27 



BULLETIN OF 

 MASSACHUSETTS BOAED OF AGEICULTURE. 



THE GRASS CROP. 



By Dr. C. A. Goessmann, Amherst, Mass. 



Within a few pages I propose to discuss briefly some of ttie 

 points which deserve a serious consideration when aiming at a 

 remunerative production of grasses for fodder. A short descrip- 

 tion of some field experiments with grasses carried on by the 

 writer during a series of years upon the fields of the Massachusetts 

 Agricultural College may serve in some measure as an illustration 

 in the matter. 



Adaptation of Soil. 



A successful production of our valuable meadow and pasture 

 grasses depends in a less degree on any particular kind of soil than 

 on a well-regulated, constant supply of moisture. Light, sandy 

 soils are known to furnish good meadows and pastures, provided 

 the necessary amount of moisture and of suitable available plant 

 food is furnished during the entire growing season. A deep loam 

 or mellow clayish loam is, however, considered the typical soil for 

 grass lands. Our best meadows are found as a rule upon lands 

 which contain either a liberal admixture of a fine clayish silt in 

 their original make-up or receive periodical addition of that kind 

 by overflow or otherwise. These materials are usually compara- 

 tively rich in various kinds of plant food ; they exert in many 

 instances a beneficial effect on the retentive qualities of the soil, as 

 far as moisture and available plant food are concerned ; and they 

 tend to protect the root system against extremes of climate and 

 season, by rendering the soil more compact and closed up. 



