Forage Plants at the South. 



23 



clover. One bushel of orchard, meadow-oat 

 and wild rye, each, four quarts each of blue- 

 grass and red and white clover. The blue- 

 grass and white clover will ultimately take 

 possession of the soil. This winter pasture 

 should not be grazed after June or before 

 Christmas. 



FOR EARLY SPRING SOILING. 



Lucerne comes very early in the spring, 

 and may be used then for soiling and after- 

 ward for hay. A still earlier soiling reliance 

 would be a half bushel of barley, a peck of 

 Italian rye-grass, and the same of winter 

 vetches. For this purpose land should be 

 made very rich. On such lands, in most parts 

 of the South, this mixture can be cut in Feb- 

 ruary. In the absence of permanent winter 

 pastures it would be found of great value to 

 the farmer. It has this advantage, that its 

 results may be realized within a few months 

 after the seed is sown. 



SELECTION OF SEEDS BUYING BY WKIOHT OR 

 MEASURK, WITH A TABLE OF WEIGHTS. 



One of the great drawbacks to grass cul- 

 ture at the South is the cost of grass seeds. It 

 is of the utmost importance, therefore, that 

 the grass seeds should be good. Gross im- 

 positions are often practiced upon us by the 

 seedsmen. Grass seeds three years old are 

 unreliable. Old seeds are often mixed with 

 those that are fresh The fresh will vegetate, 

 the others will not. The farmer attributes 

 the bad stand to the bad climate or his bad 

 management, when it is attributable to the 

 bad seed. 



Flint gives an easy way of determinng the 

 freshness of grass seeds : " Take two pieces 

 of thick cloth, moisten them with water, and 

 place them, one upon the other, in the bottom 

 of a saucer. Place any number of seeds 

 which it is desired to try upon the cloth, 

 spreading them so as not to allow them to 

 cover or touch each other. Cover them over 

 with a third piece of cloth, similar to the 

 others, moistened in the same manner. Then 

 place the saucer in a moderately warm place. 

 Sufficient water must be turned on from time 

 to time to keep the three thicknesses of cloth 

 moist, but great care must be taken not to use 

 too much water, as this would destroy the 

 seed. There should be only enough to moist- 

 en the cloth, and not enough to allow any to 

 stand in the saucer. Danger from this source 

 may be avoided, in a great measure, however, 

 by tipping up the saucer, so as to permit any 

 superfluous water in it to drain off. The cloth 

 used for covering may be gently raised each 

 day to watch the progress of the swelling or 

 molding of the seeds. The good seed will be 

 found to swell gradually, while the old or 

 poor seed, which has lost its germinating 

 power, will become moldy in a very few 

 d ays. 



In this way, also, any one can judge whether 

 old seed is mixed with new. The latter will 

 germinate much more quickly than the for- 

 mer. He can, moreover, judge of the quantity 

 which he must sow, since he can tell whether 

 a half, or three-fourths, or the whole, will be 

 likely to germinate, and can regulate his sow- 

 ing accordingly. The seeds of the clovers, if 

 they are new and fresh, will show their germs 

 on the third or fourth day ; other seeds will 

 take a little longer ; but till they become coat- 

 ed with a mold there is hope of their germi- 

 nating. As soon as the mold appears it is 

 decisive, and the seed that molds is worthless. 



It is always best to buy grass seeds by 

 weight, rather than by measure. Knowing 

 the weight of the different grass seeds, the 

 buyer can determine whether he has been im- 

 posed on by the seedsman better than if he 

 bought by measure. The following is a list 

 of the weight of the seeds of forage plants 

 and grasses suitable to the South : 



Herd's grass, weight of a bushel of seed, 14 Ibs. 



Timothy 44 " 



Meadow-oat grass 7 " 



Orchard grass 12 ' 



Italian ryergrass 15 



Blue-grass 13 



Bed clover 64 



White clover 65 



Crimson clover 60 



Lucerne 60 



If the reader will trust to the experience of 

 the writer, he will find it hardly worth his 

 while to go beyond the list of grasses describ- 

 ed in this Essay. Full trial has been made 

 of more than twenty other species of grass 

 cultivated in Europe and at the North, witk- 

 out success. 



AFTER-TREATMENT OF GRASS LAND. 



Fatal errors are often committed in the 

 management of lands in grass. As soon as 

 the young grass is green in the spring, live 

 stock is turned upon it ; whereas grass should 

 not be grazed until it has once gone to seed, 

 and in subsequent years only after it is nearly 

 in blossom. Too much stock should at no 

 time be put upon it as to graze it close to the 

 ground, Bermuda and blue-grass being excep- 

 tions. 



A thin growth of the annual grasses and 

 weeds is not injurious to newly sown grass 

 lands, but is rather beneficial, shading the 

 young grass from the sun. But lands suffi- 

 ciently rich to give a vigorous growth of the 

 artificial grasses, is also apt to produce a rank 

 growth of crab grass and weeds. If these are 

 suffered to mature, the young grass will be 

 smothered. They should be mowed as soon 

 as they are tall enough for the scythe, and this 

 mowing must be repeated as often as necessa- 

 ry, to keep down the rank growth. And if in 



