56 PASTURES AND PASTURE PLANTS chap. 



preparing heavy, tenacious land in good time in spring ; but the plants are 

 liable to injury both from drought and early winter frosts, by the latter of 

 which young clovers are often killed outright. August and the first week of 

 September is the safest period in autumn for getting in the seeds. 



Theory of Sowing 



Design in Sowing. — The aim in sowing pasture seeds should be to 

 ensure their distribution at the most suitable depths as regularly as possible 

 all over the surface of the field, so that no bare patches may be found in the 

 sward later in the year : for not only is patching difficult, but it is also a 

 relatively costly process. 



Depth of Sowing. — On heavy land it is not really necessary to cover 

 pasture seeds at all; and many seeds, indeed, will not, as previously mentioned, 

 germinate in any soil at a greater depth than half-an-inch, so that the object 

 should be to just hide the seeds, to protect them from being scorched by the 

 hot sun or eaten by birds. Sainfoin and, generally, Tall oat-grass seeds 

 require burying as deeply as does that of the protecting cereal, and may 

 advantageously be mixed, sown and harrowed in with it ; while the Meadow- 

 grasses and Crested dogstail-grass germinate most surely and become 

 established best when merely pressed into the surface of the earth by the 

 roller. 



Mixing the Seeds. — Owing to the fact that clover and Timothy seeds 

 are heavier than those of the remaining grasses, it is impossible to mix them 

 sufficiently thoroughly to ensure their regular distribution, as the more 

 weighty species naturally work to the bottom of the bags. Moreover, when 

 sown broadcast, the lighter seeds are not thrown so far as those of relatively 

 greater weight. Hence it is obvious that 2 mixtures should be prepared and 

 sown separately, one containing the heavy, and the other the lighter seeds. 

 The following division is desirable : — 



Heavy Seeds. 

 Red clover. 

 White clover. 

 Alsike clover. 

 Lucerne. 



Other leguminous species. 

 Timothy. 



Cocksfoot-grass (husked). 

 Sweet vernal-grass (husked). 



Crested dogstail-grass (heavy seed). 



Light Seeds. 



Perennial rye-grass. 



Italian rye-grass. 



Meadow fescue-grass. 



Cocksfoot-grass (in husk). 



Meadow foxtail-grass. 



Sweet vernal-grass (in husk). 



Fescue-grasses, fine-seeded. 



Yellow oat-grass. 

 I Crested dogstail-grass (light seed). 

 I Meadow grasses. 



Since, however. Crested dogstail and the Meadow-grasses germinate best 

 when only pressed into the soil, it is advisable to make them into a separate 

 mixture, to be sown immediately before rolling. 



Cross-Sowing. — By distributing a portion of the seeds up and down 

 the field, and the remainder from side to side across the land, much less risk 

 of bare patches being left is incurred. The heavy seeds should therefore be 

 sown first, the lighter species being distributed afterwards across the previous 

 sowing. If, however, the seeds are all mixed together, half of the bulk must 

 be sown in each direction. 



