♦ 
THE 
BUBAL NEW-YOBKEB. 
WHAT OTHERS SAY. 
THE TAME GRASSES IN KANSAS. 
The following paper is from the pen of our 
occasional correspondent, Professor E. M. 
Shelton, of the Kansas State Agricultural Col¬ 
lege. It is taken from The Industrialist, a 
college record, which is edited by Professor 
Shelton. Alluding to thiB article, Professor 
Beal says : “ It is very valuable and most or all 
of it well worth printing. There is nothing 
equal to it for the West, and you cannot af¬ 
ford to omit it.” 
Why we Need the Tame Grasses.—T o 
most of us, our needs in this regard are pain¬ 
fully apparent; and I need not enlarge upon 
this topic. Our wild grasses, valuable as they 
are, notoriously caunot endure close cropping. 
Even under moderate pasturing, they rapidly 
fail, giving place to course and worthless 
weeds. Again, these wild grasses ure among 
the very latest of our plants to appear in the 
spring; and the iigheet touch of frost in the 
fall, robs them of all nutritive qualities. It is 
no exaggeration to say that the tame grasses 
will reduce our present feeding season at least 
one-third. But, pre-emineutly, we need the 
tame glasses because they are indispensable to 
any improved system ot farming which looks 
to maintaining the fertility of the soil, while ex¬ 
acting the utmost from it, Iu no way can our 
worn soils be replenished so cheaply as by 
turning under with the plow the great accu¬ 
mulation of vegetable mold, roots, and 6traw 
which constitute the turf of ud old pasture field. 
What Grasses shall #e Grown?—W e 
have to clasaity the grasses Into two principal 
groups, according as they are valuable for 
pasture or mowing. Occasionally, as in alfalfa 
and the clovers generally, soi ls may be found 
which are equally good for both purposes; 
but, generally, those sorts which are valuable 
for grazing have but little value when brought 
under the scythe, 
For pasture, I have no hesitation in recom¬ 
mending the following sorts, placing them in 
•the order of their importance: orchard-grass, 
alialla, red clover, perennial rye grass (Eng¬ 
lish blue-grass), Kentucky blue-grass. For 
mowing purposes, our experience has shown, 
very steadily, that alfalfa, icd clover, peren¬ 
nial rye-grass and timothy are the best. Bo far 
as the matter of withstanding the effects of 
drought is concerned, these sorts will rank, 
with us, in about the following order: alfalfa, 
orchard-grass, Kentucky blue-grass, red clo¬ 
ver, aud timothy. With perennial rye-grass 
our experience has not been sufficient to war¬ 
rant me in making any statement under this 
head. 
Character of the soil, and its prepara¬ 
tion.— in our experieuce, the best results have 
been obtuined with all the sorts of tame grasses 
upou a fertile clay loam, resting on a permea¬ 
ble clay subsoil. But, lot it be lemembered, 
land eauuot be too rich or too highly manured 
for the grasses. Indeed, we have found that 
not only are the largest yields obtained upon 
such fertile lands, but the influences of drought 
aud insect depredations are greatly lessened. 
01 course, comparatively poor lands, iu Kan¬ 
sas as elsewhere, will grow grass; but poor 
lauds produce poor crops everywhere. Better 
lar, commence the growth of the tame speeies 
of grass before the land has become impover¬ 
ished by injudicious cropping. 
But, whatever may be the character of the 
soil, prepare the laud as well and thoroughly, 
by plowing and harrowing, as for any grain 
crop. This is a iule with scarcely an excep¬ 
tion ; and its violation in various ways explains 
a large proportion of the failures that have at¬ 
tended the attempted cultivation of tame 
grasses iu Kansas. The question is asked me 
uiauy times every year, “ Why may I not 
scatter the seed upon the sod, as is often suc¬ 
cessfully done in the East?” This may be 
done ; but the practice, bo far as my observa- 
tiun has gone, has resulted in almost uniform 
failure. Where the prairie sod has been largely 
destroyed by the tramping of cattle, we have 
known blue-grass to succeed partially by this 
method ; but even iu this case, a better sod 
would have beeu obtained in less time by 
thoroughly subduiug the laud by two or three 
years of cropping, before applying the grass 
seed. 
