330 FORAGE CROPS 
Preparation of the land 
As with other grass plants, the better the prep- 
aration of land, and the cleaner, the quicker will 
the stand of grass be secured. The conditions 
which result from the planting and care of corn, 
cotton and tobacco, provide a suitable preparation 
for Bermuda-grass. Owing to the high price of 
seed and its low vitality, the method now generally 
used to secure a stand, is to plant pieces of root- 
stocks rather than to seed in the ordinary way, 
although it is necessary to have a small area 
seeded to use as a cutting nursery for enlarging 
the area. For this purpose, the seed should be 
sown broadcast, on clean, moist land, and covered 
with a rake or light harrow. Five pounds of seed 
is sufficient for an acre. 
This plant responds well to fertilizers, and top- 
dressings with nitrate of soda, where the soils 
have been suitably fertilized with minerals at time 
of seeding, are very profitable. 
Bermuda-grass for pasture or meadow 
The following methods of securing a pasture 
or meadow of Bermuda-grass are described by 
Prof. F. Lamson-Scribner!:— 
“On account of the high price of seed, and the 
Circular 31, Div. of Agrostology, Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C. 
