Cultivation of the Grasses. 



143 



CULTIVATION OF THE GRASSES. 



BY L. DURAND. 



oremost among valuable farm crops, is grass : 

 the staple as it were, when 'compared with oth- 

 er vegetation. To the farmer it is of inestima- 

 ble importance to secure his lands to grass, at 

 least a goodly proportion of his domain. In 

 fact, the foundation of all successful tillage lies 

 in this point, namely : " Does your farm pro- 

 duce all the valuable, natural and exotic grass- 

 es well ; if the response be affirmative, you may 

 muster with tillers who have the right to be consid- 

 ered good cultivators or at least you ma}' indulge in 

 the gratifying unction that your neighbors envy you 

 the possession of a superior farm. 



Next to the farmer, who is befriended by green 

 meadows, and uplands waving with miniature seas of 

 Timothy," is the rural gentleman who delights in a vel- 

 vety lawn spread around his house in all its refreshing 

 "^greenness and glistening brilliancy. To attain this, is 

 not in all cases an easy matter. The difficulty experienced by 

 the amateur, is an inadequate knowledge of the different varieties 

 of grass and their adaptibility to different soils. I shall therefore 

 give the names and description of those kinds, with which I am prac- 

 tically acquainted. 



Timothy or Herd's grass, (P/deiim Pratensc) is one of the most 

 valuable of all the cultivated kinds ; it is of foreign origin, but 

 adapts itself to American soil like one to the " manor born." In 

 England, twenty-nine tons of this grass have been cut from six 

 acres of ground, such astonishing yields are doubtless owing to 

 high cultivation and a propitious climate. In this country, it is 

 made use of to an almost unlimited extent for market hay, as it 

 possesses a large per cent, of nutriment, when dry. This fact, 

 however, does not prove it the best ; for not unfrequently it is 

 spoiled in making in hay, while in the field ; it being very sensi- 

 tive of any extraneous influence. Wlien this grass is put in the 

 ground alone, it often grows coarse, with large stalks particularly 

 the season subsequent to seeding. This rankness of growth, of 