Do not Seed with Another Grop.— Oats 
are olten recommended as an excellent crop 
with which to sow grass seed. The argument 
is, that the oats will shade aud protect the 
young grass. But grass does not need shade 
wlieu sown in proper season: it needs the sun,' 
and especially it needs moisture ; and this the 
°at plauts are coutiuually taking from the 
anil, thus robbing the young grass plants from 
die start. I am aware that, upon favorable 
reasons, considerable success is often obtaiued 
tj y seeding the grasses with another crop. But 
upon these favorable seasons, a better aud 
more vigorous start will be obtained without 
the rivalry of vigorous grains; and upon dry 
seasons a failure of the grass is almost certain, 
when seeded with a grain crop. 
The time to sow grass seeds is, I believe, 
without exception of any kind, in the spring ; 
and of most of the grasses it may be said, the 
earlier they are sown after the frost ha6 left 
the ground, the better. In a few instances 
and where the winter following has proved 
warm and open, we have had good success 
with timothy and clover sowed in the fall; but 
the result of sowing orchard-grass, alfalfa, and 
blue-grass, in the fall, has been almost invar¬ 
iably disastrous. With all kinds of grasses, we 
have obtained the best results wheu the seeding 
has been done in the spring. In lookiug over 
a field seeded last fall to a mixture of orchard- 
grass, clover and bine-grass, wo find that the 
native grasshoppers have consumed and utter¬ 
ly destroyed a strip a rod in width, running 
entirely around the field ; and the freezing and 
thawing of the winter have wrought sad 
havoc with the remainder. On the other 
hand, when the seeding is done late in the 
spring, the young and tender plants are con¬ 
sumed by the sun as fast as they appear 
above the ground. Seed sown during the 
last week of March, and any time during 
April, will rarely fail to germinate and make 
a vigorous growth. We have sown both alfal¬ 
fa aud orchard-grass during the early part of 
May, with excellent results. 
Alfalfa, or Lucerne, has been cultivated 
as a forage crop from the earliest period of 
history. It was well known to the ancient 
Romans; and, time out of miDd, it has been a 
favorite fodder plant with the inhabitants of 
Central andSoutheru Europe. The early settlers 
of South American States—notably Chili— 
carried the seeds of this plant to their new 
homes, where it has been grown with great 
success ever siuce. From Chili its cultivation 
has rapidly extended over California and our 
western coast, whence most of our knowledge 
of it has been derived. The effect of the dry 
climates of South America and California upon 
the habit of the plant, has been quite remarka¬ 
ble. Alfalfa is more hardy, takes on a more 
luxuriant growth, and endures drought much 
better thuu its near relative, lucerne, For 
this reason, it is clearly to the interest of every 
grower of alfalfa to use 6eed of California 
origin. 
In regard to the value of alfalfa for Kan¬ 
sas, I have no hesitation in saying that, all 
things considered, it is our most valuable 
clover, especially for the western and south¬ 
western sections of the State. Nevertheless, 
a large proportion of those who undertake 
to grow alfalfa will fail iu the first attempt. 
Let me emphasize two or three of the matters 
about which most of these failures cluster. 
Alfalfa must have old, rich and well-drained 
land to begin with; aud the freer this is from 
weeds, the better. Prepare the grouud thor¬ 
oughly, by plowing and harrowiug. Sow not 
less than twenty pounds of seed per acre ; aud 
sow this about the middle of April: harrow in 
lightly, following with the roller, if possible. 
Do not be discouraged if the plants make a 
feeble growth during the first season, as they 
always do. Do not pasture or mow during 
this first and critical seasou. The mower 
Bhould occasionally be run over the ground, 
high enough to miss the alfalfa aud cut off the 
tops of the weeds. After this first seasou, al¬ 
falfa will take care of itself and all the weeds 
within its reach. Alfalfa is perenuial, perhaps 
eternal; at all events it will outlive the “oldest 
inhabitant." It makes the most pasturage 
for neat stock, and the best "hog pastures.” 
It cuts the most hay ; we cut four large crops 
from the same grouud last season. And these 
briefly, are my reasons for believing in alfalfa. 
