LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA.

Deceived JAN 12 1893 . 189
Accessions No. Qfri... . Class Afo.

TJHI7ERSIT7

GRASSES

FORAGE PLANTS

A PRACTICAL TREATISE

COMPRISING

THEIR NATURAL HISTORY; COMPARATIVE NUTRITIVE VALUE;

METHODS OF CULTIVATING, CUTTING, AND CURING; AND

THE MANAGEMENT OF GRASS LANDS IN THE UNITED

STATES AND BRITISH PROVINCES

BY

CHARLES L. FLINT
u

LATE SECRETARY OF MASSACHUSETTS STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE;

MEMBER OF BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY J AUTHOR

OF "MILCH COWS AND DAIRY FARMING," ETC., ETC

VISED EDITION

BOSTON
LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS

10 MILK STREET NEXT OLD SOUTH MEETING-HOUSE
NEW YORK CHARLES T. DILLINGHAM

fl*

Copyright, 188T,
Br CHARLES L. FLINT

ROCKWELL AND CHURCHILL Printers
Boston

PREFACE.

THE object of the following pages is to embody
the most recent practical and scientific information
on the history, culture, and nutritive value, of the
grasses and the grains. To make the work practi-
cally useful, I have treated the subject with plain-
ness and simplicity, so far as it admits of it, and
have at least indicated to the reader the vast field
of study which lies open before him in this direction.

The large number of illustrations of the different
species of grasses, drawn, as they have been, with
great care and accuracy, will serve to facilitate the
study and identification of unknown specimens. Most
of these appeared in the first and second editions of
the work. I have added to this edition a few, drawn
by Professor I. A. Lapham, of Milwaukie.

In treating the subject from an economical point
of view, I have tried to give what is known to be
of special value, and have presented the experience
of practical men upon points about which the opin-
ions of farmers differ. The reader will be best able
to judge how far I have succeeded in accomplishing
my object.

1* (5)

VI PREFACE.

It seems unnecessary to dwell here upon the
importance of the subject. Perennial grasses, says
an eminent practical farmer, are the true basis of
agriculture in the highest condition of that best
employment of man. Grasses which are not peren-
nial are of immense value, especially as one of the
shifts in the ordinary rotation of crops, suited to the
agriculture of the great upper or northerly portion
of our continent, all of it above the cotton line.
But it is the grasses which are perpetual to which
we are to look for our chief success in farming.

Perhaps the most forcible expression of opinion
on this point may be found in a French writer, who
asserts that the term grass is only another name for
beef, mutton, bread, and clothing; or in the Bel-
gian proverb, " No grass, no cattle; no cattle, no
manure ; no manure, no crops ! "

If my researches, imperfect as they doubtless
have been, should have the effect of creating a more
general interest in the subject, and leading to more
careful inquiry, and more general and accurate in-
vestigation, I shall be amply rewarded for any
labor which I have bestowed upon the preparation
of the following pages.

C. L. F.

BOSTON, May, 1887.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PAGE

INTRODUCTION, . ..... ...... . . . * . . 9

CHAPTER I.

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE TRUE GRASSES WHICH ARE USED FOR

FORAGE,

11

CHAPTER II.

THE CEREALIA, OR GRASSES CULTIVATED FOR THEIR SEEDS, . . 155

CHAPTER III.

THE ARTIFICIAL GRASSES, OR PLANTS CULTIVATED AND USED LIKE
GRASSES, THOUGH NOT BELONGING TO THE GRASS FAMILY, . 183

CHAPTER IV.

THE GRASS-LIKE RUSHES, CARICES, AND SEDGES, COMMONLY CALLED
GRASSES, 197

CHAPTER V.

VARIOUS CLASSIFICATIONS OF THE GRASSES, 205

CHAPTER VI.

THE COMPARATIVE NUTRITIVE VALUE OF THE GRASSES, . . . 217

(7)

VIII TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VII.

PAGE

THE CLIMATE AND SEASONS, AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE

GRASSES, 239

CHAPTER VIII.

SELECTION, MIXTURE, AND SOWING, OF GRASS-SEEDS, . , . .265

CHAPTER IX.

TIME AND MODE OF CUTTING GRASS FOR HAY, . . , . . 299

CHAPTER X.

CURING AND SECURING HAY . ^ . 329

CHAPTER XL

GENERAL TREATMENT OF GRASS LAND, 351

CONCLUSION, 388

SYSTEMATIC INDEX, 389

GENERAL INDEX, 391

GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS.

INTRODUCTION.

I PROPOSE to speak of the grasses, a family of plants
the most extensive and the most beautiful, as well as
the most important to mankind. It embraces nearly a
sixth part of the whole vegetable kingdom ; it clothes
the globe with perpetual verdure, or adorns it at fixed
seasons with a thick matted carpet of green, none the
less beautiful for its simplicity ; and it nourishes and
sustains by far the greater part of the animals that
serve us and minister to our wants.

When we consider the character of our climate, and
the necessity that exists, throughout all the northern
and middle portions of the United States and the Cana-
das, of stall-feeding from three to five or six months of
the year, for means of which we are dependent mainly
on the grasses, it is plain that, in an economical point
of view, this subject is one of the most important that
can occupy the farmer's attention.

The annual value of the grass crop to the country,
for pasturage and hay together, cannot be less than
three hundred million dollars, to say nothing of a vast
amount of roots and other plants cultivated and used as
forage crops.

I shall endeavor to give a brief account of the natural
history or description of all the useful grasses found in

(9)

10 INTRODUCTION.

our fields and pastures, partly because it is essential to
a complete understanding of the subject, and partly
because there is at present no popular treatise on the
subject within the easy reach of our farmers, and some-
thing of the kind is needed for reference ; but I shall
confine myself mainly to a plain and practical treatment
of the subject, making such suggestions as I think may
be useful, on the cultivation, cutting, and curing, of the
grasses for hay, the comparative value of the different
varieties, and the general management of grass lands.

This subject has long been familiar to me, and has
especially occupied my attention for the last few years,
during which I have made an extensive collection, em-
bracing a large proportion of the varieties described in
the following pages, for preservation in the Agricultural
Museum connected with my office. In addition to my
own extensive observations on the subject, I have
sought information in the statements of intelligent
farmers in different parts of the country. Many of these
I have myself conversed with., while others have favored
me, in writing, with the results of their own experience,
from which I shall draw with a liberal hand, for the
purpose of giving the work a practical character, and
of bringing the subject home to the general reader. In
treating of the natural grasses, I shall limit myself
mainly to a description of those species which it may
be for the interest of the farmer to cultivate, or at
least to encourage in his pastures, with such others as
should be known, to be avoided.

In the arrangement of species I shall follow mainly
the natural order adopted by Professor Gray, to whom,
as well as to many others, I am indebted for no small
assistance, in studying the specific characteristics of
many of the specimens collected and presented in the
following pages.

CHAPTER I.

NATUEAL HISTORY OF THE TRUE GRASSES
WHICH ARE USED FOR FORAGE.

THE grasses, in popular language, are variously
divided. They are sometimes designated as natural
and artificial : the former comprising all the true
grasses ; that is, plants with long, simple, narrow
leaves, each leaf having many fine veins or lines run-
ning parallel with a central prominent vein or midrib,
and a long sheath, Fig. 1, divided to the base, which
seems to clasp the stem, or through which the stem
seems to pass, the stem being hollow, with very few
exceptions, and closed at the nodes or joints ; and the
latter — the artificial — comprising those plants, mostly
leguminous, which have been cultivated and used like
the grasses, though they do not properly belong to that
family; such as the clovers, sainfoin, and medic. In
common language the term is often used in a sense not
strictly proper, being not unfrequently applied to any
herbage which affords nourishment to herbivorous or
graminivorous animals, including, of course, not only
many leguminous plants, like clovers, but some others
which would more properly be called forage plants.

But in botanical language, and speaking more pre-
cisely, the grasses, G'raminece, embrace most of the
grains cultivated and used by man, as wheat, rye, Indian
corn, barley, and rice ; all of which will be at once recog

(11)

12 MEANS OF DISTINGUISHING SPECIES.

nized as having leaves and stems very similar in shape
and structure to most of the plants popularly called
grasses.

As the general appearance of plants is often greatly
modified by climate, soil, and modes of cultivation, it is
important to fix upon certain characteristics which are
permanent and unaltered by circumstances, by means
of which the particular genus and species may be iden-
tified with ease and certainty. It is evident that these
characteristics could not be simply in the leaves, or
the stems, or the size of the plant, because there will
be a great difference between plants growing in a poor,
thin, sandy soil, and others of the same species on a
deep, rich loam.

Botanists have, therefore, been compelled to resort
to other parts and peculiarities, such as flowers, <fec., to
distinguish between different species ; and the terms used
to express these, like the terms used in other departments
of natural history, are technical ; and hence, in detail-
ing the natural history of the grasses, the use of tech-
nical language, to a greater or less extent, cannot be
avoided. I shall endeavor, however, by the use of
plates and synonyms, to bring the description of species
within the easy comprehension of every one who will
carefully examine the subject.

The flowers of the grasses are in some cases arranged
on the stem in spikes, as where they are set on a
common stalk without small stalks or branches for each
separate flower, as in Timothy (Phleum pratense) ; in
other cases in panicles, or loose subdivided clusters, as
in orchard grass (Dactylis glomerata). A panicle is
said to be loose or spreading, as in redtop (Agrostis
vulgaris), where the small branches on which the
flowers are set are open, or extended out freely in dif-
ferent directions ; it is said to be dense, or crowded, or

ESSENTIAL PARTS. 13

compressed, when the branches are so short as to give
it more or less of the spike form.

This whole arrangement will be seen in Fig. 1, which
represents a stalk of the common annual spear grass
(Poa annua)j a plant familiar to every one as often
troublesome in gravel walks and on hard, dry soils.
Here the joint, the stem, or culm, clasped by the sheath
of the leaf, the leaf itself, the ligule, and the spikelets,
all distinctly appear ; and the reader will do well to
make himself familiar with the few technical terms used,
by a study of this figure, in connection with Fig. 2,
where the spikelet is so magnified as to show the florets
and the calyx very distinctly, all of which are generally
very easily seen with the naked eye, and Fig. 3, show-
ing a floret still more magnified, with its two palea3, the
outer pale being the longer and generally keeled ; that
is, having one, three, or more longitudinal ribs, often
having on the back, base, or summit, an awn or beard
of different lengths, as in the oat and brome grasses,
the inner pale with two separate fringed ribs, each on
a fold at the side. The calyx, cup, or outer scale
of the spikelet, is shown very much magnified in Fig.
4, composed of two glumes, the upper and lower, the
upper glume being the larger. The glumes and pales
are known also by the name of husks of chaff, and are
removed if possible in cleaning the seed, as in the
grains used for their meal. One or both of the glumes
are sometimes wanting.

In Fig. 5 is shown the pistil magnified, consisting of
the nectary, composed of one or two fleshy scales (in
some plants of this family both on one side, in others
entirely wanting), and the germ, ovary, or seed-bearing
portion of the pistil. The stamens are also seen in the
same figure, consisting each of a bag filled with a fine
powder or pollen, supported upon a stalk or filament
2

TECHNICAL TERMS.

Pistil magnified
Fig. 5.

Fig. 1. Annual Spear Grass.

FERTILIZATION. 15

which is analogous to the stalk or stem of a leaf; while
the bag which holds the pollen, called the anther, cor-
responds to the blade or body of the leaf. These are
essential parts of the flower.

At a particular stage of its growth, the anther, burst-
ing, scatters its pollen, some of which, lighting upon
the summit of the stigma, is said to fertilize it, when the
new seed begins to enlarge, and a germ is formed capa-
ble of producing other plants. The process is very
apparent to the observation of the farmer in the case of
Indian corn, on which the pollen is so abundant that it
may be shaken off in clouds. It falls upon the stigmas
or " silks/7 one of which is attached to each embryo
seed or germ ; and without this particle of pollen, the
seed would not be capable of attaining maturity. The
same arrangement is seen less plainly in the other
grasses, as, for instance, in Timothy. It is found in
this whole family of plants, though it is more percep-
tible in Indian corn, on account of its size, than in the
smaller grasses.

The germ is the first part of the seed that is distinctly
formed, and hence, if the. seed is plucked while u in the
milk/7 or in a green state, it will germinate the next
year about as well as if it were allowed to ripen.

The anther, it will be seen, consists of two cells, —
very prominent and hanging, supported on the long,
slender filaments, and forked or divided at the end.
The two short and smooth styles rise from the summit
of the ovary, and the stigmas are feathery or rough,
sometimes branched or compound. Only one seed is
contained in each ovary, and each seed is covered,
when mature, with a thin husk or hull called the peri-
carp, which originally formed the germ or ovary; and
the ripe seed or fruit is only the ovary arrived at matu-
rity. The substance or albumen of h-*e^d,of all the

U2TI7ERSIT

16 THE GRASS FAMILY.

grasses is mealy or farinaceous, as wheat, for instance,
or rye, or Indian corn, which are most used as seeds,
on account of their size and productiveness.

These are the prominent characteristics of this great
and universally diffused order of plants, constituting, as
it does, the chief support of animals as well as man.
They belong, as has been seen, to other plants than those
commonly called grasses ; the order Graminece, as I
have already stated, embracing the grains, as wheat,
barley, rye, and many others, while it does not include
the clovers, which properly belong to the order of legu-
minous plants.

These characteristics, or at least the most important
of them, will be very easily kept in mind, as the long,
narrow, and lance-shaped leaves, and the mealy nature
of the seeds, which makes so large a part of this family
valuable and nutritious ; but in studying the distinctive
characteristics of the different species and varieties par-
ticularly valuable or interesting to an agriculturist as
forage plants, it will be necessary to depend much upon
the technical terms already referred to, though in the
following pages these will be avoided, or explained in
the context as fa-r as possible.

It will have been observed that considerable import-
ance is given to the flowers and seeds as distinguishing
characters of the grasses. It will often be found diffi-
cult from the mere external appearance of a variety of
grass to determine to what species, or even to what
genus, it belongs, so great is the resemblance between
the different species of this class of plants ; but, with the
aid of a small magnifying glass, there will very seldom
be much difficulty in determining the species, especially
if the plant is taken while in blossom. Indeed, it will
often be possible to arrive at a conclusion from an
inspection of a few of the more evident characters.

LIST OF GRASSES.

17

A frequent reference 10 figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, will
greatly aid the reader in becoming familiar with the
technical terms applied to the organs or parts of the
flower which it is desirable to understand, and by means
of which he will soon learn to distinguish the different
species more readily.

In giving the scientific names, the first word that
occurs in parenthesis is the name of the genus ; the
second, that of the species ; as, for instance, in Timothy
(Phleum prate?ise), Plileum is the generic name, pra-
tense the specific. A genus often contains many
species.

The grasses which are described more or less
minutely in the following pages are named in

TABLE I. — LIST OF THE TRUE GRASSES.

Common Name.

Botanical Name.

Time of
Blossoming.

Place of Growth.

Rice Grass,

Leersia oryzoides, . . .

Low, wet places.

White Grass,

Leersia Yirginica, . . .

Damp woods.

Catch Fly Grass, . . .
Indian Rice, ....

Leersia lenticularis, . .
Zizania aquatica . . .

August, . .

Low grounds.
Borders of streams.

Prolific Rice,

Zizania miliacea, . . .

Wet places.

Meadow Foxtail, . . .
Floating Foxtail, . . .
Slender Foxtail, ....
Wild Water Foxtail, . .
Timothy, .

Alopecurus pratensis, .
Alopecurus geniculatus,
Alopecurus agrestis, . .
Alopecurus aristulatus, .
Phleum pratense, . . .

May, . . .
May, June,
July, . . .
June to Aug.

Fields and pastures.
Wet meadows, ditches.
Fields and pastures.
In wet meadows.
Fields and pastures.

Mountain Cat's-tail, . .
Rush Grass .

Phleum alpinum, . . .

August, . .

Spnt

Wild mountain tops.

Hidden Flowered Vilfa, .
Southern Vilfa, ....
Rush Drop-seed, ....
Strong-scented Drop-seed,
Leaden Drop-seed, . .
Smooth-leaved Drop-seed,
Late Drop-seed, ....
Brown Bent,

Vilfa vaginaeflora, . . .
Vilfa Virginica, ....
Sporobolus junceus, . .
Sporobolus heterolepis, .
Sporobolus cryptandrus,
Sporobolus compressus,
Sporobolus serotinus," .
Agrostis canina, ....

Sept.,. . .
Aug., . . .
Aug., . . .
Aug., . . .
Aug., . . .
Sept.,. . .
Sept.,. . .

Sandy & gravelly plains.
Sandy sea-shores.
Dry soils.
Sandy soils.
Sandy soils.
Wet bogs.
Wet sands.

Tickle Grass, . .

Old dry fields

Taller Thin Grass, . . .

Agrostis elata,

Oct., . . .

Swamps.

Redtop,

Julv

Agrostis alba, .....

July .

Florin,

Agrostis stolonifera

July

' 2*

18

LIST OF GRASSES.

Common Name.

Botanical Name.

Time of
Blossoming.

Place of Growth.

Southern Bent, ....
Annual Beard Grass, .
Wood- reed Grass, . . .
Drooping-reed Grass, .
Awnless Muhlenbergia,
Clustering Muhlenbergia,
Mexican Muhlenbergia,
Sylvan Muhlenbergia, .
Willdenow's Muhlenber-
gia .

Agrostis dispar, ....
Polypogon monspeliensis,
Cinna arundinacea, . .
Cinna pendula, ....
Muhlenbergia sobolifera,
Muhlenbergia glomerata,
Muhlenbergia Mexicana,
Muhlenbergia sylvatica,

Muhlenbergia Willdenovii

July, . . .
June, July,
July, Aug,

Aug., . . .
Aug., Sept.,
Aug., . . .
Aug., . . .
Aug., Sept.,

Aug., Sept.,

Fields, pastures.
Near the coast.
Shady swamps.
Low woods.
Open, rocky woods.
Swamps.
Low grounds.
Rocky woods.

Open, rocky woods.

Nimble Will,

Muhlenbergia diffusa, .

Aug. Sept

Dry hills, woods.

Hair Grass,

Muhlenber^ia capillaris,

Sandy soils.

Awned Brachyelytrura,
Blue Joint Grass, . . .
Glaucous Small Reed, .
Close-flowered Sm. Reed,
Alpine Reed Bent, . . .
Purple Bent . .

Brachyelytrum aristatum
CalamagrostisCanadensis
Calamagrostis coarctata,
Calamagrostis inexpansa,
Calamagrostis Pickeringii

June, . . .
July, . . .
Aug., . . .
July, . . .
Sept.,. . .
Sent

Rocky woods.
Wet grounds.
Wet grounds.
Swamps.
Mountain tops.

Woolly Bent •

Beach Grass, Sea Reed,
Upright Sea Lyme Grass,
Black Mountain Rice, .
White Mountain Rice, .

Ammophila arundinacea,
Elymus arenarius, . . .
Oryzopsis melanocarpa,
Oryzopsis asperifolia, .
Oryzopsis Canadensis, .

Aug., . . .
July. . . .
Aug., . . .
May, . . .
May

Drifting sands.
Drifting sands.
Rocky woods.
Wooded hills.
Rocky hill-sides.

Feather Grass, ....
Richardson's Feather
Grass,

Stipa pennata,
Stipa Richardsonii, . .

Aug., . . .
July, . . .

Gardens.
Pleasant mountain.

Black Oat Grass, . . .
Porcupine Grass, . . .
Poverty Grass, ....
Three Awned Grass, . .
Slender Three Awned
Grass

Stipa avenacea, ....
Stipa spartea,
Aristida dichotoma, . .
Aristida ramosissima, .

Aristida gracilis, . . .

July, . . .
July, . . .

Sept., . . .
Sept.,. . .

Sept,. . .

Dry, sandy woods.
Prairies.
Sandy pine barrens
Dry prairies.

Sandy fields.

Downy Triple Awn, . .
Purple Triple Awn, . .
Prairie Triple Awn, . .
Long Awned Poverty
Grass,

Aristida stricta, - ...
Aristida purpurascens,
Aristida oligantha, . .

Aristida tuberculosa, .

June, July,
Sept., . . .
July, . . .

July, Aug.,

Rocky shades.
Rocky uplands.
Prairies.

Dry prairies.

Fresh-water Cord Grass,
Salt Reed Grass, . . .
Rush Salt Grass, . . .
Salt Marsh Grass, . . .
Rough Marsh Grass, . .
Smooth Marsh Grass, .
Toothache Grass, . . .

Spartina cynosuroides, .
Spartina polystachya, .
Spartina juncea, ....
Spartina stricta, ....
Spartina glabra, ....
Spartina alterniflora, . .
Ctenium Americanum, .

Aug

Aug., . . .

Aug., Sept.,
Anc1

Banks of streams.
Brackish marshes.
Salt marshes, beaches.
Sea-coast.
Salt marshes.
Borders salt marshes.
Wet, sandy plains.

Bristly Muskit, ....
Hairy Muskit, ....
Naked Beard Grass, . .

Bouteloua hirsuta, . . .
Bouteloua curtipendula,
Gymnopogon racemosus,

July, Sept.,
Aug

Sandy plains.
Stiff soils.
Pine barrens.

LIST OF GRASSES

19

Common Name.

Botanical Name.

Time of
Blossoming.

Place of Growth.

Short-leaved Beard' Grass
Bermuda Grass, ....

Egyptian Grass, ....

Crop, or Crab Grass, . .
Pointed Slender Grass, .
Clustering Slender Grass,
Tall Redtop,

Gymnopogon brevifolius,
Cynodon dactylon, . . .
Dactyloctenium JSgyp-
tiacum,
Eleusine Indica, ....
Leptochloa mucronata, .
Leptochloa fascicularis, .
Tricuspis sesleroides,

Aug., . . .
July, . . .

July, . . .

June, . . .
Aug., . . .
Aug., . . .

Sandy soils.
Light soils.

Fields.

Fields, yards.
Fields.
Brackish marshes.
Sandy fields.

Sand Grass,

Tricuspis purpurea, . .

Aug., Sept.,

Sands on the coast.

Horned Sand Grass, . .
Dupontia Grass, ....

Tricuspis cornuta, . . .
Dupontia Cooleyi, . . .
Diarrhena Americana, .

July, . . .
Aug.. .

Light soils.
Swampy lands.
Moist shades.

Orchard Grass, ....
Crested Kosleria, . . .
Truncated Koeleria, . .
Pennsylvanian Eatonia,
Melic Grass,

Dactylis glomerata, . .
Koeleria cristata, . . .
Kceleria truncata, . . .
Eatonia Pennsylvania,
Melica mutica, ....

June, . . .
July, . . .
June, . . .
June, . . .
June, ...

Fields and pastures.
Prairies.
Dry fields.
Moist woods.
Fields.

Rattlesnake Grass, . .
Obtuse Spear Grass, . .
Long Panicled Manna

Glyceria Canadensis, . .
Glyceria obtusa, ....

Glyceria elongata, . . .

July, . . .
Aug., . . .

June, July,

Wet bogs.
Borders of ponds.

Woods and swamps.

Meadow Spear Grass, .
Pale Manna Grass, . .
Water Spear Grass, . .
Common Manna Grass,
Pointed Spear Grass, . .

Glyceria nervata, . . .
Glyceria pallida, . . .
Glyceria aquatica, . . .
Glyceria fluitans, . . .
Glyceria acutiflora, . .
Glyceria maritima, . .

June, July,
July, . . .
Aug., . . .
June, . . .
June, . . .
July, . . .

Moist and wet meadows
Shallow water.
Wet soils.
Muddy ditches.
Wet lands.
Salt marshes.

Clustered Spear Grass, .
Spike Grass

Glyceria distans, . . .
Brizopyrum spicatum, .

July, . . .

Salt marshes.
Salt marshes.

Apr to Oct

Fields and pastures.

Wavy Meadow Grass, .

Poa laxa,

July, . . .
April May

High, rocky hills.
Rocky and moist places.

Mar May

Upland woods.

Wood Spear Grass

Upland woods.

Weak Meadow Grass

Poa debilis

Mav

Woody river banks.

Sylvan Spear Grass, . .

Poa sylvestris, ....

June, . . .

Rocky banks.
In wet soils.

Wood Meadow Grass, .
Bough-stalked Meadow,

Poa nemoralis, ....
Poa trivialis,

June, . . .
July, . . .

Fields and pastures.
Fields and pastures.
Fields and pastures.

Poa compressa, ....

July, Aug.

Creeping Meadow, . . .
Strong-scented Meadow,
Pungent Meadow, . . .
Slender Meadow, . . .
Short-stalked Meadow, .
Southern Eragrostis, . .
Branching Spear Grass,

Eragrostis reptans, . .
Eragrostis poaeoides, . .
Eragrostis megastachya,,
Eragrostis pilosa, . . .
Eragrostis Frankii, . .
Eragrostis Purshii . . .
Eragrostis tenuis, . . .

July & Aug.
Aug. & Sept.
Aug., . . .
Aug., . . .
Aug., . . .
July, . . .
Aug., Oct.,

Sandy river banks.
Sandy fields.
Sandy fields.
Sandy, gravelly places.
Moist sands.
Sterile plains.
Sterile plains.

20

LIST OF GRASSES.

Common Name.

Botanical Name.

Time of

Blossoming.

Place of Growth.

Hair-panicled Meadow
Grass,

Eragrostis capillaris, . .

Aug., Sept.,

Sandy plains.

Meadow Comb Grass, .
Quaking Grass, ....
Small Fescue Grass, . .
Sheep's Fescue, . . . .
Hard Fescue Grass, . .
Red Fescue Grass, . . .
Meadow Fescue, ....
Tall Fescue Grass, . . .

Eragrostis pectinacea, .
Briza media,
Festuca tenella, ....
Festuca ovina, ....
Festuca duriuscula, . .
Testuca rubra, ....
testuca pratensis, . . .

Aug., Sept.,
June, . . .
'uly, . . .
'une, . . .
June, . . .

Tune, . . .
June, July,

Sandy plains,
'astures.
)ry, sterile soils.
High pastures and hills.
Fields and pastures.
Sandy places by the sea.
Fields and pastures.
Fields and pastures.

Slender Fescue, ....
Nodding Fescue, . . .
Crested Dog's-tail, . . .
Willard's Bromus, . . .
Smooth Brome Grass, .

?estuca loliacea, . • . .
?estuca Nutans, . . .
Cynosurus cristatus, . .
Bromus secalinus, . . .
tJromus racemosus, . .
Bromus mollis, ....

July, . . .
July, . . .
June, July,
June, . . .
June, . . .

Moist meadows, pastures
iocky woods.
Fields and pastures.
Fields, and in grain crops.
Grain fields.
Fields and pastures.

Wild Chess

Bromus Kalmii, ....

June, July,

Dry, open woods.

Fringed Brome Grass, .
Meadow Brome, ....
Sterile Brome Grass, . .
Spike Grass .

Bromus ciliatus, ....
Bromus pratensis, . . .
Bromus sterilis, ....
Uniola paniculata, . . .

July, Aug.,
July, . . .
July, . . .

Aug., . . .

Rocky hills, woods.
Dry, arid pastures.
Dry pastures.
Sands on the coast.

Broad-leaved Spike Grass
Slender Spike Grass, . .
Common Reed Grass, •

Uniola latifolia, ....
Uniola gracilis, ....
Phragmites communis, .
Arundinaria macrosper-

Aug.,. . .
Aug.,. . .
Sept.,. . .

April, . . .

Shaded fields.
Sands on the coast.
Swamps, edges of ponds.

Rich soils.

Slender Tail Grass, . .
Perennial Rye Grass, .
Italian Rye Grass, . . .
Bearded Darnel, ....
Many-flowered Darnel, .
Couch, or Twitch Grass,
Bearded Wheat Grass, .
Squirrel-tail Grass, . .

ma»

Lepturus paniculatus, .
Lolium perenne, ....
Lolium Italicum, . . .
Lolium temulentum, . .
Lolium multiflorum, . .
Triticum repens, ....
Triticum caninum, . . .
Hordeum jubatum, . .
Hordeum pusillum, . .

Aug., . . .
June, . . .
June, . . .
July, . . .
June, July,
June, July,
July, . . .
June, . . .
May, . . .

Salt licks.
Fields and pastures.
Fields and pastures.
Grain fields.
Fields and pastures.
Fields and pastures.
Woody banks.
Salt marshes.
Brackish soils.

Two-rowed Barley, . .
Four-rowed Barley, . .
Rve

Hordeum distichum, . .
Hordeum vulgare, . . .
Secale cereale, ....

June, . . .
June, . . .
June, . . .

Fields.
Fields.
Fields.

Elymus Virginicus, . .

July & Aug

Banks of rivers.

Canadian Lyme Grass, .
Slender Hairy Lyme, .
Soft Lyme Grass, . . .
Bottle-brush Grass, . .
Wood Hair Grass, . . .
Tufted Hair Grass, . . .
Purple Alpine Hair Grass
Wild Oat Grass, ....
Downy Persoon, ....
Downy Oat Grass, . . .

Elymus Canadensis, . .
Elymus striatus, ....
Elymus mollis, ....
Gymnostichum Hystrix,
Aira flexuosa,
Aira caespitosa, ....
Aira atropurpurea, . .
Danthonia spicata, . .
Trisetura molle, ....
Trisetum pubescens, . .

Aug.,. . .
July, . . .
July, . . .
July, . . .
June, . . .
June, July,
Aug., . . .
June, . . .
July, . . .
July, . . .

River banks.
River banks.
Moist soils.
Moist, rocky woods.
Dry, rocky hills.
Marshy, wet bottoms.
Hill tops.
Dry pastures.
Rocky river banks.
Poor, dry pastures.

LIST OF GRASSES.

21

Common Name.

Botanical Name.

Time of
Blossoming.

Place of Growth.

Marsh Oat Grass, . . .
Meadow Oat Grass, . .
Yellow Oat Grass, . . .
Purple Wild Oat, . . .
Early Wild Oat, ....

Trisetum palustre, . . .
Avena pratensis, . . .
Avena flavescens, . . .
Avena striata,
Avena praecox, ....

June, . . .
July, . . .
July, . . .
June, . . .
June, . . .
Julv .

Low grounds.
Pastures.
Fields and pastures.
Rocky hill-sides.
Sandy soils.
Cultivated fields

Tall Meadow Oat Grass,

Arrhenatherum avena-

May, June,

Fields and pastures.

Meadow Soft Grass, . .
Creeping Soft Grass, . .

Holcus lanatus, ....
Holcus mollis,

June, . . .

Fields and pastures.

Seneca Grass,

May

Alpine Holy Grass, . .
Sweet-scented Vernal, .
Reed Canary Grass, . .
Common Canary Grass,
Millet Grass .

Hierochloa alpina, . . .
Anthoxanthum odoratum
Phalaris arundinacea, .
Phalaris Canariensis, .

July, . . .
May, June,
July, . . .

July, Aug.,

Mountain tops.
Fields and pastures.
By running streams.
Gardens.

Double-bearing Millet, .
Floating Paspalum, . .
Hairy Slender Paspalum,
Smooth Erect Paspalum,

Millium Purshii, . . .
Paspalum fluitans, . .
Paspalum setaceum, . .
Paspalum laeve, ....

Sept., . . .
Oct., . . .
Aug., . . .
Aug., . . .

Moist pine barrens.
Wet swamps.
Sandy fields by the sea.
Moist meadows.
Wet fields

Finger-shaped Paspalum,
Slender Crab Grass, . .
Smooth Crab Grass, . .

Paspalum digitaria, . .
Panicum flliforme, . . .
Panicum glabrum, . . .
Panicum sanguinale, . .

July, Aug.,
Aug., . . .
Aug., Sept.,
Auw to Oct

Moist grounds.
Dry sands on the coast.
Fields, waste places.
Neglected fields.

Agrostis-like Panic, . .
Double-headed Panic, .
Prolific Panic Grass, . .
Hair-stalked Panic, . .
Autumn Panic, ....
Bitter Panic

Panicum agrostoides, . .
Panicum anceps, . . .
Panicum proliferum, . .
Panicum capillare, . . .
Panicum autumnale, . .

July, Aug.,
Aug., . . .
July, Aug.,
Aug., Sept.,

Wet med., river banks.
Wet pine barrens.
Brackish marshes.
Dry, sandy fields.
Sand-hills.

Tall Smooth Panic, . .
Broad-leaved Panic, . .
Hidden-flowered Panic,.
Small-seeded Panic, . .
Yellow Panic,

Panicum virgatum, . .
Panicum latifolium, . .
Panicum clandestinum,
Panicum microcarpon, .

Aug., . . .
June, July,
July, Aug.,
July, Sept.,

Moist, sandy soils.
Damp thickets.
Moist thickets.
Moist thickets.

Sticky Panic Grass, . .
Millet, .

Panicum viscidum, . .

Aug., . . .

Moist soils.

Few-flowered Panic, . .
Polymorphus Panic, . .
Worthless Panic, . . .
Warty Panic,

Panicum pauciflorum, .
Panicum dichotomum, .
Panicum depauperatum,

June, July,
June, Aug.,
June, . . .

Wet soils.
Moist fields.
Dry woods.

Hungarian Grass, . . .
Barn Grass,

Panicum germanicum, .

AUET Sent

Cultivated grounds.

Bristly Foxtail, ....

Setaria verticillata, . .

Julv

About farm-houses.

Green Foxtail, ....

Setaria viridis, ....
Setaria Itahca ....

Cultivated fields.
Fields

Cenchrus tribuloides. .

Aue.. .

Sands near the coast.

22

HOW TO EXAMINE SPECIMENS.

Common Name.

Botanical Name.

Time of
Blossoming.

Place of Growth.

Gama Grass, . .

\f '

Woolly Beard Grass, . .
Short-bearded Erianthus,
Finger-spiked Wood, . .
Purple -wood Grass, . .
Silver Beard Grass, . .
Virginian Beard Grass, .
Cluster-flowered Beard
Grass,

Erianthus alopecuroides,
Erianthus brevibarbis, .
Andropogon fnrcatus, .
Andropogon scoparius, .
Andropogon argenteus,
Andropogon Virginiuus,

Andropogon macrorus, .

Sept., .
Aug., .
Sept., .
July to Sept ,
Sept., .
Sept., .

Moist pine barren.
Low grounds.
Sterile, rocky hilla.
Sterile, sandy plains-
Barren soils.
Sandy soils.

Low grounds.

Aiitr

Dhourra Corn, ....

Sorghum vulgare, . . .

Aug., . . .
Tulv

Cultivated fields.
Fields

Chinese Sugar-cane, . .
Chocolate Corn, ....
Indian Cora. .

Sorghum nigrum, . . .
Sorghum Bicolor, . . .
Zea ma vs.

July. . . .
Aug.,. . .
.Tnlv .

Cultivated grounds.
Cultivated grounds.

To aid the reader in finding the true name of an
unknown specimen of grass, the following arrangement
will be found to be very convenient, and easily under-
stood. Let the flowers of the grass be first examined.
If but one is found in each spikelet, refer to number 2,
of the left-hand column, and then examine and see
whether they are arranged in panicles or spikes ; if the
former, then refer to number 3 of the left-hand column,
and see whether they are awned or not. If awned,
refer to number 4, if without awns, to number 12, of
the left-hand column. If unawned, and having two
glumes, refer to 13, and so on. If without glumes
and aquatic, it is a zizania, or wild rice.

If in the first examination the spikelets are found to
have two or more floweus, refer to number 26, of the left-
hand column, and see whether the inflorescence is in
panicles or spikes. If the former, refer to 27, of the
left-hand column. If the latter, in spikes, refer to 39,
and then see whether the spikelets are two-rowed, or
one-sided. If the latter, refer to 45, and see whether
the spikes are digitate and the spikelets in two rows.
If they are, refer it to the genus Eleusine.

ANALYSIS OP SPECIMENS. 23

But little practice will be required to gain familiarity
in thus analyzing the flowers of the grasses.

1. Spikelets with but one flower, %

1. Spikelets with two or more flowers, 26

2. Flowers arranged in panicles, .3

2. Flowers in spikes, 16

3. With awns, 4

3. Without awns, «. . . 12

4. Glumes large, . . . 5

4. Glumes minute, unequal, one hardly perceptible, 11

4. Glumes none, grass aquatic 2 — Zizania.

6. Without abortive rudiments, 6

5. With an abortive rudiment of a second flower 52 — Holcus.

6. Paleae two, 7

6. Palese three, upper awned flowers polygamous, . 65 — Sorghum.

7. Palea with one awn, 8

7. Lower palea with three twisted awns, 15 — Aristida.

80 Paleae cartilaginous or gristly, 9

8. Paleae herbaceous 10

8. Paleae membranaceous, panicle open, 7 — Agrostis.

8. Paleae membranaceous, panicle contracted, . . .8 — Polypogon.
9. Flowers sessile, or joined to the stem at the base, . . 13 — Oryzopsis.

9. Flowers stipitate, fruit black, 14— Stipa.

10. Flowers naked, with one stamen, 9 — Cinna.

10. Flowers hairy, stamens three, 12 — Calamagrostis.

11. Stamens three, 10— Muhlenbergia.

11. Stamens two, 11 — Brachyelytrum.

12. Glumes two, 13

12. Glumes none, leaves rough from the end backwards, 1 — Leersia.

13. Paleae membranaceous, 14

13. Paleae leathery, spikelets all cauline, 56— Milium.

13. Paleae leathery, fertile spikelets radical, .... 57 — Amphicarpon.

14. Fruit coated, or covered with a husk, 15

14. Fruit naked, 6 — Sporobolus.

15. Flowers stalked, 7 — Agrostis.

15. Flowers sessile, 5— Vilfa.

16. Flowers awned, 17

16. Flowers without awns, 22

17. Spikes solitary, 18

17. Spikes many, awnless, unilateral, paleae cartilaginous, 59 — Panicum.

17. Spikelets two, fertile, 63— Erianthus.

17. Spikes two, polygamous, sterile flowers bearded, . . 64 — Andropogon.

18. Spikes simple, or nearly so, 19

18. Spikes paniculate, or lobed, 21

24 ANALYSIS OF SPECIMENS.

19. Involucre none, 20

19. Involucre of two or more bristles, 60 — Setaria.

19. Involucre burr-like, 61 — Cenchrus.

'20. Palese with awns one to three times their length, 3 — Alopecurus.

20. Paleae with awns nve times their length, . . . 44 — Hordeum.

21. Both glumes and palese awned, 10 — Muhlenbergia.

21. Glumes awnless, single palea awned, 54 — Anthoxanthum.

21. Paleae two, lateral flowers staininate, 53 — Hierochloa.

22. Flowers perfect or polygamous, 23

22. Spikes monoecious, 25

23. Spikes one-sided, 24

23. Spikes cylindrical, solitary terminal, 4 — Phleum.

24. Spikes two or more, spikelets suborbicular, . . 58 — Paspalum.

24. Spikes digitate or verticillate, linear, .... 59 — Panicum.

24. Spikes pedunculate, in a two-sided panicle, . . . 16 — Spartina.

24. Spikes sessile, in a one-sided panicle, .... 41 — Lepturus.
25. Spikes all terminal, sterile above, fertile at base, . . 62 — Tripsacum.
25. Fertile spikes lateral, sterile ones terminal panicled, .... 66 — Zea.

26. Inflorescence in panicles, 27

26. Inflorescence in spikes, 39

27. Flowers awned, 28

27. Flowers without awns, 33

28. Lower palea awned on the back, 29

28. Lower palea awned on the apex, 32

29. Awn near the base of the palea, 30

29. Awn near the apex of the palea, 31

30. Apex bifid, awn bent, 50 — Avena.

30. Apex bifid, awn bent, lower flower sterile, 51 — Arrhenatherum.

30. Apex multifid, 47 — Aira.

81. Paleae with two bristly teeth, . 49— Trisetum.

81. Palese bifid, 37— Bromus.

32. Lower palea rounded, obtuse, 35 — Briza.

32. Lower palea entire, pointed, fruit coated, . . . 36 — Festuca.

32. Awn between two teeth, twisted, 48 — Danthonia.

33. Terminal flower perfect, 34

33. Terminal flower abortive, or a mere pedicel, . . . 36

34. Palese entire, outer one mucronate, 36

34. Glumes unequal, like the lower abortive pale, 59 — Panicum.

34. Glumes equal, longer than the palea, 55 — Phalaris.

34. Lower palea truncate-mucronate, inner bifid, . . 38 — Uniola.

34. Flowers silky-bearded on the rachis, .... 39 — Phragmites.

34. Spikelets terete, paleae seven-nerved, 31 — Glyceria.

34. Spikelets two to six, five-nerved, 33 — Poa.

34. Spikelets two to twenty, three-nerved, .... 34 — Eragrostis.

34. Spikelets flat, lower pale laterally compressed, 32 — Brizopyrum.

THE GRASS FAMILY. 25

35. Scales two — styles two, 36 — Festuca.

35. Scales and styles three, 40 — Arundinaria.

36. Panicle contracted, 37

36. Panicle large diffuse, 30 — Melica.

37. Lower palea one-pointed, or mucronate, 38

37. Lower palea pointless, 29 — Eatonia.

37. Lower palea three-cleft, 24 — Tricuspis.

37. Lower pale awnless, 25 — Dupontia.

38. Stamens three, 28— Kosleria.

38. Stamens two, 26— Diarrhena.

39. Spikelets two-ranked, 37

39. Spikelets unilateral, 43

40. Glumes broad, 41

40. Glumes subulate, 42

40. Glumes none, 46 — Gymnostichum.

41. Glumes two, in the upper spikelet only, 42 — Lolium.

41. Glumes two, in each spikelet, 43 — Triticum.

42. Glumes collateral, spikelets in twos or more, . . 46 — Elymus.

42. Glumes opposite, spikelets solitary, 45 — Secale.

43. One perfect among several neutral ones, . .17 — Ctenium.

43. One perfect flower below several neutral ones, 44

43. Spikelets conglomerate, or paniculate, 27 — Dactylis.-

43. Spikelets with more than one perfect flower, 45

44. Spikes dense, 18 — Bouteloua.

44. Spikes filiform, racemed, 19 — Gymnopogon.

44. Spikes slender, digitate, 20 — Cynodon.

45. Spikes digitate, glumes and pale awnless, blunt 22 — Eleusine.

45. Spikes racemed, slender 23 — Leptochloa.

The order GRAMINE.E, or the GRASS FAMILY, embraces,
as already said, plants with cylindrical, stems, for the
most part hollow, and closed at the joints, with leaves
in two alternate rows, and sheaths open on the side
opposite the blade, down to the point from which they
start. The flowers are in little spikelets held in two-
rowed glumes or bracts, the outer glumes generally
two in number, and unequal. The stamens vary from
one to six, but are usually three, in number. The
ovary is simple, with two styles and two feathery stig-
mas ; and the fruit is enclosed in a husk, called a cary-
opsis. This great and universally diffused order is
divided by botanists into tribes, sub-tribes, genera,
3

26 WHITE GRASS. — CUT GRASS.

species, and varieties ; the tribes and sub-tribes em-
bracing more or less genera ; each genus embracing
more or less species, and a species often embracing
varieties. In the arrangement of the following pages
each genus is numbered in its order ; and the first we
have is

1. LEERSIA. White Grass.

Spikelets one-flowered ; flowers perfect, flattened,
compressed in one-sided panicled spikes or clusters,
jointed with the short pedicels. Glumes wan ting, paleas
boat-shaped, flattened laterally, awnless, closed, nearly
equal in length, the lower one much the broader, and
enclosing a flat grain. Stamens one to six ; stigmas
feathery, with branching hairs; sheaths rough or prickly
upwards. Perennial ; swamps and low grounds. Ge-
neric name from Leers, a German botanist.

WHITE GRASS, CUT GRASS, FALSE RICE (Leersia ory-
zoides), is very common in wet, swampy places, and
along the margins of' sluggish streams and ditches.
Stems from two to four feet high ; panicle erect, spread-
ing, with rough, slender branches ; leaves narrow, long ;
sheaths exceedingly rough and sharp to the hand, drawn
from the end downward. Florets oval and white, or
whitish green; spikelets flat. Flowers in August. Said
to be a native of Europe and Asia, as well as the United
States. Common in most parts of the country, and
often known at the South as " rice's cousin."

This beautiful grass is of no agricultural value ; and
the farmer should, by careful draining, encourage the
growth of more valuable species in its place.

SMALL-FLOWERED WHITE GRASS, VIRGINIAN CUT GRASS
(Leersia Virginica), is rather smoother than the pre-
ceding. A branch of the panicle is shown in Fig. 6.
The panicle is simple, slender, the spikelets closely ap-
pressed, oblong. A magnified spikelet is shown in Fig. 7,

CATCH FLY GRASS. — RICE.

27

Cut Grass.

Fig. 11.

opened in Fig. 8, with its stamens
and pistil in Fig. 9, a part of the
stigma highly magnified in Fig. 10,
and a seed in Fig. 11. It is a del-
icate-looking and beautiful grass,
but possesses no agricultural value,
and may be rooted out like the
preceding.

CATCH FLY GRASS (Leersia lenti-
cularis) is smoothish, stem and
panicle erect, palea3 flat, with keel
and veins very hairy. Pursh ob-
served it catching flies like the
Venus' fly-trap (Dionea muscipula),
the paleae resembling the leaves
of that plant in structure. Fig. 8
will serve to show how, by a
motion similar to that of the sen-
sitive-plant, an insect might be
entrapped. Found in wet, low
grounds in Ohio, Illinois, Virginia,
and south. It is perennial, and flow-
ers in July.

RICE ( Oriza sativa) is nearly al-
lied to this genus. See chapter on
the grasses cultivated for their
seeds.

2. ZIZANIA.

Indian Rice.

Staminate and pistillate flowers both in one flowered
spikelets in the same panicles; glumes wanting or rudi-
mentary, forming a little cup ; palege convex, awnless in
the staminate flowers, the lower tipped with a straight
awn in the pistillate ; stamens six, stigmas pencil-formed.
Stout, often reedy aquatic grasses.

Fig. 12.

PROLIFIC RICE. 29

Indian Rice, WILD KICE, or WATER OATS (Zizania
aquatica), Fig. 12, is found in swampy borders of streams,
in shallow water, and is common. It grows from three
to nine feet in height, with flat, long, lanceolate leaves.
Panicle large, pyramidal; lower branches sterile, spread-
ing ; upper, pistillate or fertile, erect. Flowers in July
and August, and drops its seed, when ripe, at the slight-
est touch, and this furnishes food for water-fowls. It is
also used for food by the aborigines. North America.

This plant is the folle avoine of the early settlers of
Louisiana. It is exceedingly prolific, growing wild in
all the Southern States, where it is said to produce two
crops in a year of good hay, of which stock of every
kind are very fond. It is greedily eaten when green.

In the Western States, where it is also common in the
shallow water on the swampy margins of streams, it
forms an important food for the Indians, who paddle a
canoe among the rice, bend it over the sides, and beat
out the grains with a stick.

In Fig. 13, the staminate flowers are seen as they
appear at the end of a branch of the natural size. Fig.
14 represents a staminate flower, magnified ; Fig. 15,
the germ and stigmas ; Fig. 16, a fertile or pistillate
flower; Fig. 17, the same, ripe; Fig. 18, the seed.
Contrary to the usual arrangement, the fertile or pistil-
late flowers are above the sterile or staminate ones, while
the minute grains of pollen, being lighter than the atmos-
phere, rise when they leave the anther, and thus come in
contact with the stigmas. In Indian corn, on the other
hand, the grains of pollen are heavier than the surround-
ing air, and so fall from the sterile flowers of the " tas-
sel " upon the styles or " silks," and thus fertilize them.

PROLIFIC RICE (Zizania miliacea) is also found at the
South. Panicle spreading, sterile and fertile flowers
intermixed. Awns short, styles united, grain smooth.
3*

30

MEADOW FOXTAIL.

Annual ; flowers in August. Grows from six to ten feet
high in shallow water. Ohio, Wisconsin, and the South.

3. ALOPECURUS. Foxtail Grasses.

Spikelets one-flowered; glumes boat-
shaped, compressed and keeled, nearly
equal, united at the base ; lower palea
awned on the back below the mid-
dle, upper palea wanting ; stamens
three ; styles mostly united ; stigmas
long and leathered; leaves smooth and
flat. Panicle contracted into a cylin-
drical, soft spike, like the tail of a fox,
from which it derives its generic name.
Introduced and naturalized from Great
Britain.

MEADOW FOXTAIL (Alopecurus
tensis), Fig. 19, has an erect, smooth
stem, two or three feet high, with
swelling sheaths; spikes cylindrical,
obtuse, equalling the sharp cone-like
glumes ; awn twisted, and twice the
length of the blossom, Fig. 20. The
spike not so long as that of Timothy.
Flowers in May, in fields and pastures.
Perennial — introduced.

The meadow foxtail close-
ly resernbles Timothy, but
may be distinguished from
it as having one palea only.
The spike or head of mead-
ow foxtail is soft, while
that of Timothy is rough.
It flowers earlier than Tim-
othy, and thrives on all soils
except the dryest sands and

Fig. 19. Meadow Foxtail. Fig. 20.

SLENDER FOXTAIL. 31

gravels. It is common, but is disliked by many farm-
ers as a field grass, being very light in proportion to
its bulk.

It is a valuable pasture grass, on account of its early
and rapid growth, and of its being greatly relished by
stock of all kinds. The stems and leaves are too few
and light to make it so desirable as a field crop. It
thrives best on a rich, moist, strong soil, and shoots up
its flowering stalks so much earlier than Timothy, that it
need not be mistaken for that grass, though at first sight
it considerably resembles it. It is superior to Timothy
as a permanent pasture grass, enduring the cropping of
sheep and cattle better, and sending up a far more luxu-
riant aftermath.

It is justly regarded, therefore, as one of the most
valuable of the native pasture grasses of England, form-
ing there a very considerable portion of the sward, and
enduring a great amount of forcing and irrigation.
Though forming a close and permanent sod when fully
set, it does not acquire its full perfection and hold of
the soil until three or four years after being sown.

The nutritive qualities of meadow foxtail are most
abundant at the time of flowering* It is said to lose
upwards of seventy per cent, of its weight in drying, if
cut in the blossom.

The seed of meadow foxtail is covered with the soft
and woolly husks of the flower, while the larger glume is
furnished with an awn. There are five pounds of seed
in a bushel, and seventy-six thousand seeds in an ounce.
An insect attacks the seed while it is forming, and it is
also subject to blight ; and hence good seed is somewhat
difficult to procure, and is held at a high price.

SLENDER FOXTAIL (Alopecurus agrestis), Fig. 21, is
rarely found here, but is sometimes introduced in for-

32

SLENDER AND FLOATING FOXTAIL.

Fig. 21. Slender Foxtail.

Fig. 22.

Fig. 24. Floating Foxtail.

eign seed. It may be recognized by its long, slender
panicle, tapering at each end, and the long awn which

FLOATING AND WILD WATER FOXTAIL. 33

projects beyond the pales. In Figs. 22 and 23 the
flowers are seen. It is distinguished from meadow fox-
tail by its slender panicle, its larger spikelets, its larger
ligule, and the roughness of the stem and leaves. It
possesses no particular agricultural value. Flowers in
July. Annual. Native of Great Britain.

FLOATING FOXTAIL (Alopecurus geniculatus) has a
stem ascending, bent, and forming knees at the lower
joints, as shown in Fig. 24 ; awn projecting beyond the
palea, Fig. 25, which is rather shorter than the obtuse
glumes ; anthers linear, upper leaf as long as its sheath ;
root perennial, fibrous ; joints smooth, long, and narrow,
of a purple tinge; leaves flat, sharp, roughish on both
sides, serrated on the edge. Inflorescence simple pan-
icled ; spikelets numerous, compressed, erect, with a
one-awned floret as large as the calyx. Floret of one
palea, awn slender. Found in moist meadows, ditches,
ponds, and slow streams, floating on the water. It is
distinguished from meadow foxtail in having the upper
sheath about the length of its leaf, and by the project-
ing awn, while in the meadow foxtail the upper sheath
is more than twice the length of its leaf. Flowers in
May and June.

It is a grass not much relished by stock of any kind,
while it yields but a small amount of herbage.

The WILD WATER FOXTAIL (Alopecurus aristulatus)
also grows in wet meadows, but is of no special agri-
cultural value. Native of Great Britain.

4. PHLEUM. CaVs-Tail.

Panicle spiked, spikelets compressed, palea shorter
than the awned glumes, the lower one truncate, usually
awnless ; styles distinct, filaments haiiy, spike dense,
rough, or harsh. So called from an ancient Greek term

34

TIMOTHY.

signifying cat's tail, the name by which it is still most
frequently known in Great Britain.

TIMOTHY, HERD'S GRASS (Phleum
pratense). Fig. 26. Spikes cylin-
drical or elongated; glumes hairy
on the back, tipped with a bristle
less than half their length; leaves
long, flat, rough, with long sheaths;
root perennial, fibrous on moist
soils, on dry ones often bulbous.
Grows best on damp, peaty soils.
Flower Fig. 27. The name of Tim-
othy, by which it is more generally
known over the country, was ob-
tained from Timothy Hanson, who
is said to have cultivated it exten-
sively, and to have taken the seed
from New York to Carolina. Its
culture was, according to some
accounts, introduced into Eng-
land, from Virginia, by Peter
Wynche, about the years 1760 or
1761.

It is frequently called Herd's
grass in New England and New
York, and this was the original
name under which it was culti-
vated; it was derived
from a man of that name,
who, according to Jared
Eliot, found it growing
wild in a swamp in Pis-
cataqua, N. H., more
Fig. 26. Timothy. Kg. 27. than a century and a

QUALITIES OF TIMOTHY. 35

half ago, and began to cultivate it. In Pennsylvania, and
states further south, this name is applied to Agrostis
vulgaris, or the redtop of New England.

Sinclair states, as the result of the experiments, about
thirty years ago, at Woburn Abbey, under the auspices
of the Duke of Bedford, and with the assistance of Sir
Humphrey Davy, that the crop when ripe exceeds in
nutritive value the crop at the time of flowering. This
conclusion is sustained by the more recent investigations
of Prof. Way, whose elaborate analyses of the grasses
will be found on a subsequent page. This might be
inferred from the size and weight of the mealy seeds
when the grass is ripe, as many as thirty bushels of which
having been known to be produced on a single acre.

As a crop to cut for hay it is probably unsurpassed
by any other grass now cultivated. Though somewhat
coarse and hard, especially if allowed to ripen its
seed, yet if cut in the blossom, or directly after, it is
greatly relished by all kinds of stock, and especially so
by horses, while it possesses a large percentage of
nutritive matter in comparison with other agricultural
grasses. It is often sown with clover, but the best
practical farmers are beginning to discontinue this cus-
tom, on account of the different times of blossoming of
the two crops. Timothy being invariably later than
clover, the former must often be cut too green, before
blossoming, when the loss is great by shrinkage, and
when the nutritive matter is considerably less than at a
little later period ; or, the clover must stand too long,
when there is an equally serious loss of nutritious mat-
ter and of palatable qualities in that.

Timothy thrives best on moist, peaty or loamy soils,
of medium tenacity, and is not suited to sandy or light
gravelly lands ; for though on such soils, by great care,
it can be made to grow and produce fair crops, some

36 MOUNTAIN CAT'S-TAIL.

other grasses are better suited to them, and more profit-
able. It grows very readily and yields very large crops
on favorable soils. I have known instances where its
yield was four tons to the acre of the best quality of
hay, the Timothy constituting the bulk of the grass. It
is cultivated with ease, and yields a large quantity of
seed to the acre, varying from ten to thirty bushels on
rich soils.

In one respect, perhaps, it must be admitted that this
grass is inferior to meadow foxtail, and that is, in the qual-
ity of its aftermath ; for while that of the latter is very
great, the aftergrowth of Timothy is comparatively
slight, and if allowed to stand too long and then mown
in a dry time, it starts so slowly as to leave the ground
exposed to the scorching rays of the sun, unless indeed
there happens to be a rapid growth of clover to protect
it. The comparative value of this grass will be referred
to hereafter.

