A discussion of the vital problems of lawn making and maintenance PUBLISHED SEVERAL TIMES YEARLY BY O. M. SCOTT & SONS COMPANY - SEEDSMEN February 1932 - MARYS VILLE, OHIO ~~ No. 1 Vol. V SORREL Rumex Acetosella SHEEP W E feature in this issue a weed which has been more abundant than usual during the past season, prob- ably as a result of the severe drouth of 1930. It will be pointed out later why such a condi- tion might readily bring a sorrel visitation. SORREL M E A NS " S O U R ." Sheep Sorrel is a com- mon weed, being perfectly at home in practically every nook and corner of N o r th America. Other names by which it is some- times called are Field Sor- rel, Horse Sorrel, Red Sor- rel, Sour Weed, or simply Sorrel. The word is derived from the German meaning "sour." Reference is made to the sour taste of the leaves and possibly to the juice contained in the stems of the plant. This juice is considered by veterinarians h a r m f ul to horses and sheep. abundance of creeping root stalks. There are numerous greenish red flowers, rather inconspicuous and certainly not pretty. In May or June a patch of sorrel is read- ily seen from quite a distance because of the red mass of ripening seed heads. Each plant produces thousands of small triangular seeds about the size of a white clover seed. As a result it is usually in clover that seeds of sorrel are found and from which it is impossible to separate them. Inferior grades of white clover seed are fre- quently the hiding place for sorrel and doubtless many lawns have been thus infested. HELPLESS IN GOOD SOILS. It has been discovered that sorrel is most likely to be found in dry, worn- out and acid soils. This is not because sorrel prefers such soil for, naturally, it grows best in fertile, well- drained soils just as do other plants. In good soils, however, it cannot compete with other plants. Follow- ing a season of unusual drouth sorrel may be found in fertile soils but otherwise its presence is a rather good indication of impoverishment and lime deficiency. H OW TO CONTROL SORREL. Like most strongly acid plants sorrel SHEEP SORREL Rumex acetosella EASILY RECOGNIZABLE. The illustration here presented will en- able anyone to identify the plant quickly if it is growing in the lawn. Note par- ticularly the shape of the leaves. The plant is a slender perennial with an from the most satisfactory may be killed with chemical sprays. Prob- ably the standpoint of safety to the grass is Iron Sulfate (Copperas), the same as used in dandelion control. The proper strength for the spray solution is 1 Yz pounds of Iron Sulfate to one gallon of water. It may be applied with an ordinary spray pump or even with a watering can if the outlet holes are quite small. Spraying with this solution will prevent seed pro- duction. the plants send out new leaves after the spray has been used a second treatment will job. course most practical Spraying when sorrel occurs in patches in an other- wise good stand of grass or when it is growing around rocks or fences. Where not abundant it may be weeded out by hand. finish the is of If LIME. Other means of checking sorrel are: fertilizing the grass so it will get the up- per hand (sorrel can nearly always be smothered out by a heavy growth of grass) or by applying lime where soils are known to be deficient in it. is limestone the ground Ground limestone, which is the best kind to use, should be applied during the winter when frozen. Ground is slow acting and needs weathering before it will modify the soil condition. It may be used at the rate of 20 pounds per 1000 square feet. Hydrated lime is quick acting and so not more than 15 pounds per 1000 square feet should be applied. This type is preferable if necessary or advisable to make the application in early spring or fall. FINDS BINDER C O N V E N I E N T. "I thank you most heartily for the set of your Lawn Care bulletins and for the handsome binder. I will make good use of the information contained in the bul- letins and am sure that I can find that m information now, put up in such conve- nient form.'7—Alfred K. Mills, Annville, Pennsylvania. If y ou do n ot h a ve a L A WN C A RE binder one will be sent for actual cost of 50c, postage paid. A full set of bulletins will be enclosed so you may pass your present series along friend. More than seven thousand LAWN CARE binders are in use. Scores were ordered sent out as Christmas remembrances. to some — f— Looking Ahead WH EN in August, 1928, LAWN CARE ventured forth with consid- erable timidity we felt reasonably sure that enough worth while information could be assembled to keep it going for at least two or three years. Now we find this little publication entering upon its fourth year without having more than scratched the surface. At least a dozen more lawn weeds are to be treated and there are other subjects of equal impor- tance upon which there is valuable data to be imparted. During the year 1932 we expect to feature Purslane, a weed which was very abundant last year; Quack Grass, one of the most tenacious weeds known; Nimble Will and Goose Grass, common in lawns but not gener- ally identified. But we shall always take the liberty of pinch-hitting with a discus- sion of some seasonal pest or pestilence such as the sod web worm which wrought so much havoc last summer. SERIES OF N EW EXPERIMENTS. LAWN CARE can render the most val- uable service if those who read it con- tribute ideas and suggestions. The lawn laboratory is large. We all work in it. Be generous with your so others may have the benefit of your expe- riences. We can be more helpful than ever this year as a result of a cooperative program of experiments being carried on findings in conjunction with the State Experiment Station through the Department of Soils at Ohio State University. A series of test plots of various grass mixtures and sepa- rate varieties were laid out last fall. We are sponsoring them inasmuch as no pub- lic funds were available for this impor- tant