48 ♦ MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 



orchard grass seed materially decreases its commercial value, the 

 advantage of having the clover in the field more than compensates for 

 this. 



In sections where the grass is grown for hay and pasture, red clover 

 is sown at the rate of one bushel to 5 or 7 acres, usually as early in 

 the spring as the weather will permit. It is, however, sometimes sown 

 in the autumn at the same time as the orchard grass, but the seed of 

 the two are not mixed, as they do not feed evenly through the drill or 

 seeder. In cases where clover is sown in the spring on orchard grass 

 that has been sown the fall before, it is either covered lighth' by means 

 of a drag harrow or left uncovered. Less clover is sown to the acre 

 in seed-producing sections than where the grass is intended for ha}' or 

 pasture, the customary quantity being one bushel to 8 or 10 acres. 

 In these sections the first crop is frequently cut for hay on account of 

 its containing so much clover. The second crop usuallj^ contains ver}'^ 

 much less and is cut for seed, as are also the following crops, since 

 the clover at the end of two years usuallv disappears. Pasturing the 

 field appears to materially increase the longevity of the clover, and it 

 is not uncommon to see meadows that are 6 or 7 years old containing 

 almost as much clover as the)' did the first year. 



Much trouble is now being experienced in securing a catch of red 

 clover throughout the greater part of the region where it is grown. 

 As a result alsike is being substituted in some sections, and where it 

 has been tried thoroughly it is giving good results. This difiicultv in 

 growing red clover will doubtless soon become a serious proposition, 

 especiall)^ in seed-producing sections, and unless alsike or some similar 

 leguminous crop can be grown it will be only a few years until more 

 barnj'ard manure or commercial fertilizer will have to be used. At 

 the present time there is very little commercial fertilizer applied to 

 orchard grass, although it is the opinion of some of the more success- 

 ful growers that an application of about 200 pounds of good fertilizer 

 in the spring, just as the grass begins to grow, would yield profitable 

 results. 



MIXTURES WITH OTHER GRASSES. 



On account of the bunchy tendency of orchard grass it is often 

 desirable to mix it with other grasses for hay or pasture, and while 

 this has not been practiced as yet to any great extent the results 

 obtained from such mixtures are very promising. Aside from affect- 

 ing the palatability of the grass, the mixtures have a tendency to 

 increase the yield. Orchard grass matures well with tall meadow oat- 

 grass and meadow fescue, and in some localities in Tennessee a mix- 

 ture of it with the latter is attracting considerable attention, especially 

 for pasture. Doubtless in time orchard grass will be more generally 

 grown for hay and pasture in mixtures with these or other grasses. 



100— VI 



