to injure the sward.

Be regular in your attention to the lawn. Do not let the grass get so
tall that the mower will not do a good job in cutting it. This
necessitates mowing at regular intervals. If you mow only once a week, I
would advise the use of the rake, as long grass-clippings are always
unsightly because they remain on top of the sward, while short clippings
from frequent mowing sink into it, and are soon out of sight.

In case the lawn is neglected for a week or more, once going over it
with the mower will not make it very presentable. Mow, and then rake,
and then go over it again, cutting _across_ the first swaths. The second
cutting will result in an even surface, but it will not be as
satisfactory as that secured by _regular_ mowings, at intervals of two
or three days.

It is a most excellent plan to scatter bonemeal over the surface of the
lawn in midsummer, and again in fall. Use the fine meal, as the coarse
article is not readily assimilated by the soil. There is little danger
of using enough to injure the sward. Injury generally results from not
using any.

Many lawn-owners, with a mistaken idea of neatness, rake up the leaves
that scatter themselves over the sward in fall, thus removing the
protection that Nature has provided for the grass. Do not do this. Allow
them to remain all winter. They will be entirely hidden by the snow, if
any falls, and if there is none they are not unsightly, when you cease
to think of them as litter. You will appreciate the difference between a
fall-raked lawn and one on which leaves have been allowed to remain over
winter, when spring comes. The lawn without protection will have a
brown, scorched look, while the other will begin to show varying tints
of green as soon as the snow melts. Grass is hardy, and requires no
protection to prevent winter-killing, but a covering, though slight,
saves enough of its vitality to make it well worth while to provide it.

The ideal lawn is one in which no weeds are found. But I have never seen
such a lawn, and never expect to. It is possible to keep weeds from
showing much if one has a thick, fine sward, but keen eyes will discover
them without much trouble. Regular and careful mowings will keep them
within bounds, and when the leaves of large-foliaged plants like the
Burdock and Thistle are not allowed to develop they do not do a great
deal of harm except in the drain they make upon the soil. Generally,
after repeated discouragem