un pagar Hew Work Htate College of Agriculture At Cornell University Bthaca, N. DV. Mixon Librarp CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY ~LU 24 Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924051996589 FARM GRASSES of the UNITED STATES Farm Grasses of the UNITED STATES A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE GRASS CROP, SEEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF MEADOWS AND PASTURES, DESCRIPTIONS OF THE BEST VARIETIES, THE SEED AND ITS IMPURITIES, GRASSES FOR oe CONDITIONS, ETC., ETC. , By WILLIAM JASPER SPILLMAN Agrostologist, Bureau of Plant Industry, United States Department of Agriculture ; In Charge of Grass and Forage Plant Investigations ; VAe Chairman of Committee in Charge of Farm Management j ILLUSTRATED NEW YORK ORANGE JUDD COMPANY LONDON KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & CO., Limirep COPYRIGHT, 1905 BY ORANGE JUDD COMPANY Entered at Stationers’ Hall, London, England [Printed in U. S. A.J TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE . The Grass Crop . Meadows and Pastures . . Meadows and Pastures (Continued) . Meadows and Pastures (Concluded) . The Seed . * . . . Timothy . The Blue-grasses The Millets . Two Prominent Southern Grasses . Redtop and Orchard-grass Brome-grass (Bromus inermis) Grasses of Minor Importance Grasses for Special Conditions . Lawns and Lawn-making . Miscellany ‘ F ‘ : ‘ INDEX . 103 125 146 164 176 192 200 217 243 FIG. ons ann To. ILLUSTRATIONS Mowing the Lawn . F , Frontispiece Percentage of Improved Land Devoted to Hay and Forage. (Compiled from Census of 1900) . Grain (Including Cow-peas) Cut Green for Hay. Each dot represents 10,000 acres. (Compiled from Census of 1900) r : Wild, Salt, and Marsh Grasses Cut for Hay. Each dot represents 10,000 acres. (Compiled from Cen- sus of 1900) ‘ ‘ A ‘ ‘ : Haying Scene in Nova Scotia . 5 : ‘ ‘ . Rake for Moving Hay-cocks to Stack. . . : . Hay-stack Madetoo Flat. . : : 4 7 . Hay-derrick in Common Use in Utah : . $ . Quack-grass (Agropyron repens). A bad weed in the Northern States ‘ ‘ 7 ‘ » . Production of Grass-seed inthe United States. (Com- piled from Census of 1900.) Each dot represents 10,000 bushels. Three counties not shown on the map; each produce approximately 10,000 bushels of grass-seed; they are Linn County, Oregon; Rock Bridge County, Virginia; and Salem County, New Jersey . . . 5 z Seeds of Standard Grasses. a, Meadow-fescue; 4, English Rye-grass; ¢, Italian Rye-grass; d, Tim- othy; ¢, Redtop in the chaff; /, Redtop, chaff re- moved; g, Rhode Island Bent; 4, Orchard-grass. (G. H. Hicks, Year-book, Department of Agricul- ture, 1898) 0 . ; i . ‘ . % PAGE Io 13 35 37 38 39 50 57 58 x ILLUSTRATIONS FIG, PAGE 11. Seeds of Standard Grasses. a, Rescue-grass; 6, Texas Blue-grass; ¢, Chess, or Cheat; d, Canada Blue- grass; ¢, Bromus inermis; f, Kentucky Blue-grass. (G. H. Hicks, Year-book, Department of Agricul- ture, 1898) ‘ : . ‘ 5 3 * - 59 12, Gathering Kentucky Blue-grass Seed near Lexington, Kentucky. (From Bulletin 19, Bureau of Plant In- dustry, United States Department of Agriculture) 61 13. Curing Kentucky Blue-grass Seed Outdoors. 50,000 bushels in one curing-bin. (From Bulletin 19, Bureau of Plant Industry, United States Depart- ment of Agriculture) . é . : P . 63 14. Weed Seeds. a, Pepper-grass (Lepidium virginicum); &, Slender Rush (Juncus tenuis); c, Velvet-grass (Holcus lanatus); d, Five-finger (Potentilla mons- peliensis); ¢, Ox-eye Daisy (Chrysanthemum leucan- themum); f, Sorrel (Rumex acetosella); g, False Flax (Camelina sativa); h, Canada Thistle (Carduus ar- vensis) § ‘ * -~® ‘ ‘ x 67 15. Home-made Seed-tester. «w, Closed; 46,Open. (From Farmers’ Bulletin 194, United States Department of Agriculture) . . E é “ F : wn 93 16. Timothy ; ‘ . 4 : : : : . 76 17. Distribution of ‘‘ Other Tame Grasses,”’ mostly Tim- othy. (Compiled from Census of Ig00.) Each large dot represents a county producing more than 5,000 acres. The smaller dots represent 1,000 acres each. - : . : . i F - 79 18. Kentucky Blue-grass . . ‘ + QOL 19. Distribution of Kentucky Blue-grass. Each dot rep- resents a correspondent reporting blue-grass im- portant in his section ‘ . . 2 . . 94 FIG, 20. Acreage of Millet Hay. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33- 34. 35. 36. 37: 38. ILLUSTRATIONS 1900.) Each dot represents 1,000 acres . Typical Form of Foxtail Millet Broom-corn Millet Barn-yard Grass. millets Bermuda Grass A representative of the Japanese Distribution of Bermuda Grass. a correspondent reporting Bermuda Grass important in his locality : Plat of Bermuda Grass in Grass-garden at Wash- ington, D.C. (United States Department of Agri- culture) Johnson Grass Distribution of Johnson Grass. a correspondent reporting Johnson Grass important in his locality . Each dot represents Each dot represents Redtop, or Herd’s Grass (Agrostis alba) Distribution of Redtop. spondent reporting this grass important Orchard-grass (Dactylis glomerata). English Each dot represents a corre- . Cocksfoot of the Sod of Orchard-grass. Showing its bunchy character Each dot represents Distribution of Orchard-grass. a correspondent reporting this grass important Brome-grass (Bromus inermts) Distribution of Brome-grass. a correspondent reporting itimportant . Chess, or Cheat (Bromus secalinus) Rescue-grass (Bromus unioloides) Crab-grass . Each dot representing x1 PAGE (Compiled from Census of 105 112 115 117 126 128 129 138 145 147 149 155 158 161 165 167 172 174 184 xii ILLUSTRATIONS FIG. PAGE 39. Distribution of Crab-grass. Each dot representing a correspondent reporting this grass important . 186 40. Distribution of Carpet-grass ‘ A A . 188 41. Plat of Bluestem (Agropyron occidentale) in Grass- garden at Washington, D.C. (United States De- partment of Agriculture) i ‘ ‘ < » 190 42. Seaside Blue-grass (Poa macrantha), near Astoria, Oregon. Protecting sand-dune from erosion by the wind . ‘ 7 . ‘ - 195 43. Typical View on ees of the West. Showing Ely- mus condensatus in low alkaline soil : . + 199 44. Greensward in Public Gordens, Boston, Mass. « 212) 45. Lawn-mowers, or Turf-makers, in Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, Md. ‘ ‘ : = : . + 213 46. Varieties of Timothy . “ : : , ; . 230 47. Varieties of Timothy . ‘ ‘ x ‘ ‘ * 231 48. Improved Varieties of Brome-grass . é ‘ “ 293 49. Penicillaria, or Pearl Millet . r i ‘ + 235 50. A Spike : F , < c : é « 237 51. A Spikelet . 4 3 ‘ , ‘ : : + 237 52. A Panicle * ; : : . ‘ F ‘ + 239 53. Parts of a Single Floret . ‘ 2 ‘ F + 241 54. Showing Action of Pollen . . : : - 241 PREFACE N preparing this volume the object has been to present, in connected form, the main facts concerning the grasses grown on American farms—in so far, at least, as these facts are of interest to the farmer. Actual practice in grass grow- ing has been set forth wherever information concern- ing it has been available. The writer has attempted to view every phase of the subject from the farmer’s standpoint—with what measure of success the reader must judge for himself. The country may be divided into four regions, each of which presents a different set of problems. In the region of timothy, clover, and blue-grass, grass problems are comparatively unimportant; they relate mainly to methods of growing and utilizing well-known grasses, and to methods of improving these grasses by separating them into their constituent varieties and selecting out the best. This region covers the North- eastern quarter of the country, and certain localities in the West and the Middle South. In the South, while excellent grasses are not wanting, it happens that most of the grasses best adapted to the region possess char- acteristics which render their management on the farm a matter of much difficulty. This subject is discussed at length in the chapter on Bermuda and Johnson grasses. Grasses having fewer objectionable features xiii xiv PREFACE are much sought after by Southern farmers, and some suggestions are made in the text concerning hay and pasture plants worthy of trial. Methods of fitting grass crops into Southern cropping systems constitute another important problem which the farmer must work out largely for himself. ‘The best we can do for him in this line is to give him the benefit of the expe- rience of the most progressive of his fellows. This the writer has attempted to do. On the irrigated lands of the West, farmers are not particularly concerned about grass problems, except where alkali has begun to appear. But there are im- mense areas in the West at present unutilized, except in the primitive fashion of the herdsman on the open range, on which the problem is to find grasses that will produce a crop under arid or semi-arid conditions, In so far as the solution of this dificulty has been ac- complished, the results are set forth in discussing the individual grasses. Attention is called to investiga- tions now in progress with a view to finding other grasses adapted to these hard conditions. The chapter on seeds was contributed by Mr. Edgar Brown, in charge of the Seed Laboratory of the United States Department of Agriculture. The chapter on ‘‘Lawns and Lawn-making’’ was prepared by Mr. C. R. Ball, of the United States De- partment of Agriculture. The following