262 TwENTY-FntsT Bienniali Rbpobt 



the rye grasses. It seems likely that Flint's first mixture 

 was not a little influenced by this one, since it contains 

 no single species not included by the Scotch seedsmen. 



If we are ever to have mixtures adapted to our con- 

 ditions, it will be necessary to go back to first principles, 

 learning among other things just what species, adapted 

 to our soil and climate, will live in harmony together. 

 Conditions in England, Scotland and Ireland are, it 

 seems, no safe guide for us in this matter. 



In 1905, the writer secured from J. M. Thorbum and 

 Company, of New York City, several mixtures advertised 

 in the firm's catalogue, and had them sown in plots on 

 the Experiment Farm for observation. Among the mix- 

 tures secured were the following : 



"Meadow Mixture" No. 1. "On good land, neither 

 too dry nor too wet. Sow 2 bushels (20 lbs.) to the acre." 

 This mixture was given in the catalogue as follows: 

 Red-top, 5 lbs.; meadow foxtail, 1 lb.; perennial sweet 

 vernal, % Vo.; tall meadow oat grass, 2 lbs.; orchard 

 grass, 3 lbs. ; hard fescue, 2 lbs. ; sheep 's fescue, 2 lbs. ; 

 perennial rye grass, 5 lbs. ; timothy, 17 lbs. ; red clover, 2 

 lbs. ; alsike clover, % lb. — 40 lbs. 



Price $2.00 per bushel. 



On April 17, 1905, two plots were sown with this 

 mixture. The stand was good, and in midsummer, clover 

 constituted about one-fourth; timothy, one-fourth, alsike 

 clover, one-eighth; tall oats grass, one-sixteenth, and or- 

 chard grass and a few others, not recognizable at the 

 time, the remaining five-sixteenths. The red clover and 

 timothy appeared again in 1906, but the clover showed 

 signs of failing toward the end of the summer, while 

 orchard grass became conspicuous. 



In 1907 the whole plot consisted of orchard grass, 

 except a few scattered tufts of tall oats grass. It will 

 be noticed that 17 pounds of this mixture consisted of 

 timothy, and we should have expected this grass to domi- 

 nate the growth for a time at least. It did not do so. 

 The orchard grass seed, of which there were only three 

 pounds, finally suppressed everything else except tall 

 oats grass. It would be unsafe to say that this was due 

 entirely to the aggressive character of the orchard grass. 

 The timothy seed may not have been of first-rate quality. 



