1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
671 
BROMUS INERMIS-AWNLESS BROME GRASS 
IIOW IT BEHAVES IN THE NORTHWEST. 
Best in tlie Northwest. —Bromus inermis is be¬ 
coming very popular in the Middle Northwest. Its 
best common name is simply Brome grass. It thrives 
well 500 miles northwest of St Paul, ancl is as hardy 
as any cultivated tame grass. At Indian Head, Assini- 
boia, Canada, it endures a combination of short Sum¬ 
mers, drought, and severe Winters, which kills many 
plants which are hardy in Minnesota. It does well 
in droughty farming sections of North Dakota and 
South Dakota. How far to the south it will thrive, 
I do not know. It is much used in droughty sections 
of Russia, and its strongest place in the agriculture 
of America will, doubtless, be in the semi-arid regions 
of the Middle West where ranching and agricultural 
conditions blend. There it does far better than Tim¬ 
othy, Kentucky Blue grass, Red-top and the staple 
clovers, because it can get on with a smaller supply 
of rain. It is not easily killed out by water standing 
on it while the frost is leaving the ground in early 
Spring, but it is, probably, not adapted to swamps. 
W liat is its l*lace ?—Like other forage plants, 
Brome grass yields most when it has a constant good 
supply of moisture as well as plant food. On good 
soils, in eastern Minnesota, and in Illinois and sur¬ 
rounding States, it is not expected that Bromus will 
outdo Timothy and clover mixed in short rotations, or 
that it will replace Kentucky Blue grass and White 
clover in permanent pastures, or that it will drive 
Red-top out of tlie “ natural meadows” on swampy 
lands. But it certainly will command a place in 
mauy grass mixtures, especially in those for perma¬ 
nent pastures on lighter soils, and even in some per¬ 
manent meadows on moist lands. It seems destined 
for extensive use on lighter soils west of a north and 
south line through Des Moines or St. Paul, and on all 
kinds of soils west of a line passing through Lin¬ 
coln, Neb. Its qua’ity for hay is, probably, only a 
little below that of Timothy, and under conditions 
best suited to it. the yield will exceed that of Timothy. 
It yields well for pasture, just how well is not as 
yet fully determined. When kept for meadow, the 
aftermath is considerably more than in case of Tim¬ 
othy, but less than Red clover. At present, western 
farmers have a chance to grow the seed with profit; 
200 or 300 pounds of seed per acre are a light crop. 
Mr. McKay, of Indian Head, Assiniboia, reports in 
one instance a yield of GOO pounds of seed per acre. 
The imported seed has been commanding 15 to 20 cents 
per pound, and the home-grown seed will, probably, 
continue at a fair price for several years. At the 
Minnesota Experiment Station, it has been grown for 
several years for seed and hay, and for pasture. 
Habits of the Plant. —The grass is peculiar in 
that the seeds ripen while the stems and radical 
blades are yet green. Many young culms start which 
fail to send up seed stalks, and result in long blades 
which make hay but not 'seed. We take advantage of 
these peculiarities, and get a crop of seed and a part 
of a crop of hay in addition. By running the self- 
binder high, we leave the lower parts of the stalks 
and the undermat of blades, taking only a sufficient 
length o culms to enable the binder to tie the bun¬ 
dles properly. We then at once follow with the 
mower and cut the hay, which is of fair quality, and 
yields half to one-third as much as Timothy. As the 
sod becomes older and thicker, the proportion of 
culms which mature heads becomes smaller, the yield 
of seed proportionately less, and the yield of hay 
proportionately greater. 
Brome grass has a spreading panicle som.thing like 
oats. It has seeds two-thirds the length and width 
of oats, but very flat. It is freely open-fertilized, and 
while the individual plants vary considerably, the 
whole species is leveled down or kept uniform by con¬ 
stant intercrossing. The Minnesota Station has 
already made several new varieties, some of which 
are taller than the common stock. 
Can It Be Killed. Out? —This species has root 
stalks mucli like Quack grass or Kentucky Blue grass. 
This fact has caused some farmers to fear that it 
would prove to be a weed. We have ample proof here 
on the University Farm, and at one of our substations, 
that Brome grass is not nearly so difficult to kill as 
Quack grass. It has been killed out in roads, and in 
fields at different times of the season with less effort 
than is required to eradicate Kentucky Blue grass. 
