CRAB GRASS. 261 



Distribution. — Crab grass is said to be native to the 

 South and also introduced from the ohl workl. It cer- 

 tainly rinds a very congenial home in the South. It 

 grows in all the states thereof from Virginia to Texas. 

 Xorth of the Ohio river it is but little known. Above 

 that line it is not grown to provide hay or grazing. 



So its. — Crab grass ^grows most luxuriantly in good 

 soils. The richer the soil the more luxuriantly will it 

 grow, but it will grow reasonably Avell in any soil that 

 will produce crops of grain, corn, tobacco or cotton. 



Place in the Rotation. — This arass beine; at the same 

 time a weed is not grown in any regular rotation. 

 When used for hay and pasture, such utilization is sim- 

 ply making the best of an intruder, which grows as it 

 were spontaneously in the cultivated lields. It may 

 also be utilized in putting humus in the soil bv plough- 

 ing it under in the autumn. This of course ought to be 

 done before it matures seed. 



Preparing the Soil. — Since the seed of this grass is 

 seldom or never sown, of course no i)reparation of the 

 soil is necessarv. Xevertheless when it is desired to o'et 

 grazing from it as early as possible, land in which the 

 seeds are present, if ploughed in May, harrowed and 

 rolled, will soon be covered with a luxuriant gro^vth. 

 Two mowings may be obtained from land treated thus. 



Sowing. — Since the crop grows s}>ontaneously it is 

 seldom or never sown. In fact it would not seem wise 

 to sow a plant which is troublesome to destroy. The 

 aim should rather be to get rid of it. The seeds will 

 live Ions; in the soil — how lono- is not known. 



Pasturing. — This grass furnishes excellent grazing 