Orchard-grass has proved one of the very 
best and safest of all the pasture grasses that 
we have tried. It is but an indifferent hay 
plant, yielding a light crop of woody, fibrous 
fodder. Upou very rich laud, large crops of 
hay are claimed to have been secured ; but this 
result we have never obtained, aud the hay has 
proved with us scarcely equal to that cut from 
the prairie. But, in grazing, ils valuable qual¬ 
ities soon become apparent to the farmer. I 
feel confident that it will yield fully twice the 
feed that can be obtained from the same area 
of blue-grass or timothy, and, iu nutritive 
qualities, it is certainly greatly superior to 
blue-grass. It is consumed with great relish 
by stock of all kinds, especially if the grass has 
been cropped short. It Beems to do equally 
well upon heavy clay and sandy soils ; and an y 
rich and well-drained soil seems suited to 
it. It germinates about as easily as oats; 
aud, with good seed, no difficulty is experi¬ 
enced in getting a “stand” that will endure 
moderate cropping the first fall after seed¬ 
ing. As might be inferred from its com¬ 
mon name, it does best when moderately 
shaded; and yet there are few grasses that 
will so well endure the prolonged sunshine of 
our dry seasons. For these reasons, we feel 
safer in recommending this grass to the farm¬ 
ers of central Kansas, for the purposes of 
pasture, than any other sort. It should, how¬ 
ever, be remembered that orchard-grass will 
not make a sod, as blue-grass does. It always 
grows bunchy; and, to counteract this tenden¬ 
cy, seed should be sown with a liberal hand. 
Not less than one and a half bushel of seed 
should be sown per acre; and two bushels 
would perhaps be better. We have usually 
sown a liberal sprinkling of Kentucky blue- 
grass seed with orchard-grass ; but, almost in¬ 
variably, it has been completely smothered by 
the orchard-grass. We have found that red 
clover does excellently with this grass, and 
aids iu furnishiug that variety of food so 
agreeable to the taste of animals, 
Orchard-grass will endure late seeding bet¬ 
ter, perhaps, than any other sort; but this 
operation ought not to be delayed much be¬ 
yond the middle of April. 
Perennial Rye-grass, or English Blue 
Grass. —In the eastern aud southeastern part 
of the State, this old English favorite has 
given great satisfaction ; ami its cultivation in 
these parts is rapidly extending. In some 
respects, this sort is superior to orchard- 
grass, as it seems equally adapted for pas¬ 
turing and mowing. Moreover, the seed 
grains are large; and a stand is as easily ob¬ 
tained as with oats. We are inclined to the 
opinio^ that this Bort is especially valuable for 
our rich bottom lauds, over a large part of the 
central aud eastern portions of the State. But 
it is worth while to remember that peienuial 
rye-grass yields a woody and comparatively 
innutritious feed; and it is peculiarly liable to 
ergot, a fact which our graziers will appre¬ 
ciate. I have frequently noticed this parasite 
in great abuudauce upon the rye-grass grown 
upon the College farm. Sow not less than two 
bushels of seed per acre, upon land that has 
been well and thoroughly prepared. 
Red Clover the most generally valuable of 
all clovers aud grasses, needs no particular men¬ 
tion here. Iu 187 1 * aud ’75, two exceptionally dry 
seasons, it failed almost entirely here, giving 
neither pasture nor hay. But, daring the 
favorable seasons which have 6iuee prevailed, 
it has flourished abundantly; aud has yielded 
more—both of hay aud pasture—than is gen¬ 
erally obtained in the East. Last year we cut 
two excellent crops of hay and a crop of seed 
from the same ground. Red clover in this 
State has oue interesting peculiarity that is 
worth mentioning—when land is once seeded, 
it ucver “ runs out,” as is the case in the East¬ 
ern Slates, but thickens and spreads continu¬ 
ally, by self-seeding. Red clover is worth a 
trial anywhere iu the State; but, in very dry 
seasons, it lacks the ** staying” qualities so 
remarkable in alfalfa. 
Kentucky Blue-Grass can be grown al¬ 
most anywhere iu the settled portions of the 
State. We have never failed to secure a good 
stand, aud ullimatelv a good sod—even during 
such very dry seasons as 1875—wheu good seed 
was sown upou well-prepared laud aud at 
the proper suason, which is early m the spring. 
However, our experieuce with this grass— 
a very extended one, by the way—has con¬ 
vinced us that, for ail useful purposes except 
lawns, in central aud western Kansas this is 
oue of the most worthless of the tame grasses. 
It starts early in the season, and for a short 
time yields a small amount of quite inferior 
FORCING PLANTS BY ELECTRIC LIGHT.—PIG. 147. 
feed ; but in May it ripens its seed, the grass 
becomes brown, dry aud fibrous, and in this 
dormant condition it remains until fall, and 
often until the following spring. We have in¬ 
variably fouud that, in a field containing other 
sorts, cattle will not touch blue-grass until 
all these others are consumed, and starvation 
compels them to resort to the despised blue- 
grass. 
