GARDEN MANUAL FOR THE SOUTHERN STATES. 



75 



Kentucky Bine 

 Grass. 



meat to each of the 12 or 15 growing- pigs 

 which can be kept on it. Even the chickens 

 and other fowls will, in winter, devour 

 with relish a mash made up of scalded 

 Alfalfa leaves mixed with bran and corn 

 chop, and will amply repay the careful 

 keeper by filling the egg basket with eggs, 

 when they are worth 35 and 40 cents a 

 dozen. Bees do very well on a field of Al- 

 falfa in bloom, and bee keepers are sure 

 of a good crop of honey, the finest, richest, 

 thickest, whitest and best flavored in the 

 v.orld. No honey can equal it and it runs ; 

 from 12 to 13 pounds to the gallon, while | 

 the other honey runs from 11 to 12 pounds. [ 

 The nectar is so abundantly secreted, dur- i 

 ing the time it is in bloom, that for a j 

 given acreage no plant w^ill support as | 

 many colonies. I 



BOKHARA MEI.ITOTUS OB SWBBT ' 



CIiOVBB. — A hardy perennial Clover, ; 



growing wild in many sections, particular- \ 



iy the prairie States. Will thrive and i 



prosper wherever Blue Grass, Red Clover ; 



and Alfalfa grow. May be sown in most i 

 any month; late Fall and early Spring is 



considered best. A frequent practice is to ' 



sow it with Winter grain. Flowers fur- ; 

 nish abundant forage for bees. 



EBNTUCET BZ.UB GBASS. — (Foa Fra- 



tensis.) — This is also called smooth meadow \ 

 grass. spear grass, and green grass, ; 

 all three very appropriate, characteristic i 

 names, but Blue is a 

 misnomer for this 

 grass. It is not blue 

 but green as grass, 

 and the greenest of 

 grasses. Kentucky 

 Blue Grass, with its 

 underground stems 

 and many roots, sus- 

 tains the heat and 

 drought of the 

 Southern States. It 

 may be sown any 

 time from September 

 to April, preferably 

 perhaps in the latter 

 half of February or 

 early in March. The 

 surface of the land 

 should be cleaned of 

 trash of all kinds, 

 smooth, even; and if 

 recently plowed and 

 harrowed, it should be 

 rolled also. One year 

 here gives a finer 



growth and show than two in Kentucky, or 

 any other State so far North. Sown alone, 

 one bushel should be used; in mixture, 4 to 

 6 pounds. 



BHODES GBASS (Chloris Gayana).— Is 



a native of Central and Southern Africa, 

 \vhere it is regarded as one of the best 

 species for pastures on dry soil. It is a 

 perennial, growing from 3 to 4 feet high, 

 with a large number of very long, narrow, 

 and tender leaves, and with rather few 

 branching seed spikes or slender branch- 

 ing stems. It is propagated by both seed 

 and roots. When seed is used it should be 

 sown at corn-planting time at the rate of 

 about 10 pounds per acre on a soil having 

 a fine, mellow surface, and then given a 

 light harrowing. As the seed is produced 

 only in small quantities and as it con- 

 tinues to be developed and matured 

 through the entire season, little can be 

 gathered at any one time. While the prin- 

 cipal value of Rhodes Grass is for grazing, 



it is also used for hay, giving two or three 

 cuttings of about 1 ton each to the acre, 

 and the hay being of excellent quality. It 

 bears severe drouth and moderate frost 

 without injury, but is easily killed by 

 plowing late in the season. 



OBCHABD GBASS. — (Dactylis Glomer- 

 ata.) This is one of the best grasses for 

 pasture. It grows quickly. Can be sown 

 either in fall or spring. Sow from 1 to 1^ 

 bushels per acre. It may be mowed from 

 two to four times a year, according to 

 season and treatment, yielding from one 

 to three tons of excellent hay per acre on 

 poor to medium land. In grazing and as 

 hay rriost animals select it in preference 

 among mixtures in other grasses. After 

 grazing, or mowing, few grasses grow so 

 rapidly (three to six inches per week), and 

 are soon ready again for tooth or blade. It 

 is easily cured and handled. It is readily 

 seeded and catches with certainty. Its 

 long, deeply penetrating fibrous roots en- 

 ables it to sustain itself and grow 

 vigorously during drouths that dry up 

 other grasses, which has similar roots and 

 characteristics. It grows well in open 

 lands and forests of large trees, the under- 

 brush being all cleared off. 



B N- G 1. 1 S H, OB FBBBNNIAI. BTE 



GBASS. — (IiOlium Ferenne.) This is the 

 first grass cultivated in England over two 

 centuries ago, and at a still more remote 

 period in France. It was long more wide- 

 ly known and cultivated than any other 

 grass, became adapted to a great variety 

 of soils and conditions, and a vast number 

 (seventy or more) of varieties produced, 

 some of which were greatly improved 

 while others were inferior and became an- 

 nuals. Introduced into the United States 

 in the first quarter of the past century, 

 English Rye is largely sown by our land- 

 scape gardeners for winter lawns on Ber- 

 muda sod. The Bermuda blades, being- 

 easily affected by frost, become red and 

 rusty looking, while English Rye during 

 winter presents 

 a most beauti- 

 ful appearance, 

 being of a vivid 



green, and as 



the Bermuda 



during April 



and May makes 



its appearance 



i t overgrows 



the English 



Rye, c a u sing 



the latter to 



decay and act 



as a fertilizer 



to the existing 



grass. It should 



be sown from 



September t o 



March, at the 



rate of 3 to 4 



bushels of seed 



per acre. 



ABCTIC OB BBSCUE GBASS (Bromus 



Uniloides.) — -Makes fine Winter grazing or 

 a good early hay crop. It can be sown any 

 time from August to the middle of Oc- 

 tober. The ground should be thoroughly 

 plowed and prepared as for other grasses 

 -ind clovers. The seed should be sown 

 broadcast and covered to an average depth 

 of about one inch. Sow at the rate of 1% 

 to 2 bushels per acre. It is very spread- 

 ing, and quite shortly after it comes up 

 will form a permanent sod, capable of 

 standing any amount of grazing. The first 



j^^^ 



Eng-lish Bye Grass. 



We are Headquarters for Grass and Field Seeds. 



