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with but little extra expense for moderate fertilizing, rich feeding 

 grounds, and tons of sweet odorous hay of the highest quality. 

 If many of the most valuable gregarious meadow grasses of the 

 North do not thrive with us under the influences of longer sum- 

 mers, and perhaps a drier atmosphere, our farmers find in the cul- 

 ture of the larger but not less palatable and nutritious grasses 

 introduced from the warmer zones, ample substitutes. The ex- 

 periments made in these respects have lead to highly encourage- 

 ing results, of which the intelligent husbandman, with every 

 year, is more availing himself. Of these, having come only of 

 late years into-]use, I will mention the following : 



Panicum jumentorum, Guinea grass, a native of Africa, most 

 extensively cultivated throughout the tropics. It is planted with 

 us in the beginning of April ; admits the first cutting dur- 

 ing the last week of May ; it makes very large bunches, and 

 is to be cut before extending to the height of about 18 inches. 

 In that stage it is very sweet, tender, and easily cured as hay. 

 In moderately fertilized land and favorable seasons, it can be cut 

 every 5 or 6 weeks, yielding by its throwing out numerous 

 stolons, (stools) increased crops, until killed down by frost. 

 The roots are easily protected during the winter, by a good cov- 

 ering with ground, like the ratoons of sugar cane, and allowing of 

 a manifold division afford the best means of propagation. These 

 root cuttings are set out in March or the beginning of April. 

 Similar in habit, and affording crops of the same nature, is the 



Sorghum lialleppense, improperly also called Guinea grass. It 

 is a perennial, and where it has taken hold with its large, fleshy, 

 creeping root stocks, is hard to get rid of. Extensive trials with 

 this grass have been made in this State, where it is called John- 

 son grass, and it has proven to yield crops of great abundance, as 

 it can be mowed about a half dozen times during the season. 



Pennicilaria spicata, the cat tail millet, also of African deriva- 

 tion, has been successfully cultivated throughout this State. It 

 yields large crops when well manured, and affords as many cut- 

 tings, of a rich forage, but its curing is much more difficult, con- 

 sequently, as a hay crop, it will be dismissed for the Guinea 

 grass. 



Setaria Italica, the millet or Bengal grass, with large nod- 

 ding compound spikes, and Setaria Germanica, a smaller form of 

 it, cultivated as Hungarian grass, with smaller, slender, mostly 

 purple spikes, frequently cultivated and easily cured; yielding 

 early in the season heavy crops of good hay. 



The number of native grasses in the State is large, embracing 



