240 GRASSES AND HOW TO GROW THEM. 



the seed can best be sown by hand and covered with the 

 harrow. Hand sowing is also of course necessary when 

 tillage is impracticable. Thin sowing would seem pref- 

 erable, as, although the grass produced the first year 

 or two should be less than maximum yields, these would 

 be more in the years that immediately follow than if 

 the grass had been sown thickly at the first, as the pas- 

 ture would not so soon become sod bound to the extent 

 of necessitating renewal (see p. 242). It would not be 

 necessary to sow more than 12 pounds per acre. The 

 seed weighs 20 to 24 pounds per bushel. 



Where it is impossible to obtain seed at a reasonable 

 price, it may be possible to obtain the roots of this 

 grass without other cost than that of taking them out of 

 the ground. This could best be done by the aid of a 

 plough, which would turn a clean cut and narrow furrow 

 and only deeply enough cut to make the roots easy of 

 access. They could then be shaken free from the ad- 

 herent earth with a fork. In a larger way the roots 

 could be drawn to the surface by a spring tooth harrow 

 and collected with a horse rake. If the roots thus se- 

 cured could then be run through a cutting box so as to 

 cut them in lengths not too short, material would thus 

 be furnished for scattering thinly over prepared land 

 and then covering the same with the harrow. The out- 

 come would be quick setting of the plants. They should 

 not be allowed to remain long out of the ground unless 

 kept in a damp condition. This method would seem 

 specially well adapted to securing a stand of the plants 

 on infertile sandy soils. 