acknowledgments, in addition to those already given, are due for illustrations used: Fig. 13—Pieters & Brown, Bulletin 19, Bureau of Plant In- dustry, U.S. D. A. Fig. 14—Pieters & Brown, Bulletin 19, Bureau of Plant In- dustry, U.S. D. A. PREFACE xv Fig. 15—Pieters, Farmers’ Bulletin 123, U. S. D. A. Fig. 21—Scribner, Agros. Bulletin 21, U. S. D. A. Fig. 23—Scribner, Agros. Bulletin 14, U.S. D. A Fig. 24—Scribner, Agros. Bulletin 7, U.S. D. A. Fig. 27—Tracy, Agros. Bulletin 15, U.S. D. A. Fig. 29—Scribner, Agros. Bulletin 17, U. S. D. A. Fig. 31—Scribner. Agros. Bulletin 7, U.S. D. A. Fig. 32—Scribner, Year-book 1897, U.S. D. A. Fig. 34—Scribner, Agros. Bulletin 7, U. S. D. Fig. 36—Scribner, Agros. Bulletin 7, U. S. D. A. Fig. 37—Scribner, Agros. Bulletin 7, U. S. D. Fig. 38—Scribner, Agros. Bulletin 17, U. Ss. D. W. J. SPILLMAN BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1905. FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES I THE GRASS CROP a” HE word “ grass’’ is usedin twosenses. Popu- larly it is applied to those plants that furnish hay and pasture. In this sense it includes the clovers, alfalfa, the vetches, spurry, and other plants belonging to various families. Botanic- ally the term is applied only to representatives of a single family, known to botanists as the Graminee, or true grasses. In this volume, in order to avoid bur- densome phraseology, the word is sometimes used in the one sense and sometimes in the other, but the con- text will always indicate the meaning intended. In the present chapter the term is made to include those plants which are generally grown for hay and pasture purposes. According to the Census of 1900, about 18 per cent. of the total area of the United States is classed as im- proved land. ‘This does not take into account Alaska or our insular possessions. This 18 per cent. amounts to 414,000,000 acres. Of this, only 289,000,000 is de- voted to harvested crops, including some 15,000,000 acres of wild grasses cut for hay. This leaves about I 2 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 125,000,000 acres of improved land devoted to orchards, woodlands, and pastures. Since practically all the improved woodland is pastured, and since the area in orchards is relatively very small, it is safe to say that at least 120,000,000 acres of this area is grass-land used for pasture purposes. Of the harvested crops, about 59,000,000 acres is devoted to hay. It is thus seen that the hay crop occupies over 22 per cent. of all land from which crops are harvested, while hay and pasture lands together constitute about 43 per cent. of the total area of improved land. The value of the hay crop for the year 1899 is estimated at $484,256,846. The only crop exceeding this was corn. It is impossible to estimate the value of the feed obtained from the 120,000,000 acres of improved pas- ture-land; but when we add the value of this and the pasture value of the remaining 82 per cent. of the total area of the country classed as unimproved land, nearly all of which is grazed, it is probable that the grass crop surpasses in value any other crop. But since hay is too bulky and usually too cheap to bear long-distance shipment, comparatively a small proportion of it finds its way to the markets. It is fortunate that at least one important crop must, from its very nature, be largely consumed on the land where it is produced. Otherwise we should long ago have reduced the fertility of practically all the farm lands in this country to so, low a point as to have rendered farm- ing unprofitable, just as has been done in all the older parts of the country where livestock farming has been neglected. It is a notable fact that in those por- tions of the country which have enjoyed the most per- THE GRASS CROP 3 manent prosperity, the grasses and livestock have always occupied an important place. Inthe New Eng- land States, which have felt keenly the competition of the fertile lands of the Central West, agriculture has been able to maintain itself only by devoting the major portion of the improved land to grasses. Other crops may form the hasis of temporary prosperity, as has FIG. I—PERCENTAGE OF IMPROVED LAND DEVOTED TO HAY AND FORAGE been the case with wheat on the prairies of the North- west and the Pacific Northwest, and cotton in the South; but it was a prosperity that rested on too slen- der a basis, and, in both cases, led to disaster. The distribution of the grass crop in the United States is shown in Fig. 1. This shows the percentage of improved land in each State devoted to hay and forage. The States may be divided into four fairly distinét groups, based on these percentages. The first 4 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES group consists of the cotton-producing States, in which the area of grass lands is less than 5 per cent. of the whole. This group of States was so unfortunate in their early history as to find their lands and climate adapted to a crop that was highly profitable, but which returned nothing to the soil. Livestock farming and grass culture were almost wholly neglected. As the lands wore out, resort was had to commercial fertil- izers; but these did not add humus to the soil, and the mechanical condition of the soil has reached that stage where rain washes it so badly that it is necessary to terrace in order to keep the soil from washing away. The results achieved by many progressive farmers in the South show conclusively that a proper use of grasses and stable manure render terracing unneces- sary except on decidedly rolling lands, and make the soil highly productive. Diversified farming is rapidly coming into favor in the South, and the area devoted to hay and pasture crops isincreasing. ‘This undoubt- edly means a return to permanent prosperity. Hay production, generally speaking, is not an im- portant industry in the South. It has become impor- tant in a few localities. In the Red River Valley in Louisiana and Arkansas a considerable area of alfalfa is grown, and the area devoted to this valuable crop is rapidly extending. On a narrow strip of prairie soil extending from northeastern Mississippi through central Alabama and terminating near Macon, Georgia, Johnson grass has long been grown in considerable areas. The same grass is grown more or less exten- sively on similar soil over much of central Texas. Alfalfa thrives abundantly on these black soils, and is THE GRASS CROP 5 coming into general use as a hay crop in recent years. In the vicinity of Augusta, Georgia, on both sides of the Savannah River, considerable hay is grown for the local markets. The same is true in restricted local- ities in northern Florida. In general, however, the prevailing system of farming consists of growing cotton andcorn. This-system has thoroughly worn out the soil except in the richer alluvial sections, so that good crops are seldom produced, even with the stimulus of commercial fertilizers, which are universally applied— at least, to cotton—in all the older settled sections. Regarding the profit from hay farming in the South, Mr. F. A. Quinett, who operates two large hay farms near New Orleans, says, in a letter to the Depart- ment of Agriculture: ‘‘ Formerly we found it difficult to sell our hay. We now have the best patronage, and are unable to meet the demand. One hundred acres last year gave about four hundred tons of hay, which we sold at $10 to $14 per ton. We consider the hay business decidedly more profitable than any other style of farming.”’ The next group consists of the States of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia. In these, the grasses are largely confined to certain localities ; in Virginia, to the valleys between the mountain ranges in the west- ern part ; in Tennessee, to the mountain valleys of the east, and to the limestone soils of the central part of the State; in Kentucky, largely to the northern border and the north central part. In these three States the percentage of grass-lands ranges from 5 to 6.3. The third group consists of those States in which agriculture is most widely diversified, and the agricul- 6 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES tural wealth of the country is mostly concentrated. In them, from 10 to 25 per cent. of the improved land is devoted to hay and forage crops. The last group con- sists of the Rocky Mountain States and New York and New England. In these States the grass area ex- ceeds 25 per cent. of the total. The large amount of hay grown in these two groups of States is duc to special conditions. In the Mountain States the chief industry is stock-raising on the ranges, and the hay is grown for winter feed. The proportion of grass to other crops is indeed larger here than is called for in properly diversified agriculture, and there is much talk of the need of grains for finishing off cattle. In New York and New England much hay is grown for market. Dairying is also an important industry. Unlike Iowa, . Wisconsin, and other great dairy States in the Central West, where concentrated dairy feeds are largely pro- duced on the farm, New England finds it more advan- tageous to devote her lands to grass, and to buy grain and mill products for her cattle. The data concerning the hay and forage crops of the country are given in Vol. VI., Census of 1900, under the following headings: ‘‘ Wild, Salt, and Prai- rie Grasses,’’ ‘‘ Millet and Hungarian Grasses,”’ ‘‘ Al- falfa or Lucern,’’ ‘‘ Clover,’’ ‘‘ Other Tame Grasses,’’ ‘*Grains Cut Green for Hay,’’ and ‘‘ Forage Crops.”’ The distribution of each of these crops will be dis- cussed later, The data for clover relate to clover sown alone, and include all the varieties. When sown with timothy or other true grasses, clover is included under ‘‘other tame grasses.’’ Grains cut green for hay here includes peas as well, since, in the North, peas are THE GRASS CROP 7 usually sown with oats when grown for hay. It also includes the cow-peas of the South when cut for hay, though these are practically never sown with grain. Under ‘‘ Forage Crops’’ are included sorghum, Kafir- corn, milo maize, Indian corn, etc., when cut and fed in the green state, made into silage, or when grown for the fodder alone, as all of these crops except Indian corn and Kafir-corn usually are. The two latter, when grown for grain, are not included here. The crop designated ‘‘ other tame grasses’’ is by far the most important of all. It includes timothy, timothy and clover, redtop, orchard-grass, brome-grass, meadow-fescue, tall meadow oat-grass, etc. There are no definite data to indicate in what proportion these grasses occur, but common observation and extensive correspondence with farmers indicate that the area of all others together is decidedly small when compared with the area of timothy, or a mixture of timothy and clover, and we may fairly refer to the region producing this crop as the ‘‘ timothy region.’’ Omitting for the present the wild grasses, these hay crops will be con- sidered in the order of their importance. By reference to the map (Fig. 17), it will be seen that the crop designated as ‘‘ other tame grasses’’ oc- curs principally north of the Ohio River and east of the west line of Missouri and Iowa. The area of this crop is given as 31,302,000 acres. It therefore constitutes 74 per cent. of the total area of tame hay. ‘The aver- age yield is 1.1 tons per acre, making a total of 35,- 624,000 tons of hay, consisting almost exclusively of timothy, or timothy and clover. The yield per acre of this crop is lower than that of any other tame hay 8 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES crop. This is largely due to the prevailing habit of leaving timothy meadows down after they have become unproductive. It is a remarkable fat that nearly all the grass lit- erature issued by the American experiment stations comes from those stations outside of the timothy re- gion. Inside this region the early introdudtion of timothy, red clover, and Kentucky blue-grass solved the'grass problem in a manner satisfactory to the farmer before the establishment of the experiment stations, and these institutions have, therefore, devoted their energies to more pressing problems. The most im- portant grass literature from these States is to be found in the reports from early agricultural societies. These reports indicate that grass problems were at one time as important in the region in question as they now are outside of it. Nearly all the correspondence that comes to the office uf Grass and Forage Plant Investi- gations of the United States Department of Agriculture originates either in the cotton-growing States, where grass culture has been neglected, or in the arid and semi-arid West, where satisfactory grasses are yet to be found. Clover ranks next to ‘‘ other tame grasses’’ in the area devoted to it. The figures apply, of course, to the clovers when sown without timothy or other true grasses. The area devoted to clover is 4,104,000 acres, or 7 per cent. of the total area of tame hay. ‘The average yield of this class of crops is given at 1.3 tons per acre. The clovers, particularly the common red clover (7rifolium pratense), are much more im- portant in American agriculture than these figures THE GRASS CROP 9 would indicate. In the first place, red clover is very commonly sown with timothy, the area thus sown probably being several times as large as the area of clover sown alone. In the second place, they are nitrogen gatherers, and are thus of vast importance in furnishing nitrogenous material in feed-stuffs and as soil renovators. But a further discussion of this sub- ject would transcend the limits of this volume, which is confined, except in a most general way, to a discus- sion of the true grasses. The next most important crop in the list consists of grains cut green for hay. Its distribution is shown in Fig. 2. The area of this crop is 3,884,000 acres, and the average yield 1.3 tons. The grains are used extensively for hay only on the Pacific Coast. On non-irrigated lands in Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and California, where the rainfall is sufficient to per- mit of farming, wheat is by far the most important crop. Over much of this area wild oats are very troublesome, and the principal hay consists of patches of wild oats cut in wheat-fields. Even where wild oats are not troublesome, as where the rainfall is less than about eighteen inches annually, much wheat is cut for hay. If cut at the proper stage, wheat, and the other cereals as well, make excellent hay for all kinds of stock. In California beardless barley is used exten- sively for hay; this crop is also coming into use in Oregon and Washington for the same purpose. Al- falfa and brome-grass (Bromus inermis) are also rap- idly coming into favor on the wheat-lands east of the Cascade Mountains in the two States last named. Throughout the Central and Southern States the V ooo! ‘yIuqQ ‘oo61 snstaD AVH UwoOd NaAXD LND (SVad-MOO SNIGNTONI) NIVUO—Z ‘OLA Oo1xXaWw 40 37ND THE GRASS CROP II grain hay consists mostly of oats cut and fed in the sheaf, and of cow-peas. The thick patch of grain hay shown in southern Louisiana consists entirely of cow- peas grown on sugar plantations, both for hay and for their fertilizing effect on the soil. At the North, Cana- dian field peas are sometimes sown with oats for hay, but the area is quite limited. ‘They hardly extend as far south as central Pennsylvania and central Ohio. The hay crop next in importance is alfalfa, of which 2,094,000 acres is reported in the Census of 1900. ‘This is confined almost entirely to the West, and largely to irrigated land in that section. Alfalfa, as an important crop, stops at the western limit of ‘other tame grasses,’’ as shown in Fig. 17. It is now rapidly gaining ground in the East and South. The average yield per acre is 2.5 tons—nearly double that of any of the preceding crops. Last in the list of tame hay crops are ‘‘ Millet and Hungarian grasses.’’ Of these, 1,744,000 acres are shown in the census returns, with an average yield of 1.6 tons per acre. Their distribution is shown in Fig. 20, and the millet crop is discussed in detail in Chapter VIII. The acreage of forage crops is placed at 3,107,000. The average yield of dry forage is 2.6 tons per acre. Kansas leads in the production of forage. Sorghum and Kafir-corn are eminently adapted to the western margin of the humid region; sorghum does equally well in the whole of the cotton-producing section, where it is highly important as a fodder crop. It is also much used in the South as a green feed for sum- mer and as pasture for all kinds of stock. 12 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES The wild hay crop is much more important than is generally believed. No less than 15,417,000 acres of wild grasses were cut for hay during the census year, though the area is rapidly diminishing. The average yield is 1.1 tons per acre, or the same as that given for ‘other tame grasses.’’ The distribution of the wild hay crop is shown in Fig. 3. The chief acreage is shown to be in the States bordering the western edge of the timothy region. In Iowa, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota, wild hay is cut chiefly on wet lands ; farther west, mostly on upland prairies ; still farther west, in swales and draws in the arid region. The principal grasses constituting this wild hay, and the possibility of domesticating some of them, are men- tioned later in this volume. RECAPITULATION The following table presents the statistics for hay and forage crops in more compact form. The figures are from the Census of 1900: ACREAGE OF HAY AND FORAGE Average yield Acres tn tons per acre Wild, salt, and prarie grasses . ¢ 15,457,000 it Millet and Hungarian grasses . “ 1,744,000 1.6 Alfalfa, or lucern. . : 2,094,000 2.5 Clover... Se Soe re ea : 4,104,000 133 Other tame and cultivated grasses . : 31,302,000 Tet Grains cut green for hay , 3.884,000 1.3 ; Total . é 58,585,000 1.2 Forage crops ‘ 3,107,000 2.6 Grand total a 61,692,000 13 AVH UYOd LOND SASSVUD HSUVW ANV ‘LTVS ‘aTIM—E& ‘OIA ootxanm so 2700 PACIFIC II MEADOWS AND PASTURES XCEPT in comparatively few localities, the American farmer has never learned the art of maintaining grass-lands in a permanently productive condition. This is partly due to the character of the grasses grown, and partly to the treatment accorded grass-lands in this country. There are only three important hay and pasture plants com- monly grown in America