CULTIVATION OF GRASSES. 225 



Hence in sowing down lands for permanent pasture, it is 

 a good method to make choice of those grasses which 

 thrive best in adjoining and similarly-circumstanced pas- 

 tures, for a part of the seed, and to mix with these what 

 are considered the very best kinds. 



Although the catalogue of grasses, indigenous and for- 

 eign, which are useful for forage, is extensive, yet the 

 number cultivated, or propagated artificially, is very 

 limited, and indeed it is but recently, not perhaps half a 

 century, that we have been in the habit of sowing grass- 

 seeds at all. The practice is hov\^ever gaining, and it is 

 reasonable to believe, that many species will ere long be 

 advantageously cultivated, which have hitherto altogether 

 escaped the notice of the farmer. 



We shall confine our remarks, at present, to those spe- 

 cies which are cultivated, upon a greater or less scale, 

 among us. And we begin with that deemed most valua- 

 ble as a forage grass, at least in the northern States ; 

 viz., 



1. Timothy^ better known in the east as herds-grass, 

 and in Europe as meadow cat''s-tail^ (Phleum pratense.) 

 This is the general forage grass of the northern States. 

 It finds here a congenial climate, particularly in moun- 

 tainous districts, is perfectly hardy, perennial, highly 

 nutritious, and gives an abundant product ; and it should 

 not escape the notice of the farmer, that it is far more 

 rich in nutritious properties, when cut in the seed, than 

 when cut in the blossom. It is often sown alone, but 

 more generally with clover ; though the two are not well 

 conjoined, for the clover is in condition to be cut two 

 weeks before the timothy is in seed. Yet where the 

 grounds are intended to be left a considerable time in 

 grass, the loss is not so material ; for the clover gradual- 

 ly disappears, while the timothy enlarges its volume, and 

 fills the ground. Although the crop is less nutritious 

 when cut early, the aftermath compensates, in some meas- 

 ure, for the deficiency ; for, if suffered to seed, the after- 

 growth is comparatively trifling, and the exhaustion to the 

 soil is far greater. The maturing of the seeds, of all 

 crops, is what most impairs the fertility of the soil 



