272 ALFALFA FARMING IN AMERICA. 



untouched if brome grass is available. For that rea- 

 son it does not thrive when sown in mixed pastures 

 with other grasses. So far as I know there is no 

 other grass that animals will eat as readily as they 

 will brome grass. 



Seed of brome grass is often seriously adulter- 

 ated and of low germinating quality. Fresh seed 

 grows well. Seed may be grown in any northern or 

 middle state; it seeds right heavily. The usual 

 sources of good seed are the Dakotas. Brome grass 

 seed ought to be sown in the spring. To get it in 

 an alfalfa pasture one can either sow with the alfalfa 

 if that is spring sown, or he can harrow the fall sown 

 alfalfa in April or earlier and sow the brome seed 

 then. If it is a thin stand at first no matter ; it will 

 presently thicken up. It must be sown by hand, 

 broadcast. Twenty pounds of seed is enough for 

 an acre when used as a partner with alfalfa. 



Brome Grass as a Pasture Grass. After alfalfa 

 and brome grass have grown together for some 

 years there will remain little else than brome grass. 

 Ultimately the yield of forage will be much de- 

 creased because of depletion of soil nitrogen. Then 

 it may be disked vigorously in the spring and more 

 alfalfa seed, or seed of one of the clovers sown in, 

 with a liberal application of phosphorus. The re- 

 sult will be to quadruple the yield of forage. This 

 grass is destined to come into wide use on the better 

 soils of the eastern part of the United States. It 

 is an efficient soil binder and stops erosion. It is a 

 little hard to get out of soils but not especially so. 