that naturally tend to in- crease in productiveness after the second year. These are alfalfa, Bermuda grass, and blue-grass (Poa pra- tensts). When any one of these is once established on land to which it is thoroughly adapted, it remains productive for many years, if given proper treatment. But such grasses as timothy, redtop, brome-grass, Johnson grass, orchard-grass, and tall oat-grass all decrease markedly in yield after the first crop year—at least, with the treatment they ordinarily receive. Whether a meadow consisting of these grasses could be maintained productive indefinitely is doubtful. In the real grass-growing section of the country, which lies north of the Ohio and Potomac rivers and east of Nebraska and Kansas, including portions of Virginia, Kentucky, Kansas, and Nebraska, meadows ordinarily consist of timothy and red clover. The lat- ter plant has come to be regarded as practically a bien- 14 MEADOWS AND PASTURES 15 nial. In reality it is a perennial, capable of remain- ing productive for many years, but it is subject to so many insect enemies and fungous diseases that it usu- ally ceases to be productive in one or two years. On the Pacific Coast, where these enemies have not yet be- come established, productive fields of clover ten or fif- teen years old are not uncommon. As stated above, timothy becomes much less productive after the first crop-year. “The American farmer has, therefore, come to regard a meadow as a temporary thing, and there has not been much attempt to maintain such perma- nent grass-lands as are found in England and the Con- tinent of Europe. Among our farmers the usual method of procedure is to sow timothy in the fall with wheat, adding clover in February or March. On account of the presence of the wheat, no grass crop is produced the first year. The next year two crops of hay are cut, the first con- sisting of mixed clover and timothy, the second almost entirely of clover. A few of our best farmers get three crops, though many others get only one. The next year one or two smaller crops are cut. When timothy is sown alone, as it frequently is, there is only one cutting a year. After the second crop-year any one of three courses is followed. A good many farm- ers spread the available supply of barn-yard manure on the meadow during the winter after the second crop- year, and in the spring plow up the sod for corn. Some continue to cut it for hay till weeds compel them to plow it up. Others use it for pasture one, two, or three years before plowing it up for corn. Sometimes blue-grass is sown with the clover when the meadow is I6. FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES laid down, and the field converted into more or less permanent pasture after one or two years’ use as meadow. On account of the usual low yield of old meadows and most old pastures, progressive farmers maintain that they cannot afford to keep lands permanently in grass. This is particularly the case in sections of the country where dairying is the leading feature of farming, especially where land is high-priced. In fact, there is a tendency in some sections to dispense with pastures altogether on dairy farms, except for the young stock, and to substitute the system of green feeding (soiling) instead, because of the greater amount of feed that may be obtained from the same area by this System as compared with pasturing. Whether better results could be obtained from per- manent or semi-permanent grass-lands by using such mixtures as are used in Europe, instead of depending on timothy and clover, as our farmers do, is doubtful, for the most highly prized European grasses do not thrive well in the Eastern section of the United States. The most important grasses of Europe are English and Italian rye-grasses, meadow-fescue, timothy, orchard- grass, and meadow-foxtail. Of these, timothy is the only one that can be said to be important in the real grass-growing section of this country. The rye-grasses and meadow-foxtail are entire failures (in our timothy region), and orchard-grass and meadow-fescue (here called English blue-grass) are important only in very restricted areas. Much has been written concerning the care of meadows in this country, a good deal of it copied from MEADOWS AND PASTURES 17 European authorities. With our conditions, apout the best treatment seems to be to plow up the meadow for corn at the end of the second year. Where the pasture is needed, as it certainly is on beef-producing farms, the old meadows may well be used for pasture a year or two before plowing up for corn. Where the ma- nure is available, it is good practice to top-dress the meadow each winter after the last crop of hay is re- moved in the fall. Instead of sowing the timothy in the fall with’ wheat, and adding the clover in spring, it is much bet- ter, in most parts of the Timothy Region, to sow the timothy and clover together late in August or early in September, on well-prepared and well-manured land, without a so-called nurse crop of wheat or other grain. This will give a heavy yield of hay the next summer. After this hay crop is removed, top-dress well the next winter, and cut for hay again the next summer. After this, top-dress in winter and plow in spring for corn. | This applies to good arable land in those parts of the country where timothy and clover thrive, and where corn is a paying crop. Such a plan, of course, presup- poses an abundance of manure. It is recognized that there is much land well adapted to meadow purposes, but not adapted to other ordinary crops. In certain sections also blue-grass is so highly productive that it, pays to sow blue-grass with the timothy and clover, | and make a pasture of the meadow after the second- crop year. (See chapters on timothy and blue-grass. ) There is also a great deal of land unfit for cultivation which, with proper attention, may be rendered fairly productive as pasture. It is therefore important to 18 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES consider the best methods of handling such lands in order to keep the grass in the most productive con- dition. The methods to be employed in any particu- lar locality depend, of course, on the nature of the grasses best adapted to that locality. Much that might be said here is therefore deferred to later chap- ters, in which the grasses are discussed individually, and in which the treatment to be accorded each partic- ular species is set forth in detail. PREPARATION OF THE SEED-BED When timothy is sown in the fall with wheat, and clover added in the spring, as is usually done in the timothy region proper, little need be said regarding the preparation of the seed-bed. Wheat, in the region in question, usually follows either oats orcorn. When it follows oats it is well to plow under a light dressing of barn-yard manure in preparing for the wheat and grass crop. It is important that the land be plowed when it is in ‘‘ good season,’’ as Southern farmers say; that is, when it has just moisture enough in it to pul- verize nicely. In fad¢t, the breaking of land should always be done when it is in this condition, but this is, of course, not always possible. The harrow should be used freely, so that a fine tilth may be secured before the seeding isdone. The manure gives the timothy and clover a good start, and the fine tilth renders a catch of timothy much more certain. When wheat and timothy follow corn, it is usually sufficient to disk the corn-stubble a couple of times after the corn is in the shock, unless the land is foul. It is to be presumed that the corn-land had a good MEADOWS AND PASTURES 19 dressing of manure the previous winter or spring, in which case it is hardly necessary to manure again at this stage. Where there is a deficiency of manure, as in some parts of the East, a dressing of phosphate is usually applied to the land and harrowed in just be- fore the wheat is sown, or even with the wheat. As elsewhere stated, it is better practice to sow timothy and clover alone in the late summer or early fall. Oat-stubble is well suited for this purpose, espe- cially in the northern tier of States. In the region of the Ohio River it is possible to grow a catch crop in summer, such as millet or cow-peas, before seeding to grass in the fall. In either case it is a good plan to manure the land, the quantity required depending on the fertility of the soil before breaking up for grass. Plowing done at this season should be fairly deep—say, seven to nine inches. It is highly important to secure a good tilth before sowing the grass-seed. If the soil is inclined to be stiff, as most clay soils are, the disk- harrow is a very useful implement in putting it in shape for sowing. On loose soils the common drag-harrow is sufficient. In the Middle South, where orchard-grass, redtop, tall meadow oat-grass, and meadow-fescue partially replace timothy, more care is required in pre- paring grass-lands than in most other parts of the country. Here much of the soil has been exhausted by the continuous cultivation of cotton and corn, and barn-yard manure is frequently not available. The practice of subsoiling has become very general in this section. The usual manner of subsoiling is to run a ‘‘scooter’’ in the furrow behind the