496 GRASSES OP^ IOWA. 



and irregular. Under the most favorable conditions it is diffi- 

 cult to procure absolute uniformity in color, for there is likely 

 to be a variation in the shade of tint between individuals of the 

 same species. 



"Uniformi'"iy of texture is impossible where two or more 

 varieties of grasses are sown; no two species possess exactly 

 the same degree of tinness, and even individual plants or 

 strains of the same species are apt to vary in this particular. 



"The mixing of creeping bent with Kentucky » lue grass is 

 like mixing the good with the bad, and such a combination has 

 a real disadvantage, which is particularly manifest in the later 

 autumn months when the distinctive coloring of the two grasses 

 is especially pronounced. The lawn composed of these two 

 species is then almost unsightly because of its decided mottled 

 appearance; the dark green of the blue grass stands out in 

 striking contrast with the paler color of the creeping bent. 

 For the same reason w^hite clover should never be sown with 

 the bent grasses. 



The Amount of Seed Used per Acre. — "The amount of seed to 

 be u^ed will d«^pend somewhat on the character of the soil, but 

 more particular y upon the quality and kind of sef d used. 

 The seed, of course, should be sown much more thickly than 

 for hay production, and allowance has to be made for the 

 thoroughness with which the seed has been cleaned from chaff. 

 Rhode Island bent and creeping bent are both likely to con- 

 tain a large amount of chaff and imperfect seeds, and the 

 quality of seed sown should b^ sufficient to make allowance for 

 this. Under the new methods of cleaning seeds of Kentucky 

 blue grass, the chaff is almost entirely removed, but in the case 

 of this grass there is often a lack of vitality, or germinaiing 

 power, and it is always bsst to use a liberal quantity in seed- 

 ing down a lawn. 



"Mr. William Doogue, superintendent of public grounds, 

 Bosto-^, sows four bushels of Kentucky blue grass and red top, 

 mixed in equal parts, to which about six pounds of white clo- 

 ver have been added, to the acre, or one peck to 300 square 

 yards. Owing to the great variation in the weight per bushel 

 of grass seeds of the same kind (due to the presence of more 

 or less chaff), it is best to base the amount upon weight rather 

 than measure, and from fifty to sixty pounds of seed of fine 

 quality is not too much to use upon an acre of ground, or one 

 and one-half pounds to 100 square yards. Poor land requires 



