84 
as a winter and spring grass for the 
South. To securethe best winter results, 
it should be allowed a good growth in 
early fall, so that the ends of the leaves, 
being killed by the frost, afford anample 
covering for the under-part which con- 
tinue to grow all winter, and afford a 
good bite whenever required by sheep, 
cattle, hogs and horses. In prolonged 
summer drought it dries completely, so 
that, if fired, it would burn off clean. 
But this occurs in Kentucky, where in- 
deed it has seemed without fire, to dis- 
appear utterly; yet, when rain came, 
the bright green spears promptly re- 
carpeted the earth. 
With its undergroundstems and many 
roots, it sustains the heat and drought 
ot the Southern States as well as those 
of Kentucky, where indeed it is sub- 
jected to severer trials of this kind than 
in the more Southern States. In fact, 
it bears the vicissitudes of our climate 
about as well as Bermuda grass, and is 
nearly as nutritious. 
Blue grass grows well on hill tops, 
or bottom lands, if not too wet and too 
poor. It may be sown any time from 
September to April, preferably perhaps 
in the latter half of February, or early 
in March. The best eatch I ever had 
was sown the 20th of March, on un- 
broken land, from which trash, leaves, 
ete., had just been burned. Thesurface 
of the land should be cleaned of trash 
of all kinds, smooth, even; and if re- 
RICHARD FROTSCHER’S ALMANAC AND GARDEN MANUAL 
cently plowed and harrowed, it should. 
be rolled also. The last proceeding is: 
for compacting the surface in order to 
prevent the seed from sinking too deep 
in the ground. Without harrowing or 
brushing in, many of them get in too 
deep to come up, even when the surface 
of the land has had the roller over it. 
The first rain after seeding will putthem 
in deep enough, as the seeds are very 
minute, and the spears of grass small as 
fine needles, and therefore unable to 
get out from under heavy cover. These 
spears are so small as to be invisible, 
except to close examination; and in 
higher latitudes, this condition con- 
tinues through the first year. Thus, 
some who have sown the blue grass 
seed, seeing the first year no grass, 
imagine they have been cheated, plant 
some other crop, and probably lose 
what close inspection would have shown 
to be a good catch. This, however, is 
not apt to occur in the Southern tier of 
States, as the growth hereis more rapid. 
The sowing mentioned above, made on 
the 20th of March, came up promptly, 
and in three months the grass was from 
six to ten inches high. One year here 
gives a finer growth and show than two 
in Kentucky, or any other State so far 
North. 
Sown alone, 20 to 26 pounds, thatis 2 
bushels, should be used; in mixtures, 4 
to 6 pounds. 
ENGLISH OR PERENNIAL RYE GRASS. 
(Lolium Perenne.) 
This is the first grass cultivated in 
England over two centuries ago, and at 
a still more remote period in France. 
It was long more widely known and 
cultivated than any other grass, became 
adapted to a great variety of soils and 
conditions, and a vast number (seventy 
or more) of varieties produced, some of 
which were greatly improved, while 
others were inferior and became 
annuals. Introduced into the United 
States in the first quarter of the current 
century, it has never become very 
good hay. 
popular. although shown by the sub- 
joined analysis of Way not to be de- 
ficient in nutritive matter. In 100 parts 
of the dried grass cut in bloom were 
albuminoids 11.85, fatty matters 3.17, 
heat-producing principles 42.24, wood 
fibre 35.20, ash 7.54. The more recent. 
analysis of Wolff and Knopp, allowing 
for water, gives rather more nutritive 
matter than this. 
It grows rapidly, and yields heavy 
crops of seed; makes good grazing, and 
But, as with all the Rye 
