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  T I M ES  Y E A R LY  BY 

-  SEEDSMEN 
February  1930 

-  M A R YS  V I L L E,  O H IO 

No.  1 

A  SOCIABLE  WEED. 

O.  M.  S C O TT  6c S O NS  C O M P A NY 

it  is  known 

in  some 

V ol  III 
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 
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 

V O L U ME  3 

[ 1] 

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 

[  2  ] 

V O L U ME  3 

Heal-All and Crab Grass 
MR.  ALBERT  A.  FAULK,  of  425 

W.  North  Shore  Drive,  South 
Bend  Indiana,  has  sent  us  a  sample  of 
heal-all  and  makes  this  comment: 

"I  find  that  sulfate  of  ammonia  kills 
this very  readily.  As  for  crab grass  I  find 
that  by  raking  this grass  thoroughly  with 
a  dandelion  rake,  then  cutting  with  the 
mower  set  low,  I  have  gotten  rid  of  at 
least  two-thirds  of  the  crab  grass.  This  is 
the  third  year  I  have  tried  this  plan  and 
it  works  better  than  any  other  that  I 
have  found."