HAWAIIAN GRASS CROPS 409 



and the rotation of crops to preserve the fertility of the soil, and 

 discouraged the use of commercial fertilizers. The programme for 

 the ordinary farmer is as follows : The whole pasture is given a 

 good coating of barnyard manure usually with a manure spreader, 

 thus dropping the manure evenly. This is plowed down and corn 

 planted the next year. Corn is followed by one year of grain, 

 either oats or barley, and the field is seeded to timothy, red clover, 

 Kentucky bluegrass, white clover, in the proportions already men- 

 tioned. The next year hay is cut, depending on circumstances. 

 The field is either left for hay the second year, or is turned into 

 pasture. Ordinarily the farmer runs it two years to hay, and then 

 one year to pasture, depending on the rotation of crops adopted. 

 We have found that by this system we have been able to get very 

 satisfactory crops of grain and hay. Nothing other than the ap- 

 plication of barnyard manure and the change of crops has thus 

 far been done to increase the yield of clover in this state. 



HAWAII. Prof. F. G. Krau.ss, in charge of Rice and Cotton 

 Investigations, Hawaii Experiment Station, Honolulu: Bermuda is 

 a valuable pasture grass, thriving throughout the Hawaiian group. 

 It is very drouth-resistant, spreads rapidly, and is difficult to eradi- 

 cate. It responds wonderfully to irrigation and tillage, is rarely 

 fertilized; but results from cattle droppings in pastures suggest that 

 manuring would pay well. It is rarely used as a soiling crop, but 

 lawn mowings of this grass are commonly fed to family horses and 

 cows with good results. 



Para grass is extensively planted by dairymen throughout Hawaii, 

 and is considered a nutritious feed for both cows and horses. 

 Under irrigation it yields 4 crops in 12 months. The writer has 

 made weighings from fertilized plots averaging 20 tons of green 

 fodder per acre, per single cutting. The crop is planted from 

 cuttings of the mature stems, which are long, close- jointed trailers. 

 Furrows are plowed 18" to 36" apart and the cuttings a foot long 

 set a few inches apart in the furrow, which is then partly filled 

 in and then irrigated. Often yields are obtained when the plants 

 are a year old. Fields require renewing, or at least plowing once 

 in five years or so. It is principally used as a soiling crop and 

 should not be permitted to get too old to avoid woodiness. 



Water grass is a valuable Australian "bunch" grass gradually 

 meeting with the recognition it deserves. Imported seed germinates 



