8S 



THie SEKD ANNUAI, OF THE 



Nor is this strange when its man}- advantages and points of excellence are considered. 

 It will grow well on an}- soil containing sufficient cla_v and not holding too much water. 

 If the land be too tenacious, drainage will remedy the soil; if worn out, a top dressing of 

 stable manure will give it a good send-ofF, and it will furnish several good mowings the 

 first year. It grows well^etween 29*^ and 48 ^ latitude. It ma}- be mowed from two to 

 four times a year, according to the latitude, season and treatment; yielding from one to 

 three tons of excellent hay per acre on poor to medium land. In grazing and as hay. most 

 animals select it in preference among mixtures in other grasses. In lower latitudes it 

 furnishes good winter grazing, as well as for spring, summer and fall. After grazing, or 

 mowing, few grasses grow so rapidly (three to six inches per week), and are so soon ready 

 again for tooth or blade. It is easily cured and handled. It is readily seeded and catches 

 with certaint}'. Its long, deeply penetrating fibrous roots enable it to sustain itself and 

 grow vigorously during droughts that dr\' up other grasses, except tall oat grass, which 

 has similar roots and characteristics. The ha}- is of high quality, and the young grass 

 contains a larger per centage of nutritive digestible matter than any other grass. It thrives 

 well without any renewal on the same ground for thirty-five, nay forty years; how tnuch 

 longer, we are rot able to say. 



:0 



Kentuckv Blue Grass, 



KENTUCKY BI^UE GRASS. 



Poa Pratensii . 



This is also called smooth meadow grass, spear grass, and 

 green grass, all three very appropriate, characteristic names. But 

 Blue is a misnomer for this grass. It is not blue, but green as 

 grass, and the greenest of grasses. The P. Conipressa. fla:-stalked 

 meadow grass, wire grass, blue grass is blue, 'the true blue' grass 

 from which the genus received its trivial name. 



Kentucky blue grass, known also in the Eastern States as 

 June grass esteemed in some parts of America ao the best of all 

 pasture grasses, is certainly a very desirable pasture grass. Its 

 very narrow leaves, two or more feet long, are in such profusion, 

 and cover the ground to such depth with their luxuriant growth, 

 that a mere description CDuld give no one an adequate idea of its 

 beauty, quantity, and value; that is on rich land. On poor, sandy 

 land, it degenerates sadly, as do other things uncongenially lo- 

 cated. 



Perennial, and bearing cold and drought well, it furnishes 

 grazing a large part of the year. It is specially valuable as a 

 winter and spring grass for the South. To secure the best winter 

 results, it should be allowed a good growth in early fall, so that the end of the leaves. being 

 killed by the frost, afford an ample covering for the under-part which continue 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 w^ould burn off clean. 



Blue grass grow-s well on hill tops, or bottom land, if not too wet and too poor It may 

 be sown any time from September to April, preferable perhaps in the latter half of Febru- 

 ary, or early in March. The surface of the land should be cleaned of trash of all kinds, 

 smooth, even; and if recently 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 w-hen the surface of the land has had the roller over it. The first rain after 

 seeding \y\\\ put them 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 continues 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, how- 

 ever, is not apt to occur in the Southern tier of States, as the growth here is 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, that is 2 bushels, should be used ; in mixtures, 4 to 6 

 pounds. 



