88 Richard Frotscher’s Almanac and es Manual 
ciently to begin to drop, the heads should be cut off and dried, when 
the seeds will all thresh out readily and be matured. After the seeds 
are ripe and taken off, the long abundant leaves and stems are still 
green, and being mowed make good hay. 
It may be sown in March or April, and mowed the same season ; 
but for heavier yield, it is better to sow in September or October. 
Along the more southerly belt, from the 31° parallel southward, it may 
be sown in November and onward till the middle of December. When- 
ever sown it is one of the most certain grasses to have a good catch. 
Not less than two bushels (14 pounds) per acre should be sown. Like 
Timothy, on inhospitable Soils, the root may sometimes become bulb- 
ous. The average annual nutrition yielded by this grass in the 
Southern belt, is probably twice as great as in Pennsylvania and other 
Northern States. 
JOHNSON GRASS. 
(Sorghum halapense.) 
This bbs been called Cuba grass, Guinea grass, Egyptian grass 
Means grass, Alabama Guinea asker are 
It seems pretty well agreed now, however, to call it Johnson grass, 
and leave the name Guinea grass for the Panicum jumentorum, to 
which it properly belongs. 
It istrue that in Mr. Howard’s pamphlet, as well asin many period- 
icals and books, and in letters and common usage, this grass has been 
far more generally called Guinea grass than the true Guinea grass it- 
self, thus causing vast confusion. It is, therefore, assuredly time to 
call each by its right name. Johnson grass is perennial and has cane- 
like roots, or more properly. underground stems, from the size of a 
goose-quill to that of the little finger. These roots are tender, and 
hogs are fond of and thrive on them in winter. The roots literally fill 
the ground near the surface, and every joint is capable of deyeloping 
a bud. Hence the grass isreadily propagated from root cuttings. It 
is also propagated from the seeds, but not always so certainly; for in 
some localities many faulty seeds are produced, and in other places 
no seedsare matured. Before sowing the seeds, therefore, they should 
be tested. as should all grass seeds indeed, in order to know what pro- 
portion will germinate, and thus what quantity per acre to sow One 
bushel of a good sample of this seed is sufficient for one acre of land. 
The leaf, stalk and panicle of this grass resemble those of other 
sorghums. It grows on any land where corn will grow; and like the 
latter, the better the land the heavier the crop. On rich land the 
culms attain a size of over half an inch in diameter, and a height of 
seven feet. It should be cut while tender, and then all live stock are 
fond of it: for a few weeks are sufficient to render it so ccarse and 
hard that animals refuse it, or eat sparingly. : 
A few testimonials are here quoted to give an idea of the de: 
tiveness and value of this plant. In a letter published in the Rural 
Carolinian for 1874, Mr N. B. Moore, who had for more than forty 
years grown crops, speaks of this grass under the name of Guinea 
grass: 