It is proper to say, in this connection, that it is fre-
quently attacked by an insect apparently just before the
time of blossoming, which causes the stalk to die. The
ravages of this insect seem to have increased within
the last few years. My attention has been repeatedly
called, by observing and practical farmers, to the large
number of Timothy-stalks killed by this devouring in-
sect. No means of preventing its ravages are as yet
known.

MOUNTAIN CAT'S-TAIL (PTileum alpinum) is a grass
that grows to the height of from six to twelve inches,
on mountain and hill tops in New Hampshire, and high
northern latitudes, and is easily distinguished by its
short, bristly spike or panicle, seldom exceeding an inch
in length. It is of little or no agricultural value, since
it is rarely eaten even by sheep. Blossoms in July,

THE RUSH GRASSES. 37

5. VILFA. Eusli Grass.

Spikelets in a contracted or spike-like panicle, one-
flowered ; glumes keel-shaped, the lower one smaller ;
pales awnless, nearly equal, generally longer than the
glumes ; stigmas feathery, seed or grain oblong.

ROUGH-LEAVED VILFA, RUSH GRASS ( Vilfa aspera),
grows from two to four feet high on sandy soils and
old fields. Lower leaves long, rigid, and rough on the
edges, tapering to a long twisted point; sheaths partly
enclosing the panicle ; seed oval, oblong. Flowers in
September. Perennial. Of no agricultural value.

HIDDEN FLOWERED VILFA ( Vilfa vaginceflora) is an
annual, with many slender stems, six to twelve inches
long, leaves awl-shaped, pales nearly equal, and about
the length of the nearly equal glumes. This grass is
common on barren, sandy soils, in most parts of the
country from New England to Illinois, and especially
so at the South. Of no known agricultural value.

6. SPOROBOLUS. Drop-seed Grass.

Spikelets generally one, sometimes two flowered, in
a contracted or open panicle. Seed loose when ripe,
whence the name of the genus, from two Greek words,
signifying to cast forth.

RUSH-LIKE DROP SEED (Sporobolus junceus) is a pe-
rennial grass, with long, folding, narrow, rigid leaves,
with a loose panicle, flowering in August, spikelets
long and shining. Prairies Wisconsin, and at the
South.

STRONG-SCENTED VILFA (Sporobolus heterolepis).—
Leaves twisting, thread-like, rigid, the lowest as long
as the stem, which is usually from one to two feet high;
panicle pyramidal, loose, open ; glumes very unequal ;

38 THE GENUS AGROSTIS.

lower awl-shaped, upper taper-pointed, and longer than
the lower pales. Perennial, flowering in August. The
plant emits a strong odor. Connecticut, New York,
and the Western States to Illinois.

LARGE-PANICLED VILFA (Sporobolus cryptandrus).—
Panicle lead-colored, pyramidal ; .base usually enclosed
in the upper sheath, from which the panicle appears to
burst with spreading branches ; flowers awnless ; lower
glume very short ; stem from one to three feet high ;
stamens three, anthers yellowish, styles distinct, stigmas
white. Grows on sandy soils in New York, and at
the South and West, where it is common.

CLOSE-FLOWERED DROP SEED (Sporobolus comiiressus).
— A smooth, leafy grass, with stout, flat stems, found in
bogs in the pine barrens of New Jersey, where it forms
tussocks from one to two feet high. Of no agricultural
value.

LATE DROP SEED (Sporobolus serotinus) is sometimes
found in low, swampy places, with smooth, slender,
flattish stems ; leaves few and slender ; panicle spread-
ing, with hairy branches ; glumes ovate, obtuse, and
half the length of the palea. Flowers in September.
It is a delicate grass, of no special agricultural value.

7. AGROSTIS. Bent Grass.

One-flowered spikelets in a loose, open panicle ;
glumes nearly equal, the lower pointless, and longer
than the palege, which are thin and naked; stamens
three ; perennial.

TALLER THIN GRASS (Agrostis data]. — A stout grass,
from two to three feet high. Spikelets crowded on the
branches of the spreading panicle above the middle ;
lower palea awnless ; upper wanting. In swamps, from
New Jersey southward.

TICKLE GRASS. — BROWN BENT. 39

THIN GRASS (Agrostis perennans). — Panicle diffusely
spreading, pale green ; branches short, divided, and
flower-bearing from or below the middle; found in damp,
shaded places. Perennial. Flowers in June and July.

HAIR GRASS or FLY-AWAY GRASS, TICKLE GRASS
(Agrostis scabra), is another species belonging to this
genus, with a panicle very loose and spreading, pur-
plish; the long capillary branches flower-bearing near
the apex ; stems slender, one to two feet high ; leaves
short and narrow. Flowers in June and July. Common
in old fields and drained swamps. It is of no particu-
lar agricultural value.

The large, loose panicles are exceedingly delicate and
brittle when the plant is ripe and dry, and easily break
away from the stalk, when they are blown about by the
wind scattering their seeds far and wide ; and hence it
is frequently called " Fly-away Grass," illustrating one
of the admirable contrivances of nature for the distribu-
tion of the seeds of grasses and other plants.

BROWN BENT or DOG'S BENT GRASS (Agrostis camna),
another species of agrostis, has for its specific charac-
ters an erect, slender, spreading panicle ; root peren-
nial and creeping; stem erect, slender; leaves flat and
linear. The palea shorter than the glume, and fur-
nished with a long, bent awn on the back, a little below
the middle ; spikelets at first greenish, afterwards brown
or slightly purple. Meadows and pastures, and wet,
peaty places — introduced. Flowers in June and July.
It is of no special agricultural value.

The ALPINE BROWN BENT (Agrostis canina, var. al-
pina), the UPRIGHT FLOWERED BENT, and many other
species, might be mentioned ; but, of all the species of
this genus, the redtop and whitetop are the most com-
mon as agricultural grasses among us.

40

REDTOP.

KEDTOP, FINETOP, BURDEN'S GRASS, HERD'S GRASS of

Pennsylvania and Southern
States (Agrostis vulgaris],
Fig. 28. — Stems erect, slen-
der, round, smooth, and pol-
ished ; roots creeping, pan-
icle oblong, leaves linear,
ligule very short ; lower
palea mostly awnless, and
three-nerved. Flowers in
July. A magnified flower is
shown in Fig. 29. In pas-
tures and moist meadows
very common — introduced.
The term agrostis was the
ancient Greek word for
field, and was applied to
all varieties of grass that
grew there.

This valuable grass, so
common in all our cultivated
fields, has been an inhab-
itant of our soils for more
than a century. It was
called simply English Grass
by Eliot, Deane, and other
early writers, and by the
English, Fine Bent.
Most of the grasses
of this genus are
known in England
under the name of
"Bent Grass," of
which there are
many species.

Fig. 28. Redtop.

29.

AS A PASTURE GRASS. 41

Redtop is often sown with Timothy and common red
clover, in which case the clover of course soon disap-
pears, when Timothy follows, after which redtop usually
takes its place, and, with some wild grasses, forms a close
sward. In Pennsylvania, and states further south, it is
universally known as Herd's Grass — a name applied in
New England arid New York to Phleum pratense alone.
It is of somewhat slow growth, but of good or medium
quality, suited to moist soils, though common to all.

This grass is probably rather overrated by us. It
makes a profitable crop for spending, though not so
large as that obtained from Timothy. It is a good per-
manent grass, standing our climate as well as any other,
and consequently well suited to our pastures, in which
it should be fed close ; for, if allowed to grow up to
seed, the cattle refuse it ; and this seems to show that
it is not so much relished by stock as some of the other
pasture grasses. The fact that cattle eat any grass
greedily in the spring, is no proof of its excellence or
nutritious qualities ; since then all grasses are tender
and full of juice, and many varieties of both grasses
and shrubs are readily eaten, which, at a more advanced
stage of growth, are refused.

It is to be regretted that Professor Way, in his val-
uable investigations into the nutritive value of the
grasses, did not include this in the list analyzed by him.
At present we have no accurate and reliable means of
comparison of this with other species of grass, as in
the case of many other species.

This grass is known by various names, and is greatly
modified by soil and cultivation. On a moist, rich soil
it grows larger than on a poor, thin soil; and not only
larger, but has a darker, purplish color, with a stem vary-
ing from eighteen inches to two or two and a half feet
high ; while on thin, poor, gravelly soils, it seldom
4*

42 ENGLISH BENT.

grows over twelve inches, and often not over five or six
inches high, while it has a lighter color. In the latter
situations it goes by the name of Finetop, and is uni-
versally seen in old, dry pastures. In some sections,
where it is highly esteemed, it goes by the name of
Burden's or Borden's Grass ; in others, of Rhode Island
Bent ; but I am unable to discover any difference be-
tween these and redtop, except that produced by vari-
eties of soils ; and, on inquiring of some of the largest
dealers in seeds, I find that orders for all these are sup-
plied from the same seed.

Finetop may be regarded as a variety of redtop,
produced by the character of the soil.

ENGLISH BENT, WHITETOP, DEW GRASS, WHITE BENT,
BONNET GRASS (Agrostis alba). Stem erect, round,
smooth, polished, having four or five leaves with roucjh-
ish sheaths ; striated, upper sheath longer than its leaf,
crowned with a long, acute, ragged ligule ; joints smooth;
branches numerous, recumbent, rooting at the lower
joints where they come in contact with the ground, as
shown in figure 30; panicle somewhat narrower than
in redtop, lightish green, or with a slight tinge of pur-
ple ; lower or inner palea one half the length of the
upper, and shorter than the glumes ; five-nerved, awn-
less, perennial. Native of Europe.

Whitetop may be known from redtop by the sheaths
being rough to the touch from above downwards, and
the ligule being long and acute, and the keel of the
large glume of the calyx toothed nearly to the base.
In redtop the sheaths are smooth, ligule short and ob-
tuse, and the keel of the large glume toothed only on
the upper part.

It may be known from Brown Bent (Agrostis ca-
nina), by having an inner palea in its floret, while in
Brown Bent the inner palea is wanting. It is very

F10RIN GRASS.

43

common on the Connecticut River meadows, where it
appears to be indigenous, and is there called the Eng-
lish Bent. It is often used in the manufacture of bon-
nets.

FIORIN (Agrostis stolo-
nifera), Fig. 30, is only a
variety of English bent,
which gained great noto-
riety some years ago in
Ireland and England, vol-
umes having been writ-
ten in its praise, while it
received the execrations
of those who found it
troublesome to eradicate,
on account of its creep-
ing and stoloniferous
roots. It belongs pecu-
liarly to moist places,
which are occasionally
overflowed, and is some-
times known as the
BROAD-LEAVED CREEPING
BENT. In the Woburn
experiments it was found
to be inferior in nutri-
tive value to orchard
grass (Dactylis glome-
rata) and meadow fes-
cue, and superior
to meadow fox-
tail. A magnified
flower of this
grass is shown in

Fig. 31. Fig. 31.

Fig. 30. Florin Grass.

44

SOUTHERN BENT.

The SOUTHERN BENT (Agrostis dispar], Fig. 32, is a
native of this country, and has been highly extolled in

France. It was at one
time highly commend-
ed in England, but
was very soon discard-
ed. It furnishes a hay
of rather coarse qual-
ity, and yields a large
produce on good, deep
sands and calcareous
soils. It tillers much,
and when once rooted
is very vigorous and
lasting, and conse-
quently makes a good
pasture grass. It is
similar in appearance
to some of the broad-
leaved varieties of
redt6p, and is said to
yield more than red-
top. It has stronger
and more numerous
creeping roots, broad-
er leaves, and more
upright leafy
stems. It is
most frequent-
ly met with in
the Southern
States, and in
the south of
France. Fig.

Fig.32. Southern Ben, Fig. 33. 33

BEARD GRASS. — INDIAN REED. 45

the flower of this grass magnified. I am not aware that
it has been cultivated in this country.

8. POLYPOGON. Beard Grass.

Panicle contracted, spike-like, with one-flowered
spikelets ; glumes or scales nearly equal, with long
awns ; stamens three ; grain free.

ANNUAL BEARD GRASS (Polypogon monspeliensis) is
occasionally found near the coast. It may be known by
having glumes with awns more than twice their length,
growing from ten to fifteen inches high ; stem erect,
round, and a little rough; five or six leaves, flat, rather
broad and acute ; panicle dense, spikelets one-flowered
— introduced. It is easily distinguished by the length
of its awns or beards. Of no agricultural value. Found
at the Isle of Shoals and on the coast southward.

9. CINNA. Wood Heed Grass.

Glumes acute, strongly keeled; the lower smaller,
smooth, naked ; lower longer than the upper, with a
sharp awn on the back. Stamen one ; grain oblong,
free ; perennial. Grasses somewhat sweet-scented,
from two to seven feet high.

WOOD REED GRASS, INDIAN REED, REEDY CINNA
(Cinna arundinacea), has spikelets", one-flowered,
feathered ; glumes lanceolate, acute, strongly keeled,
paleae like the glumes, short-awned ; perennial. Stems
erect and reed-like, three or four feet high. The spike-
lets are green, or of a slight purplish tinge. Moist
woods and swamps ; common at the West and South, as
well as northward. Flowers in July and August.
Panicle large, hairy, rather dense. A large, rank grass,
differing from others in having but one stamen in each
flower. Of no special agricultural value.

46 THE DROP-SEED GRASSES.

DROOPING REED GRASS (Cinna pendula). — Branches
of the loose panicle long and hairy, drooping. Spike-
lets about half the size of those in the preceding
species. Grows in moist woods ; perennial, flowering in
August. Found around Lake Superior.

10. MUHLENBERGIA. Drop-seed Grass.

Spikelets one-flowered in contracted slender panicles.
Glumes minute ; palea3 usually hairy, bearded at the
base, herbaceous, the lower three-nerved, pointed, or
awned at the tip. Stamens three. Named from Dr.
Muhlenberg, a distinguished American botanist.

The AWNLESS MUHLENBERGIA (Muhlenbergia sobolifera)
is sometimes found in open, rocky woods, from New
England to Michigan, and south. It grows from one to
two feet high, with a simple contracted panicle, very
slender ; glumes long, pointed, nearly equal ; root pe-
rennial, creeping, woody ; leaves pale-green, sheaths
open, ligule wanting. Flowers in August and Septem-
ber. Of no known agricultural value.

CLUSTERING MUHLENBERGIA (Muhlenbergia glomeratd).
— From one to two feet high, stems upright, somewhat
branched ; panicle oblong, linear, contracted into an
interrupted glomerate spike, with long peduncles, or
flower-stalks, and awned glumes ; perennial. Flowers
in August and September. Common in swamps arid
low grounds. Of no agricultural value.

The MEXICAN MUHLENBERGIA (Mulileribergia Mexi-
cana), another species of this genus, has been mistaken
by some for our fowl meadow. It has an erect stem,
two to three feet high, much branched ; panicles lateral
and contracted, branches densely spiked and clustered,
green or purplish ; glumes pointed, awnless, and un-
equal. It is perennial. Flowers in August. Frequently
regarded as a troublesome weed in low grounds, the

NIMBLE WILL. HAIR GRASS. 47

borders of fields, and even in gardens, where its spread-
ing roots are difficult to eradicate. Cattle eat it very
readily, and, as it blossoms late in the season, it is of
some value.

The SYLVAN MUHLENBERGIA (Muhlenbergia sylvatica)
is also rather common in low, rocky woods. Its stem is
ascending, from two to four feet high, branched, spread-
ing diffusely ; panicles contracted, densely flowered ;
glumes nearly equal, bristle pointed, lower palea one-
awned, twice or three times the length of the spikelets.
Flowers in August and September.

WILLDENOW'S MUHLENBERGIA (Muhlenbergia Willde-
novii) is also not uncommon in rocky woods, growing
about three feet high, with a slender, simple stem, con-
tracted panicle, loosely flowered, glumes sharp-pointed,
half as long as the lower palea, which has an awn from
three to four times the length of the spikelet.

NIMBLE WILL (Muhlenbergia diffusa) is common at
the West, in Kentucky, Tennessee, and southward,
where it forms a pasture grass of some value. Its
stems are diffusely branched, from ten to eighteen
inches high ; panicles slender, contracted ; glumes
minute ; awn nearly twice as long as the palea. It is
found on dry hills and in woods. Flowers in August
and September ; perennial. Cattle eat it very readily.

HAIR GRASS. — Still another species, not unfrequently
called Hair Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris), is some-
times found on sandy soils, from New England to Ken-
tucky, and at the South.

None of the grasses of this American genus are of
great value for agricultural purposes, except as they
add considerably to the mass of living verdure which
clothes our low lands in beauty to delight the eye and
swell the heart of the lover of nature.

48 BLUE JOINT GRASS.

11. BRACHYELYTRUM. Bracliyelytrum.

Glumes two, very minute, lower scarcely to be seen ;
lower pale with a long bristle at the top, upper with
rudimentary flower at the base ; perennial.

The ERECT MUHLENBERGIA, or AWNED BRACHYELY-
TRUM (Brachyelytrum aristatum), is often found in rocky
woods, on the sides of Wachuset Mountain, and in many
other similar situations. Flowers in June and July.
Common also at the West.

12. CALAMAGROSTIS. Reed Bent Grass.

One-flowered spikelets, open panicle, contracted or
spiked ; glumes keeled, about equal to the paleas,
around which, at the base, is a thick tuft of white
bristly hairs ; lower pale generally with a slender awn
on the back ; stamens three ; grain free.

BLUB JOINT GRASS (Calamagrostis Canadensis). —
Stems three to five feet high, grayish ; leaves flat ;
panicle often purplish ; the glumes acute, lanceolate ;
lower palea not longer than the very fine hairs, bearing
an extremely delicate awn below the middle, nearly
equal to the hairs. Flowers in July.

Blue Joint Grass is very common on low grounds.
It is generally considered a valuable grass, and is eaten
greedily by stock in the winter, being thought by some
to be nearly as nutritious as Timothy. It grows so
rank and luxuriant on soils suited to it that an immense
crop of valuable hay is often made from it.

CROWDED CALAMAGROSTIS, or GLAUCOUS SMALL REED
( Calamagrostis coarctata), is also somewhat common in
our wet meadows, open swamps, and along low river
banks. Its stems are from three to five feet high ; seed
hairy, crowned with a bearded tuft ; lower palea shorter

BEACH GRASS. 49

than the taper-pointed tips of the lanceolate glumes,
almost twice the length of the hairs, with a rigid, short
awn above the middle.

CLOSE-FLOWERED SMALL REED (Calamagrostis inex-
pansa) appears with a contracted panicle, longer than
that of the preceding species ; stem about three feet
high, erect; leaves smooth. The panicle is usually
from four to six inches long, and slender ; the lateral
branches short, four or five together, rough. This is
distinguished from the last by a more slender and less
crowded panicle. Flourishes in swamps and boggy
places.

ALPINE REED BENT (Calamagrostis Pickeringii) is a
species found near the summit of the White Mountains,
of New Hampshire. Of no agricultural value.

PURPLE BENT (Calamagrostis brevipilis) is a species
found in the swamps and pine barrens of New Jersey.

WOOLLY BENT (Calamagrostis longifolia) is found
along the sandy shores of the lakes of northern Michi-
gan, and further to the north-west. Sheaths clothed
with wool.

BEACH GRASS, SEA-SAND REED, MAT GRASS ( Calama-
grostis arenaria, or Ammophila arundinacea), Fig. 34,
grows to the height of two or three feet, with a rigid
culm, from stout roots running often to the distance of
twenty or thirty feet ; leaves wide, rather short, of a
sea-green color ; panicle contracted into a close, dense
spike, from six to twelve inches long, nearly white. It
is found in the sands of the sea-shore, where its thick,
strong, creeping, perennial roots, with many tiibers the
size of a pea, prevent the drifting of the sand from the
action of the winds and waves, thus forming a barrier
against the encroachments of the ocean.
5

50 CULTURE OF BEACH GRASS.

This grass is very generally diffused
on sea-coasts over the world, and is
found inland on the shores of Lake Su-
perior. It has also been cultivated by
way of experiment, and with success,
on the sands at Lowell, Massachusetts,
and still further up on the banks of the
Merrimack River. Though not culti-
vated for agricultural purposes, it is of
great value in protecting sandy beaches.
It is preserved in England and Scot-
land by act of parliament. Flowers in
August.

In the year 1853,1 was requested by
the late T. W. Harris to make this grass
a special study, in the course of my ob-
servations : and since that time I have
tried, by personal inquiries and by cor-
respondence, to collect whatever there
might be of interest in relation to it.
As it is of national importance in pro-
tecting our sandy coasts, some account
of its culture may not be inappropriate
or uninteresting.

The town of Provincetown, once
called Cape Cod, where the Pilgrims
first landed, and its harbor, still called
the harbor of Cape Cod, — one of the
best and most important in the United
States, sufficient in depth for ships
34' Beach Grass, of the largest size, and in extent to
anchor three thousand vessels at once, — owe their pres-
ervation to this grass. To an inhabitant of an inland
country, it is difficult to conceive the extent and the
violence with which the sands at the extremity of Cape

ACTION OF DRIFTING SAND. 51

Cod are thrown up from the depths of the sea, and left
on the beach in thousands of tons, by every driving
storm. These sand-hills, when dried by the sun, are
hurled by the winds into the harbor and upon the town.
A correspondent at Provincetown says : ll Beach grass
is said to have been cultivated here as early as 1812.
Before that time, when the sand drifted down upon the
dwelling-houses, — as it did whenever the beach was
broken, — to save them from burial, the only resort was
to wheeling it off with barrows. Thus tons were re-
moved every year from places that are now perfectly
secure from the drifting of sand. Indeed, were it
not for the window-glass in some of the oldest houses
in these localities, you would be ready to deny this
statement; but the sand has been blown with such
force and so long against this glass, as to make it per-
fectly ground. I know of some windows through which
you cannot see an object, except to remind you of that
passage where men were seen * as trees walking.' ':

Congress appropriated, between the years 1826 and
1839, about twenty-eight thousand dollars, which were
expended in setting out beach grass near the village
of Provincetown, for the protection of the harbor.
From the seed of this grass it is estimated that nearly
as much ground has become planted with it as was cov-
ered by the national government. In 1854 five thousand
dollars were wisely expended by the general govern-
ment in adding to the work ; and the experience of
former years was of great value to the efficiency of this
latter effort. The work of fortification or protection is
not yet complete. The eastern part of the harbor is
much exposed to injury from the sand, which now
empties itself by thousands of tons, during every north
wind, into it.

" It may be proper to state/' says the writer quoted

52 RAISING THE BEACH.

above, " that this town does much in the way of i beach-
grassing' by its 'beach-grass committee / whose duty it is
to enter any man's enclosure, summer or winter, and
set out grass, if the sand is uncovered and movable.
By this means we are now rid of sand-storms, which
were once the terror of the place, being something like
snow-storms, for drifts, which were to be removed.
Our streets are now hardened with clay, which has
been imported ; and, instead of its being buried, as it
would once have been in a few days, I notice that the
surveyors have to resort to sprinkling it with sand in
wet weather, so effectually has the culture of beach
grass answered its end.

" The mode of culture is very simple. The grass is
pulled up by hand and placed in a hole about a foot
deep, and the -sand pressed down about it. These holes
are dug about one foot and a half apart. The spring is
the usual time of planting, though many do this work
in the fall or winter. The roots of the grass, from
which it soon covers the ground, are very long. I
have noticed them ten feet, and I suppose upon high
hills they extend down into wet sand."

Many years ago, the beach which connects Truro
and Provincetown was broken over, and a considera-
ble body of it swept away. Beach grass was imme-
diately planted, and the beach was thus raised to suffi-
cient height, and in some places into hills. The opera-
tion of it is like that of brush or bushes, cut and laid
upon the ground, in accumulating snow in a drifting
wind. The sand is collected around the grass, and, as
the sand rises, the grass also rises to overtop it, and
will continue to grow, no matter how high the sand-hill
may rise ; and this process goes on over the whole sur-
face of the plantation, and thus many acres have been
raised far above their original level.

PROTECTED BY LAW. 53

A committee of the Legislature, appointed in 1852, to
inquire into the means of preserving Cape Cod Harbor,
in speaking of the beach between the ocean on the
north and the channel of East Harbor, — and which is
all that prevents the sea from breaking over into Cape
Cod Harbor, — say: " This tract consists of loose sand,
driven about by every high wind, which throws it up in
heaps like snow-drifts. The wind, from any point from
north-east to north-west, drives the sand directly from
said beach into the channel of East Harbor, and is car-
ried by a strong current into the north-east part of Cape
Cod Harbor. The ocean on the north is wasting this
narrow beach away in every storm, and the current in
East Harbor channel undermining and destroying it on
the south. The decay of said beach has been on the
increase for several years ; it has narrowed within
seven or eight years, by the tide that runs through
East Harbor channel, from eight to ten rods. Where
the mail-stage travelled only one year since, is now the
channel, with six feet of water at low tide, and from
twelve to fourteen feet at high water."

The first effort made by the state for the preserva-
tion of this important harbor appears to have been in
1714. The town was incorporated in 1727, and was at
that time a place of some extent ; but, the inhabitants
soon began to leave, and in less than twenty years
it was reduced to two or three families. After the
Revolution the place revived, and is now a thriving
town.

The object of the law of 1714 was to arrest the
destruction of .the trees and shrubbery on the province
lands, and on the preservation of which it was thought
the harbor depended, as they prevented the drifting of
the sand.

In 1824 commissioners were appointed by the state
5*

54 ANNUAL PLANTING.

government to examine the subject, and report what
action was necessary to prevent the rapid destruction
of the harbor. They recommended an act to prevent
the destruction of beach grass, and reported that the
sum of thirty-six hundred dollars would be necessary
to set out that plant, make fences, &c. The Legisla-
ture, in 1826, applied to Congress for that sum; and Con-
gress has, at different times, made appropriations to the
amount of about thirty-eight thousand dollars, which
seem to have failed in some measure to accomplish
the object intended, and East Harbor is still rapidly
filling up.

Many years ago, it was as customary to warn the
inhabitants of Truro and some other towns on the
Cape, every spring, to turn out to plant beach grass,
as it was in the inland towns to turn out and mend the
roads. This was required by law, with suitable penal-
ties for its neglect, and took place in April.

A farmer, of much practical knowledge of this sub-
ject, says : " Since the cattle have been kept from the
beaches, by the act of the Legislature of 1826, the
grass and shrubs have sprung up of their own accord,
and have, in a great measure, in the westerly part of
the Cape, accomplished what was intended to be done
by planting grass. It is of no use to plant grass on
the high parts of the beach. Plant on the lowest parts
and they will raise, while the highest places, over which
the grass will spread, are levelling by the wind. To
preserve the beach, it must be kept as level as possible.

" Beach grass is of but little value except to prevent
our loose, sandy beaches from being drifted about by
the wind. We have but one species, and this is fast
spreading over our upland, making it useless for culti-
vation. Land that would produce from twenty to
twenty-five bushels' of Indian corn to the acre, with-

BLACK MOUNTAIN RICE. 55

out any manure, twenty-five or thirty years ago, is now
overrun with beach grass, and will produce nothing
else. If the dead grass is burnt off in the spring, it
will make a pretty good pasture for cattle and horses.
It keeps green longer than any other grass we have.
It can be cultivated from the seed or by transplanting.
Our loose, sandy beaches are the most suitable for its
growth."

Beach grass seems to require the assistance of some
disturbing causes to enable it to attain its full perfec-
tion. The driving winds in some localities are suffi-
cient, while in other places, where it does not thrive
so well, it is probable that an iron-tooth harrow would
greatly improve and aid its growth. It has been exten-
sively cultivated or propagated from the seed on many
parts of Cape Cod, on Nantucket, and in fact to con-
siderable extent all along our coast. It comes in of
itself along Nantasket beach from seed borne by the
tides, probably, from the Cape. It has been extensively
used, at times, in this country, for the manufacture of
coarse paper, though, if I am rightly informed, its man-
ufacture has been discontinued in Massachusetts. In
other countries it is manufactured into door-mats and
brushes, mats for pack-saddles, meal-bags, and hats, and
into ropes for various purposes.

13. ORYZOPSIS. Mountain Eice.

Spikelets greenish and rather large, one-flowered ;
glumes several-nerved, nearly equal, awnless, longer
than the oblong flower; scales linear, long as the ovary;
inflorescence in narrow panicles.

BLACK MOUNTAIN RICE ( Oryzopsis melanocarpa) is a
common grass in dry, rocky woods, with a leafy stem
from two to three feet high, a simple panicle, paleae or
husks of the seed blackish when ripe, the lower one

56 WHITE MOUNTAIN RICE.

surrounding the tipper, with a straight awn at the tip,
nearly an inch long. Stamens three, anthers linear, yel-
low; styles distinct. Flowers in August. Not cultivated.
WHITE MOUNTAIN RICE (Oryzopsis asperifolia) is
also common on steep, rocky hillsides, and in dry woods.
Stems clasped by sheaths, bearing a mere rudimentary
blade, overtopped by the long and rigid linear leaf from
the base ; awn two or three times the length of the
hairy whitish husks or paleas. Perennial, growing from
a foot to eighteen inches high. The lower or radical
leaves remain green through the winter. The large
seeds are abundantly farinaceous, and make a very white
and fine flour ; but the grain drops so easily as to make
it impracticable to gather it in large quantities.

SMALLEST ORYZOPSIS, or CANADIAN RICE (Oryzopsis
Canadensis), is another species sometimes found. These
grasses are easily distinguished from each other. The
first has an awn thrice the length of the blackish palea ;
the second, an awn two or three times the length of the
whitish palea ; the third, an awn short, deciduous, or
wanting. The first grows from two to three feet high ;
the second, from ten to eighteen inches; the third,
from six to fifteen inches. Natural habitat, dry, rocky
woods. Perennial. Not cultivated.

It may be proper to remark, in passing, that many
grasses which are now worthless, or of no known value
in agriculture, might be made very useful to cultivate
for the purpose of turning in green for manure.

The same may be said of many of the rank weeds
which are now regarded as the pests of our fields and
roadsides. Some of them, if sown on winter grains,
would spring up luxuriantly after the grain was removed,
drawing much of their nutriment from the air, and cor-
porifying it, as it were, to be turned in while still green,
with the stubble, and thus add vastly to the fertility

FEATHER GRASS. 57

and productiveness of the soil. For this purpose those
kinds which produce a large quantity of small seeds,
and a large, luxuriant growth of leaves, are best. The
perennials might be sown with winter grains, the an-
nuals with spring.

The practice of turning in green crops for manure is
not of recent origin. Its benefits have been long
known; but the clovers, buckwheat, and other large-
seeded grasses, have generally been used for this pur-
pose. But many other plants offer a cheaper substitute,
since their seeds are smaller and less expensive, the
only cost, indeed, being the expense of gathering.

14. STIPA. Feather Grass.

Spikelets one-flowered ; flowers stipitate or borne on
a slender stalk ; glumes equal, membranaceous ; pales
longer than the glumes, thick, and leathery, the lower
tipped with a very long awn, bent above, and twisted at
the base ; seed-scale rounded or cylindrical. Inflores-
cence in spreading panicles. Perennial, growing from
one to two feet high.

FEATHER GRASS (Stipa pennata) is one of the most
beautiful of this genus. The awn of the floret is very
long and feathery, rising from the summit of the outer
palea, and often more than twenty times its length, and,
with the exception of an inch at the base, which is
twisted, soft and feathery through its whole length.
The root is perennial and fibrous; the stem erect, round,
smooth, hollow, from eighteen inches to two feet high ;
sheaths of the leaves roughish, and covering the joints.
Stigmas feathery.

This grass is well known for its great beauty, and is
cultivated in gardens, and gathered for vases and parlor
ornaments. It grows wild in many parts of Germany,
in dry, sandy soils.

RICHARDSON'S FEATHER (Stipa ftichardsonii) is a spe-

58

BLACK OAT GRASS.

cies growing wild in the vicinity of Sebago Lake, in
Maine, and some other places. Glumes nearly equal,
oblong; panicle loose, slender branches, awn of the
palea twisted. Of no agricultural value.

BLACK OAT GRASS (Stipa ave-
nacea) is sometimes met with in
dry, sandy woods, but is of no
agricultural value. It rises from
one to two feet; its panicle is
open, leaves almost bristle-form,
palea blackish, nearly as long as
the almost equal glumes ; awn
bent above, twisted below.

It is one of the prairie grasses
of Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin,
&G.J and is common at the South,
flowering in June and July. Fig.
35 represents the panicle of this
grass, with the naked glumes,
while the upper palea and its bent
and twisted awn is seen in Fig.
36.

PORCUPINE GRASS (Stipa spar-
tea) has a shorter, contracted pan-
icle, a stouter stem, rising from
one to three feet high : glumes
loose, greenish, slender, pointed,
longer than the palea3 ; awn strong
and twisted, from three to six
inches long, dowTny below, and
rough above.

This is another prairie grass of

Fig. 35. Black oat Grass. Illinois, Iowa, and the north-west-
ward, and is also a native of southern Europe and north-
ern Africa. It is not a cultivated grass.

TRIPLE AWN GRASSES. 59

15. ARISTIDA. Three-awned Grass.

Flowers stipitate or on stalks ; glumes unequal, often
bristle-pointed; paleae two, lower tipped with a triple
awn, upper smaller, awnless ; ovary smooth, scales two,
smooth, entire ; spikelets in simple or panicled racemes
or spikes.

POVERTY GRASS (Aristida dicJtotoma) is known by its
tufted stems or culms being much forked or branched,
from five to fifteen inches high. Spikelets small, crowded
in short, contracted racemes ; side awns minute ; middle
no longer than the palea, bent downwards. Common in
old, dry, sterile fields, especially at the South, and in
Illinois and adjacent states.

THREE-AWNED GRASS (Aristida ramosissima). — Stems
diffuse ; spiked raceme loosely flowered ; glumes three
to five nerved, nearly equalling the flower; the awn
bent back, an inch long. Found on dry prairies of
Illinois, and in Kentucky.

SLENDER THREE-AWNED GRASS (Aristida gracilis) is
also found in old, sandy fields, dry, sterile hill-sides and
pine barrens, but is of no value for cultivation. Its
stem is slender and erect, lateral awns as long as the
palea. Never found except on the poorest soil.

DOWNY TRIPLE AWN (Aristida stricta). — Leaves
straight, erect, rigid, downy : lower palea smooth ; awns
spreading, the middle one longest; glumes unequal, short,
pointed. Perennial. Grows from two to three feet
high, in rocky and shaded places, in Michigan, Illinois,
Virginia, and southward. Of no value for cultivation.

PURPLE TRIPLE AWN (Aristida purpurascens) has
rough, but less rigid leaves ; lower palea rough, with
slender lateral nerves ; middle awn an inch long. Com-
mon from Massachusetts to Illinois and southward.

60 MARSH GRASS.

PRAIRIE TRIPLE AWN (Aristida oligantlia) is a species
found by Michaux on the prairies of Illinois, with a
straight, erect stem, branching below ; spikelets large,
distant, solitary, alternate, short-pedicelled j glumes
equalling the flower ; awns long, the lateral a little
shorter than the middle. Found also in Virginia and
to the south-westward.

LONG-AWNED POVERTY GRASS (Aristida tubereulosa). —
Stem branched below, tumid at the joints ; panicles
loose, branching in pairs, one of which is short and two-
flowered, the other longer and several-flowered ; glumes
longer than the palea, which is tipped with the common
stalk of the three bent awns, twisting together at the
base. It is found on sandy soils, from New England to
Wisconsin. It is one of the prairie grasses of Illinois
and southward.

16. SPARTINA. Marsh Grass.

Spikelets one-flowered, very flat, in two rows on the
outer side of a triangular rachis ; glumes compressed,
keeled, pointed and rough, bristly on the keel ; stamens
three ; styles long, united.

FRESH WATER CORD GRASS, or TALL MARSH GRASS
(Spartina cynosuroides). — This is found on the banks
of streams and lakes, rising to the height of from two to
four feet, with slender culm, narrow leaves, two to four
feet long, tapering to a point, smooth except on the
margins ; spikes of a straw-color, five to fourteen in
number, spreading, glumes awn-pointed. Found in
Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Minne-
sota. Flowers in August.

THE SALT REED GRASS (Spartina polystachya) has a
stout culm, from four to nine feet high; broad leaves,
roughish underneath and on the margins ; spikes twenty

TOOTHACHE GRASS. — MUSKIT. 61

to fifty in number, forming a dense, oblong, purplish
cluster. It is found on salt and brackish marshes, be-
low high tide, especially southward.

RUSH SALT GRASS (Spartina juncea) grows from one
to two feet high, stem slender, leaves narrow, rush-like,
and very smooth. It is common on salt marshes and
sandy sea-beaches, and flowers in August.

SALT MARSH GRASS (Spartina stricta) grows from one
to three feet high, leafy to the top, and has from two
to four spikes. Glumes pointed, very unequal. Salt
marshes, Pennsylvania and South.

ROUGH MARSH GRASS (Spartina glabra), a variety of
the last, is found commonly on the sea-coast from New
England southward, with stem and leaves rather longer
than the preceding, and spikelets from five to twelve,
crowded.

SMOOTH MARSH GRASS (Spartina alterniflora), another
variety of salt-marsh grass, with spikes more slender,
three to five inches long. It has a strong and rancid
odor, and is common with the last.

17. CTENIUM. Toothache Grass.

Glumes persistent, lower one smaller, upper concave
below, with a stout awn bent like a horn on the back.
Flowers four to six, all neutral but one. Stamens three.

TOOTHACHE GRASS ( Ctenium Americanum) rises from
three to four feet high, with a simple roughish stem ;
longer glume warty and awned. It is found in the wet
pine barrens of New Jersey, but is of no agricultural
value.

18. BOUTELOUA. Gramma Grass.
Spikes short, solitary, racemed ; spikelets alternate,
two to three flowered, the terminal flower imperfect.
6

62 MUSKIT. — BEARD GRASS.

Glumes two, keeled, the upper layer shorter than the
flowers. Stamens three, anthers orange or red. Rachis
extending beyond the spikelets.

MUSKIT, MESQUIT, or MEZQUITE GRASS (Bouteloua
oligostachya), grows from six to twelve inches high,
leaves narrow, spikes one to five ; glumes and lower
fertile palea slightly hairy, triple awned. Westward,
Iowa and Minnesota.

BRISTLY MUSKIT (Bouteloua hirsuta) grows in tufts
from eight to twenty inches high ; leaves flat, lance-
like, hairy ; lower glume rough, with stiff hairs from
dark warty glands ; lower palea downy.

HAIRY MUSKIT (Bouteloua curtipenduld) grows in
tufts from perennial roots, one to three feet high ;
sheaths often hairy, leaves narrow, spikes thirty to
sixty in number, flowers rough; the sterile are reduced
to a single small awn, or to three awns shorter than the
fertile flower.

Muskit or Mesquit grass is cultivated to considerable
extent in some parts of the South, as in Louisiana, and
has become a favorite grass in many sections. Very
satisfactory experiments with it have also been made
in Virginia.

19. GYMNOPOGON. Beard Grass.

Spikelets one-flowered, perfect, with a rudiment of
a second ; glumes awl-shaped, keeled, nearly equal ;
stamens three ; stigmas purple, pencil-shaped ; leaves
short, flat, and thick.

NAKED BEARD GRASS ( Gymnopoyon racemosus) grows
in clusters, wiry, leafy, spikes flower-bearing to the
base ; glumes pointed about half the length of the awn
of the fertile flower. Common on the pine barrens of
New Jersey, and at the South.

BERMUDA GRASS. — EGYPTIAN GRASS. 63

SHORT-LEAVED BEARD GRASS (Gymnopogonbrevifolius).

— Spikes on long stalks, flower-bearing only above the
middle ; lower palea short-awned ; glumes pointed.
Found in Delaware and southward.

20. CYNODON. Bermuda Grass.

Spikelets one-flowered, spikes usually digitate at the
naked summit of the flowering stalks ; glumes keeled,
pointless ; paleas pointless and awnless, the lower arid
longer boat-shaped. Stamens three. Creeping peren-
nials.

BERMUDA GRASS, SCUTCH GRASS ( Cynodon dactylon).

— Glumes very nearly equal ; spikes four to five ;
pales smooth; stems smooth, hollow, prostrate at the
base, with four or five leaves, flat or folded, acute,
rigid, hairy, rough at the edges ; lower joints covered
by the sheaths ; inflorescence digitate, purplish : sta-
mens three ; stigmas feathery. Penn. and southward.

This grass is distinguished from Digitaria in the spike-
lets, which are laterally compressed, and in rising singly
from the rachis, and by wanting the ligule. In Digitaria
the spikelets rise from the rachis in twos or threes, and
the ligule is very distinct.

It grows abundantly on the West India Islands, and
in the southern part of the United States, where it is
esteemed as a very valuable grass.

21. DACTYLOCTENIUM. Egyptian Grass.

Spikelets several-flowered, crowded on one side of
the flattened rachis, forming two to five close, comb-
like spikes, digitate at the apex ; glumes compressed and
keeled, the upper one awned ; stamens three.

EGYPTIAN GRASS (D actyloctenium JEgyptiacum), the
only species referred to this genus, is found in culti-
vated fields and yards in Virginia and southward.
Stems diffuse, often creeping at the base ; spikes four

64 CROP GRASS.

or five , leaves hairy at the base. It is a trouble-
some annual weed, introduced from Europe. Found
also in Illinois.

22. ELEUSINE. Crop Grass.

Spikelets two to six flowered, overlapping each other
in close spikes on one side of a flattish rachis; spikes dig-
itate, clustered ; glumes awnless and pointless ; stamens
three ; palea awnless and pointless.

CROP GRASS, CRAB GRASS, WIRE GRASS, CROW'S-FOOT
(Eleusine Indica). — Stems ascending, flattened, branch-
ing at the base ; spikes two to five, greenish.

This is an annual, and flowers through the season,
growing from eight to fifteen inches high, and forming a
fine green carpeting in lawns and yards. It is indige-
nous in Mississippi, Alabama, and adjoining states, and
serves for hay, grazing, and turning under as a fertilizer.
It grows there with such luxuriance, in many sections, as
never to require sowing, and yields a good crop where
many of the more northern grasses would fail.

23. LEPTOCHLOA. Slender Grass.

Spikelets three to many flowered, loosely spiked on
one side of a long, thread-like rachis ; glumes membra-
naceous, keeled, sometimes awl-pointed ; lower palea
three-nerved, and larger than the upper. Stamens two
or three.

POINTED SLENDER GRASS (Leptochloa mucronata) is an
annual, growing from two to three feet high, and flow-
ering in August. Sheaths hairy; spikes from twenty
to forty, two to four inches long, in a long panicle-like
raceme ; glumes pointed, about equalling the three or
four awnless flowers. Found in fields from Virginia to
Illinois, and southward.

CLUSTERING SLENDER GRASS (Leptochloa fascicularis).
• — Spikelets seven to eleven flowered, longer than the

.

TALL REDTOP. 65

glumes, smooth ; leaves longer than the bent branch-
ing stems, which are from eight to fifteen inches long,
the upper sheath forming the base of the panicle-like
raceme ; palese hairy, margined towards the base, the
lower having two small lateral teeth, and an awn at the
cleft of the apex.

Found in brackish marshes on the coast from Rhode
Island southward, and from Illinois southward on the
Mississippi River. Flowers in August.

24. TRICUSPIS.

Spikelets three to twelve flowered ; glumes unequal ;
rachis of the spike bearded below each flower ; lower
palea much larger than the upper ; convex, hairy on the
back, three-nerved, and three-pointed by the projection
of the nerves ; stamens three ; stigmas dark purple.

TALL REDTOP (Tricuspis seslerioides) is a perennial,
growing from three to five feet high, on dry and sandy
fields, from New York to Illinois, and southward, flow-
ering in August. It is a showy grass, with an upright,
very smooth stem, smooth leaves, and large compound
spreading panicle ; spikelets very numerous ; shining,
purple flowers, hairy towards the base. It has some-
times been cut for hay; but is not considered of much
value.

SAND GRASS (Tricuspis purpurea) is also found on
dry, sandy soils, along the coast, flowering in August
and September. It is acid to the taste, grows from six
inches to a foot high, in numerous stems, in a tuft from
the same root, and has numerous bearded joints. Ex-
tends southward from Massachusetts to Virginia, and
still further down the coast.

HORNED SAND GRASS (Tricuspis cornuta) is another
species found at the South. Of no agricultural value.
6*

66 . TWIN GRASS.

25. DUPONTIA.

Spikelets two to four flowered ; glumes nearly equal-
ling the flowers, with a cluster of long hairs at the base
of each flower. PaleaB thin, lower one entire, point-
less ; stamens three ; perennial. Mostly arctic grasses.

DUPONTIA GRASS (Dupontia cooleyi] is a tall grass,
with roughish leaves ; a large compound panicle ; very
unequal glumes ; palea awnless. Found in Michigan,
in the borders of a swamp in Washington, Macomb
county. Of no agricultural value.

26. DlARRHENA.

Spikelets two to ten flowered, in an open panicle ;
glumes much shorter than the flowers, the lower much
smaller ; lower palea egg-shaped, convex on the back,
three-nerved above, sharp-pointed ; stamens two. Grain
large.

TWIN GRASS (Diarrhena Americana) grows from one
and a half to three feet high, along the shaded banks
of rivers and woods, from Ohio and Illinois southwards.
Flowering in August.

27. DACTYLIS. Cocksfoot.

Spikelets several-flowered, crowded in clusters, one-
sided ; panicle dense at the top, branching ; glumes
two ; herbaceous, keeled ; awn pointed ; stamens three ;
seed oblong, acute, free. Named from dactylus, a finger.

ORCHARD GRASS, ROUGH COCK'S-FOOT (Dactylis glom-
erata), flowers in dense clusters. Its stem is erect,
about three feet high. I have found specimens, in good
soil, over five feet high. Leaves linear, flat, dark-green,
rough on both surfaces, which, with the fancied resem-
blance of its clusters to the foot of a barn-yard fowl,
have given it the common name in England of rough

ORCHARD GRASS

67

cock's-foot. Root perennial. Flowers in June and
July. Not uncommon in fields and pastures. It is
shown in Fig. 37, and a magnified spikelet in Fig. 38.

Fig. 38.

Fig. 37. Orchard Grasa.

68 ORCHARD GRASS. — ITS CULTIVATION.

This is one of the most valuable and widely-known
of all the pasture grasses. It is common to every
country in Europe, to the north of Africa, and to Asia,
as well as to America. Its culture was introduced into
England from Virginia, where it had been cultivated
some years previously, in 1764. It forms one of the
most common grasses of English natural pastures, on
rich, deep, moist soils. It became, soon after its intro-
duction into England, an object of special agricultural
interest among cattle feeders, having been found to be
exceedingly palatable to stock of all kinds. Its rapidity
of growth, the luxuriance of its aftermath, and its power
of enduring the cropping of cattle, commend it highly
to the farmer's care, especially as a pasture grass.

As it blossoms earlier than Timothy, and about the time
of red clover, it makes an admirable mixture with that
plant, to cut in the blossom and cure for hay. As a
pasture grass it should be fed close, both to prevent its
forming thick tufts and to prevent its running to seed,
when it loses a large proportion of its nutritive matter,
and becomes hard and wiry. All kinds of stock eat it
greedily when green.

Judge Buel said of it, " I should prefer it to almost
every other grass, and cows are very fond of it."
Elsewhere he says : " The American Cock's-foot, or
Orchard Grass, is one of the most abiding grasses we
have. It is probably better adapted than any other
grass to sow with clover and other seeds for permanent
pasture or for hay, as it is fit to cut with clover, and
grows remarkably quick when cropped by cattle. Five
or six days' growth in summer suffices to give a good
bite. Its good properties consist in its early and rapid
growth, and its resistance of drouth ; but all agree that
it should be closely cropped. Sheep will pass over
every other grass to feed upon it. If suffered to grow

PRACTICAL OPINIONS. 69

long without being cropped, it becomes coarse and
harsh. Colonel Powell (a late eminent farmer of Penn-
sylvania), after growing it ten years, declares that it
produces more pasturage than any other grass he has
seen in America. On being fed very close, it has pro-
duced good pasture after remaining five days at rest.
It is suited to all arable soils. Two bushels of seed are
requisite for an acre when sown alone, or half this
quantity when sown with clover. The seed is very
light, weighing not more than twelve or fourteen
pounds to the bushel. It should be cut early for hay."

Mr. Sanders, a well-known practical farmer and cattle
breeder, of Kentucky, says of it: " My observation and
experience have induced me to rely mainly on orchard
grass and red clover ; indeed, I now sow no other sort
of grass-seed. These grasses, mixed, make the best hay
of all the grasses for this climate (Kentucky). It is
nutritious, and well adapted as food for stock. Orchard
grass is ready for grazing in the spring ten or twelve
days sooner than any other that affords a full bite.
When grazed down and the stock turned off, it will be
ready for re-grazing in less than half the time required
for Kentucky blue grass. It stands a severe drought
better than any other grass, keeping green and growing
when other sorts are dried up. In summer it will
grow more in a day than blue grass will in a week.
Orchard grass is naturally disposed to form and grow
in tussocks. The best preventive is a good preparation
of the ground, and a sufficiency of seed uniformly sown.
The late Judge Peters, of Pennsylvania, — who was at
the head of agricultural improvement in that state for
many years, — preferred it to all other grasses."

Orchard grass is less exhausting to the soil than rye
grass or Timothy. It will endure considerable shade.
In a porous subsoil its fibrous roots extend to a great

70 KCELERIA EATONIA.

depth. Its habit of growth unfits it for a lawn grass.
Its seed weighs twelve pounds to the bushel, and, to
sow alone, about twenty-four pounds to the acre are
required to make sure of a good crop. It should not
be sown alone except for the sake of raising the seed.
It is worthy of a much more extended cultivation
among us.

28. KCELERIA.

Spikelets crowded in a dense, spike-like panicle, three
to seven flowered. Glumes and lower palea compressed,
keeled ; stamens three ; grain free.

CRESTED KCELERIA (Kcderia cristata) is a perennial
grass from two to two and a half feet high, and some-
what common on dry, gravelly places from Pennsylvania
to Illinois and westward. Panicle narrowly spiked ;
lower palea pointed ; leaves flat, the lower ones some-
what hairy.

TRUNCATED KCELERIA (Kcderia truncata) has a dense
and contracted panicle, with the spikelets crowded on
the short branches ; upper glume truncate, obtuse,
rough on the back. Perennial ; growing from two to
three feet high, and flowering in June, on dry soils
from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin, and southward.

29. EATONIA.

Glumes nearly equal, but dissimilar, and shorter than
the flowers ; the lower one-nerved, keeled ; the upper
three-nerved on the back, not keeled. Lower palea
oblong, compressed, boat-shaped ; stamens three.

PENNSYLVANIA^ EATONIA (Eatonia Pennsylvania) is a
common grass in moist woods and meadows, in the
Eastern, Middle, and Western States ; growing about
two feet high, perennial, and flowering in June and

RATTLESNAKE GRASS. 71

July. Its panicle is long and loose ; leaves short and
flat, and of a pale-green color.

30. MELICA. Melic Grass,

Spikelets from two to five flowered ; one. and some-
times two or three of the upper flowers imperfect and
dissimilar, wrapped around each other. Glumes usually
large, convex, obtuse ; stamens three.

MELIC GRASS (Melica mutica) is a grass natural to the
rich soils of the Western States, Ohio, Illinois, and Wis-
consin, and grows with a loose, smooth, simple panicle,
from two to four feet high ; glumes unequal ; two fer-
tile flowers. It is perennial, and flowers in June.

31. GLYCERIA. Manna Grass.

Spikelets rounded ; rachis separating into joints ;
glumes two, pointless, nearly equal ; paleas awnless, the
lower rounded on the back ; five to seven nerved ; sta-
mens three ; root creeping, perennial. Glyceria from
a Greek word, signifying sweet, from the taste of the
grain.

RATTLESNAKE GRASS ( Glyceria Canadensls] has an ob-
long, pyramidal, spreading panicle, with beautifully
drooping spikelets, six or eight flowered, and long,
roughish leaves, which together make -it an object of
interest and search for bouquets and vases ; resembling
the quaking grass in general appearance. It is very
common in wet, boggy places, growing from two to
three feet high, but possesses little or no agricultural
value. Found common in New England and the West-
ern States, in soils suitable to its growth. Flowers in
July.

The OBTUSE SPEAR GRASS ( Glyceria obtusa,) has a
dense, narrowly oblong panicle ; spikelets six or seven
flowered, erect, swelling; lower palea obtuse, leaves

MEADOW SPEAR GRASS.

Fig 40. Fig 41. Fig. 42. Fig 39. Meadow Spear Grasa.

MEADOW SPEAR GEASS. 73

smooth, as long as the stem. This is an aquatic grass,
found occasionally on the borders of ponds from New
England to Pennsylvania, near the coast. Flowers in
August. Of no agricultural value.

LONG PANICLED MANNA GRASS ( Glyceria elongata) is a
very distinct species ; stems one to three feet high ;
panicle branching, narrowly elongated, recurving ; the
branches appressed ; spikelets pale, erect, three to four
flowered; lower palea obtuse, rather longer than the
upper; stamens two, stigmas compound, leaves very
long and rough. Flourishes in wet woods and swamps
from New England to Michigan, and northward. Flow-
ers in June and July ; perennial. Of no special agri-
cultural value.

MEADOW SPEAR GRASS, NERVED MANNA GRASS ( Gly-
ceria nervata), is the fowl meadow of many farmers,
while the grass commonly called fowl meadow by others
(Poa serotind) often goes with them under the name
of bastard fowl meadow. It has a broad, open panicle,
often six inches in length, with slender branches ; spike-
lets small, ovate, oblong, green ; leaves in two rows
like a fan, a little rough ; stem a little compressed, one
to three feet high.

It is a native American grass, the nutritive value of
which, according to Sinclair, is equal at the time of flow-
ering and when the seed is ripe, while the nutritive matter
of the lattermath is said to be greater than that of most
other grasses. It is a hardy grass, grows best on moist,
ground, but it is said also to succeed on lightish upland
soils. It is a very valuable native grass, retaining its
nutritive qualities until the seed is ripe, and then sending
up large, fan-like shoots, which are succulent and nutri-
tious. It would be a valuable ingredient in a mixture
for wet or moist pastures. Common. It is seen in Fig.
7

74

PALE MANNA GRASS.

39, while in Fig. 40 are seen its root stalks. A magnified
spikelet is shown in Fig. 41, and the calyx in Fig. 42.

Fig. 43. Water Spear Grass. Fi£. 44.

The PALE MANNA GRASS (Glyceria pallida) grows
mostly in shallow water, and is very common. Panicle

WATER SPEAR GRASS. 75

erect, with hairy branches, spreading, rough ; spikelets
few, linear, oblong, five to nine flowered ; lower palea
oblong, minutely five-toothed; leaves short, sharp-pointed,
and pale-green. Flowers in July. Culms one to three
feet long, creeping at the base.

Pale manna grass is of no value for cultivation, since,
from the place of its growth, it could hardly be used
to advantage,- like many other grasses which are now
worthless, for turning in green as a manure. The rank,
leafy grasses, many of which are regarded as weeds,
would be more suitable for the purpose.

The WATER SPEAR GRASS, or REED MEADOW GRASS
( Glyceria aquatica), grows in wet soils and the shallow
water of marshes. It is a tall, reedy grass, four or five
feet high, with a panicle nearly a foot long, diffuse, with
smooth, flexuous branches. Shown in Fig. 43. From
its large size and broad leaves it can hardly be mistaken
for any of the other species of this genus, or of any of
the genus Poa, to which it is referred by Linnaeus and
others. Its root is perennial, creeping ; stem erect,
stout, smooth ; joints seven, smooth ; spikelets numer-
ous. Florets not webbed. Flowers in August.

This grass has been cultivated to some extent in
England and France for its large yield of coarse hay ;
and, if cut while green and before attaining its full
growth, it is said to make a nutritious and palatable
fodder, cattle being fond of it. Its spikelet is seen
magnified in Fig. 44.

