MERITS OF MEADOW FESCUE 55 



that they are not often offered by seed dealers and when 

 they are bought the seed may be old and poor or adulter- 

 ated, so that one does not get what one desires. Certain 

 it is that they are well worth a wider field than they now 

 have. As it is, meadow fescue is now prized in eastern 

 Kansas and in parts of Washington and Oregon. In Eu- 

 rope too meadow fescue is one of the highly prized 

 grasses both for pasture and meadow, and is a component 

 part of nearly every mixture. Englishmen nearly always 

 sow grass mixtures, seldom a grass alone. 



Meadow fescue is a perennial growing about 3' high. 

 F. elatior is a taller-growing species or variety. It is 

 commonly called "tall meadow fescue" or "Randall 

 grass" or "evergreen grass." These fescues spread rather 

 slowly from the root, and lack that vigorous suckering 

 habit that belongs to the poas, brome grass and redtop. 

 They endure a long time in suitable soils, once established. 

 It endures dry weather well. It is thus a good grass for 

 regions a little too far west for timothy. It is "nip and 

 tuck" between meadow fescue and brome grass in the es- 

 teem of some western farmers, though brome grass has 

 the advantage of spreading and thickening when one gets 

 a partial stand. These grasses do not yield so much hay 

 as timothy. Practically speaking, I think meadow fes- 

 cue should -be in all meadow mixtures and in most pas- 

 ture mixtures. It associates well with other grasses and 

 endures for a long time in the soil, far longer than tim- 

 othy. 



Quantity of Seed to Sow. The seed of meadow fes- 

 cue weighs 22 pounds to the bushel; of tall fescue 14 

 pounds. If sown alone a bushel of seed would be none 



