A discussion of the vital problems of lawn making and maintenance P U B L I S H ED S E V E R AL TIMES Y E A R LY BY - SEEDSMEN February 1930 - M A R YS VILLE, O H IO No. 1 A SOCIABLE WEED. O. M. S C O TT & S O NS C O M P A NY in some Vol. Ill A Common Lawn Pest and How to Kill It GR O U ND I VY is the most familiar name for the lawn weed shown in the illustration, but there are others by which it is known localities: for example, Field Balm, Gill-over-the Ground, Gill-Ale, Ale-Hoof, and Cat's- Foot. The associa- tion of ivy with ale is accounted for in the fact that years ago the plants were used to flavor and c l a r i fy home- brewed ale. Its oth- er names have no doubt been efforts to describe the leaves and the hab- it of the plants to inhabit thickly any area which they in- fest. PERENNIAL AND CREEPS. Ground Ivy is a perennial and propagates by means of seeds and root stocks. Blooms in small clusters of pale purple spotted with deeper purple, appear usually between the months of April and July. The seed- ing time is from May to August. The leaves of Ground Ivy are kidney-shaped, scalloped and green on both sides. The stems contain many joints at which roots develop. Like Plantain, Ground Ivy is a domes- ticated weed, being most familiar around dwellings and in towns. By its very na- ture of growth Ivy protects itself against easy eradication. It is a very pronounced creeper and under close clipping, thrives. Ivy will frequently occupy the ground to the exclusion of all other vegetation. Furthermore it be- comes so entwined with the grass as to make hand digging almost impossible. For years this plant was rated as one of the most obnox- ious lawn pests with which, says a Department of Ag- riculture bulletin, "one must learn to live rather than to entertain hope of its extermination." A SURE CURE. The old method of exterminating Ground Ivy was to skim off the shallow layer that contained the roots and relay new sod or reseed. Now it has been discovered that the plants can be entirely destroyed without lasting injury to the grass by a single spraying with a solution of Sodium Chlo- rate. Use one to two ounces per gallon of water on each 100 square feet (10 by 10 feet), providing a pressure sprayer is used. If applied with a sprinkling can, a GROUND IVY (Gleconia hederacea) trifle more solution will be required as this method is somewhat more wasteful. The leaves of the Ivy should be thor- oughly covered. While this plan can best be carried out in the fall, any time dur- ing the grass growing season will be sat- isfactory. The spray will discolor the grass for a short time, but will have no on clothing. (For the illustrations used in this issue we are indebted to the Ohio Experiment Station at Wooster.) Any of our readers who have success- fully employed other methods of killing Ground Ivy are cordially invited to use these columns to disseminate such infor- mation. Left, unsprayed; right, sprayed with Sodium Chlorate and reseeded SPRAYING KILLS G R O U ND IVY permanently injurious effect. When the Ground Ivy disappears there will likely be discovered a very thin stand of grass so that fertilizing and reseeding will be found necessary. If the Sodium Chlorate is used in the late fall it will be well to wait until early spring to reseed and fer- tilize, preferably when the ground is honeycombed. An area thus treated, fer- tilized and reseeded is shown in the illus- tration on this page. CAUTION ADVISED. Care should be exercised in the use of Sodium Chlorate. It is inflammable and will ignite from friction if allowed to dry m Garden Clubs Take Notice ^T C O U LD use fifty copies of L A WN -L CARE for distribution among mem- bers of our Garden Club." W. O. INGLE, Rochester, N. Y., Consolidated Mach. Tool Co. Extra copies of L A WN CARE are al- ways available. Several concerns have sent us a list of their executives who asked to be put on our mailing list. Weeds Discussed In Previous Issues IT has been our idea to treat in each issue of L A WN CARE some specific weed or other lawn pest, setting forth as much information as we can assemble on the subject and inviting an open discus- sion. For the benefit of any readers who may have missed any or all of the last eight issues we submit the following in- formation: 1928 August featured Plantain. September featured Crab-Grass. October special issue for Ohio Progress Exposition. 