SODS FOR PASTURES 



the grasses best fitted to soil conditions or most 

 able to crowd other plants. 



Seed-mixtures. Several varieties of grasses 

 should be used when making a sod for grazing. 

 They occupy all the surface more quickly and 

 surely than a single variety, and the pasturage is 

 better. The character of the soil determines the 

 character of the mixture in large measure. When 

 land can be well fitted, a heavy seeding is best, 

 but the cost is nearly prohibitive for thin, rough 

 lands. A brief description of the leading pasture 

 grasses east of the semi-arid region, and north 

 of the gulf states, is given : 



Blue-grass. No other pasture grass equals 

 Kentucky blue-grass wherever it thrives. It 

 makes a close sod, preventing the growth of weeds 

 and withstanding tramping, and contains a high 

 percentage of protein. While it is best adapted 

 to limestone soils, it is grown with success on 

 clay land outside of limestone areas. It is slow 

 in making a heavy sod, as a rule, and partly be- 

 cause the seeding is too light on account of low 

 germination. The rule is to seed with timothy 

 and other grasses which furnish the greater part 

 of the pasturage for two or three years. When 

 seeded alone, 20 to 30 pounds of seed per acre 



[91] 



