350 THE PRINCIPAL CULTIVATED GRASSES 



mix redtop with timothy, as the market usually discriminates against 

 redtop hay. However, there are large regions where redtop is the 

 principal hay grass, and farmers have learned to cut it fairly green. 



Seed and Seeding. Redtop seed is usually abundant and cheap. 

 It germinates very quickly under favorable conditions in two to 

 three days. Where sown alone, about ten pounds to the acre are 

 used, but in mixtures the quantity is often cut down to as low as 

 two to five pounds. If too much redtop is used in mixtures, its 

 quick, vigorous growth is likely to crowd out other grasses. 



In general, redtop is sown in about the same way and at the 

 same time as timothy. The two grasses are grown in the same 

 region and their cultural methods differ very little. 



BENT GRASSES 



The bent grasses differ from redtop in being much smaller, 

 more prostrate, and with a stoloniferous root system. They have 

 about the same climatic and soil adaptations. Their yield is 

 small, and they are not usually grown for agricultural purposes. 

 However, they make excellent lawn grasses, and are used for 

 this purpose, especially on soil where blue-grass does not succeed. 

 They will withstand more shade than blue-grass and grow on acid 

 soil. They are also especially adapted to sandy soil. The bent 

 grasses will also endure a very close mowing, and are used for putting 

 greens on golf links. 



ORCHARD-GRASS 



Orchard-grass is in many respects a very excellent grass, but up 

 to the present time it has not received the extensive culture that it 

 probably would if the seed was cheaper (Fig. 157). It costs from 

 four to five times as much to seed an acre with orchard-grass as with 

 timothy or redtop. Also the hay value rapidly deteriorates after 

 blooming period, resulting in a rather poor quality of hay unless 

 care is taken to harvest it at just the right period. 



Origin and History. The cultivated form of orchard-grass is 

 found growing wild throughout Europe and the northern half of 

 Asia. There are several species, all of which have some agricultural 

 value, but the cultivated form, though quite variable, all belongs to 

 one variety. 



