106 FARMER'S BOOK OF GRASSES 



introduced into France in 1545, and thence into the United 

 States through the Patent Office. 



Among other seeds ordered from a house in New York were 

 a pound each of Hungarian grass and common millet. Each 

 package had a printed slip pasted on, disclaiming all responsi- 

 bility for genuineness ; although I had ordered expressly for 

 the purpose of arriving at the truth by my own personal obser- 

 vations. Not a seed of either germinated. I ordered seeds for 

 the same purpose from a house at Northport, L. I., also. The 

 Italian millet and Hungarian grass prove to be the same, or so 

 nearly so that very few persons seeing a sheaf of each together 

 would be willing to say they are not the same plant. I sowed 

 other samples from other States with like results. Lastly, I 

 sowed six acres with "seeds of German millet from Missouri, a 

 bushel per acre. It was harvested last week. Among it are 

 fine specimens of German millet, equally good of Italian millet, 

 very much better than that from the Northport Italian millet 

 seed. 



There are also specimens of golden millet, Hungarian grass 

 etc., all from the same seed all good. It was planted on 

 broom grass sod during a drought, and had no rain till after 

 ready to mow ; consequently, except on half an acre, the stand 

 was very thin. It pays me, however, very well. Finding I 

 would get too much 'dirt and dust by cutting and raking when 

 it was just in bloom in the right stage to be most valuable for 

 forage I purposed waiting a few days for rain, so as to avoid 

 the dust. When the rain came, it was so copious that the ground 

 became too soft to support either team or machine; so I was 

 forced to delay mowing for two weeks, when part of the seeds 

 were in dough. A small plot an eighth of an acre was seed- 

 ed from the same sample by accident. The plot was poor, part 

 with no soil. This produces a good thick stand, but not a stem 

 of "German" or "Italian millet," according to the standard ; 

 only the poorest possible Hungarian grass. 



Yet I was not disappointed in the result. It simply shows 

 the effect of soil and other influences in producing varieties. 

 By sowing a lot of these seeds from any of the varieties, or 

 whatever called, in two years, by selection of heads and soils, 

 half a dozen distinct .varieties may be established. But on soil 

 of even quality there will be little variation. Any of these va- 

 rieties on good soil should, if the ground be moist, be ready for 

 moving in sixty days from seeding, and produce from two to 

 four tons of hay per acre. It is folly to sow it on poor land. 



For forage it should be cut as soon as it blooms, when of course 

 it is worth nothing for seed bqt most valuable for forage and 

 exhausts the land much less. If left for the seed to mature they 

 are very abundant and rich feed, but the stems are worth- 

 less, while the soil is more damaged. The matured stems are 