It might in some places become a weed, but in good 
farming, it can be used in a rotation of crops, and 
but little more trouble be experienced in killing it 
than in turning under Timothy sod. 
Twenty pounds of good seed per acre is the re¬ 
quired amount for full seeding. It should rarely be 
sown alone except for crops of seed. Once it has be¬ 
come common, so that the seed is not in such great 
demand, this grass can be used with profit in grass 
mixtures. Since such a large number of pounds of 
seed are required per acre when sown alone, it 
can best be sown with clover or clover and Timothy, 
depending upon these plants for the crop during the 
first few years. Later, when the biennial clover has 
died out and the Timothy has given way to the ag¬ 
gressive Brome grass, that plant will make the crop. 
A small amount of seed will thus result in a few years 
in a full seeding of Brome grass, and the clover, or 
the clover and Timothy, will have been used dur¬ 
ing their first years when they are at their best. 
By adding a little Kentucky Blue grass and White 
clover to the seed, a grass mixture not very expensive 
per acre will be had which will give a pasture to 
yield well from the start, and which will endure long. 
Since Bromus seed is so dear per acre, it is best 
when sowing it without other grasses to sow it with¬ 
out a nurse crop, or at least to avoid a nurse crop 
which will smother out the young plants. It should 
be sown early in the Spring in the northwestern 
States, the earlier the better, and weeds should not 
be allowed to smother the grass. Where it comes thin, 
the root-stalks will thicken up the sod if given a 
year's time. 
In 1897, Prof. N. E. Hansen, of the South Dakota 
Agricultural College, then on a tour through Europe 
for Secretary Wilson, purchased in Russia 12 tons of 
good Bromus seed. This the Secretary of Agriculture 
distributed last Spring through the State experiment 
stations to many farmer’s in the Northwest. We are 
getting back many favorable reports at this Station. 
Prof. Agriculture Univ. of Minn. vv. m. hays. 
GRINDING GRAIN AT HOME. 
WHAT F A It ME B 8 SAY ABOUT IT. 
Last week, we had something to say about indi¬ 
vidual farm mills. Most farmers who have bought 
such mills agree that they save money by owning 
them. They save the miller’s toll, the cost of running 
THE MONARCH PLUM. Fig. 310. 
to and from the mill, and can utilize stormy days 
when otherwise there would be little to do. They 
all seem to agree that it pays to grind the feed for 
most kinds of stock. Even in the West, where corn 
on the ear is so largely fed, and steers are followed by 
hogs in the pasture, all farmers now agree that it pays 
to grind. 
Hartl to Combine. —Is it not possible for several 
farmers to club together and buy such a mill, using it 
in common? In theory, this scheme would seem to 
work well, but without exception, our correspondents 
condemn it. One man said that he had tried partners 
in a feeding mill, but was now very glad “ to sail in 
his own ship.” Another man thought such a scheme 
might possibly work, provided the partner was some 
particular friend, but in general, this plan was to be 
avoided. As a rule, it appears that farmers do not 
agree well enough to work a mill together. They all 
want it on stormy days, and there is usually trouble 
about securing it. It, evidently, does not pay to carry 
a mill around from place to place. In order to do 
good work, the mill must be perfectly level and well 
put up. This takes time, too much time to warrant fre¬ 
quent chang-e in position. Provided farmers can 
agree, the best plan is to have a mill located in some 
central place where they can have a short haul from 
their farms. 
The Best Power. —With regard to powers, there 
seems to be a wide diversity of opinion. A great many 
farmers are using the sweep power, and are, appar¬ 
ently, well satisfied with it. Others jirefer the tread 
powers, chiefly for the reason that they occupy less 
room, are more easily put under shelter, and give a 
little more power than the sweeps. Many farmers 
are using wind power to run their grinding mills. 
This seems to give fair satisfaction, when pains are 
taken to work enough feed ahead to last while the 
wind does not blow. Steam or gasoline power, how¬ 
ever, is much more satisfactory for the larger mills, 
and the majority of those who use mills of good 
capacity use steam. One man tells of a mistake he 
made in buying a power too small for the full capacity 
of his mill. Of course, he was unable to do good 
work, and was not satisfied with the result. 
