The weeds thus treated
die, and in about three weeks the grass will have grown, and there
will not be a vestige of disturbance left. Two years ago I converted
a rough pasture into a tennis-ground for six courts. Naturally the
turf was a mass of rough weeds. It took three days to salt them, and
the result was curiously successful."
Another prescription is to cut off the crowns of the offending plants,
and dose them with a few drops of carbolic acid.
Grass will only grow dense by constant cutting and moisture. The
scythe works best when the grass is wet, and the machine when it is
dry. Sweep it and roll it during the winter. Pick off stones, sticks,
or anything that "has no business" on it, as you would pick "bits" off
a carpet.
If grass grows rank and coarse, a dressing of sand will improve it; if
it is poor and easily burned up, give it a sprinkling of soot, or
guano, or wood ashes (or all three mixed) before rain. "Slops" are as
welcome to parched grass as to half-starved flowers. If the weather is
hot and the soil light, it is well occasionally to leave the short
clippings of one mowing upon the lawn to protect the roots.
I do not know if it becomes unmanageable, but, in moderation, I think
camomile a very charming intruder on a lawn, and the aromatic scent
which it yields to one's tread to be very grateful in the open air.
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