310 GRASSES OF IOWA. 



mologists like Osborn*, Cookf, Howard and many others. 

 Attention has been called to fungus enemies in another connec- 

 tion. Weeds are also important in destroying the sod, but 

 these come in because of the injury to the sod and overstock- 

 ing of the pasture. If the pasture is overstocked the better 

 grasses cannot maintain themselves. This is particularly true 

 of the native prairie pastures where some species stand graz- 

 ing much better than others. Bushy blue stem of pastures 

 does not stand grazing well, and consequently soon give way to 

 weeds or more worthless annual grasses. Squirrel-tail grass 

 is frequent in the best blue grass meadows in this state and 

 farmers frequently complain that this grass is running this fine 

 pasture grass out. Only one thing can be done for this and 

 other annual weeds and that is to cut them oft" before they 

 flower. Professor WilliamsJ in a paper on this subject states 

 that "An experiment made at the Kansas Station in 1892 shows 

 what a thorough stirring up of the soil will do for an upland 

 prairie pasture. The experiment was made on a pasture in 

 which the grasses had been dying out for some time and the 

 weeds were beginning to appear in abundance. It had been 

 reduced to this condition by drouth and overpasturing. The 

 surface was thoroughly loosened up by driving a weighted disc 

 harrow over the field in several directions. The pasture was 

 sown to a mixture of orchard grass, meadow fescue, blue 

 grass, timothy, red top, clover, and alfalfa, which was har- 

 rowed in and a roller was driven over the field to level the s\ r- 

 face and firm the ground. The seed germinated quickly and 

 the tame grasses made an excellent start, but by September 

 the wild grasses had crowded them out and held complete pos- 

 session of the field. In this case the stirring of the soil and 

 the season's rest not only enabled the prairie grasses to reco^ vr 

 and to overcome the weeds, but to crowd out a good stand of 

 tame grasses as well." 



In this state the blue grass comes in naturally in wild mead- 

 ows and pastures, especially in pastures. Many farmers have 

 succeeded in starting cultivated grasses in native sod by sow 

 ing blue grass, timothy and clover on the sod by thoroughly 

 stirring the soil. 



*Bull. Iowa Agrl. Exp. Sta. 13:95. Osborn has publlslied numerous papers on tli is 

 subject. 



+The Enemies of Grasses and Clovers In Beal. Grasses of N. Am. 1 ;369 (Ed. 2). 



*The Renewing of Worn out Native Prairie Pastures. Clrc. U. S. Dept. Agrl. Div 

 of Agrost. 4: See Georgeson, Burtis and Otis. Renovating a prairie pasture. Bull 

 Kansas Agrl. Exp. Sta. 48:43. 