turning-plow. 20 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES The scooter-plow is unknown at the North. It isa kind of shovel-plow having an oblique point. It digs up the clay, but leaves it in the furrow. A great deal of time and labor is wasted in this manner in northern Georgia, northern Alabama, and adjacent sections. It is argued that if this subsoil were turned up and mixed with the soil it would greatly reduce the yield, which is very true. The idea is to break up the hard-pan which has been formed just below the furrow slice. But this can be done in a far better way. By plowing one inch deeper every year till a depth of ten inches is reached, a ten-inch layer of good surface soil is secured without at any time having a lot of unproductive hard- pan mixed with the soil. After this depth has been reached it is a good plan never to plow the same depth two years in succession. Plow, say, seven inches the next year, then nine inches the next, then six, then ten, then eight, andsoon. If this practice is followed there will be no hard-pan to break up. There are many farms on which all the plowing must be done by one small mule. Ten-inch plowing is, of course, out of the question in such cases. The preparation of good alluvial soil for grass in the Middle South does not differ materially from the methods required in the North, but the uplands re- quire considerably more care. It is useless to attempt to grow meadow-grasses on exhausted upland soils in the Middle South. The soil must first be brought into good heart. This may be done by sowing Southern grown winter rye and turning it under about the time it heads out, and by growing and turning under cow-peas or velvet beans. Itis very important, when any heavy MEADOWS AND PASTURES 21 green crop has been turned under, to allow it to decay, and let one or two good, soaking rains wash the re- sulting acids out of the soil before sowing any other crop. A very good preparation for worn upland soils would be to turn under a crop of rye, let the land lie six weeks, then sow cow-peas. Cut the peas for hay in time to sow rye again in the fall. Turn rye under again the next spring, and grow another crop of peas. By the time this second crop of peas is cut for hay the land ought to be in fairly good condition to receive a grass crop. For the particular condition here described the best grasses are orchard-grass, redtop, tall meadow oat- grass, and meadow-fescue, with red and alsike clover. On most of these soils, except where rock is near the surface, alfalfa can be started readily after the above course of treatment. A very good combination would be: orchard-grass, 10 lbs.; redtop, 5 lbs. of recleaned seed, or 12 lbs. of seed in the chaff; tall meadow oat- grass, 12 lbs.; red clover, 8 lbs.; and alsike clover, 4lbs. Inthe absence of barn-yard manure, a dressing of 200 to 4oo Ibs. of a high-grade, complete fertilizer would give the grass a good start. After this grass has been down two years, during which time it ought to give two cuttings a year, it should be manured and plowed up for corn. The corn may be followed by rye or wheat the next winter. Cow-peas may advantageously follow the grain crop, and give way to the grass crop again in the fall. This makes a four-year rotation, which keeps the land busy winter and summer. If all these crops are fed on the place and the manure re- turned to the land, this system of cropping cannot fail 22 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES to bring the soil to a high state of fertility in a few years. We may summarize the subject of preparation of land for grass by saying that it must first be made fairly fertile if it is not already so, and that it must be plowed deep when in condition to pulverize well, and then be thoroughly fined by the harrow. It is then ready for the seed. SOWING THE SEED The importance of good seed can hardly be over- estimated. In the chapter on seeds the prevalence of poor grass-seed on the markets and some of the rea- sons for the same are pointed out. A good many failures in seeding down the grasses result from insuf- ficient preparation of the land, but many failures result also from the use of seed which for one reason or another has lost much, or all, of its vitality. This is about the only civilized country in the world in which there are no laws to protect the farmer against imposi- tion on the part of dishonest seedsmen, and honest seedsmen find much difficulty in selling high-class seed alongside of dead seed, which is offered at a low price. A farmer ought always to buy grass-seed far enough in advance to enable him to send a sample of it to the seed laboratory of his State experiment sta- tion, if the station maintains one, or to that of the United States Department of Agriculture, which is always ready to test such seeds free of charge. If this practice were general, bad seed would be less plentiful on the market, and there would be fewer failures when grasses are sown. ‘The danger from bad seed is much MEADOWS AND: PASTURES 23 greater in the case of such grasses as tall meadow oat- grass, meadow-fescue, Italian rye-grass, and the like, which are so little used in this country. The stock is liable to be old, and such seeds should always be tested before risking good land to them. The same is true of blue-grass, Johnson, and Bermuda grasses, which are especially liable to be of poor quality. The rate at which the various grass-seeds are to be sown is given in discussing the individual grasses later in this volume. When mixtures are sown, a number of considerations govern the amount of each kind of seed to use. In sowing grasses and clovers together it is customary to sow enough of both grass-seed and clover-seed for a full stand. But if several grasses are used in the mixture, the amount of each is usually somewhat reduced. In parts of the Timothy Region it ° is customary to add more or less redtop to the timothy and clover (except when the hay is grown for sale), but the amount of timothy-seed is not thereby reduced. The amount of each kind of seed to be used depends partly on how much of each kind of grass is desired in the hay. Redtop is usually added as a ‘‘filler,’’ to increase the yield, rather than because of its desirabil- ity in the hay, and hence the proportion of its seed is usually small. In the mixture above recommended for uplands in the Middle South, the amount of orchard- grass is about half what would be sown if this were the only grass to be sown with the clovers. The amount of redtop is about one-fourth, and that of tall meadow oat-grass about one-third of a full seeding. Some authorities recommend that nearly as much of each kind of seed be used in a mixture as if it were 24 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES to be sown alone, and this is a very good rule if one is not sure of the quality of the seed. A general rule, but one that should seldom be applied strictly, is to reduce the amount of each kind of seed in proportion to the number of kinds in the mixture. This rule should be used with much caution, yet it is a guide of some value. If more or less of a given grass is wanted in the mixture, use its seed accordingly, and always make sure of sufficient seed of the best grasses in the mixture to secure a stand if the less important kinds should fail entirely. An indefinite number of mix- tures could be given as samples, but it would occupy more space than can be devoted to it in this volume to give the total number of such that might be used under varying conditions in the various parts of the country. Seedsmen usually make recommendations on this point in their catalogues, but such recommendations cannot be followed implicitly. Other things being equal, rich land requires more seed than poor land, and wet land more than dry. A well-prepared seed-bed requires less seed than one poorly prepared, because a larger proportion of the seed finds a chance to germinate. A single pound of timothy-seed to the acre, if every seed produced a thrifty plant, would give 27 plants on every square foot of land. Since it usually requires 12 to 15 lbs. of timothy to secure a good stand it is evident that only a small proportion of the seed sown on even the best- prepared land produce plants. On rough, cloddy land the proportion is much smaller. Seedsmen, in their recommendations as to the amounts to sow, make a good deal of allowance for poorly prepared land, and MEADOWS AND PASTURES 25 it is well they do, or there would be more failures than there are. From the above it is evident that no absolute rules can be laid down for determining the amount of seed to sow on an acre of land. One must consider all the circumstances and be governed accordingly. A beginner will do well to consult the experience of those who have farmed in his locality for many years, In case such experience is not available, use a liberal allowance of seed until experience has taught the proper rate of seeding. As much definite information, based on farm experience, is given in later chapters as can be given on this point. III MEADOWS AND PASTURES (Continued) TIME TO SOW Goop seed-bed is more important than the par- ticular date of sowing. It is unwise to sow grass-seed on soil that is