27 



of stems may ho. produced. In other words, these grasses 

 stool freely. As a consequence of the stooling habit, many 

 of them ultimately form tufts which make the surface quite 

 uneven. Between the tufts formed by the individual plants 

 there may be spaces w^hich are relatively bare. Orchard 

 grass and sheep's fescue are prominent representatives of 

 grasses having this habit, while the common timothy, tall oat 

 grass, yellow oat grass and the rye grasses are less likely to 

 form tufts, but propagate themselves only by stooling or 

 from seed. Most of the non-sod-forming grasses are rather 

 likely to be crowded out of permanent mowings by the sod- 

 formers, which have an advantage in the struggle for exist- 

 ence. 



Some of the Moke Important Grasses described. 



Tim othy. — This variety is so well known that it seems 

 almost unnecessary to describe it, but some of the principal 

 reasons why it is a favorite and a statement of a few of its 

 peculiarities may be of interest. Timothy is a large, mod- 

 erately coarse grass, producing relatively little leaf and a 

 large proportion of stem. The hay made from it is compar- 

 atively coarse and strawy, but the character of its growth is 

 such that it may be readily cured. The hay is, therefore, 

 perhaps more certain to be free from dust than that from most 

 grasses. It is therefore looked upon as the standard of ex- 

 cellence, and usually sells for a higher price than any other 

 hay in our markets. 



Timothy requires a deep, retentive loam for its best growth. 

 On such loams, with liberal top-dressing either with manures 

 or fertilizers supplying ainindance of nitrogen, it may prove 

 quite persistent ; but on the lighter soils and under less gen- 

 erous treatment timothy is likely to give way to inferior 

 species within a comparatively short time. Just at the sur- 

 face of the ground on a timothy plant which is mature will 

 be found a consideral)le number of pointed and rather small 

 solid bullis. If these be fed off, or if the mowings be too 

 much trampled by heavy animals, which doubtless crushes 

 and bruises the bulbs to a considerable extent, the timothy 