It is worthy of trial on wet meadows, as it would
certainly be more valuable than the coarse sedges often
found there. It is common North and West.

The FLOATING MEADOW GRASS, or COMMON MANNA
GRASS (Glyceria fluitans), differs from the other species
of this genus in the general appearance of its slender

76

FLOATING MEADOW GRASS.

panicle, and long, linear spikelets. It grows from fifteen
inches to two feet high, with a perennial, creeping root,
erect, round, smooth stem, leaves large, rather long,

roughish on both sides, lower
ones flat, upper ones generally
folded; spikelets few, long and
linear, as shown in Fig. 45,
which represents the plant
near the time of flowering.
Fig. 46 shows a magnified
spikelet of this grass. Flow-
ers late in June.

It grows naturally in very
moist and muddy places, in
ditches, on the margins of
ponds and streams, and is very
common, especially northward
and westward. It is capable
of cultivation as a perma-
nent moist pasture grass, and
its yield compares well with
many of the other grass-
es. Its seeds are greed-
ily sought by birds, and
in some parts of Ger-
many are said to be used
as a delicacy in soups
and gruels. It has some-
times been cultivated in
France and other parts
of Europe, along alluvial
borders of streams and
lakes, and is found to
produce a sweet and
nutritious grass. The

Fig. 45. Floating Meadow Grass

Fig. 46.

GOOSE GRASS.

77

seed has sometimes been ground into meal, or flour. It
would doubtless be valuable to sow for green manuring.
POINTED SPEAR GRASS (Glyceria acutiflora) is less
common than the preceding species. It is found in wet
places from New England to Pennsylvania, resembling
the floating manna grass, but with small-
er leaves, and flowers twice the length,
and less nerved.

GOOSE GRASS, CREEPING SEA MEADOW
GRASS, SEA SPEAR GRASS ( Glyceria mari-
tima), Fig. 47, is a beautiful grass, which
appears in and around salt marshes,
growing from six to twelve inches high,
and having a perennial, creeping root.
Stem erect, round, smooth; leaves most-
ly folded and compressed, roughish on
the inner surface ; spikelets linear, with
from six to ten florets, not webbed, the
outer palea or lower floret terminating
in an acute point. The flower is seen
in Fig. 48. Flowers in July. Grows nat-
urally near the sea. This is one of the
most valuable of the salt-marsh grasses,
being exceedingly relished by stock of
all kinds. It is generally
considered best when it
grows in mixture with
other species of plants,
as the black grass (Jun-
cusbulbosus), for instance,
and deserves a passing
notice.

It is very well known
that large tracts of salt

Fig. 47. Goose Grass. Fig. 48.

78 GROWTH AND VALUE OF GOOSE GRASS.

marsh are nearly barren. Sometimes close cutting in the
early morning, while the dew is on the grass and when it
cuts comparatively easy, kills it out, and from that cause
the marsh becomes barren. More often, however, excess
of water, either upon the surface or in the soil, from the
proximity of ponds which have no outlet, causes barren-
ness. On all such tracts goose grass springs up and dots
the whole surface with circular patches of green, which
in shape are very like ringworms on the human skin.

This valuable grass is seldom found alone except on
these barren tracts, and upon them it grows so short
and thin as seldom to be worth cutting. One will there-
fore never see any goose-grass hay except mixed with
other kinds, and generally with black grass.

When these tracts begin to improve, from draining or
from any other cause, other grasses make their appear-
ance, and the goose grass grows much more vigorous,
and becomes valuable. This will continue to be the
case for several years, until the roots of the other
grasses have taken entire possession of the soil, when
the goose grass disappears almost entirely, and bides its
time, ready to appear again whenever from any cause
its intrusive competitors cease to exist.

The hay made from the mixture of goose, and other
grasses — among which black grass generally predomi-
nates — is a most valuable fodder. The goose grass is
so weighty that it takes but a small quantity, compara-
tively, for a ton, and cattle eat it with almost as much
avidity as oats, or any other grain. In fact, no hay is
more valuable than black grass with a large admixture
of goose grass, when properly cured. This is the result
of the experience of practical farmers along the coast.

The curing process requires care and time; for goose
grass is as full of juice as possible, and requires a much
longer exposure than black grass, while a very little

TREATMENT OF SALT MARSHES. 79

wet, when it is partially cured, materially injures the
black grass.

We may judge of the properties of goose grass from
the fact that in several instances within my own knowl-
edge cattle have died of hoove from eating it early in
the spring, as is not unfrequently the case with clover.

It resembles in the shape of its leaves, and somewhat
in its cluster-like growth, that species of garlic which
used formerly to be grown in kitchen gardens, called
cives, or more properly chives. Its seed-stalks and seeds
are almost precisely like the spikelets and seeds of the
common plantain.

It grows both on high and low marshes, but is very
seldom worth cutting on those tracts where it grows
by itself, and without the admixture of other grasses.

It is proper to state, in this connection, that experi-
ments have been made to introduce this valuable grass
into our fresh wet meadows, and with good success.

Most of the superior salt-marsh grasses are greatly
improved by ditching, while the poorer and compara-
tively worthless plants found there very soon die out
after this operation, and give place to more valuable
species. It may be safely asserted that, on an average,
the value of the marsh is nearly doubled by it, while
the vegetable, peaty matter taken from it is sufficient,
if properly used, to pay a considerable portion of the
outlay.

CLUSTERED SPEAR or REFLEXED MEADOW GRASS (Gly-
ceria distans) is found also in salt marshes along the
coast. It appears to be closely allied to goose grass.
Stems ascending, destitute of running shoots ; branches
of the panicle three to five in a half whorl, and spread-
ing. Leaves flat. It is of less value than the pre-
ceding species.

80 THE SPEAR GRASSES.

32. BRIZOPYRUM. Spike Grass.

Large flowers and spikelets, compressed and crowded
in a dense spiked panicle. Leaves crowded on the
stems, folded, and mostly rigid.

SPIKE GRASS (Brizopyrum spicatum) is a salt-marsh
grass, with culms or stems in tufts from creeping root-
stalks, from ten to eighteen inches high. Flowers in
August.

33. POA. Spear Grasses.

Spikelets ovate, compressed, flowers two to ten in
an open panicle ; glumes shorter than the flowers ;
lower palea compressed, keeled, pointless, five-nerved ;
stamens two or three, seed oblong, free ; stems tufted ;
leaves smooth, flat, and soft.

ANNUAL SPEAR GRASS (Poa annua), Fig. 1, is, per-
haps, the most common of all our grasses. Its stems
are spreading, flattened, panicle often one-sided, spike-
lets crowded, three to seven flowered; lower palea more
or less hairy on the nerves below ; leaves of a light
green, sword-shaped, flat, often crumpled at the margins,
as appears in the figure, smooth on both surfaces, rough
at the edges. Florets not webbed, and this distinguishes
it from the June grass (Poa pratensis] and its varieties.
The outer or lower palea of this grass has no hairs on
the lateral ribs, as the poa pratensis has. This modest
and beautiful grass flowers throughout the whole sum-
mer, and forms a very large part of the sward of New
England pastures, producing an early and sweet feed,
exceedingly relished by cattle. It does not resist the
drought very well, but becomes parched up.

The WAVY MEADOW GRASS (Poa laxa) occurs rarely,
on high and rocky hills in New England, New York,
and northern latitudes. Of no agricultural value.

FOWL MEADOW GRASS. 81

SHORT-LEAVED SPEAR GRASS (Poa brevifolia) is found
in rocky and hilly woodlands of the Middle and South-
ern States. The upper leaves very short, the root-
leaves long, nearly equalling the stem.

SOUTHERN SPEAR GRASS (Poa flexuosa) is found in
the dry woods of Virginia, Kentucky, and other South-
ern States. Panicle very diffuse, leaves taper pointed ;
lower palea prominently nerved ; stem slender. Of no
agricultural value.

WOOD SPEAR GRASS (Poa alsodes) is found in woods
and hill-sides from New England to Wisconsin. Leaves
narrow, acute, the upper often sheathing the base of
the panicle, the hairy branches of which are generally
in threes and fours.

WEAK MEADOW GRASS (Poa debilis}, another species
in rocky woodlands, from New England to Wisconsin.
Flowers in May. Panicle small, its branches slender, in
pairs and threes. Stem weak.

SYLVAN SPEAR GRASS (Poa sylvestris] has an erect
flat stem, a short pyramidal panicle, with branches, in
fives or more. Found in rocky woods and meadows in
Ohio, Wisconsin, and the South.

FOWL MEADOW, FALSE REDTOP (Poa serotina).—Yig. 49.
Spikelets two to four, sometimes five flowered ; ligules
oval, spear-shaped ; flowers green, often tinged with
purple ; roots slightly creeping ; wet meadows and
banks of streams, very common. Flowers in July and
August. In long-continued moist weather the lower
joints send up flowering stems. The panicle is erect
and spreading when in flower, but more contracted and
drooping when ripe. Indigenous to many parts of this
country, and also a native of Europe. Its spikelet is
seen magnified in Fig. 50 ; its flower, in Fig. 51 j its
germ, in Fig. 52, and its seed in Fig. 53.

FOWL MEADOW

Fig. 52. Fig. 53.

Fig. 49. Fowl Meadow.

GROWTH OF FOWL MEADOW. 83

It early commended itself to the attention of farm-
ers, for Jared Eliot, writing in 1749, says of it : " There
are two sorts of grass which are natives of the country,
which I would recommend, — these are Herd's grass
(known in Pennsylvania by the name of Timothy
grass), the other is Fowl Meadow, sometimes called
Duck grass, and sometimes Swamp-wire grass. It is
said that Herd's grass was first found in a swamp in
Piscataqtia, by one Herd, who propagated the same ;
that fowl meadow grass was brought into a poor piece
of meadow in Pedham, by ducks and other wild water-
fowl, and therefore called by such an odd name. It is
supposed to be brought into the meadows at Hartford
by the annual floods, and called there Swamp-wire grass.
Of these two sorts of natural grass, the fowl grass is
much the best ; it grows tall and thick, makes a more
soft and pliable hay than Herd's grass, and consequently
will be more fit for pressing, in order to ship off with
our horses ; besides, it is a good grass, not in abun-
dance inferior to English grass. It yields a good burden,
three loads to the acre. It must be sowed in low, moist
land. This grass has another good quality, which ren-
ders it very valuable in a country where help is so
much wanting ; it will not spoil or suffer, although it
stand beyond the common times for mowing. Clover
will be lost, in a great measure, if it be not cut in the
proper season. Spear grass, commonly called English
grass, if it stands too long, will be little better than rye
straw ; if this outstand the time, it is best to let it stand
till there comes up a second growth, and then it will do
tolerably well ; but this fowl grass may be mowed any
time from July to October. * * * This I wondered
at, but, viewing some of it attentively, I think I have
found the reason of it. When it is grown about three
feet high, it then falls down, but doth not rot like other

84 WOOD MEADOW GRASS.

grass when lodged ; in a little time after it is thus fallen
down, at every joint it puts forth a new branch. Now, to
maintain this young brood of suckers there must be a
plentiful course of sap conveyed up through the main
stem or straw ; by this means the grass is kept green
and fit for mowing all this long period."

It grows abundantly in almost every part of New
England, especially where it has been introduced and
cultivated in suitable ground, such as the borders of
rivers and intervals occasionally overflowed. It will
not endure to be long covered with water, especially in
warm weather. It is well to let a piece go to seed,
save the seed, and scatter it over low lands. It makes
an excellent grass for oxen, cows, and sheep, but is
thought to be rather fine for horses. It never grows
so coarse or hard but that the stalk is sweet and tender,
and eaten without waste. It is easily made into hay,
and is a nutritive and valuable grass. Owing to its
constantly sending forth flowering stems, the grass of
the lattermath contains more nutritive matter than the
first crop at the time of flowering ; hence the names
fertilis and serotina, fertile and late flowering meadow
grass. It thrives best when mixed with other grasses,
and deserves a place in all mixtures for rich, moist
pastures.

WOOD MEADOW GRASS (Poa nemoralis) grows from
eighteen inches to two feet high; has a perennial,
creeping root, an erect stem, slender and smooth ; the
upper sheath no longer than its leaf, with a very short
ligule, the base of the floret having a silky web sus-
pending the calyx ; leaves light-green. Fig. 54. It is
common in moist, shady places, and appears as a tall,
rank grass, with a long, finely-arched panicle. It
flowers in June, and ripens its seed in July. A magni-
fied flower is seen in Fig. 55.

ROUGH' STALKED MEADOW GRASS.

85

Though it has never,
to my knowledge, been
cultivated in this country,
it appears to me worthy
of attention for moist soils.
It is certainly to be classed
among the good-shaded
pasture grasses, furnish-
irig a fine, succulent, and
very nutritive herbage,
which cattle are very fond
of.

THE ROUGH-STALKED
MEADOW GRASS (Poa tri-
vialis), though not so
common as the June
grass (Poa pratensis), is
still often met with, and
is found to have webbed
florets; outer palea five-
ribbed, marginal ribs not
hairy, ligule long and
pointed, stems two to
three feet high. Dis-
tinguished from June
grassby having rough
sheaths, while in the
latter the sheatlis
are smooth, the ligule
obtuse, and the mar-
ginal ribs of outer
palea furnished with
rig. 54. wood Meadow Grass. fig. 55. hairs. It differs from
June grass also in several other respects. The rough-
stalked meadow grass has a fibrous root, that of the
8

86

ROUGH-STALKED MEADOW GRASS,

June grass is creeping. It flourishes in moist meadows,
where it flowers in July. Introduced.

Fig. 50. Rough-stalked Meadow Grass. Fig 57.

KENTUCKY BLUE GRASS. 87

This grass is seen in Fig. 56, while Fig. 57 represents
a flower somewhat magnified.

It is a valuable grass to cultivate in moist, sheltered
soils, possessing very considerable nutritive qualities,
coming to perfection at a desirable time, and being ex-
ceedingly relished by cattle, horses, and sheep. For
suitable soils it should form a portion of seed sown,
producing, in mixture with other grasses, which serve
to shelter it, a large yield of hay, above the average of
grass usually grown on a similar soil. Seven pounds
of seed to the acre will produce a good sward. The
grass is said to lose about seventy per cent, of its
weight in drying. Its hay contains about one and sixty
hundredths per cent, of azote, and the nutritive quali-
ties of the lattermath are said to exceed very consider-
ably those of the crop cut in the flower or in the seed.

GREEN MEADOW GRASS, JUNE GRASS, COMMON SPEAR
GRASS, KENTUCKY BLUE GRASS, &c. (Poa pratensis). —
Lower florets connected at the base by a web of long,
silky filaments, holding the calyx ; outer palea five-
ribbed, marginal ribs hairy ; upper sheath longer than
its leaf; height from ten to fifteen inches; root peren-
nial, creeping ; stem erect, smooth and round ; leaves
linear, flat, acute, roughish on the edges and inner sur-
face ; panicle diffuse, spreading, erect. The plant is of
a light-green color, the spikelets frequently variegated
with brownish purple. Introduced, and probably indig-
enous to some parts of the country. Flowers in June.
Fig. 58 represents this grass, and Fig. 59 a flower mag-
nified.

This is an early grass, very common in the soils of
New England and the West, in pastures and fields, con-
stituting a considerable portion of the turf. It varies
very much in size and appearance, according to the soil
on which it grows. In Kentucky it is universally

88

COMMON SPEAR GRASS.

known as Blue Grass, and elsewhere frequently as Ken-
tucky Blue Grass, and still more frequently, in the

Fig. 59.

GROWTH OP JUNE GRASS. 89

Eastern States, as June Grass. It has been called by
some, without much reason, the most valuable of all the
grasses in our pastures. It comes into the soil in some
parts of the country when left to itself, and grows lux-
uriantly and is relished by cattle. Its creeping root is
said by some to impoverish the soil. Wherever it is
intended for hay it is cut at the time of flowering, as, if
the seed is allowed to ripen, more than a fourth part of
the crop, according to some, is lost. In its earliness it
is equalled by some of the other grasses, and in its
nutritive constituents it is surpassed, according to the
recent and reliable investigations of Prof. Way, by
several other species. After being cut in summer it
starts up slowly. Low says, " It is inferior to the
rough-stalked meadow grass, and it may be questioned
whether it deserves to be reckoned among the superior
pasture grasses."

It produces but one flowering stem in a year, while
many of the other grasses continue to shoot up flower-
stalks and run to seed through the season. On this
account it is recommended highly for lawns, where uni-
formity is desired. The produce ordinarily is small,
compared with other grasses, but the herbage is fine.
It grows well in rather a dry soil, but will grow on a
variety of soils, from the dryest knolls to a wet
meadow, but does not withstand our severe droughts
as well as some other grasses. Its reputation is higher
in this country than in England, where it is denied, by
many farmers, even a place among the grasses to be
recommended for cultivation. It endures the frosts of
winter better than many other grasses ; and in Ken-
tucky, where it attains the highest perfection as a pas-
ture grass, it sometimes continues luxuriant through
their mild winters.

June grass requires at least two or three years to
8*

90 PRACTICAL OPINIONS.

become well set, and it does not arrive at its perfection
as a pasture grass till the sward is older than that ; and
hence it is not suited to alternate husbandry, or where
the land is to remain in grass only two or three years,
and then be ploughed up.

In Kentucky, the best blue grass is found in partially
shaded pastures. A well-known farmer of that state,
in a communication to the Ohio Farmer, says : " In
our climate and soil, it is not only the most beautiful
of grasses, but the most valuable of crops. It is the
first deciduous plant which puts forth its leaves here ;
ripens its seed about the tenth of June, and then
remains green, if the summer is favorable in moisture,
during the summer months, growing slowly till about'
the last of August, when it takes a second vigorous
growth, until the ground is frozen by winter's cold.
If the summer is dry, it dries up utterly, and will burn
if set on fire ; but even then, if the spring growth has
been left upon the ground, is very nutritious to all
grazing stock, and especially to sheep and cattle, and
all ruminating animals. When left to have all its fall
growth, it makes fine winter pasture for all kinds of
grazing animals. Cattle will not seek it through the
snow, but sheep, mules, and horses, will paw off the
snow and get plenty without any other food. When
covered with snow, cattle require some other feeding ;
otherwise they do well all winter upon it.

" It makes also the best of hay. I have used it for
that for twenty years. It should be cut just as the
seeds begin to ripen, be well spread, and protected
from the dew at night by windrowing or cocking ; the
second evening stacked, with salt, or sheltered with
salt also. When properly cured, stock seem greatly to
prefer it to all other hay. I would not recommend it
for meadow, especially, however, because the yield is

WINTER PASTURES. 91

hardly equal to Timothy and clover, and because it is
more difficult to cut and cure."

The same writer says : " Any time in the winter,
when the snow is on the ground, sow broadcast from
three to four quarts of clean seed to the acre. With
the spring the seeds germinate, and are very fine in the
sprouts, and delicate. No stock should be allowed for
the first year, nor until the grass seeds in June, for the
first time in the second year. The best plan is to turn
on your stock when the seed ripens in June. Graze
off the grass, then allow the fall growth and graze all
winter, taking care never to feed the grass closely at
any time."

Another eminent cattle breeder, speaking of this
grass, says, " Whoever has limestone land has blue
grass; whoever has blue grass has the basis of all
agricultural prosperity ; and that man, if he have not
the finest horses, cattle, and sheep, has no one to blame
but himself. Others, in other circumstances, may do
well. He can hardly avoid doing well, if he will try."

By reference to a table on a subsequent page, contain-
ing the results of the recent investigations of Prof.
Way, the distinguished chemist of the Royal Agricultural
Society of England, will be seen the relative value of
this grass when green, as compared with Timothy, for
instance, as shown in the nutritive and 'flesh-forming,
and especially in the fat-forming principles, which con-
tribute so largely to the development and support of
the whole animal system. The reader is referred to that
table, and to another following it, containing analyses
of these plants Avhen dried and freed from water, and to
the explanatory remarks on the nutritive principles of
plants, which precede those tables.

BLUE GRASS, or WIRE GRASS (Poa compressa). —
Stems ascending, flattened, the uppermost joint near

92 BLUE GRASS.

the middle ; leaves short, bluish-green ; panicle dense
and contracted, expanding more at flowering ; short
branches often in pairs, covered with four to nine
flowered, flat spikelets ; flowers rather obtuse, linear,
hairy below on the keel ; ligule short and blunt ; height
about a foot. It is very common on dry, sandy, thin
soils and banks, so hardy as to grow on the thin, hard
soils covering the surface of rocks, along trodden walks,
or gravelly knolls.

Blue grass shoots its leaves early, but the amount of
its foliage is not large ; otherwise it would be one of our
most valuable grasses, since it possesses a large per
cent, of nutritive matter. Flowers in July. Most
grazing animals eat it greedily ; cows feeding on it pro-
duce a very rich milk and fine-flavored butter, and it is
especially relished by sheep. Its bluish-green stems
retain their color after the seed is ripe. It shrinks less
in drying than most other grasses, and consequently
makes a hay very heavy in proportion to its bulk. It
is an exceedingly valuable pasture grass on dry, rocky
knolls, and should form a portion of a mixture for such
soils. This should not be confounded with Kentucky
blue grass, alluded to above.

34. ERAGROSTIS.

Spikelets two to seventy flowered ; lower pale three-
nerved, not hairy at the base, like Poa, the upper
remaining on the entire rachis after the rest of the
flowers have fallen off. Stems often branching.

CREEPING MEADOW GRASS (Eragrostis reptans), Fig. 60,
is often found on the gravelly banks of rivers, from New
England to the Western States. It grows from six to
fifteen inches high, is annual, and flowers in August.
It is a delicate and beautiful grass, with short, nearly
awl-shaped leaves, smooth, long spikelets, loose sheaths,

CREEPING MEADOW GRASS.

93

slightly hairy on the margin ; panicles from one to two
inches long. Its panicle and creeping root-stalk are
seen in Fig. 60. Its spikelets magnified, in Fig. 61. A
palea in Fig. 62, its stamens in Fig. 63, and a seed in
Fig. 64, while a magnified surface of a rootlet is shown
in Fig. 65.

Fig. 60. Creeping Meadow Grass.

The STRONG-SCENTED MEADOW GRASS (Eragrostis po-
ceoides) is sometimes found in sandy fields, roadsides,
cultivated grounds, and waste places. Its leaves are
flat and smooth ; lower sheaths hairy, spikelets contain-
ing from ten to twenty florets, of a tead-color. It
flowers in August and September.

The PUNGENT MEADOW GRASS. — A variety of the last
(Eragrostis poceoides, var. megastachya) is found more
frequently on similar situations; flowering about the
same time ; emitting, when fresh, a sharp and disagree-
able odor, by which it may be known.

The SLENDER MEADOW GRASS (Eragrostis pilosa) is
found with a large, loose, pyramidal panicle ; spikelets
from five to twelve flowered, of a purplish lead-color;

94 MEADOW COMB GRASS.

glumes and lower pale obtuse ; on sandy and gravelly
waste places, from New England to Illinois, and south-
ward. It is from six to twelve inches high.

SHORT-STALKED MEADOW (Eragrostis Frankii), a grass
found in low sandy ground in Ohio, Illinois, and south-
westward ; has a dense spreading panicle ; spikelets
from two to five flowered, on slender pedicels; glumes
acute ; lower pale egg-shaped, acute. Grows from three
to eight inches high.

SOUTHERN ERAGROSTIS (Eragrostis Purshii) grows
with a lengthened panicle, widely spreading, and very
loose ; on sandy and sterile lands, from New Jersey to
Virginia, and southward. Spikelets shorter than their
hairy pedicels ; glumes and lower pale acute. Flowers
in August.

BRANCHING SPEAR GRASS (Eragrostis tennis) is
another species, found from Illinois to Virginia, and at
the South, on soils similar to the last, with a panicle
from one to two feet long, and very loose. Glumes
awl-shaped, very acute ; lower pale three-nerved ; leaves
from one to two feet long. Flowers from August to
October.

HAIR-PANICLED MEADOW GRASS (Eragrostis co pillar is\
with its expanding, loose, and delicate panicle, from one
to two feet long, is found in sandy, waste places, and
very common southward. Spikelets small, two to four
flowered, and greenish or purplish ; leaves and sheaths
hairy. Flowers in August and September.

MEADOW COMB GRASS (Eragrostis pectinacea) is found
also from New England southward, near the coast, and
from Michigan and Illinois southward. Panicle widely
diffuse; spikelets flat, five to fifteen flowered, purple ;
glumes and flowers acutish ; lower pale three-nerved ;
leaves rigid, long, and hairy.

QUAKING GRASS.

95

A variety of this species, the Eragrostis spectabilis, is
found also on similar soils and situations.

Fig. 66. Quaking Grass.

Fig. 67.

96 THE FESCUE GRASSES.

35. BRIZA. Quaking Grass.

Glumes roundish, unequal, of a purple color. Spike-
lets many-flowered, heart-shaped; lower pale roundish
and entire ; upper smaller, egg-shaped, flat ; leaves flat,
stamens three.

QUAKING GRASS (Briza media) is sometimes met with
in the pastures of Massachusetts and in Pennsylvania.
Panicle erect, with very slender, spreading branches,
and large, purplish, tremulous spikelets, from five to
nine flowered ; inner glume finely fringed, entire at the
end. It is shown in Fig. 66. In Fig. 67 is shown a
magnified spikelet.

It is a very beautiful, light, slender grass, about a
foot high, perennial. Flowering in June and July.
There is an annual, the LARGE QUAKING GRASS (Briza
maxima), with large, many-flowered spikes, cultivated
in gardens for ornament, and gathered for vases as an
interesting curiosity.

36. FESTUCA. Fescue Grasses.

The characters of this genus are oblong spikelets,
somewhat compressed, from three to many flowered ;
two very unequal glumes, pointed ; palese roundish on
the back ; from three to five nerved ; awn pointed or
bristle-shaped ; stamens three ; flowers harsh, often
purplish ; panicle nearly erect ; leaves narrow, rigid, of
a grayish green.

SMALL FESCUE GRASS (Festuca tenella). — The small
fescue has a spike-like panicle, somewhat one-sided,
from seven to nine flowered ; awn of the awl-shaped
palea slender ; leaves bristle-formed ; stem slender, six
to twelve inches high. It flourishes on dry and sterile
soils, and is common from New England to Illinois and
Wisconsin. Flowers in July.

SHEEP'S FESCUE.

97

SHEEP'S FESCUE (Festuca ovina), Fig. 68, is known
by its narrow panicle ; short, tufted, bristle-shaped

leaves, of a grayish color, some-
what tinged with red ; its spike-
lets two to six flowered ; awn
often nearly wanting. Its flower
is shown magnified in Fig. 69.

It grows from six to ten
inches high, in dense, perennial-
rooted tufts, forming an excel-
lent pasturage for sheep. It
flowers in June and July, in
the dry pastures of New Eng-
land, westward to Lake Supe-
rior, and northward.

HARD FESCUE GRASS (Festuca
duriusculd) is also found to
some extent, though not so
commonly as the small fescue.
It is by some regarded as a
variety of the sheep's fescue,
taller, and with a panicle more
open, leaves flat, and spikelets
four to eight flowered. It grows
from one to two feet high.
Flowers in June, in pastures
and waste grounds.

The EED FES-
CUE (Festuca ru-
bra), by some re-
garded as only a
variety of the
preceding, is one

Fig. 68. Shaep's Fescue. Fig. 69. of the largest of

9

98

RED FESCUE GRASS.

the varieties of fescue. Its leaves are broadish, flat ;
root extensively creeping, and throwing out lateral

Fig. 70. Red Fescue.

Fig. 71. Fig. 72. Meadow Fescue.

MEADOW FESCUE. 99

shoots. Found in dry pastures near the sea-shore, in
sandy soils. It is a grass of better quality than some
of the other species, but is never cultivated in this
country as an agricultural product. The color of its
leaves is somewhat more grayish than the preceding,
and often tinged with red. Jt is shown in Fig. 70,
while its spikelet is seen magnified in Fig. 71.

MEADOW FESCUE (Festuca pratensis) is one of the
most common of the fescue grasses. Shown in Fig. 72.
It is said to be the Randall grass of Virginia. Its pan-
icle is nearly erect, branched, close, somewhat inclined
to one side ; spikelets linear, with from five to ten cyl-
indrical flowers, — a spikelet is shown magnified in Fig.
73; — leaves linear, of a glossy green, pointed, striated,
rough on the edges ; stems round, smooth, from two to
three feet high ; roots creeping ; perennial. Its radical
or root leaves are broader than those of the stem,
while in most other species of fescue the radical leaf
is generally narrower than those of the stem. Flowers
in June and July, in moist pastures and near farm-
houses.

This is an excellent pasture grass, forming a very
considerable portion of the turf of old pastures and
fields, and is more extensively propagated and diffused
by the fact that it ripens its seed before most other
grasses are cut, and sheds them to spring up and cover
the ground. Its long and tender leaves are much rel-
ished by cattle. It is never or rarely sown in this
country, notwithstanding its great and acknowledged
value as a pasture grass. If sown at all, it should be
in mixture with other grasses, as orchard grass, rye
grass, or common spear grass. According to Sinclair,
it is of greater value at the time of flowering than when
the seed is ripe. It is said to lose a little over fifty per
cent, of its weight in drying for hay.

100

TALL FESCUE.

In addition to its qualities as a pasture grass, it is
said to make a very good quality of hay, much relished

by cattle. The Randall grass
is highly spoken of for fall
and winter pastures in the
climate of Virginia, and, as it
often remains green under
the snow through the winter,
it is not unfrequently called
" Evergreen grass."

The TALL FESCUE GRASS
(Festuca elatior) is also found
pretty commonly in moist
meadows and around farm-
houses. Its panicle is con-
tracted, erect, or somewhat
drooping, with short branches,
spreading in all directions ;
spikelets crowded, with five to
ten flowers, rather remote, ob-
long, lanceolate ; leaves flat-
tish, linear, acute ; stems two
to four feet high; root perenni-
al, fibrous, somewhat creeping,
and forming large tufts. Fig.
74 shows this plant
at the time of flower-
ing, and Fig. 75 a
magnified spikelet of
the same. Flowers in
June and July. Intro-
duced from Europe.
It is a nutritive

Fig. 74. Tall Fescue Grass. Fig. 75. and productive graSS,

SLENDER SPIKED FESCUE.

growing naturally in shady woods, and moist, stiff soils.
Cattle are very fond of it. Said by some to be iden-
tical with the meadow fescue.

The SLENDER SPIKED FES-
CUE (Festuca loliacea), Fig.
76, is a species nearly allied
to the tali fescue, and pos-
sesses much the same qual-
ities. It grows naturally
in moist, rich meadows,
forming a good, permanent
pasture grass ; but it is met
with only very rarely among
American grasses, and is of
little value for cultivation.
Fig. 77 shows a magnified
flower of it.

The NODDING FESCUE
(Festuca nutans) is also
rarely met with in rocky
woods. Panicle diffuse,
composed of several long,
slender branches, generally
in pairs, nodding when ripe.
Flowers close together ;
leaves dark green, often
hairy ; stem two to four feet
high. From
New England
to Wisconsin
and Minneso-
ta, and thence
northward and
westward.

Fig. 76. Slender Spiked Fescue. Fig. 77

9*

102 THE BROME GRASSES.

37. BROMUS. Brome Grasses.

Spikelets from five to many flowered, panicled ;
glumes not quite equal, shorter than the flowers, mostly
keeled, the lower one to five, the upper three to
nine nerved ; paleas herbaceous, lower one convex on
the back, or compressed, keeled, five to nine nerved ;
awned or bristle-pointed from below the tip ; upper
palea at length adhering to the groove of the oblong
grain ; fringed on the keel ; stamens three ; styles at-
tached below the apex of the ovary. The grasses of
this genus are coarse, with large spikelets, somewhat
drooping generally when ripe.

CHESS, CHEAT, WILLARD'S BROMUS (Bromm secalinus),
has a spreading panicle, slightly drooping; spikelets
ovate, smooth, of a yellowish-green tinge, showing the
rachis when in seed, and holding from six to ten rather
distinct flowers. In the spikelet exhibited in Fig. 80
seven can be distinctly counted; tbe eighth or ninth,
imperfectly developed, can often be found. Stems erect,
smooth, round, from two to three feet high-, bearing
four or five leaves with striated sheaths ; the upper
sheath crowned with an obtuse, ragged ligule; the lower
sheaths soft and hairy, the hairs pointing downwards ;
joints five, slightly hairy ; leaves flat, soft, linear, more
downy on the upper than on the under side ; points and
margin rough to the touch. Summit of the large glume
midway betiveen its base and the summit of the second
floret, as seen in Fig. 80 (b), a constant mark of dis-
tinction from Bromus racemosus and Bromus mollis.
Fig. 79 shows the form of this grass a few days before
coming to maturity, and Fig. 81 a magnified spikelet,
while Fig. 78 represents the same in a more advanced
stage. Flowers in June and July. It has no relation
to Italian rye grass, as has been claimed.

Distinguished from Bromus arvensis in the spikelets
having fewer florets, and the outer palea being rounded

CHESS.

103

at the summit, and being broader compared with its
length. In Bromus arvensis the outer pale is more conical.

Fig. 78.

104 COMMITTEES REPORT UPON CHESS.

Nothing more clearly illustrates the want of accurate
knowledge of subjects intimately connected with agri-
culture, and immediately affecting the farmers' interests,
than the more recent history of the propagation of
this worthless pest to our grain-fields. It was, within
the memory of many farmers who suffered from it,
heralded in the papers, in connection with the names of
distinguished friends of agriculture, with the earnest
hope that it might receive extended trials. Monstrous
prices were charged and paid by the farmer for its seed,
in many cases four and five dollars a bushel, a pledge
being exacted that it should not be allowed to go to
seed. Committees of agricultural societies were in-
vited to examine and report upon it ; and in a letter
now lying before me, the disinterested propagator very
kindly offers to put up ten barrels of bromus-seed for
one hundred dollars, saying that " of course the earliest
applicants will be sure of obtaining till all is gone,
which would scarcely give a barrel to a state. * *
Years must elapse before the country can be supplied
as it now is with Herd's grass and clover seed. My
offer invites cooperation and participation in the profits
and pleasures now available " — for taking advantage
of the honest credulity of the public?

A quantity of bromus-seed was sent to the State
Farm of Massachusetts, for the purpose of experiment,
with a letter with directions to sow with clover, in the
spring of 1855. The crop was cut while yet green, and
before the grass had developed sufficiently to distinguish
it with certainty. The following year directions were
given to let it stand later in the season. While engaged
in the collection and study of specimens, in the course
of the summer of 1856,1 gathered samples of the grass
when it was still immature, the spikelets having pre-
cisely the form indicated in Fig. 79. Without giving it

AN INTELLIGENT JURY. 105

a very close examination at the time, I pronounced it
the Bromus arvensis, which, at that stage of its growth,
it very much resembles. A few days after, I was aston-
ished to see it develop into Chess (Bromus secalinus).
This was the first ripe specimen of Willard's bromus I
had seen. I examined it with care, and, to avoid the
possibility of a mistake, I submitted specimens of it to
Professor Gray, of Cambridge, and to Professor Dewey,
of Rochester, New York, both of whom, after examina-
tion, pronounced it genuine chess.

But Mr. Willard having quoted from the report of a
committee of an agricultural society, in which it was
said that if a " jury of cows should confirm the opinion
of Mr. Willard as to the superiority of the grass, then
will the agricultural community owe him a debt of grat-
itude for' having introduced to notice here a species of
grass which is highly beneficial on light, sandy soils,
much superior to any other species, and producing most
abundantly on land of better quality," I directed it to
be submitted to such a jury, which unhesitatingly pro-
nounced a verdict in accordance with the facts, which
were as follows :

The grass which was first submitted for comparison
with the bromus was the reed canary grass (Phalaris
arundinacea), a grass of very slight nutritive and pal-
atable qualities. The upland or English hay used was
such as commonly goes by that name among farmers,
made up of Timothy and redtop mainly, of fair quality.
The meadow or swale hay was taken from a wet mead-
ow, and composed of coarse, swale grasses or sedges,
such as are common in New England, and pass under
the term of " meadow hay." The bromus was carefully
picked out from all other grasses. The two kinds given
in each trial were put into the same crib, but separated
by a partition.

106 COMPARATIVE TRIALS.

In the first trial, with bromus and reed canary grass,
there was no choice. Both were eaten alike.

In the second, with bromus and English hay, the
English hay was preferred.

In the third, with bromus and swale hay, the swale
hay was eaten first.

In the fourth, with bromus and oat straw, the bromus
was eaten first.

In the fifth, with reed canary grass and English hay,
the English hay was preferred.

In the sixth, with reed canary grass and swale, the
swale was chosen at once.

In the seventh, with reed canary grass and oat straw,
the oat straw was chosen first.

In the eighth, with reed canary grass and corn-stalks,
the corn-stalks were eaten first.

In the ninth, with bromus and corn-stalks, both were
eaten nearly alike till they were gone.

In the tenth, with bromus and millet, the cattle chose
the millet, and did not touch the bromus.

It is unnecessary to say that " Cheat " is a trouble-
some weed to the farmer, especially when it appears in
his grain-fields. It is an early grass, but the quantity
of herbage, and especially its quality, make it unfit
for cultivation. Indeed, the only species of any value,
or at all fit for cultivation, belonging to this large genus
of grasses, is the Bromus arvensis, and even that has
been discarded from modern agriculture. It may be
valuable to sow with spring grain to turn in green.

SMOOTH BROME GRASS, or UPRIGHT CHESS (Bromus
racemosus), has a panicle erect, simple, rather narrow,
contracted when in fruit ; flowers closer than in the
preceding, lower palea exceeding the upper, bearing an
awn of its own length ; stem erect, round, more slender
than in chess ; sheaths slightly hairy. In other respects

SOFT BROME GRASS. 107

it is very much like chess, but may always be distin-
guished from it, as well as from Bromus arvensis, in the
summit of the large glume being half way between its
base and the summit of the third floret, on the same side ;
whereas, in chess the summit of the large glume is half
way between its base and the summit of the second
floret. This character is constant, and offers the surest
mark of distinction. It is common in grain-fields. It
is worthless for cultivation except for green manuring.

SOFT CHESS, or SOFT BROME GRASS (Bromus mollis],
is sometimes found. I procured beautiful specimens of
it at Nantucket, where it was growing in the turf with
other grasses, on a sandy soil near the shore. Its pan-
icle is erect, closely contracted in fruit ; spikelets coni-
cal, ovate ; stems erect, more or less hairy, with the
hairs pointing downwards, from twelve to eighteen
inches high ; joints four or five, slightly hairy ; leaves
flat, striated, hairy on both sides, rough at the edges
and points ; summit of the large glume midway between
its base and the apex of the third floret, by which it is
always distinguished from Willard's bromus. Flowers
in June. Birds are fond of the seeds, which are large,
and ripen early. Of no value for cultivation.

The WILD CHESS (Bromus kalmii) is another species,
found often in dry, open woodlands. -It has a small,
simple panicle, with the spikelets drooping on hairy
peduncles, seven to twelve flowered, and silky; awn
only one-third the length of the lance-shaped flower;
stem slender, eighteen inches to three feet high ; leaves
and sheaths hairy. Flowers in June and July. Of no
value for cultivation.

FRINGED BROME GRASS (Bromus. ciliatus) is often
found in woods and on rocky hills and river banks. It
has a compound panicle, very loose, nodding ; spikelets

108

MEADOW BEOME GRASS.

seven to twelve flowered ; flowers tipped with an awn
half to three-fourths their length ; stem three to four
feet high, with large leaves. Flowers
in July and August. Of no value for
cultivation.

The MEADOW BROME GRASS (Bromus
pratensis) is a perennial weed in the
corn-fields of England, and is only
recommended in any part of Europe
for dry, arid soils, where nothing bet-
ter will grow. Fig. 82 represents this
grass, and Fig. 83 a magnified spikelet.

STERILE BROME GRASS (Bromus ste-
rilis) is but rarely met with. Panicle
very loose, the slender branches droop-
ing; leaves hairy. Flowers
in July.

Not one of the brome
grasses is worthy of a mo-
ment's attention as a culti-
vated agricultural grass, and
the cleaner the farmer keeps
his fields of them the better.

38. UNIOLA. Spike Grass.

Spikelets flat, two-edged,
many flowered ; glumes com-
pressed, keeled; palese of
fertile flowers, two ; the
lower boat-shaped, the up-
per doubly keeled. Grain
free, smooth, enclosed in the
pales.

SPTKE GRASS ( Uniola pa-
niculata) is a grass found

Fig. 82. Meadow Brome Grass. Fig. 83.

COMMON REED GRASS. 109

on sand-hills along the coast from Virginia southward.
Leaves narrow when dry ; spikelets egg-shaped ; stems
from four to eight feet high. Of no value for culti-
vation.

BROAD-LEAVED SPIKE GRASS ( Uniola latifolia), another
species found on rich, shady hill-sides, from Pennsyl-
vania to Illinois and southward, is known by its loose
panicle ; stem two to four feet high ; leaves broad and
flat ; spikelets hanging on long pedicels. Flowers in
August.

SLENDER SPIKE GRASS ( Uniola gracilis) is still another
species found on sandy soils on the coast from Long
Island to Virginia, and further south. Stem rises three
feet high, and slender.

39. PHRAGMITES. Heed Grass.

Glumes shorter than the flowers, keeled, sharp-pointed,
and very unequal ; rachis silky-bearded ; paleas slender,
the lower thrice the length of the upper ; styles long,
grain free.

The COMMON REED GRASS (Pliragmites communis) is
a very tall, broad-leaved grass, with the flower in a large
terminal panicle. It looks at a little distance very much
like broom-corn; stem five to twelve feet high.

It grows on the borders of ponds and' swamps, and is
one of the largest? grasses in the United States. It oc-
curs in many localities in Massachusetts, and thence
west to Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Flowers
in September.

40. ARUNDINARIA. Cane.

Glumes concave, awnless, small, lower .smaller than
the upper ; scales three, longer than the ovary ; sta-
mens three, stems woody.
10

110 CANE. — DARNEL.

CANE (Arundinaria macrosperma) is a perennial grass,
with a stem often from thirty to forty feet in height,
and flowering in March and April. Leaves linear, green
on both sides, smooth ; spikelets seven to ten flow-
ered, purple, smooth. In rich soils in southern Illinois,
Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia, and southward. The stems
are extensively used for fishing-rods.

41. LEPTURUS.

Flowers in spikes ; rachis jointed ; joints with one
spikelet ; glumes one or two, growing to the rachis,
simple or two-parted.

SLENDER-TAIL GRASS (Lepturus paniculatus) is found
in Illinois ; an annual, flowering in June. Stem one
foot high, compressed ; leaves short, rigid ; glumes
fixed, rigid, unequal, parallel. Rare.

42. LOLIUM. Darnel.

Spikelets many-flowered, solitary on each joint of
the continuous rachis, edgewise ; glume only one, and
external.

PERENNIAL RYE GRASS (Loliumperenne). — Stem erect,
smooth, fifteen inches to two feet high ; root perennial,
fibrous ; joints four or five, smooth, often purplish ;
leaves dark green, lanceolate, acute, flat, smooth on the
outer surface, and roughish on the inner ; glume much
shorter than the spikelet ; flowers six to nine, awnless.
Flowers in June. Shown in Fig. 84. Fig. 85 represents
a magnified spikelet of this grass.

It has had the reputation in Great Britain, for many
years, of being one of the most important and valuable
of the cultivated grasses. It is probably much better
adapted to a wet and uncertain climate than to one
subject almost annually to droughts, which often con-

PERENNIAL RYE GRASS.

Ill

tinue many weeks, parching up every green thing.
There is, perhaps, no grass, the characteristics of which
vary so much, from the influences
of soil, climate, and culture, as pe-
rennial rye grass. Certain it is that
this grass has been cultivated in
England since 1677, and in the
south of France from time imme-
morial. It is admitted to be infe-
rior in nutritive value to orchard
grass (Dactylis glomerata), when
green.

Whenever it is cut for hay, it is
necessary to take it in the blossom,
or very soon after, since otherwise
it becomes hard and wiry, and is
not relished by stock of any kind ;
and it changes very rapidly • after
blossoming, from a state in which
it contains the greatest amount of
water, sugar, &c., and the least
amount of woody fibre, into the
state in which it possesses the
least amount of water, sugar, &c.,
and the greatest amount of woody
fibre, and other insoluble solid mat-
ter. A specimen, analyzed about
the 20th of June, and found to
contain 81 J per cent,
of water, and 18 J per
cent, of solid matter,
was found, only three
weeks later, to contain
only 69 per cent, water,
and 31 of solid matter.

Fig. 84. Perennial Rye Grass. Fig. 85.

112

ITALIAN RYE GRASS.

It is, undoubtedly, a valuable grass, and worthy of
attention ; but it is not to be compared, for the pur-
poses of New England agri-
culture, to Timothy, or to
orchard grass. It produces
abundance of seed, soon ar-
rives at maturity, is relished
by stock, likes a variety of
soils, all of which it exhausts ;
lasts six or seven years, and
then dies out.

ITALIAN RYE GRASS (Lolium
Italicum) has been recently in-
troduced into this country, and
is now undergoing experiment
which will assist in determin-
ing its value for us. It differs
from perennial rye grass in the
florets having long, slender
awns, and from bearded darnel
(Lolium temulentum) in the
glumes being shorter than the
spikelets. This difference will
be manifest on reference to
Fig. 86, and Fig.
87, which repre-
sents a magnified
spikelet. It turfs
less than the pe-
rennial rye grass,
its stems are
higher, its leaves

rig. se. Italian Rye Grass. Fig. ST. are larger and of
a lighter green ; it gives an early, quick, and successive
growth, till late in the fall.

COMPARED WITH TIMOTHY. 113

To say that it is, or would be, the best grass in our
climate and on our soils, would be altogether prema-
ture ; but it has the credit abroad of being equally
suited to all the climates of Europe, giving more abun-
dant crops, of a better quality, and better relished by
animals, than the perennial rye grass. It is one of the
greatest gluttons of all the grasses, either cultivated or
wild, and will endure any amount of forcing by irriga-
tion or otherwise, while it is said to stand a drought
remarkably well.

The soils best adapted to Italian rye grass seem to
be moist, fertile, and tenacious, or of a medium con-
sistency ; and on such soils it is said to be one of the
best grasses known to cut green for soiling, affording
repeated luxuriant and nutritive crops. I have not
seen enough of it to speak from personal observation
or experience of the comparative profit of this grass
and Timothy for cultivation here ; but its comparative
nutritive value is well known from the thorough and
reliable analyses of Professor Way. By these it ap-
pears that 100 parts of Timothy grass, as taken from
the field, contain 57.21 per cent, of water, 4.86 per cent,
of albuminous or flesh-forming principles, 1.50 per cent,
of fatty matters, 22.85 per cent, of heat-producing prin-
ciples, such as starch, gum, sugar, &c., 11.32 per cent,
of woody fibre, and 2.26 of mineral matter or ash; while
100 parts of Italian rye grass, taken from the same kind
of soil and in the same condition, green, contained 75.61
per cent, of water, 2.45 of albuminous or flesh-forming
principles, .80 of fatty matters, 14.11 of heat-producing
principles, starch, gum, and sugar, 4.82 of woody fibre,
and 2.21 of mineral matter or ash. Of these, the flesh-
forming principles, fatty matters, and heat-producing
principles, are,. of course, by far the most important;
and in all these our favorite Timothy very far excels
10*

114

BEARDED DARNEL.

the Italian rye grass, showing a nutritive value nearly
double.

Nor has the Italian rye grass any advantage over
Timothy in the dried state, though the difference is by

Y

Fig. 88. Bearded Darnel. Fig. 90.

Fig. 89. Many-flowered Darnel.

COUCH GRASS. 115

no means so marked ; the former dried at 212° Fahren-
heit containing 10.10 per cent, of flesh-forming princi-
ples, the latter 11.36; the former containing 3.27 per
cent, of fatty matter, the latter 3.55 ; the former con-
taining 57.82 per cent, of heat-forming principles, the
latter 53.35.

There are 432,000 seeds in a pound of Italian rye
grass, and from thirteen to eighteen pounds in a bushel.

The BEARDED DARNEL (Lolium temulentum), Fig. 88,
is sometimes found in our grain-fields, with its glume
equalling the five to seven flowered spikelets, and awn
longer than the flower. Its grain is poisonous — almost
the only instance known among the grasses.

The MANY-FLOWERED DARNEL (Lolium multiflorum) is,
perhaps, the most showy species of rye grass culti-
vated. It is but very rarely, if ever, met with here,
though it was introduced from France to England about
thirty years ago, and is there cultivated to some extent.
Fig. 89 shows the appearance of this grass, and Fig. 90
a magnified spikelet. It is very nearly allied to, if not
identical with, Italian rye grass.

43. TRITICUM. Wheat.

Spikelets three to several flowered, compressed, with
the flat side toward the rachis ; glumes nearly equal
and opposite, nerved ; lower palea like the glumes, con-
vex on the back, awned from the tip, upper flattened ;
stamens three ; mostly annuals, but others are peren-
nials, to which the couch grass belongs.

COUCH GRASS, QUITCH GRASS, TWITCH GRASS, DOG
GRASS, CHANDLER GRASS, &c. (Triticum repens), seen in
Fig 91, with its roots creeping extensively ; stem erect,
round, smooth, from one to two or two and a half feet
high, striated, having five or six flat leaves, with smooth,

116

TWITCH GRASS.

striated sheaths ; the joints are smooth, the two upper-
most very remote ; leaves dark green, acute, upper one

broader than the lower ones,
roughish, sometimes hairy
on the inner surface, smooth
on the lower half. Inflores-
cence in spikes. A spike-
let is seen magnified in Fig.
92. Flowers in June and
July. Introduced from Eu-
rope.

This plant is generally
regarded by farmers as a
troublesome weed, and ef-
forts are made to get rid of
it. Its long, creeping roots,
branching in every direc-
tion, take complete posses-
sion of the soil, and impov-
erish it. When green, how-
ever, it is very much rel-
ished by cattle, and, if cut
in the blossom, it makes a
nutritious hay. Dogs eat
the leaves of this grass, and
those of one
other species,
for their medi-
cinal qualities
in exciting vom-
iting. I have
seen acres of it
on the Connecti-
cut River mead-
rig. 91. couch Grass. Fig. 92. ows, where it

THE BARLEY GRASSES. 117

had taken possession and grew luxuriantly, and was
called wheat grass, from its resemblance to wheat. It
goes in different parts of the country by a great variety
of names, as quake grass, quack grass, squitch grass. It
is important to destroy it, if possible.

BEARDED WHEAT GRASS (Triticum caninum) is found
in woods and on the banks of streams, from New York
to Wisconsin and northward. It has no creeping root-
stalks, like couch grass. Spikelets four or five flowered;
glumes three-nerved, rachis rough arid bristly on the
edges j awn longer than the smooth flower ; leaves flat
and roughish. It is perennial, and flowers in August ;
grows from one to three feet high. It is sometimes
found in fields.

A variety of couch grass, the Triticum dasystachyum,
is also found in Michigan and Wisconsin.

WHEAT (Triticum vulgare). — See next chapter.

EGYPTIAN WHEAT ( Triticum compositum) is cultivated
in gardens as a curiosity.

44. HORDEUM. Barley Grasses.

Spikelets one-flowered, with an awl-shaped rudiment
oh the inner side, three at each joint of the rachis, the
lateral ones usually abortive or imperfect, short-stalked:
glumes side by side in front of the spikelets, slender and
bristle-form; lower pale convex, long-awned; stamens
three j grain long, adhering to the pales.

SQUIRREL-TAIL GRASS (Hordeum jubatum} is widely
diffused over our salt marshes, and the shores of the
northern lakes, in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, and
becomes a prairie grass in moist, level places. Stem
slender, smooth, from one to two feet high, with rather
short leaves, and low, lateral, abortive, neutral flowers,
on a short pedicel, short-awned, the perfect flower

118 THE LYME GRASSES.

bearing an extremely long awn, about the length of
the similar hairy glumes, all spreading. It is common
on moist sands and marshes on the sea-shore; flowering
in June.

BARLEY GRASS (Hordeum pusillum) grows from five
to ten inches high, in saltish soils of Ohio, Illinois, and
westward. Lateral flowers imperfect, awnless, pointed,
the perfect flower awned ; glumes rigid, short-awned.
Annual. Much relished by cattle.

TWO-ROWED BARLEY (Hordeum distichum), as well as
FOUR AND Six ROWED BARLEY (Hordeum vulgare), belong
to this genus. — See next chapter.

45. SECALE. Eye.

Spikelets two-flowered, flowers perfect, with the rudi-
ment of a third terminal flower ; glumes nearly equal,
nearly opposite, keeled, awnless or awned ; pales herba-
ceous, lower one awned, keeled, with sides unequal ;
upper shorter, two-keeled ; scales two, entire ; stamens
three, ovary hairy ; fruit free, hairy at the summit ;
spikes simple.

RYE (Secede cereale], a common cultivated plant, famil-
iar to every farmer. — See next chapter.

46. ELYMUS. Lyme Grasses.

Spikelets two to four at each joint of the rachis, all
fertile, each one to seven flowered ; glumes both on
one side of the spikelet; paleae two, lower one usually
awned, mostly perennial, some species annual.

LYME GRASS. WILD RYE (Elymus Firginicus), is fre-
quent along the banks of rivers. It is known by its
upright spike, dense and thick on a short peduncle,
usually included in the sheath ; two or three spikelets
together, two or three flowered, smooth, shortly awned j

CANADIAN LYME GRASS. 119

stamens three ; stems stout, from two to three feet high;
leaves broad and rough. Grows from two to three feet
high, and flowers in July and August. Of no special
value as an agricultural grass. Found from New Eng-
land to Illinois and Wisconsin.

CANADIAN LYME GRASS (Etymus Canadensis). — Spike
rather loose, and curving at the extremity ; spikelets
mostly in pairs of three to five, long-awned, rough,
hairy flowers ; the lance-awl-shaped glumes, tipped with
shorter awns ; stem three to four feet high, root creep-
ing; leaves broad, flat, linear; sheaths smooth, and ligule
short. Flowers in August. It is common on the banks
of rivers.

SLENDER HAIRY LYME GRASS (Etymus striatus) is
sometimes found in rocky woods and on the banks of
streams, as the most slender and smallest-flowered spe-
cies of this genus. It flowers in July. Rare, and of
little value for agricultural purposes.

SOFT LYME GRASS (Etymus mollis) rises three feet
high, on the shores of the northern lakes. Superior,
Huron, and in higher latitudes. It has a thick, erect
spike, with two or three spikelets at each joint, from
five to eight flowered.

UPRIGHT SEA LYME GRASS (Etymus arenarius). —
This grass, which much resembles beach grass, grows
from two to five feet high, with a perennial, long, creep-
ing root ; stem erect, round, smooth ; leaves long, nar-
row, hard, grayish, pointed, grooved, rolled in, smooth
behind and rough on the inner surface. It flowers in
July. Differs from the common beach grass in having
a short, obtuse ligule, and spikelets w-ithout footstalks,
of three or four florets, while beach grass has a long
and pointed ligule, and spikelets with footstalks, and
of only one floret.

120 THE HAIR GRASSES.

Sinclair calls this grass the sugar-cane of Great
Britain. It contains a large quantity of saccharine
matter, and it is probable that mixed with beach grass,
as it is in Holland, it would be valuable to cut up and
mix with common hay for winter feed. It is used pre-
cisely as beach grass is here, to prevent the encroach-
ments of the sea, and to arrest the drifting sand. It
was introduced by the Patent Office, and cultivated in
various parts of the country.

BOTTLE-BRUSH GRASS (Elymus Hystrix) is found rather
commonly in moist, rocky woodlands, and along shaded
banks of streams, and may be known by its loose, up-
right spike and spreading spikelets, smooth sheaths and
leaves, smoothish flowers tipped with an awn three times
their length. Flowers in July. It is referred by Gray
to the genus Gymnostichum, as it differs from other
species of Elymus, in having no glumes. The differ-
ence is v slight, as the glumes are often more or less
developed. The spike has the appearance of a bottle-
brush, when ripe.

