PREPARING TO SEED BLUEGRASS 87 



and once it is set it makes far better pasture than tim- 

 othy, more and better pasture. Indeed, it is possible that 

 it may make better pasture than the bluegrass itself ; that 

 is a point yet to be determined. In time on bluegrass 

 soil the brome -will disappear almost completely, this 

 because the animals eat it soonest and because the blue- 

 grass though a smaller grass has a. way of crowding in 

 very closely, so that even the vigorous brome grass is 

 outdone. In any event, in sowing a mixture with brome 

 grass one is assured of good pasturage almost from 

 the outset. The one objection to the mixture is that 

 sometimes one buys seed of quack grass with brome grass, 

 but this is no evil if one is to devote the field to permanent 

 pasture. In truth, quack grass (Agropyrum repens) is 

 one of the very best grasses for pasture. Nor is it very 

 hard to conquer except in northern and ultra-moist lo- 

 calities. I do not find it a particularly troublesome weed 

 in central Ohio, while in Michigan, Wisconsin and New 

 York farmers dread it exceedingly. 



Coming now to seeding bluegrass with brome grass, I 

 suggest early spring as the best time. The land is well 

 to be plowed during winter or else disked up with no 

 plowing at all. Manure will help; use it as liberally 

 as you can. I should sow then 20 pounds of bluegrass, 

 10 pounds of brome grass and a mixture of clovers ac- 

 cording to the soil. Sow with it also 5 pounds of tim- 

 othy if you like; it will help thicken the sod at first. Do 

 not mix orchard grass with this seed as it does not give 

 brome grass a fair show ; animals relish the brome grass 

 too well to eat orchard grass while it is to be had. 



