REDTOP AND ORCHARD-GRASS 



159 



is somewhat amusing to read the severe condemnations 

 of orchard-grass — and timothy, too, for that matter — in 

 English books on grasses of the early part of the last 

 century, on account of its coarseness. This idea crops 

 out, to some extent, in American literature; but there is 

 nothing to support it. If stock relish a grass and it 

 is nutritious, then the coarser the better — if coarseness 

 adds to the amount of forage it yields. Corn is rather 

 a coarse grass, yet it is the most valuable of all grasses. 

 Sorghum is another coarse grass that makes hay, and 

 particularly green feed, of excellent quality. 



Another advantage orchard-grass possesses is its 

 greater length of life. If properly treated an orchard- 

 grass meadow continues to make good yields for many 

 years, but, like most other perennial grasses, it pro- 

 duces more the first cropping season than ever after- 

 ward, except under unusual weather conditions, and 

 it is doubtful if a farmer would be justified in keep- 

 ing an orchard-grass meadow down more than two 

 or three years. It also possesses marked advantages 

 as a pasture-grass if grazed systematically. It bears 

 cropping and trampling better than timothy, but does 

 not continue to improve in old pasture-lands, as blue- 

 grass does. It is w r orthy of a place in grass mixtures 

 wherever it will thrive. It is stated by many writers 

 that sheep are especially fond of it. 



The author can state from experience that horses 

 and cattle eat it readily in pastures, but if mixed with 

 other grasses and clover, and poorly managed, orchard - 

 grass is inclined to outgrow the other constituents of 

 the mixture, and when clumps of it attain considerable 

 hight, stock negledl it for more tender herbage. If 