work. In a later issue of L A WN C A RE we shall submit a chart of the plots and explain the experiments that are in progress. Seed Early LAWN SEED should be sowed when the ground is in the honeycombed stage. Usually this is in February or early March. It is equally good practice to seed while there is still a little snow on the ground except, of course, on slopes where the seed would be likely to wash off. If this late winter or early spring sowing the seed will be buried and sprout just as soon as the ground thaws. Grass seed germinates in much cooler temperature than the aver- age weed and there is naturally quite an advantage if the grass gets ahead of the weeds. is practiced FEED LATER. is The middle of April is a good time to apply fertilizers. By this date the frost is usually out of the ground and the food to the grass. Turf Builder is built on the ideal grass food formula 10-6-4. An April ap- plication will boost along new seedings and add new vigor to the old. immediately available Light raking to remove dead grass and debris as well as one or two light roll- ings to iron out irregularities and press the heaved grass back into the soil, will also be helpful. Early attention to the lawn will make it less of a problem in hot midsummer. Kerosene for Dandelions FROM Mr. Charles L. Snider of Bellefontaine, Ohio, we have this comment: "I have tried Sodium Chlorate and Sulfate of Ammonia for killing dande- lions without success. I have tried Iron Sulfate, which does fairly well although it doesn't kill as many of the roots as I thought it would. In fact I have rigged up various remedies but the sure way to kill them, in my opinion, is to use a liquid weed killer by applying it with a probe that drops a small amount of the solution into the hole after the top of the plant has been cut off. If a few drops of kerosene are put on the root there will be no danger of resprouting. I find that cutting off the tops of the plants and then using the kerosene is the method least likely to injure the grass." Gasoline may be used in a similar manner by simply injecting it into the plant with the aid of a long spouted oil can. Dandelions and crab grass continue to be the greatest enemies of good lawns. We shall be glad to receive information about methods of combat that have proven most practical and effective in your war on these or any other weeds. L A WN CARE is read by more than sev- enty-five thousand folks with lawns. It affords a fine opportunity for the ex- change of ideas. W A N T ED —A builder who thinks laivns are important A new York contractor wrote to us a year ago as follows: "We are planning to build 400 lawns County, and our chief aim is a in quick green mat because we sell the houses as soon as they are completed. What may happen to the lawn a year from now does not interest us much." Many lawns appear to have been made with that thought in mind. We asked this gentleman if he did not think his prospective buyers would prefer to pay just a little more and have the assurance that the lawn was well-made, sowed with good seed and likely to be still better a year hence? Twelve months have passed and no answer! Iron Sulfate Reduced " T R ON SULFATE is not always pro- A curable in fine powder. In crystal form it is very hard and the operation of reducing it to powder is not only difficult but there is discomfort and possible dan- ger if flying particles get in the nose or eyes. "One half pound of Iron Sulfate will dissolve in nine ounces of water at boil- ing temperature. This solution while hot is stirred into nine pounds of finely sifted sand. Use an earthen crock and a wooden paddle and work fast. A few days in the sunlight and occasional stir- ring will drive out most of the moisture. This procedure gives a finer and more even mixture than could possibly be had by using the powdered sulfate. A pound or two of Sulfate of Ammonia may be added to the final mixture to provide stimulation the grass."—John S. Stewart, 1030 Fayette Avenue, Spring- field, Illinois. for Spiked Roller Preferred WE ARE indebted to Mr. L. W. Childress, President of the Co- lumbia Terminals Company, St. Louis, for the following opinion: "It frequently happens in this section that the ground is not in condition to be raked during the early part of March, just after spring seeding time. In this connection I wish to state that for the past year or two I have used the spiked roller in preparing the lawn for seed. Through its use I have gotten very much more satisfactory results. Prior to its use I found in certain places that it was almost impossible to seed the lawn in such a manner as to prevent the seed washing away following a rainfall." Scott Publications Lawns, a small booklet of condensed facts about the making of a new lawn and the improving of an old one. Bent Lawns, an illustrated booklet which tells how to make and maintain a Creeping Bent Lawn. Converting to Creeping Bent, a folder which explains four methods of remak- ing and improving an old lawn by using Bent. Lawn Making and Maintenance. For- ty pages of specific information that will be especially helpful in the building or care of large lawn areas. The Putting Green. An illustrated book telling how to construct, plant and maintain grass greens. Gratis to greens chairmen, greenkeepers, or any golf club officers. To all others at actual cost of 25 cents. Binders for Lawn Care, made of imi- tation leather and capable of holding the next ten year's bulletins, are furnished at actual cost of 50c, postage paid. Each binder sent out contains a complete set of L A WN CARE bulletins. In addition to the above we will send to anyone a full set of the issues of Lawn Care which have preceded this one. There have been eighteen and the following lawn pests have been dis- cussed: Plantain, Crab Grass, Dande- lions, Moss, Grubs and Beetles, Chick- weed, Buckhorn, Ground Ivy, Yarrow, Earthworms, Heal-all, Ants, Speedwell, Creeping Buttercup, Sod Web-Worms, Moles, Knot Grass.