b 



140 GRASSES AND HOW TO GROW THEM. 



spring. When sown with autnnin grains it can iisnally 

 be Sdwn earlier in the spring and on a firmer seedbed 

 than when sown with the same grains of the spring- 

 varieties, hence the yonng plants can better with- 

 stand drought, and the shade of the nurse crop is re- 

 moved earlier. When sown with oats the oats should 

 be thinly sown and also cut early. 



The seed is more commonly sown by hand than by 

 any other method, but it is not improbable that in some 

 soils the plan of mixing and sowing it along with the 

 grain when the latter is drilled in would prove satis- 

 factory. Much care should be taken to sow the seed 

 evenly to avoid any vacancies that will encourage the 

 forming of tussocks. 



When the grass is sown alone, many urge sowing not 

 less tban two bushels of seed per acre, that is about 28 

 pounds. But the amount sown varies from 2 bushels 

 down to 1 bushel. When sown alone to provide hay, 

 not less, probably, than 2 bushels per acre ought to be 

 sown to insure a fine growth of stalks and leaves, but, 

 when sown to grow seed, the quantity may in some in- 

 stances be profitably reduced to 1 bushel, lest the size 

 of the seed heads should be too much reduced by over- 

 crowding. When sown along with red clover to provide 

 meadow, a method of sowing which is extensively prac- 

 ticed and which meets v/ith much favor, some authorities 

 advocate adding as much as 12 j)ounds of red clover 

 seed per acre to the 2 bushels of orchard grass seed. 

 Others again claim good results fi'om sowing 1 bushel 

 of orchard grass and 8 poimds of red clover. A few 

 pounds of tall oat grass or of perennial rye grass are 



