22 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



to bring the soil to a high state of fertility in a few 

 years. 



We may summarize the subject of preparation of 

 land for grass by saying that it must first be made 

 fairly fertile if it is not already so, and that it must be 

 plowed deep when in condition to pulverize well, and 

 then be thoroughly fined by the harrow. It is then 

 ready for the seed. 



SOWING THE SEED 



The importance of good seed can hardly be over- 

 estimated. In the chapter on seeds the prevalence of 

 poor grass-seed on the markets and some of the rea- 

 sons for the same are pointed out. A good many 

 failures in seeding down the grasses result from insuf- 

 ficient preparation of the land, but many failures result 

 also from the use of seed which for one reason or 

 another has lost much, or all, of its vitality. This is 

 about the only civilized country in the world in which 

 there are no laws to protect the farmer against imposi- 

 tion on the part of dishonest seedsmen, and honest 

 seedsmen find much difficulty in selling high-class 

 seed alongside of dead seed, which is offered at a low 

 price. A farmer ought always to buy grass-seed far 

 enough in advance to enable him to send a sample of 

 it to the seed laboratory of his State experiment sta- 

 tion, if the station maintains one, or to that of the 

 United States Department of Agriculture, which is 

 always ready to test such seeds free of charge. If this 

 practice were general, bad seed would be less plentiful 

 on the market, and there would be fewer failures when 

 grasses are sown. The danger from bad seed is much 