too dry to give the grass a quick start. Ground that is at all weedy should never be sown in late spring, or weeds will choke out the grass. Over most parts of the Eastern United States grass-seed may be sown either in early fall or in very early spring. Fall sowing should be early enough to give the grass a good start before winter. In sections subject to late summer drouth it should be so timed as to escape the dry, hot weather. Spring sowing should be early enough to give the grass a start ahead of weeds. In middle latitudes most grasses and clovers may be safely sown on a light snow in late winter. When the snow melts the seed will be sufficiently covered by the shifting of soil due to the water formed from the melting snow. Perhaps the safest general rule, to be used with judg- ment, is to sow in early fall if the season is favor- able. If not, then sow in early spring. Some kinds of seeds produce plants that are especially tender when young. This is more generally true of alfalfa and clover than of the grasses. North of the Ohio River it is safer to sow these in spring, while farther south 26 MEADOWS AND PASTURES 27 they are best sown in early fall. Yet in the North all these plants may be successfully sown in late summer if the soil is in good condition. Late fall sowing is seldom advisable, for it is unsafe to let a meadow of any except the hardiest grasses go into winter without a good covering on it. In the colder regions of the Prairie States it is well to plow the land in fall, then prepare it, and sow the seed in early spring. In the Pacific Northwest, on upland prairies east of the Cas- cade Mountains, it is best to plow in spring and sow the seed at once. The reasons for this are given in the chapter on timothy. In the irrigated districts of this section fall sowing is advisable, while west of the Cas- cades the same rules apply as in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and adjacent States. At high altitudes in the Rockies spring sowing is safest because of the cold winters. MANNER OF SOWING Very light, chaffy seeds, such as those of brome- grass, especially the imported seed, and awned seeds, such as those of tall meadow oat-grass, do not feed through seeding-machines satisfactorily, and should, therefore, be sown by hand. Hand-sowing should al- ways be done when the air is as still as possible. It is well-nigh impossible to distribute the seed evenly when the wind is blowing. Unless the sower is decidedly expert, it is best to sow half of the seed at a time, making the second sowing crosswise to the first. This insures a more even stand. For such seeds as will feed through it, such as tim- othy, redtop (recleaned), clovers, etc., in general, for small, round, clean seeds, the wheelbarrow-seeder is 28 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES the most satisfactory implement yet invented. Re- cleaned blue-grass seed can be sown with this imple- ment, but the uncleaned seed should be sown by hand. ‘Grass-seeders are frequently attached to grain-drills. They answer very well for timothy to be sown with grain, but are hard to keep in order. There are sev- eral cheap grass-seeding machines which scatter the seed by mechanical means. They are satisfactory for seeds that feed through them readily, but it requires some patience to regulate them properly, and the sower must walk at a uniform rate or the seed will not be scattered evenly. Seeds of approximately the same size and weight may be mixed before sowing. Very large seeds should never be mixed with small ones, or the small seed will feed out first. If heavy seeds are mixed with light ones, even of the same size, the heavy ones will feed out first unless the mixture is kept well stirred. In sowing such mixtures it is well to put only a small amount of seed inthe machine at a time. By this means the separation of the heavy and light seeds is largely avoided. NURSE CROP Just why wheat or other grain sown with the grasses should be called a nurse crop is not clear. It would be more appropriate to call it a robber crop. The idea that it protects the grass probably arose from the fact that, when the grain is removed in hot, dry weather, the grasses are apt todry up. Having been shaded and weakened by the grain, they are unable to bear the full heat of the sun, particularly when the supply of moisture is short and the grain crop has MEADOWS AND PASTURES 29 robbed them of their scant supply. In no part of the country is it a safe plan to use a so-called nurse crop for the grasses, except, perhaps, in parts of the North, where weeds are liable to take spring seeding. In this case a light seeding of oats or barley will tend to keep down the weeds, and will not seriously harm the grass if the grain is cut for hay while yet green. If left to ripen it is liable to do the grass harm. In the South a nurse crop should never be used. The idea is prevalent that a crop can be gained by sowing grain with the grasses. This may be true of spring seeding, but it is not true of fallseeding. Fall- sown grasses without a nurse crop make their largest yield the next summer; with a nurse crop, they usu- ally make no hay till the second summer. COVERING THE SKED Seeds sown on other crops in late winter or earsy spring usually need no covering. At other times « light drag-harrow or a brush does the work well. Soils that are loose or inclined to be cloddy should be rolled after seeding, but the -harrow should follow immediately after the roller. On clay soils particu- larly the roller has a tendency to cause the surface to bake and form a hard crust, through which the young plants cannot penetrate. A good rain just after seed- ing frequently covers the seed sufficiently. It is im- portant not to disturb the soil while the seeds are germinating, as the little plants are very easily de- stroyed at this time. No attempt should therefore be made to remedy insufficient covering after the seed have begun to germinate. 30 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES Large seeds, such as those of brome-grass, Johnson grass, etc., may be covered more deeply than such small seeds as blue-grass, timothy, and the clovers. These larger seeds may safely be put down with a drill. In light soils seeds as small as clover may be sown with a drill. On ordinary soils two inches is deep enough to cover large grass-seed, while half an inch is deep enough for timothy and clover and other small seeds. STAGE AT WHICH TO CUT GRASS FOR HAY The proper stage at which the grasses should be cut for hay has been the subject of much investigation on the part of agricultural chemists. The general con- clusion to which these investigations have led is thus stated by one of our most eminent investigators: ‘‘Young plants while rapidly growing contain rela- tively more protein and less fibre than more mature ones; consequently, early cut fodder must be of better quality than that cut late. It is more digestible.’’ We have here three facts and one inference. As the point is one of much practical importance, we will consider it at length. First, the facts are: A. Young, growing plants contain relatively more protein than mature ones. B&B. They also contain less fibre. C. They are more digestible. : The inference from these facts is: Early cut fodder is of better quality than that cut late. Is this infer- ence justified? Concerning the first fa@, it may be stated that we do not grow the ordinary grasses for the protein they contain, and the fact that mature MEADOWS AND PASTURES 31 grasses have a smaller percentage of it than immature ones is a matter of small importance. We can get portein more cheaply than by cutting immature grasses for it, when by doing so we lose considerably in yield and, perhaps, also in palatability. Especially in the South and the Far West, where the ordinary feeds are too rich in protein, is this conclusion not well founded. Even in the Timothy Region proper we can get protein in a more satisfactory way. The second and third faéts (B and C above) are closely related, and may be considered together. Care- ful digestion experiments are not sufficiently numerous to show definitely that timothy cut, say, when the seed are in the dough stage, is decidedly less digestible than when cut, say, just before bloom. But grant that there is a difference; is it sufficient to compensate for the smaller yield and lower palatability of the early cut hay? The fact is that old, experienced feeders and hay dealers almost invariably prefer timothy hay that has been cut after the seed is pretty well formed. They insist that stock like it better, and that it is a stronger feed than hay cut earlier. There is a possibility that investigators have paid too little attention to one of the most, if not the most, important factors in deter- mining the value of a given feed—namely, its palata- bility. Considering the comparatively small variation in the chemical composition of the same grass cut at different stages, the most important question is not how nutritious is a pound of it, but how much of it will an animal eat. Weare all well aware that a feed has little value in most cases if stock will eat it only 32 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES when driven to do so