47. AIR A. Hair Grasses.

Two-flowered spikelets, in an open, diffuse panicle ;
flowers both perfect, shorter than the glumes, hairy at
the base ; lower palea three to five nerved, awned on
the back; grain oblong, smooth.

WOOD HAIR GRASS, or COMMON HAIR GRASS (Aira
flexuosd), is a common grass on our dry and rocky hills
and roadsides. Stems slender, one to two feet high,
nearly naked ; leaves dark green, often curved, bristle-
formed; branches of the panicle hairy, spreading, mostly
in pairs; lower palea slightly toothed ; awn starting near
the base, bent in the middle, longer than the glumes,
which are purplish. Perennial. Flowers in June. This
plant is sometimes found thirty-five hundred feet above

TUFTED HAIR GRASS.

121

the level of the sea. Sheep eat it readily. Of little
value for cultivation. Fig. 93 represents it in blossom,
and Fig. 94 a magnified flower.

TUFTED HAIR GRASS
(Aira cc&spitosa] also be-
longs to this genus.
Stems erect, round, rough-
ish, in close tufts ; leaves
flat, linear, acute, with
roughish striated sheaths,
upper sheath longer than
its leaf; panicle pyram-
idal or oblong, large, at
first drooping, afterwards
erect, with its branches
spreading in every direc-
tion ; awn barely equal-
ling the palea; outer palea
of lower floret shorter
than the glumes ; mem-
branous, jagged, or four-
toothed, on the summit,
hairy at the base, with
slender awn rising from
a little ,above the base,
and extending scarcely
above the palea. Dis-
tinguished from wood
hair grass in the awn
of the lower floret not
protruding beyond the
glumes of the calyx.
In wood hair grass
the awn of the lower

Fig. 93. Wood Hair Grass. Fig. 94.
11

122

WATER HAIR GRASS.

floret protrudes more than one-third its length beyond
the glumes.

It has an unsightly look in fields and pastures, on

Fig. 99.

Fig. 100.

Fig. 96. Wild Oat Grass. Fig. 97.

Fig. 95. Water Hair Grass.

WILD OAT GRASS. 123

account of its growing in tufts, clusters, or hassocks.
Cattle seldom touch it. Natural to stiff or marshy bot-
toms, where the water stands. Flowers in June.

PURPLE ALPINE HAIR GRASS (Aira atropurpurea) is
another species found on the top of the \yiiite Moun-
tains, in New Hampshire, growing from eight to fifteen
inches high, with flat and rather wide leaves.

WATER HAIR GRASS (Aira aquaMca), Fig. 95. — This
grass Mr. Curtis calls the sweetest of the British
grasses, and equal to any foreign one. Its stems and
leaves, when green, have a sweet and agreeable taste,
like that of liquorice. Water fowls are said to be very
fond of the seeds and the fresh green shoots, and cattle
eat it very readily. It is strictly an aquatic, but can
be cultivated on imperfectly drained bogs.

48. DANTHONIA.

Lower pale seven to nine nerved, with a flat and spi-
rally twisting awn made of the three middle nerves. In
other respects nearly like Avena.

WILD OAT GRASS, WHITE TOP, OLD FOG (Danthonia
spicata), Fig. 96, is common in dry, sunny pastures,
with a stem one foot high, slender, with short leaves,
narrow sheaths, bearded ; panicle simple ; spikelets
seven-flowered ; lower palea broadly ovate, loosely
hairy on the back, longer than its awl-shaped teeth —
perennial. Flowers in June. It is called white top in
some localities, but is not the grass most commonly
known by that name. Its spikelet appears magnified in
Fig. 97; its lower pale, in Fig. 98 ; its upper pale, in Fig.
99 ; its seed, in Fig. 100.

49. TRISETUM.

Spikelets two to seven flowered, often in a contracted
panicle ; lower pale compressed, keeled, with a bent awn
on the back.

124

DOWNY OAT GRASS.

DOWNY PERSOON (Trisetum molle) is a grass with
dense panicles, much contracted, oblong or linear, awn
bent or diverging ; lower palea compressed, keeled ;

Fig. 101. Downy Oat Grass.

Fig. 102. Meadow Oat Grass.

MEADOW OAT GRASS. 125

leaves flat and short ; found on rocky river-banks and
mountains, about one foot high. It flowers in July.
Of no agricultural value.

MARSH OAT GRASS (Trisetum pcdustre) is a species
found in low grounds, from New York to Illinois, and
southward, from two to three feet high, leaves flat and
short, spikelets yellowish-white, tinged green ; panicle
long, narrow, loose, hairy ; spikelets flat.

The DOWNY OAT GRASS (Trisetum pubescens) is a
very hardy perennial grass, naturalized on chalky soils,
and on such soils its leaves are covered with a coating
of downy hairs, which it loses when cultivated on bet-
ter lands. It is regarded as a good permanent pasture
grass, on account of its hardiness and its being but a
slight impoverisher of the soil, and yielding a larger
per cent, of bitter extractive than other grasses grown
on poor, light soils. It is, therefore, recommended
abroad as a prominent ingredient of mixtures for pas-
tures. It flowers early in July. Fig. 101 represents
this plant as it appears in blossom.

50. A VENA. Oat.

Spikelets three to many flowered, with an open, large,
diffuse panicle ; lower pale seven to eleven nerved, with
a long, usually twisted awn on the back,; stamens three ;
grain oblong, grooved on the side, usually hairy and free.

MEADOW OAT GRASS (Avena pro-
tensis), Fig. 102, is a perennial grass,
native of the pastures of Great Bri-
tain, growing to the height of about
eighteen inches. It furnishes a hay
of medium quality. Flourishes best
on dry soils. Flowers in July. Figs.

103 and 104 represent the flowers
of thig gragg magnified>

126

YELLOW OAT GRASS.

The YELLOW OAT GRASS (Avena flavescens), Fig. 105,
can scarcely, perhaps, be regarded as naturalized here.

It is a perennial plant of slow
growth and medium quality,
cultivated to some extent in
France, and suitable for dry
meadows and pastures. It is
sometimes regarded as a weed.
It fails, if cultivated alone, but
succeeds with other grasses,
and is said to be the most
useful for fodder of any of the
oat grasses. It seems to grow
best with the crested dog's
tail and sweet-scented vernal.
It contains a larger proportion
of bitter extractive than most
other grasses, and for that rea-
son is recommended by some
English writers as a valuable
pasture grass. It flowers in
July. Fig. 106 represents the
flower of this grass magnified.
PURPLE WILD OAT (Avena
striata) is found on rocky,
1 shaded hillsides,

from New Eng-
land and New
York, northward.
Stems tufted, from
one to two feet
high, and slender ;
leaves narrow ;
panicle loose and

Fig. 105. Yellow Oat Grass. Tig. 106.

TALL OAT GRASS. 127

drooping, when ripe ; lower pale with a short, bearded
tuft at the base. It blossoms in June.

EARLY WILD OAT (Avena prcecox) is a dwarf species,
found in sandy fields from New Jersey to Virginia,
growing only from three to four inches high ; leaves
short and bristle-shaped.

The COMMON OAT (Avena saliva) is well known to
every farmer. — See next chapter.

51. ARRHENATHERUM. Oat Grass.

Spikelets two-flowered and a rudiment of a third, open;
lowest flower staminate or sterile, with a long bent awn
below the middle of the back.

TALL MEADOW OAT GRASS, or TALL OAT GRASS (Ar-
rhenatherum avenaceum), is the avena elatior of Linnasus.
Spikelets open panicled, two-flowered, lower flower
staminate, bearing a long bent awn below the middle of
the back; leaves flat, acute, roughish on both sides,
most on the inner ; panicle leaning slightly on one side;
glumes very unequal; stems from two to three feet
high ; root perennial, fibrous, sometimes bulbous. It is
readily distinguished from other grasses by its having
two florets, the lower one having a long awn rising
from a little above the base of the outer palea. Intro-
duced. Flowers from May to July. Shown in Fig. 107.
A magnified spikelet is seen in Fig. 108.

This is the Ray grass of France. It produces an
abundant supply of foliage, and is valuable for pasture
on account of its early and luxuriant growth. It is
often found on the borders of fields and hedges, woods
and pastures, and is sometimes very plenty in mowing
lands. After being mown it shoots up a very thick
aftermath, and, on this account, partly, is regarded as
nearly equal for excellence to the common meadow fox-

128 TALL MEADOW OAT GRASS.

tail. It has been highly recommended for soiling, as
furnishing an early supply of fodder.

Pig. 107. Tall Meadow Oat Grass. Pig. 108.

MEADOW SOFT GRASS. 129

It grows spontaneously on deep, sandy soils, when
once naturalized. It has been cultivated to some ex-
tent in New England, and was at one time highly
esteemed, mainly for its early, rapid, and late growth,
making it very well calculated as a permanent pasture
grass. It will succeed on tenacious clover soils.

52. HOLCUS. Meadow Soft Grass.

Spikelets two-flowered, jointed with the pedicels;
glumes boat-shaped, membranaceous, enclosing and ex-
ceeding the flowers ; lower flower perfect, its lower
palea awnless and pointless; upper flower staminate
only, bearing a stout bent awn below the apex. Sta-
mens three ; grain free, slightly grooved.

MEADOW SOFT GRASS, VELVET GRASS (Holcus lanar
tus)j has its spikelets crowded in a somewhat open pani-
cle, and an awn with the lower part perfectly smooth.

It grows from one to two feet high ; stem erect,
round ; root perennial, fibrous; leaves four or five, with
soft, downy sheaths; upper sheath much longer than its
,leafr inflated, ligule obtuse ; joints usually four, gen-
erally covered with soft, downy hairs, the points of
which are turned downwards; leaves pale-green, flat,
broad, acute, soft on both sides, covered with delicate
slender hairs. Inflorescence compound panicled, of a
greenish, reddish, or pinkish tinge ; hairy glumes,
oblong, tipped with a minute bristle. Florets of two
palese. Flowers in June. Introduced. It is seen in
Fig. 109, and its flowers magnified in Figs. Ill and 112.

This beautiful grass grows in moist fields and peaty
soils, but I have found it on dry, sandy soils, and on
upland fields, where it was cultivated with other grasses.
It is productive and easy of cultivation, but of very little
value either for pasture or hay, cattle not being fond
of it. When once introduced it will readily spread

130 CREEPING SOFT GRASS.

from its light seeds, which are easily dispersed by the

Fig. 109. Meadow Soft Grass.

Fig. 110. Creeping Soft Grass.

nOLY GRASS. 131

wind. It does not merit cultivation except on poor,
peaty lands, where better grasses will not succeed.

Fig. 111. Fig. 112. Fig. 113. Fig. 114.

The CREEPING SOFT GRASS (Holcus mollis), Fig. 110,
is of no value, and is regarded as a troublesome weed.
Distinguished from the preceding by its awned floret
and its creeping root. The flowers of this grass are
seen magnified in Figs. 113 and 114.

53. HIEROCHLOA. Holy Grass.

Panicle open, spikelets three-flowered ; the two
lower flowers staminate ; glumes equalling the spikelet ;
leaves linear, flat.

SENECA GRASS, or VANILLA GRASS (Hierochloa bore-
alls), has spikelets three-flowered ; flowers all with two
paleas ; branches of the panicle smooth ; grows from
twelve to eighteen inches high. Stems erect, round,
smooth ; panicle somewhat spreading, rather one-sided ;
leaves short, broad, lanceolate, rough on the inner side,
smooth behind ; spikelets rather large. Grows in wet
meadows. Flowers in May. Common, and generally
diffused, but of no value for cultivation, on account of
its powerful creeping roots, and very slight spring
foliage.

This grass derived its generic name, Hierochloa, holy
grass, from two Greek words, signifying sacred grass,
from the fact that it was customary to strew it before
the doors of the churches on festival and saint's days,
in the north of Europe. In Sweden it is sold to be

132 SWEET-SCENTED VERNAL GRASS.

hung up over beds, where it is supposed to induce
sleep.

ALPINE HOLY GRASS (Hierochloa Alpina] is found on
mountain-tops in New England and New York, and
northward. Panicle contracted, from one to two inches
long. Lower leaves narrow. Flowers in July. Of no
value for cultivation.

54 ANTHOXANTHUM.

Spikelets three-flowered in spiked panicles ; the late-
ral flowers neutral, consisting only of one pale, hairy on
the outside, and awned on the back. Glumes very thin,
acute, keeled, the upper twice the length of the lower,
and as long as the flowers.

SWEET-SCENTED VERNAL GRASS (Anfhoxantlium odo-
ratum). — Spikelets spreading, three-flowered ; lateral
flowers neutral, with one palea, hairy on the outside, and
awned on the back ; glumes thin, acute, keeled, the upper
twice as long as the lower ; seed ovate, adhering to the
palea which encloses it: root perennial. Flowers in
May and June. Stems from one and a half to two feet
high. Introduced from Europe. It is seen in Fig. 115.

This is one of the earliest spring grasses, as well as
one of the latest in the autumn, and is almost the only
grass that is fragrant. It possesses a property said to
be peculiar to this species, or possessed by only a few
others, known as benzoic acid ; and it is said to be this
which not only gives it its own aromatic odor, but
imparts it to other grasses with which it is cured. The
green leaves when bruised give out this perfume to the
fingers, and the plant may thus be known. It possesses
but little value of itself, its nutritive properties being
slight ; nor is it much relished by stock of any kind; but
as a pasture grass, with a large mixture of other species,
it is valuable for its early growth.

REED CANARY GRASS.

133

It is not uncommon in our pastures and roadsides,
growing as if it were indigenous.

Fig. 115. Sweet-scented Vernal. Fig 119.
12

Fig. 118. Reed Canary Or

134 SEEDS OF SWEET-SCENTED VERNAL.

The aftermath or fall growth of this beautiful grass is
said to be richer in nutritive qualities than the growth
of the spring. Though it is pretty generally diffused
over the country, it is only on certain soils that it takes
complete possession of the surface, and forms the pre-
dominant grass in a permanent turf.

A curious and beautiful peculiarity is exhibited in the
seeds of this grass, by which they are prevented from
germinating in wet weather, after approaching maturity,
and thus becoming abortive. The husks of the blossom
adhering to the seed when ripe, and the jointed awn by
its spiral contortions, when affected by the alternate
moisture and dryness of the atmosphere, act like levers
to separate and lift it out from the calyx, even before
the grass is bent or lodged, and while the spike is still
erect. If the hand is moistened, and the seeds placed
in it, they will appear to move like insects, from the
uncoiling of the spiral twist of the awns attached to
them.

The flowers of the sweet-scented vernal grass are
seen in Figs. 116 and 117. There are nine hundred
and twenty-three thousand two hundred seeds in a
pound, and eight pounds in a bushel. It cannot be said
to belong to the grasses useful for general cultivation.

55. PHALARIS. Canary Grass.

Spikelets crowded in a dense spiked panicle, with
two neutral rudiments of a flower, one on each side, at
the base of theflattish perfect one; awnless; two shining
pales, shorter than the equal boat-shaped glumes, closely
enclosing the smooth, flattened grain ; stamens three.

REED CANARY GRASS (PJialaris arundinacea) has a
panicle very slightly branched, clustered, somewhat
spreading when old, but not so much generally, as ap-
pears in Fig. 118 ; glumes wingless, rudimentary florets

STRIPED GRASS. 135

hairy ; stem round, smooth, erect, from two to seven feet
high; leaves five or six in number, broad, lightish-green,
acute, harsh, flat-ribbed, central rib the most promi-
nent, roughish on both surfaces, edges minutely toothed;
smooth, striated sheaths. Flowers in July. It grows
on wet grounds by the sides of rivers and standing
pools. There are about five hundred thousand grains
or seeds of tnis grass to the pound. It may be gathered
and sown with winter grain, to be ploughed in as a
green manuring.

A beautiful variety of this species is the RIBBON or
STRIPED GRASS of the gardens, familiar to every one.
The reed canary grass will bear cutting two or three
times in a season, but if not cut early, the foliage is
coarse. Cattle are not very fond of it at any stage of
its growth ; but if cut early and well cured, they will
eat it in the winter, if they can get nothing better. For
some experiments with this hay in comparison with
others, see page 106.

This grass is not unfrequently produced by trans-
planting the roots of the striped grass into suitable
soils. In one instance, within my knowledge, it came
in and produced an exceedingly heavy crop, simply from
roots of ribbon grass, which had been dug up from a
garden and thrown into the brook, to get them out of
the way. Several other instances of a similar nature
have also come to my notice. One farmer has propa-
gated it extensively in his wet meadows by forcing the
ripe seed-panicles into the mud with his feet. As the
stripe of the ribbon grass is only accidental, dependent
on location and soil, it constitutes only a variety of the
reed canary grass, and loses the stripe when transferred
to a wet and muddy soil.

The cut, Fig. 118, was made from a specimen too far
advanced to show this grass as it ordinarily appears ;

136 NUTRITIVE QUALITIES.

the panicle or head is too spreading, and not sufficiently
long. I have fine specimens with panicles three times
as long as appears in the drawing, and more in the
shape of a spike of Timothy.

To ascertain the exact nutritive qualities of this grass
when cured as hay, a careful analysis has been made, at
my request, by Prof. E. N. Horsford, of Cambridge,
with the following result : Of water, the specimen con-
tained 10.42 per cent. ; ash, 5.31 per cent. ; nitrogen,
.55 per cent. ; nitrogenous ingredients, flesh-forming
principles, 3.53 per cent. ; woody fibre, starch, gum,
sugar, <fec., 80.73 per cent. It will be seen, by reference
to a subsequent page, containing analyses, by Prof.
Way, that this grass is very far inferior to many other
grasses examined by him. The panicles of this grass,
if allowed to stand after the time of flowering, become
filled with ergot, or long, black spurs, issuing from
between the glumes, and occupying the place of grain.
This, if there were no other reason, would be sufficient
to determine that it should be cut at or before the time
of flowering. I have never seen rye worse affected
than my specimens of this grass are. The effects of
this mysterious disease are well known. The noxious
power it exerts on the system of animals, which receive
even a small portion of it, is oftentimes dreadful, pro-
ducing " most horrible gangrenes, rotting of the extrem-
ities, internal tortures, and agonizing death. It has
been known to slough and kill not a few human beings,
who have accidentally or inadvertently eaten grain or
flour infected with it."

The flower of the reed canary grass is shown in
Fig. 119. The variety called striped grass (Colorata)
is exceedingly hardy, and may be propagated to any
extent by dividing and transplanting the roots. In
moist soils it spreads rapidly, and forms a thick mass of

MILLET GRASSES. 137

fodder, which might be repeatedly cut without injury/
though it is of little value for feeding stock.

The COMMON CANARY GRASS (Phcdaris Canariemis)
is cultivated in gardens, and to some extent in fields
and waste places, for the sake of the seed for the nanary-
bird. It has a spiked, oval panicle ; glumes wing-
keeled ; rudimentary flowers smooth, and half the
length of the perfect one. Flowers in July and August.

56. MILIUM. Millet Grass.

Spikelets diffusely panicled, not jointed with their
pedicels ; stamens three ; stigmas branched ; grain not
grooved, enclosed in the pales, all falling together.

MILLET GRASS (Milium effusum) is found growing
commonly in moist, shady woods, mountain meadows,
and on the borders of streams. Panicle widely diffuse,
compound ; glumes ovate, very obtuse ; leaves broad
and flat, thin ; root perennial ; flower oblong. Flowers
in June. Introduced. Of no value for cultivation, ex-
cept as a green manuring plant, the foliage possessing
but slight nutritive qualities. The seeds are millet-like,
one hundred and fifty thousand to the pound, and are
sought by birds. It will thrive transplanted to open
places.

DOUBLE-BEARING MILLET GRASS (Milium purshii) is
found on the moist, sandy pine barrens of New Jersey.
Referred by Gray to Amphicarpum.

57. CYNOSURUS.

Spikelets three to five flowered, with a comb-like in-
volucre at the base of each ; inflorescence racemed ;
florets tipped with a rough awn.

CRESTED DOG'S-TAIL (Cynosurus cristatus). — Fig.
120. This grass is rarely found here, but has been
12*

138

CRESTED DOG'S-TAIL.

introduced and cultivated to some extent by way of
experiment. Its spikes are simple, linear ; spikelets

awnless ; stems one foot high,
stiff, smooth ; root perennial,
fibrous, and tufted. Flowers
in July. It is said to be a
valuable permanent pasture
grass ; but cattle seldom eat
it after it is ripe, on account
of its wiry stems. On dry,
hard soils and hills, pastured
with sheep, it would doubtless
be of value for its hardiness.
At the time of flowering it
is tender and nutritious. A
magnified spikelet is shown in
Fig. 121.

The stems of this grass are
used for the manufacture of
plat for Leghorn hats and
bonnets, and have the reputa-
tion of being equal or superior
to Italian straw. They are
gathered green when in blos-
som, immersed in boiling
water for ten minutes, and
then spread out
to bleach for
eight days. An-
other mode of
treatment is to
keep them in
boiling wate-r for
an hour, and
then spread them out, and keep them moistened

Fig. 120. Crested Dog's-tail.

Fig. 121.

JOINT GRASS. 139

regularly till they become dried, or for two days, when
they are placed in a tight vessel and subjected to the
fumes of burning sulphur for two hours.

58. PASPALUM.

Spikelets spiked, or somewhat racemed, in two or
four rows on one side of a flattened rachis, jointed, with
thin, short pedicels, awnless, apparently but one-
flowered, and differing from Panicum in wanting the
lower glume. Stamens three.

FLOATING PASPALUM (Paspalum fluitans] is a grass
found in low swamps from Virginia to Illinois, and
southward. Stems smooth, and rooting in the mud
or floating. Of no value for cultivation.

HAIRY SLENDER PASPALUM (Paspalum setaceum) has
an erect or decumbent, slender culm, from one to two
feet high, leaves and sheaths hairy ; spikes slender,
smooth, mostly solitary, on a long peduncle, spikelets
narrowly two-rowed. Flowers in August. It is found
on sandy fields and plains near the coast, and is rather
common from Massachusetts to Illinois, and south-
ward.

SMOOTH ERECT PASPALUM (Paspalum Iceve) is also
found on moist soils, from New England to Kentucky,
and southward. It has an erect, stout stem, from one
to three feet high ; leaves long and large, with smooth
or slightly hairy flattened sheaths ; spikelets broadly
two-rowed. Flowers in August.

JOINT GRASS (Paspalum distichum) is common on
wet fields in Virginia and southward, flowering in July
and August. It grows about a foot high, from a long,
creeping base. Spikes short and closely flowered ;
rachis flat on the back ; spikelets egg-shaped and slightly
pointed.

140 THE PANIC GRASSES.

FINGER-SHAPED PASPALUM (Paspalum digitaria) is
also found in Virginia, and further south, growing from
one to two feet high; spikes slender and sparsely-
flowered.

59. PANICUM. Panic Grasses.

Spikelets panicled or racemed, sometimes spiked ;
glumes two, the lower one short, minute, or wanting ;
lower flower neutral, rarely awned , upper perfect;
stamens three ; stigmas usually purple.

SLENDER CRAB GRASS (Panicum filiforme) is an
annual finger grass, somewhat resembling the Finger-
shaped Paspalum, but the upper glume equals the flower,
while the lower is nearly wanting, and the spikes are
more erect. It flourishes on sandy, dry soils, especially
near the coast. Flowers in August.

SMOOTH CRAB GRASS (Panicum glabrum) resembles
the last, with the spikes digitate, three to four, spread-
ing ; rachis flat and thin, spikelets ovoid. It is common
in cultivated grounds, waste places, and on sandy fields.
Flowers in August and September. A troublesome
weed.

FINGER GRASS, COMMON CRAB GRASS (Panicum san-
guinale). — The panic grasses are widely spread and
common all over the country.

The stems of the Finger Grass are from one to two
feet high, erect, spreading ; leaves and sheaths hairy ;
spikes four to fifteen ; digitate ; upper glume half the
length of the flower ; lower one small. It grows on
waste or neglected cultivated grounds and gardens, and
yards, and is generally regarded as a troublesome weed.
Introduced. Flowers from August to October.

DOUBLE-HEADED PANIC (Panicum anceps) is found
on the wet pine barrens of New Jersey to Virginia, and

PEOLIFIC PANIC. 141

south. Stems flat, two to four feet high. Flowers in
August.

AGROSTIS-LIKE PANIC GRASS (Panicum agrostoides)
has flattened, upright stems, two feet high ; leaves long,
sheaths smooth ; spikelets on the spreading branches,
crowded, and one-sided, ovate, oblong, acute, purplish.
It is common on wet meadows and borders of rivers,
from Massachusetts to Virginia, Illinois, and southward.
Flowers in July and August.

PROLIFIC PANIC GRASS (Panicum proliferum) grows
on brackish marshes and meadows, and is common
along the coast from Massachusetts southward, and
along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. It sometimes
appears on dry places. Cattle are fond of it. It differs
from the preceding in having culms thickened, succu-
lent, branched, and bent, ascending from a procumbent
base, and spikelets appressed, lance-oval, of a pale-green
color.

HAIR-STALKED PANIC GRASS (Panicum capillare)
grows in sandy soils and cultivated fields everywhere.
Its culm is upright, often branched at the base, and
forming a tuft; sheaths flattened, very hairy; panicle
pyramidal, hairy, compound, and very loose ; spikelets
scattered, on long pedicels, oblong, pointed. Flowers
in August and September.

AUTUMN PANIC (Panicum autumnale] grows about
a foot high, with very slender stems, branching below.
Found from Illinois southward.

TALL SMOOTH PANIC GRASS (Panicum virgatum). —
Stems upright, three to five feet high ; leaves very long,
flat; panicle large, loose, and compound; branches
spreading when grown, and drooping; spikelets scat-
tered, oval, pointed ; glumes usually purplish. Grows

142 COMMON MILLET.

pretty commonly in moist, sandy soils, especially at the
South ; flowers in August.

BITTER PANIC (Panicum amarum) is found on sandy
shores, from Connecticut to Virginia, and further south.
Flowers in August and September.

BROAD-LEAVED PANIC GRASS (Panicum latifolium). —
This is a grass with a perennial, fibrous root, and stem
from one to two feet high ; with leaves broad, long,
taper-pointed, smooth or slightly downy; branches of
panicle spreading; spikelets long, obovate, downy.
Flowers in June and July. It is common in moist
thickets and woods. Of no value for cultivation.

The HIDDEN-FLOWERED PANIC GRASS (Panicum clan-
destinum) is found in low thickets, and on the banks of
streams, from one to three feet high, very leafy to the
top, the joints naked ; sheaths rough, and bearing very
stiff and spreading bristly hairs. Flowers from July to
September.

YELLOW PANIC GRASS (Panicum xanthophysum)
grows on dry, sandy soils, from Maine to Wisconsin,
and northward. It is of a yellowish-green color, the
spikelets downy; sheaths hairy ; leaves lanceolate,
acute, smooth, except on the margins.

STICKY PANIC GRASS (Panicum viscidum) grows
with an upright stem, leafy to the top, densely velvety,
downy all over, including the sheaths, with reflexed,
soft, often clammy hairs, except a ring below the joint;
panicles spreading ; spikelets long and downy. Moist
soils, from New Jersey to Virginia, and southward.

COMMON MILLET (Panicum miliaceum). — Flowers in
large, open, nodding panicles ; leaves lanco-shaped,
broad ; stem one to two feet high ; native of Turkey. '
It is shown in Fig. 122.

Many varieties of millet have at times been culti-

COMMON MILLET. 143

vated in this country, and its culture is gaining favor
every year. Millet is one of
the best crops we have for cut-
ting and feeding green for soil-
ing purposes, since its yield is
large, its luxuriant leaves juicy
and tender, and much relished
by milch cows and other stock.

The seed is rich in nutritive
qualities, but it is very seldom
ground or used for flour,
though it is said to exceed all
other kinds of meal or flour in
nutritive elements. An acre,
well cultivated, will yield from
sixty to seventy bushels of
seed. Cut in the blossom, as
it should be, for feeding to
cattle, the seed is comparatively
valueless. If allowed to ripen
its seed, the stalk is no more
nutritious, probably, than oat
straw.

Millet requires good soil, and
is rather an exhausting crop,
but yields a produce valuable in
proportion to the richness of
the soil, and care and expense
of cultivation.

FEW-FLOWERED PANIC (Pani-

cum pauciflorum) is found in

wet meadows, from New York

'to Wisconsin, and southward.

Stems upright, from one to two

Fig. 122. Common Millet.

144 BARN GRASS.

feet long, roughish ; panicle open. Flowers in June
and July.

POLYMORPHIC PANIC (Panicum dichotomum) is com-
mon in all parts of the country, on dry and low grounds.
Lower glume roundish, one-third or a quarter the length
of the five to seven nerved upper one.

WORTHLESS PANIC (Panicum depauperatum) is also
common northward, in dry woods and hills. Stems
simple, forming close tufts, terminated by a simple and
few-flowered contracted panicle, often overtopped by
the upper leaves.

WARTY PANIC (Panicum verrucosum) is found in
sandy swamps, near the coast, from New England to
Virginia, and southward. Stems branching and slender,
smooth, one to two feet high ; leaves shining ; branches
of the diffuse panicle slender, few-flowered ; spikelets
oval, roughish with warts, dark-green. Flowers in
August.

BARN GRASS, or BARN-YARD GRASS (Panicum crus-galli),
is very common. Its spikes are alternate and in pairs,
sheaths smooth, rachis bristly ; stem from two to four
feet high, stout, erect, or somewhat procumbent ; leaves
half an inch broad ; panicle dense, pyramidal ; glumes
acute; awn variable in length, and sometimes wanting;
outer palea of the neutral flower usually awned. One
or two varieties have rough or bristly sheaths. It
grows on moist, rich, or manured soils, and along the
coast in ditches. Flowers in August, September, and
October.

Some experiments have been made to cultivate this
common species in the place of millet, to cut for green
fodder. It is relished by stock, and is very succulent
and nutritive, while its yield is large.

HUNGARIAN GRASS.

145

HUNGARIAN GRASS, HUNGARIAN MILLET (Panicum
Germanicum), has been cultivated to considerable extent
in this coun-
try, from seed
received from £j
France thro'
theU.S.Patent
Office.

It is an an-
nual forage plant, introduced into
France in 1815, where its cultiva-
tion has become considerably ex-
tended. It germinates readily,
withstands the drought remarkably,
remaining green even when other
vegetation is parched up, and if its
development is arrested by dry
weather, the least rain will restore
it to vigor. It has numerous suc-
culent leaves, which furnish an
abundance of green fodder, very
much relished by all kinds of stock.
It is shown in Fig. 123.

It flourishes in somewhat light
and dry soils, though it attains its
greatest luxuriance' in soils of
medium consistency and well ma-
nured. It may be sown broadcast,
and cultivated precisely like the
varieties of millet.

This grass is thought to contain
a somewhat higher percentage of
nutriment than the common millet,
though I am not aware that it has
been analyzed. It is a leafy plant,

Fig. 123. Hungarian Grass.

13

146 BOTTLE GRASS.

and remains green until its seeds mature, and is no
doubt valuable for fodder, both green and dry, growing
and maturing in about the same time as common millet.
From twenty -five to thirty bushels of seed to the acre
have been obtained.

60. SETARIA.

Spikelets as in the genus Panicum, awnless, with
short peduncles or flower-stalks produced beyond
them into solitary or clustered bristles, like awns. In-
florescence in dense, spiked panicles, or cylindrical
spikes. Annuals.

The BRISTLY FOXTAIL (Setaria verticillata) is a grass
sometimes, though rarely, found about farm-houses. It
has cylindrical spikes two or three inches long, .pale-
green, somewhat interrupted with whorled, short clus-
ters, bristles single or in pairs, roughened or barbed
downwards, short.

BOTTLE GRASS, sometimes called FOXTAIL (Setaria
glauca). — This is an annual, with a stem from one to
three feet high ; leaves broad, hairy at the base ; sheaths
smooth ; ligtile bearded ; spike two to three inches long,
dense, cylindrical ; bristles six to eleven in a cluster,
rough upwards ; perfect flower wrinkled. The spike is
of a tawny or dull orange-yellow, when old. Flowers
in July. It is common in cultivated grounds and barn-
yards. Introduced.

The GREEN FOXTAIL, sometimes also called BOTTLE
GRASS (Setaria viridis), has a cylindrical spike, more or
less compound, green ; bristles few in a cluster, longer
than the spikelets ; flower perfect, striate lengthwise
and dotted. It is common in cultivated grounds.

The BENGAL GRASS, sometimes called MILLET (Setaria
italica), also belongs to this genus. It has a compound

GAMA GRASS. 147

spike, thick, nodding, six to nine inches long, yellowish
or purplish ; bristles two or three in a cluster. Intro-
duced from Europe.

61. CENCHRUS. Bur Grasses.

Spikelets enclosed, one to five together, in a round-
ish and bristly covering, which becomes a hard bur.

BUR GRASS, or HEDGEHOG GRASS ( Cenchrus tribuloides),
is somewhat common on sandy soils on the coast, or
near the salt water, where the spikes are whitish, and
around the great northern lakes. It is regarded as a
troublesome weed, on account of its prickly burs. Stems
branched at the base, from one to two feet high ; leaves
flat ; spike oblong.

62. TRIPSACUM. Gama Grass.

Spikelets in jointed spikes, staminate above, and fer-
tile below ; staminate spikelets two, both alike ; two-
flowered ; lower glume nerved ; upper boat-shaped ;
pales thin, awnless ; anthers opening by two pores at
the apex ; stems tall and large, solid, from thick, creep-
ing roots ; leaves broad and flat.

GAMA GRASS, or SESAME GRASS (Tripsacum dacty-
loides), is one of the largest and most beautiful grasses,
though not one that would be considered of much value
where better could be grown. Its stalk is from four to
seven feet high, and the leaves look not very unlike
those of Indian corn. Grows on moist soils, near the
coast, from New England to Pennsylvania, west to
Illinois, and more common at the South, in Louisiana,
and adjoining states, where it is indigenous. It is a
stout, coarse, and hardy grass.

63. ERIANTHUS. Woolly Beard.

Spikelets in pairs on each joint of the slender rachis,
one on a pedicel., the other connected at its base, crowded

148

FINGER-SPIKED WOOD GRASS.

in a panicle, and clothed with long, silky hairs. Stamens
one to three. Grain free.

WOOLLY BEARD GRASS (Erianthus alopecuroides) is
found on the wet pine barrens of New Jersey, in
Illinois, and at the South. It grows from four to six
feet high; woolly-bearded at the joints; panicle con-
tracted ; silky hairs longer than the spikelets.

SHORT-AWNED WOOLLY BEARD (Erianthus brevibarbis)
is also found on low grounds, in Virginia and southward,
growing from two to five feet high, and somewhat
bearded at the upper joints. Panicle rather open.

64. ANDROPOGON.

Spikelets much the same as in
the preceding genus, bearing a
neuter or staminate lower flower ;
glumes and paleas often wanting ;
upper flower perfect ; glumes awn-
less ; lower palea awned. Flowers
in panicles and spikes. Most of
these grasses are coarse and hard
perennials, having lateral or term-
inal spikes, commonly clustered
or digitate, with the rachis hairy
or feathery-bearded.

FINGER-SPIKED WOOD GRASS ( An-
dropogon furcatus) grows about
four feet high ; leaves nearly
smooth ; spikes digitate, or general-
ly by threes and fours ; lower
flower awnless; the spikelets rough-
ish, downy ; the awn bent. Flowers
rig. 125. Fig. 124. in September. A spike of this grass

is shown in Fig. 124, a part of it enlarged in Fig. 125,
its pistil in Fig. 126, its glumes in Fig. 127. It is com-
mon on sterile soils, rocky banks, and hill-sides.

INDIAN GRASS. 149

PURPLE WOOD GRASS, BROOM GRASS (Andropogon
bcoparius), is found on sterile, sandy soils, flowering
from July to September. It grows from two to four
feet high, with many-branched panicles ; lower sheaths
and narrow leaves hairy; spikes mostly single, very loose,
slender, slightly silky, with dull, white hairs ; rachis zig-
zag, hairy along the edges.

SILVER BEARD GRASS (Andropogon argenteus) grows
about three feet high, with spikes in pairs, on peduncles
exceeding the sheaths, dense, and very silky. Common
on sterile, sandy soils, in Virginia and southward, flow-
ering in September and October.

VIRGINIAN BEARD GRASS (Andropogon Virginicus]
grows on similar soils to the last, from New York to
Illinois, and southward. Stem flattish below ; slender,
short-branched above ; sheaths smooth ; spikes soft,
two or three in distant clusters.

CLUSTER-FLOWERED BEARD GRASS (Andropogon ma-
crourus) is found from New York to Virginia, south-
ward on the coast. Steins from two to three feet high,
bushy, branched at the summit, with many spikes, form-
ing thick, leafy clusters ; sheaths rough, the upper
hairy.

65. SORGHUM.

Spikelets two or three together, in an open panicle,
the lateral ones sterile, middle fertile ; stamens three.

INDIAN GRASS, WOOD GRASS (Sorghum nutans), is a
grass sometimes found on our dry, sterile soils, with a
panicle oblong, somewhat compressed, from six to ten
inches long ; stem from three to five feet high : leaves
linear, grayish ; sheaths smooth ; spikelets light brown
and glossy, drooping when mature ; hairy at the base ;
awn twisted. It flowers in August.
13*

150 BROOM CORN.

INDIAN MILLET (Sorghum vulgare) is a cultivated
species, and has several well-marked varieties. It is
called Guinea corn in the West Indies, Dhourra in Ara-
bia, Jovaree in India, and Nagara in the north of China.
It is sometimes used as a forage plant.

The tall cereal, which has long been cultivated in the
south of Europe and in Barbary, under the general
name of sorghum, resembles Indian corn in quality, and
is often called small maize. Its stems contain a pretty
large per cent, of saccharine matter, and it is useful to
cut green as a forage plant.

Indian millet, when raised on good soil and under
favorable circumstances, is said to yield a larger quan-
tity of seed to the acre than any other cereal grass
known, not excepting even Indian corn. Its nutritive
quality is nearly equal to that of wheat. The common
millet is the panicum miliaceum.

BROOM CORN (Sorghum saccharatum) is considered by
some botanists as a variety of Sorghum vulgare; by
others, as a distinct species. Its leaves are linear;
ligules short and hairy ; panicle with long, loose, expand-
ing branches. It is an annual, and flowers in August,
growing from six to nine feet high. Native of India.

The panicles are used for brooms, and the seeds for
poultry, swine, &c. It is extensively cultivated in many
parts of the country along the Connecticut River, in
Massachusetts, the Mohawk, in New York, and at the
West. It is said to have been first cultivated in this
country by Dr. Franklin, who found a seed on a stalk
in the possession of a lady, and planted it.

CHINESE SUGAR-CANE, SORGHO, or SORGHO SUCRE
(Sorghum nigrum), is a plant well known throughout the
United States. It rises with a stem from six to fifteen
feet high, according to the soil on which it grows, erect,

CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 151

smooth; leaves linear, flexuous, gracefully curving

152 SUGAR-CANE.

down at the ends, resembling Indian corn in its early
growth, and broom corn, to which it is nearly allied, at
maturity. Flowers in a panicle at the top, at first
green, changing through the shades of violet to pur-
ple, when more advanced. It is seen in Fig. 126.

This plant has lately been introduced and used for
forage, and experiments have been made with it for the
manufacture of molasses or sirup and sugar.

It is rich in saccharine matter, and a large amount of
nutritive fodder can be obtained from it.

It grows best on a dry soil, and under a hot sun, and
is usually planted in the same manner as Indian corn,
both as to preparation of ground and time of planting ;
generally in hills when it is intended to ripen its seed,
and in drills when it is wanted to cut up green for soil-
ing purposes, or to cure and feed out in winter as a
forage crop.

Various opinions have been expressed, by practical
farmers, as to the comparative value of this new addi-
tion to our cultivated plants, and these opinions have
been influenced much by the locality in which it was
grown.

Its culture, which was extensive in New England
during the first year or two after its introduction, has
been, to a great extent, abandoned there, while further
experiments, in other sections of the country, have
been attended with greater satisfaction.

It has usually received the specific name of Sorghum
saccharatum, Holcus sacckaratus, &c., names which had
been previously applied to another plant. It seems
proper to yield to the prior claim, and I prefer to specify
it as the Sorghum nigrum.

The SUGAR-CANE (Saccharum officinarum) is a tropical
grass closely allied to Eriantrms. It has a simple, un-
divided, jointed, and smooth stem, often two inches in

CULTURE OF SUGAR-CANE. 153

diameter, and from ten to twenty feet high; leaves long
and pointed; flowers small, on a terminal, loose panicle;
glumes two, oblong, pointed, equal, concave, with- the
base surrounded with woolly hairs ; a perennial, fibrous
root.

The culture of several new varieties of sugar-cane is
said to have been introduced into the Southern States,
towards the close of the last century, from the islands
of Bourbon, Java, and Otaheite.

The sugar-cane is propagated from cuttings. It was
undoubtedly cultivated at a very early date in China
and India, from whence it was introduced into Europe.
The culture of cane and the making of sugar has be-
come an exceedingly important business at the West
India Islands, in Louisiana, and adjoining states.

The top joints of the stalks are selected for cuttings,
they being least valuable, and less productive in saccha-
rine matter than the lower parts. The plant tillers or
sends up several shoots from the same root, like wheat.

The land, after being properly prepared, is marked
out in rows, about four feet apart, and in these rows
holes are dug, from six to ten inches deep, about two
or three feet apart. The plants require frequent hoeing
and cultivation, but not to be renewed from cuttings
every year.

When the canes are ripe, they are cut up, cut into
suitable lengths, and tied into bundles to be taken to
the mill. Sugar-making requires experience and skill.

66. ZEA. Maize.

Spikelets two-flowered ; flowers monoecious, the
staminate in terminal panicles ; glumes two ; pales awn-
less, obtuse ; the pistillate or fertile spikelets two-flow-
ered, with the lower one abortive ; glumes two, obtuse ;
pales awnless ; fruit compressed.

154 INDIAN CORN.

INDIAN CORN, MAIZE (Zea mays), is a true grass,
familiar to everybody in this country, and by far the
most important and extensively cultivated of any plant
known to our agriculture.

The practice of sowing Indian corn in drills, for the
purpose of cutting up green for fodder, was recom-
mended some years ago by a progressive agriculturist,
and, though at first ridiculed, it soon came to be planted
in small patches of a few rods square, by practical
farmers here and there, till now it is regarded as almost
an indispensable crop, not only to carry a stock of
cattle through a severe summer drought, when our pas-
tures arc short and dry, but to cut and cure in large
quantities for winter use. The weight and value of an
acre of corn fodder is very large.

A more extended notice of this plant will be given
in the next chapter.

CHAPTER II.

THE CEREALIA; OR, THE GRASSES CULTIVATED

FOR THEIR SEEDS.

WE have dwelt thus far chiefly upon the grasses, both
cultivated and wild, which are used to greater or less
extent as food for stock, either in the green and succu-
lent stage of their growth, or cured for winter forage.
In this chapter I propose to speak briefly of the cereals,
or the grasses which are cultivated mainly on account
of the large size of their farinaceous or mealy seeds.

The Cerealia might properly be considered a genus
of the great family of plants which forms the subject
of this treatise, the Graminece, especially when taken
from a practical point of view. The term itself was
derived from Ceres, deified by the ancients as the beau-
tiful goddess of corn, and it includes a class of plants
by far the most important of any in the known world.

The cereals are all annuals, and they die down after
having fulfilled their natural destiny — the production
and ripening of their seeds. In structure they resem-
ble the grasses of which we have already spoken ; that
is, they all have hollow stems, divided or closed at the
joints, while from these joints start sheaths which rise,
clasping the stems, but open or divided on one side.
The ears or heads of the cereals consist of many flow-
ers, arranged either in spikes, as in wheat, or panicles,
as in oats, rice, and millet. They have three stamens.

This class of plants consists chiefly of rice, wheat,

(155)

156 RICE. — DESCRIPTION — ORIGIN.

barley, rye, oats, millet, and Indian corn, all true grasses,
which in some respects resemble each other, and form
a group by themselves.

RICE ( Oryza sativa) is a long panicled grass,
having, when ripe, some resemblance to oats,
the seed growing in a separate pedicel start-
ing from the main stalk. Each kernel term-
inates in an awn, and is enclosed in a rough
husk, or scale, of a yellowish color. The
stem or stalk of rice is similar to that of
wheat, except that the joints are more numer-
ous. It is annual, and rises to the height of
from two to six feet, according to the variety,
soil, and culture. A stalk of rice, with its
spiked panicle, is shown in Fig. 129.

Rice-meal is composed, to a great extent,
of starch, with but a comparatively small per-
centage of gluten, which forms a large pro-
portion of good wheat-flour. The seed is
surrounded with a husk, which is so closely
attached to it as to be difficult of separation.
It is cleaned by passing through mill-stones,
set far enough apart to prevent crushing the
grain, but sufficiently near to remove the
husks or chaff by friction.

Rice, doubtless, originated in Asia, where
it is known to have been extensively used
for many ages, and where, from the earliest
times of which we have any record, it has
formed the chief and most important food of
the inhabitants. It is also at the present time
largely produced in Egypt, and forms an im-
portant article of commerce, and a produc-
tive source of wealth. The facilities for irri-
Fig.'i29. gation afforded by the River Nile make it

CULTURE. — VARIETIES. 157

comparatively easy of cultivation. The grain is there
separated from the husk by means of pestles and
mortars.

The introduction of rice as a cultivated plant in the
United States is of modern date. It was brought to
South Carolina from the island of Madagascar towards
the close of the seventeenth century, and, though for
many years no means of cleaning it effectually were
known, yet its cultivation extended, till finally the meth-
ods of cleaning were so far perfected as to justify the
reputation which the growers acquired, of producing
the best rice in the world.

The swamps and the climate of South Carolina are so
admirably adapted to this plant that its culture is car-
ried on at comparatively small expense of labor, while
the grain itself arrives at great perfection, and is ac-
knowledged to be of very fine quality, being generally
larger than in the countries where it was originally
grown. It has now become an exceedingly important
article of export.

Rice requires a great supply of moisture; and, unless
rains are frequent, or the means of irrigation are at
hand, it will prove unproductive.

There are several varieties. They originated, proba-
bly, in differences of soil, climate, and culture.

The common rice requires for its successful cultiva-
tion a wet marsh, and on any other situation it fails to
grow. It may be considered as almost an aquatic plant.
Another variety, known as early rice, requires a similar
soil, but is smaller, and comes to maturity earlier, and
will generally ripen in about four months ; while com-
mon rice requires six months.

Mountain rice will succeed with less moisture. I am
not aware that this variety has been cultivated, to any
extent, in this country.
14

158 EICE CULTURE. — WHEAT.

Clammy rice will grow both on swamps and uplands.

Rice is generally sown in drills, into which it is
dropped by hand ; after which the water is let on for
several days, to the depth of some inches, when it is
removed till the rice has sprouted and grown to the
height of from two to four inches. The water is then
again let on, and suffered to remain for some days.
This destroys the grass and weeds, if any. After this
it is occasionally hoed and cultivated, to keep it free
from weeds.

The harvest commences generally in August, and
continues through September ; and it is generally cut
with sickles, and gathered up into bundles.

Rice is very extensively cultivated in China and in
India, and along the River Po, in Lombardy. It is prob-
ably used as human food by a larger number than any
other cereal grain.

WHEAT.

WHEAT (Triticum vulgare) is an annual herbaceous
plant, of many varieties, all arising, probably, from the
same parent, but modified by varieties of climate, soil,
and culture.

Wheat possesses, of course, the same general charac-
teristics as the rest of the gramineee. The seed is ob-
long, or a compressed oval, surrounded by scales or
chaff, which are easily removed. That side of the ker-
nel or fruit which was next to the rachis in growing is
marked by a deep groove separating the mealy parts in
the middle. On the other side a small oval is seen. This
is the seat of the embryo, or place where the germ of
the new plant is to take its start. This is also the point
of attachment of the pedicel on which the kernel grew,
and through which it derived all its growth and nour-
ishment. On arriving at maturity a detachment takes

MODE OP GROWTH.

159

place at this point, and it closes up so as to leave the
seed free in its pales or husks, from which it is easily
separated.

The stalk or stem and leaves of the wheat plant, as
indeed of all the cerealia or grain plants, differ from
the other grasses in containing a much greater amount
of woody fibre, often amounting, when ripe, to three-
fourths of the whole weight. It is largely composed
of silex, a hard, flinty substance, which gives the stem
its firmness arid solidity, and especially its hard and
glossy outside coating.

Were it not for this hard stem,
it could not support its weight of
ears or grain. It would lodge in
every wind, and be comparatively
worthless.

The cultivated plants belonging
to the genus Triticum are annu-
als, the others are wild perennial
grasses.

The root of wheat is peculiarly
adapted to withstand the severity
of the winter's cold. The main or
seminal root is pushed out at the
same time with the germ, and that
nourishes the plant in its early
growth. As many as seventy-two
stalks have been known to rise
from a single root.

The grain is composed to a
great extent of starch, with a
Fig". i3i. large percentage of gluten and

other nitrogenous bodies.
The two prominent and most striking varieties of

Fig. 130.
Hungarian Wheat.

160 WINTER AND SPRING WHEAT.

wheat are known as winter Triticum hybernum, and
spring Triticum cestivum.

Winter wheat has generally a larger and plumper
ear, smooth and awnless, and a stronger, harder, and
more erect stem. It is sown in autumn, and soon
germinates, remaining green through the winter, and
starting up into a vigorous growth early the next
spring, arriving at maturity in the following summer.
Some of the varieties of winter wheat are shown in
Figs. 130 and 131.

There are many sub-varieties of winter wheat, which
originated, probably, from influences of locality, soil, and
culture. The two prominent groups are best known as
the red and white wheats. The red is usually the more
hardy, and is covered with a thicker and rougher coat-
ing, which adapts it better to high northern latitudes,
and severe winters.

The amount of glutinous and silicious substances
(bran) is said to be greatest in the red. and least in the
white, while it is medium in the amber.

Spring wheat is less hardy than winter ; the stem is
more slender and delicate, the ear smaller and thinner,
and rather more drooping, and adorned with long awns
or beards. It produces, ordinarily, less than the winter
wheat, while the quality of its flour is less esteemed ;
but still it often becomes profitable for cultivation, and
is a valuable variety.

Le Couteur makes the following classification of the
endless varieties and sub-varieties into which both the
summer and winter wheats have passed.

BEARDLESS OR WINTER WHEATS.

1 White Wheats, smooth chaffed.

2 " " velvet husked.
8 Red " smooth chaffed.

VARIETIES OF WHEAT. 161

4 Red Wheats, velvet husked.

5 Yellow " smooth chaffed.

6 " " velvet husked.

7 Liver " smooth chaffed.

8 " " velvet husked.

BEARDED OR SPRING WHEATS.

1 White Spring Wheat.

2 Red Spring Wheat.

3 Yellow Spring Wheat.

4 Hoary Spring Wheat.

Among the varieties of winter wheat which have
been cultivated to any extent in this country may be
mentioned the common White Flint, improved White
Flint, the White Provence Wheat, the Wheatland Red,
the Tuscan Bald, the Skinner Wheat, the Golden Drop,
the White Blue Straw, known in Ohio as the Blue
Stem, the Aguira Wheat, the Verplanck, the Canada
Flint, the Bearded Mediterranean, Old White Flint, the
Club, the Genesee, the Egyptian, the Old Red Chaff,
the Quaker Wheat, the Yellow Bearded, the Kentucky
Red, the Bald Mediterranean, the Red Blue Stem, and
innumerable others.

Among the spring varieties may be mentioned the
Italian Spring Wheat, Tea Wheat, or Siberian Wheat,
Black Sea Wheat, Black Bearded and Red Bearded
Wheats, the Scotch Wheat, Talavera Wheat, the Black
Tea Wheat, the Canada Club, the Fife, &c.

All varieties may be easily modified by cultivation.
The bearded may become beardless, and vice versa ; the
red may pass into the white varieties, and the winter is
easily modified so as finally to become a spring wheat.

A variety known as spelt, or spelt wheat ( Triticum
spelta), is shown in Fig. 132, while a summer variety is
shown in Fig. 133, Egyptian wheat in Fig. 134, and
one-seeded wheat ( Triticum monococcum), or St. Peter's
corn, in Fig. 135.
14*

162

SUMMER WHEATS.

As already intimated, wheat is composed chiefly of
starch, the percentage of which varies from fifty to

seventy per cent. ; of gluten,
the percentage of which varies
from ten to twenty ; and of
from three to five per cent, of
fatty matters. The best flour
contains, therefore, seventy
pounds of starch, or upwards,
in every hundred pounds, and
the balance is made up of glu-

Fig. 132.

Fig 133.

Fig. 134.

Fig. 135.

CULTURE. — BARLEY. 163

ten, sugar, water, and oil. Starch is the most important
ingredient for the nourishment of the young plant or
the germ.

Wheat contains a greater amount of nourishment,
also, for the human system, than the same quantity of
almost any other vegetable product. A bushel of wheat,
or sixty pounds, when ground into flour, will make
about forty-seven pounds of what may be called bread-
flour ; about four and a quarter pounds of fine Pollard,
or mixture of bran and meal ; about four pounds of
coarse Pollard, two and three-fourths pounds of bran,
and there will be a loss, on an average, of about two
pounds, making in all sixty pounds.

There are two methods of cultivation in general prac-
tice in this country, the old method of sowing broad-
cast, and the drill system, which is the more economi-
cal of the two, as it effects a saving of seed, and greater
security against what is called heaving out by the frost,
while the crop is usually greater, particularly if the
plant is cultivated, during its growth, as it may be,
between the drills. Very perfect drilling machines are
now in use in wheat-growing sections of the country.

BARLEY.

BARLEY (Hordeum vulgare) has generally a more slen-
der seed than that of wheat, and a firmer and rougher
covering of husk or chaff. It has also a longer awn, or
beard. Its amount of starch is about the same as that
of wheat, some analyses showing it to be greater, and
others less ; but its amount of gluten is less. It con-
tains, also, several per cent., ordinarily from six to
eight, of uncombined saccharine matter.

The average length of a grain of barley, or the mean
of many thousand measurements, is .345 of an inch, or
not far from a third of an inch, from which was derived

164 ORIGIN OF BARLEY.

the barleycorn of the old linear measure. The average
weight per bushel is between fifty and fifty-one pounds.

The native country of barley is as unknown as that
of wheat. There is a tradition among the Egyptians
that barley was the first grain used by mankind, and
they trace its introduction, as a cultivated plant, to the
goddess Isis. It was cultivated in Syria more than three
thousand years ago ; for we read that Ruth gleaned in
the field till evening, and beat out what she had, and it
was about an ephah of barley, and she gleaned till the
end of the barley harvest.

The grasses referred by botanists to the same genus as
barley have a strong outward resemblance to it ; but
none of them, by any degree of culture, can be improved
so as to be of service as food, so that they give no in-
dication as to the origin of the grain in question; and
as we know it to have been used in Syria from a very
remote antiquity, it is natural to infer that it originated
in that country. There are four distinct species of
barley, and from these have arisen a great number of
varieties.

The common barley, or the Hordeum vulgare, Fig.
136, is a spring species, and this is the kind most
commonly cultivated. It is six-rowed, the rows being
slightly irregular, the intermediate ones being a little
the most prominent. This is extensively cultivated in
Germany. It has passed into a six regular rowed
variety, which is a winter grain of a somewhat shorter
ear, and shells more easily when ripe, endures more
severe colds, and may be cultivated as a winter variety.
It is shown in Fig. 137.

TWO-ROWED BARLEY (Hordeum distichum), Fig. 138,
is sometimes cultivated in this country. Its spike, or
ear, is long and somewhat compressed, and the grain is
of a very good quality. It is sown in spring.

