9 8 



THE FORAGE AND FIBER CROPS IN AMERICA 



seed sparingly in the United States, except in the extreme 

 southern portion. 



102. Seed. The seed is imported and apparently unreliable. 

 There are 1,800,000 seeds to the pound. On the Potomac Flats 

 at Washington, D. C., a dense sod was obtained in ten weeks 

 by seeding on June 6 with 20 pounds of seed per acre. 1 It is 

 believed eight pounds of seed per acre are sufficient to secure a 

 fair stand. Spillman states, however, that for Bermuda grass 

 seed "to germinate, the conditions must be exactly ideal." It is 

 usually propagated by cutting up the sods, sowing the pieces 

 broadcast, and plowing in or planting in rows or hills like 

 potatoes. In fact, any method of distributing and covering the 



pieces of stems will suffice. 

 Seeding may be done at any 

 time except when there is 

 danger of freezing. Spring 

 is to be preferred. 



103. Adaptation. Ber- 

 muda grass is a tropical plant, 

 and has no agricultural value 

 north of the thirty-seventh 

 parallel. South of the thirty- 

 fifth parallel it is a valuable 

 grass both for hay, pasture, 

 and lawns, as well as for the 

 prevention of the erosion of 

 the soil. It stands the hot- 

 test weather and severe 

 drought, making its best growth in the summer months. It 

 does not thrive in the shade. It starts late in the spring, 

 and in the fall the tops are easily killed by frost. In order to 

 secure pasture throughout the year in the Gulf states, attempts 



Velvet grass taken at Cornell Station June 

 14. Plant grown from a single seed is 21 

 months old. In full bloom. Highest culms 

 22 inches; clump 20 inches wide. 



1 U. S. Dept. Agr., Div. Agros. Circ. No. 28, p. 4 



