THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSKS OF THE UNITED STATES. 93 



proof of its great value aud wonderful adaptatiot to many soils, climates, and treat- 

 ments. Yet, strange to say, thougli growing in England for many centuries, it was 

 not appreciated in that country till carried there from Virginia in 1764. Bur, as in 

 the case of timothy grass, soon after its introduction from America, it came into high 

 favor among farmers, and still retains its hold on their estimation as a grazing and 

 hay crop. It will grow well on any soil containing sufficient clay 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 mowings the first year. It grows well between 29° aiid 4H° latitude. It may 

 be mowed from two to four times a year, according to latitude, season, and treatment, 

 yielding from I to 3 tons of excellent hay per acre on poor to medium land. It is 

 easily cured and handled. It is readily seeded and catches with certainty. It grows 

 well in open lands and in forests of large trees, the underbrush being all cleared off. 

 I know but one objection to it. Like tall out grass it is disposed to grow in clumps 

 and leave much of the ground uncovered. This may be obviated by thick seeding, 

 using *2i, or, better, 3 bushels of seed per acre. The gaps may be prevented by sow- 

 ing with it a few pounds of red-top seed. But as the latter multiplies annually from 

 seeds dropping, it would in a few j ears root out the orchard grass. In common with 

 others I prefer red clover with orchard grass. It fills the gaps and matures at the 

 same time with the orchard grass ; the mixture makes good pasture and good hay; 

 but if mowed more than twice a year, or grazed too soon after the second mowing, 

 the clover will rapidly fail. One peck of red clover seed and six pecks of orchard 

 grass seed is a good proportion per acre. * * * After being cut it has been found 

 to grow inches in less than three days. Sheep leave all other grasses if they 

 can find this, and acre for acre it will sustain twice as many sheep or other stock as 

 timothy. Cut at the proper stage it makes a much better hay than timothy, and is 

 greatly preferred by animals, being easier to masticate, digest, and assimilate; in 

 fact, more like green grass in flavor, tenderness, and solubility. 



Mr. J. S. Gould, of New York, says: 



The testimony that has been collected from all parts of the world for two centuries 

 past establishes the place of this species among the very best of our forage grasses, 

 and we have not the shadow of a doubt that the interests of our graziers and dairy- 

 men would be greatly promoted by its more extended cultivation. It is always found 

 in the rich old pastures of England, where an acre of land can be relied on to fatten a 

 bullock and four sheep. It is admirably adapted for growing in the shade, no grass 

 being equal to it in this respect, except the rough-stalked meadow grass {Poa trivi- 

 alis). It receives the name of orchard grass from this circumstance. We have seen 

 it growing in great luxuriance in dense old New England orchards, where no other 

 grass except Poa trivialis would grow at all. It afiibrds a good bite earlier in the spring 

 than any other grass except the meadow fox-tail (Alopecunis pratensis). It aflbrds a 

 very great amount of aftermath, being exceeded in this respect by no other grass 

 'except Kentucky blue grass {Poa pratensis), and it continues to send out root leaves 

 until very late in the autunm. When sown with other grasses its tendency to form tus- 

 socks is very much diminished; indeed, it is always unprofitable to sow it alone in 

 meadows or pastures, as it stands too thin upon the ground to make a profitable use 

 of the land, and the filling up of the interspaces with other varieties greatly improves 

 the quality of the orchard grass by restraining its rankness and making it more deli- 

 cate. 



Mr. Sinclair states, and the statement has been abundantly verified 

 in all countries, that the herbage when suffered to grow rauk or old 

 contains one-half less nutriment than that which is of recent growth. 

 Cattle, sheep, and horses eat it with the greatest avidity when it is 

 young, but will not touch it when old, hence the importance, when 