SIX-ROWED BARLEY.

165

There is also the true winter barley, the Hordeum
hexasticum, or square barley, and the Hordeum zeocriton,

Fig. 136. Common Barley.

Fig. 137.

166

GROWTH OF BARLEY.

or sprat barley. A beardless variety, the
Hordeum trifurcatum, is also known to
some extent, but possesses no advantages
for cultivation, that I am aware of, over the
more common varieties.

Barley is probably cultivated over a
wider range of climate and latitude than
any other cereal. In warm climates it
passes through its various phases of vege-
tation with astonishing rapidity, so as to
escape the droughts of summer ; and in
cold climates its growth is even more rapid,
coming to maturity before the frosts of
autumn. Linnaeus found it growing in
jLulean Lapland, in latitude 67° 20*, where
| the harvest began on the 28th July, the
seed having been sown only six weeks.

In the warmer climate of Spain, two
crops may be taken from the same ground,
by sowing in autumn and the following
summer. In this respect, therefore, barley
has the advantage of being more important
to mankind than even wheat.

Barley succeeds best in soils of medium
consistency, but accommodates itself to
almost every variety of soil, except very
moist ones. It endures a drought better
than excessive moisture, but it requires as
deep and good tillage as wheat, and may
take the same place in the rotation as
winter wheat or rye. It takes from the
soil a larger percentage of mineral sub-
stances, as potash, lime, magnesia, phos-
phone acid, &c., than wheat or rye, and
these substances should, in some form, be restored to

USES OF BARLEY. 167

the soil that is repeatedly cropped with barley. Liquid
manures are extensively used for it in Flanders, and
they promote its rapidity of vegetation ; but too stimu-
lating animal manures cause it to run too much to
stalk.

'* When the oak puts on his gosling gray,
'T is time to sow barley night and day,"

is an old maxim, handed down to the Norfolk farmers,
from which it appears that experience had shown the
first budding of the oak, previous to the expansion of
its leaves, as the best time to sow this grain. The most
extensive use of barley at the present time is for brew-
ing and distilling, a use of it which dates back to the
remotest antiquity, and which is said to be due to the
monks.

The best and heaviest grain is desirable. The com-
position of barley and the malt made from it are essen-
tially different, and may be stated as follows :

Barley. Malt.

Gluten, .... 3 1

Sugar, .... 4 16

Gum, 5 14

Starch 88 69

100 100

The quantity of barley annually consumed for brew-
ing in Great Britain exceeds thirty millions of bushels,
and from this more than eight millions of barrels of
beer are yearly brewed.

Barley is extensively used in eastern countries as
food for horses, but has never gained so great favor in
cooler latitudes. It is a less heating feed than the oat.

Barley ought to be reaped before it becomes "dead
ripe. In this state the husk is thick, making it more
difficult grinding. The approaching period of ripeness
is indicated by the yellowness of the straw and the
drooping of the heads.

168 RYE. — CHARACTERISTICS.

Barley contains, on an average, about sixty-five per
cent, of nutritive matter, while wheat contains about
seventy-eight per cent. According to the elaborate
experiments of Thaer, the comparative value of wheat,
barley, and oats, for feeding stock, may be represented
by 47, 32, and 24, taking the same quantity of each.
The soil on which these grains are cultivated has, no
doubt, much to do with their composition.

EYE.

RYE (Secale cereale) is said to be a native of the
island of Candia. It is a plant intermediate between
wheat and barley.

The general characteristics have been stated in the
preceding chapter. It is so nearly allied to the genus
Triticum, that it is not always easily distinguished from
it. There are four prominent species, known to bota-
nists as Secale villosum, or tufted rye ; Secale orientate,
or dwarf oriental rye ; Secale creticum, or Cretan rye,
and Secale cereale; the last being the only one cultivated
in this country for its seeds.

It is characterized by long-bearded spikes, or ears, and
a tall and slender stem. The glumes of the calyx are
toothed on the edges ; the root is fibrous and annual ;
the stem jointed, somewhat branched at the bottom, and
smooth. The spike is terminal, solitary, erect, and
often three or four inches long; the awns straight,
rough, erect, and four or five times the length of the
glumes. The plant is shown in Fig. 139.

Of this there are two prominent varieties, known to
farmers as winter and spring rye, and due to culture
mainly.

The variety most commonly cultivated, and which is
represented in the figure, is known as winter rye; and
this is to be preferred, whether it is sown for the grain

CULTURE OF RYE. 169

or the straw. Its characters as a variety are so little

fixed that it may be sown at almost any season of the

year, with the hope of getting a crop, in

the proper season for it, either of grain

or green fodder. It is far less sensitive

to the cold of winter than wheat, while

its vegetation is more rapid, so that in

high northern latitudes it is often a

more important crop.

The cultivation of rye does not essen-
tially differ from the other grains. It is
usually sown broadcast on a well-culti-
vated soil, but will succeed on lighter
soils than wheat, and does not require
so much moisture as either wheat or
barley. Wheat, in particular, must have
a considerable mixture of clay, or what
would be called a clay loam, or a clay
subsoil, to arrive at its full perfection as
a remunerative crop. It succeeds ad-
mirably on the calcareous soils of the
western prairies. But rye requires less
moisture than wheat, and will do very
well on light, sandy loams, and in a
comparatively dry season.

The grain or kernel of rye is smaller
in size than that of wheat. It tillers
much less in growing; and its straw, or
stem, when ripe, is very rich in silica ;
more so than that of wheat, while it con- rsg. 139. Rye.
tains a larger percentage of potash and phosphoric
acid than the latter. Manures containing a large
amount of phosphates and silicates of potash would
seem, therefore, to be highly important for rye, as,
indeed, they are for all the cereals.
15

170 CULTURE. — QUALITIES.

Rye straw, though of little value for fodder, is in
great demand for litter, and for various mechanical pur-
poses, and commands a high price, varying in the Bos-
ton market from ten to fifteen dollars a ton. But it is
as a fodder-plant, and particularly for soiling in early
spring, that it is now extensively used and highly prized.
For this purpose it is sown in the autumn, the earlier
the better, after other crops come from the ground, and
in early spring it starts up luxuriantly, and is fit to be
fed off by sheep and lambs, or to cut at the height of
six inches. At this stage of its growth, and before it
begins to spindle, it is succulent and nutritious ; but, as
soon as this period of its growth is reached, it loses its
succulent qualities, and is no longer relished by stock.

Eye has sometimes been parched and ground as a
substitute for coffee ; but it wants the grateful aroma
and the stimulating properties of the favorite Mocha
bean, and it can hardly come into general use.

Rye sown with wheat produces a mixed crop known
as meslin, which forms one of the healthiest kinds of
bread that it is possible to make, and practical millers
much prefer wheat and rye grown together to any mix-
ture of the two that have been grown separately. The
comparative value of wheat and rye is about as 71 to
64, according to the most accurate experiments and
analyses.

But rye may be cultivated longer on the same soil
than almost any other crop of the farm. This is a fact
which has often been noticed by practical farmers.

Rye contains a large per cent, of gluten, larger than
any of the cereals except wheat, while about five per
cent, of it consists of ready-formed saccharine matter,
which makes it easily converted into malt, and so into
beer and other spirits, particularly that known as " Hol-
lands," which is distilled from rye, flavored with juni-

ERGOT. — OATS. 171

per, the Dutch for which is Genever, from which comes
Geneva, contracted in Gin.

Rye is subject to a fatal disease, known as ergot ;
and when attacked with it is often called spurred rye.
It is most destructive in wet seasons, and is commonly
ascribed to a fungous growth, the poisonous effects of
which, when taken into the system of either men or
animals, were observed as early as 1596. It is, fortu-
nately, not very prevalent in this country, but some-
times develops itself in rye, as well as in some of the
other grasses, as June grass and reed canary grass, and
in some other species.

OATS.

The Oat (Avena saliva) derives its English name from
a Saxon word signifying to eat ; while its generic name,
avena, comes from a Latin word, signifying to desire,
from the fact that cattle are fond of it.

This plant differs considerably, in appearance, from
either wheat, rye, or barley. It grows in panicles,
the calyx being two-valved or two-seeded ; the seeds
smooth, and one-awned ; the root annual ; the stem
growing from two to three feet high. The two glumes,
or the chaff of the calyx, are nerved, pointed at the
end, longer than the flower, and unequal. The two
flowers and seeds in each calyx are alternate, conical in
shape ; the smaller awnless, the larger furnished with a
strong, bent awn, of two colors. The branches of the
panicle are erect when green, but droop as the seed
ripens, from its weight.

The only species cultivated for its seeds, the avena
saliva, has passed into many varieties, such as the Po-
tato Oat, the Siberian, the Tartarian, the Poland, the
White, the Black, the Horse-mane Oat, &c. The first is
undoubtedly one of the very best of these varieties,

172

VARIETIES. — CULTURE.

being the most productive, and making the best quality
of meal, though it requires a somewhat richer soil than
other varieties. It was found
growing accidentally in a heap
of manure with some potato-
plants, and hence its odd name.
Its grain is large and plump. The
common oat is seen in Fig. 140.
For poor lands, the Tartarian
or the Siberian is said to be pre-
ferable. The Poland has a thick
husk and a coarse straw. The
white varieties are known by
many local names, though there
are but slight differences be-
tween them. Oats require good
loamy or stiff soil to produce
the largest crops, and do best in
a moist climate or wet season.
They are generally sown broad-
cast, and harrowed or rolled in.
Many farmers are accustomed to
allow them to stand too long and
get over-ripened. In this case
they shell too easily, thus caus-
ing considerable loss, while the
straw becomes comparatively
worthless for feeding purposes.
As soon as the stem turns yellow
below the head or panicle, the
crop should be cut, without delay.
It has been often remarked by
farmers that other crops in the
rotation follow oats better than
Oat, any other grain.

NUTRITIVE QUALITIES — SEED. 173

The nutritive qualities of oats are less than those of
any other grain, taking weight for weight, very rarely
exceeding, even in the first quality, 75 per cent. ; while
those of wheat, for instance, often exceed' 95 per cent.
They are used mainly as food for horses in this coun-
try, the use for any other purpose being comparatively
limited. In Prance and Germany the practice of baking
oats and rye together in loaves as food for horses is
said to be gaining ground.

The quantity of oats required to seed an acre prop-
erly is from three to four bushels. Many farmers over-
seed, and use from four to six bushels, but without
reaping in proportion to what they had sown.

For the purpose of ascertaining, so far as one experi-
ment could throw light upon it, the requisite quantity
to seed an acre fully and economically, experiments
were instituted at the State Farm, in Massachusetts, in
the spring of 1858, and with the following results.

The oats were sown broadcast, on the 27th and 28th
days of April, and harrowed in :

Lot No. 1, at the rate of five bushels to the acre, yield 42 bushels.
" 2, " " four " " " 35% "

" 3, " " three " " « 40 «•

" 4, " " two «• " " 26% "

The lots consisted of an acre and a half each, and
were manured with one hundred pounds of plaster of
Paris per acre, spread broadcast, and harrowed in, ex-
cept a strip of one acre, running across all the lots,
which received no plaster. The oats were harvested
on the 28th of July, and thrashed on the 2d and 3d days
of September.

The yield of lot number one was forty-two bushels ;
of number two, thirty-five bushels and a half; of num-
ber three, forty bushels ; of number four, twenty-six
and a half bushels.
15*

174 YIELD. — INDIAN CORN.

The acre that received no plaster yielded twenty and
a half bushels. The grain weighed twenty-eight pounds
to the bushel, and was pretty uniform on all the lots,
that on number one being the lightest, both in grain
and straw.

The crop was small, the land being unfavorable for
oats ; but it will be perceived that the lot seeded
with three bushels to the acre produced forty bushels,
while that seeded with five bushels produced only forty-
two bushels.

The experiment, though exceedingly unsatisfactory
in other respects, seems to indicate that the use of
five or six bushels is more than is needed, and that three
or four are sufficient, especially on land that is well
cultivated and prepared.

A good yield of oats is from sixty to seventy-five
bushels per acre, and this is often obtained without any
extraordinary culture.

INDIAN CORN.

INDIAN CORN (Zea mays) was found under cultivation
by the Indians, on the discovery of the New World,
and was, unquestionably, of American origin. Its gen-
eric name was derived from a Greek word, signifying
to live, and was applied to this plant on account of the
farinaceous or mealy nature of the seeds-.

Indian corn, or maize, grows with a strong, jointed
stalk, rising to the height of from five to fifteen feet,
with large, alternate leaves starting from 'each joint, as
shown in Fig. 141. The male or sterile flowers, Fig.
142, are arranged in a loose, spreading panicle at the
apex, called the tassel, and the female or fertile flowers,
Fig. 143, on the side.

Each plant bears from one to four or five ears, Fig.
144. As many as six or eight have sometimes been

INDIAN CORN. 175

found on some of the varieties. The ears are cylin-

Fig. 145.

Fig. 142.

.143.

Fig. 141. Indian Corn.

176 DESCRIPTION — USES.

drical, and enclosed in a covering of leaves, in the form
of sheaths, called the husks. The ears consist of the
fruit or grain, arranged in rows around a pithy cylinder,
called the cob. The number of rows varies from eight
to thirty-six, but does not usually exceed fourteen or
sixteen, while the number of grains in a row is from
thirty to forty. These seeds are rounded on the sur-
face, and compressed on the sides, and from the germ or
eye of each a silky or thread-like style or filament of a
bright-green color extends along the inner side of the
husks, and hangs down, forming together a thick cluster,
called the silks. These receive the pollen or farina as
it falls from the staminate flowers of the tassel. The
seed could not attain perfection unless it received this
pollen by means of its silk, a fact which can be easily
proved by cutting off the tassels of all the stalks grow-
ing together, before their flowers develop. Indian corn
is an annual, and, owing to the mealy quality of its
seeds, is one of the most important of all the cultivated
plants.

There is but one species referred by botanists to this
genus, zea ; but of this, there are innumerable varieties,
due to climate, soil, and culture. These varieties are
distinguished by the size and color of the grains, the
number of rows on the ear, the length of time required
to come to maturity, and other characteristics, which
can hardly be said to be fixed and permanent, as they
are easily modified by culture.

Indian corn is extensively used as human food, and
for feeding and fattening domestic animals, and holds the
highest rank among the cereals, whether its nutritive
qualities, or the produce and return for the seed sown,
or its range of climate, be regarded.

Cotton is sometimes said to be king; but if, in Amer-
ican agriculture, the genius of which is truly republican,

COMPOSITION — VARIETIES. 177

where all the great staples form so important a part in
promoting the national prosperity, one can be said to
hold preeminence over the rest, the palm must be yielded
to the golden corn, rearing its imperial form and tasselled
banner high over all its compeers, and founding its
claim to royalty, as the prince of cereals, by the universal-
ity of its uses, and its intrinsic importance to mankind.

Its flexibility of organization is truly wonderful ;
for while it grows best on moist, rich soils, and with
great heats, there are varieties of it which can be raised
at the height of more than eight thousand feet above the
level of the sea. The warmest regions of the -torrid
zone produce it in abundance, while the short summers
of Canada have varieties adapted to them, and arrive at
maturity with almost the same certainty as those under
a hotter sun, and a longer season.

According to some analyses, Indian corn furnishes in
its composition 88.43 per cent, of fat-forming principles,
gum, <fcc.; 1.26 per cent, of flesh-forming principles, 9
per cent, of water, and 1.31 per cent, of salts. Its
chemical composition shows it to be among the most
fattening of the cereals, and this is also the result of
experience. For our domestic animals, therefore, and
as a means of raising and fattening them, Indian corn
may justly be regarded as superior even to wheat.

No part of the plant is necessarily lost, or thrown
aside as worthless. Even the cob is ground, and, for
some purposes of feeding to stock, it is very valuable;
while, if it were necessary, the plant would supply us
with a large amount, and a very good quality, of sugar.

As already intimated, the varieties of Indian corn are
innumerable. Among the favorites for high latitudes
in this country, as in Maine, New Hampshire, <fcc., may
be mentioned the Early Canada, the old Eight-rowed
Yellow, and with some the King Philip,

178 ROCKY MOUNTAIN CORN.

though the latter has not met the expectations raised
for it by the United States Patent Office. A variety
known as the Smutty White is also largely cultivated in
some sections of Massachusetts, and its yield is greater
than most others adapted to northern latitudes. The
Turkish White Flint, the Early Button, Peabody's Pro-
lific, the Golden Sioux, the Kentucky Field, the Wyan-
dotte, the White Gourd-seed, the Tuscarora, and many
others, might be named.

In addition to these prominent varieties, which are,
in some sections, cultivated as field crops, might be
mentioned several well-marked varieties of Sweet corn,
such as StowelPs Evergreen, the Asylum, the Old Col-
ony sweet corn, and Darling's Early, to say nothing of
several other favorite early varieties.

There is a variety known as the Rocky Mountain
corn, the kernels of which are each covered with
glumes or husks, which they lose, on cultivation, in the
course of three or four years. In addition to these,
many small-eared varieties used for parching, and known
as Pop corn, are cultivated to a limited extent in all parts
of the country, and among them Rice corn and Calico
corn.

The culture of Indian corn is simple, and easily un-
derstood. It requires a deep, rich, and mellow soil,
thoroughly tilled. After ploughing, the land is care-
fully marked off in rows from three to four feet apart
each way, according as the variety is large or small,
when four or five kernels are dropped in a hill, either
by hand or machine, and covered to the depth of from
one to two inches. After the corn is up, it is cultivated
with the horse hoe or plough, to keep it free from weeds.
It is sometimes hilled at the last hoeing ; at others the
ground is left level, which is thought to be the best.

When Indian corn is planted as a fodder crop, or to

SELECTION OF SEED. 179

be cut and fed out green, it is sown in drills instead of
hills. For this use it is one of the most valuable and
important plants we have.

Most of the operations in the culture and harvesting
of Indian corn may be performed by machinery. Husk-
ing, one of the slowest and most irksome processes con-
nected with it, may now be well and quickly done, at a
great saving of time and labor over the old methods.

In selecting corn for seed, the tips of the ears are
thought to be best, and that part near the butt end of
the ear next in value. The common practice in New
England, for many years, has been to use only the seeds
which grow on the middle of the ear.

The experiment of planting seed taken from different
parts of the ear has been repeatedly tried, and the
result has almost uniformly been better from that taken
near the tips, however contrary it may be to the theo-
ries hitherto received, in regard to the full and com-
plete development and perfection of seed. One farmer,
within my knowledge, followed up his experiment for

Fig. 146.

ten years, planting only the corn from the small end of
the ears, choosing such as were well filled out, then
selecting only that from the middle of the ears, and
then only that from the large ends. After ten years,
he found that in seven years of the ten the crop from
the small ends was the largest and best.

180 STATE FARM EXPERIMENT.

A similar experiment was tried at the State Farm of
Massachusetts, in the summer of 1858.

Two acres were planted, on a light soil, well adapted
to Indian corn, manured with seven and a half cords
of barn-yard manure to the acre, spread broadcast and
cultivated in, and ten bushels of leached ashes and one
hundred pounds of gypsum to the acre, put in the hill.
The corn was planted on the third day of June, in alter-
nate rows, with seed taken from the large ends, middles,
and tips, of the ears. It was hoed three times in the
course of the season. One acre was harvested and
husked with care, and the result noted on the 19th
of October. The rows planted with seed taken from the
large ends of the ears produced seven hundred and
thirty-eight pounds of sound and seventy-seven pounds
of soft corn on the ear, and one thousand three hun-
dred and sixty pounds of stover. That from seed
taken from the middle of the ears produced six hundred
and sixty-three pounds of sound corn in the ear, one
hundred and sixty-four pounds of soft corn, and one
thousand two hundred and ninety ponnds of stover.
That from seed taken from the small ends produced
seven hundred and forty-seven pounds of sound and
fifty-three pounds of soft corn, and one thousand three
hundred and twenty pounds of stover. Comparing the
crops grown on this acre, and estimating the sound corn
at one, and the soft corn at half a cent per pound,
and the stover at seven dollars the ton, — which is about
its market value in that vicinity, — it would appear that
the value of the crop the seed for which was taken
from the large ends of the ear was as follows :

738 pounds of sound corn, <a> I cent per pound, $7.38

77 " soft corn, (8) £ " " " .39

1360 " stover, (5) 1 dollars per ton, 4.76

$12.53

COMPARATIVE RESULTS. 181

Value of the product of the rows planted with seed
taken from the middle of the ears :

663 pounds sound corn, $6.63

164 " soft corn, .82

1200 " stover, (8) 7 dollars per ton, 4.51

$11.96

Value of the product of the rows planted with seed
taken from the tips of the ears :

747 pounds sound corn, $7.47

53 " soft corn, .27

1320 " stover, 462

$12.36

In this case, the seed from the butts produced the
most, that from the tips the next, and that from the
middles the least, in money value ; but the tips produced
the most, the butts the next, and the middles the least,
sound corn ; while the middles produced the most, the
butts the next, and the tips the least, soft corn.

One experiment, as already intimated, does not prove
a point in agriculture, however fair it maybe, — and
the above was eminently so, so far as uniformity of soil
and manuring was concerned, — and this point is worthy
of more careful trial and investigation by practical
farmers.

The chief objection to sowing Indian corn to be cut
up green and dried for winter fodder is to be found in
the difficulty with which it is cured, on account of the
lateness of the season at which it arrives at the most
productive stage of its growth, and the extreme sue-
culency of its large and juicy leaves. But when prop-
erly cured it affords a very large amount of nutritious
feed, which is relished by all kinds of stock, and is
especially valuable for feeding to young animals; and,
notwithstanding the objection often made to it, it is
16

182 DRIED CORN AS FODDER.

worthy of a more extended cultivation for this pur-
pose.

The amount of dried fodder which may be obtained
from it, when properly cultivated, is truly astonishing.
Perhaps the process of kiln-drying might be introduced
with advantage. It is, at least, worthy of a careful
trial, wherever facilities for it can be had at a reason-
able expense.

CHAPTER III.

THE ARTIFICIAL GRASSES; OR, PLANTS CULTI-
VATED AND USED LIKE GRASSES, THOUGH NOT
BELONGING TO THE GRASS FAMILY.

WE have given our whole attention, in the preceding
pages, to what are strictly and properly called the nat-
ural or the true grasses. We now come to consider, very
briefly, another class of plants, called artificial grasses.

Curious as it may appear, the artificial grasses were
cultivated first, in point of time, in England ; the red
clover having been introduced and grown there about
the year 1633 ; sainfoin, 1651 ; yellow clover in 1659,
and white clover about the year 1700 ; while not one
of the natural grasses was cultivated till nearly a cen-
tury later, with the exception of perennial rye grass,
first cultivated in 1677.

About the year 1759 the custom of sowing the chaff
and seed dropped from the hay-stack along with the
artificial grasses and rye grass began, and soon after, —
between 1761 and 1764, — the cultivation of Timothy
and orchard grass was introduced from America. The
culture of the bent grasses, the sheep's fescue, and the
crested dog's tail, began soon after. In 1766 the Lon-
don Society for the Encouragement of Arts offered
premiums for the collection of the seeds of some of the
grasses then found growing wild, such as the meadow
foxtail, the meadow fescue, the sweet-scented vernal

(183)

184 EARLY CULTURE OF GRASSES

grass, <fcc. ; and in 1769 the same society offered addi-
tional rewards for further investigations and experi-
ments on the culture and comparative value of the
natural grasses. But little was done, however, till the
experiments at Wobnrn Abbey, in 1824.

In this country the extensive and practical cultiva-
tion of the natural grasses seems to have been com-
menced at an earlier date than in England ; for Jared
Eliot, writing about the year 1750, speaks of the cul-
ture of Timothy as having been adopted some time
previously. Indeed, the necessities of our rigorous
climate compelled attention to this branch of husbandry
soon after the establishment of the Plymouth colony, in
the year 1620.

The climate of England, on the other hand, admitted
a greater degree of reliance on the wild luxuriance of
nature, while the culture of the grains gave a suffi-
ciency of coarse straw, which formed the winter sus-
tenance for stock till the modern improvements in
farming introduced a better system. This mode of
management was brought over to this country by the
first settlers, and attempted for some time; the few cat-
tle they had being kept on poor and miserable swale hay,
or often upon the hay obtained from the salt marshes.
The death of their cattle from starvation and exposure
was of very common occurrence, and not unfrequently
the farmer lost his entire herd. The treatment of ani-
mals now as they were treated during the whole of the
first century of the colony, would be an evidence of
inhumanity which could scarcely be tolerated in any
community. This treatment was in part, at least, owing
to the poverty of the settlers, and more, probabty, to
the ideas and practices in which they had been early
trained in a different climate. Fortunately for the most
useful of our domestic animals, a more enlightened pol-

RED CLOVER — DESCRIPTION. 185

icy now governs the mass of men, and this policy has
led to greater care and attention to the cultivation of
the grasses.

The culture of the natural grasses takes the prece-
dence, therefore, in this country, in point of time, from
the causes already indicated ; but the minds of men are
so influenced by the routine of ordinary practice, that
the introduction of clover in the early part of the last
century met with great prejudice, which is now nearly,
if not quite extinct.

RED CLOVER (Trifolium pratense), though not in-
cluded in the family of grasses, is not only exten-
sively cultivated, but is found to be one of the most
valuable and economical forage plants. It belongs to
the pulse family, or Leguminosce, which includes the
larger portion of forage plants called artificial grasses,
in distinction from the graminese, the only true, and
often called the natural grasses. The generic name,
trefoil, or trifolium,is derived from the Latin tres, three,
and folium, a leaf; and the genus can generally be very
readily distinguished by the number and arrangement
of its leaves in three leaflets, and flowers in den^
oblong or globular heads.

The stems of red clover are ascending, somewhat
hairy ; leaflets oval or obovate, often notched at the
end, and marked on the upper side with a pale spot ;
heads ovate, and set directly upon the stalk, instead
of upon branches. This species is regarded as by far
the most important of the whole genus for the practi-
cal purposes of agriculture. It has passed into a num-
ber of varieties, one of which is biennial, another peren-
nial ; the latter by long cultivation becoming biennial,
while the former — as is true of most biennial, and
many annual plants — assumes, to some extent, the
16*

186

ITS EAELY INTRODUCTION.

character of a perennial, and can be made to last three
or four years, or even more, by simply preventing it
from running to seed. This plant is seen in Fig. 147,
its leaf is shown in Fig. 148, and its fruit magnified in
Fig. 149.

Fig. 147. Red Clover.

Fig 148.

The introduction of clover into England, it is often
said, produced an entire revolution in her agriculture ;
and, indeed, when we consider how important a part it
plays in our own system of farming, we can with diffi-
culty imagine how our ancestors ever* got on at all in
farming without it. Be this as it may, it is certain that
it led to many of the most important improvements in
the rotation of crops. Clover is very 'properly regarded
as a fertilizer of the soil. The action of its long and
powerful tap-roots is not only mechanical, — loosening
the soil, and admitting the air, — but also chemical, serv-

COMPOSITION — CULTURE. 187

ing to fix the gases important to enrich the earth, and
when these roots decay they add largely to that black
mass of matter we call the soil. It serves, also, by its
luxuriant foliage, to destroy annual weeds which would
spring up on newly-seeded land, especially after imper-
fect cultivation. But one of the most valuable uses of
it. and one too often overlooked, is to shade the surface
of the soil, and thereby increase its fertility.

Clover is emphatically a lime plant, and the soils best
adapted to it are tenacious or stiff loams. The careful
analysis of Professor Way found no less than 35.39 per
cent, of lime in the inorganic constituents of red clover,
and that of Boussingault 32.80 per cent, while intelli-
gent practice has arrived so nearly at the same conclu-
sion, that the term " clover soils " is now almost univer-
sally used to indicate a tenacious loam, containing more
or less of lime or clay in its composition.

Another great advantage in favor of the cultivation of
clover, consists in its rapid growth, But a few months
elapse from the sowing of the seed before it yields,
ordinarily, an abundant and nutritious crop, relished by
cattle of all kinds.

Clover-seed should always be sown in the spring of
the year, in the climate of New England. It is often
sown upon the late snows of March or April, and soon
finds its way down to the soil, where, aided by the
moisture of early spring, it quickly germinates, and rap-
idly shoots up its leaf-stalks.

An accurate and valuable analysis of this plant, both
in its green and dry state, will be found in a tabular
form on a subsequent page ; while a more extended
notice of its culture and the mode of curing it, with
the results of practical experience as to its value, will
also be given in its proper place.

188 WHITE CLOVER.

WHITE CLOVER, DUTCH CLOVER, HONEYSUCKLE (Tri-
folium repens), is equally common with the rud, and
often forms a very considerable portion of the sward
or turf of pastures and fields of a tenacious and moist
soil. Its stems are spreading, slender, and creeping ;

Fig. 150. White Clover. Fig. 151.

leaves inversely heart-shaped ; flower-heads small, white ;
pods four-seeded ; root perennial. Flowers from May
to September. This plant is shown in Fig. 150. A
magnified flower is seen in Fig. 151.

White clover is widely diffused over this country and
all the countries of Europe. It is indigenous probably
both to England and America. When first cultivated
from seed collected from wild plants, at the beginning
of the last century, it was recorded of a farmer that he
had " sowed the wild white clover which holds the
ground and decays not." Its chief value is as a pas-
ture grass, and it is as valuable for that purpose as the
red clover is for hay or for soiling, though there are
some who place a low estimate upon it.

It easily accommodates itself to a great variety of
soils, but grows most luxuriantly in moist grounds and
moist or wet seasons. Indeed, it depends so much
upon a general distribution of rains through the season,
that when they are sufficiently abundant it comes in

COW GRASS. — LUCERNE. 189

profusely even where it was not observed in other
years, and hence such seasons pass under the term of
" clover years." It is not, apparently, so much relished
by stock as from its sweetness we should be led to
expect ; but it is, on the whole, to be cherished for per-
manent pastures, and improved, as it undoubtedly may-
be, by a proper selection and culture of varieties. For
an accurate analysis of this plant, the reader is referred
to a subsequent page.

Cow GRASS, ZIGZAG GLOVER, PERENNIAL CLOVER
(Trifolium medium), grows on dry hills in Massachu-
setts, and has been introduced for cultivation in vari-
ous parts of the country, as a pasture plant. Its stems
are zigzag, smoothish ; leaflets oblong, entire, spotless ;
heads mostly stalked ; flower purple, and larger than in
red clover.

ALSIKE, or SWEDISH CLOVER (Trifolium hybridwm),
has also been introduced for cultivation on moist, strong
soils, and is found to be a valuable acquisition. It will
continue in the soil for many years, from its own seeds,
if left to mature.

SUCKLING RED CLOVER (Trifolium Jiliforme) has also
been introduced and recommended for cultivation, but
has not come into general culture.

LUCERNE, ALFALFA (Medicago sativa), is shown in
Fig. 152. Leguminous plants of the genus Medicago
have been known and cultivated from time immemo-
rial. This particular species, lucerne, was brought from
Media to Greece, in the time of Darius, about five hun-
dred years before Christ, and its cultivation afterwards
extended among the Romans, and through them to the
south of France, where it has ever since continued to
be a favorite forage plant. It does not endure a climate
as severe as red clover, requiring greater heat and sun«

190

HABIT OF GROWTH.

light ; but, in a latitude equally suited to both plants, it
would, perhaps, be somewhat difficult to say which
should have the preference. In some respects it is
decidedly superior, as in being perennial, and conse-
quently remaining long in the soil. I have seen fine
specimens of it, where the seed was sown in 1824, still
maintaining its vigorous hold of the soil, and growing
with remarkable luxuriance. The crop of lucerne is as
abundant as red clover, and is equally well relished by
cattle, both green and dry. Its yield of green fodder
continues later in the season than that of red clover.

Fig. 154.

Fig. 152. Lucerne.

Fig. 153.

Lucerne sends down its tap roots in mellow soils to
enormous depths, having been found in sandy soils thir-
teen feet in length. The leaflets are in threes, obovate,

CULTURE OF LUCERNE. 191

oblong, toothed ; the flowers pale-blue, violet, or purple,
shaped as in Fig. 153 ; the fruit in downy pods, having
two or three twirls, as in Fig. 154.

Lucerne is cultivated in Chili, and grows wild in the
utmost luxuriance in the pampas of Buenos Ayres,
where it is called alfalfa, which is simply the common
lucerne, slightly modified by climate, and may be re.
garded as a variety.

The cultivation of lucerne is somewhat more difficult
than that of clover for the first year, requiring a soil
thoroughly mellowed, and prepared by clean and care-
ful tillage ; and the want of proper attention on this
point has led to partial failures in the attempts to raise
it in this country. It suffers and languishes in compact
clay soils, and does not flourish in light soils lying over
an impermeable subsoil, which prevents the water from
running off. It will never succeed well on thin soils.
But in a permeable subsoil, consisting of loam, or sand,
or gravel, its roots can penetrate to great depths ; and,
being nearly destitute of lateral shoots, provided with
numerous fibrous rootlets, or radical off-shoots, imbibe
their moisture and nutriment in layers of soil far below
the average of other plants. In this respect it differs
materially from clover.

For lucerne, a suitable subsoil is of the utmost con-
sequence. For the short-lived red clover, a suitable
surface soil is more important ; a want of care and deep
tillage, especially a neglect to break through and loosen
up the hard-pan wherever it exists, will inevitably lead
to failure with lucerne. But, when the soil is suitable,
it will produce good and very profitable crops for from
five to ten or twelve years, and, of course, it does not
belong in the system of short rotations.

But, notwithstanding the large quantity of succulent
and nutritious forage it produces, its effect is to ameli-

192 ENRICHING THE SOIL.

orate and improve the soil, rather than to exhaust it.
This apparent anomaly is explained by the fact that all
leguminous, broad-leaved plants derive a large propor-
tion of their nutritive materials from the atmosphere,
and that a vast quantity of roots are left to decay in
the soil when it is at last broken up, varying, of course,
with the length of time the plant continues in the soil,
while the luxuriant foliage serves to shade the soil, and
thus to increase its fertility. Much of this rich foliage
is scattered and left to decay, as is the case with all
similar plants at the time of harvesting, and the growth
of the aftermath is also usually very considerable. The
fact that it actually increases the fertility of the soil for
other plants has often been proved, and may be re-
garded as fully established. A soil which would bear
only a medium crop of wheat at first, produced a greatly
increased quantity after being laid down to lucerne a
few years, till its roots had enriched the soil.

Lucerne should not follow immediately after having
been grown a few years on the same soil, and then
broken up ; but after the land on which it has been
grown has been cultivated with some other crop, or
laid down to the natural grasses a length of time equal
to that during which it had previously remained in
lucerne, it can safely be sown again with it.

The seed of lucerne, when fresh and good, is yellow,
glossy, and heavy. If the seeds are white, it is an indi-
cation that they are not ripe. If they are brown, we
may infer that they have been subjected to too strong
a heat to separate them from their husks. In either of
these cases, it is not safe to purchase or to rely upon
them. The same may be said of clover, and it is desir-
able to try them by a simple method, which will be indi-
cated hereafter in speaking of the selection of seed.
As the seeds of lucerne are somewhat larger than

CUTTING. — HARDINESS. 193

clover-seed, and the plant tillers less, it is necessary to
sow a larger quantity per acre. It may be sown in
the spring along with grain crops, as clover often is,
and not a very large crop should be expected the first
year.

Lucerne should be cut as soon as it begins to flower,
or even earlier. If cut much earlier, it is apt to be too
watery and less nutritious, and cures with greater diffi-
culty .; if later, it becomes coarse and hard, with woody
fibre, and is less relished by cattle. It may be cut and
fed green, and is an exceedingly valuable plant for
soiling cattle, or it may be cut and cured and used like
clover hay ; but in either case it must be cut before
blossoming.

It is thought by many that lucerne will not endure
our northern climates ; but I do not think it satisfacto-
rily proved, and I have been somewhat minute in speak-
ing of it, in the hope of inducing more careful experi-
ments on a scale and under circumstances sufficient to
determine its relative value for us. I am the more
anxious on this point from the fact that I am convinced,
after much study and observation of our climate, that
we should direct our labors in farming more with refer-
ence to the frequent droughts of summer to which we
are liable every year, and from which there is no imme-
diate and practicable escape, except in thorough drain-
age and deep tillage, which most farmers are unwilling
to undertake at present. " When properly managed,
the number of cattle which can be kept in good condi-
tion on an acre of lucerne, during the whole season,
exceeds belief. It is no sooner mown than it pushes,
out fresh shoots ; and, wonderful as the growth of
clover sometimes is, in a field that has been lately
mown, that of lucerne is far more rapid. Lucerne will
last for many years, shooting its roots — tough and
17

194: SAINFOIN— DESCRIPTION.

fibrous almost as those of liquorice — downwards for
nourishment, till they are altogether out of the reach
of drought. In the dryest and most sultry weather,
when every blade of grass droops for want of moisture,
lucerne holds up its stem, fresh and green, as in the
genial spring."

I am convinced, also, that the failures of attempts to
cultivate lucerne with us may be ascribed, in very many
instances, to an improper selection of soils ; but it is
nevertheless true that our climate is not so well adapted
to it as that of the south of France ; and experiments
hereafter, like those already made, may show its culture
to be wholly impracticable.

SAINFOIN (Hedysarumonobrychis) differs from lucerne
in many important particulars. It is a leguminous plant,
with many stems from two to three feet long, straggling,
tapering, smooth ; leaves in pairs of pointed, oblong
leaflets, slightly hairy on the under side ; flower-stalks
higher than the leaves, ending in a spike of crimson or
variegated flowers, succeeded by flat, hard pods, toothed
on the edges and prickly on the sides ; root perennial
and hard and woody. Flowers in July. It is shown
in Fig. 155. The flower is shown in Fig. 156,, and the
fruit in Fig. 157.

Experiments have been made in introducing and cul-
tivating it in the northern latitudes of this country, but
without much success. It requires a calcareous soil.
In the south of France, where it flourishes best, it is
considered an indispensable forage plant, improving
the quality and increasing the quantity of milk when
fed to milch cows, to which it may be given without
producing the "hoove," to which they are subjected
when allowed to feed freely on green clover and lucerne.
Its stalks do not become ligneous if allowed to stand till

SEEDS. — SOILS.

195

blossoming, as those of lucerne do. The amount of
fodder obtained from it is less than that from clover or
lucerne, but its quality, where it can be successfully
grown, is better. Its fruit or seeds are said to be more
nutritious than oats. They are eagerly sought by fowls,
and are said to cause them to lay.

fig. 157.

Fig. 155. Sainfoin.

Fig. 156.

Sainfoin, when green and young, will not stand a
severe winter, but after the second or third year will
endure a considerable degree of cold. It will succeed
in very dry soils, sands, and gravels, owing to its long
descending tap root, which has been found sixteen feet
in length. Its seeds have been generally distributed
over the country, but, so far as I know, they have been
followed by no marked success in the way of crops.

196

JAPAN CLOVER.

JAPAN CLOVER (Lespedeza striata). This plant,
supposed to have been introduced from Japan about
forty years ago, has assumed very
considerable importance over a
large portion of the Southern
States as a valuable forage plant.
It belongs to the leguminous
family. The leaves are trifoliate,
the flowers pea-shaped and pur-
plish, the seed-pods small, oval,
each holding a single seed. It has
spread rapidly and widely, till it
may now be said to extend from
the Atlantic to Western Texas,
adapting Itself to nearly all soils
and locations. On cultivated
lands of good quality it grows
erect and much branched, and
furnishes a very valuable hay.
On light sands and gravels it
maintains its dwarfish habit, with
a wiry growth like the knot-grass ;
rises to two or three feet and is
often called " bush-clover." It sends a long tap-root
down into the sub-soil, and that enables it to endure a
drought. Stock of all kinds are very fond of it, and
it is valuable for grazing as well as for hay.

It is usually sown broadcast at the rate of half a
bushel of seed to the acre, and does well sown with
grain.

Fig. 157a. Japan Clover.

but on richer soils it

CHAPTER IV.

THE GRASS-LIKE RUSHES, CARICES, AND SEDGES
COMMONLY CALLED GRASSES.

THERE is a large class of plants belonging to different
families, which, though of comparatively little value
when their nutritive qualities are considered, are nev-
ertheless used as forage crops to a very considerable
extent in different sections of the country, and demand
at least a passing notice, particularly as they are called
grasses, though improperly, in popular language.

The first of these are the arrow grasses, which form a
limited family, consisting of only three species, known
as the MARSH ARROW GRASS (Triglocliin palustre), the
SEA-SIDE ARROW GRASS (TriglocMn maritimum), flower-
ing in July and August, in salt marshes, and the TALL
ARROW GRASS (TriglocMn datum). The second of these,
having rush-like leaves, sweetish to the taste, is relished
by cattle, and forms a pretty good fodder when well
cured. It is common along the coast from New Eng-
land south. •

Many of the rushes or grass-like plants so common
along the borders of our ponds, and called grasses in
popular language, are readily eaten in the spring while
green and full of juice, more on account of their suc-
culency than of any nutritive qualities which they pos-
sess, which, with few exceptions, are very slight. They
are arranged in the following table :

17* (197)

198

BUSHES. — BLACK GRASS.

TABLE II. — LIST OF GRASS-LIKE RUSHES. (Juncacece.)

Common Name.

Systematic Name.

Time of
Flowering.

Place of Growth.

Hairy Wood Rush, . .
Small Wood Rush, . .
Common Wood Rush, .
Pointed Rush, ....
Brown Rush,

Luzula pilosa,
Luzula parviflora, . . .
Luzula campestris, . .
Luzula arcuata, ....
Luzula spicata, ....

May, . . .
July, . . .
May, . . .

Open woods, banks.
Mountains.
Fields, dry woods.
Mountains.
Mountains.

Soft Rush . .

Juncus effusus, ....

June, . . .

Swamps, common.

Slender Rush

Juncus filiformis, . . .

July, . . .

Wet banks.

Baltic Rush,

Juncus balticus, ....

July, . . .

Sandy shores.

Bristly Rush,
Sea Rush ...

Juncus setaceus, . . .
Juncus maritimus, . .

On the coast.
Salt marshes.

Pale Rush,
Green Rush

Juncus scirpoides, . . .

Julv

Wet banks.
Swamps.

Weak Rush,

Juncus debilis, ....

Wet swamps.

Sharp-fruited Rush, . .
Brownish-fruited Rush, .
Marshal Rush, ....
Round-headed Rush, .

Juncus acuminatus, . .
Juncus articulatus, . .
Juncus militaris, . . .
Juncus nodosus, ....
Juncus Conradi, . . .

August,. .

July, . . .
July, Aug.,

Boggy swamps.
Wet places.
Sandy bogs.
Borders of rivers.
Borders of ponds.

Grass-leaved Rush, . .
Long-fruited Rush, . .
Three-leaved Rush, . .
Toad Rush

Juncus marginatus, . .
Juncus Stygius, ....
Juncus trifidus, ....

July, ... .

July, . . .
Julv

Moist, sandy swamps.
Peat swamps.
Mountain summits.

Juncus tennis, ....

July, . . .

Low grounds, fields.

Juncus Greenei, ....

July, . . .

Sandy salt marshes.

Juncus bulbosus, .

August, .

Borders salt marshes.

The most prominent and valuable of these plants is
the

BLACK GRASS (Juncw bulbosus, var. gerardi), an in-
habitant of salt marshes. This plant has a simple,
slender stem, somewhat flattened, from one to two feet
high. It is considered the best product of the salt
marshes, and grows most luxuriantly along their borders,
which are only occasionally overflowed by the tides,
often working its way to the uplands, where the seed is
scattered, in large quantities, in curing. It should be
cut early, and, when well cured, is thought to be nearly
equal in value to good English hay. Though not of
itself equal in value, weight for weight, to " goose

THE STAR GRASSES. 199

grass" (Glyceria maritima), yet the product per acre is
so much larger as to make it a more desirable crop.

There is also a small family of plants called the yel-
low-eyed grasses, or the star grasses, consisting of
only two species, the first of which is the YELLOW-
EYED GRASS (Xyris bulbosa), flowering in July, August,
and September, growing on sandy and peaty soils, and
bogs near the coast ; and the second, the COMMON YEL-
LOW-EYED GRASS (Xyris caroliniana), flowering in
August, on sandy swamps. These are beautiful grasses,
but of no special agricultural value.

The sedges and plants constituting the coarse and
innutritious herbage, properly included in the term
CAREX, form a large and prominent genus of grass-like
plants, consisting in all of about four hundred and fifty
species, known to botanists, extensively diffused over
all the damp parts of the globe, and in popular language
called grasses.

The roots of the sedges are perennial, and for the
most part creeping, a few being tufted and fibrous.
The stems are simple and free from joints or nodes.
The leaves are linear, flat, pointed, roughish on the sur-
face, and sharp on the edges.

A few species of carex grow on sandy hills and along
the sea-shore ; but most inhabit marshes, wet meadows,
swamps, and the low, wet banks of streams and ditches,
and moist woods. None of them are of any real agri-
cultural value, though they constitute mainly what is
termed " meadow hay," or more properly swale hay, in
some parts of the country. They are nearly desti-
tute of mealy and saccharine principles, in which many
of the true grasses abound, and are eaten by cattle only
when compelled by hunger, in the want of better
grasses. It not unfrequently happens, however, that

200

LIST OF SEDGES.

there is an admixture of the higher grasses among the
carices or sedges, such as the fowl meadow, the bastard
fowl meadow, the white top, or some of the other
species possessing higher nutritive qualities ; and then,
of course, the hay made from the swale is proportion-
ably improved, and may thus become of considerable
value for winter fodder.

The sedges are arranged in the following table :

TABLE III. — LIST OF CARICES OR SEDGES. (Cyperacece.)

Common Name.

Systematic Name.

Time of
Blossoming.

Place of Growth.

Yellow Dwarf Sedge, . .
Diandrus Sedge, ....
NuttaH's Sedge, ....

Cyperus flavescens, . .
Cyperus diandrus, . . .
Cyperus Nuttallii, . . .
Cyperus flavicomus, . .

Aug., . . .
Aug.,. . .
Aug., . . .

Bogs.
Wet grounds.
Salt marshes.

Chestnut Sedge, ....
Michaux's Sedge, . . .
Engelmann's Sedge, . .
Bristle-spiked Galingale,
Dwarf Odorous Galingale,
Pointed Sedge, ....

Cyperus erythrorhizos, .
Cyperus Michauxianus,
Cyperus Engelmanni, .
Cyperus strigosus, . . .
Cyperus inflexus, . . .
Cyperus acuminatus, .

Aug., . . .
Aug., . . .

Aug., . , .
Aug.,. . .

Sandy banks.
Marshes.
Low banks.
Swamps.
River banks.
Low grounds.

Toothed Galingale, . .
Nut Grass,

Cyperus dentatus, . . .
Cyperus rotund us, . .

Aug , . . .

Sandy swamps.
Sandy fields.

Gray's Galingale, . . .
Straw Sedge

Cyperus Grayii, ....

Aug., . . .
Anff

Barren soils.

Schweinitz's Galingale, .

Cyperus Schweinitzii, .
Cyperus ovularis, . . .

Aug., . . .
Sept

Shores of lakes.
Sandy soils.

Bent Sed^e

Anw

Sandy soils

Wiry Sedge,

AU(r

Roundhead Sedge, . . .

Kyllingia pumila, . . .

Aug., . . .

Low grounds.

Dwarf Hemicarpha, . .

Hemicarpha subsquar-
rosa,

July, . . .

Wet sands.

Horsetail Rush, ....
Quadrangular Rush, . .

Eleocharis equisetoicles,
Eleocharis quad ran gu-
lata

—

Shallow water.
Low grounds.

Tubercled Spike-rush, .
Obtuse Spike-rush, . .
Common Spike-rush, . .
Olive Spike-rush, . . .
Brake Spike-rush, .
Mediate Spike-rush, . .
Slender Club-rush, . .

Eleocharis tuberculosa,
Eleocharis obtusa, . . .
Eleocharis palustris, . .
Eleocharis olivacea, . .
Eleocharis rostellata, . .
Eleocharis intermedia, .
Eleocharis tenuis, . . .

Aug , . . .

June, . .
Aug., . . .
Aug., . . .

Aug., . .
June, . . .

Sandy swamps.
Bogs, borders of ponds.
Swamps.
Wet, sandy places.
Marshes.
Wet places.
Wet places.

LIST OF SEDGES.

201

Common Name.

Systematic Name.

Time of
Blossoming.

Place of Growth.

Black Club-rush, . . .
Flat Stem-rush, ....
Robbing's Club-rush, . .
Hair Club-rush, ....
Dwarf Spike-rush, . . .
Threadlike Rush, . . .
Scaly Club-rush, . . .
Flat Club-rush, ....

Eleocharis Melanocarpa,
Eleocharis tricostata, . .
Eleocharis Robbinsii, .
Eleocharis acicularis, .
Eleocharis pygmaea, . .
Eleocharis filiculmis, . .
Scirpus caespitosus, . .
Scirpus planifolius, . .

July, . . .

June, . . .
Aug., . . .

July, . . .

Wet sands.

Ponds, ditches.
Muddy banks.
Salt marshes.
Wet barrens.
Wet mountains.

Floating Club-rush, . .
Chair-bottom Rush, . .

Scirpus subterminalis, .
Scirpus pungens, . . .

Aug., . . .
July, . . .
Julv

Sluggish streams.
Salt and fresh marshes.

Torrey's Rush, ....

Scirpus Torreyi, ....

July, . . .
Julv

Borders of ponds.

Weak -stem Rush, . . .
Sea Bulrush,

Scirpus debilis, ....

Aug., . . .

Borders of rivers.

River Rush . .

Julv

"a mars es>

Wood Rush,'

Julv

W "t CrS d * 68'

Cluster-head Rush, . .
Porter's Rush, ....
Wool Grass

Scirpus polyphyllus, . .
Scirpus lineatus, . . .

July, . . .
July, . . .

Swamps, shady borders.
Bogs.

Eriophorum Alpinum, .

Mav

Hare's-tail

Rusty Cotton Grass, . .
Broad Cotton Grass, . .

Eriophorum Virginicum,
Eriophorum polystachy-

July, . . .
June, . . .

Swamps.
Boggy meadows.

Narrow Cotton Grass, .
Tall Fimbristylis, . . .
Spreading Fimbristylis,
Tufted Fimbristylis, . .
Hair-like Fimbristylis, .
Umbrella Grass, . . .
Bald Rush

Eriophorum gracile, . .
Fimbristylis spadicea, .
Fimbristylis laxa, . . .
Fimbristylis autumalis, .
Fimbristylis capillaris, .
Fuirena squarrosa, . .

July, . . .
Aug., . . .
Aug.,. . .
Sept.,. . .
Aug., . . .
Aug., . . .
July

Mossy swamps.
Salt marshes.
Wet clays.
Low grounds.
Sandy fields.
Sandy, wet places.

Auff

Moist LrrenWamP8'

Horned Rush,

Ceratoschoenus cornicu-

Borders of ponds.

Clustered Rush, ....

lata,

Ceratoschcenus macros-

.

Borders of ponds.

Wrinkled Beak-rush, .
Torrey's Beak-rush, . .
Drooping Beak-rush, . .
Brown Beak-rush, . . .
Slender Beak-rush, . .
White Beak-rush, . . .
Small Beak-rush, . . .

Tufted Beak-rush, . . .

Rhynehospora cymosa, .
RhynchosporaTorreyana,
Rhynehospora inexpansa,
Rhynehospora fusca, . .
Rhynehospora gracilenta,
Rhynehospora alba, . .
Rhynehospora capillacea,
Rhynehospora Kniesker-
nii . . .

July, . . .

July, . . .
July, . . .

Low grounds.
Pine barrens.
Low grounds.
Low grounds.
Low grounds.
Mossy swamps.
Swamps, marshes.

Bog, iron-ore banks.

Common Beak-rush, . .

Rhynehospora glomerata,

July, . . .

Boggy grounds.

202

LIST OF SEDGES.

Common Name.

Systematic Name.

Time of

Blossoming.

Place of Growth.

Round Beak-rush, . . .

Rhynchospora cephalan-
tha

Aug., . . .

Sandy swamps.

Smooth Twig-rush, . .
Whip. Grass, .....
Sessile Nut-rush, . . .
Loose Nut-rush, ....
Few-flowered Nut-rush,
Dwarf Nut-rush, . . .
Short-beaked Sedge, . .
Slender Sedge

Cladium mariscoides, .
Scleria triglomerata, . .
Scleria reticularis, . . .
Scleria laxa,
Scleria pauciflora, . . .
Scleria verticillata, . . .
Carex gynocrates, . . .

July, . . .
July, . . .
Aug., . . .
Aug., . . .
July, . . .
June, . . .

Jorders of ponds.
Swamps, moist thickets.
Sandy swamps.
Sandy swamps.
Swamps, hills.
Swamps.
Swamps.

Alpine Sed^e,

Carex scirpoidea, . . .

Mountain tops.

Small-head Sedge, . . .
Few-flowered Sedge, . .
Bristle-stalked Sedge, .
Frazer's Sedge, ....
Willdenow's Sedge, . .
Rough-beak Sedge, . .

Carex capitata, ....
Carex pauciflora, . . .
Carex polytrichoides, .
Carex Fraseriana, . . .
Carex Willdenovii, . .
Carex stendelii, ....

July, . . .
May, ...
May, . . .

Mountain tops.
Peat swamps,
jow ground, woods,
lich woods.
Moist, shady places.
Woody hills.
Rocky hills.

Two-seeded Sedge, . . .
Long-rooted Sedge, . .
Oval-headed Sedge, . .
Muhlenberg's Sedge, . .

Carex disperma, . . .
Carex chordorhiza, . .
Carex cephalophora, . .
Carex Muhlenbergii, . .

June, . . .
May, . . .
May, . . .
April,. . .

Mossy swamps.
Mossy swamps.
Hill-sides and fields.
Rocky hill-sides.

Rose Sedge . . .

Mav .

Moist woods.

Retroflexed Sedge, . .
Bur-reed Sedge, ....
Awl-fruited Sedge, . .
Fox Sedge,

Carex retroflexa, . . .
Carex sparganioides, .
Carex stipata, ....
Carex vulpinoidea, . .

May, . . .
May, . . .
April,. . .
May

Open woods, swamps.
Low, swampy grounds.
Swamps, low grounds.
Low grounds, common.

Bristly-spiked Sedge, .
Bromus-like Sedge, . .
Foxtail Sedge, ....
Sartwell's Sedge, . . .
Lesser-panicled Sedge, .
Large-panicled Sedge, .
Three-seeded Sedge, . .
Dewey's Sedge, ....
White Carex,

Carex setacea, ....
Carex bromoides, . . .
Carex alopecoidea, . .
Carex Sartwellii, . . .
Carex teretiuscula, . .
Carex decomposita, . .
Carex trisperma, . . .
Carex Deweyana, . . .
Carex canescens, . . .

June, . . .
May, . . .

June, . . .

June, . . .
June, . . .
May, . . .

Wet meadows.
Wet swamps.
Woods.

Swamps, common.
Swamps.
Peat swamps.
Moist woods.
Wet meadows.

Little Prickly Sedge, . .
Cluster-spiked Sedge, .
Broom-like Sedge, . . .
Straw-colored Sedge, . .
Long-stalked Sedge, . .
Square-headed Sedge, .
Buxbaum's Sedge, . . .
Three-headed Sedge, .
Green-spiked Sedge, . .
Slender Nodding Sedge,
Showy Sedge . .

Carex stellulata, . . .
Carex tenuiflora, . . .
Carex scoparia, ....
Carex straminea, . . .
Carex pedunculata, . .
Carex squarrosa, . . .
Carex Buxbaumii, . . .
Carex triceps,
Carex virescens, . . .
Carex gracillima, . . .
Carex formosa, ....

May, . . .

June, . . .

May, . . .
April,. . .
May, . . .
May, . . .
May, . . .
May, . . .
June, . . .
May, . . .

