92 GRASSES AND HOW TO GROW THEM. 



less power to gather plant food in the soil. Fertilizers 

 that are suitable for timothy will also be suitable for 

 blue grass. (See page 72.) The method of fertiliz- 

 ing the pastures by top dressing them, would seem to 

 be preferred to that which fertilizes the land on which 

 the seed is to be sown, as the young plants grow too slow- 

 ly to make the best use possible of the fertility thus ap- 

 plied. But lands that are well filled with vegetable 

 matter are much more favorable to the growth of the 

 young plants than land in which the same is deficient. 



Sowing. In northern areas it is more common to 

 sow blue grass in the spring than in the autumn, and 

 probably for the reason chiefly, that it is more conven- 

 ient to sow it then, especially when sown as it usually 

 is in the north, along with other grass mixtures. But 

 it may in some instances be sown with much advantage 

 in these areas in the fall. In fact it is possible to sow 

 it successfully under some conditions during almost any 

 part of the season of growth. When sown in the spring, 

 the earlier that it is sown the more successfully it is 

 likely to grow. When sown in the autumn, the sooner 

 that it is put into the ground after moisture comes, the 

 more certain is the stand likely to be. In the states 

 of the middle south as for instance, Kentucky, where 

 probably this grass grows at its best, it is commonly 

 sown in the autumn, especially when sown by itself to 

 provide permanent pasture. 



Nature teaches an important lesson with reference 

 to the sowing of this grass. Where not grazed too close- 

 ly it sows a crop of seed every year. The seed matures 



