A  discussion  of the  vital problems  of lawn  making  and  maintenance 

PUBLISHED  SEVERAL  TIMES  YEARLY  BY 

O.  M.  SCOTT  &  SONS  COMPANY 

Vol.  I 

~~~ 

-  SEEDSMEN 
August  1928 

-  MARYS VILLE,  OHIO 

~ 

No.  1 

Do  You  Know 
Your  Weeds? 

MAINTENANCE  of  A good  lawn 

means  a constant  fight  with  weeds. 
While  most  of 
these  pests  must  be 
pulled  or  dug  out  there  are  some  which 
can  be discouraged  by other  methods  less 
laborious.  We  shall  try  to  illustrate  at 
least  one  common  weed  in  each  issue  of 
L A WN  CARE,  give  a  brief  history  of  it, 
and  tell  if  possible  how  it  may  best  be 
combated. 

This,  of  course,  is  common  plantain, 
one  of  the  most  familiar  lawn  weeds. 
Plantain  is  a  perennial  and  propagates 
by  seeds.  Its  seeding  time  is  from  July 

to  October.  The  basal  leaves  of  plantain 
spread  out  to  such  an  extent  that  they 
shade  and  frequently  kill  out  the  grasses 
underneath. 

Plantain  may  be  destroyed  by  treating 
it  with  carbolic  acid  without  much  de-
facement  of  the  turf.  Stab  each  plant  in 
the  center  with  a  sharp  stick  and  then 
squirt  in  a  few  drops  of  carbolic  acid 
with  a  common  machine  oil  can.  Or,  of 
course,  the  plant  may  be  cut  out  with  a 
spud.  The  best  time  for  either  operation 
is  in  dry  weather,  just  before  the  spikes 
appear.  In  cultivated  fields  plantain  is 
easily  destroyed but  in a lawn which may 
not  be  remade  once  in  fifteen  or  twenty 
years  it  is apt  to become  a  serious  pest  if 
not  checked. 

Weedless 

English  Lawns  Not 
PERHAPS  you  have  heard  the  old 

story  of  the  American  tourist  who 
asked  an  English  gardener  how  they 
could  have  such  beautiful  lawns  as  you 
find  in  England.  The  reply  came  back, 
"That  is  easy.  You  simply  prepare  the 
seed  bed  carefully;  sow  clean  seed;  roll; 
weed;  water;  fertilize;  and mow—after  a 
hundred  years  of  such  practice  you  have 
a  real  lawn." 

V O L U M Ei 

[ 1] 

Is Better 

Why  Fall Planting 
W E  QUOTE  the  following  from 

an  experiment  station  official 
whom  we  consider  one  of  the  best  au-
thorities  on  lawn matters: 

"If  possible,  plan  to  build  your  lawn 
in the late summer or  early  fall.  Natur-
ally  the  date  varies  somewhat  with  the 
location  but the season holds  in most  lo-
calities in the United States and Canada. 
What  should  be  kept  in  mind  is  that 
grass  seeds  germinate  and  grow  best  in 
cool,  wet  weather.  Early  fall  is  better 
than  early  spring  because  it  enables  the 
grass  to  get  a  good  start  at  a  season 
when  most  weeds  have  sprouted  and 
been  cultivated  out.  With  this  start  the 
new  grass  will  be  well  along  in  the 
spring  and  be  in  better  trim  to  combat 
weeds  which  grow  rapidly  when  warm 
weather comes." 

It may be further said that grass from 
fall  seeding  stools  or  tillers  out,  thus 
establishing  itself  securely  before  cold 
weather. 
Dig  Out  Plantain  Now 
WE  are indebted  to  Mr. G.  A.  Hel-

gert, of  Milwaukee, for this time-
ly  thought:  "During  the  month  of  Au-
gust  [and  we  imagine  September  too} 
plantain is very loosely anchored and can 
be easily  pulled  out  by  hand." 

If  anyone  else  has  been  particularly 
successful in combating plantain we shall 
be glad to learn of  his methods. 

Everything  is doubtless  correct  in that 
statement  except  the hundred  years; and 
one  important  thing  was  overlooked: 
you  must  have  English  climate.  The 
amount  of  moisture  in  the  air  and  the 
frequent  rains  help  to  a  very  large  de-
gree  in  the  easy  maintenance  of  lawns 
in  England.  Nevertheless  the  late  Dr. 
Piper, chairman  of  the Green  Section  of 
the  U.  S.  Golf  Association  and  an emi-
nent authority  on grass growing, made a 
trip to England a few years ago to study 
turf  problems.  He  found  weeds fully as 
bad  in  the  English  golf  courses  as they 
are on this side and a much less compre-
hensive  knowledge  of  grasses,  their  hab-
its, uses, etc.  It was his opinion that our 
English  friends are depending  too  much 
on  their  ideal  grass  growing  weather  to 
carry  the load. 

Runway for  Weeders 
  M r. 
^ TN  August,  1932,  LAWN  CARE,
J- Hindle  mentions  that getting  after 
plantain  and  dandelions  is a back  break-
ing  job.  It  will  not  be  if  you  work  it 
this way.  Get  4, 6, or 8 inch spike nails 
and two long pieces of  old rope or string. 
Then  make  a  loop  at  the  ends  of  each 
piece  and  after  pushing  two  spikes  into 
the  ground  1 to  2  feet  apart  to  make a 
runway.  Commence  at  one  end  and 
work  down  so  you  will  not  miss  any 
weeds.  If  you  do  not  use  a  runway  of 
this  kind  you  are  inclined  to  wander  all 
around  the  lawn  where  you  happen  to 
see a weed. You  can sit down to the  job 
when you work by my method."—H.  G. 
BARNES,  41  Franklin  Street,  Boston, 
Mass. 

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V O L U ME  1