The Best Mill. —With regard to the kind of mills 
used, the majority of correspondents appear to be 
using small sweep mills or crushers. These grind an 
average of 10 or 12 bushels an hour and, of course, do 
not give as fine a feed as the larger and more power¬ 
ful burr mills. Some farmers with these sweep mills 
follow the plan of grinding twice. First, they grind 
their corn, cob and all, and then run this chop 
through the second time, mixed with oats or rye, thus 
making a fair feed, which gives better results than 
very coarse chop. The best work, of course, is done 
with the larger mills, but in order to make them prof¬ 
itable, one must have a larger amount of grain to be 
ground, more probably, than average farmers can 
expect to feed during the year. One great advantage 
in favor of the sweep or tread powers is the fact that 
a farmer can hitch his horse to them at once, and 
start up the mill without delay, while with steam, 
considerable time is necessary before the mill will 
start. It must be remembered that many farmei’s 
are not good mechanics, and they will soon get even 
so simple a machine as a farm mill, out of order. This 
is one of the arguments given by the few persons who 
advocate partnership in all. They say that one 
intelligent man, who understands machinery, can 
handle such a mill to better advantage than half a 
dozen inexperienced farmers. The substance of the 
matter seems to be that a grinding mill pays good in¬ 
terest when a farmer has 1,000 or more bushels of 
grain to feed. The cheap sweep crushers or grinders 
are certainly giving fair satisfaction. For the finest 
work, however, the larger, stronger mills, run by 
steam or water power, are to be preferred. 
KEEPING WEEDS OUT OF POTATOES. 
In Hope Farm Notes, we hear complaining of the 
weeds that have taken possession of the potato field, 
and promises of doing better another year. The 
writer thinks the only thing to do is to weed after the 
last hoeing. Now that would be a very irksome job, 
and perhaps might discourage the Bud and Graft. The 
writer said, also, that thousands would rise up and 
call him blessed, who would tell of some other way, 
and would buy his remedy. I do not wish to be called 
blessed, or to sell my remedy. But I will give my 
method of raising potatoes without hand labor or the 
irksome job of hand-pulling weeds. 
I commence in early Spring to prepare for the potato 
crop ; plow the land and roll as soon as plowed, so as to 
hold the moisture [No !— Eds.]. I harrow the field as 
often as once in a week or 10 days, until dune 10 to 15. 
This frequent harrowing germinates and destroys all of 
the weed seeds before the potatoes are planted. Then 
I plant them with Robbins potato planter, four inches 
below the level surface. The disks that cover the 
potatoes raise a ridge four inches above the level sur¬ 
face ; this l leave for about 10 days, then let one of the 
boys go over it diagonally with a smoothing harrow. 
This levels off about half of the ridge, and leaves the 
ground as clean and fresh as when planted. I keep 
watch when the potatoes commence to sprout, and go 
over the field again just before they come to the surface. 
Now the ground is level, and most of the potatoes 
arc peeping through the ground, which is as clean as 
before planting. When they are large enough so that 
we can see the rows, with the riding cultivator, we 
follow the level cultivation as nearly as possible. 
Usually two cultivations are sufficient. This we have 
found a successful method five seasons in succession, 
and have not raised less than 125, and up to 300 bushels 
to the acre. The present year, with a severe drought, 
we have a fine crop of 15 acres as green as a meadow. 
The vines completely cover the ground, without an 
armful of weeds on the field. g. h. w. 
Wayne County, N. Y. 
R, N.-Y.—The only trouble about this advice is that 
at Hope Farm the most profitable potatoes are planted 
before the middle of April. We cannot, therefore, 
work the ground before planting as our friend does. 
Another thing is that, with these early potatoes, the 
weeds may do their best growing after the vines are 
too large to permit cultivating. 
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers say that 
the New York Central Railroad makes too severe a 
test for eyesight in examining engineers. As the 
engineer’s eyes may stand between his passengers and 
death, they certainly ought to be as keen as possible. 
A California paper says that a new use has been 
discovered for cactus juice. It is used on canvas 
which is to be painted, and serves better than oil, for 
this purpose. Barrels are filled with pieces of cactus 
and water, and in a couple of days, the fluid attains 
the consistency and appearance of the white of an egg. 
