GRASS CULTURE AND RANGE IMPROVEMENT 9 



4, 12, 24, 36, and 48 inches apart. In every comparison, despite weed 

 competition, the stand and vigor of blue grama seeded alone were 

 better than among the growing Sudan grass. Practically none of 

 the grama plants survived in the 4-, 12-, and 24-inch spacings of 

 Sudan grass, but the stand and vigor between the 48-inch rows were 

 nearly equal to areas seeded alone. This indicates the possibility of 

 establishing grass by seeding in wide-spaced rows of growing Sudan 

 grass for winter protection. 



Comparable results were obtained at Woodward, Okla., during 

 the favorable growing season of 1938 when five native grasses and 

 one introduced species were seeded alone and with Sudan grass and 

 milo spaced 18, 36, and 72 inches apart. The stand and vigor of 

 the pasture grasses seeded alone were much superior to those sown 

 with nurse crops and were better among the wide -spaced nurse crops 

 than among the closer spacings. 



In 1936, results obtained by B. F. Barnes, Superintendent, United 

 States Dry Land Field Station at Dalhart, Tex., indicate that almost 

 any kind of growth that provided shade and reduced soil tempera- 

 tures was beneficial to the survival of blue grama seedlings. These 

 results indicate further that thinly seeded nurse crops may be helpful 

 under certain conditions. 



Successful stands of many grasses have been obtained by broad- 

 casting, but where feasible, drilling has proved to be more satis- 

 factory and less wasteful of seed. A combination of drilling and 

 broadcasting appears to have preference over either method used 

 alone. Drilling usually places all the seeds in contact with moisture, 

 which is desirable because it causes the seeds to sprout; but unless 

 additional moisture is received the seedlings may die. This hazard 

 may be reduced by using a drill with one-half of the spouts removed 

 from the disks to broadcast some seed while the other half of the 

 drill is placing seed in contact with moist soil just below the surface. 

 This provides at least two opportunities for a stand. The broadcast 

 seed may take advantage of moisture falling too late to save the 

 drilled seedlings from drought damage. 



A drill suitable for this purpose and capable of sowing all kinds of 

 grass seed has been assembled at Woodward from ideas originally 

 used there by James E. Smith, regional nurseryman, Soil Conserva- 

 tion Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Amarillo, 

 Tex., and B. F. Barnes. They successfully used a cotton planter to 

 seed blue grama in rows. Later a similar machine with suitable 

 plates for cotton, corn, milo, kafir, and sorgo was used satisfactorily 

 at Woodward in planting 33 species of pasture grass in rows. Kec- 

 ognizing the need for a close drill capable of performing the same 

 functions as the planter, the necessary parts were obtained by E. F. 

 Chilcott, Superintendent, United States Southern Great Plains Field 

 Station, and assembled at Woodward in the spring of 1937 by J. J. 

 Brenner and C. L. Sheley, of the Division of Dry Land Agriculture, 

 under the direction of Chilcott. The result was a six-row, 14-inch 

 drill which has proved satisfactory in obtaining initial stands of 

 many grasses, including the blnestems, silver beardgrass, and Indian 

 grass, all of which are usually more difficult to drill than blue grama. 

 This drill has been further improved by adding six more planter 



107572°— 39 2 