1929 February featured Dandelions. It is possible that our entire list will re- ceive this booklet in place of one of the regular issues of L A WN CARE but you may have a copy immediately for the asking and extra ones for friends will be furnished gladly, too. BENT LAWNS, another new booklet, replaces the original one by the same name. We have endeavored to present in this booklet the true story of Creeping Bent, setting forth the advantages and the disadvantages of this beautiful lawn grass. Those who are building new homes or remaking an old lawn will do well to get this booklet and give it a careful reading. For use on old lawns we cannot recommend Creeping Bent although some cases might be cited where it has been good practice. — SCOTT'S SEED GUIDE FOR 1 9 3 0. Many of our lawn seed customers own farms. To any who qualify we should like to send this book. It contains 72 pages, crammed full of valuable information on farm seeds and the crops they produce. Among other things this book tells "How to Know Good Seed." Spring Seeding, Rolling WHILE spring seeding is not as de- and Fertilizing sirable as fall seeding there are many times when it is necessary. For instance, if the winter has left a lawn with thin and bare spots these should be fertilized and reseeded, for otherwise they become ideal weed haunts. A severe win- ter will ordinarily kill much of the white clover in a lawn and with its going many spots that need resowing are in evidence. HONEYCOMBED GROUND BEST. By all means do any reseeding that is necessary, early, preferably when the ground is honeycombed. Anyone who grew up on a farm will be quite familiar with this term. The subsequent freezing and thawing tends to cover the seed so March-April featured Moss. June-July Beetles. featured Grubs and August featured Chickweed. September featured Buckhorn. Ask for any of the above you need to complete your file. The poorest seed on the best ground will not produce as good results as the best seed on the poorest ground. "I never in my life have seen cleaner seed than that which I received from you and I want to compliment you upon it." So writes Mr. L. R. Wood, 452 East 55th Street, Kansas City, Mo. New Booklets Ready for You FOR many years we have distributed a booklet known as T HE SEEDING AND CARE OF LAWNS. Like all such pub- lications some of the information needed revision and a brand-new booklet called LAWNS is the result. This booklet of 32 pages contains boiled-down facts about lawn making and care from preparing the soil to problems of turf maintenance. that when warm weather comes it is ideally qualified to germinate. If the lawn needs fertilizing it is just as well to wait until the frost is out of the ground before making application. Otherwise some of the benefits are doubtless lost and furthermore the tendency is to put on too much and then when the fertiliz- ing elements become available the grass will suffer from an overdose. The weather trend being subject to irregularities, there is difficulty in specifying dates. But, roughly, seeding should be done in the northern states between the first or middle of February and the middle of March. Ordinarily by April the season is far enough advanced that new seed- ings encounter the spring weed spectacle and the "going" becomes much tougher. About April first, however, is a good time to apply fertilizers. Abundant rains during that month will carry the plant food down into the soil and give the grass roots their needed supply. W H EN TO ROLL. A lawn may be rolled much too early for its own good. Wait until the ground is fairly well dried out before you give it the first rolling. A greenkeeper will use this test. If he can step firm on his fairways and the water does not come into the depression he knows the grass is ready to be rolled. Several light rollings at weekly or bi-weekly intervals are pref- erable to a too heavy rolling. L A WN C A RE for February one year ago con- tained this thought: "The weight of the roller to be used and the amount of rolling required de- pends upon the type of soil. Light or sandy soils require and will bear more rolling than will heavy soils. On an av- erage a roller should weigh from 175 to 225 pounds. The longer the roller, of course, the more it may weigh. For ex- ample, 100 pounds of weight for each foot in length of the roller is considered proper for ideal results." Questions and Answers Is it possible to encourage the growth of moss? I want to put it between stepping stones. (Indiana.) "It is my opinion that this can be done only by sodding the moss, being careful to use a species that grows nat- urally in the open. As you probably know, mosses come from spores instead of seeds and their early growth is ex- tremely delicate. It will be absolutely impossible to start the moss by any other method to the best of my knowledge than by sodding." A L B E RT E. H A N S E N, Purdue University, Lafayette, Ind. I hare noticed a sort of scum on my lawn this summer. What do you suppose causes it? (Ohio.) "The only trouble which I am familiar with on lawns corresponding to that you describe is a slime mold. This mold causes a grayish-to-dark growth over the grass and shows up during warm, wet weather. Its spread can be checked by spraying with Bordeaux Mixture. Usu- ally after it has spread over a portion of the lawh it disappears and is not seen again before the following season. It does not usually kill out the grass but just grows over the surface of the lawn and becomes unsightly." P A UL E. TILFORD, Associate Pathologist, Wooster, Ohio. JL V Yarrow is Next The next weed to be treated is YAR- ROW. While not as commonly known as the other weeds thus far discussed it is to be found in many lawns and there are few grass seed mixtures entirely free If you don't know Yarrow from it. watch issue of L A WN C A R E. for the March-April