386 GRASSES AND HOW TO GROW THEM. 



for has been grown on the land or, what would proba- 

 bly be better, after two crops have been grown in suc- 

 cession on the same. If these pastures are not laid 

 down on clean land, their subsequent value will be great- 

 ly lessened and the labor of caring for them will be 

 greatly increased. There may also be instances when 

 these grasses may be made to follow a crop of Canada 

 field peas or of cow peas, the latter having been culti- 

 vated while growing. One objection to sowing the 

 crop on corn land is found in the corn roots which in- 

 terfere somewhat with the proper covering of the seed. 

 It is a great mistake to sow grasses for permanent 

 pastures on land low in fertility. They will not start 

 vigorously on such land and no subsequent fertilizing 

 will secure as good growth in the plants as -if they had 

 been given a good start at the first. If farm yard ma- 

 nure is used as a fertilizer, it should be applied a year 

 in advance, unless it is known to possess but few weed 

 seeds. Fertility, applied by ploughing in^a nitrogen 

 gathering crop is usually very effective in promoting 

 growth in the young grasses, since these in addition 

 to supplying plant food act favorably on the mechan- 

 ical and chemical condition of the land, but where it 

 is necessary commercial fertilizers may be applied. 

 Those of course should be used such as the weeds of 

 the land require in each particular locality and they 

 ought to be incorporated with the soil near the surface 

 a short time before the seed is sown or applied when it 

 is sown or subsequently. As a rule, the phosphoric acid 

 and potash are applied previous to or at the time of 

 sowing the seed, and the nitrogen a little later ; but they 



