PRACTICE MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN SCIENCE. 127 



worst selection would be high and dry fields; the best, a thoroughly 

 drained swamp. In an out-of-the-way corner to-day (15th February) 

 I observed a small area covered with the Johnson Grass, Sorghum 

 halapeme, which had made over two feet of growth, and in good con- 

 dition to cut for cattle food or for hay. This looked like an experi- 

 mental plat, and it gave evidence of the value of this grass for this 

 region of country. And I look upon the Johnson Grass as having 

 greater prospective value than either of the plants before named. In 

 Alabama and in others of the Southern States it is proving to be one 

 of the best grasses for hay or for feeding in green state, that has so 

 far been introduced to cultivation. This grass has long been known, 

 but its persistent growth, and Jbhe difficulty of eradicating it from 

 cultivated fields, caused it to be regarded as a nuisance. Its greatest 

 fault is its greatest merit. A few days ago, in Polk County, in con- 

 versation with an Alabama farmer, I asked him what he found the 

 most profitable crop to raise in that State. He promptly replied 

 hay. To the further question as to what grasses he cultivated for 

 this purpose, he answered, the Johnson Grass. He stated that he 

 made three cuttings yearly, and from these his returns averaged five 

 tons of hay from an acre. This is grown on good bottom land, and 

 all the cultivation it receives is to plow it down once in two or three 

 years, then give it a very thorough harrowing, and an increased 

 growth ensues. A portion of the roots are thus destroyed, which 

 prevents them from becoming too thickly matted, keeps up the 

 fertility, and increases the growth. It would seem that a plant so 

 well adapted to a warm, sunny climate will ultimately prove of great 

 value all through this Southern country. " 



The best season for sowing Johnson Grass, in Florida or similar 

 latitudes, would be October or November. It should be sown in 

 the usual manner for grass seed, at the rate of two bushels per acre. 



Q. As you are aware, Mr. Crozier, the question of grasses is one of 

 such interest as to draw out several works on the subject, elaborate 

 not only in their botanical descriptions, but also replete with chemical 

 analyses and all other scientific data connected with the subject. Have 

 you given such works any consideration, and if so what opinion do 

 you hold as to their value ? 



A. As a working farmer, life has always appeared to me too short to 

 dabble in these nice questions, and I am perfectly willing to leave it 

 to such men who have the inclination and the time to fritter away on 

 such subjects; but to the great mass of practical farmers, from their 

 education and training, it is and always will be as a " sealed book." 

 Whether it is that the pursuit of such knowledge prevents those 

 engaged in it from getting at the real, practical operations of farming 



