GRASS SODS 



cannot well be given the fertility that all thin soils 

 need. The application of lime before seeding to 

 the rye is an expense that usually must be met in 

 the case of such fields, and fertilizers should be 

 used. 



Good Soil Conditions. When the grasses and 

 clovers desired for a sod are sown with small grain, 

 there is competition between them and the grain 

 crop for fertility, moisture, and light. The grain 

 crop is the one that will produce the income the 

 following summer, and naturally is given right of 

 way. The amount of seed is used that experience 

 teaches is best for a maximum yield of grain. 

 Usually this gives a thicker stand of plants than is 

 best for the tiny grass and clover plants that often 

 are struggling for existence down under the taller 

 grain. If the farmer could see his way clear to 

 cut down the quantity of seed wheat or oats used 

 on a fertile soil, the catch of grass would be better, 

 but the small-grain crop is not very profitable at 

 the best, and the owner does not like deliberately 

 to limit it. 



A greater amount of failure is due to an inade- 

 quate supply of fertility. The grass does not suffer 

 so much from over-shading as it does from starva- 

 tion, both during the growth of the grain and after 



[77] 