Wet meadows.
Mossy swamps.
Wet meadows.
Borders of woods.
Rocky hills.
Low meadows, thickets;
Mossy swamps.
Woods, meadows.
Woods, hill-sides.
Moist grounds.
Wet meadows.

Davis'a Sedge, ....

Carex Davisii, . . . .

May, . . .

Swamps, river banks.

LIST OF SEDGES.

203

Common Name.

Systematic Name.

Time of
Blossoming.

Place of Growth.

Rigid Sedge,

Carex rigida,

July, . . .

Mountain summits.

Large Bog Sedge, . . .

Carex augustata, . . .

May, . . .

Swamps, common.

Smaller Bog Sedge, . .

Carex csespitosa, . . .

May, . . .

Swamps, river banks.

Water Sedge, ....

Carex aouatilis ....

June, . . .

Borders of lakes.

Golden-fruited Sedge, .

Carex aurea,

May, . . .

Borders of swamps.

Fringed Sedge, ....

Carex crinita, ....

May, . . .

Swamps, river banks.

Few-fruited Sedge, . .

Carex oligosperma, . .

June, . . .

Mountains, swamps.

Inflated Sedge, ....

Carex bullata

May, . . .

Swamps.

Cylindrical-spiked Sedge,

Carex cylindrica, . . .

Swamps.

Bladder-fruited Sedge, .

Carex utriculata, . . .

May, . . .

Wet swamps.

Awl-fruited Sedge, . . .

Carex subulata, ....

May, . . .

Cedar swamps.

Tall Yellow Sedge, . . .

Carex folliculata, . . .

June, . . .

Swamps, bogs.

Swollen-fruited Sedge, .

Carex intumescens, . .

June, . . .

Wet grounds.

Hop Sedge,

Carex lupulina, ....

June, . . .

Swamps.

Rough-fruited Sedge, .

Carex scabrata, ....

May, . . .

Borders of brooks.

Schweinitz's Sedge, . .

Carex Schweinitzii, . .

May, . . .

Swamps.

Late-fruited Sedge, . .

Carex retrorsa, ....

May, . . .

Borders of ponds.

Long-pointed Sedge, . .

Carex tentaculata, . . .

May, . . .

Swamps.

Porcupine Sedge, . . .

Carex hystricina, . . .

June, . . .

Swamps.

Cyperus-like Sedge, . .

Carex Pseudo-Cyperus,

June, . . .

Sw'ps, sluggish streams.

Long-beaked Sedge, . .

Carex longirostris, . .

June, . . .

Shady, rocky places.

Hairy-fruited Sedge, . .

Carex trichocarpa, . .

June, . . .

Marshes and lakes.

Awned Sedge, ......

Carex aristata, ....

—

Lake shores.

Umbel-spiked Sedge, .

Carex umbellata, . . .

May, . . .

Rocky hill-sides.

Pennsylvanian Sedge, .

Carex Pennsylvanica, .

April, . . .

Dry woods.

New England Sedge, . .

Carex Novse-Angliae, .

June, . . .

Woody hills.

Slender-leaved Sedge, .

Carex filiformis, ....

May, . . .

Peat swamps.

Woolly-fruited Sedge, .

Carex lanuginosa, . . .

May, . . .

Swamps.

Sh't Woolly-spik'd Sedge,

Carex vestita,

May, . . .

Moist, sandy soils.

Pubescent Sedge, . . .

Carex pubescens, . . .

May, . . .

Woods, swamps.

Mud Sedge

Carex limosa .....

June

Mossy swamps.

Livid Sedge,

Carex livida,

June * •

Mossy swamps.

Large Yellow Carex, . .

Carex flava,

May, . . .

Swamps.

(Eder's Sedge

Carex (Ederi .....

May

Limestone lands*

Pale Pubescent Sedge, .

Carex pallescens, . . .

May' i . .

Swamps.

Carex Torreyi, ....

Northward.

Striated Sedge, ....

Carex striata,

May, . . .

Swamps.

Granular-spiked Sedge,

Carex granularis, . . .

May, . . .

Wet swamps.

Loose-flowered Sedge, .

Carex laxiflora, ....

May, . . .

Swamps, moist woods.

Conical-fruited Sedge, .

Carex conoidea, ....

May, . . .

Wet swamps.

Slender Wood Sedge, .

Carex digitalis, ....

May, . . .

Woods, hill-sides.

Hitchcock's Sedge, . .

Carex Hitchcock iana, .

May, . . .

Woods, hill-sides.

Small Few-fruited Sedge,

Carex oligocarpa, . . .

May, . . .

Woods.

Crooked-necked Sedge, .

Carex tetanica, ....

May, . . .

Margin of lakes.

Two-edged Sedge, . . .

Carex anceps, ....

May, . . .

Woods.

Pale, Smooth Sedge, . .

Carex blanda,

May, . . .

Swamps, open woods.

Crawe's Sedge, ....

Carex Crawei, ....

—

Banks of rivers.

Plantain-leaved Sedge, .

Carex plantaginea, . .

April, . . .

Shady, rocky ravines.

Carey's Sedge, ....

Carex Careyana, . . .

May, . . .

Shady, dry woods.

204

RECLAIMING SWAMP LANDS.

Common Name.

Systematic Name.

Time of
Blossoming.

Place of Growth.

Bris'd-lea'd White Sedge,
Fringed Sedge, ....
Sh't-beak'd Woody Sedge,
Weak Sedge,

Carex eburnea, ....
Carex flexilis, ....
Carex arctata, ....
Carex debilis,

May, . . .
June, . . .
May, . . .
May, . . .

Limestone hills.
Moist, shady places.
Woods, swamps.

Millet-like Sedge, . . .
Lake Sedge

Carex miliacea, . . , .

May, . . .

Wet swamps.

Tuckerman's Sedge, . .
Washington's Sedge, . .
Gray's Sedge,

Carex Tuckermani, . .
Carex Washingtoniana,
Carex Grayii . ...

July

Wet swamps.
Mt. Washington.

Bog Sedge,

Sea Carex,

Carex arenaria, ....

June, July,

Sandy sea-shores.

The above table includes nearly, if not quite, all the
species of sedges known and described as growing in
this country, and is thought to be very complete.

As already intimated, none of these coarse sedges are
rich in nutritive elements, and none are worthy of cul-
tivation. The farmer's care should be to eradicate them,
and supply their places with the higher and more nutri-
tious grasses. This may be done by thorough draining,
an operation which lies at the foundation of all success-
ful management of low lands, and without which they
are comparatively worthless, while, if properly re-
claimed, they are among the best and most productive
lands on the farm.

When properly improved, and sown to the higher
and better grasses, like Timothy, redtop, orchard grass,
rough-stalked meadow, <fec., they will produce the most
luxuriant crops for several years in succession, often
paying the cost of improvement the first year. Low
grounds and swamps are the farmer's muck-beds. Thou-
sands of acres of such lands now lie worthless and
unproductive, waiting only to be reclaimed to add vastly
to the material wealth of the country.

CHAPTER V.

VARIOUS CLASSIFICATIONS OF THE GRASSES.

MANY of the grasses which have been described in
the preceding chapters possess but little value for the
purposes of cultivation, it is true, but it should not be
forgotten that they all have their uses ; and these uses
in the grand economy of nature are exceedingly im-
portant, however they may appear to our short-sighted
vision.

No plant comes up to the sunlight, or expands its
beautiful leaves, that does not derive its support in
part from the atmosphere ; and, even though its life be
short, it adds materially, in its decay, to the vast mass
of vegetable mould which covers the surface of the
globe, and forms the richness of the soil. This surface
mould has been accumulating for ages in many locali-
ties ; every plant that grew in ages past bringing down
to us in a tangible form the riches .with which the air
that surrounded it was stored, which now lie waiting
the farmers' use in meadows of exhaustless fertility, in
swamps and bogs of vast, increasing utility in our agri-
culture, and in beds of peat, the value of which we
have scarcely begun to appreciate. Thus, the grasses
which are not cultivated for their direct nutritive qual-
ities are not without their value, and they deserve our
careful study and attention.

It is evident that various classifications of the grasses
may be made, and that many species might be separated
18 (205)

206 THE JUNGLE GEASS.

into distinct groups, which would greatly facilitate the
study of this family of plants ; and this classification
the reader can readily make, at his convenience. As an
example, we have

I. The BUSH or JUNGLE GRASSES, or such as are not
inclined to grow with other species, and form a close,
matted turf or sward. Of these we have as examples
the

Tufted Hair Grass (Aira ccespitosa) .

Meadow Oat Grass (Avena pratensis).

Tall Fescue Grass (Festuca elatior).

A few others, if sown alone, will assume somewhat
the same form, in tufts or cushions ; as,
Sheep's Fescue (Festuca ovina).
Hard Fescue (Festuca duriuscula).
Orchard Grass (Dactylis glomerata).

This peculiarity in the growth of the last three
grasses is prevented by close pasturing, rolling, and
proper cultivation. These operations improve upon
nature, since, if left to themselves, they would far more
certainly assume the jungle growth, such as is often
seen on poor; thin pasture soils ; a close, fine, matted,
sward being attained only by careful cultivation.

The habit of jungle or tufted growth is, it will be
perceived, rather an exceptional one, the general and
one of the most important characteristics of the true
grasses being to grow and form a turf on good soils.
Many of the sedges and some of the coarse grasses
form tussocks in wet meadows and swampy places,
while neither wheat, rye, barley, nor oats, ever form a
close turf or sward.

A little reflection will lead to the conclusion that it is
mainly the better and more valuable grasses, such as
Timothy, redtop, meadow foxtail, June grass, &c.} which

AQUATICS. — SALT-MARSH GRASSES. 207

have this property. This mode of growth has a far
more important bearing upon practical agriculture than
one, at first view, would suppose ; since it stores away
near the surface a vast accumulation of materials of
great value in improving the qualities of the soil, when
turned over, to say nothing of the beauty it adds to
the landscape, or the firmness it gives to the surface of
the earth.

II. The AQUATIC or WATER GRASSES form another
distinct group ; and among these are the

Reed Canary Grass (Phalaris arundinacea).
Common Reed Grass (Phragmites communis).
Water Spear Grass ( Glyceria aquatica).
Common Manna Grass (Glyceria fluitans).
Rice Grass (Leersia oryzoides).
Floating Foxtail (Alopecurus geniculatus).
Wild Rice (Zizania aquatica).

These grasses grow mostly in water, and are not culti-
vated with us as agricultural grasses, with the exception,
perhaps, of the first. Wild rice grass is sometimes cul-
tivated, and yields large crops at the South, and floating
foxtail in Europe.

III. M.4RSH or SALT GRASSES, among which we have
Salt Reed Grass (Spartina polystachya).

Rush Salt Grass (Spartina juncea).
Salt Marsh Grass (Spartina stricta).
Black Grass (Juncus bulbosus).
Beach Grass (Ammopliila arundinacea).
Goose Grass ( Glyceria maritima).

IV. FIELD or PASTURE GRASSES. — Under this head
may be included a very large number of species, all of
which have been described above. They might be sub-
divided according to the soils and situations which they
naturally affect ; for, though a grass may sometimes be

208 ANNUAL WEEDS.

found or placed in a soil which is not naturally fitted
for it, yet no species will arrive at its most perfect
development on a soil not well adapted to it.
Among these might be mentioned, as examples,

Timothy (Phleum pratense).
Meadow Foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis).
Common Spear Grass (Poa pratensis).
Orchard Grass (Dactylis glomerata).
Perennial Rye Grass (Lolium perenne).
Italian Rye Grass (Lolium italicum).
Redtop (Agrostis vulgar is).
Whitetop (Agrostis alba).
Downy Oat Grass (Avena pubescens).
Meadow Soft Grass (Holcus lanatus).
Meadow Fescue (Festuca pratensis).
Field Barley Grass (Hordeum pratense).
Tall Oat Grass (Arrhenatherum avenaceum).

Timothy, as has already been seen, is the standard
field grass in this group, and is suited to all climates of
this country north of Virginia and Tennessee, though it
sometimes suffers from drought in states further north.
It is a field, and not a pasture grass, as it will not endure
very close and frequent cropping. This is seen in the
readiness with which a Timothy stubble parches up,
unless there is rain or cloudy weather immediately after
it is cut.

Y. ANNUAL WEEDS, which, though proper grasses,
are often very troublesome in cultivated grounds, either
on account of their creeping, underground stems, or
their rapid and luxuriant growth. Thrifty farming is a
ceaseless struggle against these pests, and the farmer is
generally careful to keep as clear as possible of them.
Among these may be named

GREEN MANURING GRASSES. 209

Chess (Bromus secalinus).
Soft Brome Grass (Bromus mollis).
Slender Foxtail (Alopecurus agrestis).
Florin (Agrostis stolonifera).
Couch Grass (Triticum repens).
Rough- stalked Meadow (Poa trivialis).
Annual Spear Grass (Poa annua).
Blue or Wire Grass (Poa compressa).

Of these, the last four are not always considered
as weeds, since they are sometimes sown as pasture
grasses ; but. when they appear in cultivated grounds,
in gravel-walks, and avenues, they are exceedingly
troublesome, and difficult to eradicate.

VI. GRASSES ADAPTED FOR CULTURE AS GREEN MA-
NURING PLANTS. — It is evident, on reflection, that green
vegetable manuring is the natural and cheapest means
of replenishing the constant waste and exhaustion of
the richer qualities of the soil in the production of
grains and the higher grasses used in the nourishment
of animals, especially when these products are con-
sumed at a distance from where they grew. It is rare
that the farmer restores to the soil all or as much as he
takes from it. Even the animal can hardly be said to
restore to the land on which he feeds all he takes from
it, unless his body is left to decay beneath the surface
of the sod which helped to build up his bony and mus-
cular frame ; and this is rarely the case in practical
farming. The farmer himself sells more or less of the
products of his labor and of his soil to be transported
to considerable distances, never to be restored; and
hence the land very rarely receives the full compensa-
tion for what has been taken from it in the shape of
hay, grains, vegetables, or pasturage.

Nature, left to herself, prevents any exhaustion by the
18*

210 ELEMENTS OF THE AIR.

boundless luxuriance of vegetable growth. Light arid
air, heat and water, are the sources of vitality, and they
become incorporated, as it were, or assume a tangible
form, in the green masses produced in the surface of the
earth; and these, in decaying, constantly increase the fer-
tility of the soil, because they not only restore to it the
inorganic substances which they took from it, but many
others which they drew from the atmosphere, and em-
bodied in their leaves, and stalks, and roots.

The atmosphere is known to be full of the very ele-
ments which it is most desirable to secure and turn to
our own use ; and there is no way in which the farmer
can avail himself of these invaluable aids so surely as
by embodying them in the form of green vegetable
masses, and turning them fresh beneath the surface,
where they soon decay, and are ready to nourish other
vegetable bodies, that is, to produce crops which are of
money value.

Green manuring has rarely, or never, failed of pro-
ducing satisfactory results, when it has been economi-
cally and judiciously applied ; and its value as the true
mode of fertilizing the earth has been sufficiently proved
in practice, in cases where the farmer has ploughed in
^clover, buckwheat, oats, &c. The result or effect of
green manuring is well known, and the truth of the sys-
tem is sufficiently shown in the fact that it is strictly in
accordance with nature.

But our ordinary modes have usually been too expen-
sive, either on account of the cost of the seed of the
-clovers or other large seeds, or in causing the loss of
rthe crop for the year, that is, in fallowing ; or in failing
to secure the full benefit of the system, from the use of
too few varieties or species of plants, and consequently
having too small a mass of vegetable matter ; yet, not-
withstanding this failure to secure the highest advan-

GREEN VEGETABLE MASSES. 211

tages of which the system is susceptible, the farmer
has, by means of turning in green crops, increased the
amount and depth of the mould in his soil, and thus
fitted it to produce a stronger stalk and more perfect
grain, and saved the expense and labor of hauling the
heavier manures, his green crops for manuring being
ready at hand.

Now, instead of relying upon clover or buckwheat
mainly, which has commonly been the case, suppose the
farmer should select the seeds of such vegetables as are
adapted to this system, and productive of the best
results, and take pains to plant them for the express
purpose of green manuring, either along with his wheat
and other winter grain, to be turned in green with the
stubble the following summer, or in the spring, to be
ploughed in in autumn on wheat-land, or land to be sown
with other winter crops.

His object would be to produce the largest possible
mass. He should, then, select the smallest-seeded plants,
other things being equal, and a large variety of them.
These seeds may be selected by himself on his own
farm, and cost him only the trouble of gathering, say
from fifty cents to a dollar for ten pounds, or enough to
sow an acre, while he may bring about far more satisfac-
tory results in the infinitely greater mass of vegetable
matter which he can thus produce.

This is an important consideration, not only from the
fact that a great variety will hasten the fermentation in
the soil, and thus materially elevate the temperature,
but because different varieties or species of plants take
from the atmosphere and embody different elements,
and also because it is only by a large number of spe-
cies that a close, thick mass can be obtained. The best
results can only be brought about by the vigor of
growth and the variety. The vigor of growth depends

212 SIZE OF SEEDS.

much upon the great variety, and the variety is attained
cheaply by plants of small seeds.

In a pound of buckwheat, for instance, there are only
about fifteen thousand seeds ; in red clover, a little
over two hundred and fifty thousand ; in rye and oats,
about twenty thousand ; while in many of the best
plants for manuring, there are over a million grains to
the pound.

In what does the superiority of clover as a green
manuring plant consist? Is it not in the vast amount
of water stored away in its succulent leaves and stems,
which causes it to decay with great rapidity when
buried in the soil, and thus furnish a supply of fertiliz-
ing materials in the quickest manner? In this respect
it is no doubt exceedingly valuable for the purpose ;
but is it not possible to render other plants, whose
seeds are far less expensive, equally watery and luxu-
riant, by sowing them thickly together, and by a judi-
cious selection of large and leafy plants for protecting
the smaller ones by their shade ?

If the above suggestions are worthy of consideration,
it would seem to follow that many of the plants now
regarded as weeds, and never cultivated, except in some
cases for the beauty of their flowers, may be valuable
to sow and turn in as green manure. Any plants, in-
deed, which will grow with others, and 'form a great
mass of green vegetable growth, embodying and cor-
porifying the fertilizing elements of the air, may be
made useful and serviceable to the farmer.

It is not my purpose, in this connection, to develop a
complete system of green manuring by a description
of all the plants most valuable to be used for this ob-
ject, but only to suggest that some of the species of the
grasses which have been alluded to in the preceding
pages may be important as green manure plants, espe-

GREEN MANURING GRASSES

213

cially to sow with some of the larger and ranker plants,
which may serve to protect them, and to leave the
reader, who may be interested in experimenting in this
direction, to add to the mixtures according to his judg-
ment and pleasure, bearing in mind that when used for
the green manuring, neither the coarser plants nor the
grasses are allowed to blossom and go to seed, the
design being to turn them in before this stage of their
growth, in which case the ground is not injured by foul
seeds. Suppose, then, we take, as

GREEN MANURING GRASSES,

One pound of Bristly Foxtail, 600,000 seeds.

Wood Hair Grass, 2,000,000

Tufted Hair Grass, 2,000,000

Meadow Soft Grass, 1,500,000
Perennial Eye Grass, 250,000

Chess, 150,000

Millet Grass, 1,200,000

Melic Grass, 500,000

Tall Oat Grass, 350,000

Tickle Grass, 4,000,000

These are some of the wild grasses which will sug-
gest themselves to the mind of the reader, who has
made himself familiar with the natural history of the
grasses, as given in chapter first, and such as are
adapted for use on medium soils ; and they may be
increased, as already intimated. They are all to be
found in the places indicated, their seeds collected and
saved for sowing as a top-seed -with grains. One
pound of each is stated, for the purpose of indicating
the number of seeds it contains. This number cannot,
of course, be strictly accurate, because it will always
vary a little, according to its cleanliness and freedom
from chaff; but it is sufficiently so for practical pur-
poses. Only about five million seeds are required for
an acre, so that the number of pounds needed to seed

214

ON VARIOUS SOILS.

thickly and well can be easily calculated, taking the
requisite quantities of each species, and the average
number of seeds to the pound. The number of differ-
ent species taken, including some of the larger-leaved
or protection plants, should be at least as many as ten;
the more the better, as they will more surely form a
close, thick mass of green vegetation.

Of the better grasses suited to this top-seed manure
culture on medium soils, might be mentioned the

Tall Fescue, o
June Grass, /**
Meadow Fescue,
Orchard Grass,
Timothy,
Quaking Grass,
Bermuda Grass,
Striped Grass,

fab(

nit 325,000 se
3,888,000
420,000
640,000
1,100,000
7,000,000
700,000
670,000

eds t

0 t

ic po

and.

Making use of a mixture of some or all of the species
named above, together with more or less plants of a
larger and ranker growth, we might form a heavy mass
to turn under and enrich and mellow the soil.

Such as would be suited to a heavy clay soil may be
selected from the above, bearing in mind that the
larger plants to be sown with them should be such as
penetrate deeply, and grow with a rank and vigorous
growth. In a similar manner may be selected mixtures
for light sands, by a reference to grasses that affect
such soils, as described in the first chapter.

To carry out a complete system of green manuring,
requires some little time in securing the seeds ; and this
the farmer must attend to personally, if he wishes to
have them fresh and good. There is scarcely any
plant that grows along his fields, pastures, and roadsides,
that may not be made serviceable as a green manure, if
judiciously managed, and sown and turned under in the
proper season. The economy of green manuring

STUDY OF PLANTS. 215

depends upon being able to throw in the vegetable
growth between the other and valuable crops, without
the loss of time or land. To adopt it, the farmer will
need to observe, and become familiar with, to some ex-
tent, the plants on his farm ; and if he finds, by experi-
ment, that green manuring is effective in giving him
better crops at less expense, he will need to have a
seed-bed for many of the plants he may wish to use,
in order to be sure of a regular and constant supply
of seed.

It will be easy to give the system of green manuring
a fair and complete experiment, by taking a small piece,
say a quarter or half an acre ; and for this purpose the
seeds of wild plants of the farm can be procured, grown,
and turned in for wheat, rye, or oats, and the result
noted.

YI1. LITTER GRASSES. Many of the wild grasses
grow with great luxuriance, and often in places very
convenient to the barn or the homestead ; and some of
them, owing to their size and abundance of leaves, are
admirably adapted for litter, and used as such they
greatly increase the manure-heap.

A selection might be made of grasses of this descrip-
tion, which would produce as valuable a yield of litter
as the straw of some of our grain crops. The follow-
ing, with many others, might be suggested :

Common Reed Grass (Phragmites communis).
Lyme Grass (Elymus virginicus).
Canadian Lyme Grass (Elymus canadensis).
Slender Hairy Lyme (Elymus striatus).
Reed Canary Grass (Phalaris arundinacea).

All of these grasses have been described in chapter
first, and their natural habitat given under each.

216 STUDY OF PLANTS.

The various groups given above are suggested
merely as examples, and innumerable others may be
made to suit the reader's convenience, and as one of the
means of becoming familiar with many species which
are now everywhere and daily passed by unnoticed on
the farm. Groups, for instance, might be formed of
grasses best adapted for raising cattle, grasses best
adapted for raising horses, those best adapted for graz-
ing sheep, and those best adapted for milch cows and
dairy farming.

CHAPTER VI.

THE COMPARATIVE NUTRITIVE VALUE OF THE
GRASSES.

WE have seen that the various species of grass differ
very materially in nutritive value: that some contain
the greatest quantity of nutritive matter when green or
in the flower, others when the seed is ripe and the
plant mature ; that some yield a luxuriant aftermath,
while others can scarcely be said to produce any at all ;
that some flourish in elevated situations, and are best
suited to the grazing of sheep, while others grow most
luxuriantly on the low lands and in the marshes, and sus-
tain the richest dairies; and that no soil is so sterile, no
plain so barren, but that a grass can be found adapted
to it.

Some species, indeed, will not endure a soil even
of medium fertility, nor the application of any stim-
ulating manure, but cling, with astonishing tenacity,
to the drifting sands, while others prefer the heaviest
clays, or revel in the hot beds of ammonia; some are
gregarious in their habits, requiring to .be sown with
other species, and, if sown alone, will linger along till
the wild grasses spring up to their support ; others are
solitary, and, if mixed with different species, will either
extirpate them, usurping to themselves the entire soil,
or die and disappear. Nearly every species is distin-
guished for some peculiar quality, and most are deficient
in some, comparatively few combining all the qualities
19 (217)

218 HORTUS GRAMINEUS WOBURNENSIS.

desired by us in alternate field crops, for pastures, or
permanent mowing, to such an extent as to justify a
general cultivation.

It is important, therefore, to learn the comparative
nutritive value of each species thought to be worth
cultivating; and it is the object of this chapter to throw
some light upon this point.

This study is naturally attended with great difficulties.
It is but recently that accurate researches have been
made with a view of arriving at such positive results as
would be entitled to full confidence.

In 1824, a very laudable attempt was made, in Eng-
land, by the Duke of Bedford, at Woburn Abbey, to
ascertain the comparative value of most of the grasses
which could then be obtained ; and the results of the
experiments, conducted by his gardener, George Sin-
clair, were detailed in a volume under the title of " HOT*
tus Gramineus Woburnensis." This work, which was the
first treatise worthy of mention on this subject, became
the text-book on the grasses, and has been followed, by
most subsequent writers, down to the present time.
But these experiments must be regarded as very unsat-
isfactory, both on account of the imperfections of the
methods of arriving at the results (though they were
the best then known, and suggested by Sir Humphrey
Davy), and because each species or variety was culti-
vated only to a very limited extent. The produce per
acre, for instance, was calculated, in most cases, from
the yield of four square feet. Besides this, very great
discrepancies occur in the volume, which can with diffi-
culty be accounted for.

The analyses recently made by Professor Way, the
distinguished chemist of the Royal Agricultural Society,
are more reliable, in my estimation, than any which can
be found, and no treatise on the grasses would be com-

NITROGENOUS COMPOUNDS. 219

plete without giving the valunble results to which he
has arrived.

It is now very well established that the nutritive
value of the food of an animal depends greatly upon the
proportion of nitrogenous substances contained in it.
Without doubt, the sugar which is found to be an ingre-
dient of most vegetable substances at some periods of
their growth in some degree contributes to it also ;
so do the starch and other ingredients which combine
to promote heat and respiration; for no doubt there is
a mutual relation existing between the various elements
of food, some going to sustain and nourish one part of
the animal system, and others forming some other part,
equally important to health and existence. Each may
perform its function, and be not only important, but
indispensable ; but chemists have been accustomed to
base the nutritive value of articles of food chiefly upon
the nitrogenous compounds.

The nitrogenous constituents of any substance, as
grass or hay, for instance, may be determined with little
difficulty, and with great exactness, since it has been
found, by abundant research, that, when present, they are
of nearly the same constitution, and do not vary in their
combinations. The determination of the sugar is some-
what more difficult.

The constituents of plants may accordingly be divided
into two classes: one class embracing all those sub-
stances of which nitrogen or azote forms a part, and the
other consisting of non-nitrogenous bodies. Gluten, al-
bumen, gelatine, casein, legumen, and fibrin, belong to
the former class, being nitrogenous substances; while
starch, gum, sugar, woody fibre, mucilage, <fcc., are desti-
tute of nitrogen, or non-nitrogenous. „

Only a small quantity of nitrogen is found in vege-
table substances, and it is derived in part, at least, from

220 NUTRITIVE ELEMENTS.

the atmosphere, in the form of ammonia. On the other
hand, nitrogenous substances form a large proportion
of the constituents of the blood of animals, and appear
in their whole system. As there is a constant waste in
the animal, and a continual formation of new tissues, —
as the whole body is constantly renewed through the
agency of the blood which is converted into flesh and
muscle, — there must be a never-failing supply of nour-
ishment ; and this nourishment for the higher animals is
found, as already intimated, to a considerable extent, in
the nitrogenous elements of plants.

For every ounce of nitrogen which the animal re-
quires to sustain life, and build up the muscular and
fleshy parts of his body, he must take into the stom-
ach, in the shape of food, such a quantity of vege-
table substances as will furnish him with an ounce of
nitrogen in combination with other essential elements.
If we suppose one kind of hay to contain one ounce
of nitrogen to the pound, and another to have only
half as much, or only an ounce in two pounds, the
pound which contains the ounce of nitrogen would go
as far to nourish the animal — other things being equal
— as the two pounds which contain only the same quan-
tity of nitrogen. The importance of woody fibre to act
mechanical^ in giving bulk to the food is not, of course,
to be overlooked.

Nor is this a mere deduction of theory. The experi-
ment has frequently been made, and it is now fully
established, both by science and experience, that the
greater the proportion of nitrogen which any vegetable
contains, if it also contains other important constitu-
ents in proper combination, the smaller will be the quan-
tity of that vegetable required to nourish the animal
body, and the less nitrogen any vegetable contains, the
greater will be the quantity of it required.

Muscle and flesh are composed of nitrogenous princi-

FAT-FORMING SUBSTANCES. 221

pies, while fat is made up, to a great extent, of non-
nitrogenous matter. Every keeper of stock knows that
to feed an animal on oil-cake alone, for instance, which
is but slightly nitrogenous, might fatten him, but it
would not give him strength of muscle or size ; while,
if the same animal be kept on the cereal grains, as wheat
or Indian corn, alone, his size rapidly increases, his mus-
cular system develops, and he gains flesh without in-
creasing his fat in proportion. These substances are
usually given, therefore, as a part of the regular feed,
only, or in connection with other and bulkier substances,
as hay. It was with reference to these facts that Boussin-
gault formed his tables of nutritive equivalents, and
they agree very closely with the results of practical
observation.

The non-nitrogenous substances are equally necessary
for the production of fat, and to supply the animal
body with heat ; and thus they meet a want in the animal
economy, although they do not, according to chemical
investigations, contribute so directly to nourish and
sustain the system. They are, therefore, important
in the analyses of articles of food, though not so essen-
tial in determining merely their nutritive values.

Frpm what has been said, the reader will very readily
understand the following tables, containing the results
of the investigations of Professor Way. The specimens
of the various grasses, on which his researches were
made, were analyzed both in their green state as taken
from the field, and after being dried at a temperature
of 212° Fahr., a point at which the moisture is found to
be entirely expelled, and evaporation ceases, and the
importance of both determinations must be obvious on
a moment's reflection.

The names of the natural grasses, and the dates of
their collection, are arranged in the following table : -
19*

222

WAY7S INVESTIGATIONS.

TABLE IY. — NATURAL GRASSES. NAME AND DATE OF
COLLECTION.

Common Name.

Botanic Name.

Date of
Collection.

Character of the Soil.

Sweet-scented Vernal, .
Meadow Foxtail Grass, .

Tall Oat Grass, ....
Yellow Oat Grass, . . .
Downy Oat Grass, . . .

Anthoxanthum odoratum, .
Alopecurus pratensis, . . .

Arrhenatherum avenaceum,
Avena flavescens,
Trisetum pubescens, ....

May 25,
Tune 1,

July 17,
June 29,
July 11,

June 29

Calcareous loam.
Calcareous loam, grav-
elly subsoil.
Forest marble loam.
Forest marble loam.
Dry calcareous loam.

Bromus erectus,

June 23,

Soft Brome Grass, . . .

May 8,

Stiff loam.

Crested Dog's-tail, . . .
Orchard Grass, ....

Orchard Grass, ripe, . .
Hard Fescue Grass, . ,
Meadow Soft Grass, . .

Cynosurus cristatus, ....
Dactylis glomerata, ....

Dactylis glomerata, ....
Festuca duriuscula, ....

June 21,
June 13,

July 19,
June 13,
June 29,

Calcareous loam.
Calcareous loam on
gravel.
Calcareous loam.
Dry calcareous loam.
Calcareous loam.

July 11,

Calcareous loam on

June 8

gravel.

Timothy,

June 13

May 28,

Loam, with gravelly

June 11,

subsoil.
Dry calcareous loam.

June 18

Calcareous loam.

April 30,

Calcareous loam.

June 96,

Calcareous loam.

Annual Rye Grass, . .

June 8,

Calcareous rubblyloam.

In the same manner the name and date of collection
of each specimen of artificial grass, analyzed, are ar-
ranged in Table V.

The inquiries of Professor Way were directed to
ascertain

1. The proportion of water in each grass as taken
from the field.

2. The proportion of albuminous or flesh-forming
substances, including, without distinction, all the nitro-
genous principles.

3. The proportion of oily or fatty matters, which may
be called fat-forming principles.

COLLECTION OF CLOVERS.

223

4. The proportion of elements of respiration, or heat-
producing principles, among which are included starch,
gum, sugar, pectic acid, &c. ; all the non-nitrogenous
substances, indeed, except fatty matters and woody
fibre.

5. The proportion of woody fibre.

6. The amount of mineral matter or ash.

TABLE V. — ARTIFICIAL GRASSES. NAME, AND DATE
OF COLLECTION.

Common Name.

Botanic Name.

Date of
Collection.

Character of Soil.

Red Clover ....

Trifolium pratense .

Perennial Clover, . . .
Crimson Clover, ....
Cow Grass,

Trifolium perenne, . . .
Trifolium incarnatum,
Trifolium medium . . .

June 4,
June 4,
June 7

Calcareous loam.
Calcareous loam.

Cow Grass. 2d lot, . . .
Hop Trefoil

Trifolium medium, . . .

June 21,
June 13

Calcareous loam.

"White Clover,

Trifolium repens, . . .

June 18,

Common Vetch, ....

Vicia sativa

June 13

Sainfoin,

June 8

June 16

Black Medick, or Nonsuch,

Medicago lupulina, ....

June 6,

Calcareous loam.

The specimens were picked out, plant by plant, each
specimen by itself, from fields in which they were grow-
ing naturally, or mixed in the ordinary mode of cultiva-
tion, and were not raised expressly for analysis.

These tables of analyses, containing-, as they do, the
results of profound investigation, and forming, as they
do, one of the most important contributions recently
made to the science of agriculture, are worthy of care-
ful study, and will be found to be full of the most
valuable practical suggestions.

The results of the analysis of the natural grasses
in the green state, as taken from the field, are arranged
in Table VI., as follows :

224

ANALYSES OF TRUE GRASSES.

TABLE VI. — ANALYSIS OF NATURAL GRASSES. (100
parts as taken green from the field.}

Name of Grass.

I

CS

Albuminous or
flesh-forming
principles.

Fatty matters.

cM £

It*1

Jill

Woody fibre.

Mineral matter,
or ash.

Sweet-scented Vernal, . .
Meadow Foxtail, ....
Tall Oat Grass
Yellow Oat Grass, ....
Downy Oat Grass, ....

80.35
80.20
72.65
60.40
61.50
51.85
59.57
76.62
62.73
70.00
52.57
69.33
69.70
58.85
71.43
75.61
57.21
79.14
67.14
73.60
87.58
74.53
69.00

2.05
2.44
3.54
2.96
3.07
2.93
3.78
4.05
4.13
4.06
10.93
3.70
3.49
4.59
3.37
2.45
4.86
2.47
3.41
2.58
3.22
2.78
2.96

.67
.52
.87
1.04
.92
1.45
1.35
.47
1.32
.94
.74
1.02
1.02
.94
.91
.80
1.50
.71
.86
.97
.81
.52
.60

8.54
8.59
11.21
18.66
19.16
22.60
33.
9.04
19.64
13.30
12.61
12.46
11.92
20.05
12.08
14.11
22.85
10.79
14.15
10.54
3.98
11.17
12.89

7.15
6.70
9.37
14.22
13.34
17.00
19
8.46
9.80
10.11
20.54
11.83
11.94
13.03
10.06
4.82
11.32
6.30
12.49
10.11
3.13
8.76
12.47

1.24
1.55
2.36
2.72
2.01
4.17
2.11
1.36
2.38
1.59
2.61
1.66
1.93
2.54
2.15
2.21
2.26
.59
1.95
2.20
1.28
2.24
1.99

Upright Brome Grass, . .
Soft Brome Grass, ....
Crested Dog's-tail, ....

Orchard Grass, seeds ripe,
Hard Fescue Grass, . . .
Meadow Soft Grass, . . .
Barley Grass,

Perennial Rye Grass, . . .
Italian Rye Grass, ....
Timothy Grass,
Annual Spear Grass, . . .

Rough-stalked Meadow, .
Irrigated Meadow Grass, .
Irrigated Meadow, 2d crop,
Annual Rye Grass, . . .

A glance at the first column of Table VI. will show a
striking difference in the percentage of water, it being
as high as 80 in some instances, while it falls as low as
60, and in one instance to 51, without considering the
second specimen of orchard grass, — in which the seed
was allowed to ripen, when, of course, the amount of
water would be much less than at the period of flower-
ing, — or the irrigated grasses.

STRIKING CONTRASTS. 225

It will be noticed that those grasses which come
earliest into flower are generally the most succulent,
though this is not uniformly the case.

It will be seen, also, that the sweet-scented vernal
grass and the meadow foxtail contain but 20 parts in
100 of dry, solid matter, while the yellow oat and the
downy oat grasses contain nearly double, or about 40
per cent. This difference, though of no great import-
ance in itself, is cf some interest in showing that, to
judge of the quantity of hay a given burden of grass
will produce, it is necessary to consider the species of
grass which mainly composes the meadow, since it is
evident that a given weight of one variety might make
double the quantity of the same weight of another.

But the chief interest of the table is to be found in
columns three, four, and five. The albuminous or flesh-
forming principles will be found to be double in some
instances what they are in others ; and, in accordance
with the principles laid down in the explanatory re-
marks which precede the tables, some would appear to
be more than twice as nutritive as others; but it should
be borne in mind that these differences depend in part
on the variations in the quantity of water, and that the
real differences will appear more apparent in the dried
specimens.

A glance at Table VII. will show that the percentage
of water in the artificial grasses, as taken from the field,
is greater than that of the natural grasses under the
same circumstances. The percentage of albuminous
or flesh-forming principles is generally, though by no
means uniformly, less than that of our best grasses.
Compare red clover, for instance, with Timothy, and
the first striking peculiarity is the difference in the
amount of water; in the one case exceeding 81 per
cent.; leaving but 19 per cent, of solid matter, from

226

EXAMINATION OF CLOVERS.

which the flesh-forming and other nutritive substances
must be drawn ; while in Timothy the water amounts
to only a little over 57 per cent., leaving 43 per cent, of
solid substances containing nutritive principles.

This is an important difference, to begin with. The
percentage of flesh-forming principles of the two plants
does not, at first sight, appear to differ very materially,
the clover containing 4.27, the Timothy 4.86 ; but a lit-
tle consideration of the exceeding value of this con-
stituent will show that the latter has an important
advantage in this respect over the clover. In fat-form-
ing principles the Timothy is more than twice as rich
as clover; while in heat-producing principles — also very
valuable — Timothy far surpasses clover, the one pro-
ducing 22.85 per cent., and the other only 8.45 per cent.
Of waste and useless matter in the shape of woody fibre
Timothy contains the largest per cent., while the larger
quantity of mineral matter shows it also to be a greater
exhauster of the soil. The most valuable practical de-

TABLE VII. — ANALYSIS OF ARTIFICIAL GRASSES.
(100 parts, as taken from the field.)

«• Name of Plant.

1

1J!

!

a

Woody fibre.

Mineral matter,
or ash.

Red Clover,

81.01

4.27

.69

8.45

3.76

1.82

Perennial Clover, ....
Crimson Clover .....

81.05
82.14

3.64

2.96

.78
.67

8.04
6.70

4.91

5.78

1.58

1 75

74.10

6.30

.92

9.42

6.25

3.01

Cow Grass, 2d specimen, .
Hop Trefoil

77.57
8348

4.22
3.39

1.07

.77

11.14

7.25

4.23
3.74

1.77
1 37

White Clover,

79.71

3.80

.89

8.14

5.38

2.08

82.90

4.04

.52

6.75

4.68

1.11

76.64

4.32

.70

10.73

5.77

1.84

Lucerne, or Alfalfa, . . .
Black Medick, or Nonsuch,

69.95
76.80

3.83
5.70

.82
.94

13.62
7.73

8.74
6.32

3.04
2.51

EXAMINATION OF GRASSES,

227

ductions of a similar nature may be made by comparing
these tables.

TABLE VIII. — ANALYSIS OF NATURAL GRASSES.
parts of the grass dried at 212° Fahr.}

(100

Name of Grass.

Albuminous or
flesh-forming
principles.

1

Heat-producing
principles, —
starch, sugar,
gum, &c.

1
I

!i

|ti

Sweet-scented Vernal Grass, .

10.43
12.32

3.41
2.92

43.48
43.12

36.36
33.83

6.32
7.81

Tall Oat Grass

12 95

3.19

3803

3424

11 59

Yellow Oat Grass

7 48

261

47 08

35 95

6 88

Downy Oat Grass,

7 97

2 39

49.78

34 64

522

Quakint* Grass . ....

6 08

301

46 95

35 30

8 66

Upright Brome Grass, ....

9.44
17 29

3.33
211

82
38 66

02
36 12

5.21

5 82

Crested Dog's-tail,

11 08

3.54

5264

26 36

6 38

13 53

3 14

44 32

33 70

5 31

Orchard Grass, seeds ripe, . .
Hard Fescue Grass,

23.08
12 10

1.56
3 34

26.53
4043

43.32
38 71

5.51
542

11.52

3 56

89 25

39 30

6.37

Meadow Barley Grass, . . .

11.17
11.85

2.30
3.17

46.68
42.24

31.67
3520

6.18
7.54

10.10

327

57 82

1976

905

Timothy,

11.36

3.55

53.35

26.46

5.28

Annual Spear Grass, ....

11.83
10.35

3.42
263

51.70
43.06

30.22
38.02

2.83
5.94

Rough-stalked Meadow, . . .
Irrigated Meadow Grass, . . .
Irrigated Meadow (2d crop), .

9.80
25.91
10.92

3.67
6.53
2.06

40.17
32.05
43.90

38.03
25.14
34.30

8.33
10.37

8.82

In the case of orchard grass and the irrigated meadow,
in Table VIII., the seeds were ripened, and they should
not, therefore, be compared with other grasses taken in
the blossom, without considering this fact. It will be
seen, too, that the specimens'' analyzed were in the dry
state, much drier than they could be made by the ordi-
nary process of hay-making ; for, however perfectly the
hay is cured, it will still contain a very considerable per-

228

THE CLOVERS ANALYZED.

centage of water, and, if artificially dried, as in the
trials given above, and then exposed to the air, it will
absorb from 10 to 15 per cent, of water, showing that
no hay is absolutely dry by any ordinary processes. In
England, the percentage of water in well-made hay is
about 16, and hay artificially dried will absorb that
amount, if exposed again to the air. I do not think the
percentage here would be so large, for obvious reasons.
In the analysis of the hay of the reed canary grass,
made by Professor Horsford, and given on a preceding
page, the percentage was but 10.24. That was a well-
cured specimen, taken after it had passed the period of
blossoming, and the amount of water is, perhaps, slightly
below the average.

It will be seen that a great difference exists in the
valuable constituents of the grasses.

Flesh-forming principles, .
Fat-producing principles, .
Heat-giving principles, . .

Lowest.
6.08
2.11

38.03

Highest.

17.29

3.67

57.82

Average.

11.68

2.89

47.92

TABLE IX. — ANALYSIS OF ARTIFICIAL GRASSES. (In
100 parts of the grass dried at 212° Fahr.)

•ill

1

M
.5 1 S*

•o«S«

1

1
Id

Name of Plant

.£<? t

£

It-T-

m

•«!*

E

I

1
fc

feS
I

Red Clover,

22.55

3.67

44.47

19.75

9.56

19.18

4.09

42.42

25.96

8.35

16.60

3.73

37.50

32.39

9.78

Cow Grass . . ....

24.33

3.57

36.36

24.14

11.60

Cow Grass, 2d specimen, . . .

18.77

4.77

49.65

18.84

7.97

Hop Trefoil,

20.48

4.67

43.86

22.66

8.33

18.76

4.38

40.04

26.53

10.29

23.61

3.06

39.45

27.38

6.50

18.45

3.01

45.96

24.71

7.87

12.76

2.76

40.16

34.21

10.11

Black Medick,

24.60

4.06

33.31

27.19

10.84

PRACTICAL VALUE OF A GRASS. 229

A glance at this table will show that the different
principles in the artificial grasses vary, to a great
extent, as follows :

Lowest. Highest. Average.

Flesh-forming principles, . . . . 12.76 24.60 18.68

Fat-producing principles, . . . . 2.76 4.77 3.76

Heat-giving principles, 33.31 49.65 41.48

The difference in composition exhibited in the natural
grasses of Table VIII. is very marked, and of course
the value of the grasses as compared with each other
must vary greatly. Still, the practical value of a grass
depends somewhat upon circumstances which cannot
be analyzed, such as the period at which it arrives at
maturity, and the particular soil and location of the
farmer. It might happen that a grass, not in itself so
rich in nutritive qualities as another, would be preferred,
on account of its coming to maturity just at the time
when the farmer most needed it. But this table shows
the comparative nutritive qualities of the grasses, since
all the specimens were collected and investigated in the
same manner, at the same period of growth, — or as
nearly as possible, — when in the flower, so that, what-
ever sources of error might exist to modify the results,
they would naturally apply to all alike.

The grasses from the irrigated meadow consisted
principally of June, or Kentucky blue grass, rough-
stalked meadow grass, perennial rye grass, meadow soft
grass, barley grass, meadow oat grass, and a few other
species ; and it will be noticed that in combination they
abound in flesh and fat forming principles to a greater
extent than we should be led to suppose from the
composition of any one of them alone.

Our cultivated Timothy compares very favorably with
the other grasses, containing a less percentage of use-
less matter, as woody fibre, than any other, except Ital-
20

230 COMPOSITION OP TIMOTHY.

ian rye grass and crested dog's-tail, a grass not com-
mon with us, and the irrigated grasses. In point of
soluble, heat-producing principles, sugar, gum, and
starch, it is surpassed by the Italian rye grass, but by
no others. The analyses of this grass in its green and
dry states in Tables VI. and VIII. fully justify the prefer-
ence which we have long shown for the use of Timo-
thy ; for, as taken from the field at the time of blossom-
ing, it will be found to contain less water, a greater
percentage of flesh and fat forming principles, and less
useless matter in the shape of woody fibre, than most
of the other grasses. The deductions of science cer-
tainly correspond, in this case, with the results of
practice.

A comparison of Tables VI. and VIII. with Tables
VII. and IX. will show the comparative advantages of
the use of the artificial grasses, in point of albuminous
or flesh-forming principles, and fatty matters. The car-
bonaceous or heat-producing principles remain nearly
the same throughout, while the percentage of waste
matter or woody fibre is less than in the natural grasses.
This is an important fact, worthy of the careful consid-
eration of the farmer.

In the sixth column of Table VIII. will be found the
percentage of ash of each of the grasses analyzed.
Table X. contains a still further analysis of this ash,
which gives all the inorganic constituents which the
plant derives from the soil and the manures furnished
to it. It is important and suggestive to one who will
examine it carefully, as indicating the kind of manure
which in many cases it may be desirable to apply, while
it will throw still further light upon the practical and
comparative values of each species which the farmer
proposes to cultivate, by showing the extent to which
it will be likely to exhaust the soil.

SUBSTANCES TAKEN FROM THE SOIL. 231

TABLE X. — ANALYSIS OF THE ASH OF SOME OF THE
NATURAL AND ARTIFICAL GRASSES.

ti

1

i

i i

Common Name.

a fc.

?!

1

1

1

1

%
1

•

*§

«S

p

1

35

1

|

1

1

!

•s

1

I1

V

7.81

38.75

625 2.16

.65

3.901.28 .4737.03 -

950

_

Sweet-scented Vernal, . .

6.3228.3610.09 3.39 1.26

9.212.531.1832.03

_

7.03

4.90

Downy Oat Grass, . . .

5.2236.28

10.82 3.37

-

4.723.17 .7231.21

-

405

5.66

Upright Brome Grass,

5.2138.48

7.53 5.46 .55

10.384.99 .2620.33

-

10.63

1.38

Soft Brome Grass, . . .

5-8233.34

9.621 4.91 9.07

6.642.60 .2830.09

.33

-

3.11

Crtsted Dog's-tail, . . .

63840.11

7.24 320 -

10162.43 .1824.99 -1160

_

Orchard Grass

5.31 26.65

8.60 352, 2.09

5.82 2.22 .59 29 52! -

17.86

3.09

Orchard Grass, with seeds
rinp

5.51

32.18

6.41

3.96 2.88

8.143.47

.23

33.06 -

4.87

4.76

Hard Fescue Grass, . .

5.4228.53

12.07

3.45 1.38,10.31

2.83: .78:31.84 -

817

.62

Meadow Soft Grass, . . .

6.3728.31

8.02 4.4l| 1.82J 8.313.41 .3134.83 -, 3.91

6.66

Meadow Barley Grass, .

5.6756.23

6.04 4 29 - 5 04 2 42; .66 20.26 3.40J -

1.66

Perennial Rye Grass, . .

7.54 27.13

8.73

520 .49 9.642.85 .212467 -

13.80

7.25

Annual Spear Grass, . .

2.£3 16.03

9.11

10.18

3.29 11.69 2.44 157 141.86

_

.47

3.35

June Grass,

5.94

32.93

10.02

4.26

.40 5.632.71! .28J31.17

-

1125

131

Bough-stalked Meadow

8.33

3750

9.13

4.47

.29

8.80

3.22

.29

29.40

_

6.90 1 -

Timothy

5.29

31.09

11 2Q

4.86

4.02 14.94

ft. SO

.27 24 25

.70 3.24

Annual Rye Grass, . . .

6.45

41.79 10.07

3.45

6.82 2.59

.282899

.87

- 5.11

Yellow Oat Grass, . . .

5.2835.20 9.31

400

7.98 3.07

24036.06 .73

-

1.25

Red Clover,

9.56

J.59 6.71

1.85 23.47 22.62 4.08

.26 36.45 -

2.39 1.53

White Clover

_

3.68'll53

7.21 18.03 26.41

8 1ft 1 Ofi 14.SSS T'>

- 495

Sainfoin in flower, . . .

6.37

3.22 9.35

3.28 15.2024.305.03

6131.90 -

6.24J .78

Sainfoin in seed, ....

6.50 3.49 7.97

2.3317.3629674.59

.5829.611.25

- 3.12

Italian Rye Grass in flower,

6.9759.18

634

2.82: -

9.952.23

.7812.453.98

2.27

Italian Rye Grass in seed,

6.406062! 6.32 1.31

- 12 .2912.64 .30110.77 .13

- 5.58

A careful examination of the analyses of the ash, or
the inorganic constituents of the grasses, will reveal
the fact that some important suhstances are taken from
the soil in large quantities, and if the grass is removed
in the form of hay, that these must in some way be
restored in manure, or exhaustion will follow. Among
these are large percentages of silica, which is taken up
in solution with water. Phosphoric acid is removed in
large quantities, generally found in combination with

232 EXHAUSTION OF THE SOIL.

lime, magnesia or iron. The amount of potash is also
very large, and it is found in combination with silicic
acid.

Take the most careful analyses of the grasses as the
basis of calculation, and it will appear that the weight of
silicates, phosphates, and potash, removed from the
soil in every ton of hay, is not less than one hundred
and fifty pounds. Supposing, then, that the crop of
hay averages two tons to the acre, — and it will rarely
fall below this on good soils and under fair cultivation,
— and it appears that about three hundred pounds of
these valuable substances are abstracted from the soil
of every acre so cropped, and this course of culture
could not long continue without the return of these
constituents to the soil. And hence the manures re-
quired for these lands are such as contain these sub-
stances, such as ashes, lime, and other applications rich
in silicates, phosphates, and potash.

Lime is found in much less quantities than potash in
most of the grasses, but the relative proportions differ
in different species. In orchard grass, for instance, the
lime amounts to only 5.82 per cent, while the amount
of potash is 29.52. But in Timothy the lime amounts
to nearly 15 per cent., and the potash to over 24. Soda
is found in considerable quantities in some species, and
is wanting in most.

No one of the grasses appears to be better adapted
to supply the wants of animals than Timothy. Its
amount of phosphates is larger than that of any other.

The amount of water in the stem is greater than in
the leaf, so that the percentage of nutriment is greater
in the leaf and flower stalk or panicle than in the stem.
It has been found, by actual and often repeated experi-
ments, that grass loses more than half of its weight of
water in curing ; and it never becomes so dry, by any

COMPOSITION OF SEDGES. 233

of the ordinary modes of curing, as to lose all its water.
It has already been remarked that the average percent-
age of water found in well-cured hay, in England, is
about sixteen, and in this country from ten to four-
teen per cent, of water will always be found in sun-
dried hay.

The water or aquatic grasses, and the swamp sedges,
contain a much larger percentage of water than the
upland grasses, while their amount of ash, or inorganic
constituents, is proportionally small. They are not,
therefore, valuable for fodder, though, as I have said,
they are often eaten, especially in spring, or when they
are succulent and tender.

The following analysis, by Salisbury, of the soft rush
(Juncus effusus), will serve as an example of the com-
position of many of this class of plants. The stalk, cut
in a swamp on the 22d of June, weighed 46 grains. It
contained

46.586 per cent, of water ;
53.414 " " " dry matter ;

0.978 " " " ash ;

1.831 " " "ash calculated dry ;

while the organic matter calculated dry amounted to
98.169. The proportion of inorganic matter, it will be
seen, was very small.

The slender club-rush (Eleocharis 'tennis] shows a
somewhat similar composition. It was cut in blossom,
and had of

Water, 38.241.

Dry matter, 61.759.
Ash, 2.663.

The ash calculated dry was found to be 4.312 per
cent., and the organic matter calculated dry to be
95.688 per cent.

A comparison of the analyses of the ash of the nat-
ural and artificial grasses will reveal the fact that the
20*

234

LIME-PLANTS.

latter contain a very much larger amount of lime and
potash than the former, and for this reason they have
very properly been denominated lime-plants. It will
be seen also, from their composition, that phosphoric
acid forms an important ingredient in them, while the
silica is very small, comparatively. The removal of a
clover crop, therefore, without applying suitable ma-
nures, will exhaust the soil quite as much as a crop of
the cultivated grasses, though of different constituents.
A soil, to bear good clover crops, requires a considera-
ble ingrediejit of lime, potash, and phosphates, and with-
out the application of these manures in some form or
other they will inevitably run out. Plaster of Paris,
lime, and ashes leached and unleached, applied to clover
soils, are always followed with good effects.

TABLE XI. — ANALYSIS OF SPECIMENS OF WEEDS, AS

TAKEN FROM THE FIELD, AND WHEN DRIED.

Name of Plant

Date of collection.

I

1 Albuminous
matter.

1

E

1

1 Kent-producing
principles.

Wood fibre.

4

Ox-eye Daisy (Crysanthemum leucan-

June 23,

71.85

2.12

.999

12.64

10.51

1.86

Yellow Buttercup (Ranunculus acrt's),

June 13,
July 4,

88.15
75.37

1.18
1.90

.507
.645

6.26
7.62

3.00
13.04

.91
1.51

DRIED SPECIMENS OF THB SAME.

7.53

3.49

4502

37.33

6.63

Buttercup

9.98

4.28

5269

25.34

7.71

Sorrel.

7.71

2.19

46.82

3^16

6.12

If now we cast our eye at the analyses of some of
our common weeds, we shall see how far superior the
cultivated grasses are in nitrogenous or nutritive prin-
ciples.

The albuminous principles are very much less than
in either the natural or the artificial grasses.

NUTRITIVE EQUIVALENTS. 235

A line of investigation, both scientific and practical,
equally interesting and valuable with the foregoing,
would lead into the comparative nutritive equivalents
of hay and other feeding substances. This is not the
place to discuss that subject in full, the line of our pres-
ent inquiry embracing only the comparative nutritive
values of the grasses themselves. For convenience of
reference, however, I subjoin the following Table (XII.),
embracing the results of the profoundest researches of
many distinguished chemists and practical men, both in
the laboratory and the barn. Boussingault and others, in
France, and Fresenius, Thaer, and others, in Germany,
have devoted to these and similar investigations the
best part of their lives.