from hunger. It is that which is eaten over and above a maintenance ration which is of real value both for work and for animal products. Is it not better to cut hay at the stage when it will be most readily eaten, and then balance up the ration by a judicious combination of feeds of different composi- tions? ‘The writer believes this to be the case, and what is said below is based largely on the assumption that the best stage at which any grass should be cut is determined largely by palatability and yield. There is yet another factor which is really more important than the variations in chemical composition, and that is the effect on the digestive organs. Grasses cut very green are laxative in character, while those cut ripe tend to produce constipation, and this is some- times the determining factor in cutting hay. In prac- tice, therefore, the factors which determine the stage at which a grass should be cut for hay are yield, pal- atability, and effect on the bowels. In particular in- stances considerations which are ordinarily minor ones become important. In the case of Johnson grass and wild oats, for instance, both of which are vile weeds, yet excellent hay when cut at the proper stage, it is of the utmost importance to cut the hay before any seeds are mature enough to germinate. In this case all other considerations vanish. If the weather or the pressure of other work never interfered with haymak- ing, these two plants would undoubtedly be highly valued and standard crops, for they could then be cut at a stage which would prevent them from scattering by seed. Johnson grass presents another peculiarity of some importance. It yields three crops a year or- MEADOWS AND PASTURES 33. dinarily. The second and third crops come on evenly, so that all the grass is practically at the same stage when cut; but the first crop is liable to be very irreg- ular, and much of it will therefore have to be cut be- fore it heads out in order to avoid ripe seed in the more advanced plants. The time to cut this grass is when the earliest portions of the field begin to bloom. Wild oats should also be cut while in bloom. In the case of timothy and most common grasses we are not bothered with weedy character, and can therefore give our whole attention to the quality and yield of hay. Horses prefer timothy cut when the seed is well formed but not fully ripe. As this class of stock is unfavorably affected by laxative feeds, late cut tim- othy is also preferred for them on account of its favor- able effect on the digestive tract. In the case of cattle, laxative feed is rather to be preferred. Cattle also relish timothy better when it is cut rather green. Hence, for cattle, timothy should be cut about the time itis in blossom. Any time from a day or two before the ‘‘ first bloom’’ till a day or two after the “second bloom’? will answer. (For the meaning of first and second bloom, see Chapter VI.) ‘The yield will be slightly larger at the later stage. Orchard-grass loses its palatability very rapidly after blooming, and should always be cut within a day or two after the blooming period is past. Brome-grass, which is becoming an important grass in this country, retains its palatability until the seed is dead ripe. Even the straw from which the ripe seed has been threshed is eaten readily by both cattle and horses. It therefore has a considerable season during which it 34. FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES may be cut for hay. The same is true of blue-grass, Bermuda grass, and Italian rye-grass. There is doubt- less a best time to cut each of these, but that depends on yield mostly. In the case of grasses that yield a second cutting, like the last two mentioned, the earlier the first cutting is made the larger the yield of the second cutting will be. The time of cutting of other grasses is discussed in sufficient detail in later chapters. CURING HAY The best hay is made without rain and with the least possible sunshine. If it were practicable to cure hay in the shade, the quality would be all the better. The curing of hay is a process of drying and of fer- mentation. Hot sun tends to stop the fermentations which produce hay of good flavor. It is important, therefore, to rake the hay into windrows as soon as it can safely be done. When the growth is light, as is usually the case with such grasses as blue-grass and redtop, and frequently with Bermuda grass, it may be raked up within two hours after cutting, provid- ing, of course, the weather is dry. Heavier growths require a longer time, sometimes one or two days, and frequently the use of a tedder is necessary to dry out a heavy growth of hay evenly, so that the upper portion of the swath may not become sun-baked and dead while the under portion is still fresh and green. When any given process can be reduced to definite rules, such rules may largely take the place of experi- ence; but in haymaking experience is necessary in MEADOWS AND PASTURES 35 order to be able to know at what stage to perform the necessary operations. Only the most general rules can be laid down. In most cases, as much as possible of the curing should be done in windrows or cocks. After the hay is cocked up there is not so much need for haste, unless there is danger of rain. It is good FIG. 4—HAYING SCENE 1N NOVA SCOTIA policy, however, to get hay in stack or mow as soon as it is dry enough not to mould. The color and flavor will be the better the less rain and sunshine the hay gets after itis cut. By referring to the grades of hay in the last chapter, it will be seen that color is a leading factor in its classification. Not that color of itself is essential, but it is the most important indica- tion of the manner in which the curing was done. As 36 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES a rule, the less change that occurs in color during the curing the better the hay will be. How long to leave hay in the cock cannot be de- termined by any general rule. It depends onthe kind of hay, the stage at which it is cut, the dryness of the atmosphere, and the weight of thecrop. A heavy crop takes longer to cure than a light one. ‘Timothy cures quickly, while millets require a longer time. A rule frequently followed by farmers is to begin stacking when the hay in the center of the cock is dry enough that when a wisp of it is twisted no juice can be squeezed out of it. When a large quantity of hay is put in a single mow or stack it may be stored in a greener state than when the quantity is small. Some farmers put clover hay in the mow right from the mower. In storing hay as green as this they usually put about a gallon of salt on each ton of hay. Some use a half gallon of quicklime instead of the salt. The salt or lime absorbs moisture from the hay, and thus aids the curing proc- ess. Hay stored before drying generally turns brown, or even black, in curing, but it is readily eaten by stock. The writer has never practiced this method of bulk-curing, though it is frequently reported in the agricultural papers. Hay cured this way is close kin to silage. The method of curing hay (timothy and clover) used by the Rev. J. D. Detrich, formerly of Flour- town, Pa., who probably raises the largest crops of hay of any farmer in this country, is given in his own words, as follows: ‘‘ The grass is cut in the afternoon. ‘The first night’s dew never hurts it. The next day it is MEADOWS AND PASTURES 37 left to lie until noon. It is then put into curing cocks, which are made flat. The cocks are upset the next morning, and in the afternoon four of them are made into one weathering cock. Thus it is allowed to re- main for one day, and then hauled to the barn or rick.” FIG. 5—RAKE FOR MOVING HAY-COCKS TO STACK This gives three days from cutting to hauling. The quality of this hay is unsurpassed. STACKING AND BALING In stacking hay, especially if it is to remain long in the stack, it is important to place the hay so that it will settle evenly, and more so near the margins than at the centre. This is accomplished by dumping the forkful in the centre of the stack, and then distribut- ing it evenly, keeping the middle a little high. If the rick form is used the fork should be dumped along 38 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES the middle, and care should be used to distribute the hay so that the whole central line of the rick is equally compressed. Neglect of this precaution will cause the centre to sag in places and leak rain into the centre of the rick. (A stack made too flat is shown in Fig. 6.) The stack or rick should have some kind of t FIG. 6—A HAY-STACK MADE TOO FLAT foundation to prevent decay from contact with the ground. A layer of dry straw a foot deep will answer for this, but a foundation of boards or fence-rails is bet- ter. After the stack is about two-thirds as high as it is desired to make it the middle should be consider- ably raised and kept high till it is finished. ‘This will cause the hay to settle so as to shed rain better. It is usually necessary to anchor the stack to pre- vent the top from blowing away in strong winds before MEADOWS AND PASTURES 39 it is well compacted. A good plan is to tie weights to the two ends of a rope and hang this over the top. Two such ropes crossed