136 FARM GRASSES OF THE VNITED STATES 



shallow as may be with a turning-plow. It is then 

 gathered up, shaken as free from earth as possible, and 

 then cut or torn into small pieces. A single piece 

 of stem with a joint in it will start a new growth if 

 buried shallow in moist soil. For lawns the pieces 

 of sod are usually set by hand about a foot apart each 

 way in a carefully prepared soil. This is usually done 

 in the spring, though it can be done at almost any 

 season except when there is danger of freezing weather. 

 For pastures much less careful methods will sufBce. 

 A very good plan is to scatter the pieces of sod in 

 standing com, and cover them at the last cultivation. 

 When the soil is wet a barefooted boy, with a sack or 

 basket of sod, may drop the pieces of sod and press 

 them into the soil with his foot. 



Another good plan is to scatter pieces of sod in 

 every alternate furrow as the land is plowed. The 

 thicker they are placed the sooner a stand is secured ; 

 but if dropped every eighteen inches or two feet, and 

 covered from two to four inches deep, the grass will 

 completely cover the land next season. Another plan 

 frequently employed is to plow and harrow the land, 

 lay off furrows as for planting com by hand, but with 

 the furrows only about two feet apart; drop the sods a 

 foot or two apart in these furrows, and cover by means 

 of a harrow or drag. In regions where it is safe to sow 

 oats in spring the sod may be freed from soil and run 

 through a feed-cutter. The fragments may then be 

 broadcasted along with the oats and harrowed in. The 

 grass will make little headway till the oats are cut, but 

 will form a good sod by the next spring. 



Many attempts have been made to find some winter- 



