the stand is not so likely to be complete. On account of the high 

 price of seed, and the necessity of a thorough preparation of the 

 soil, pastures and meadows are more often started from cuttings. 

 To prepare cuttings the sod is gathered and cut into small pieces 

 with a feed cutter or other similar machine, or a wooden block and 

 hatchet can be used if only a small quantity is needed. Since most 

 of the propagating stems are near the surface, it is necessary to 

 shave off a layer of sod only an inch or two thick. If cuttings are 

 wanted in large quantities, the sod can be plowed and the roots har- 

 rowed into windrows or piles. In all cases care should be taken not 

 to allow the roots to get dry. The cuttings may be planted at any 

 time of the year in the South except the coldest winter months, but 

 the work is usually done in March. If a meadow is desired, more 

 care should be taken in the planting of the cuttings to insure a level 

 surface for the mowing machine. The cuttings are planted by 

 dropping them at intervals of a foot or two in shallow furrows and 

 covering with the next round of the plow. This can be done when 

 the field is plowed, the cuttings being dropped every other round or 

 every third round. Or the field can be prepared first and the cuttings 

 dropped upon the surface and pressed in with the foot as they are 

 planted. For meadows it is best to go over the land with a roller 

 after planting. For pastures, when a smooth surface is not neces- 

 sary, it is sufficient to plow shallow furrows every 2 to 4 feet and 

 drop the cuttings therein, covering them with the foot or by turning 

 the soil back over them with the plow. 



Professor Tracy remarks: "So easily may Bermuda grass be 

 propagated that good stands can be secured b}^ scattering a dozen or 

 more sods to the acre and cultivating the land in corn or cotton two 1 

 or three years, when the grass becomes distributed in the field." 



i 



AS A SOIL BINDER. 



On account of its creeping habit of growth, Bermuda grass is an 

 excellent plant to prevent the washing of soils along ditches, ravines, 

 embankments, or other similar places, and also to prevent the drift- 

 ing of sand upon sand dunes. It has been used for the latter pur- 

 pose with excellent results upon sand dunes of the coast of Southern 

 California. It is not stout and vigorous enough to hold large shift- 

 ing dunes, but it will cover sandy soil and prevent its blowing. 



FOR LAWNS. 



Bermuda is the best known lawn grass of the South. It has all 

 the desirable qualities of a lawn grass except that of holding its 

 color during the winter. It turns brown upon the approach of cold 

 weather, and is rather late in becoming green in the spring. It is, 



