62 MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



and productiveness it has no equal on the farm. It 

 stands drouth better than timothy. It has not been af- 

 fected by the severest cold weather we have had during 

 the past six years. It grows rapidly on poor soil. When 

 fully grown about the middle of June it is often 5' in 

 height, with a panicle somewhat like that of oats, and 

 inclined to droop a little, but not so coarse. After flower- 

 ing it soon becomes rather woody and should on this 

 account be cut promptly before the panicles mature. Af- 

 ter cutting, a new growth of blades appears, that might 

 furnish either pasture or hay. The experience of Amer- 

 ican farmers who have tried this grass is in its favor, but 

 British farmers say it is bitter and unfit for either hay 

 or pasture. It is at least worthy of trial in Kentucky." 

 Johnson Grass. Johnson grass is a sorghum, ,S. hala- 

 pense. It masquerades under a good many names, as 

 Means' grass, Arabian millet, Egyptian millet, Syrian 

 grass and others. It comes from the Orient. In 1835 

 Gov. Means of South Carolina obtained seed from Tur- 

 key. A few years later William Johnson of Alabama 

 began praising it and distributing the seed. Had he 

 but known its future he would have been very slow to 

 spread its seed. It is a coarse grass, with thick stems, 

 usually about 3' to 6' tall. It has a head somewhat like 

 broom corn, though much smaller, with sorghum-like 

 seeds. The rootstocks are large, often Y^' in diameter; 

 creeping and branching, they have a way of ramifying 

 all through the soil and each joint can produce a new 

 plant. It is a terrific weed when once it gets into a 

 cultivated field. A prodigious amount of labor may fail 

 to exterminate it once it is established. At the same 