It is necessary to remark that tables of nutritive
equivalents are liable to imperfections, on account of
sources of error which must exist in the nature of
things, as difference of soil, climate, season, imperfec-
tion of methods of analyses, <fcc. ; but, making all allow-
ance for these, and admitting that the table cannot be
absolutely and literally correct or perfect, it possesses
great practical value and interest, as giving a good gen-
eral idea of the relative value for feeding purposes of
various agricultural products.

In regard to the nutritive value, as based on the
amount of nitrogen or nitrogenous compounds, it may
be remarked that the latest and most careful experi-
ments, conducted by most experienced and competent
experimenters, tend to show that this basis is correct,
so far as it can be applied to substances so analogous
in composition that they can be included in one group ;
as, for example, the different root crops possess a nutri-
tive value in proportion to the amount of nitrogen they
contain, but the nutritive value of a root ought not
to be compared with a succulent plant, like clover,

236

TABLE OF EQUIVALENTS.

•Raj

-BAtnba aAj:ju}njj

-uou oj paziuaS

-0.111U JO UOl?

-jodoad 8Ai?'Ba'

-BAraba aAjiu^n^j

•90a«isqns
3 paupunjosiaud
§ 001 "!

paup jo
001 u!

•S}.lBd

oo

CO C^

0 CO 1 t-

ooo»«oo oo oo oo

C2OOC<«LOO |iOiO |»CO IM*-*
rHr— It— (-^COC^l 5SC<I CNIS

§00000 oo oo coo o o .-H -*

OSO51OOO5 |OO lOO It-O I It-COt-O

rH -.JIOrH CO^* COC^«

OO O iO O

ioio| |in|c<iin

O GO CO i-l 0

o o o o

loo loo I

10 c-< eo -rjt

OOOO ?D OflO

locooo 1 10 IO^

§°^ t- 0
t- <T-*-^

GO oo o •«*< o -r**io>c>raX'S<«c^

O -q-iO IM COO COr-Hir5OC<iO^"*

o -Wiir4 t- t-^cs fiss4oo^'-^i«*c<'

1 1 1 <MrH | | I 1 1

5 ^3 3 33 33332333

iOOOH<-H<^Oi01r- COOOOi-l-^^OOC<>OCftO

rHcoiCO's^cooorH |i-Hcoc>-rorHaooi— it— asoo^i

DO o o •>* co eoooooc
coot-^ lcocoo>c» I •»# ^ 10 i— i irt

O O -H O t- O OS O O O OS GO OS O O »0 «^ -* O O HJ
i-HOOOGOrHOrH IkOt^lOOt^QOOO^COS^'HOCO

• -SJ-I

§ . -a

POSSIBLE SOURCE OF ERROR. 237

for instance, by the proportion of nitrogen in each,
merely, without taking into consideration other prop-
erties. In other words, roots may be compared with
each other on that basis merely, and grasses with each
other, and leguminous plants with each other, but not
root crops and grasses. This fact is alluded to as a
possible source of error in some of the earlier researches
of Boussingault, and not as materially affecting the prac-
tical value of the table.

The mode of using Table XII. is very simple. Good
upland meadow hay — or what would be called in New
England good English hay — is taken as a standard of
comparison. Now, if we wished to produce the same
results with carrots as with one hundred pounds of
good, average English hay, we must use, according to
Boussingault's column of equivalents, 382 pounds of
carrots, or for each pound of hay 3.82 pounds of car-
rots ; and, according to the practical experiments men-
tioned, 366 pounds, 250 pounds, 225 pounds, 300 pounds,
and so on, to each 100 pounds of hay.

According to the theoretical values of Boussingault,
100 pounds of Jiay are equal in feeding qualities to 65
pounds of barley, 60 pounds of oats, 58 pounds of rye,
or 55 pounds of wheat. While, according to the exper-
iments of Thaer, 100 pounds of hay produced the same
effect as 76 pounds of barley, 86 pounds of oats, 71
pounds of rye, 64 pounds of wheat.

With regard to the analyses of Tables VI., VII., VIII.,
and IX., some slight allowance should perhaps be made
for difference of climate, since it is well known that
grasses, as well as other plants, grown rapidly in a hot
sun, which we usually have in the months of May, June,
and July, contain a much larger amount of nutritive and
saccharine matter than those grown slower, and in a
greater amount of available moisture both in the atmos-

238 EFFECT OF CLIMATE.

phere and the soil, which is ordinarily present in the
climate of England. Every observing farmer knows
that grasses grown on our low, reclaimed swamp lands,
for instance, make less milk, and less flesh and fat in
animals, than the same species grown on our dry, up-
land soils. The same difference must exist, to some
extent, between our grasses and the grasses grown in
a comparatively moist climate, where they have the
advantage of more frequent rains, which push them to
a more complete development and give them greater
luxuriance, increasing, of course, the quantity of their
produce, while their quality cannot be improved in the
points alluded to.

CHAPTER VII.

THE CLIMATE AND SEASONS, AND THEIR INFLU-
ENCE ON THE GRASSES.

WE now come to consider the influence of climate
upon the quantity and nutritive quality of the grasses.

No crop is more dependent on the seasons than the
grasses. Every farmer knows that a moist spring, with
rains evenly distributed over the months of April, May,
and June, will insure him the most luxuriant crops of
grass and hay ; and he knows, also, that a dry, cold
spring is fatal to their rapid and healthy development,
and that he must, in such a spring, expect a compara-
tively small crop. These and many similar facts are
familiar to every one.

It has also been found by observation that the grasses
will vegetate when the temperature of the air is above
the freezing point of water (32° Fahrenheit), provided
the temperature of the soil ranges from 35° to 40°,
while a lower temperature checks their growth. Vege-
tation, at temperatures higher than these, depends much
on the amount of moisture and heat, both of the soil and
the atmosphere.

Grass will not vegetate when the temperature of
the air is higher than 66°, unless the soil is very moist.
When the vapor of the air is at its maximum, or when
the air is saturated with moisture, vegetation advances
with the greatest rapidity ; and this most frequently
happens with us in the earlier growing months, April,
May, and June. But when the

240 CONDITIONS OF GROWTH.

phere is slight, and the soil becomes dry, and the sub-
soil is porous, the turf of our fields and pastures suffers
from drought, and scarcely a year passes over us when
this does not happen.

A writer in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural
Society, after many careful observations, comes to the
conclusion, First, That the growth of grass is always
proportionate to the heat of the air, if a sufficiency of
moisture be present in the atmosphere. Second, That
in the climate of England the moisture present is rarely
sufficient to allow the temperature to have full effect
when that temperature exceeds 56° ; but that, if moisture
be artificially supplied, as by irrigation, to catch-water
meadows, that then vegetation will still proceed in pro-
portion to the heat. Third, That when the temperature
of the air is between 36° and 41°, the grass will only
vegetate with a fifth part of the force that it will when
the temperature is 56°. Thus the land that will keep
ten sheep per acre, in the latter case, will only keep two
in the former. That from 41° to 46° its growth is two-
fifths, or double that of its growth when the tempera-
ture is under 41°, and it will then keep four sheep
instead of two. Again, from 46° to 50°, its growth will
rise to seven-tenths, or it will keep on the same ground
from five to seven sheep ; and from 50° to 56°, it gene-
rally— unless assisted by an artificial addition of moist-
ure— arrives at its maximum; but if the month of
June be very moist, it will continue to grow with an
increase of force up to 60°.

Our climate is very different from that of England.
The evaporation from the soil is ordinarily very much
more rapid, and the actual amount of moisture in the
air is greater, since it is well established that the evap-
oration is in proportion to the height of the tempera-
ture and the extent of water or land surface ; that in

MOISTURE AND DRYNESS. 241

the temperate zones it amounts to about thirty-seven
inches a year, while in the tropics it rises to from
ninety to one hundred inches, and that the atmosphere
when at the freezing point contains about a two-hun-
dredth part of its weight of water, while at 52° it con-
tains a hundredth part, or twice as much ; at 74°, a fif-
tieth part, or four times as much, and at 98°, a twenty-
fifth part, or eight times as much, and so on in that
ratio.

Now, although the mean annual temperature of the
two countries is about the same, — it being near London
about 48° 5', and at Boston 48° 9', — yet the tempera-
ture of the growing months of the two countries pre-
sents a marked difference, the mean temperature of
every one being with us much higher. But the climate
of England is proverbially moist, notwithstanding that
the mean annual fall of rain near London is only little
over twenty-five inches, while the quantity which falls
at Boston is over forty-two inches; at Charleston, S. •
C., over forty-five inches ; at Savannah, in Georgia,
over fifty-three inches, and at Mobile, Alabama, over
sixty inches.

The amount of sensible moisture of the atmosphere
is greater in England than here, though the actual
amount existing in our atmosphere must exceed that of
the atmosphere even in the eastern part of England.
Our soil is consequently drier, and unless we have
frequent rains vegetation suffers sooner, and the growth
of grass is liable to be checked for the want of moist-
ure, and this actually happens more or less nearly every
year.

It is plain that the differences in climate that influ-
ence and control the growth of the grasses are chiefly
moisture and dryness. Moisture must exist either in
the soil or the atmosphere. It is also clear that a lux-
21

242 INFLUENCE OF RAINS.

uriant growth of grass depends not so much upon the
aggregate annual quantity of rain that falls as upon its
distribution over the year, and especially over the
growing months. A frequent rain in spring, though it
may come in small quantities, causes a rapid and suc-
culent growth ; but it may be laid down as a well-fixed
principle, that the grass crop is better from large
quantities of rain falling at once and at longer inter-
vals,— provided it does not come in torrents to pros-
trate the crop, and that the intervals are not so long as
to produce droughts, which are always attended with
deleterious effects, — than from smaller quantities fall-
ing with greater frequency. The quantity in the latter
case will not ordinarily be so great as in the former,
but it is more than compensated, it is thought, by the
increased value. The fact that grasses grown in a dry
season possess greater nutritive and fattening qualities
is well known to every practical farmer.

So great is the dependence of the grasses upon heat
and moisture combined, that, knowing the results of
observations of the thermometer and the rain-gauge in
any section, during the three growing months of April,
May, and June, one might predict with great certainty
the results of the harvest in that section ; and, on the
other hand, the yield of grass and hay, as stated by
practical farmers in different sections of the country,
would indicate so clearly and uniformly the excess
above the average, or the partial failure of the crop,
that a meteorological map of that section might be con-
structed from their statements.

Before proceeding further in this investigation, it is
proper to remark that, in order to bring together the
practical wisdom and judgment of some of the best
farmers in the country, as well as to be able to present
some statistical information in regard to the product of

QUESTIONS ON THE GRASSES. 243

grass and hay for that season, I directed the following
circular to one or more farmers in every town in Mas-
sachusetts, and to many individuals in other states,
asking for replies from each :

AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT, STATE HOUSE, >
Boston, Sept. 1, 1856. 5

DEAR SIR : Will you have the goodness to reply to
the following inquiries in reference to the grass and
hay crop of your town, according to the best of your
judgment and experience ? If circumstances prevent
your giving it personal attention, will you be kind
enough to put it into the hands of some one interested
in the subject in your neighborhood who will do me
the favor to answer it?

1. What was the estimated yield of grass and hay in
your town this season, as compared with others? If
above or below the average, how much?

2. What, in your opinion, is the effect of a wet or a
dry season on the quality of grass and hay ? Is grass
grown in the shade as good as that grown in the sun,
and what is the difference ? [This question embraces
the intrinsic value of hay this season as compared with
the crops of 1854 and 1855, both comparatively dry
seasons, while this has been unusually wet in most
parts of the country.]

3. In what month do you prefer to seed down land
designed for mowing, and what is the reason of your
preference ?

4. What varieties of grass-seed do you usually sow
for mowing, and what for permanent pasturage, and in
what quantities and proportions per acre ?

5. Do you prefer to sow grass-seed alone in either
case, or with some variety of grain ? If the latter, why,
and with what grain ?

244 PRACTICAL QUESTIONS.

6. Have you cultivated or raised orchard, fowl
meadow, or blue joint grasses, and with what result
as compared with the yield and value of other grasses ?

7. At what stage of growth do you prefer to cut
grass to make into English and into swale hay, and
what is the reason for your preference ?

8. What is the best mode of making hay from Timo-
thy, from redtop, and from wet meadow grass, and at
what state of dryness do you consider it made, or fit to
get into the barn? [This question embraces, to some
extent, the time taken to make it under ordinary cir-
cumstances of good weather, &c. This, of course,
varies greatly, but some farmers would dry grass cut
in the blossom two good hay-days, while others would
prefer to cure it less, and get it in on the day it was
cut.]

9. Will you state in detail how you make or cure
clover; and how, when so cured, it compares in value
with other kinds of hay to feed out to farm stock ?

10. Have you used hay caps ; and if so, with what
result, in point of economy ? How were they made,
and at what cost?

11. Have you used a mowing machine ; and if so,
what patent, with what power, and with what advan-
tage?

12. At what height from the ground do you prefer to
have your grass cut, and why ?

13. Have you used a horse-rake ; and if so, what
patent, and with what advantage ?

14. Do you feed off the after growth of your mowing
lands in the fall ? Do you think it an injury or a benefit
to the field to feed it off?

15. Do you top-dress your mowing or pasture lands ;
and if so, what manure do you prefer to use, at what
time, and in what quantities do you apply it ?

CIECULAE ON THE GRASSES. 245

16. What is the best mode of renovating old worn-
out pasture lands ?

17. If you have any experience in ditching and drain-
ing wet meadow, or ditching or diking salt marsh, will
you state the result, and the comparative value of the
grass before and after the operation ?

18. What are the most valuable varieties of salt-
marsh grassesr and how does the hay made from them
compare in value with good English hay ?

19. Have you any experience in irrigating mowing
or pasture lands; and if so, what is the result?

20. Do you prefer to salt your hay when putting
into the barn ; and if so, what quantity do you use per
ton?

21. What do you consider the best mode of destroy-
ing couch or twitch grass ?

22. What is the best mode of destroying the white
weed or ox-eye daisy?

23. Will you give any other details not suggested by
the above, which, in your opinion, may be considered
important, in regard to this crop ; and particularly, if
you have experimented with any varieties of grass not in
general cultivation, such as lucerne or alfalfa, rye grass,
brome grass, Kentucky blue grass, &c.} will you state
the results as fully as possible ? If yo.u have any varie-
ties of grass found to be valuable, but not in general
cultivation, the names of which are not known to you,
will you send them to this office, where the names will
be given?

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

CHARLES L. FLINT,
Secretary of the Board of Agriculture.

I was indebted to the kindness of many enterprising
and intelligent farmers for full and valuable answers
21*

246 RANGE OP CLIMATE.

from more than two hundred towns in Massachusetts,
and from several different states, and these alone would
make a valuable volume of themselves. I can, of
course, do no more than extract from them as freely as
space will permit, which I shall do at greater length in
subsequent chapters.

The range of climate of the United States is so exten-
sive, embracing, we may almost say, the tropical heats
on the one hand, and the short summers and severe
winters of the Canadas on the other, that the grasses
adapted to one region would not even succeed in
another. Some grasses which are eminently adapted to
sandy soils of a moist climate will not grow on similar
arid soils in a drier climate and under a hotter sun.

Blodget, in a valuable article on the climatology of
this country, makes the following judicious remarks,
which I have somewhat condensed, on account of their
length :

As now cultivated (says he), or as relied upon in their
natural growths, there are two well-marked divisions of
American and naturalized grasses belonging to the dry
and humid climates, respectively, of the whole United
States. There is another distinction in the tempera-
ture of moist climates, as the cultivated grasses do not
go into the warmer portions of the country, however
humid. The English grasses are the principal ones,
embracing the genera Poa, Phleum, Festuca, Agrostis,
and Dactylis ; and their most striking peculiarity is the
uniform turf they form in growth. Most of these are
very well adapted to the climate of the Northern and
Eastern States, and of the North Pacific coast ; and
they here form the great reliance of cultivators. But
they also approach their climatic limit here very nearly
in both temperature and humidity, and prove their
native position to be in a more equable climate. The
winter of the upper parts of the New England States
and of New York is sometimes destructive from low

HIGH AND LOW TEMPER ATUBES. 247

temperature alone, and the dry extremes are very
injurious, and sometimes absolutely destructive. What
precise measures of low temperature destroy these
grasses, it is difficult to say ; but every alternate year
affords some locality in which the cold is so great as to
destroy the Timothy and orchard grasses. A continu-
ance of cold for some days below zero of Fahrenheit,
and with a minimum of 20° below zero, is undoubtedly
certain to be fatal, if the surface is exposed to the air,
and is without protection by snow or otherwise.

There is apparently little difference in the hardiness
of the principal cultivated grasses in resisting the tem-
perature extremes. Low temperature alone may
destroy them in all the elevated portions of the New
England States and New York, and in Wisconsin and
some parts of Illinois. In most cases the destruction
of the three principal grasses occurs at the same time,
and no singling out of particular species is remarked.

In the direction of high temperatures there appears
no definite limit of this sort, or none depending on
single extremes ; but all these grasses fail when the
mean temperature of the summer months attains to 80°.
They have but a variable and uncertain success in Vir-
ginia, and in all the states south and westward they are
still less reliable, or fail altogether. As they are all
perennial in the highest sense, the whole year and all
its extremes must be taken into the account. They
cannot, as in the cereals, choose a portion of the year
only, and adapt their requirement of time to the tem-
perature. In this respect they differ most widely from
a very important class of native grasses, which occupy
the arid portions of the continent.

In further notice of the limitations of the European
grasses, the humidity of climate must be considered.
The dry extremes of many of the states where they
may generally succeed are quite injurious or destruc-
tive in many cases, and this is especially true of the
states at the West, where the soil is less tenacious and
retentive than at the East. They fail to form the charac-
teristic turf there, and are so much injured by those dry

248 NORTHERN LIMIT OF GRASSES.

periods as to become displaced, or to decay gradually,
if not suddenly, and to require frequent renewal. This
departure from the native climate of these grasses is so
great at the plains beyond the Mississippi, as to require
a wholly new class ; and the European forms there cease,
to reappear only on the coast of the Pacific, in Oregon
and Washington Territories, where the English climate
is itself in some degree reproduced.

The northern or low temperature limits of these
grasses appear nearly identical with those of wheat ;
and their liability to destruction by the cold of winter
alone, without regard to the lifting of the plant from
the soil, as in the case with wheat on tenacious soils,
does not greatly differ. The grasses will perhaps endure
a few degrees lower temperature.

The high temperature limits are nearly the same as
with wheat also, taking the month of ripening for wheat
as the highest temperature for any month of the year.
The range of the English grasses is here little greater
than that of wheat, in this definition. As in cultivation,
they succeed when the mean temperature for July is
75°* to 78°, while the limit of wheat is little above 70°
for the same month. In cultivation, without unusual
care, they would not differ widely.

There is a possible limit also in low summer tempera-
tures, especially if accompanied with a large amount of
moisture in the soil and atmosphere. We are not able
to give as precise limits for the English climate in this
respect as for wheat, though the grasses we have re-
ceived from there will not go many degrees lower than
wheat for the ripening period, — probably not lower
than to 55° for the warmest month of summer, while
the same limit for wheat is above 57°. In the United
States it may not go so low ; though the question is
practically unimportant, as we have no districts below
60° for July. In cold and wet localities of the North-
ern States, the difficulty of preserving these grasses is
well known ; and, as in other directions of limit, they
fail gradually under measures of climatic disadvantage
not absolutely destructive.

GRASSES OF AN ARID CLIMATE. 249

The contrasted class of grasses adapted to arid cli-
mates may advantageously be examined next, and these
are all, or nearly all, natives of the interior and western
portions of this continent, where they are required.
Nutritious grasses of general range over the country
of their origin are few in number, while those growing
in particular localities, as in wet or sheltered spots, or
in others not representing the general surface, are quite
numerous everywhere. The principal of the new Amer-
ican grasses is the bunch grass (Festuca), the buffalo
grass, or small gramma, and the other species of gram-
ma grass (Boutdoua).

The range of these is, for the last, or the gramma
grass proper, as given by Captain Marcy in his Report
on the survey of Red River, " bounded on the north by
near the parallel of 36° north latitude, and on the east
by the meridian of 98° west longitude. It extends south
and west indefinitely, but appears to flourish better in
about the latitude of 33° than any other. As there is
generally a drought on these prairies from about the
first of May to the middle of August, it would appear
that the particular varieties of grass growing here do
not require much moisture to sustain them."

The buffalo grass, or small gramma, extends at least
to latitude 40° in the same longitude, and the asso-
ciated species called mezquite, with this, cover the
best portions of the valley of the Great Salt Lake, with
the entire country south and west on which rains fall at
any season. This whole family is extremely valuable,
seeding profusely, and covering every portion of the
country where sufficient rain for its growth may be
found at any season. In the mountains a winter variety
is found remaining fresh, while that of the plains and
valleys is dried by the late summer heats. The whole
class is admirably adapted to the requirement of the
country, as they remain during the warmest months of
summer, and until the rains of the next season come
on, in a dried form, preserving the nutritive qualities
throughout.

The precise time at which the heat and aridity check

250 THE PRAIRIE GRASSES.

its growth, and convert it into dried hay, is not suffi-
ciently known for the different districts. It is probably
controlled more by absence of water in the soil, and
want of rain, than by temperature — the heat being
sufficient for this purpose when the water wholly fails.

Wislizenus, Emory, and Abert, met the smaller gram-
ma, called the buffalo grass, at 38° north latitude, and
by their references it might be inferred that this was
the northern border at that degree of longitude. But
Fremont found it at 40°, on the same meridian, and 98°
west longitude, and near the Platte or Nebraska River.
It probably extends still further northward, and over
much of this great plain to the Missouri. There are no
satisfactory notices of the grasses of this great region ;
but the inference is reasonable that it should range
nearly as far as subsistence is afforded to the immense
herds of buffalo occupying that area. The recent sur-
veys north of the Missouri were, however, unable to
find any considerable amount of it ; and Richardson was
also unable to find the buffalo grass on the Saskatcha-
wan, though at the time of his visit recent fires had
destroyed the growth of all kinds. He remarks a large
intermixture of carices with the festuca, and other true
grasses, on all the northern portions of the prairie
region.

The new forms of valuable grasses found in this great
range in our interior deserve the greatest attention in
reference to their introduction in field cultivation. The
native species of the prairie region, east of the Missis-
sippi, probably cannot be cultivated — they give way
too easily at the approach of cultivation, and those of
the dry prairies are rarely found in seed. The turf of
this prairie growth is very strong and enduring ; and
in the native state these are valuable grasses, well
adapted to the intermediate climates in which they
occur, where the humid and dry conditions pass into
each other by gradual transition. These range over
most of the country of the upper Missouri, as well as
on the prairies eastward.

There is a large district in the United States deficient

CALIFORNIA GRASSES. 251

in adaptation to our present cultivated grasses, to which
it may be possible to bring those of the interior ulti-
mately. The prairie districts of the states bordering
the Mississippi, and the principal portion of the South-
ern States, greatly need some better adaptations both
to their soil and climate. The new grasses of the south-
west would probably not find a congenial climate in the
Southern States, because of the excess of rain and of
atmospheric humidity : but for the drier portions of
the states in the upper Mississippi valley they may be
found well suited. Some success has already attended
efforts to introduce them.

They are perennials of as great endurance in the turf,
apparently, as the English grasses, though they spread
very slowly by the expansion of the root, and are re-
ported to leave the centre of the concentric tufts in
which they grow, open, as by deciy of the original
root. But all the gramma and associated grasses pro-
duce seed largely, and under cultivation they might
become all that could be desired as field grasses.

In California valuable native grasses exist, in part of
these and in part of other genera. There the climate
is even more extreme in its contrasts, and some of the
valuable grasses appear to be annuals. The bunch
grass (festuca) is abundant on the upland slopes and
valleys, and it is there, as everywhere, of great value.
Whether this may be cultivated is more problematical
than in case of the gramma, and there has probably been
no attempt at it yet. In the lower plains and valleys
oat grasses and annuals form a larger share; but whether
they are exclusive occupants is not sufficiently known.
There is certainly a tendency towards a less perma-
nently perennial character in most of the grasses of the
South and West, and they approach the higher grami-
naceous forms which constitute the grains more nearly
than those of northern origin, and the natives of humid
climates.

Bryant, in a work on California some years since,
says of the grasses of that country : " The varieties of
grasses are greater than on the Atlantic side of the con-

252 GRASSES OF THE INTERIOR.

tinent, and they are also far more nutritious. I have
seen seven different kinds of clover " (not analogous to
the true clovers), u several of them in a dry state, depos-
iting a seed upon the ground so abundant as to cover
it, which is eaten by cattle, horses, and other animals,
as corn and oats, when threshed, would be. All the
grasses — and they cover the entire country — are
heavily seeded, and when ripe are as fattening to stock
as other grains.7'

The grains are, indeed, the product of the great con-
tinental interior of the Eastern continent, and belong to
arid climates wholly in their original state. By analogy,
we might look for high graminaceous forms in the inte-
rior of this continent, but it is not known that any bread
grain has had its origin in climates similar to our own.
Maize is one of the grasses or higher graminaceous
plants; but this had a tropical origin, and it is, wherever
grown, of a purely tropical type.

The grasses of the American interior are singular in
all respects, and, so far as known, have no analogous
forms in Asia. Too little is known, however, of the
nutritious grasses of the interior of the Old World, to
institute a comparison of its forms found in arid climates
with those produced here. It may be briefly referred
to as a most desirable point for investigation, however,
and the continuance of the examination respecting cli-
matic adaptation for the great interior area of our agri-
culture is urged by the strongest consideration of both
private and national economy.

Fremont remarks of the value of these indigenous
grasses, as found in his earlier expedition to the Great
Basin and to Oregon : " The grazing capabilities of this
region are j2:reat, and in the indigenous grasses an ele-
ment of individual and national wealth may be found.
In fact, the valuable grasses begin within one hundred
and fifty miles of the Missouri frontier, and extend to
the Pacific Ocean. East of the Rocky Mountains, it is
the short curly grass, on which the buffalo delight to
feed (whence its name of buffalo grass), and which is
still good when dry and apparently dead. West of the

GRASSES OF THE SOUTH. 253

mountains it is a larger growth, in clusters, and hence
called bunch grass. This has a second or fall growth.
Plains and mountains both exhibit them, and I have
seen good pasturage at an elevation of ten thousand
feet. In this spontaneous product the trading or trav-
elling caravans can find subsistence for their animals ;
and in military operations any number of cavalry may
be moved, and any number of cattle may be driven,
and thus men and horses supported on long expedi-
tions, and even in winter in the sheltered situations."

Little allusion has so far been made to the grasses
fitted to the climate of the humid districts of the South.
These have an essentially different requirement from
either the arid regions of the interior and south-west,
or the debatable ground between these and the other
extreme in the cool and humid climates of the north and
east. From these last they of course differ still more
widely.

Experiment has very satisfactorily proved the impos-
sibility of carrying the English and northern grasses
under the excessive temperatures found hi the South-
ern States. Both the temperature and humidity, or
the joint effect of these rather, preclude their growth
entirely, though it is difficult to say whether either
condition alone would so preclude it. Comparing the
more humid climates of England with those of equally
high saturation of the South, we might infer that tem-
perature alone caused the difference ; but positions in
the states near the 39th parallel of latitude have temper-
atures in summer quite equal to those near the Gulf,
and yet permit a considerable success in the growth of
English grasses.

Agriculturists at the South have scarcely been suc-
cessful in the attention hitherto given to the introduc-
tion of valuable grasses. Their cultivation is less a
necessity of plantation management than of farm occu-
pation, as at the North, and it only becomes imperatively
euch when the preservation of the soil from washing and
exhaustion becomes necessary. Such is, at present, the
state of much of the cultivated area at the South, and it
22

254 DIFFICULTY OF FORMING TURF.

is of the first importance to know whether the perma-
nent grass covering of the soil may be attained by any
possible means.

The normal range of the grasses, strictly speaking, is
not so far south. Their native climates are north of
the native grain districts, and in cooler and more humid
atmospheres ; while the southern part of the United
States has a tropical summer, and lies on the opposite
side of the clirnatological limit. We cannot anticipate
success in grasses taken from the colder extreme in this
opposite position, and probably very little for those
adapted to dry climates, whether warm or cold. The
source should be tropical or semi-tropical; and such
has, indeed, been the origin of many species introduced
and cultivated to some extent at the South. The
Guinea grass (Sorghum vulgare) is of this sort, and
the Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon}. The last is
much like the cane in its root and habit of growth, and
both are purely tropical forms. The sugar-cane is itself
frequently cultivated as a grass, with success, and all
these are more easily cultivated as forage plants, to be
used for pasturage and soiling only, than as dried in the
form of hay. The succulent character of the growth
scarcely permits curing ; and the mixture of " winter
grasses," or the coarser festucas often cultivated there
for their winter's produce, of which the gramma grass
and the technical "winter grass " are the principal, will,
ultimately, be necessary to answer the end proposed in
their grass cultivation, and indispensable, indeed, to
their agricultural prosperity. The gramma grass of
Texas and New Mexico may bear a considerable exten-
sion over the drier soils and least humid portions of the
South, and it has already been introduced with some
success.

It has been found extremely difficult to form a close
turf or sward below the latitudes of the more equa-
ble distribution of rain ; and this is the case south of
Baltimore, in latitude 39° 18', owing to the excessive and
often long-continued heat and drought. Even lucerne,

EFFECT OF SHADE. 255

which grows in great perfection in the south of France,
is very unreliable south of Philadelphia, from the heat,
and north of it from the cold.

The growth of grass south of the parallel of 39° is
similar to that on the dry and arid sands in higher north-
ern latitudes. Most of the higher English grasses fail,
in such situations, to form a close turf, and give place
to the tufted or jungle grasses, or to such as refuse to
grow in close companionship with others. In going
west from the Mississippi River a close-cultivated turf is
rare ; and the same is the case, as already seen, south
of Washington, or perhaps south of Baltimore, and of
the line running west from there to the Mississippi.
The clovers may be cultivated to some extent ; but,
though valuable as forage plants, they become poor
substitutes for the close and beautiful sward of a cooler
climate. In California several species of medicago are
highly esteemed, and are known under the general term
of " California clover."

It must be evident, from what has been said, that the
climate of the United States is not so well adapted, as
a whole, to bring the higher grasses to perfection, as
that of England. A moist and equable climate is best
adapted to all this class of plants, — that is, to promote
their rich luxuriance of growth. The nutritive quali-
ties of grasses grown under greater heat and a drier
climate are, undoubtedly, superior ; and this is a fact
familiar to every observing farmer. Grass grown in a
wet season, or very moist climate, bears a striking re-
semblance to that grown under the shade of trees.

The remarks of a practical farmer of Kentucky well
express the general estimate made by most farmers in
reply to the second question proposed in the circular
given on a preceding page. "Just so far," says he, "as
there is shade, is the grass deficient in saccharine and

256 HEAT AND MOISTURE.

nutritious qualities ; that grass which is most exposed
to the sun being best. Woodland pastures will keep
young stock growing, and old ones on foot, but will
not fatten them. A three-year-old Durham will get
1 stall fat' in a year on open blue grass."

A farmer of Massachusetts says : " Grass grown in
the shade is lighter, and does not contain so much nutri-
ment. Wet seasons increase the weight and bulk of the
crop ; but the same weight does not contain the amount
of nutritive matter of hay raised in a dry season." And
another: " Hay grown in a dry season contains more
nutriment. This is particularly noticeable in the con-
dition of cattle in the spring following a dry season. I
do not consider grass grown in a dense shade worth
over half price." " From an experience of fifty years
in making hay, and thirty -five in feeding it out and sell-
ing it," says an intelligent practical farmer, " I should
say that in a wet season I never found anything like so
much heart or nutriment in hay as in a dry one. Grass
grown under a thick, shady tree is not worth one-half
as much as that grown in the sun. The grass this year
(1856) was well set in the spring, and grew very quick
when the warm weather came on; but still we had much
good, warm sun to bring it to maturity, and I think it
will spend pretty well, but probably not quite as well
as the same bulk last year. "

It is not necessary to multiply the authorities of
practical farmers on this point, since they uniformly
coincide with the testimony given above ; and it may
be regarded as fully established as the result both of
scientific investigations and of practical experience, that
both the quantity and the quality of grass, are in pro-
portion to the heat or sunlight and the moisture in
which it is grown.

What has been said will explain the allowance which

COMPENSATIONS. — SNOW. 257

it may be proper to make in the analyses of grass
grown in a climate of less heat and less sunshine than
our own. It will also lead to the conclusion that our
own grasses, grown on low, moist lands, are neither so
sweet nor so nutritious as the same species grown on
higher and drier soils ; and it is a fact which has fallen
under the observation of practical farmers, that the
grasses on low lands do not produce so much nor so
good a quality of milk, nor so much fat in animals, as
the same species of grass grown on upland soils.

But, though we cannot boast of so luxuriant a growth
of the grasses as other and more favorable climates, we
have, as already remarked, at least some compensations.
With the necessities of our rigorous northern winters
to provide for, the English summers, with their daily
and almost hourly rains, would make it extremely diffi-
cult to put in the proper stores of winter food for our
stock.

Jt is a curious fact that the destruction of the grasses
from the colds of winter is less to be apprehended in
some of the higher northern latitudes than in somewhat
milder climates. In the northern and eastern portions
of Maine, for instance, the snow generally falls before
the frost has penetrated to any great depth; and it
usually lasts, often very deep, till the spring opens ;
and as soon as it is gone the grass is green and luxu-
riant, and the sod ready for the plough; while in Wash-
ington the cultivated grasses are absolutely destroyed
both by the colds of winter and the heats of summer;
and this very frequently happens, — more frequently
than in higher latitudes, and where the actual severity
of the cold is greater. It is the frequent alternation of
cold and warmth, rather than the low degree of temper-
ature, that is most injurious to vegetation.

We have already seen that in the Middle States some
22*

258 THE GRAMMA GRASSES.

of the species of Poa — such, for instance, as the Ken-
tucky Blue grass (Poa pratemi$) — appear to take the
lead, as among the most important pasture grasses. This
species is known as Green grass in Pennsylvania. It is
said also to bear the hottest summers of Tennessee,
where it is reckoned one of the best grasses, while it
grows with the utmost luxuriance in Kentucky, and as
far north as Indianapolis, in wooded pastures, and forms
a large proportion of the turf even in New England.
This and nearly allied species are not adapted, however,
to alternate husbandry.

Beyond the limits of these on the south, the Gramma,
the Guinea, and the Bermuda grasses, take the lead ;
while the sugar-cane itself is not unfrequently culti-
vated as a fodder plant. Some of the festucas, also, grow
well, and withstand the hot climate, and form a valua-
ble winter feed for cattle. They are known there by
the term "winter grass." In many sections, also, the
Common Eeed Grass (Phragmites communis) and its
allied species cover the low grounds, and afford a large
amount of nutritive herbage, till cut off by the frosts ;
while on the dry plains west of these sections, the
gramma grasses, or, as they are often called, the Mezquite
(one or more of the species of Bouteloua), become the
most valuable of the native species found in a belt of
country with about the thirty-fifth parallel as its centre.
The Buffalo grass, or small gramma, is one of these
species found as far north as the fortieth parallel.

The gramma grasses are valuable chiefly as being
adapted to a hot climate. Their growth is mainly in the
rainy season, and they seed abundantly as the dry season
approaches. In the section of country west from the
State of Arkansas, the rainy season is in the spring ;
in the northern part of Mexico, it is in summer ; in
southern Texas, in autumn, and in some parts of New

CLIMATIC RANGE OF GRAINS. 259

Mexico, in winter ; so that the period of greatest growth
of the gramma or muskit grasses is various, being regu-
lated chiefly by the rains ; but even when dry they form
a very nutritive food for stock.

On the western prairies but few valuable native
grasses are found. While they are allowed to grow
wild they cover the soil with a pretty close growth;
but when the turf is once broken it is very difficult to
reform it with the better English grasses, except around
low spots, or places well supplied with moisture.

With respect to the climatic range of the grains,
such as wheat and Indian corn, and others spoken of in
Chapter II., little need be added in this connection.
With the exception of Indian corn, the grains are ex-
otics, and for the most part natives of a moist climate, or
came to us naturalized in a climate much more moist than
our own. They flourish best, therefore, in the cooler
parts of this country, though their range of climate,
with the exception of rice, is very great. In the more
southern portions they ripen before the hot, dry weather
comes on. The English grasses, as we have already
seen, are destroyed by it.

For Indian corn, which is a tropical plant, there is no
southern limit of growth in this country, while the
northern limit to its profitable culture may be stated in
general at the point where the mean temperature is
about 68° Fahrenheit. The flexibility of its organization
is such that while in a warm climate it may grow for a
period of four or five months, or even more, in colder
latitudes it will ripen in two and a half or three months,
and rarely requires over four months. A small variety
is cultivated as far north as fifty-one degrees of latitude,
on the Red River. It requires great summer heats, but
will often succeed well in the northern states with a
cool and rainy summer, provided there is a week or two;

260

GROWTH OF INDIAN CORN.

of hot weather in the month of June or early in July,
and a late fall with warm weather at the period of
ripening. It will not endure a mean temperature below
65° in the growing season, but the morning and even-
ing temperature may be low, provided the midday heat
is sufficient to carry up the mean of the month beyond
that point. This high curve of heat at midday is so
essential that, without it, there will be no formation
of 'saccharine matter in the plant, nor will it mature ;
while with it the temperature of the night may be
quite low. This is one, and almost the only, condition
absolutely essential to its successful culture, and this
condition is fulfilled in almost every part of the coun-
try, except the mountainous districts above mentioned.
As a means of reference, the following may be given as
the results of observations at the Observatory at Cam-
bridge during the growing months of 1854, 1855, and
1856, which do not vary much from the mean or
average temperature of these months in any series of
years.

The observations were made four times a day, — at
sunrise, 9 A. M., 3 and 9 p. M., the latitude being
42° 22' 48", the longitude 71° 1'.

Months.

Mean
Temp, in
1854.

Rain in

1854.

Mean
Temp, in
1855.

Rain in

1855.

Mean
Temp, in
1856.

Rain in

1856.

March,

333.1

Inches.

2949

32° 31

Inches.
1 159

26° 98

Inches.
0970

42° 9

4 842

44° 08

q qqn

4^° 89

q 7q9

Mav

67° 7

K 4*0

CQD 40

1 rni

KOO KK

67^9

June . •

RK.O Q

q KQK

cro AO

q KQI

CQO AQ

9 RfiQ

July,

72° 9

Q Oqq

72° 94

4 845

72° 76

4 943

68° 6

0 351

67° 31

2270

67° 31

14 981

September, ....

6P.4

4.360

6P.45

1.216

62°. 98

The season of 1858 was remarkable in most parts of
New England as a season of frequent rains and cool

CLIMATIC RANGE OF WHEAT. 261

weather in July arid August, and the farmers generally
predicted a failure of the corn crop, and wondered all
the summer at the luxuriant growth of this plant. The
secret of it undoubtedly was that the last week of June
and the first week of July were excessively hot, though
the rest of the season was unusually cool and moist.
The ground had become warmed to a great depth, and
this was sufficient to give the plant a rapid growth
through the rest of the growing season. Every part of
the country is, therefore, adapted to Indian corn, with
the exception of the higher mountainous parts of New
England, and northern New York, and northern Wis-
consin and Minnesota.

There are great staples of the Southern States more
profitable, it is true, owing to their extremely limited
range of climate ; but, as a plant for the whole country,
no other can compare with it in importance.

The climatic range of wheat and barley is still
greater, for both grow successfully at small elevations
above the level of the sea, on the borders of the trop^-
ics, while wheat may be cultivated as far north as
60°, and the culture of barley extends to the polar
circle. The climatic range of oats does not materially
vary from that of wheat.

But, though the absolute range of climate for wheat
is greater than that of Indian corn, there are more local
conditions which affect it, and hence its most profitable
limit of cultivation may not be much greater.

The districts of this country which correspond
most nearly to the great wheat-growing sections of
Europe may be found in central New York, Pennsyl-
vania, and a part of Maryland, and a section through the
states lying immediately south of the great northern
lakes, including the prairie lands west from Lake Michi-
gan. In these sections the mean temperature of

262 THE WHEAT DISTRICTS.

summer ranges from 68° to 71°, and the grain ripens
usually in July. In the extreme southern states May
is the harvest month, and the mean temperature of that
is from 67° to 70°. In Virginia the wheat harvest
extends into June, and the mean temperature is from
63° to 65° for May, and from 68°to 72° for June, while in
central New York the harvest extends into July, and
the mean temperature of the former month there is 64°,
and that of the latter 69° ; and in Illinois, where the
wheat harvest ends in June, the temperature is below
70°, while the temperature of May is from 60° to 62°.

As already intimated, many local modifications are
required in taking an account of the influence of
climate on the growth of wheat. A low temperature
for the growing months, which may be a rare exception,
will of course affect it. The summer of 1853 in Eng-
land, for instance, was about two degrees below the
average of mean temperature, and the consequence was
that the wheat crop fell off from a third to a half. July
and August of that year gave a mean temperature of
from 57° to 59°, while 60° are required there to insure
a good harvest. The climate of our Pacific coast more
nearly resembles the climate of western Europe than it
does that of our own Atlantic coast.

The following statistics of the mean temperature of
the months of growth and ripening of wheat and similar
grains, in wheat sections of this country and in Europe,
will be valuable for reference :

April. May. June. July.

Gettysburg, Pa., . . . 50°.3 60°.6 69°.2 74°

Rochester, N.Y., . . . 44°.7 66°.l 65°.0 69°.9

Oberlin, Ohio, . . . .48°.! 69°.4 67°.6 75°.5

Milwaukee, Wis., . . . 40°. 7 51°.3 64°.8 69°.8

March. April. May. June.

Chapel Hill, N. C., . . 51°.l 59°.5 67G.3 74°.7

Athens, Ga., .... 55°.0 64°.0 69^.1 75°.4

COVERING OF SNOW.

263

March.

Nashville, Term., . . . 49°.4
Fort McKavett, Tex., . 57°. 4
Sacramento, Cal., . . 53°.2

May.

York, Eng., 57°.0

Aberdeen, Scotland, . 52°.3
Epping, Eag,, .... 56°.6
Dautzic, Baltic, . . . 52°. 1
Konigsberg, Baltic, . . 51°. 9
Moscow, Russ., . . . 54°.4
Bucharest, Russ., . . 56°.3
Kasan, Russ., .... 51°.5

March.

Beyrout, Syria, . . . 61°.3
Alexandria, Egypt, . . 62°.2
Palermo, Sicily, . . . 54°.0

April
61°.9
66°.2

59°.5

May
68° 3

72°.2
65°. 2

June.
76°. 5
74^.9
71°. 7

June.

July.

August

61°.2

62^.4

63C.5

56°.7

58°.8

58° .0

60°.0

62°.2

60°.9

59°.3

63°.6

62°.9

57°.4

62° .6

61°. 7

62°.4

66°. 4

63°.l

62°. 5

68°. 1

65°.2

61°.3

64°.8

60°.8

April.
65°. 3
67°.0
58°.6

May.

71°.3
70°. 3
64°.8

June.

75°,4
76°.2
710.2

Winter wheat generally succeeds best when the
ground is covered with snow ; and if this protection is
wanting, it is not unfrequently winter killed. It some-
times happens, also, that a covering of snow affects it
in such a manner as to destroy it entirely or in part ; and
this is the case when the snow is too compact, so as to
prevent the access of air for a considerable period. On
a clay soil the frost often acts mechanically, produc-
ing what is called heaving by the frost. Other influ-
ences of soil and culture affect the growth of wheat
probably to a greater extent than that of Indian corn,
and the same applies more or less to the other grains
mentioned in the second chapter.

The northern range of these grains, particularly that
of barley and rye, is somewhat greater, and the differ-
ence m&y be stated at about five degrees of mean tem-
perature, which would embrace several degrees of lati-
tude. Barley grows further north than any other, but
both barley and rye will endure cooler and shorter
summers, and a somewhat poorer soil.

264 GROWTH OF BARLEY.

Oats succeed rather better than wheat in a moist and
cool climate, but will not endure frosts like that plant.
It may be said, in general, that these grains will not
endure a mean temperature of less than 58° for the
growing months, in equable climates, and about 65° in
more variable ones, with freedom from frosts during a
month or two previous to, and during the time of, com-
ing to maturity. Long-continued periods of moisture,
united with heat, cause various diseases, as rust, mil-
dew, smut; and other similar injuries.

CHAPTER VIII.

SELECTION; MIXTURE, AND SOWING, OF GRASS-
SEEDS.

IN general, too little attention is paid to the selection
of seeds, not only of the grasses, but of other cultivated
plants. The farmer cannot be sure that he has good
seed unless he raises it for himself, or uses that raised
in his neighborhood. He too often takes that which
has passed through several hands, and whose origin he
cannot trace. Bad or old seed may thus be bought in
the belief that it is good and new, and the seller himself
may not know anything to the contrary. The buyer,
in such cases, often introduces weeds which are very
difficult to eradicate.

The temptation to mix seeds left over from previous
years with newer seed is very great, and there can be
no doubt that it is often done on a large scale. In such
cases the buyer has no remedy. He cannot return the
worthless article, and the repayment of the purchase
money, even if he could enforce it, would be but poor
compensation for the loss of a crop.

The seeds of some plants retain their vitality much
longer than others. Those of the turnip, for instance,
will germinate as well, or nearly as well, at the age of
four or five years, as when only one or two years old ;
they are thought to be better at two years old than one.
But the seeds of most of the grasses are of very little
23 (265)

266 GERMINATIVE POWER OF SEEDS.

value when the}7 have been kept two or three years ;
and hence the importance of procuring new and fresh
seeds, and guarding against any mixture of the old and
worthless with the new as carefully as possible.

It is easy to tell whether the germinative power of
grass or any other seed still remains, by the following
simple method ; and, if the buyer should be willing to
try it, he might purchase only a small quantity at first,
and afterwards obtain his full supply with more confi-
dence, if the trial showed it to be good. Take two
pieces of thick cloth, moisten them with water, and
place them one upon the other in the bottom of a
saucer. Place any number of seeds which it is desired
to try upon the cloth, spreading thin, so as not to allow
them to cover or touch each other. Cover them over
with a third piece of cloth, similar to the others, and
moistened in the same manner.

Then place the saucer in a moderately warm place.
Sufficient water must be turned on, from time to time, to
keep the three thicknesses of cloth moist, but great care
must be taken not to use too much water, as this would
destroy the seed. There should be only enough to
moisten the cloths, and not enough to allow any to
stand in the saucer. Danger from this source may be
avoided in a great measure, however, by tipping up the
saucer so as to permit any superfluous water in it to
drain off. The cloth used for covering may be gently
raised each day to watch the progress of the swelling
or the moulding of the seeds. The good seed will be
found to swell gradually, while the old or poor seed,
which has lost its germinating power, will become
mouldy in a very few days.

In this way, also, any one can judge whether old seed
is mixed with new. The latter will germinate much
more quickly than the former. He can, moreover, judge

SELECTION AND MIXTURE. 267

of the quantity which he must sow, since he can tell
whether a half, or three-fourths, or the whole, will be
likely to germinate, and can regulate his sowing accord-
ingly. The seeds of the clovers, if they are new and
fresh, will show their germs on the third or fourth day ;
other seeds will take a little longer ; but, till they be-
come coated with mould, there is hope of their germi-
nating. As soon as the mould appears it is decisive,
and the seed that moulds is worthless.

It is difficult to over-estimate the importance to the
farmer of a good selection and proper mixture of grass-
seeds for the various purposes of cultivation, for mow-
ing, for soiling, for permanent pasturage, or for an
alternate crop.

Doubtless the varieties of seed usually sown in this
country, consisting almost exclusively of Timothy and
redtop, with a mixture of red clover, are among the
best for our purposes, and their exclusive use is, in a
measure; sanctioned by the experience and practice of
our best farmers ; yet it would seem very strange,
indeed, if this vast family of plants, consisting of thou-
sands of species and varieties, and including, as already
intimated, nearly a sixth part of the whole vegetable
kingdom, could furnish no more than two or three truly
valuable species.

When we consider, also, that some species are best
adapted to one locality, and others to another, some
reaching their fullest and most perfect development on
clay soils, and some on lighter loams and sands, we can-
not but wonder that the practice of sowing only Timo-
thy and redtop on nearly all soils, — clays, loams, and
sands, indiscriminately, — both on high and low land,
should have become so prevalent.

It is equally remarkable that while but very few of
our grasses, and these for the most part species peculiar

268 NUMBER OF SPECIES REQUISITE.

to sterile soils, flourish alone, but nearly all do best with
a mixture of several species, it should so constantly
have been thought judicious to attempt to grow only two
prominent species together, with merely an occasional
addition of an annual or a biennial clover, which soon
dies out. When this course is pursued, unless the soil
is rich and in good heart, the grass is likely to grow
thin and far between, producing but half or two-thirds
of a crop ; whereas, the addition in the mixture of a
larger number of species would have secured a heavier
burden, of a better quality. These considerations, it
seems to me, indicate the true direction in which the
farmer who wishes to " make two spires of grass grow
where one grew before," without impoverishing the soil,
should turn his attention.

1 hold this proposition to be indisputable : that any
soil will yield a larger and more nutritious crop if sown
with several kinds of nutritious grasses, than when
sown with only one or two species. Indeed, it is a fact
well established, by careful experiment^ that a mixture
of only two or three species of grasses and clover will
produce a less amount of hay than can be obtained by
sowing a larger number of species together. There
may be some exceptions to this rule, as in cases where
the yield of Timothy and redtop, owing to the peculiar
fitness of the soil for them, is as great as can stand on
the ground on which they grow.

But it is nevertheless true, that if we sow but one kind
of grass, however abundantly the seed may be scattered,
or on whatever soil it may be, or under however favor-
able influences, only a part of the plants will flourish ;
vacant spaces will occur throughout the piece, which will
be filled up after a time by grasses of an inferior quality,
weeds, or mosses. This is the case in some degree,
also, where only two, or a small number, of species

FOLLOWING NATURE. 269

are sown ; while, if a mixture made up of a larger number
of kinds of seed is used, the plants will cover the entire
surface, and produce a far better quality of herbage.

In sowing such a mixture of several different species,
we do but follow nature, who, after all, will generally be
found to be the best teacher ; for, wherever we cast our
eyes over an old, rich, permanent pasture, we ordinarily
see from fifteen to twenty species of grass or forage
plants growing in social profusion, and often many more
species. If the soil be very poor, as a cold, hard clay,
or a barren sand, perhaps two or three varieties will
suffice ; but on good soils a larger number will be found
to be far more profitable.

Especially is this the case where the land is to be left
in grass for some years, and eventually to be pastured,
as is often done in New England ; for it is then desirable
to have grasses that reach their maturity at different
times, as a constant succession of good feed throughout
the season may thus more surely be obtained. It is
well known that there is no month of spring or summer
in which some one of the grasses does not attain to its
perfection, if we except the month of March, and even
this brings up a luxuriant growth in the more southern
latitudes. For good soils, eight or ten species of the
grasses, or six or eight of the grasses proper, and one
or more of other herbage plants, would probably be
found to be profitable.

I am aware that the prevailing practice is decidedly
against the use of anything but Timothy, redtop, and
clover, and that very large crops of these grasses are
often raised ; but it is nevertheless true that we obtain,
on an average, less than a ton to the acre, while, with
the same culture and a larger number of species, we
ought to get double that quantity.

Before proceeding to consider the proportions in
23*

270 BUYING BY WEIGHT.

which the different species should be mixed, it may be
well to refer to the mode generally adopted for estimat-
ing the quantities of seeds and their relative weight.
And I may remark here that the prevailing practice of
buying and sowing grass-seeds by measure, rather than
by weight, seems injudicious, to say the least. It is
well known that old or poor seed weighs less than that
which is fresh and new. Now, if a farmer buys by
weight, even if he does get an old or inferior quality
of seed, he gets a much larger number of seeds, and
this larger quantity of seed which he receives for his
money may make up for the inferior quality, and he
will have a larger number of seeds capable of germ-
ination than he would have if he bought by measure.
It is to be regretted that it has become so nearly uni-
versal to purchase by measure, though, as this course
is for the seller's advantage, it may be difficult to change
the custom.

The following table, containing the weight per bushel
of the seeds of the most important agricultural grasses,
has been prepared chiefly from a valuable treatise on
the grasses, by the Messrs. Lawson, of Edinburgh, who
have paid much attention to this subject, and whose
experience and observation in this department have
probably been larger and more extensive than those
of any other seedsmen.

This table will be found to be exceedingly valuable
for reference.

Column 1 contains the common names of the grasses.

Column 2, the average number of pounds in a bushel
of the seeds.

Column 3, the average number of seeds in an ounce.

Column 4 shows the depth of soil, in inches and frac-
tions of an inch, at which the greatest number of seeds
germinate.

WEIGHT. — DEPTH OF COVERING.

271

TABLE XIV. — WEIGHT OF GRASS-SEEDS, AND DEPTH OF
COVERING.

1.

2.

13
12
14
5
6
7
10
26
12
10
14
14
14
15
10
13
15
7
15
18 to 30
25
48
44
15
13
15
15
5*
64
64
65
60
26

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

500,000
425,000
132,000
76,000
71,000
21,000
15,500
28,000
40,000
39,000
20,500
64,000
26.000
24,700
39,000
58,000
33,000
95,000
27,000
15,000
80,000
42,000
74,000
173,000
243,000
217,000
10,000
118,000
16,000
16,000
32,000
12,600
10.280

0 to i

Oto'j

Otoi
Otoi
ito*
0 to 4

Oto i
Otoi
0 to i
0 to i

Otoi

ttoi

itoi
Oto i
i toi
itoi

Otoi

Otoi
i tol
Otoi
Oto^
Oto^
Otoi

* to 1

ito *

i tol
1 toli
1 toli
li to 1*
ito i

I tol

I tol

1 toli
i tol
$ tol

5 tol

2 tol
1 toli
li to U
1 to i

*tol
ito f

H to 1$
3 tol
litoli
li to H

ito i
2 to 2*

1

2i
2i
2
4

2

2i
2i
*
2
2i

It

2i
3i
3i
91

'2

li
4
2
2
2
li

d;

.65
.63
.65
.57
.45

.29

.52
.65
.60

.30
.35
.73

.50

.38
.32
.50
.31

.57

.72

Slender Wheat Grass

Crested Do«''s-tail,

Tall Fescue,

Sheep's Fescue

Meadow Fescue ....

Slender Spiked Fescue,
Red Fescue,

Reed Meadow Grass

Common Manna Grass

Meadow Soft Grass

Italian Rye Grass .

Perennial Rye Grass, ......

Millet Grass,

Wood Meadow Grass,

Yellow Oat Grass,

Perennial Clover

Column 5 shows the depth of soil, in inches and frac-
tions of an inch, at which only one-half of the seeds
germinated.

Column 6 shows the least depth of soil, in inches or
fractions of an inch, at which none of the seeds germ-
inated.

272 THE WEIGHT VARIES.

Column 7 shows the average percentage of loss in
the weight of the grass, in making into hay, when cut
in the time of flowering.

The weight of seeds varies, of course, somewhat
from that stated in the above table, according to their
quality. Those given in the table are the average
weights of good, merchantable seed. In some states,
as in Wisconsin, for instance, the legal weight of Tim-
othy-seed is forty-six pounds to the bushel ; in others,
it is forty-four. The weight of a bushel will depend in
part, of course, upon the thoroughness with which it is
cleaned. The seeds of the different varieties of rye
grass differ in weight, varying from twenty to thirty
pounds per bushel; but the average is from twenty to
twenty-five pounds.

The number of seeds of each species in a pound may
be found, of course, by multiplying the numbers in col-
umn 3 by sixteen, the number of ounces in a pound.
It is obvious, however, that these numbers must vary,
like the number of pounds in a bushel ; for it is evident
that the lighter the seed, the greater will be the number
of seeds in a pound. The numbers stated ore the
average obtained by careful and repeated trials, and
they may be relied on as the average of well-cleaned
seed.

