49 



will live. It is in a sense the most self-assertive of all the grasses and like 

 the wild garlic will propagate itself equally as well from the roots as from 

 the seeds. 



With all its bad qualities it is probably the most prolific perennial hay 

 grass in the United States. In the latitude of Tennessee, Northern Ala- 

 bama and indeed throughout the South, it may be mowed three to four 

 times a year and will yield at each mowing from two to three tons of 

 excellent hay when grown on rich soil. The best time for cutting it to 

 make hay is before the heads appear. After the seeds are formed the 

 stalks grow hard, which makes the hay unfit for stock. Jno. B. Mc- 

 Ewen, of Williamson county, a most observant farmer, speaks in rather 

 extravagant terms of the quality of hay made from this grass and de- 

 clares that it is the best hay he makes on his farm. 



When young, Johnson grass is very tender and sweet and the pith is 

 filled with sugary juices. As a soiling crop it is very much prized, as it 

 may be cut every month from May until heavy frosts. Dr. Phares, of 

 Mississippi, says during a long drought it was mowed in the northeastern 

 part of that state three times and on the first of October there was a 

 growth from eight to twelve inches high. Upon this cattle were turned 

 and there remained feeding and fattening on the abundant, rich, rapidly 

 growing foliage to the last of December. 



All writers on this grass, with the exception of a few who live above 

 the 37th degree of north latitude, while commending it highly for the 

 fecundity of its growth' and the nutritious qualities of its foliage and 

 roots, speak of it as utterly ineradicable. Prof. Gulley, of Mississippi, 

 says in the quantity and quality of hay it stands first for permanent 

 meadow, especially if sown on rich, well drained, heavy land. Prof. S. M. 

 Tracy, says: ''Johnson grass makes excellent hay and will give from 

 three to four cuttings a year. While thousands of dollars have, been made 

 by its cultivation and it grows well on almost any kind of soil, it will 

 never be popular, as, when once planted 'it sticketh closer than a brother,' 

 and it is difficult to grow any other crop on the land." 



When l:he roots become thoroughly matted in the soil the yield of 

 hay decreases. A good plowing of the ground so as to dislocate the 

 masses of roots will start the grass to growing again in all its tropical 

 vigoT. As a meadow or pasture grass it will retain its hold upon the 

 land and suffer no inroads whatever by other grasses or weeds. The only 

 situation it cannot endure is when sown where it will be overflowed and 

 the water left standing upon the ground. Under such conditions the roots 

 will rapidly decay. 



The seed weighs 35 pounds to the bushel and one bushel is required 

 for sowing an acre. It may also be propagated by setting out pieces of 

 the roots a foot apart. 



The writer, however, wishes to emphasize and repeat his warning to 

 the farmers of Tennessee: Never plant Johnson grass with the expecta- 

 tion of destroying it for it is a "stick-fast" and will survive the roughest 

 treatment. Many excellent valley farms in the central basin of Middle 

 Tennessee have had their value ^reatly decreased by the presence of this 

 unconquerable grass. 



