*) MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



America not so very productive. Carman reported a 

 yield of 2.24 tons to the acre for Italian rye grass and 

 2.32 tons for perennial rye grass. This is not encourag- 

 ing when smooth brome grass made 3.04 tons, orchard 

 grass 3.6 tons, and timothy, 3.68 tons. 



Tall Oatgrass. According to Hunt, tall oatgrass 

 (Arrhenatherum claims) is closely related to the common 

 cultivated oat, and also to the common wild oatgrass 

 (Danthonia spicata), which forms a portion of the herb- 

 age of permanent pastures and meado\vs on the poorer 

 soils of the North Atlantic states. The tall oatgrass is 

 a fibrous-rooted, erect, tall grass growing on suitable 

 soil 3' to 5' high, with a long open panicle bearing two- 

 flowered spikelets. It yields an abundance of coarse 

 forage, and will grow on rather sandy soils where other 

 grasses do not thrive so well ; but in the United States its 

 lack of palatability has prevented its extensive cultiva- 

 tion. It is known in France as ray grass, where, as in 

 other parts of Europe, it is highly prized. The seed is 

 principally imported, but it can be easily harvested. It 

 may be bound, cured in shocks, and threshed as in case 

 of common oats. 



Quantity of Seed to Sow. There are 1 50,000 seeds to 

 the pound. About 50 pounds of seed with a germinating 

 power of 70 per cent are required to sow an acre. Gar- 

 man reports a weight of dry hay of 4.08 tons per acre. 

 He also says : 



"Among from 40 to 50 forage plants kept growing on 

 the Kentucky Experiment Farm for a number of years, 

 tall oatgrass has always, winter and summer, been one 

 of the finest in appearance, In the matter of hardiness 



