GRASS AND HAY 31 



acid; muriate of potash, 50 per cent potash. The use of lime was 

 found not to increase the yield of timothy. On the other hand, 

 timothy does not thrive on sour or acid soils until the acidity is cor- 

 rected by the use of lime or wood ashes. This fact has been clearly 

 demonstrated in Rhode Island. (Cornell B. 261.) 



RED TOP. 



This grass (Agrostis alba-vulgaris) is one of the most valuable 

 to all husbandmen, both in Canada and the United States. It is a 

 native, ranging across the northern portion of the continent, growing 

 naturally in cold, wet soils. In cultivation it is the standard grass 

 to grow in similar situations. There are a great number of forms 

 or varieties which differ in height, leafage, and the manner of 

 growth, so that great variability may be expected. Opinions differ 

 widely in regard to its value, because of this diversity of forms. It 

 is a perennial, provided with long creeping stems and underground 

 runners, and is one of the best bottom grasses, bearing large numbers 

 of fine root leaves. Because of this and its creeping habit of growth, 

 it is one of the best grasses to use in mixtures with erect tufted species, 

 euch as orchard grass and timothy, filling in between the clumps and 

 producing a continuous turf. The weight of the seed varies accord- 

 ing to the quality, from 8 to 30 pounds to the bushel, averaging 

 perhaps not more than 10 or 12. Mixtures of red top and alsike 

 clover are largely used for low, wet meadow lands and pastures. The 

 creeping habit of this grass makes it less liable to injury from 

 trampling by stock than is the case with the tufted, bunchy grasses. 

 (U. S. Dept. Agr. F. B. 66.) 



Many writers of the early part of this century do not speak fa- 

 vorably of Agrostis alba as a forage plant, although its cultivation 

 began in 1761. Stebler and Schroter state that it was introduced 

 into Ireland about the beginning of this century; Dr. Richardson 

 pointed out its merit, and on his recommendation it came to be ex- 

 tensively cultivated in Great Britain. The cultivation of Fiorin com- 

 menced on the continent about 1840, where it was held in high es- 

 teem. Jessen, 1863, praises its qualities as a forage plant in Ger- 

 many, but says it is difficult to harvest. In this country it has been 

 cultivated for a long time. Flint says : "It was called simply Eng- 

 lish grass by Eliot, Dean and other early writers, and by the English, 

 fine bent. Most of the grasses of this genus are known in England 

 under the name of 'Bent Grass,' of which there are many species." 

 Red top is a very variable species ; there are included under it a num- 

 ber of well marked and distinct varieties, some of which have re- 

 ceived distinct names. 



It is sometimes though improperly called Herd's grass and has 

 long been known to the farmers, and in its several forms is deemed 

 valuable for permanent meadows and pastures, where the land is not 

 too dry. On good soil it yields well and makes excellent hay. Some of 

 the forms employed alone make, under favorable circumstances, the 

 softest and finest turfs for lawns. Red top in this country is often 

 gown on marshes too wet for some of the better grasses. It is not well 



