152 AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE BULLETINS. 



Owing to the diflBculty of learning to recognize the seeds, the purchaser is 

 usually at the mercy of the dealer, whose interest it is to enshroud in mys- 

 tery the whole subject of grasses for the lawn. 



Most of the leading seedsmen of our country are advertising extensively 

 and appear to be selling large quantities of " mixtures" of lawn grass seeds 

 for which there is quite a variety of attractive names. 



The writer has frequently examined these mixtures and has watched the 

 success of several of them in various portions of the Northern States. For 

 the benefit of the people who have so liberally supported Michigan Agri- 

 cultural (College, I present below the results of a careful "analysis" of the 

 mixed lawn grasses sold by some of our largest growers and dealers in seeds. 



In former years, the vitality of the rarer grass seeds has universally been 

 found to be very low, while the germinating power of the common sorts, 

 such as are raised in this and neighboring States, has been satisfactory. 



The accompanying report does not contain a test of the vitality of the 

 seeds, as a few of the packages have been kept over a year. 



Owing to the great labor of assorting the seeds only a small portion of 

 each package was "analyzed." A considerable quantity was carefully 

 mixed and evenly spread on a table when two to five grams (about one-fif- 

 teenth to one-sixth of an ounce avoirdupois) was selected from each package. 

 It is not probable that this analysis furnishes the exact proi^ortions of the 

 grasses found in a peck or a bushel of the mixture, but it approximates the 

 correct result and gives the names of all the seeds which are found in any 

 considerable quantity. An attempt has been made to procure mixtures 

 which were thought to be the best in the market. These packages were not 

 purchased directly of the seedsmen by us, but were ordered by friends in 

 neighboring towns. 



CHICAGO PAEKS MIXTURE. 



Sold hy J. C. Vaughan, Vhicago, Illinois. 



The table shows the relative proportion of the diiferent kinds of seeds 

 found : 

 June Grass, or Kentucky Blue Grass, Poa pratensis, L., in the chaff.. 1740 



White Clover, Trifolium repens, L., clean 90 



Sweet Vernal, Anihoxanthu7n odoratum, L., in chaff •. 37 



Perennial Rye Grass, Lolvum pereyme, L. , in chaff 35 



Orchard Grass, Cock's Foot, Dactylis glomerata, L., in chaff. 30 



lied Top, Brown or Creeping Bent, Agrostis, in chatf 16 



Timothy, Phleum pratense, L. , clean 6 



Mixed and containing traces of the following 15 



Velvet Grass, Holcus lanafus, L., in chaff (a weed). 



Sedge, Carex (worthless). 



(Narrow?) Dock, Rumex (a weed). 



Panic Grass, Panicum (worthless). 



Chickweed, Stellaria (a weed). 



This mixture is advertised as especially adapted to the inland and western 

 States, and costs 25 cts. per quart, or $4,00 per bushel. 



As will be seen, it consists mainly of June grass, which the same house 

 offers at 11.50 per bushel; and the latter, if pure and sowed alone, is far 

 preferable for a lawn to this mixture. Besides those marked weeds, the 



