4G0 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



THE PROPER TIME TO SOW GRASS SEEDS. 



Old Mission^, March 2, 18H. 



The club met at the usual hour. President Savage in the chair. 



Subject for discussion: "The proper time to sow grass seeds, and with 

 what crops?" 



Mr. E. Wait being called on to give his experience in sowing grass seeds, 

 said: By sowing clover with wheat in fall, the first week in September, and 

 in spring not later than May 10th, I have invariably met with success. In the 

 case of timothy the time of sowing is not so important. I sow eight quarts of 

 clover seed, or four of clover and two of timothy to the acre. Timothy and 

 clover sown together grow better than either one alone. My method of sow- 

 ing is first to sow wheat, then drag the ground and sow the grass seeds. Clover 

 sown with buckwheat by Mr. Kelly on September 1st resulted in a good crop ; 

 sown with wheat by him at the same time it did not succeed so well. 



Mr. W. Parmelee. — Clover sown with wheat by my father resulted in a crop 

 of five tons to the acre in two cuttings. 



Mr. Gray. — I have met with success by sowing grass seeds with v/heat early 

 in September, with buckwheat early in July, and with oats early in May. 



Mr. Savage. — Mr. Marshall and myself had good crops of clover by sowing it 

 -with buckwheat early in July. 



Mr. Gray. — I think the failure in clover crops is often owing to light seed- 

 ing. I sow fifteen pounds to the acre, or one bushel to four acres. 



Mr. Drew. — Mr. Marshall sows wheat between 1st and 10th of September, 

 and immediately after seeds to clover, with general success. 



Mr. A. Wait. — I think there is little use sowing clover after 10th September. 



Mr. Ira Porter. — Two years ago I sowed clover seed with winter wheat in 

 (October and had a good " catch." Sown with oats last year it failed. 



Mr. Curtis. — Clover needs a large amount of moisture. If the sowing is fol- 

 lowed by frequent falls of rain, a good "catch" will be obtained; if, on the 

 contrary, drought succeeds the sowing, the crop will be light, or entirely fail. 

 More depends on the quantity of rain which falls after the sowing than the 

 time of sowing, and hence the advisability of sowing in fall, Avhen rain is more 

 prevalent than at other seasons. 



Mr. Pratt. — I sowed clover with millet in May, and had the finest "catch" I 

 ever saw, although no rain fell till the following July. Has it occurred to 

 any present who have not succeeded with clover that the seed may have been 

 defective ? We import all our seed, and don't know how old it is. I believe 

 our soil is naturally well adapted to the growth of clover and all kinds of 

 grasses. 



Mr. B. Montague. — I think failure in clover crops is often due to drought. 

 Ordinarily if clover is sown in early part of September it gets considerable 

 growth before hard frosts come, and does well. I do not know why it does not 

 succeed if sown later, but it is so. I believe one cause of failure is light sow- 

 ing; a bushel to four acres is, in my opinion, the right quantity to sow. 



Mr. Savage. — I think rolling the ground after sowing clover beneficial. 

 Mine, sown with buckwheat and rolled, resulted in a good " catch." 



Mr. Drew. — In order to show how run-down land may be brought to a fertile 

 •state by grasses, I will cite the following instance : In 1825 in passing from 



