BROME GRASS 169 



acre. For lawns a mixture of 30 pounds of Kentucky 

 blue grass, 15 pounds of red top and 6 pounds of white 

 clover per acre is recommended. Blue grass does best in 

 a medium clay loam that is well supplied with humus and 

 lime. It does not do well in semiarid regions or on exceed- 

 ingly heavy clay or light sand. 



BROME GRASS 



Brome grass was introduced into the United States from 

 Europe and is now grown quite generally on the Great 

 Plains, where timothy and blue grass do not thrive. It 

 has been grown for centuries on the plains of Russia and 

 is there regarded with great favor. It roots deeply, con- 

 sequently stands drought well, and makes an excellent 

 early spring and late fall pasture. It is not considered so 

 good for hay as timothy and will not become popular in 

 those states in which timothy, clover, and blue grass can 

 be readily grown. 



Sowing the Seed. Brome grass is usually sown in the 

 spring like timothy, blue grass, or redtop, using about 

 twenty pounds of seed per acre when sown alone, or about 

 eight pounds when sown with a grass mixture. It may, 

 like timothy, be sown with early seeding of fall rye or 

 winter wheat. If sown in the fall under favorable condi- 

 tions, it makes a good pasture the next fall. 



The temptation to sow brome grass on fields infested 

 with quack grass, and then harvest it for seed, has been the 

 cause of much of the brome grass seed becoming contam- 

 inated with quack grass seed. Farmers purchasing brome 

 grass seed should see that it is free from such contamina- 

 tion. When there is doubt as to its purity, it is best to send 

 a sample for inspection to the seed-testing department of 



