MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



441 



8 lbs. red clover, 2 lbs. alsike clover, and 2 to 4 

 lbs. of mead<?w foxtail if obtainable. 



For pasture in Vermont the same authority- 

 recommends, per acre, 8 lbs. timothy, 4 lbs. re- 

 cleaned red-top, 7 lbs. Kentucky blue-grass, 2 lbs. 

 orchard-grass, 2 lbs. meadow fescue, 3 lbs. red 

 clover, 3 lbs. alsike clover, 4 lbs. white clover, and 

 1 or 2 lbs. meadow foxtail if obtainable. 



In western New York the writer is using, for 

 sowing on old pastures, a mixture of 2 to 3 lbs. 

 timothy, 2 lbs. red-top, 4 lbs. Kentucky blue-grass, 

 3 lbs. meadow fescue, 2 lbs. meadow foxtail, if 

 good seed is obtainable, 2 to 3 lbs. red clover, f to 

 1 lb. alsike clover per acre. On heavy clays, 2 

 lbs. Canada blue-grass might be included. 



North Carolina Experiment Station (Bulletin 

 No. 168) used the following mixtures, per acre, for 

 one crop of hay and then to be pastured for 2 or 3 

 years : 10 lbs. tall oat-grass, 5 lbs. orchard-grass, 

 1 lb. red-top, 2 lbs. Kentucky blue-grass, 7J lbs. red 

 clover. Another mixture used was, per acre : 14 

 lbs. orchard-grass, 7i lbs. red-top, 7 lbs. Kentucky 

 blue-grass, 5 lbs. red clover, 2^ lbs. white clover, 

 J lb. alsike clover. Another year the following was 

 used, per acre : 10 J lbs. orchard-grass, 7 lbs. Ken- 

 tucky blue-grass, lOJ lbs. tall oat-grass, BJ lbs. 

 meadow foxtail, 7 lbs. Canada blue-grass, 3J lbs. 

 red-top, I lb. white clover, 4 lbs. red clover. 



For southern states for hay sow 3 lbs. per acre 

 of Bermuda-grass, good imported seed, at any time 

 the ground is moist or likely to continue so for some 

 time. This grass is generally started by planting 

 pieces of sod or cuttings of the underground stems, 

 owing to diificulty in securing good seed. Texas 

 blue-grass {Poa araehnifera) is usually started 

 from cuttings in the same way as Bermuda-grass, 

 although seed is sometimes sown. Rescue-grass or 

 Schrader's brome grass is sown at the rate of one 

 bushel per acre in August or September. One-half 

 bushel of rescue-grass and a few pounds of bur- 

 clover make a good hay crop. 



For pasture in Mississippi, Lloyd suggests carpet- 

 grass and lespedeza for the sandy valleys ; awnless 

 brome grass, crab-grass and Mexican clover for the 

 upland ; and turf oats and hairy vetch for winter 

 and early spring grazing. Orchard-grass is also a 

 useful plant. For wet and seepy land sow red-top 

 and alsike clover. 



For pasture in western Nebraska, Professor Lyon 

 suggests, per acre, 4 to 6 lbs. orchard-grass, 6 to 

 10 lbs. awnless brome grass, 8 to 14 lbs. meadow 

 fescue, and a small amount of alfalfa, Kentucky 

 blue-grass and white clover. The amount of meadow 

 fescue may be increased in the southern part of the 

 state and the brome grass in the northern part. 



For hay for two years and then pasture, alfalfa 

 may be sown with awnless brome grass, meadow 

 fescue or orchard-grass, sowing 20 to 25 lbs. of 

 alfalfa and 15 to 20 lbs. of the grass seed per acre. 

 The alfalfa will occupy the land for the first year 

 sr two, after which the grasses come in. 



Machines for sowing grass seed. 



In northeastern United States it is customary to 

 sow the timothy in the fall at the time the land is 



sown to wheat, an extra hopper being provided on 

 the grain drill for the purpose. If clover is used 

 on such land, it is generally sown in the spring 

 either with a seed barrow, which frequently is 

 made ten to fourteen feet wide and pushed by 

 hand, or by means of one of the hand-seeders of 

 the Cyclone or other type, which consists merely 

 of a revolving disk which scatters the seed ; or it 

 may be sown by hand. In many cases it is desirable 

 lightly to cover the seed ; the weeder with a seec'- 

 box attached is an admirable tool for such work. 

 This tool is mounted on two wheels, which furnish 

 the drive for the seeder and enable the operator to 

 ride. [See pictures of seeding tools, pages 133, 137.] 



Why grasses "run out." 



The same plant cannot occupy the same piece of 

 land for an indefinite period of time. Grasses, like 

 other plants, live and die ; they tend to run out or 

 .disappear. Farmers find it necessary to reseed 

 more or less often if they wish to maintain the 

 grass on the same land. There are several reasons 

 why grasses run out : 



(1) The plant may live its normal life and then 

 die. The duration of life of most grasses is not 

 understood and little is known regarding the influ- 

 ence of grazing or cutting on their lives. 



(2) When a plant dies the tendency is for some 

 other plant to take its place ; just as oaks may 

 follow hemlock or pines, so weeds take the places 

 of grasses unless prevented by the farmer. 



(3) The changes in the texture or condition of 

 the soil influence the herbage. When land, is newly 

 seeded certain grasses may thrive which will not 

 do so when the soil becomes more compact. The 

 treading of animals further compacts the soil and 

 it is not so well " aerated." The air space in the soil 

 is partially maintained by the death of plants and 

 decay of their roots. 



In the Genesee valley on Dunkirk clay soil, when 

 it has been eroded, Canada blue-grass, oxeye 

 daisies and white clover constitute the bulk of 

 the herbage, but if grazed for twenty or thirty 

 years, the land improves sufficiently so that Ken- 

 tucky blue-grass begins to come in and in two or 

 three decades more the herbage consists largely of 

 Kentucky blue-grass, meadow fescue and white 

 clover. 



(4) Climatic conditions are important. Late 

 spring frosts kill early-growing or early-maturing 

 grasses, as orchard-grass and meadow foxtail ; but 

 if such are protected by manure, or even cut straw, 

 they may survive similar conditions. Favorable 

 spring weather may enable such grasses to develop 

 unusually well, and crowd out later - growing 

 species. 



Changeable autumn and winter weather, freezing 

 and thawing, and even heavy rains are more in- 

 jurious to some grasses than to others. On the 

 heavy clay lands of New York the chief factor in 

 determining the life of alsike, red clover and even 

 timothy is the winter. In changeable winters 

 many of the plants are heaved out and their places 

 are later taken by oxeye daisies, live-for-ever and 

 other weeds. 



