1922.] Depth of Sowing Grass and Clovbb Seeds, 



185 



be seen that it is not advisable to cover cocksfoot seeds even to 

 a depth of | in. The number of surface seedlings decreased 

 with the depth, and at a depth pf 1 in. the number had fallen 

 to 50 per cent, compared with 69 per cent, given by | in. depth. 

 At 2 in. depth only 16 per cent, o! the seedlings n ached the sur- 

 face, while the 8 in. boxes and beds were complete failures. 



The superiority of the fairly shallow depths (J in. to \ in.) 

 over surface and deep sowings is borne out by the weights of 

 green fodder obtained from the beds. (See the Table.) 



A comparison of the results given by cocksfoot and rye grass 

 at depths of 2 in. and 3 in. will show that cocksfoot seedlings are 

 not able to break through such great depths of soil as rye grass 

 seedlings, chiefly no doubt because the sheaths and first leaves 

 are broader and the caryopses smaller than those of rye grass. 



That a very deep covering has a detrimental effect on the tiller- 

 ing capacity of the young cocksfoot plants is shown by the 

 following figures : — 



Surface. \in. h in. l?'n. 2 in. 

 Number of tillers per plant 52 4*6 4"6 4\5 2 G 



Conclusions. — (1) As in the case of perennial rye grass, surface 



sowings gave very poor results. 



(2) For field sowing the best depth for cocksfoot seeds 

 appears to be about § in. to .} in. 



(3) When buried to depths of 2 in. and 8 in. cocksfoot gave 

 even poorer results than perennial rye grass. This is an im- 

 portant fact since cocksfoot is often included with seeds sub- 

 jected to deeper sowing, and should be started under the most 

 favourable conditions when set in competition with quicker 

 growing grasses like the rye grasses. 



Meadow Foxtail. — Time of Sowing. — The uniformly low ger- 

 mination of the pot cultures of meadow foxtail as compared with 

 the fairly high results given by the box cultures was probably 

 due to the fact that the pot experiment was carried out during 

 April when the maximum room temperature seldom exceeded 

 14° C. (57° Fahr.), while the box experiment was carried out 

 in July when the maximum temperature often rose to 26° or 

 28° C. (79 or 82° FahiO. 



The following figures giving a comparison of the germinating 



capacities of meadow foxtail and perennial rye grass in spring 



and again in the summer are very interesting: — 



Meadow Foxtail. Perennial Rye Gfrass. 



Depths. April. Juhf. March. June. 



£ in. 15 per cent. 62 per cent. 8fi per cent. HO per cent, 



} in. 21 „ „ 48 ., „ 83 „ „ 78 ., 



h in. 23 „ „ 42 „ ,. 84 ., 80 ., 



