GROWTH OF JUNE GRASS. 89 



Eastern States, as June Grass. It has been called by 

 some, without much reason, the most valuable of all the 

 grasses in our pastures. It comes into the soil in some 

 parts of the country when left to itself, and grows lux- 

 uriantly and is relished by cattle. Its creeping root is 

 said by some to impoverish the soil. Wherever it is 

 intended for hay it is cut at the time of flowering, as, if 

 the seed is allowed to ripen, more than a fourth part of 

 the crop, according to some, is lost. In its earliness it 

 is equalled by some of the other grasses, and in its 

 nutritive constituents it is surpassed, according to the 

 recent and reliable investigations of Prof. Way, by 

 several other species. After being cut in summer it 

 starts up slowly. Low says, " It is inferior to the 

 rough-stalked meadow grass, and it may be questioned 

 whether it deserves to be reckoned among the superior 

 pasture grasses." 



It produces but one flowering stem in a year, while 

 many of the other grasses continue to shoot up flower- 

 stalks and run to seed through the season. On this 

 account it is recommended highly for lawns, where uni- 

 formity is desired. The produce ordinarily is small, 

 compared with other grasses, but the herbage is fine. 

 It grows well in rather a dry soil, but will grow on a 

 variety of soils, from the dryest knolls to a wet 

 meadow, but does not withstand our severe droughts 

 as well as some other grasses. Its reputation is higher 

 in this country than in England, where it is denied, by 

 many farmers, even a place among the grasses to be 

 recommended for cultivation. It endures the frosts of 

 winter better than many other grasses ; and in Ken- 

 tucky, where it attains the highest perfection as a pas- 

 ture grass, it sometimes continues luxuriant through 

 their mild winters. 



June grass requires at least two or three years to 

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