GRASSES FOR PASTURAGE. 191 



species might be mentioned as worthy of cultivation 

 for tills purpose in particular localities, or when the hay 

 is to he applied to some particular use,- hut the above are 

 the most valuable. 



665. Among the species more particularly fitted to 

 form pasturage, are meadow foxtail, orchard grass, sweet 

 scented vernal, June grass, redtop, meadow fescue, and 

 yellow oat grass. 



666. In selecting the species to be sown, the time of 

 flowering of each species should be regarded. When 

 seeds of different grasses are mixed for mowing land, 

 such kinds should be chosen that all will come into flower 

 at about the same time, otherwise one species will have 

 begun to spoil before another is ready for cutting. 



667. In laying down pasture land 011 the contrary, the 

 object is quite different. Here we wish a constant 

 succession of green and succulent herbage from early 

 spring to late autumn. Hence some species may be 

 valuable not for their nutritive qualities, but from their 

 habit of very early or late growth. The sweet scented 

 vernal, one of our earliest grasses, is an instance of this. 



668. The grasses attain their utmost luxuriance only in 

 a moist and mild climate. Severe heats and long pro 

 tracted droughts check their growth and make it very 

 difficult to form a close sward. Generally speaking, our 

 grasses suffer much more from the droughts of summer 

 than the colds of winter. It should be added that grasses 

 grown in a dry climate, or a dry season, contain more 

 nutriment in proportion to their weight. 



669. The best time for sowing the natural grasses, in 

 the latitude of the northern States, is about the first of 

 September, since they can then become strongly rooted 

 before the approach of winter. The practice of sowing 



17* 



