29G STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTUEE, 



likely the seed was poor. The seeds are very subject to blight and are a})t to be 

 eaten in the head by small insects. Good seeds are hio-h and hard to sjet. 

 They weigh only five pounds to tlie bushel. 



Alopecu7'us agrestis (slender foxtail, mousetail, black bent) is well known 

 in the old country. I should not mention this here, but some effort is being 

 made to sell it in the west. In Eurojie they make such remarks as this about 

 it: '"'Of no importance as an agricultural grass;" ''Cattle do not like it ;" 

 •''Refuse to eat it;" '^' One of the 'most troublesome of veeds.'^ We should be 

 cautious in trying slender foxtail, not because it is a Aveed, biit for all the rea- 

 sons given above. Some people call June grass only a weed, still it is the basis 

 of the best old pastures in the Northern States. 



PMeum inatense (timothy, herd's grass, cat's tail grass).* This is the 

 best known and most extensively sown of any grass in the United States. 

 It is generally sown with clover, though not ripening till some time after 

 clover. It is too well known to need much description. It is not so highly 

 prized in Great Britain as in this country. One writer there describes it as "a 

 hard, coarse grass, of little value for cattle." Its second growth, as all farmers 

 know, is very long starting, often of no importance. Its first crop in strong 

 land is some times very large ; three or more tons to the acre. It is heavy for 

 its bulk, as a large part of its weight consists of the stalks and heads. It must 

 not be cut close, for fear of cutting off the bulbs near the ground, or cutting so 

 near the bulbs that they die, roots and all. On account of the important part 

 these bulbs serve, the grass is unsuitable for pasture, especially for sheep, which 

 nip very close. No doubt this close feeding is one of the main causes of its gen- 

 erally iTinning out after two or three years. If kei:»t only for me;idow, never 

 pastured, I presume it would last for many years on good soil. I need hardly 

 tell you. that timothy, as well as most other grasses, makes poor hay after it has 

 been allowed to go to seed. It produces an abundance of good seed, which may 

 be one reason for its popularity. Instead of sowing timothy with red clover, it 

 would seem to me more sensible to sow orchard grass with clover, or to sow 

 some other kinds that flower at the same time. It is not adapted to sand or dry 

 gravel. Chemists give it high praise for its nutritious qualities. 



Agrostis vulgaris (red-top), is known also as Burden's grass in New England 

 and Herd's grass in Pennsylvania. In some places it is called red bent grass or 

 summer dew grass ; sometimes foul meadow grass, though the latter name more 

 especially belongs to Poa serotina. It is tolerably well known, and quite com- 

 mon in this country, where it is almost always found in moist places. It flowers 

 rather late, with or after timothy. It makes good pasture and good hay, though 

 rather light for its bulk. It is not veiy rich in starch, gum, sugar, or silex. It 

 is not well adapted to sow for one crop, followed by plowing, as it takes some 

 years to get well established. It varies a good deal in ai^pearance. It is prized 

 by the New York dairymen, though not much esteemed in England. Though 

 commonly known in this country as good for wet pastures, in England it is 

 recommended as very suitable to stand severe dry weather in dry ground, I 

 have noticed that it does about as well as anything at the Agricultural College 

 in dry, barren, sandy places. 



Galamagrostis Canadensis (blue-joint, reed grass). This is quite large, a 

 native grass, thriving in low places, giving a big yield of rather coarse hay of 

 good quality, if cut before it is out of the flower. It also makes good pasture 



* In several of the accounts of these grasses I give nearly the words as found in late numbers of 

 the Prairie Farmer. Such accounts were prepared by me. 



