14 FARMERS' BULLETIN 814. 



well, is not injured by frosts, and so keeps the lawn green through 

 the winter. It dies and disappears in the spring at about the time 

 Bermuda grass starts into growth. By using such a mixture it is not 

 difficult to keep the lawn in good condition through the entire year. 



White clover may be used in the same way, and as it is a peren- 

 nial it need be seeded but once. It will add greatly to the freshness 

 of a lawn during the winter and will also improve the growth of the 

 Bermuda grass during the summer. 



The character of growth in Bermuda grass varies with its treat- 

 ment. When kept clipped or grazed closely and trampled heavily 

 the stems become slender, prostrate, and spreading, with numerous 

 short leaves; but when neglected the plants become much coarser, 

 the stems more nearly erect, and the leaves much longer and broader. 

 A good lawn can be made only with constant care. 



When Bermuda grass is used for a lawn it is desirable to fertilize 

 liberally with cottonseed meal or ground bone and to water freely. 

 When the grass is used for the putting greens on golf grounds, how- 

 ever, very little fertilizer or water should be applied, since the grass 

 makes a shorter and more satisfactory growth under such treatment. 



BERMUDA GRASS FOR SOIL BINDING. 



In nearly all the South erosion, or the washing out of gullies on 

 cultivated and hilly lands, is a serious matter, and Bermuda grass is 

 the best plant which has been found to check the damage from this 

 cause. When planted in newly formed or even in old and large 

 gullies it catches the washed-down soil, holds it in place, and soon 

 makes such a growth that the spread of the gully is stopped and at 

 length filled, so that it becomes cultivable ground again. The 

 planting of the grass in newly formed gullies will soon smooth them 

 off. There is no excuse for the formation of destructive and wasteful 

 gullies in any region where Bermuda grass can be grown. 



Almost the entire course of the Mississippi River from Cairo 

 southward to the Gulf of Mexico is protected from overflows by a 

 series of levees which have been built with soil from the adjacent 

 lands. These levees must be protected from washing, und Bermuda 

 grass is universally used for the purpose, as its matted rootstocks 

 bind the soil and prevent washing better than any other grass. 

 For this purpose the ordinary variety, producing numerous under- 

 ground rootstocks, is better than those producing only surface 



runners. 



MARKET VALUE. 



The market value of Bermuda hay, like that of all other hays, 

 depends largely on its condition and appearance when offered for 

 sale. The brighter its color and the better the appearance of the 

 bales, the higher the price it will bring. 



