CHAPTER XIII 



THE SMALLER GRASSES— STRAW— HAY-MAKING 



I. The Smaller Grasses 



Unlike the great grain-bearing grasses — corn, wheat, rye, barley, 

 oats, riee, and the sorghums, which are all annuals — the smaller 

 grasses are nearly all perennials. Hence they thrive without cultiva- 

 tion, producing roughage of good quality with little expense for labor. 

 For building up the soil by adding humus and binding it together the 

 smaller grasses are also of great importance. In summertime in 

 regions where the smaller grasses flourish the animals of the farm 

 largely feed themselves, and meat, milk, and wool are produced at the 

 minimum expense. 



The smaller grasses are divided into two classes — the sod-formers 

 and the non-sod-formers. The sod-formers, which spread by creeping 

 rootstalks, either above or below ground, making a smooth turf, include 

 our most valuable pasture and lawn grasses, such as Kentucky blue- 

 grass and Bermuda grass. The non-sod-formers, such as orchard 

 grass, grow in tufts or bunches and increase only by seed or stooling, 

 except in the case of a few, such as timothy, which also increase to 

 some extent by forming new bulbs at the base of the stems. 



Nutrients in grasses at different stages. — Pew stockmen realize the 

 great difference in composition between young, immature grass and 

 the same grass as it is usually cut for hay. The Kentucky Station 

 found that bluegrass, rye, wheat, and oats cut when only 5 to 8 inches 

 high contained as high a percentage of protein as green alfalfa or 

 clover. This shows that immature grasses, such as are gathered by 

 grazing animals, are protein-rich feeds and explains the favorable 

 results secured by feeding only corn, a highly carbonaceous feed, to 

 fattening animals at pasture. On the other hand, when cut for hay, 

 the smaller grasses are relatively low in protein compared with carbo- 

 hydrates and fat, and hence hay from the grasses should always be 

 fed with feeds rich in protein. Tho immature grass is richer in pro- 

 tein, a larger yield of dry matter and a larger total amount of protein 

 is secured if the grass is not cut until nearly mature. Thus, when 

 grass is cut for hay at the usual stage, more feed is usually secured 

 per acre than if the same field were grazed by stock. 



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