GRA 



GRA 



173 



tumn, another in April, harrowing ; 

 fine, and a third the beginning of 

 May, and then if the weather be 

 mild and warm sow, if the ground 

 be in perfect tilth, otherwise give 

 it another ploughing. 



When Incerne turns yellow it 

 shonid be mowed, and the plants 

 will come up free from the disor- 

 der. 



6. Guinea Grass^ Panicum Maxi- 

 mum. This plant was first discov- 

 ered on thecoast of Guinea, whence 

 it was brought to Jamaica. 



'• We will give the reader the 

 account which Mr. Oglesby, of 

 K'Nifucky, gives of its product in 

 Wilkinson County in the State of 

 Mississippi ; and from this, and 

 from the certificates of others, it 

 will be seen, that it must become 

 productive of immense advantage 

 to the soulheru part of our territo- 

 ry, and perhaps to every part of 

 our country. 



" I have (says Mr. Oglesby) been 

 accustomed to both timothy and 

 clover meadows, and have frequent- j 

 ly assisted in cutting some of the 

 best in the State of Kentucky. At \ 

 Percytield, near Fort Adams, I cul- 

 tivated a lot of Guinea-grass,some- 

 what less than a quarter of an acre ; 

 from which I fed six or eight hor- 

 ses, during the summer of 1812. I 

 planted it in the second week in 

 May, and began to cut it the 20th 

 of June, and cut it five times before 

 the 15th of October, and obtained 

 from each plant (which occupied 

 a square yard) about sixty pounds 

 of green grass. 



I have frequently observed it to 

 grow four inches in twenty. four 

 hours. From the astonishing 



growth, and from the result of all 

 my experiments, I have no hesita- 

 tion in saying, that it will yield ten 

 times as much as any timothy or 

 clover meadow 1 have ever seen." 

 Farmer^s Assistmd. 



7. Fiorin Grass. {Agrostis Sto- 

 lonifera,) called likewise Bent 

 Grass. This grass has been said 

 to be a native of Ireland, but it has 

 likewise been found growing spon- 

 taneously in this country. In the 

 Orchestron meadow in England, it 

 has yielded nine tons to the acre 

 in a season. Sheep, neat cattle 

 and horses are extremely fond of 

 it. Given to cows, it increases the 

 quantity and improves the quality 

 of milk. 



The method commonly practi- 

 sed in Ireland, for rearing it, is to 

 cut the strings in short pieces, strew 

 them evenly over the ground, and 

 cover them with suitable earth, or 

 with compost, as the nature of (he 

 ground may require. They are to 

 be kept clear of weeds till the 

 young growth has taken possession 

 of the soil ; when it will cover the 

 ground to the exclusion of every 

 other plant. 



It delights in a wet soil, and 

 thrives in boggy lands, and covers 

 them with so tough a sward that 

 teams may go on them. 



The author of the analysis of 

 grasses. appended to Sir Humphrey 

 Davy's Agricultural Chemistry, ob- 

 serves of this grass, that ■•' From a 

 careful examination it will doubt- 

 less appear to possess merits well 

 worthy of attention,though perhaps 

 not so great as has been supposed, 

 if the natural place of its growth 

 and habits be impartially taken in- 



