330 FORAGE CROPS 



Preparation of the land 



As with other grass plants, the better the prep- 

 aration of land, and the cleaner, the quicker will 

 the stand of grass be secured. The conditions 

 which result from the planting and care of corn, 

 cotton and tobacco, provide a suitable j)reparation 

 for Bermuda -grass. Owing to the high price of 

 seed and its low vitality, the method now generally 

 used to secure a stand, is to plant pieces of root- 

 stocks rather than to seed in the ordinary way, 

 although it is necessary to have a small area 

 seeded to use as a cutting nursery for enlarging 

 the area. For this purpose, the seed should be 

 sown broadcast, on clean, moist land, and covered 

 with a rake or light harrow. Five pounds of seed 

 is sufficient for an acre. 



This plant responds well to fertilizers, and top- 

 dressings with nitrate of soda, where the soils 

 have been suitably fertilized with minerals at time 

 of seeding, are very profitable. 



Bermuda- grass for j^asture or meadow 



The following methods of securing a pasture 

 or meadow of Bermuda -grass are described by 

 Prof. F. Lamson-Scribner^: — 



"On account of the high price of seed, and the 



'Circular 31, Div. of Agrostology, Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C, 



