52 



D. M. FERRY & CO'S DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 



cover the seed sufficiently. If the expected rain does not 

 come, cover by rolling with a light roller. If sown in the fall, 

 sow before the autumn rains have ceased, and before very 

 cold weather give the young grass a light dressing of manure. 

 One pound of this mixture is sufficient to sow a space 30x20 

 feet, or 600 square feet. Kentucky Blue Grass in conjunction 

 with White Clover forms one of the finest and closest of 

 lawns. For this purpose, use four bushels of Blue Grass 

 and about six pounds of White Clover per acre. 



-^•^ 



MISCELLANEOUS FARM 

 SEEDS. 



MIOilQdN WINTER WHEAT. 



One of the ways in which farmers allow the profits, which 

 should come from their business, to slip through their fingers 

 is in want of attention to the quality of their seed grain. 

 Most farmers think that there is not enough difference in the 

 different varieties of seed wheat to 

 warrant the paying of an extra price 

 for a variety, even if it is decidedly 

 superior, and better suited to their 

 soils, but repeated tests by the differ- 

 ent experimental stations, and by 

 private growers, have proven con- 

 clusively that there is a difference of 

 as high as fifteen to twenty bushels 

 per acre in yield of grain, due solely 

 to the quality of the seed used; for 

 this reason we feel that we are doing 

 our customers a kindness in urging 

 them carefully to study and experi- 

 ment with the new and superior seed 

 grains we offer. 



MICHIGAN BRONZE (Medi- 

 terranean Hybrid, or Diehl Medi 

 terranean).—We are gratified with our 

 success in introducing this wheat, and 

 in the uniformly favorable reports 

 which come to us in regard to it. It 

 certainly seems to be the farmers' 

 wheat, and we believe it the most 

 profitable sort in cultivation. It is a 

 cross between the old Diehl and the 

 Red Mediterranean, and the head is of 

 the shape of the Diehl, but with short 

 beards, while the plant retains the 

 hardiness and productiveness of the 

 Mediterranean, and the grain cannot 

 be equaled in milling qualities. The 

 plants stool out well. The straw is of 

 moderate length and size, but very 

 stiff, and turns bronze at maturity; 

 the berry is bright amber color, medi- 

 um sized and handsome. We recom- 

 mend this variety as the surest and best 

 for ordinary farms and conditions. 



BARLEY, C O M M O N.— Barley 

 succeeds best on lands more sandy 

 and lighter than those adapted to 

 wheat. It is sown in the spring, and 

 can be grown farther north than any 

 other grain. Sow from two to two 

 and a-half bushels per acre. Weight, 

 forty-eight pounds per bushel. 



BARLEY, HULLESS.— There are 

 several varieties of Barley in which 

 the grain shells out of the chaff like 

 wheat. One variety is also beardless, 

 but our experience with it is that it is 

 a very unreliable cropper. That we 

 offer has a smaller grain, but yields 

 about as well as the Common Barley, 

 and is the sort so largely grown by 

 Bohemians and others for making 

 barley bread. 



RYE, EAEE OR WINTER.— 

 The time for sowing is from the middle 

 of August to the last of September. 

 One plowing is given, and the seed 

 sown broadcast at the rate of one and 

 a-half bushels per acre, and dragged 

 in. Harrowing and rolling in the 

 spring are recommended. If cut be- 

 fore fully ripe, the grain makes more 

 and better flour. If intended for seed, 

 it should be fully ripe. Sow some rye 

 among standing corn, hoeing it in, 

 leaving the ground level as possible, 

 and after the corn is removed, rolling 

 Michigan Bronze, the ground. It succeeds best on 

 Wheat, sandy soils. 



RYE, SPRING.— Although this grain is often planted by 

 farmers especially for the paper makers, who prefer it to any 

 other, its principal value is as a "catch " crop, to sow where 

 winter grain has failed. The straw is shorter and stffer than 

 that of the winter variety, and is always easily secured, 

 while the grain, although smaller, is of equal value. 



BUCKWHEAT, COMMON Buckwheat should be 



sown about the 20th of June, broadcast, at the rate of from 

 one to three pecks per acre. The average yield is from 

 twenty-five to thirty bushels per acre. It should be threshed 

 as soon as dry, on the ground or barn floor. If allowed to 

 stand in mass, it quickly gathers moisture. 



BUCKWHEAT, JAPANESE.— It is rare that a new 

 grain is introduced which has so decided and evident merit as 

 this. The plants are very large and vigorous, making a full 



WW5S&: 



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stand when other sorts fail entirely. It matures its seed 

 early, and the grain is much larger and at the same time has 

 a thinner hull than the Common or the Silver Hull. We can 

 recommend this as a great acquisition. 



BUCKWHEAT, SILVER HULL.— This improved var- 

 iety is much better than the old sort. It is in bloom longer, 

 matures sooner, and yields double the quantity per acre. 

 The husk is thinner, the corners less prominent, and the 

 grain of a beautiful light gray color. The flour is said to be 

 better and more nutritious. 



FIELD PEAS (Pimm sativum).— The varieties of field 

 peas have never been very numerous, nor are they much 

 increasing. The kinds mostly used are the Golden Vine, 

 Blue Prussian, Common White and Common Blue. Field 

 peas, in general, may be sown broadcast or in drills, after 

 the manner of field beans, about three bushels per acre. 



SPRING VETCHES, OR TARES (Vica sativa).— K 

 species of the pea. grown extensively in England, and to a 

 considerable extent in Canada, for stock, but not much used 

 in the States. Culture same as field peas, two bushels per 

 acre. 



FLAX (Linum usitatissimum).— Sow late enough in the 

 spring to avoid frost, and early enough to secure the early 

 rains. A fair average quantity of seed to be sown on an 

 acre is one-half bushel, when cultivated for seed; if for the 

 fibre, a larger quantity should be sown. Cut before quite 

 ripe, and, if the weather be dry, let it lie in the swath a few 

 hours, when it should be raked and secured from the 

 weather: thresh early in the fall and in dry weather. 



HEMP (Cannabis sativa).— If raised for manufacturing, 

 must be sown broadcast, at the rate of one-half bushel to 

 the acre; if for seed, should be planted in hills four feet 

 apart, and the plants thinned out to three or four most vigor- 

 ous stems in each hill. 



•^■•^- 



BIRD SEEDS, 



CANARY SEED (Phalaris canariensis) . 

 HEMP SEED (Cannabis sativa~). 

 MAW (Papaver rhozas). 

 MILLET SEED (Panicum miliaceum). 

 RAPE SEED (Brassica napus). 

 LETTUCE SEED (Lactuca sativa). 



