. Manual of gardening; a practical guide to the making of home grounds and the growing of flowers, fruits, and vegetables for home use . which the owner can affordto expend considerable money. The best sod is that which issecured from an old pasture, and for two or three reasons. In the first place, it is the right kindof grass, the June-grass (in theNorth) being the species that often-est runs into pastures and crowdsout other plants. Again, it hasbeen so closely eaten down, espe- 77. Cutting sod for a lawn. • n •? ., ?, , . , , cially it it has been pastured bysheep, that it has made a very
. Manual of gardening; a practical guide to the making of home grounds and the growing of flowers, fruits, and vegetables for home use . which the owner can affordto expend considerable money. The best sod is that which issecured from an old pasture, and for two or three reasons. In the first place, it is the right kindof grass, the June-grass (in theNorth) being the species that often-est runs into pastures and crowdsout other plants. Again, it hasbeen so closely eaten down, espe- 77. Cutting sod for a lawn. • n •? ., ?, , . , , cially it it has been pastured bysheep, that it has made a very dense and well-filled sod, whichcan be rolled up in thin layers. In the third place, the soil inold pastures is likely to be rich from the droppings of taking sod, it is important that it be cut very thin. Aninch and a half thick is usually ample. It is ordinarily rolledup in strips a foot wide and of any length that will allow therolls to be handled by one or two men. A foot-wide board islaid upon the turf, and the sod cut along either edge of it. then stands upon the strip of sod and rolls it towards. EXECUTION OF SOME OF THE LANDSCAPE FEATURES 85 himself, while another cuts it loose with a spade, as shownin Fig. 77. When the sod is laid, it is unrolled on the landand then firmly beaten down. Land that is to be soddedshould be soft on top, so that the sod can be well poundedinto it. If the sod is not well pounded down, it will settleunevenly and present a bad surface, and will also dry out andperhaps not live through a dry spell. It is almost impossibleto pound down sod too firm. If the land is freshly plowed,it is important that the borders that are sodded be an inch ortwo lower than the adjacent land, because the land will set-tle in the course of a few weeks. In a dry time, the sod may becovered from a half inch to an inch with fine, mellow soil as amulch. The grass should grow through this soil without diffi-culty. Upon terraces and steep banks,
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectgardening, bookyear19
