June is an interesting month with the lawn. The Grass has been growing freely for several weeks. But weeds have been growing too. Some Nature lovers like to see Daisies in lawns, but the most confirmed Nature lover draws the line at Dandelions and Plantains. The average gardener objects to them all. He can tolerate a Daisy in a pasture, he can even grow special varieties in the garden border; but he loathes any kind of Daisy on the lawn. A lawn, he will tell you, is not a meadow. It is a home for choice Grasses. He will concede a slight mixture of Clover, but nothing more.

Trouble arises from the fact that many lawns are made out of pastures. When a man buys land and builds a house there is a very natural temptation to leave a certain area of the Grass for a lawn, and other strips for the Grass walks. It saves trouble and expense.

Turf has not to be laid, nor seeds sown. The Grass is mown and rolled, and so made into a lawn. So far good.

Mowing and rolling both have an admirable mechanical effect on pasture. They curb the strong Grasses, and give the weak a chance of asserting themselves. Thus the lawn gradually becomes finer in texture. Perhaps a mixture of soil and manure is spread on in winter, and allowed to crumble down and work in under the influence of the weather. This also has an excellent effect. But neither mowing, nor rolling, nor top-dressing will get rid of Daisies and Dandelions. Manuring rather encourages them. Those who do not like to see weeds in the Grass may turn to "lawn sand," which seedsmen sell. The amateur is a little dubious when he reads that lawn sand will kill weeds and nourish Grass. He expects that what is injurious to one class of vegetation will be so to another, and may be curious to know what the substance is that has the peculiar effect claimed. The principal component of lawn sand is sulphate of ammonia, which is at once a destroyer and a fertiliser of plants, according to the manner of its application. Let the reader who grows spring Cabbages try sulphate of ammonia as a stimulant. He will find that if he spreads it on the soil in a very small quantity (an ounce per square yard as a maximum), it will increase the growth and deepen the colour of the plants. But if he drops a few particles on to the leaves, he will probably find that they are scorched. Now let him proceed to the lawn, and, allowing two ounces per square yard, drop the greater part of it into the heart of the weeds, and sprinkle the remainder in the lightest possible coating (it is so difficult to use a small enough quantity that it is well to add an ounce of superphosphate to it) over the Grass. The amateur now understands how lawn sand may do good in two ways - reducing weeds and stimulating Grass.

I do not hold out over-bright hopes of getting rid of Dandelions and Plantains with lawn sand. I should prefer to put some sulphuric acid in a bottle, and transfer a few drops of this fierce corrosive fluid to the heart of each weed by means of a forked stick. But if the area be small, the weeds can be spudded out with an old knife.

One sometimes finds a lawn go almost brown in winter when the Grass is not growing. This is probably due to the attacks of leather-jackets below the surface. Rooks and starlings reduce these pests in meadows, the former by cleverly hooking them out of the soil, the latter by feeding on the daddy-long-legs when they come through at the end of summer. But rooks do not work freely on lawns, and although the starling is not so shy, he cannot do enough in himself. The gardener cannot very well attempt to exterminate the underground enemy, but he can help the Grass immensely by persistent rolling and annual top-dressing. The former helps to spread and propagate roots, the latter nourishes them.

Young lawns from seed may give a good deal of trouble if the seed germinates slowly as a result of cold weather in April and May, because the weather, which retards the germination of Grass seeds, may have very little effect on the growth of strong-rooted weeds. Then, although the ground may become green, it is with weeds and not with Grasses. This is an unfortunate state of affairs, and it teaches the sufferer from it the paramount importance of thoroughly cleansing ground of weed roots when preparing it for a lawn. So far as annual weeds are concerned - that is, those which spring from seeds that lie dormant in winter - they cannot, it is true, be removed like the others, but they do not give so much trouble when the top soil is turned thoroughly over as when it is merely broken up, because they are buried considerably below their usual depth. If weeds come amid the young Grasses they should be picked out by hand, or they will overgrow the weaker plants. The tops of the young Grasses should be skimmed off with a scythe in preference to being cut with the mower, and the scything should be followed by a rolling, as this helps to "mat" the roots, and the plants to throw up more spears.

A little Clover is good in a lawn, but the sower should mind what he is about when spreading the seed.

If the two are found to be mixed in one bag when they arrive, they should be remixed thoroughly before the seed is spread on, because the Clover seed is the heavier, and will tend to collect at the bottom. The result of this may be a superabundance of Clover in some parts of the lawn. In a season of slow germination it will come before the Grass, mat itself over the ground, and reduce the opportunity of the Grasses to get a good foothold.

As regards mowers, three guineas seems a long price to pay for a 10-inch machine, when one of the same size can be got for a guinea, but, personally, I would pay it. There may not be much difference in the degree of ease with which the respective machines are worked for the first few months, but afterwards it will grow steadily more and more marked. A 10-inch is a suitable size. A man is satisfied with it because it runs so easily that he can get over the lawn quickly, yet it is not too heavy for a woman if she cares to indulge in a bout of mowing. The best of mowers may be rendered harsh and slow by bad management, such as neglect of oiling, and putting away wet and uncleansed. Grass should not be cut when it is really wet, nor should it be left uncut more than a week throughout the summer. A lawn can be mown much more rapidly if the Grass is allowed to fall than if it is collected in a box, which has to be regularly emptied. Letting the grass lie is permissible. Rolling does most good, perhaps, in late winter and early spring, just when the Grass is beginning to grow; but it is always beneficial after mowing, and especially after rain.

Fig. 38. - Patching a Faulty Lawn.

a. New soil. b. Level surface.

c. How to cut the turf across, so that it can be easily rolled back both ways.

d. How to cut the turf lengthwise.

e. A faulty place marked for renewal.

Sometimes one finds that a lawn on poor ground, and where it is much worried by enemies at the root, gets bare in parts. If the weak spot amounts to an actual hole, it is best to cut it out in a neat parallelogram, lay down fresh turf, and water well (Fig. 38); otherwise it will suffice to spread on some soil, sow seeds, and roll.