797 
HOW TO ESTIMATE SEED MIXTURES FOR 
PASTURES AND HAY. 
The value of a mixture for laying down pasture depends not on its 
quantity or its weight, but on the number and quality of the living 
plants that are produced from it. As one often hears of sowing so 
many bushels in the field, or so many pounds to the acre, it is very 
important to emphasize this as the correct view of a mixture. 
First, the bulk of a seed mixture is no help in forming an esti- 
mate of its value. This will be apparent from the following table 
showing the weight, number of germinating seeds, and price of a 
bushel of eight of the best pasture grasses, and three clovers. In 
estimating these seeds the current prices of 1894 for the best quality 
of the seeds have been taken. This carries with it a corresponding 
high germinating power in the seeds. The foxtail is estimated at 85 
per cent., tall fescue at 90 per cent., cocksfoot and Italian rye grass 
at 95 per cent., rough stalked meadow grass at 96 per cent., meadow 
fescue, perennial rye grass, catstail, and the three clovers at 98 per 
cent. This high quality of the seed necessarily carries with it a 
heavier weight per bushel. 
Table I. — Weight, Number of Seeds, and Price per Bushel 
of some Grasses and Clovers. 
One bushel of — 
Weight in lb. 
Number of seeds 
Price 
Foxtail 
14 
5,830,000 
£ s. d. 
17 6 
Cocksfoot 
21 
8,500,000 
15 9 
Italian rye-grass .... 
24 
6,150,000 
11 0 
Tall fescue 
25 
5.530,000 
1 17 6 
Meadow fescue .... 
28 
6,500,000 
1 4 6 
Perennial rye-grass 
28 
6,120,000 
9 4 
Rough -stalked meadow-grass 
28 
60,000,000 
2 6 8 
Timothy 
50 
65,000,000 
1 5 0 
Red clover 
G5 
15,000,000 
3 15 10 
Alsike ...... 
Gf> 
47,300,000 
3 10 10 
White clover ..... 
66 
46,500,000 
4 2 6 
The grass experiments at Woburn have shown that a heavy yield 
may be obtained by the use of 10,000,000 seeds per acre. Accepting 
this as a basis of estimate, it will be seen from this table that a mix- 
ture consisting of a bushel of each of the first five grasses would sow 
3J- acres, while the same quantity of each of the last five would give 
10,000,000 plants to 23£ acres. It follows, then, that the value of a 
bushel of seeds for producing a crop depends entirely on the kind of 
seeds contained, and their relative proportions. 
If we next consider the weight of seed that should be used to 
produce a satisfactory crop, we have to face the same uncertainties as 
in dealing with bulk. This is obvious from the following table of 
VOL. V. T. S.— 20 3 G 