We can easily see that this grass posses¬ 
ses great value for a region like Illinois, and 
Kentucky, where winter rains abound, en¬ 
abling it to make a slow and continuous 
growth; but the Kansas winter is generally 
our driest season, and for this reason we 
doubt much if this old favorite sort has any 
place in our agriculture. To obtain a good 
stand quickly, blue-grass seed should be sown 
in the early spring ; and, in amount, not less 
than three bushels per acre of ground. 
Timothy I have but little to say of ; believing 
that, over a large portion of the State, it will 
not prove generally valuable. We have grown 
large crops, aud I have seen many fine stands 
west of this point ; still it suffers more from 
drought than any other sort that we have 
tried, and it rarely survives the ravages of 
the grasshopper. 
In Times of severe drought all these sorts, 
with the single exception of alfalfa, will fail to 
yield auy crop worth the name. Most of those 
that have been mentioned, caunot be seriously 
injured by an ordinary dry season; and, on 
the return of rain, these will start with undi¬ 
minished vigor. 
It is worth remembering, too, in conclusion 
that our much-despised prairie grasses possess 
many valuable qualities, which eutitle them to 
the grateful recognition of the husbandman. 
No known species of grass is belter adapted to 
withstand the effects of drought; and I suggest 
that any one possessing a good fie Id of prairie 
grass ought to teke all paius to secure it against 
injury, both for its intrinsic value aud as a 
precaution against a possibly dry seasou. 
The.Electric Light forPlants. —We have 
several times.alluded to the experiments of Dr. 
Siemens regarding the use of the electric light 
for forcing. Dr. Siemens has furnished the 
Gardeners’ Chronicle of London with par¬ 
ticulars of the experiments as far as he has 
gone, and from that journal our illustration is 
reproduced. The engraving will serve to show 
the plan of arrangement. The light has been 
used in the interior of one house, and has also 
been placed on the outside of a melon-house 
between it and a straw berry-pit, as shown in 
the figure. The house within which the lamp 
was placed is a small, oblong conservatory, 
some 34 feet by 16 feet. The lamp was placed 
at a bight of about eight feet from the floor. 
In this house the plants nearest to the light 
were accelerated in their growth by some ten 
to fourteen days, and in some cases the leaves, 
as of a banana, were scorched by the rays. The 
lamp was used at night in this house ior some 
three weeks, and in it were grown the Arums 
aud Roses exhibited at the Royal Society and at 
the Royal Horticultural Society. Near to this 
house are situated the melon-house and the 
strawberry-pit shown in our sketch (fig. 147). 
Two posts will be observed, the lamp having 
been suspended, first on the oue, then on the 
other, in such a way that the light fell on one 
end of thfe melon-house and then on the other 
end, the strawberry-pit being lighted at corre¬ 
spondingly different parts of its length in the 
same manner. 
Meat from Australia.— The direct result, 
says the Mark Lane Express, of the successful 
experiment m connection with the Strath- 
leven's cargo of foreign meat from Australia, 
is a proposal on the part of Messrs. Moll wraith, 
McEacharu aud Co., of 34, Leadcuhall Street, 
the importers, to form a limited-liability com¬ 
pany to develop and carry on the traffic. It is 
to be called “ The Australian F resh Meat Com¬ 
pany (Limited)," aud the capital required is 
£150,000 in £10 shares, the whole of which are 
now offered for subscription. The prospectus 
states that ** at the present time meat (of the 
quality of that sent iu the Strathleveu) can be 
purchased at l^d. per lb. at the Australian 
ports of shipment,” aud that “ an ample supply 
can be relied upou at an average cost uot 
exceeding 2d. per lb.” This estimate appears 
to be a very sale one, for beef especially is now 
a glut iu the Australian market at Id. per lb. 
wholesale, according to the Queensland aud 
New South Wales Press. 
New Colors from tue Red Cabbage.— 
Cauliue is a new coloring substance prepared 
from the leaves of red cabbage, by infusiug 
them for 24 hours iu boiling water and evapo¬ 
rating. The color is violet blue. By adding 
four per cent, of bary ta a pale green is ob¬ 
tained; this is buryta-cuuline, Chloro-eauline, 
u greenish blue, is made by adding 20 per cent, 
of anhydrous chloride of calcium ; by the ad¬ 
dition of one per ceut. of baryta aud 20 per 
ceut. of chloride of manganese, a bronze color 
is produced; eight per cent, chloride of zinc 
and five per ceut. of soda yield an ultra- 
marine blue color; and 20 per cent, of 
protochloride of tin gives a violet color.— 
Druggists' Circular. 