at right angles will hold a stack in ordinary winds, and one such rope about every six feet on a rick will answer the same purpose. Little need be said regarding the baling of hay. It FIG. 7——HAY-DERRICK IN COMMON USE IN UTAH is unnecessary to bale hay that is to be consumed on the farm or sold for local consumption. Hay that is to be shipped must be baled to reduce its bulk and make it more convenient to handle. ‘The size of the bale is determined by the requirements of the markets in which it is to be sold. One hundred pounds is the usual size, though some markets require bales smaller and some much larger. On the Pacific Coast, where 40 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES considerable hay is baled for the export trade, a great deal of it is double compressed. ‘The ordinary bales are put into a hydraulic press and the size is reduced about one-half, so that a ton of double-compressed hay occupies only fifty-five cubic feet, or a cubic space less than four feet each way. Hay thus compressed secures lower freight rates than that in ordinary bales. The practice of baling from the cock, or even from the windrow, is becoming common in some sections, espe- cially on the Pacific Coast, where fine weather is always assured in the haying season (except near the ocean). When baled direct from the cock or windrow it is nec- essary to let the hay get a little dryer than it needs to be for stacking to avoid heating in the bales, and the bales should not be closely bulked until they have had time to ‘‘ go through the sweat.”’ GRAZING THE AFTERMATH It is a common practice in this country to allow stock to run on the meadow after the hay is off unless it is desired to cut a second crop. In this case stock is usually turned in after the last crop is off. (Tim- othy makes only one crop of hay, while clover makes two, and alfalfa three or more in a season.) In the North there is little harm in this if the number of ani- mals is not too large. It is always unwise to let stock eat a meadow down very close, especially late in the fall. The meadow is much more liable to injury from cold in winter when left bare. It is decidedly bad policy to turn stock on a meadow in wet weather, for they puddle the soil and cut up the sod with their hoofs. ‘Timothy should never be pastured close, for 1t MEADOWS AND PASTURES 41 is killed by too close cropping. In the Middle South a good meadow of the ordinary grasses, such as tim- othy, orchard-grass, fescue, and redtop, should never be pastured at all, and a Bermuda-grass meadow must not be pastured late in the fall. If it is, it is liable to freeze out. Johnson grass will not stand pasturing to any extent. If pastured at all closely it becomes patchy. IV MEADOWS AND PASTURES (Concluded) LONGEVITY OF MEADOWS 6 ele length of time a meadow will last depends on the grasses of which it is composed, on the climate and the character of the soil, and on the treatment it receives. Meadows of Bermuda grass, blue-grass, or alfalfa last almost in- definitely with proper treatment, and remain as prolific as at first; in fact, they increase in productiveness for some years after they are laid down. Meadows of other grasses usually produce their largest yield the first year a crop is obtained, and will drop to about half this amount in one or two years more unless well manured. Even with good manuring, meadows of the common hay grasses of this country seldom remain as productive as they were the first year. Most of our meadows become weedy in a few years. A+ weedy meadow is an eyesore on any farm. ‘The best remedy is to plow it up and run it through the regular rota- tion, so as to give a chance to destroy the weeds. If it is good arable land, and is not in blue-grass, Bermuda grass, 01 alfalfa, the best plan is to keep meadows down only two years, unless they are wanted for pasture for a year or two longer. It is, of course, recognized that special conditions may render it desir- able to keep a meadow down for a longer time. If 42 MEADOWS AND PASTURES 43 this is the case, it should be well fertilized and kept free from weeds. PASTURES Much of what has been said concerning meadows applies as well to pastures, and need not be repeated here. There are two really great pasture-grasses in this country—the blue-grass of the North and the Bermuda grass of the South. To these we may add brome-grass of the Northwestern Prairie States. These are discussed in later chapters. Practically all the meadow-grasses are used more or less for pasture pur- poses ; in fact, there is scarcely a crop grown in this country that is not utilized to some extent for pasture. In California herds of sheep graze the leaves and tender shoots on grapvines after the fruit is harvested. In the South cattle are frequently turned into the cot- ton-fields at the end of the season, where they eat the leaves and immature bolls of the cotton-plant. All the cereals are used extensively for winter pastures, partic- ularly in the South, for which purpose they are ex- tremely valuable. All over the country stubble-fields and stalk-fields are pastured after the grain is harvested. Green crops of every description, including corn, sor- ghum, rape, etc., are more or less used as pastures, and when properly managed they furnish more abun- dant forage than the ordinary hay and pasture grasses. In the more thickly populated sections of the coun- try, especially on the better class of lands, there is a marked tendency to confine permanent pastures to rough land or land otherwise unsuited to cropping. It is contended that the amount of feed secured from such pasture-land is so small that the farmer cannot 44 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES afford to devote good land to this purpose. There is much truth in this contention, particularly in view of the usual method of pasturing in this country, which is to throw all the pasture-land into a single inclosure and turn all the stock uponit. When land is pastured in this manner, if it is stocked sufficiently to keep the growth down, the yield of forage is small, for a small plant does not make as much growth in a day as a large one. On the other hand, if the amount of stock is too small to keep the growth eaten down, much feed is wasted by trampling, and the grass is eaten closely in some places, while it is left to grow rank and coarse in others. ; The Michigan Experiment Station some years ago . determined the relative yield of forage on grass-plats, part of which were kept closely clipped, in imitation of pasture, the remainder being treated as meadow, and cut when more fully mature. The yield of forage on the plats treated as meadow was three to four times that of the others. This agrees with the experience of farmers that meadows produce more feed than the same area in pastures. ‘The practice of devoting only rough lands to permanent pastures, therefore, seems to be justified—at least in sections where farm-land is high-priced. Methods of pasturing prevail in many parts of Europe by which much more feed is obtained from the land. There cattle are frequently tethered in such manner that the area they can graze is only sufficient to furnish feed for one day. The next day they are moved far enough to secure another day’s feed. In this way grass is eaten clean, and there is little or no MEADOWS AND PASTURES 45 waste from trampling. This method also permits the grasses to grow to proper maturity, so that the amount of growth isa maximum. Another method of accom- plishing the same end is to divide the pasture by means of temporary or permanent fences, and allow the stock to remain in one inclosure till the grass is closely eaten before admitting them to the next. Meanwhile the herbage in the inclosure first pastured is allowed to grow up again before it is eaten down a second time. Both of these methods require much at- tention from the herdsman, and are hardly practicable on farms where beef production is a prominent fea- ture. One or the other of these intensive forms of pasturing might be practiced with profit with dairy cows, sheep, or hogs. Both of them are close kin to the method of soiling. In many parts of the country the cereals are used extensively for pasture with excellent results. This is particularly the case in the South. Oats are used | more frequently for this purpose than the other cereals, though in part of western North Carolina, and adjacent regions in adjoining States, a Southern va- riety of rye is used extensively. Around Sherman, Texas, a winter variety of barley has recently gained much favor, and is extensively used for winter pasture. It is said to yield more abundant feed than oats, rye, or wheat, while stock eat it with greater relish. In favorable seasons—that is, when there is no drouth to check growth—any of the cereals sown the middle of September in the South will furnish considerable feed by the first of November. Stock may be kept on these pastures till in the spring, when the grains begin 46 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES to throw up seed-stalks, after which, if the stock are removed, a fair crop of grain may be harvested. Good temporary pastures may be made in the North in summer by sowing winter cereals in the spring.