136 Depth of Sowing Grass and Clover Seeds. [May, 



They show that while the ryegrass seeds will germinate 

 equally well during both seasons, meadow foxtail seeds will 

 not germinate satisfactorily except during warm weather. 



That the best stands of meadow foxtail are obtained when the 

 seeds are sown in June or July was confirmed by an experiment 

 in which the seeds were sown weekly from early May to August. 



When excessive moisture is associated with low temperature 

 the germination is still further reduced as shown by the following 

 figures for surface sown pots : — 



Normal watering. Excessive watering. 

 Percentage germination ... ... 25 ... 18 



It was observed that the caryopses readily decomposed when 

 exposed to excessively moist conditions, chiefly because the seeds 

 were kept in a constant state of saturation by the large and very 

 hairy glumes. 



Best depths. — Since the germination of the pot cultures was 

 so low no reliance can be placed on those results. 



In the box experiment the uncovered sowing gave nearly the 

 same number of surface seedlings as J in. and § in. depths, but, 

 as in the case of perennial rye grass and cocksfoot, the germina- 

 tion was retarded, while many of the seedlings were dwarfed for 

 a considerable period after germination. 



All the covered sowings down to a depth of 1 in. gave fairly 

 uniform results with the exception of J in., which actually 

 gave 13 per cent, more surface seedlings than the J in. depth. 

 The 2 in. depth was practically a complete failure, while the 

 3 in. depth was a complete failure. 



Conclusions. — (1) The best time to sow meadow foxtail appears 

 to be either June or July. 



(2) Satisfactory stands may. be obtained from surface sowings 

 in wet weather, but it is nearly always advisable to cover these 

 light seeds if only to prevent them from being blown away. 



(3) Although the experiments on meadow foxtail are not 

 conclusive, it would seem that the seeds may safely be covered 

 to depths of J in. and f in. 



(4) The sowings will result in complete failure if the seeds 

 are covered with 2 in. to 3 in. of soil. 



Rough Stalked Meadow Grass. — The results of the pot and 



box experiments, confirmed by observations made on the beds, 

 show that the seeds of this species should either be left uncovered 

 or buried very slightly, as even a shallow covering of only 

 J in. had the effect of reducing the number of surface 

 seedlings, especially if the surface soil showed the least sign of 

 caking over. At 1 in. depth only 4 to 6 seedlings per 100 



