PERENNIAL GRASSES OF MINOR IMPORTANCE 233 



Velvet-grass should perhaps never be intentionally sown, 

 and at any rate merely as an admixture with other grasses. 



Commercial seed is produced mainly in Denmark, and 

 this averages about 63 per cent in purity and 84 per cent 

 in germination. New Zealand seed is somewhat betterf 

 The yield in Germany is given by Werner as about 90 

 pounds to the acre, and as the price is very low, the 

 financial return is small. European writers recommend 

 20 pounds of seed per acre, if sown pure. 



It is sometimes desirable to eradicate velvet-grass so as 

 to plant the land to more valuable grasses. To do this 

 the grass must be cut before the seed is ripe, generally 

 June 10 to 20. About July 1 give the field a thorough 

 but shallow disking. Repeat the shallow disking every 

 week until August 1, and then treat with a spring-tooth 

 harrow and disk again. The shallow cultivation during 

 the driest weather will kill the roots and leave the ground 

 with a very fine mulch on top and plenty of moisture in 

 the subsoil. The land may then be reseeded to clover 

 or planted to any other crop desired. 



ERECT BROME (Bromus erectus) 



275. Erect brome, upright brome or meadow brome is 

 a perennial species that has long been cultivated in southern 

 France and in recent years in other countries. The grass 

 is native to much of temperate Europe and Asia and 

 Algeria. It is especially adapted to dry calcareous soils 

 that are too shallow for sainfoin, and on such soils is said 

 to give better results than any other grass, either for 

 pasture or for hay. It bears the same relation to poor, 

 dry, chalky soils that sheep's fescue does to poor sandy 

 soils. On good land it has no place, as other grasses 

 produce larger and better crops. 



