RED-TOP. 85 



not gain a sufficient height to justify harvesting at all. It 

 withstands the effects of drought much better than timothy. 

 In England it is supposed to grow best on sandy soils. 

 Such soils suit it in West Tennessee. Its effects when 

 fed to milk cows are to greatly enrich and yellow the butter, 

 and European dairymen think they cannot do without it in 

 their pastures. By the Woburn experiments at the time of 

 flowering, it yielded 10,209 pounds of grass, which lost in 

 drying 5,615 pounds, and furnished 532 pounds of nutritive 

 matter. Cut when the seeds were ripe, it yielded 9528 

 Ibs. of grass, which lost exactly half its weight in drying and 

 afforded only 251 Ibs. of nutritious matter. From this it would 

 appear that this grass is doubly as valuable for feeding pur- 

 poses when cut at the time of flowering. A writer in the 

 Rural Sun, under date of February 18, 1878, institutes a 

 comparison between the value of this grass and timothy. 



"The experience of Mr. Smith, that timothy lasts but a few 

 years, while red-top remains permanently, corresponds with 

 the general experience of the country, viz : that timothy 

 lasts about three years and red-top until it is replowed. 

 While the yield per acre on our best lands would not be so 

 much as timothy, yet our poorer soils which will not pro- 

 duce timothy, will bring fair crops of red-top. Timothy, 

 having bulbous roots, is subject to be killed.by being closely 

 cut in hot, dry weather, and is not fit for pasturage, because 

 the bulbs where bitten or bruised by being trod upon, die, 

 and it is also likely to form tussocks. Herds grass, on the 

 contrary, lias fibrous roots, occupies the entire surface, makes 

 a sod and bears close pasturage. Sown with clover, it will 

 occupy the soil by the time the clover dies out. Herds 

 grass seeds|are now very cheap, and half a bushel of Herds 

 grass seed sown to the acre with the clover sown in the spring, 

 would pay well for the small expenditure. There are 

 425,000 seeds in an ounce of Herds grass seed, and this 

 small amount evenly distributed over an acre would give 

 about nine and three-fourth seeds to each square foot, while 



