GARDEN MANUAL FOR THE SOUTHEKN STATES. 



101 



It is easily cured and handled. It is readily 

 seeded and catches with certainty. Its long, 

 deeply penetrating fibrous roots enable it to 

 sustain itself and grow vigorously during 

 droughts that dry up other grasses, except 



Orchard Grass. 



all oat grass, which has similar roots and 

 characteristics. It grows well in open lands 

 and forests of large trees, the underbrush 

 being all cleared off. 



TALL MEADOW OAT GRASS. 



Arrhenatherum Avenaceum. 

 Evergreen grass in Virginia and other 

 Southern States, and it is the Tall Oat 

 (Avena elatior) of Linaeus. It is closely re- 

 lated to the common oat, and has a beautiful 

 open panicle leaning slightly to one side. It 

 is widely naturalized and well adapted to a 

 great variety of soils. On sandy or gravelly 



Tall Meadow Oat Grass. 



soils it succeeds admirably, growing two to 

 three feet high. On rich, dry upland it grows 

 from five to seven feet high. It has an abun- 

 dance of perennial, long fibrous roots pene- 

 trating deeply in the soil, being, therefore, 

 less affected b y 

 drought or cold, 

 and enabled to yield 

 a large quantity of 

 foliage, winter and 

 sdmmer. These ad- 

 vantages render it 

 one of the very best 

 grasses for the 

 South, both for 

 grazing (being ever- 

 green) and for hay, 

 admitting of being 



^^v ^'^ " 'i^. It may be sown in 



March or April, and 

 ^^^^\ '-^ mowed the same 



^^ ^^ '-< season; but for 



heavier yield it is 

 better to sow in 

 September or Octo- 

 ber. Along the 

 more Southern belt, 

 from the 31 degree 

 parallel southward, 

 it may be sown in 

 November and on- 

 ward till the middle of December. When- 

 ever sown it is one of the most certain grasses 

 to have a good catch. Not less than two 

 bushels per acre should be sown. 



DWARF ESSEX RAPE. 



This Rape may be sown broadcast at the 

 rate of 20 pounds per acre and harrowed in. 

 Under favorable conditions it is ready for 

 pasturing sheep or cattle within six weeks 

 from the time of sowing, and on an average 

 one acre will carry twelve to fifteen sheep six 

 weeks to two months. In the Northern States 

 it should be sown from May to September for 

 fall pasturing, but as it thrives best in cool 

 weather it should not be sown in the South- 

 ern States until September or October for 

 winter pasture. 



WINTER OR HAIRY VETCH. 



Though it succeeds and produces good crops 

 on poor sandy soil, it is much more vigorous 

 on good land and grows to a height of four 

 or five feet. It is perfectly hardy throughout 

 the United States, remaining green all winter 

 and should be sown during August and Sep- 

 tember mixed with Rye, which serves as a 

 support for the plants, or in spring with Oats 

 and Barley. It is the earliest crop for culture, 

 being nearly a month earlier than Scarlet 

 Clover, and a full crop can be taken off the 

 the land in time for planting spring crops; 1^ 

 bushels per acre. 



Medico! Eggs and China Nest Eggs. 



