PASTURAGE. 267 



second time, and sent out his field hands, in due time, to 

 hoe and thin out the corn to a stand. They worked indus- 

 triously for several days before he went to view the result 

 of their labor ; when lo ! he beheld his young corn almost 

 entirely cut down and the Johnson grass — " its double" — 

 flourishing in long, thrifty rows! 



Moral : Don't plant corn in Johnson grass (or sorghum) 

 fields, or if you do, thin the corn out yourself. 



This grass matures seed readily, in this respect differing 

 from the Bermuda, while, like the latter, it can also be 

 propagated by roots. The ground should be ];)repared for 

 its reception j ust as for any other grass, plowed thoroughly, 

 pulverized by harrow or cultivator, and busEes and tall 

 weeds kept down for a year or two. 



The seed should be sown broadcast, one bushel — weigh- 

 ing twenty-eight pounds — to the acre, the land being har- 

 rowed after the seed has been scattered. Early in the 

 spring or late in the fall is the proper time to sow it, the 

 latter having the preference. 



Johnson grass is a great grower, yet it impoverishes the 

 land very little if any, deriving a large proportion of its 

 sustenance from air and water. Of course its growth de- 

 pends very much on the quality of the land ; on rich soil 

 it can be cut oftener than on poor, as it springs up more 

 rapidly; if the soil is deep, so much the better, for the 

 roots penetrate to a depth of eighteen inches and are as 

 famous foragers as the * ' bummers " of an army. 



Johnson grass can be cut four or five times in a season, 

 if the latter is- favorable, for it, like the Bermuda, likes 

 moisture, but not to the same extent ; it does not yield as 

 much per acre as the Bermuda, but if the land is moder- 

 ately good and the stand of grass w^hat it should be, nearly 

 a ton of cured hay at a cutting will be the result. It grows 

 from three to ten feet high, according to the quality of the 



