140 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. 



yard, Duke's county, says : " I prefer seeding down land de- 

 signed for mowing, in April, for the reason tliat if sown in 

 March the ground becomes so compact from the eftccts of heavy 

 rains that tlic seed does not come up well, and if sown in 

 Aiigust or September the grass does not attain that degree of 

 maturity to enable it to withstand the frequent freezing and 

 thawing of the succeeding winter. We usually have but little 

 snow to protect the young grass on this island. The objection 

 to sowing grass seed after English harvest will not probably 

 apply to those places where the winters are less changeable." 



Another says : " I have sown grass seed in the months of 

 March, April, May, August, September and October. On a 

 rich, compact, retentive soil, seed has done well sown in April 

 or May, but I prefer to seed my land of any description in 

 August, or on a light snow in March. My reason is, that when 

 I have seeded my ground in the spring I have sovv^n rye or oats 

 with the grass seed generally ; if not, a crop of weeds would 

 come up and usurp the place of the grasses and choke them 

 out, and a hot and dry July and August would extci-minate 

 what escaped the oats and weeds." 



Thus, the opinions and practice of farmers is divided on this 

 question, each one being influenced in part by the character of 

 his land and his crops. But it will be found that no season is 

 without its exposure to loss, for if we sow in autumn and have 

 an open and severe winter with frequent changes from compara- 

 tively warm and thawing weather to excessive cold, the young- 

 grass will be likely to suffer, while if we sow in spring with 

 some kind of grain, as oats, barley or rye, and have a drought 

 in spring or summer, as we generally do, the grass may be 

 injured and may be entirely killed. No invariable rule for all 

 soils and seasons can be given. But the weigiit of authority 

 seems to fix upon early autumn as the l)est season to sow grass 

 seed ; sowing it alone witliout a grain crop, and the losses from 

 proper seeding down, at that season are probably considerably 

 less, in an average of years, than tliose whicli arise from spring 

 sowing with grain. 



But whatever time may bo chosen for sowing, it is very 

 important that the seed bed should have been thoroughly tilled 

 and properly prepared and manured. But instances have fallen 

 under my immediate observation where land which had become 



