(37) 



weather brings it up, and it grows with astonishing rapidity. 

 On our lands and in our climate it will grow from five to 

 seven feet high, while in South Carolina it will grow twelve 

 feet high. 



For soiling purposes it is not equaled by any grass in our 

 knowledge, as it can be cut every two or three weeks. 



Many persons object to it on account of its great tenacity 

 of life, matting the soil in every direction with its cane-like 

 roots, and the rapidity with which it will spread over a field, 

 and the difficulty of eradicating it. But these very objec- 

 tions should be its recommendation to owners of worn-out 

 fields; and if it is desired to destroy it, it is only necessary 

 to pasture it closely one year, and then in the fall turn the 

 roots up with a big plow to the freezes of a winter, renew- 

 ing the breaking up once or twice during the winter, and 

 then cultivating the next spring. The seeds are quite 

 heavy, and weigh thirty-five pounds to the bushel. Every 

 one who has tried it recommends it to the public. But 

 some allowance must be made for the partiality of friends, 

 and it would be well to give it a trial' before engaging in its 

 culture to any large extent. There would, however, cer- 

 tainly be no risk in sowing it upon those worn-out hill sides, 

 so many of which form an unsightly scar upon the face of 

 nature in Tennessee the tokens of the past. 



A proximate analysis made by the Department of Agri- 

 culture at Washington gives : 



Per cent. 



Oil 2.26 



Wax 61 



Sugar 7.37 



Gum and Dextrine 5.14 



Cellulose , 25.1 



Amylaceous cellulose 25.87 



Alkali extract 15.58 



Albuminoid 13.18 



Ash 4.85 



Analysis of the ash of the Johnson grass : 



