BERMUDA GRASS. 11 



deza give the best grazing on the low lands. On sandy soils Ber- 

 muda grass does not bear trampling and close grazing as well as on 

 heavier soils. When used for pasture it should be kept closely 

 grazed. If the stems are allowed to become too old they get so 

 dry and wiry that live stock do not relish them. Where there is not 

 sufficient live stock in the pasture to keep the grass well grazed down 

 it will often pay to harvest for hay and so secure a fresh growth for 

 pasturing, which is more palatable and more nutritious than the older 

 stems. 



The number of live stock which can be carried on an acre of 

 Bermuda-grass pasture varies widely with the soil and climate. On 

 average soils such pasture will carry about one steer to the acre 

 during the growing season, though on thin and hard clay soils as 

 much as 2 acres per steer may be required. In specially favorable 

 localities in the extreme south on very fertile soils 1 acre of Bermuda- 

 grass pasture may support three or four steers nine or ten months. 

 The Mississippi Agricultural Experiment Station says this pasture 

 will support at least one steer per acre on ordinary soils and double 

 that number on soils more favorable for its growth. On the rich 

 alluvial soils formed by the overflows of the Mississippi River the 

 growth of the grass is much more rank, some cattle growers hi that 

 region claiming that they can graze as many as six steers per acre 

 for nine months and that the pastures will then support one to three 

 steers per acre during the other three months. Of course, such 

 yields are very exceptional and should not be considered in esti- 

 mating the value of Bermuda grass on ordinary soils. 



Bermuda grass does not mix well with other grasses, as it either 

 makes a clean sod by itself or is crowded out by other plants better 

 suited to the particular locality. This is especially true on the 

 rather sandy lands along the coast where carpet grass is abundant. 

 There the sod is often spotted, the heavier and richer spots where a 

 stump has been removed or a little fertilizer dropped being densely 

 covered with Bermuda grass, while adjacent spots may be covered 

 with an equally dense mat of carpet grass. Whenever it is planted 

 on a soil suited to its growth, Bermuda grass will crowd out most 

 other grasses and soon occupy the entire field, but the crowding out 

 is usually in very definite areas and not by a gradual mixing. 



There are, however, a few legumes which grow well when planted 

 on the same ground with Bermuda grass and add largely to its 

 pasture value. Among the best of these are lespedeza, bur clover, 

 black medic, and melilotus. Lespedeza grows only in the summer 

 and fall, bur clover and black medic only in the winter and spring, 

 while melilotus gives more or less 1 grazing through the entire year. 



Lespedeza is the most valuable species for summer and fall grazing 

 and is the best legume which can be used on fairly heavy soils, but it 



