BERMUDA GRASS. 127 



Soon after tliey liaVe reached that stage the upper por- 

 tion dies and the leaves below fall off. The tedder 

 shoidd follow when necessary as soon as the crop is 

 wilted, to secure evenness in the curing of a gTass so 

 fine, and as soon as ready, frequently the same day that 

 it is mowed, it should be put up into cocks and remain 

 in these until cured. In handling the hay, a fork with 

 many tines should be used, because of the fineness o± 

 the hay. 



The number of cuttings in the season will depend 

 upon the soil and weather. These run all the Avay from 

 1 to 5 and the yields also vary accordingly. They run 

 all the way from half a ton to 2 tons per cutting. The 

 hay per season ordinarily runs from 1 to 5 tons. By 

 using nitrate of soda 10 tons have been reaped and in 

 one instance recorded as many as 13 tons per acre were 

 readied in one year. The more frequent the cuttings, the 

 cleaner is the hay likely to be. 



Securing Seed. — Bermuda grass produces little or no 

 seeds in the southern states, hence nothing can be said in 

 the meantime about growing it for seed in the same. 

 The seed in the market is grown in a still warmer cli- 

 mate than that of the southern states. Since the grass 

 will soon be grown in so many centers that it will not be 

 difficult to obtain portions of the sod for planting, the 

 question of seed production would not seem to be one 

 of great imjwrtance in the United States. In view of 

 the fact that a stand of the grass can be more quickly 

 obtained from ro<3t cuttings than from seed, and of 

 the further fact that on some soils some difficulty at- 

 tends its eradication, it would seem to be on the whole 



