The Grasses 293 



As a rule farmers usually find it a matter of economy 



to sow grass seed with some cereal crop, either wheat or 



_ ^ rye, in the fall or oats in the spring. But 



Nurse Crops \ . ,. «. . , 



where immediate effect is wanted, as in the 



case of sowing a permanent pasture, we would prefer to 



sow the grass and clover alone. When grass seed are 



sown with a cereal crop we would, of course, add some 



red clover in the. spring as a means for benefiting the land, 



and making a better hay for homed cattle. 



Where grass seed are sown alone, they are better sown 

 in the autumn than in the spring, and the soil should have 

 the most thorough preparation. After sowing, if the soil 

 is quite dry, a smoothing harrow should be run over the 

 seeding and then rolled, but the rolHng should be omitted 

 if the soil is moist, and on hilly land that is inchned to 

 wash, we would never use the roller, for there will always 

 be left unpressed spots that will gather the water and 

 wash in rain storms. 



Permanent pastures are too often neglected and weeds 

 and briars allowed to grow. The mowing machine is a 

 useful implement for keeping the pasture in order by 

 keeping all wild growth cut off before seed are formed. 

 Then too, the fertihty of the soil must be kept up, for, 

 especially when young animals are pastured, they rapidly 

 exhaust the phosphates in the soil. It will be found 

 profitable to give the pasture an annual dressing of 300 

 pounds of raw bone meal and twenty-five pounds of 

 muriate of potash per acre, and to scatter the droppings 

 with the drag harrow from time to time. In this way the 

 product of grass can be kept up and even greatly increased. 



In some parts of the country the broom sedge soon makes 



