply of food down its throat all at once. After all, you prefer three meals a day and perform better on them than on a single gluttonous stuffing. The same is true with grass. A lawn needs a reasonable serving each spring, summer and fall. W h en To S ow Part Two of the complete lawn pro- gram is seeding. The best advice yet conceived is to use good seed and plant NUMBER 89 3 A s s o r t ed t y p es of s p r a y e rs a re u s u a l ly a v a i l a b le at l o c al s u p p ly s o u r c es A simple rule is to keep mowing and weeding three days apart. f or W e ed C o n t r ol E q u i p m e nt Scotts 4-X is easy to apply. Just add ordinary water to the powder. That's all there is to it and the mixing can be done right in the equipment to be used for application. The solution is then applied over the entire surface of a weed infested lawn. It can be done with an ordinary sprinkling can—simplicity itself. The shower head on a sprinkling can delivers any solution in rather coarse, heavy drops. Many of them bounce off the weed leaves and are not absorbed by the plant. For this reason the sprink- ling can method of spraying requires more water—but no more powder—for any given area. If a mechanical sprayer is used such as a compressed air sprayer, the solu- C y l i n d r i c al T a nk T y pe of S p r a y er tion is delivered in a much finer spray and more of it adheres to the weed leaves. It takes only a third as much water—but exactly the same amount of powder—for any given area. With large efficient equipment and careful operation, the needed solution can even be cut to as low as 2 y2 gallons per 1000 square feet. Carrying less water to do the same job is an important factor on large areas especially since water weighs about 8 y2 pounds per gallon. Compressed air sprayers come in a variety of styles and sizes.-The cylin- drical tank is available with capacities of 2 up to 5 gallons. Similar to this model but with a large flask-shaped tank strapped across one's back is the knapsack sprayer holding 4 or 5 gallons. This model has a lever-like pump handle which can be operated while spraying. the wheelbarrow Still larger versions of the same prin- ciple are sprayers. They have a capacity of 12 to 50 gal- lons and can be rigged for either manual or power operation. They are used mostly by parks and golf courses having large areas to spray. For spot treating isolated weeds, there are numerous small hand sprayers. The mosquito or fly guns, familiar to every- one and available at most hardware and department stores, will do the trick. Some of the better grade sprayers of this type have a regular spray nozzle and a 1 or 2 quart tank capacity. Another spot treating model consists of a quart glass jar with a squeeze-grip plunger on top, a short length of tubing and a plastic spray nozzle. It is in fact a quart size miniature of the big cylin- drical tank sprayers. Some applicators known as propor- tioned, substitute water pressure for compressed air to provide the power for spraying. Concentrated solutions of the weed killer are first made in a con- tainer. Water passing through a coup- ling in the garden hose siphons out this solution into the water stream, where it is sprayed through the hose nozzle. American ingenuity will doubtless find easier ways to spray various mate- rials on turf. Readers of this bulletin are often originators of improvements in lawn maintenance methods. L A WN C A RE will report from time to It will time on such continue to bring latest reliable hints on the best and surest way to have beautiful, weedfree lawns. improvements. the Please Help If L A WN C A RE is coming to you in- correctly addressed . . . If you are receiving two copies in- stead of one . . . If you are receiving it at the office and want it sent to the residence or vice versa . . . If you are going to move and want your mailing address changed so L A WN C A RE will follow . . . If you do move be sure to give us both your old and new addresses and include your zone number if you have one . . . You can just return the envelope in which this bulletin reached you, with any changes written at the side. Lawn Cere Binder T h is d u r a b le loose leaf binder with all issues of a nd L A WN C A RE capacity for five more years will be sent for $1.00. The same, in stiff paper binding is 25c. A STORY IN T WO LETTERS ( F R OM A C O L U M B US P H Y S I C 3 A N) S i r s: to I w i sh t he e f f e ct of l a wn as a D a n d e l i o n s. r e p o rt on c o n t r ol s p r a y ed on my a g a i n st e f f e c t i v e n e ss p r a c t i c a l ly a ll t h e se w e e ds h a ve b e en k i l l ed w i t h o ut a ny e f f e ct on i t s e l f. n o t i ng h e a rt of t h en l e a v es t i me h a ve t he p l a nt a p p e a r ed f o l l o w i ng w h i ch l a r g e ly w i t h e r ed i n t e r e s t ed t u r n ed a r ot o ut I w as a w a y. in To t he w e ed its t e st of d a te a p p a r e n t ly l a wn t he t he a nd s p r e a d i ng t h is t h at to s o f t en t he r e d b r o wn c o l or a nd at T he f i r st e f f e c ts w e re n o t i c ed a b o ut t he a p p l i c a t i o n. in t h at m a t e r i al a nd w i ll be t h r ee I b e l i e ve y ou h a ve i n t e r- d a ys a f t er s o m e t h i ng e s t ed in u s i ng m o re of i t. My l a wn t h is s e a s on t he p a st e i g ht y e a rs a nd f or f u ll c r e d it a p p l i ed t he s a me w i th l a st to y o ur f a ll a nd t h is it is t he b e st it h as b e en to g i ve l a wn s e ed a nd T u rf B u i l d er to do t h is s p r i n g. I w a nt I p l an f a l l. S i n c e r e ly y o u r s, S i r s: y o ur l a wn of my to w r i te s p r a y ed c o n d i t i on on e x c e l l e nt T he c o n t r ol w h i ch w as t h o u s a nd p r o m p ts me s q u a re f r ee of a ll w e e d s, n ot o n ly of d a n d e l i o ns b ut of a ll o t h er r e- m a r k a b le g r o w th of s o l id t he g r a ss h as s h o wn a w e ed l e t t e r. T he t r e a t ed h as t y p e s, a nd r e m a i n ed f e et so t u r f. t h is We h a ve b e en so w e ll p l e a s ed w i th s u l ts o b t a i n ed on o ur we a re d e t e r m i n ed l a wn to c o n t i n ue V e ry t h is s u m m er t he r e- t h at its p r o p er c a r e. t r u ly y o u r s, O. M. SCOTT & S O NS CO. 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