226 CULTIVATION OF GRASSES, 



Another consideration which renders this grass desirable 

 is the value of the seed which it affords, and which may 

 be saved without materially deteriorating the hay crop. 

 From ten to thirty bushels of seed are taken from an acre 

 by many farmers, in the valley of the Mohawk, and con- 

 stitute a large item of their farm profits. The seed of 

 this grass being small, particular care is requisite in pul- 

 verizing the ground for its reception, and, when practica- 

 ble, the roller should follow the seeding process. The 

 seed may be sown in autumn with winter grain, in the spring 

 with a crop, or at midsummer with buckwheat. Upon 

 stiff, tenacious clays, the latter practice has been found 

 to be advantageous, unless the season prove unusually dry. 

 In cutting timothy for seed, the most approved mode 

 is to reap the tops, say twelve inches long, with a sickle, 

 to the width of a swath or two, and then immediately 

 to cut down the stems with a scythe. In this way, all 

 foul seeds may be avoided, and a suitable place provided, 

 as the cutting progresses, to spread and dry the tops. 



2. Red-top^ the herds-grass of the middle and south- 

 ern States, {Agrostis vulgaris,) is indigenous, perennial, 

 and valuable for hay and pasture, on lands adapted to its 

 growth, which are reclaimed swamps and other moist 

 grounds, and in which it almost every where springs up and 

 flourishes spontaneously. This grass and timothy are fit 

 for the scythe about the same time, and are therefore very 

 suitable kinds to be sown together. Its cultivation is yet 

 very Hmited, though of manifest advantage. The seeds are 

 kept for sale in the seed-shops. The lohite-top or foul 

 meadow is said, by Muhlenburgh, to be a variety of the 

 A. vulgaris, 



3. American Cock^s-foot and Orchard-grass are dif- 

 ferent names given to the Dactylis glomerata of botanists. 

 This is one of the most abiding grasses we have. It may 

 be known by its coarse appearance, both of the leaf and 

 seed-spike, its broad leaves, seed-glumes resembling a 

 cock's-foot, and also by its whitish-green hue. It is prob- 

 ably better adapted than any other grass to sow with clo- 

 ver and other seeds for permanent pasture, and for a 

 crop of hay, as it is fit to cut with clover, and grows 



