59 



Oil c<»miii<f to Floiulii r perc«Mved at oiico tljiit tin; j;reiit want of the .Slato was a 

 ^Dod <{i'asH to suit the clituato. I wioto to Jamaica toi" soin(3 Hueds of tho hanlii'Ht 

 variety, called there the "St. Mary's grass." This I planted in thi! si)rin^;- of 187'.i, 

 ;uid got abont twelve plants to grow. As fast as this roots got suflieicjntly largo I 

 took tlietn up, separated them and refilantod, some roots giving me twenty-iivo to 

 thirty plants; bnt I fonnd that the planting shouhl he done immediately after a heavy 

 rain, wiien the earth is (|iiite wot. I eontinned tliis operation niitil Si-ptetnhe.r, wlien I 

 alloweil the plants to go to seed. Part of tiie seed I gathfsred, and left some to drop. 

 The plants slooil several severe frosts before tiie grass was kiUed. I then cut it off and 

 found stock even then eat it with avidity. Tlii,s spring tlie ohl n>ots sproutiul again, 

 and all around them innumerable young plants eame np fjom tin; seed tiuit had been 

 sown the last autumn. I continued tlie same system this summer that I did with my 

 plants in 1H72, with perfect success. Others, who procnreil plants from me and have 

 followed the directions, havii also sncc<!ede(l, and it now only refpiires enterprise to 

 make this State the grazing State of tiie Union ; for tlie success of the grass I con- 

 sider established beyond a doubt. The land I used was tiie poorest, worn-out piuo 

 land ; too poor even to grow sweet-potatoes. I had the grass S feet high in some places, 

 and I cut some of it three times during the summer. 



He adds, in ji ])o.st.scri[)t : 



In planting from roots, the t.ips should be cut off bidbn; planting; and do uol plant 

 llic roots Htraif/lil, but in a slanting position, almost lying down. Do not plant deep ; 

 about four inches of the stem should be out of the grouml. 



A letter on the same subject has been received from Mr. Adams, of 

 Jack.sonviHe, Fhi., to whom a small quantity of seed, received from 

 Jamaica, had been sent by the Department for experimtmt. Jfe sowed 

 the seed in rather poor, Ijo-ht land, slightly manured. It ;^rew rapidly 

 and .steadily, even luxuriantly, "aiul has at the height of two feet 

 (December 11) been cut three or four times during- the soa.son, and is 

 now tiourishing finely." Mr. A. continues : 



It does not "plant" or spread from the root during the iirst season as mucii as I had 

 expected, slK)wijig that proliably the liest way to start a field is by broadcast or drill 

 sowing. JJut as to its adaptability to th(! climate and soil of the South, and of Florida 

 especially, (where the greatest agricultural need is confessedly a grass that will bear 

 sun and drought,) I have not a shadow of doniit. In two-thirds of tiie northern Jind 

 southern extent of the State cattlft are raised without any feed or care except grazing 

 at large; yet there is an annual ratio of increase of more than ^Q ]»er cent. So that 

 ■with an available grass to supplement the natural or wild grasses, l-lorida is bound to 

 be an important cattle and stock raising State. 



Experiment >vitii riiiASS. — A package; of grass-seed, LoUum Itali- 

 cum, having heen sent to a gentleman in (Jobb County, Georgia, he con- 

 ceived the idea of an experiment to determine whether cutting early, 

 and not allowing .seed to ripen, would preserve the vitality of the roots. 

 In a former season he had raised grass on a piece of -ground on Avhich 

 sheep were pastured, and gathered twenty-.seven bushels of clean seed 

 from three-fourths of an acre; the steins were three feet high; still, 

 after cutting, all the old roots and the fallen .seed sprouted, but the dry 

 weather and crab-gra.ss together killed both. 



At the time of sowing the, L'dium* I talicum, abov^e mentioned, the .sea- 

 .son was unfavorable on account of the early springing up of the crab- 

 grass, which smothers whatever has not got a good start in advance of 

 it. The planting was on the .'3d of March, on good, high ground, well 

 prepared and manured with Charleston phosphates. A .second applica- 

 tion of pho.sphate was made on the 2d of June. It was first cut June 

 2.'j, to keep down the weeds and crab-grass, when a few seed-stems 

 were in bloom ; a second cutting was ma(}e about seven weeks after — 

 ^veather hot and dry. At the date of writing, November 2\^ there was 

 every hope of the success of tiie experiment, with the help of nitrogenous 

 fertilizing. 



This correspondent thinks that the best cultivated grass for that part 

 of the State, which is of granitic formation, is the orchard, since it 

 stands hot and cold, dry and wet weather, equally well. 



