144 Cultivation of the Grasses. 



course, tends to depreciate the quality of the grass for fodder. In 

 order to avoid this error (for it is an error), the seed should be 

 put in very thick, with a generous proportion of redtop, {Agrostis 

 vulgaris). The result will be a fine, tender grass, plethoric with 

 nourishing juice, and afFoi'ding excellent pasturage and a velvety 

 lawn. 



When timothy is sown alone (a plan which I wonld not recom- 

 mend) on grounds which have been previously well stimulated by 

 the application of manure, the quantity of seed demanded will be 

 about one bushel and a half per acre. In case the soil is only in 

 indifferent condition, two bushels per acre will be none too much. 

 A better market hay, however, can be produced by sowing one 

 bushel of red-top, to half a bushel, or three pecks of timothj" per 

 acre. Oftentimes, one bushel of seed will be as effectual in 

 seeding an acre of land, as two bushels on other occasions. Not- 

 withstanding this singularity, thick seeding is at all time advis- 

 able, whether for pasture, or lawn purposes as in unpropitious 

 years, much seed never vegetates. Clover is also, essential to 

 good pasture. In case land has been previously planted to such 

 crops as require much animal manure, it vrill not be necessary to 

 put in any clover seed, as a sufficient qiiautity will be found 

 growing spontaneously in connection with the timothy, the first 

 season. The second season, timothy and red-top, will displace the 

 clover. Timothy grass, as a general rule, grows but once in a 

 season, although in low swales if the weather be favorable ; it 

 will, after being cut, afford good early fall feed for cattle. 



Red-top, in some sections of the country, is considered the very 

 best grass for feed. Entirely alone it makes excellent fodder for 

 stock ; horses, however, prefer a mixture of timothy. 



Eed-top forms a close, tight sward for the lawn, and effectually 

 shuts out weeds of almost every description. It will also grow 

 and flourish well, on a much lighter soil than timothy, remaining 

 in the meadow and growing a good crop of grass, long after the 

 timothy has become a reminiscence. There appears to be two 

 kinds of red-tops, one sort that is peculiar to the west of the up- 

 land pastures of New England, and grows about twelve inches 

 high, with a small slender stalk, and a short fuzzy top. The other 

 kind, the red-top proper, grows from fifteen inches to two feet with" 

 a long slender head as a top, and a stalk in proportion. The 

 small red-top, may be as nutritious as the larger kind, it certainly 



