GEASSES. 213 



tested they have not been much used and do not 

 seem adapted to our agricultural conditions. They 

 make an abundant growth the same season the seed is 

 sown, and are good varieties to sow where this is de- 

 sirable. Tha yields the succeeding seasons are apt to 

 be poor, as the plants do not seem to be 

 permanent in this country. 



Sixty pounds of seed per acre are re- 

 quired. The seed should be sown very 

 much like oats, only perhaps not as deeply 

 covered, and should not be sown with a 

 grain crop. Where it is desirable to get 

 a piece of land into pasture at once it 

 might be advisable to sow permanent rye 

 grass in place of the grain crop, sowing 

 also the other desired grasses. 



Tall Meadow Oat Grass (Ar- 

 rhenatherum avenaceum Beauv) is one 

 of the earliest grasses to start in the 

 spring. It is a tall growing grass. It 

 may grow five feet high. 



The stems are rather coarse and appear 

 woody. It will produce a large yield of 

 hay. There is considerable difference of 

 opinion as to its quality, but. the weight 

 of evidence seems to be that it is of poor 

 quality. The hay is apt to be bitter, 



Beal states that he has raised this grass ' (After Vasey.) 

 on rather light sandy soil at Lansing, Michigan, for 

 twelve or more years and thinks that the reason for the 

 conflicting opinion is, that it is adapted to the hotter, 

 drier climates, while the finer succulent grasses thrive 

 better in a moist climate such as England. Sutton 



