Red Fescue—Festuca rubra. Thrives on poor soils and gravelly banks.
White Clover—Trifolium repens. Good for slopes; not to be recommended for a lawn.
Sheep Fescue—Festuca ovina. Good for light, dry soils.
Now, with so much as a reference li
brary, you will have sufficient knowledge of the kinds of seeds to draw from to make combinations that will fit any situation. I would further suggest that you go to a wholesale house and get a sample of each of these seeds and examine them. Get just a little of each in an envelope. Make a comparative examination of the seeds, holding a little in the palm of the hand. As you look at each seed repeat its name a few times and recall its characteristics, and you will be surprised to find that on the second or third trial every name will suggest itself the moment your eyes rest on the seed. With a knowledge of the seeds you can then go to your dealer and tell him what you want—not necessarily what he thinks you want. You are then a better judge than he is.
It is worth while following the subject farther, for the results will more than
repay the trouble. Test the seeds. Make shallow boxes and fill them with loam, and sow each kind of seed just as you would on a lawn. Put a label at the head of the box and on it the time of sowing the seed. Do this with as many as you can. Then watch and make notes of the time it takes for germination. Note also the character of the blades. Having finished this you will have a very liberal education in the subject of grass.
Should you not care to do as suggested above, you will be dependent on others to get what you most need. If you should go to a dozen people and ask them to suggest a combination of seeds, they would all give them readily to you, but no two proportions would be alike. If you should ask for a single grass, the majority would suggest Kentucky Blue Grass. For a single grass there is nothing better suited
for all conditions. There is this objection to it, however: it is not a nervous man's grass. You cannot plant it to-day and have a lawn next month. If you can afford to wait, sow Kentucky Blue and your patience will be well rewarded. It makes a permanent lawn.
To introduce the ready-made lawn, use a combination of Kentucky Blue, Red Top, and English Rye. The Blue Grass is slow, but the Rye and Red Top produce speedier results. The first month will see the newly seeded space a carpet of green. In time the Rye passes, the Red Top continues to cover, while the Blue Grass grows sturdier each day until it crowds everything out by virtue of its own strength. Use 12 lbs. of Kentucky Blue Grass, 5 lbs. of Red Top and 3 lbs. of English Rye Grass to the bushel, and sow 3½ to 4 bushels to the acre. This