THE BLUE-GRASSES 99 
power of prime blue-grass seed. Yet in tests of prop- 
erly cured seed go per cent. or more have germinated. 
Poor seed undoubtedly accounts for many failures 
in attempting to start blue-grass pastures. Unless the 
germinating power of such seed is known, it is pure 
guess-work to determine the amount required to secure 
astand. Ordinarily 25 or 30 lbs. of good, germinable 
seed is sufficient to seed an acre, but it is usually wise 
to use at least twice this much of the common run of 
seed on the markets. Seedsmen should be required 
by law to guarantee the germinating power of blue- 
grass seed, as well as other seeds. To do this it 
would be necessary to charge a higher price for the 
seed, but in the end it would be cheaper to the farmer. 
Under present conditions no seedsman, however desir- 
ous of furnishing only high-grade seeds, can afford to 
guarantee his wares, for he would be compelled to 
charge such prices that farmers generally would buy 
from his competitors inferior seeds at a price which 
appears to be cheaper, but which in reality is not so. 
There is no universally recognized way of starting 
a blue-grass sod. This is partly owing to the numer- 
ous failures of all methods from bad seed. Some 
farmers in the Central West scatter the seed in corn- 
fields in late summer or early fall. Others sow it with 
clover on wheat and timothy in early spring. Some 
prefer to sow on a light snow, while others sow at a 
time when the ground is lightly frozen and cracked, 
honeycomb fashion. On account of the length of time 
required to start a blue-grass pasture, it is quite com- 
mon for the seed to be sown when a timothy and clover 
meadow is laid down. By the time the meadow has 
