For the Southern States, 



75 



Sow about two bushels (24 lbs.) per acre, if alone, in Septem- 

 ber, October, February or March; if with timothy ibr hay, from 

 6 to 10 pounds ; if with other grasses for pasture, 3 to 5 pounds. 

 It is an excellent pasture grass, and will grow on almost any kind 

 of soil. 



KENTUCKY BLUE GRASS. 

 [Poa Pratensis.) 



This is called also 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. compressa, flat-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, although esteemed in some parts of America as the best 

 of all pasture grasses, seems not to be considered very valuable 

 among English farmers except in mixtures. It is certainly a very 

 desirable pasture grass however. Its very narrow leaves, one, 

 two or more feet long, are in such profusion and cover the ground 

 to such depth with their luxuriant growth that a mere descrip- 

 tion could give no one an adequate idea of its beauty, quantity 

 and value; that is on rich laud. On poor, sandy land, it dege- 

 nerates sadly as to other things uncongenially located. 



Perennial and bearing cold and drought well, it furnishes graz- 

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

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

 sults, it should be allowed a good growth in early fall, so that the 

 ends of the leaves being killed by frost afford an ample covering 

 for the under parts 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 would burn off' clean. Bat this occurs in Kentucky, where in- 

 deed it has seemed, without fire, to disappear utterly; yet when 

 rain came, the bright green spears promptly recarpeted the earth. 



With its underground stems and many roots, it sustains the 

 heat and drought of the Southern States as well as those of Ken- 

 tucky ; where indeed it is subjected to severer trials of this kind 

 than in the more Southe-rn States. In fact, it bears the vicissi- 

 tudes of our climate about as well as Bermuda grass, and is 

 nearly as nutritious. 



Blue grass grows well on hill tops, slopes, or bottom lands, if 

 not too wet and too poor. It may be sown any time from Sep- 

 tember till April, preferably perhaps in the latter half of Febru- 

 ary, or early in March. The best catch I ever had was sown the 

 20th of March, on unbroken land, from which trash, leaves, etc., 

 has just been burned. 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. This 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 seed- 



