82 FAKMJEK'S BOOK OF GRASSES 



the narrower. It is the mingled tints of these stripes that give 

 the peculiar shade to this grass. 



Velvet grass may be readily propagated by sowing the seed 

 or by dividing and setting the roots ; and it will grow on almost 

 any land however poor. It luxuriates in moist peaty lands, but 

 will grow on poor sandy or clay hill lands and produce remuner- 

 ative crops where few other plants will make any thing. It has 

 been cultivated in North Carolina on such land and, after cut- 

 ting and allowed to grow again, plowed under with so much ad- 

 vantage that other crops were subsequently produced. Hon. H. 

 W. L. Lewis of Louisiana has cultivated this grass many years 

 with great satisfaction. He tried it various ways. One, which 

 he approves, is to prepare the ground well and sow turnips in 

 rows two and a half feet apart in July or August. When up 

 thin to six or eight inches, cultivate once or twice and sow the 

 grass seed broadcast and brush in. Little or nothing is seen of 

 the grass till the turnip crop is taken off; then the first warm 

 days in January and February give the grass a rapid growth. 

 From that time a part is cut daily for the cattle and work hor- 

 ses, one acre affording an abundant daily feed for six horses till 

 oats are ready to cut. Then, ceasing to cut, it matures five or 

 six bushels of seed. 



According to Way's analysis 100 parts of velvet grass dried 

 at 212 F. yielded : albuminoids 11.52, fatty matters 3.56, heat- 

 ing principles 39.25, woody fibre 39.30, ash 6.37 ; showing that 

 in flesh and fat forming principles it surpasses timothy skghtly, 

 though not equaling it in heat producers. Yet some of our 

 northern as well as English farmers tell us it is an inferior grass, 

 not relished by cattle etc. This cannot be because of any lack 

 in quantity of nutritive matters as shown by Way's analysis. 

 This will be still further manifest by considering Sinclair's Wo- 

 burn experiments. Let us use one of the best, orchard grass, 

 for the comparison. Cut in bloom from rich sandy soil it yield- 

 ed green per acre, 27,905 pounds which dried gave 11,859 

 pounds, containing 1,089 pounds nutritive matters. Velvet 

 grass, cut in bloom from stiff clay loam, yielded 19,057 pounds, 

 which dried gave 6,661 pounds, containing 1,191 pounds nu- 

 tritive matter. Of the orchard grass 64 drams gave 122 grains 

 nutritive matter, while 64 drams of velvet grass gave 240 grains 

 nutritive matter. The advantage seems to be all the way 

 through in favor of velvet grass. 



The reason then why cattle do not prefer it, is not because of 

 its deficiency in nutrition, but of its combination. It is deficient 

 simply in saline and bitter extractive matters, which cattle rel- 

 ish in grasses. 



It is by no means the best of our grasses ; but best for some 

 lands and on such lands more profitable than other grasses. 

 Other grasses are more profitable to me. 



