246 PREPARATION OF THE SOIL AND SEEDING. 



they germinate readily, even more quickly than in the spring, 

 but, as the native vegetation fails from the action of frosts, the 

 common grasshoppers collect upon the young grass, doing it 

 serious damage; what remains suffers seriously, and is often 

 quite destroyed by the action of the winter frosts and violent 

 winds of early spring. On the other hand, when the seeding is 

 done very late in the spring, the young and tender plants are 

 consumed by the sun as fast as they appear above the ground. 

 Seed sown any time during the month of April will rarely fail to 

 germinate and make a vigorous growth. However, we cannot 

 advise seeding, as we have before said, until the warm spring 

 rains have set in. "We have sown both alfalfa and orchard grass 

 during the early part of May with uniformly excellent results." 



Mr. Howard, of Georgia, prefers August and early September 

 as the best time for sowing seeds. There is usually sufficient 

 rain at that season to cause the seeds to germinate. The young 

 plants will have time to make sufficient root to stand the severest 

 cold of winter. Clover and lucerne, and several of the grasses, 

 if sown without grain at this season in the South will give a cut- 

 ting in the following spring. Grass seed sown late in the fall is 

 liable to bo winter killed. 



If one could know the nature of the season to follow, he would 

 much prefer to sow grass seeds in a dry day preceding mild, 

 moist weather. It is hardly safe to give fixed rules for the sowing 

 of grass seeds. Where several kinds of seeds are sown, it is well 

 to sow those of equal weight and size together, going over the 

 field again with the heavier sorts. 



An experienced person on a still day will sow small seeds quite 

 evenly by hand, but we now have several kinds of light machines, 

 accompanied with directions for use, which will distribute the 

 seeds more evenly than can bo done by hand. If there is much 

 to be sown, the cost of a good machine will be more than 

 saved by sowing the seeds in a better manner. If evenly dis- 