The results stated in columns 4, 5, and 6, were
obtained by careful experiment, and will be found to be
very suggestive.

The fact that the soil used in the experiments to
ascertain the proper depth of covering was kept moist
during the process of germination, though freely ex-
posed to the light, accounts for the large number of
seeds germinated without any covering whatever. In
ordinary field culture some slight covering is desirable ;
but the figures in column 6 show the important fact

TOO FEW SPECIES. 273

that in our modes of sowing and covering there must
be a great loss of seed from burying too deep, though
the depth should be governed somewhat by the nature
of the soil, as its usual moisture or dryness.

I have already expressed my opinion that we limit
our mixtures to too few species, thus failing to arrive at
the most profitable results ; and have said that in a piece
of land seeded with one or two favorite grasses only, small
vacant spaces will be found, which, in the aggregate, will
diminish very considerably the yield of an acre, even
though they may be so small as not to be perceived.
It might be thought that this could be avoided by put-
ting into the ground a very large number of seeds.
But a knowledge of the quantities of seed ordinarily
used for sowing, and an inquiry as to the number of
plants necessary to cover the ground with a thick coat-
ing of grass, will show that this is not the case.

I have in my possession letters from some of the
best farmers in various parts of the country, in which
they state it to be the prevailing practice to sow a
bushel of red top, a half-bushel of Timothy, and from
four to six pounds of red clover, to the acre. Some of
them vary the proportions a little, as by the use of one
peck of Timothy and a larger quantity of clover; but
the general practice is to use nearly the quantities
stated, some even using a considerably larger quantity.
Now, if we examine the table, we shall find that in an
ounce of redtop-seed there are 425,000 grains ; in a
pound, there are over 6,000,000 seeds ; in a bushel, or
twelve pounds, there are over 80,000,000 seeds. Now =
suppose the farmer takes only one peck of Timothy-
seed to mix with it. In an ounce of Timothy grass-seed
there are 74,000 grains. In a pound there are over
1,000,000 grains. In eleven pounds, or a peck, there
are over 13,000,000 seeds ; and, if we take but four

274

NUMBER OF PLANTS.

pounds of clover, which is below the average quantity
used, we shall find by the same process that we have
over 1,000,000 seeds. If now we add these sums
together, we shall find that we have put upon the acre
no less than 95,000,000 seeds ! This gives about fifteen
seeds to the square inch, or about 2,000 seeds to the
square foot !

Again, one of the most intelligent farmers in the
country, a practical man, uses five pecks of redtop and
twelve quarts of Timothy to the acre for mowing lands,
and an addition of five pounds of white clover for pas-
tures, making no less than 124,000,000 seeds per acre.
There must be, evidently, an enormous waste of seed,

TABLE X. — AVERAGE NUMBER OF PLANTS AND SPECIES
TO THE SQUARE FOOT OF SWARD.

CHARACTER OF THE TURF.

Whole number
of plants on the
square foot.

Natural grasses.

Clover, and other
plants.

Distinct species.

1. A square foot taken from the richest nat-

ural pasture, capable of fattening one

large ox or three sheep to the acre, was

1,000

940

60

20

2. Rich old pasture, capable of fattening

one large ox and three sheep per acre, .

1,090

1,032

58

-

3. Another old pasture contained

910

880

30

12

4. An old pasture of a damp, moist, and

634

610

124

8

5. A good pasture, two years old, laid down

to rye grass and white clover, ....

470

452

18

2

6. A sod of narrow-leaved meadow grass (Poa

an^ustifolia) , six years old .....

192

1

7. A sod of meadow foxtail by itself, six

80

1

75

1

9. Meadow, irrigated and carefully managed,

1,798

1,702

96

OLD PASTURE SWARD. 275

or an extensive destruction of the plants ; for, if we take
nature for our guide, we shall not find anything like that
amount of plants on an inch or a foot of our grass lands.
Let us see, from a very careful trial, how many plants
and how many species are to be found in a square foot.

These plants, in each instance, were counted with the
utmost care, by a farmer now living in Massachusetts,
then in the employ of Mr. Sinclair, and the correctness
of his results may be relied on.

Now, it is a well-known fact that the sward of a rich
old pasture is closely packed, filled up, or interwoven,
with plants, and no vacant spaces occur. Yet we see,
from the above table, in a closely-crowded turf of
such a pasture, only one thousand distinctly-rooted
plants were found on a square foot, and these were
made up of twenty different species. They are seen in
Table X.

The soil should be supplied with a proper number of
plants, else a loss of labor, time, and space, will be in-
curred ; but, however heavily seeded a piece may be
with one or two favorite grasses, small vacant spaces
will occur, which, though they may not seem important
in themselves, when taken in the aggregate will be
found to diminish very considerably the yield of an acre.
Undoubtedly some allowance should be made for the
seeds and young plants destroyed by insects, birds, and
various accidental causes ; but, even after all deductions
for these, we see that there is no deficiency in the
quantities of seed used, and the imperfectly covered
ground cannot be explained in this way.

The above table is also important as an illustration
of the truth of my general proposition. It shows that
in those pastures where few species were found to-
gether, whether in old, natural pastures or in artificial
meadows, the number of plants on a given space was

276 DEMAND SOON SUPPLIED.

proportionally small. Sinclair, too, who had observed
carefully and extensively, writes on this point, in regard
to the practice of over-seeding, as follows : " When an
excess of grass-seed is sown, the seeds, in general, all
vegetate j but the plants make little, if any progress,
until, from the want of nourishment to the roots, and
the confined space for the growth of the foliage, a cer-
tain number decay, and give the requisite room to the
proper number of plants ; and that will be according as
there are a greater or less variety of different species
of grasses combined in the sward."

It is proper to make some allowance for bad seed, it
is true ; but our practice throughout the country is
defective and uneconomical. In the examination of the
rich and productive pasture turf, from twelve to twenty
species were found closely mixed together, and there
were six or seven plants to the square inch. We sow
seed enough, frequently, for fifteen plants to the inch,
but rarely obtain above two or three, and generally
even less than that, owing to the limited number of
species.

The difficulty of procuring the seed, and its expense,
have been the strongest objections to the use of many
species. A demand for these species, however, would
soon remove this difficulty, and varieties would be kept
for sale in every seed-store in the country, and at a
reasonable price. When it is considered that the addi-
tional expense of sowing a field or permanent pasture
with a greater number of species will be, comparatively,
very small, while the additional yield will be propor-
tionably large, — if the result is as favorable as the
opinion of many who have made the trial would lead us
to expect, — every farmer must admit that it is for his
interest to try the experiment on a small scale, at least.

It will be evident, after a moment's reflection, that

VARIOUS MIXTURES. 277

very different mixtures, both as regards the species and
the relative quantities of each, will be desirable for
different soils ; that different mixtures would be required
for alternate cropping or laying down land for only a year
or two, and for permanent pasture. In our practice it
is most common to seed down for some years, and not
unfrequently this is done with the design of cutting the
grass for hay for a few years, and then pasturing the
field, in which case our seeding down assumes the char-
acter of laying down for permanent pasturage.

Equally good, but very different mixtures, might
be made, also, for the same soils, by different indi-
viduals who had different objects in view, some desir-
ing a very early crop, some wishing to select spe-
cies which resist the access of profitless weeds, and
others to cultivate those varieties which exhaust the
soil the least. Each of these mixtures may be best
adapted to the specific object of the farmer who makes
it, and, if composed of a sufficient number of species,
may be good, and truly economical.

The practice with many farmers has already been
alluded to as consisting usually of one bushel or twelve
pounds of redtop, a half a bushel or twenty-two pounds
of Timothy, and from four to six or eight pounds of
clover. The practice of many good farmers varies but
little from this mixture.

For a permanent pasture mixture, it is highly import-
ant to bear in mind that such species should be
selected as blossom at different periods, in order to
secure, as far as possible, a luxuriant growth through
the season ; and some grasses may be used which are
valuable mainly for their early growth, with less regard
to their nutritive value than in mixtures for field culture.

For such a mixture, we might select the following as
an example :

24

278

MIXTURE FOR PERMANENT PASTURES.

in April and May,

6
1

in May and June,

2

in June and July,

2

in May and June,

4

in June,

4

in "

6

in " and July,

3

in " " "

2

in *

8

from May to Sept.,

5

For Permanent Pastures.

Meadow Foxtail, flowering in May and June, 2 pounds.

Orchard Grass,

Sweet-scented Vernal,

Meadow Fescue,

Redtop,

Kentucky Blue Grass,

Italian Rye Grass,

Perennial Rye Grass,

Timothy,

Rough -stalked Meadow,

Perennial Clover,

White Clover,

40 pounds.

This mixture would give the enormous number of
over 54,000,000 seeds ! In an acre there are 6,27*2,640
inches, so that the mixture would give about eight seeds
to the square inch. We see, from the preceding table,
that in an old, close sward there were but about 1000
plants to the square foot, or, on an average, about
seven plants to the square inch.

This is, therefore, a very large and liberal seeding,
and leaves a large margin for worthless seeds, for im-
perfect sowing, and for destruction of plants by insects
and frost.

The weight of the seeds of each of the species of the
above mixture, together with the period of blossoming
of each, will furnish a sufficient reason for the quantity
recommended, and the reader is referred to Table XIV.
for further explanation.

A permanent pasture mixture, recommended by the
Messrs. Lawson & Sons, very experienced seedsmen of
Edinburgh, Scotland, may be worthy of study in con-
nection with the descriptions of the various species, as
given in the first chapter. It is as follows :

SECOND PASTURE MIXTURE. 279

Second Mixture for Permanent Pasture.

Pounds. I Pounds.

Meadow Foxtail, 2 Perennial Rye Grass, 8

Orchard Grass, 4 Timothy, 3

Hard Fescue, 2 ( Wood Meadow Grass 2

Tall Fescue, 2 Rough-stalked Meadow Grass, . . 2

Meadow Fescue, 2 Yellow Oat Grass, 1

Redtop, 2 Perennial Clover, 2

June Grass, 2 \ White Clover, 5

Italian Rye Grass, 6 I ~^

Here we have a considerable number of species, and,
according to the table on a preceding page, over forty-
five million five hundred thousand seeds. Thus, though
we use less than half as many seeds as our farmers gen-
erally do, we still allow more than seven seeds to the
square inch, or over one thousand seeds to the square
foot, a number larger than the number of plants found
in the rich and closely-woven sward of an old pasture,
as seen in Table XI. These, it will be seen, even if we
make a large allowance for bad seeds, will produce as
many plants as will grow well, while we still have by
far the largest number of stalks of redtop from no less
than three million seeds, though the weight of the red-
top-seed is but two pounds. This mixture is designed
for one acre sown without grain in the fall in northern
latitudes, or in the spring in soils where spring sowing
is found to do best. If any modification were proposed
in the above mixture, it would be to reduce the quantity
of the rye grasses, or to leave out the Italian rye grass
entirely.

A mixture like the above would answer very well,
and is less expensive than the following, though it is
probable that the greater original outlay for the seeds
recommended in the following table will be more thas
returned in the additional yield.

280

ECONOMY OF PASTURES.

TJiird Mixture for Permanent Pasture.

Pounds.

Meadow Foxtail 2

Orchard Grass, 6

Hard Fescue, 1

Tall Fescue 1

Meadow Fescue, 2

Redtop, 3

June Grass, 4

Italian Rye Grass, 8

Perennial Rye Grass, 4

Pound*.

Timothy, 3

Wood Meadow Grass, 2

Rough-stalked Meadow Grass, . . 2

Yellow Oat Grass, 2

Tall Oat Grass, 3

Perennial Clover, 2

White Clover 5

45

If the cultivator desires to produce a close, matted
sward as soon as possible, no broad-leaved clover should
be used, and the above mixture will be quite sufficient
without the perennial clover.

Though the above mixtures contain so many species,
it will be seen that the actual number of seeds sown is
far less than is customarily used ; and for any other use
than permanent pasture it is greater than need be used,
since the number of plants which this would give could
not grow and arrive at maturity, for want of space. In
pastures that are fed down, the growth does not usually
reach over five or six inches, often not that ; so that a
large number of seeds is required, and that of a large
number of species.

It has already been said that a large number of spe-
cies will insure a much denser growth than the same
number of seeds of one or two species. It may also
be added that the dense growth of many species will
exhaust the ground less, since they live, to some
extent, upon different constituents. This is an impor-
tant practical point, which will in time be appreciated.
Pasture feeding is, unquestionably, far cheaper, under
ordinary circumstances, than stall feeding ; and the com-
plaint of exhausted and worn-out pastures in the older

IMPROVEMENT OF PASTURES. 281

states is too well founded. Some improvement in the
treatment of such lands is required, and one most im-
portant line of experiment, it seems to me, will be
found in the use of a much larger number of species of
the grasses, together with such other forage plants as
have been found to add to the richness of pastures, and
to their fattening qualities for stock. Professor Low
recommends the following :

Fourth Mixture for Permanent Pasture.

Pounds

Meadow Foxtail, 3|

Orchard Grass, £

Timothy, 5

Rough-stalked Meadow Grass, . f
Meadow Fescue, 2

Pounds.

Perennial Rye Grass, 12

Red Clover, 5

White Clover, 5

Black Medic, 2

36

This would give twelve million seven hundred and
fifty-seven thousand seeds to the acre ; a much less
number than those recommended in the foregoing mix-
tures, but still a very liberal seeding, provided the seed
is sound and good. I should prefer to add considera-
bly to the quantity of orchard grass, somewhat to the
rough-stalked meadow, and two or three pounds of
June or Kentucky blue grass. A still larger number of
species would be desirable ; and the tall oat grass, hard
fescue, and a small quantity of sweet-scented vernal,
would be an improvement.

A mixture is sometimes wanted for pastures that are
much shaded with trees ; and in such cases those spe-
cies should be selected which do well in such situations,
blossom at different seasons, so as to give a succession
of forage, and possess, at the same time, the requisite
amount of nutritive elements. I would suggest the
following as the
24*

282

ORCHARDS. — SHADED PASTURES.

Sixth Mixture, for Permanent Pastures much shaded
with trees.

Pounds.

June Grass, 5

Orchard Grass, 6

Sweet-scented Vernal, 3

Hard Fescue, 2

Tall Fescue, 1

Timothy, 3

Pounds.

Meadow Foxtail 2

Wood Meadow Grass, 4

Rough-stalked Meadow, 6

Red Clover, 3

White Clover, . .5

40

If the object be to make a permanent lawn, as is fre-
quently desirable around or in sight of the farm-house,
something like the following mixture will generally be
found to give satisfactory results :

Permanent Lawn Grasses in Mixture.

Pounds.

Meadow Foxtail, 2

Sweet-scented Vernal Grass, ... 1

Redtop, 2

Hard Fescue, 3

Sheep's Fescue, 1

Meadow Fescue, 4

Red Fescue, 2

Italian Rye Grass, 3

Perennial Rye Grass, 6

Pounds.

Timothy, 3

June Grass, 4

Rough- stalked Meadow Grass, . . 2

Yellow Oat Grass, 1

Perennial Clover, 2

Red Clover, 2

White Clover, , ... .6

44

This mixture will resist the effects of our severe
droughts better than those commonly used for lawns.
If anything is omitted from it, the red and perennial
clovers, the yellow oat grass, and a part of the rye
grass, could best be spared.

Red clover, like other coarse and large-leaved plants,
rather mars the beauty of fine lawns ; though, as it dis-
appears mostly after the second year, it may be of
service in protecting the finer grasses. Lawns kept
frequently mown are of most use as furnishing food for

MIXTURES FOR LAWNS.

283

calves and sheep, and are less adapted to supply the
wants of larger animals.

Another mixture for lawns and pleasure-grounds,
which are to be often mown, or kept short, is recom-
mended by Parnell, as follows :

Second Mixture, for Permanent Lawns to be frequently

Mown.

Pounds.

Crested Dog's-tail, 11

Yellow Oat Grass, .8

Hard Fescue, 5

Wood Meadow, 4

June Grass, 2

Lawns furnished with suitable grasses become much
finer and more velvety, from frequent mowing, than
they otherwise would be. The Lawson's mixture, for
lawns frequently mown, consists mainly of the same
species, but in different proportions. It is as follows :

Rough-stalked Meadow,

Pounds.

.... 2
.... 4

Whitetop,

.... 4

40

Third Mixture, for Fine Lawns frequently Mown.

Pounds.

Crested Dog's-tail, . . . . . .10

Hard Fescue, 4

Slender Fescue 2

Perennial Rye Grass, 10

Wood Meadow Grass, 2

Pounds.
Rough-stalked Meadow, .... 1

Yellow Oat Grass, 1

June Grass, 8

White Clover, 8

46

A mixture for permanent lawn pastures, or pastures
lying in the vicinity of dwellings or public highways,
where the owner has some regard to fineness and
beauty of herbage, should, I think, be composed of a
still larger number of species.

The following is suggested as most likely to secure
the end desired :

284

EEGARD TO HABIT OF GROWTH.

Permanent Lawn Pastures.

Pounds.

Meadow Foxtail 3

Sweet-scented Vernal, 2

Orchard Grass, 3

Hard Fescue, . , 2

Sheep's Fescue, 2

Meadow Fescue, 2

Italian Rye Grass, 3

Perennial Rye Grass, 4

Timothy, 3

Pounds.

Redtop, 3

June Grass, 4

Rough-stalked Meadow, 3

Yellow Oat Grass, 1

Red Clover, 2

Perennial Red Clover 2

White Clover, 4

43

In all such mixtures, the early spring and the late
autumn growth, as well as the general luxuriance of
the summer herbage, are to be regarded. Grasses,
therefore, which are characterized by their early and
late growth, become of great value and importance in
the mixture, even though their nutritive qualities are
slight, and though they may be comparatively valueless
as field grasses to be mown for hay.

If a larger number of species can be procured with-
out too great expense, I would suggest the importance
of experimenting with a still larger number of species,
and smaller quantities of each ; such, for instance as the
following :

Pounds.

Tall Oat Grass, 1£

Tall Fescue. 1|

Meadow Fescue, 1 j

Meadow Foxtail, 1

Orchard Grass, 2

Hard Fescue, 1

Sheep's Fescue, £

Quaking Grass, \

Comb Grass, £

Pounds.

Sweet-scented Vernal, 1

Timothy h

June Grass, 1

Redtop, £

Tufted Hair Grass 4

Red Clover, 5

White Clover 3

If the farmer wishes to seed down for only a year or
two, and then to break up again, regard should be had

GREEN MANURING PLANTS 285

to the habit of growth and the kind of root the grass
has. Some species require three or four, and in some
cases six years, to become firmly rooted and fixed in
the soil; and they would, of course, be unsuited to
alternate husbandry. Among them may be named the
meadow foxtail and the June grassland others of a
similar character will suggest themselves in studying
Chapter I.

Again, some grasses have but a comparatively slight
hold upon the soil, possessing few and bulbous roots,
which, when the soil is turned up, add but little to the
richness of the mould ; while others strike deep roots,
branching in every direction, and fill the soil with a
vast amount of vegetable matter, and add to its rich-
ness in decaying by the organic and inorganic matter
which they leave in it.

This explains why clover is s6 valuable in alternate
husbandry, and how it enriches the soil, by mellowing
it in striking its long and deep roots into the subsoil,
by sheltering it from the scorching rays of the sun, by
drawing much of its nourishment and organic matter
from the atmosphere, and corporifying it, as it were, so
that whether it is turned under, if it is ploughed in
green, or its stubble broken up to give place to other
crops in the rotation, it leaves a large amount of valua-
ble matter to decay in the soil. The importance of
producing a large vegetable mass for the purpose of
ploughing in green as manure has already been alluded
to in another connection, and such grasses and other
plants suggested as will produce the greatest luxuriance
of growth, and add most to the vegetable mould in the
surface soil. The point is one of vast practical impor-
tance, and the practicability of a complete system of
green manuring ought to be tested by the most careful
experiments.

286

DIFFERENCE OF CLIMATE.

The following is the Lawson's mixture for grasses in
the rotation :

Mixture for Mowing in the Rotation.

Redtop

Italian Rye Grass, .
Perennial Rye Grass,
Orchard Grass, . . .

Timothy,

Red Clover, . . . .
Perennial Clover, . .
White Clover, . . .

1

it

1

Jlj

1

m

N

3

3

3

i

6

6

3

.3

3

4

6

6

11

9

9

8

4

2

—

2

4

2

4

4

37

37

37

As this mixture was designed for use in Scotland, it
may be proper to remark that, though the latitude of
Edinburgh is 55° 57', while that of Boston is but 42°
21', yet the mean annual temperature of the former is
47°.l Fahr., that of the latter 48°.9, showing a very
slight difference. But our summers are hotter, and we
are annually liable to the most severe and parching
droughts, such as are not often felt in the moist climate
in Scotland.

Besides, the Italian rye grass is naturalized there, and
gives enormous crops under the rich cultivation of the
Lothians and the application of liquid manures. It has
riot been proved sufficiently capable of withstanding
our droughts to give it so much prominence in the
mixture, though, as already suggested, it is worthy of
more careful trial than it has yet received in this coun-
try. I would suggest the following as an improvement
for our purposes :

MIXTURES FOR ORCHARDS.

287

Mixture for Mowing in the Rotation.

f

00

I

K

It
1

For one year's
hay, and one
year's pasture.

Hi
41

4J C8

s/S

i5

2

2

3

Itfiliun Rye Grass •••«•«

3

A

A

Perennial Rye Grass

3

9

6

3

g

Timothy

11

9

2

2

2

3

4

0

Red Clover,

g

4

0

0

2

37

42

43

A mixture has already been given for pastures in
orchards and shaded places, but it frequently happens,
especially in New England farming, that the mowing
lands are studded with fruit-trees, and a mixture is
often wanted adapted to such places. The following
will be found to do well :

Mixture for Hay in Orchards and Shaded Places.

Pounds.

Orchard Grass, 6

Hard Fescue, 2

Tall Fescue, 2

Italian Rye Grass, 3

Perennial Rye Grass, 3

Timothy, 6

Redtop, 3

Pounds.

Wood Meadow Grass, 4=

Rough-stalked Meadow Grass, . . 2

June Grass, 4

Perennial Red Clover, 3

White Clover, 4

42

The above mixture will give a great many more
seeds to the acre than could be expected to grow and
come to maturity in shaded places. A large allowance

288

MIXTURE FOR RECLAIMED SWAMPS.

is made for bad seed ; but if the purchaser is confident
the seed is good, from a careful trial as recommended on
a previous page, two pounds may be omitted from the
Timothy, one from the redtop, and either the Italian or
the perennial rye grass may be omitted altogether.

The foregoing mixtures are designed rather for a
medium, or a good, well-cultivated soil. For light,
sandy soils, they should be varied by the use of such
grasses and proportions as have been found to do best
on such places. The following will be valuable as a

Mixture for Mowing on Light Lands.

Pounds.

Orchard Grass, 4

June Grass, 3

Hard Fescue, 3

Tall Oat Grass, 3

Meadow Soft Grass, 3

Redtop, 3

Italian Rye Grass, 4

Red Fescue, . .2

Pounds.

Perennial Rye Grass, 6

English Bent, 2

Crested Dog's-tail, 1

Perennial Red Clover, 3

Black Medic 2

White Clover, 4

Sainfoin, 2

45

In southern latitudes the mixture might perhaps be
improved by the use of the gramma grasses (Boute-
loua), or by the gama or sesame grass (Tripsacum),
instead of the perennial rye grass. The following is
suggested as a

Mixture for declaimed Peaty Lands.

Pounds.
Fiorin, 2

Redtop, 2

Hard Fescue, 8

Meadow Foxtail, 2

Meadow Fescue, 2

Fowl Meadow, 4

Italian Rye Grass, 4

Perennial Rye Grass, 5

Pounds.

Reed Canary Grass, 4

Timothy, 6

Rough-stalked Meadow Grass, . . 3

Black Medic, 2

Red Clover, 4

White Clover, , . . 4

47

MIXTURE FOR GRAVELLY SOILS. 289

But, after all, it is as serious a mistake to mix early
and late grasses together indiscriminately, as to confine
our selection to one or two kinds. It is well settled,
both practically and scientifically, that the highest
nutritive value of the grasses is reached at the period
of blossoming, and that, to obtain the best results and
to make the most valuable hay, it ought to be cut and
cured at that time. If allowed to stand beyond that
stage it becomes more or less woody and innutritions,
and, of course, less palatable and less digestible.

It is easy to see that if a considerable portion of the
grass in a field blossoms in advance of the rest, as will
be the case if early and late grasses are mixed together,
all that portion will be too mature and comparatively
worthless when the balance of the field comes into
condition. It is the source of serious loss.

The early grasses ought to be kept by themselves,
and the late ones by themselves ; that is, the mixtures
ought to be made so as to bring the period of blossom-
ing of most of the plants at the same time. There is a
further and great economy in this, in that it spreads
the work over a longer season. It avoids the hurry
otherwise incident to this busy time. The haying
can begin on the early grasses by the middle of June,
or even earlier, while with the late grasses it can safely
be delayed till the first of July. To contribute some-
thing to promote this great improvement, we suggest
the following : —

Early Grass Mixture. (~For One Acre.)

Orchard grass . . ' « 6 Ibs. = i bushel.
Tall meadow oat grass . . 6 Ibs. = 1 bushel, nearly
Perennial rye grass . ... 6 Ibs. = J bushel.
June (or Kentucky blue) grass . 4 Ibs. = J bushel.
Meadow fescue grass . . .7 Ibs. = i bushel.
Red clover 5 Ibs.

290 TIME OF BLOSSOMING.

Alsike clover .... 5 Ibs.

Perennial clover .... 5 Ibs.

This mixture is designed for mowing-lots and for hay.
The grasses in this mixture are all early. Most of
them, under ordinary circumstances, will blossom by
the middle of June. They are all rich and nutritive,
and will make the best of hay, if cut in season and
properly cured.

Late G-rass Mixture. (For One Acre.")

Timothy grass . . . . . .11 Ibs. =1 peck.

Red-top grass .6 Ibs. = i bushel.

Tall fescue grass . . • . 5 Ibs. = J bushel.

Rough-stalked meadow grass . . .5 Ibs. = J bushel.

Rhode Island bent grass . . . .4 Ibs. = £ bushel.

Perennial clover . . . .6 Ibs.

Red clover .5 Ibs.

Alsike clover . . . . • . 5 Ibs.

The grasses in this mixture are all late. Timothy and
red-top rarely come to blossom before July. They will
not suffer if the scythe does not go into them till after
the 4th. These seeds can be procured of any first-class
importing seedsman, and they should be sown about
the middle of August, if the ground is in suitable con-
dition ; if not, as soon thereafter as may be. If a
farmer has, say, ten acres to lay down, let him sow one
half of it with the early mixture and the other half with
the late. If he will keep an eye on the result of the
experiment for two or three years, considering the
quality and quantity of the hay and the value of
the aftermath, he will find that, though the mixtures
may cost a trifle more than he would pay for the ordi-
nary mixtures of timothy and red-top, his outlay for
these mixtures will be worth to him more than ten
times the cost.

THE GENERAL PRACTICE. 291

As already seen, the general practice in New England
and throughout the country is in strong contrast with
the foregoing tables of mixtures ; for, of the two hun-
dred farmers heard from, all appear to raise the same
species, but no two recommend the same quantities for
mixture, and not one reports the use of more than two
species of grass, mixed with one or sometimes two
species of clover, as at all common.

As examples of the general practice as reported to
me, and with which I have been familiar for many years,
the following might be stated :

1. £ bushel (6 Ibs.) redtop, 1 peck (11 Ibs.) Timothy, 5 Ibs. red clover.

2. 1 bushel (12 Ibs.) redtop, 1 peck Timothy, 8 Ibs. red clover.

3. 1£ bushels (18 Ibs.) redtop, 4 qts. (5£ Ibs.) Timothy, 3 Ibs. red clover.

4. 3 pecks (9 Ibs.) redtop, 6 quarts Timothy, 6 Ibs. clover.

5. 1 bushel (12 Ibs.) redtop, 1 bushel (44 Ibs.) Timothy, 10 to 15 Ibs.

clover.

6. 1 peck (3 Ibs.) redtop, 1 peck (11 Ibs.) Timothy, 8 Ibs. clover.

7. 4 quarts (1£ Ibs.) redtop, 1 peck (11 Ibs.) Timothy, 2 quarts red

clover, 1 pint white clover.

8. 16 quarts (6 Ibs.) redtop, 12 qts. (16£ Ibs.) Timothy, 6 Ibs. clover.

9. 12 quarts (16£ Ibs.) Timothy, 4 Ibs. clover.

10. 1 bushel (12 Ibs.) redtop, & bushel (22 Ibs.) Timothy, 10 Ibs. clover.

11. 1 peck redtop, 3 pecks Timothy, 6 Ibs. clover.

12. 3 pecks redtop, 1 peck Timothy, 5 Ibs. clover.

13. 1 bushel finetop, 1 peck Timothy, 8 Ibs. clover.

14. 1 bushel redtop, 1 peck Timothy, 12 Ibs. clover.

15. 16 quarts redtop, 10 quarts Timothy, 6 Ibs clovfir.

16. 1 bushel redtop, £ bushel Timothy, 10 Ibs. clover.

17. 5 pecks redtop, £ bushel Timothy, 4 Ibs. clover.

18. 1 bushel redtop, 1 peck Timothy, 8 Ibs. clover.

19. 1 peck redtop, 1 peck Timothy, 10 Ibs. clover.

20. 3 pecks redtop, 8 to 10 quarts Timothy, 6 to 8 Ibs. clover.

These mixtures are sufficient to show the exceeding
diversity in our practice.

A little attention to the weight of the different seeds
recommended in the above tables will explain why one
particular quantity, which may appear small at first
sight, is sufficient in some cases, as it will show a vast

292 GRASSES NATURAL TO THE SOIL.

difference in their weight ; a given number of poundc
of some species containing many more seeds, and there-
fore producing a far larger number of plants than an
equal weight of others.

There are few points in our practice, it seems to me,
where greater improvements could be made than in the
selection and mixture of our grass-seeds. If the money
which is now literally thrown away, by over-seeding
with one or two species, were expended in procuring
other species and improving our mixtures, there is but
little doubt that the aggregate profit on our grass crop
would be much greater than it now is.

Some maintain that one or two species are sufficient,
because certain grasses are " natural," as they say, to
their land, and come in of themselves. This may, in
some cases, be true to some extent, for such grasses
will come in, in time ; but we are liable to lose sight of
the fact that the loss of a full yield, in the mean time, is
often very serious.

But the inference which farmers draw from this fact
is not a legitimate one, for they say that it proves that
the grasses that come in " naturally." that is, the wild
grasses, are best adapted to the soil, and will produce
more largely than others in that locality. But this, if
carried out to its natural consequences, would lead to
the conclusion that new species of plants should never
be introduced into any soil, because those best suited
to it grow there " naturally," — a principle which no
man will assert.

On the contrary, one great object of all intelligent
farming is to improve upon nature, and to increase the
natural capacities both of the soil and of the plants
which grow on it ; and the introduction of new species
and varieties is one of the most effectual means of ac-
complishing this end. Particular species of plants do

IMITATION OF NATURE. 293

not always spring up in particular places because they
are peculiarly adapted to the soil, but often from mere
accident. Seeds are carried by the wind, or by animals
or birds, and, being dropped, produce plants on the spot
where they fall. These plants again produce seeds
which fall, and in their turn produce other plants. Thus
a particular species of grass, or any plant, may be intro-
duced into and fixed in a locality where it has no spe-
cial adaptation to the soil there, and the most common
plants or varieties of plants will be most likely to spread
in this way. Hence, the mere fact that a certain species
is very generally diffused in a certain district does not,
by any means, prove that it is better suited to the soil
of that district than any other species, nor that it will
be sure to come in if omitted in a mixture of grasses
designed for such a locality.

As already said, the mixture of grass-seeds in imita-
tion of nature, for the purpose of forming good perma-
nent fields or pastures, is of comparatively modern
origin. It was, for a long time after this practice
commenced, thought to require a great while to form
a thick and good sward or turf, by any artificial means.
The use of a large and judiciously selected number of
species has been found to accomplish this object most
quickly.

Though I have expressed myself with some degree
of confidence on this subject, I would still refer to
the importance of careful experiment. The outlay is
small, when compared with the losses now sustained
in over-seeding with too few species, and from small
or medium crops ; and the farmer can soon satisfy
himself as to the profit of more attention to the mix-
tures of grasses.

More than sixty years ago, careful experiments were
25*

294 TIME OP SOWING GRASSES.

made, in the hope of obtaining such information as
would settle the question as to the best time of sowing
grass-seed, and the practice of seeding down in the fall
was then commenced by a few individuals. At and
before that time, the practice of sowing in the spring
was universal, and the same custom has very generally
prevailed till within a very few years. Both the prac-
tice and the opinion of the best practical farmers in the
northern and eastern states have changed to a consid-
erable extent, and it is now commonly thought best to
sow grass-seed in the fall, early in September, if possi-
ble, mixing no grain or anything else with it, though
there are, and always will be, some cases where the
practice of sowing in the spring with grain is conve-
nient and judicious.

There can be no doubt that it is, in most cases, an
injury to both crops to sow grain and grass-seed to-
gether. The following statement of an experienced
and successful farmer will enable us to comprehend
how the change was brought about, though others had
tried the same experiment long before him. " More
than twenty years ago, we had several dry summers, in
the springs of which I had sown grass-seed with rye,
barley, and sometimes wheat, and lost most of my seed
by the drought. I could scrape it up, the plants being
dead and dry, when small. Since that time I have uni-
versally ploughed after haying, and sowed Timothy
grass and redtop."

Other farmers probably experienced the same diffi-
culty, and came to the same conclusion. Our seasons
differ greatly, it is true, but it is now well understood
that we must calculate on a drought in some part of
the summer, and grass will suffer more from drought
than from frost. Hence the propriety of fall sowing.
There are some localities, undoubtedly, where spring

PRACTICAL OPINIONS. 295

sowing with grain is best, on the whole, as along the
coast, where, on account of the proximity of the sea,
the ground is often but slightly covered and protected
with snow ; yet even there some farmers say it is bet-
ter to seed in August and September.

Few general rules are of universal application, and
the farmer must constantly exercise sound judgment and
common sense. One practical farmer, in answer to the
circular, says : " I prefer August, because I think it less
liable to winter-kill than summer-kill. And another
greater reason is, that in fall seeding I get rid of a crop
of weeds, while in spring seeding my ground is seeded
with them." Another experienced farmer writes me :
" I rather prefer the last week in August for seeding
down land. The reason is, that we frequently have a
summer drought which kills out the young grass ; " and
another says, tf When sown alone, I prefer from the 20th
of August to the 20th of September. If sown sooner,
the summer droughts are apt to injure the young blades;
if later, they do not have a chance to expand and arrive
at that degree of maturity necessary for a good crop
the ensuing season." He says, also, that if, in any case,
it is found necessary to sow with grain, it should be in
the spring, and not in the fall. Another farmer recom-
mends " the latter part of August and the month of
September for seeding down land to grass for mowing,
unless that season should be very dry ; in that case,
sow so soon after a rain as may be. I do not think it
advisable to sow grass-seed when the earth is very dry,
as some of it may, by the moisture brought up in pre-
paring the land, sprout, but, not having continued moist-
ure to support it, will wither away, while some of the
lighter seeds will, perhaps, swell by moisture, but fail
to sprout, for a lack of nourishment, and consequently
perish, while others will be blown away by the winds.

296 PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE.

The plant from seed sown in August or September, if
the season is moist, will take deep root, and be pre-
pared to withstand the changes of winter. Grass-seed
sown with grain in the spring is liable to be killed in
the hot days of July and August, about the time of
cutting the grain, particularly on light, sandy, or grav-
elly lands. Clover should be sown in the spring as
soon as convenient after the frost is out of the ground,
on land seeded down the preceding autumn, probably,
rather than sooner in the autumn, as the winter is often
too severe for the tender roots."

An experienced farmer writes as follows : " On moist
land I prefer to turn over the green sward, after haying,
with a Michigan plough, and seed in August, after
spreading on a coat of manure, to give the grass an
early start ; " and another, " I consider the month of
August as the best time to seed down land for mowing,
with the exception of clover, and that I sow early in
spring." " I think August or the early part of Septem-
ber is the best time to seed down grass land," says
another, " as in the fall of the year it will get root, and
not be burned up by the sun, as it would be in spring."
Another says, " I sow from the middle of August to the
middle of September. If sown in spring with oats or
other grain, the young grass is liable to be summer-
killed, either choked by the ranker growth of the grain,
or scorched by the hot sun when the grain is taken
off. If sown in spring without grain, there is one sea-
son lost."

A farmer on the Connecticut River states that " if
the season is not too dry, August is a good month to
seed for mowing. I have had very good success in
seeding with turnips, or grass-seed alone, in August or
September, to mow the next year ; but the usual prac-
tice here is to seed with wheat or rye, in September or

FALL AND SPRING SOWING. 297

October. Some seed in spring with oats, but generally
it does not do well. Clover is more often sown in the
spring, because it winter-kills." Another says, " There
is a difference of opinion among farmers in this region
on this subject j some prefer to sow the grass-seed
with the spring grain in May, while others prefer to
sow in August. The latter, no doubt, is the best prac-
tice, if the ground is sufficiently moist."

But, on the other hand,an experienced practical farmer
on the sea-coast says, " I prefer seeding down land
designed for mowing in April, for the reason that if
sown in March the ground becomes so compact, from
the effects of heavy rains, that the seed does not come
up well, and if sown in August or September, the grass
does not attain that degree of maturity to enable it to
withstand the frequent freezing and thawing of the suc-
ceeding winter. We usually have but little snow to
protect the young grass on this island. The objection
to sowing grass-seed after English harvest will not
probably apply to those places where the winters are
less changeable."

Another says : "I have sown grass-seed in the months
of March, April, May, August, September, and October.
On a rich, compact, retentive soil, seed has done well
sown in April or May, but I prefer to Beed my land of
any description in August, or on a light snow in March.
My reason is, that when I have seeded my ground in
the spring, I have sown rye or oats with the grass-seed
generally ..; if not, a crop of weeds would come up and
usurp the place of the grasses and choke them out, and
a hot and dry July and August would exterminate what
escaped the oats and weeds."

Thus, the opinions and practice of farmers are divided
on this question, each one being influenced in part by
the character of his land and his crops. But it will be

298 NO UNIVERSAL RULE.

found that no season is without its exposure to loss ;
for, if we sow in autumn and have an open and severe
winter, with frequent changes from comparatively warm
and thawing weather to excessive cold, the young grass
will be likely to suffer ; while, if we sow in spring with
some kind of grain, as oats, barley, or rye, and have a
drought in spring or summer, as we generally do, the
grass may be injured, and may be entirely killed. No
invariable rule for all soils and seasons can be given.
But the weight of authority seems to fix upon early
autumn as the best season to sow grass-seed, sowing
it alone, without a grain crop; and the losses from proper
seeding down at that season are probably considerably
less, in an average of years, than those which arise from
spring sowing with grain.

This does not, perhaps, apply to very strong clayey
soils, which retain a large amount of moisture. On such
soils the frost is very liable to " heave " the roots, and
unless they are rolled very early in spring, which, on
such lands, is not usually practicable, the young plants
are entirely destroyed. Such lands, it is well known,
require thorough drainage. They are difficult to till
profitably without it, and, when once thoroughly
drained, the same rule, as to the time of sowing, would
apply to them, as to medium soils.

No rule in regard to the time of seeding down land,
which should be found to work best in one latitude,
would necessarily apply in a different climate, and under
different circumstances.

CHAPTER IX.

TIME AND MODE OF CUTTING GRASS FOR HAY.

HAVING carefully selected and judiciously mixed and
sown his grass-seed at a proper season, on land properly
prepared, the farmer may confidently hope to have an
abundant crop of grass the following year, when there
naturally arises one of the most important questions in
the economy of the farm, and that is when to cut grass
to make into hay, or at what stage of its growth it is
most valuable for that purpose. This is a point on
which even experienced farmers differ, but the weight
of authority will be found strongly for cutting at the
time of flowering.

Most practical farmers, in answer to this question,
say that hay is sweeter, and possesses more nutriment,
when cut in full blossom, than at any other stage. One
of the most intelligent farmers in the country says : " I
prefer to cut grass when in blossom," because it will
make more milk and more fat, and cattle prefer it to
that standing later. It keeps them healthy. I have no
doubt hay of the same bulk weighs more if it stands in
the field till the seed forms, and for this reason some
who sell most of their hay let it stand." " When de-
signed for milch cows, store, or fattening animals,"
says another, " I prefer to cut in the blossom, because
it makes more milk, more growth, and more beef. For
working cattle and horses I cut about six days after the
pollen has fallen, because it does not scour or loosen

(299)

300 PRACTICAL FACTS.

the animal so much as when cut in the blossom. "
Another says: "Next to sweet, fresh grass, we think
that rowen will make cows, working cattle, or horses,
thrive better than any other feed, unless in the case of
cattle hard at work. We conclude, therefore, that all
hay is best cut early. Coarse hay will keep stock tole-
rably well, cut early, which, if allowed to mature,
would not be eaten at all.77

The testimony of another practical farmer on this
point is as follows : " We cut after the blossoms begin
to fall, and before they have all fallen. It has more
substance and weight cut at that time than if cut
sooner, more sweetness and juice than if cut later."
Another farmer says : " Our rule is to cut hay in the
blossom, as it is then in the best state for feeding, — less
woody and much sweeter than later, and leaves the
roots in better state for a second, or another annual
crop.;; Another very intelligent practical farmer says :
" We cut in blossom, because it is then most palatable
to stock. If allowed to stand much longer, there is a
draft upon the soil for the growth of the seed, which is
not repaid by the additional value of the hay, if, indeed,
it is increased in value at all. My opinion, derived
from my own experience, is, that the grasses will
sooner die out if allowed to stand later." A farmer
who prefers to cut all other grasses when in blossom
says, " It will not do to cut blue joint or fowl meadow
till some of the seeds fall, as it will soon run them out."
An intelligent farmer of Massachusetts says, " When
English grass is in full blossom it has all the good qual-
ities it can have. From that time I think it loses in
value in proportion to the time which it stands. Swale
hay should be cut rather green. If fully ripe, it is hard
and dry." Another says : " We cut about the time the
blossom falls. The grass is then at its full growth. If

THEORY AND PRACTICE. 301

it stands much longer, the leaves begin to die at the
bottom, and the grass grows tough and hard ; and I
think the longer it stands, the less it will weigh when
dried. If it is cut much earlier, it will shrink and dry
up, and does not seem to have so much nutriment in it ;
and I have noticed cattle will eat more in bulk than
when cut at the right time." And still another : " The
time of cutting depends very much upon the use you
wish to make of it. If for working oxen and horses, I
would let it stand till a little out of the blossom; but, if
to feed out to new milch cows in the winter, I would
prefer to cut it very green. It is then worth, for the
making of milk in the winter, almost double that cut
later." One other extract will suffice. " I cut my
red clover before the heads begin to turn brown.
When the clover is quite heavy I cut it when only one
half of the heads have blossomed, because then cattle
will eat all the stems. Clover is injured more by half,
when it stands long after blossoming, than any other
kind. I find my clover hay in the barn much heavier
when cut quite early."

These extracts, taken at random from a large number
of letters from practical farmers, in different parts of the
country, indicate very clearly the prevailing practice.
The replies from about one hundred and fifty different
individuals show that farmers prefer to cut the prin-
cipal grasses, Timothy and redtop, when in full blos-
som ; red clover, when about half the heads are in blos-
som ; and swale grass, before it is ripe, and generally
before blossoming, if possible, so as to prevent it from
becoming hard and wiry.

This practice is unquestionably founded on a correct
principle, the object of the farmer being to secure his
hay so as to make it most like grass in its perfect con-
dition. From principles stated in another place, it has
26

302 PKOCESSES OF GROWTH.

been seen that the nutritive substances of grass are
those which are, for the most part, soluble in water,
such as sugar, gluten, and other compounds. Now, it
is evident that, if this is so, the grass should be cut at
the time when it contains the largest amount of these
principles. In its early stages of growth it contains a
very large percentage of water. From its earliest
growth the sugar and other soluble substances gradu-
ally increase, till they reach their maximum percentage
in the blossom, or when the seed is fully formed in the
cell. From this period the saccharine matter constantly
diminishes, and the woody fibre, perfectly insoluble in
water, and innutritions, increases till after the seeds
have matured, when the plant begins to decay. Of
course, if the plant is not cut in the flower, a great part
of the nutriment of its stems and leaves is wasted.

There are, perhaps, exceptions to this in the natural
grasses, as already seen in considering their nutritive
qualities, and in the analyses at different periods of
their growth. Thus, in case of the orchard grass, Sin-
clair found the nutritive matter at the time the seed
was ripe, and at the time of flowering, as seven to five;
and the stems of Timothy were found to contain more
nutritive matter when the plant was ripe than at the
time of flowering, though it was found that the loss of
aftermath, which would have formed had the plant been
cut in blossom, more than balanced the gain of nutritive
matter in the ripening of the seed. Most of the grasses,
too, make a greater quantity of hay when cut at the
time of blossoming, though the crested dog's-tail has
been found to be an exception to this rule. Fowl
meadow, also, contains an equal quantity of produce at
the time of ripening the seed and at the time of blos-
soming, and the nutritive matter at both periods is
about the same. It will be found in practice generally

RESULT OF OBSERVATIONS. 303

to be better to be a little too early than too late ; for
the gain is in two directions, — in a greater nutritive
substance at the time of blossoming, which is certainly
a sufficient consideration of itself, and in the larger
growth of the lattermath, which will spring up on good
land and in a good season.

We might also reason from analogy in other plants ;
for it is a well-known fact that the best vegetable ex-
tracts for medicinal and other purposes are procured
from plants when in blossom. Prof. Kirtland, of Ohio,
states that an observing practical farmer of his
neighborhood, after many careful observations on the
growth of Timothy, has arrived at these propositions :

1. That Timothy grass is a perennial plant, which
renews itself by an annual formation of " bulbs/' or per-
haps, more correctly speaking, tubers, in which the
vitality of the plant is concentrated during the winter.
These form in whatever locality the plant is selected,
without reference to dryness or moisture. From these
proceed the stalks which support the leaves and head,
and from the same source spread out the numerous
fibres forming the true roots.

2. To insure a perfect development of tubers, a cer-
tain amount of nutrition must bt assimilated in the
leaves, and returned to the base of the plant, through
the stalk.

3. As soon as the process of nutrition is completed,
it becomes manifest by the appearance of a state of
desiccation, or dryness, always commencing at a point
directly above either the first or second joint of the
stem, near the crown of the tuber. From this point the
desiccation gradually progresses upwards, and the last
portion of the stalk that yields up its freshness is that
adjoining the head. Coincident with the beginning of
this process is the full development of the seeds, and

304

GROWTH OF TIMOTHY.

with its progress they mature. Its earliest appearance
is evidence that both the tubers and seeds have received

Fig. 158.

Fig. 160.

their requisite supplies of nutrition, and that neither the
stalk nor the leaves are longer necessary to aid them in

SUGGESTIVE CONCLUSIONS. 305

completing their maturity. A similar process occurs in
the union just above the crown of the bulb, indicating
the maturity of that organ. Fig. 159 represents the
bulb fully developed and mature, from which the stalk
was cut, after the nutritive process was completed,
above the point where drying or desiccation had
begun.

4. If the stalk be cut from the tubers before this evi-
dence of maturity has appeared, the necessary supplies
of nutrition will be arrested, their proper growth will
cease, and an effort will be made to repair the injury by
sending out small, lateral tubers, from which weak and
unhealthy stalks will proceed, at the expense of the
original tubers. This is seen in Fig. 158. All will ulti-
mately perish, either by the droughts of autumn or the
cold of winter.

5. The tubers, together with one or two of the lower
joints of the stalk, remain fresh and green during the
winter, if left to take their natural course ; but if, by
any means, this green portion be severed, at any season
of the year, the result will be the death of the plant,
when it will appear as in Fig. 160.

From these five propositions the following conclu-
sions are drawn :

1. That Timothy grass cannot, under any circum-
stances, be adapted for pasture, as the close nipping
of horses and sheep is fatal to the tubers, which are also
extensively destroyed by swine, if allowed to run in the
pasture.

2. That the proper time for mowing Timothy is at
any time after the process of desiccation has com-
menced on the stalk, as noted in the third proposition.
It is not very essential whether it is performed a week
earlier or later, provided it be postponed till that evi-
dence of maturity has become manifest.

26*

306 KILLED BY CLOSE MOWING.

3. All attempts at close shaving the sward should be
avoided while using the scythe, and in gauging mow-
ing machines care should be taken to run them so high
that they will not cut the Timothy below the second
joint above the tuber.

I have frequently pulled up the bulbous roots of
Timothy from the stubble, from which a heavy crop had
been cut with the scythe, while in flower, for the pur-
pose of studying the changes which were taking place
in these tubers, and have found them very similar to
those represented in Figs. 159 and 160, not only on
moist, damp soils, but also on soils comparatively dry.
Any farmer can satisfy himself of the correctness of
these representations by a little observation in his own
fields ; and, as the point is of practical importance, it is
worthy of careful attention.

The facts above alluded to have fallen under the ob-
servation of a practical farmer, who writes me as fol-
lows : " The proper time to cut Timothy is after the
seed is formed, and is full in the milk. It will then give
about twenty per cent, more weight than when it is just
coming into the blossom, and the cattle will eat twenty
per cent, less and keep on their flesh. And I prefer
also to cut it at that stage of its growth, on account of
the roots being better able to withstand the drought.
It should be cut four inches from the ground, as most
of the Timothy is killed by mowing close and early,
before it has come to maturity. I have kept Timothy
thick and strong in the land six years by following this
method. I have noticed that most of it has died out
by once or twice close and early mowing, before the
grass has come to maturity. If it is dry weather, it is
sure to die when so cut. I lost a whole field of it by
mowing too close and early, and I consider the four
inches at the bottom of coarse Timothy of little value."

METHODS OF CUTTING.

307

If the seed is allowed to ripen, it exhausts the soil
far more than if cut in the blossom.

The old methods of cutting grass for hay are familiar
to every practical farmer. The hay crop of the coun-
try must be gathered at a season when labor is to be
obtained with difficulty, and at even higher than the
usual high wages, and when the weather is often fickle
and precarious, generally oppressively hot, making the
task doubly irksome and wearing. But, besides this,
many acres of grass on our ordinary farms ripen at

Fig. 161. Common Scythes.

about the same time, which, if allowed to stand too
long, will decrease in quantity and value of hay which
might otherwise have been made from it. This last
consideration I regard as one of the strongest reasons
for availing ourselves of the use of the mowing
machine, by which it can be secured and saved most
quickly, easily, and cheaply.

Mowing with the common scythe (Fig. 161) is, at
best, one of the severest labors on the farm, notwith-
standing the efforts of poets and other writers to make
people believe it is all fun. It calls into play nearly
every voluntary muscle in the body, requiring not only
the more frequent and regular movements of these
muscles, but, on account of the twisting motion of the

308 HISTORY OF MOWING MACHINES.

body, an unusually great exertion of muscular power.
Nor does it require any small amount of skill to become
a good mower, since it is proverbial that, unless the boy
becomes accustomed to the scythe, and learns while
young, he can never become a skilful mower.

That the ingenuity of man should have been turned
into this direction, therefore, and studied to shorten and
lighten this severe operation, is not at all strange. That
it should not have been done before, should, perhaps,
rather excite our surprise. The reaper has been known
and used on a limited scale for half a century ; and, as
the process of mowing by machinery is not wholly
unlike that of reaping, the one would seem to have
been naturally suggested by the other.

The first mowing machine which met with any success
in this country is believed to have been that of William
Manning, of New Jersey, patented in 1831, and which
met with a limited success more than twenty years ago.
The machine was furnished with the serrated or saw-
tooth knife, having a vibratory motion.

In 1834 appeared the Ambler patent, simple in its
construction, with a cutter-bar of wrought iron, and
a single smooth-edged knife, operated by means of a
crank, which gave it the vibratory motion. It was used
to considerable extent in 1835 and 1836.

Another machine was used to some extent in 1835, by
which the cutting was performed by circular knives,
fastened on the periphery of a horizontal wheel, five
feet in diameter. The wheel was suspended on a per-
pendicular iron shaft, which hung on a lever, by means
of which the driver could elevate or lower the knives,
at will. The motion was given by gearing connected
with the wheels on which the machine rested. It was
operated by two horses, and was capable of mowing
ten acres a day.

WHAT EXPERIMENTS HAVE SHOWN. 309

Wilson's machine was very successful in experiments
made in 1837. It could be operated by one horse walk-
ing behind the machine. The grass was so left as not
to need spreading.

Another horse-mowing machine, that of Huzza, of
Cincinnati, met with a limited success as early as 1836.

But it was not till a very recent date that the ma-
chine was constructed in a manner to give confident
hope of its ultimate and perfect success.

The experiments made with mowing machines have
at least demonstrated, beyond a doubt, that grass can be
cut quickly and economically by horse or ox power,
and the objections which are most commonly made to
them are such as can easily be obviated by a more per-
fect manufacture, and by more skill on the part of the
operator. It is, indeed, a mortifying fact, that they have
been, in many cases, very imperfectly made ; and the
fact that many now in use have so often got out of
order has thrown doubts upon their utility as a whole,
and retarded their introduction very greatly. But this
difficulty does not arise from any defect in the princi-
ple of the machine, and many failures, no doubt, are to
be ascribed mainly to the impatience of the operator.

It is not unfrequently the case that a man purchases
a new machine or borrows one, and,- on starting off
without sufficient care, finds himself brought to a stand,
with, perhaps, a broken machine ; and, instead of seek-
ing the cause, and repairing the damage, and starting
anew, throws it aside as entirely worthless, and con-
demns the implement at once. Some of our most use-
ful and now familiar farm implements have been repeat-
edly thrown aside, at first, by the fault mainly of the
operator. A machine ought not to be condemned till
after a complete and full trial. But enough of these
machines have succeeded, to the perfect satisfaction of

310 BUYING CHEAPLY-MADE TOOLS.

the community, to show that, whatever defects some
of them may have, they may be made to accomplish
the work for which they were intended.

The manufacturer is not alone to blame, as a general
thing, for the defects of an implement to be used on the
farm. The farmer too often prefers a machine which
is least expensive, and no matter how well it is made,
he will insist upon having it at the lowest possible
price at which it can be afforded. Manufacturers are
therefore compelled to slight the work in order to meet
the wants of the people, and cheaply-made articles
alone can be sold cheap enough to suit the wishes of
the buyer. In this way both the manufacturer and the
farmer suffer. It is poor economy, as a general rule, to
buy cheap articles.

As to the comparative economy of the use of the
machine and hand labor on small farms, it seems to me
the experiments of the past season throughout the
country have fully decided the question in favor of the
former. On this point, however, the opinions of prac-
tical men will be found to differ, to some extent, though
the weight of the testimony of those who have had any
actual experience with the machine will be found to be
strongly in its favor. And this is especially the case of
those who have been fortunate in obtaining a machine
properly constructed and put together.

In answer to the circular sent out to obtain the opin-
ions of practical farmers as to the result of their experi-
ence with the use of the machine, one writes me,
saying : " As to the economy of its use in our vicinity,
we have no hesitation in saying that one-half of the
expense is saved in using the machine to cut and spread
grass, when compared with the common scythe, to say
nothing of having it done when the weather is good
and the grass in its proper state, whether in blossom

PRACTICAL TRIALS. 311

or gone to seed, as the owner prefers. The horses that
we have used from the first weigh from ten to eleven
hundred each. We believe horses of the above weight
the best adapted to all farm work, and, of course, best
for mowing, carting, and ploughing. Were the team for
mowing and nothing else, we should have no objection
to their weighing more than the above, provided they
were smart and active ; but a slow, log}7 team is not the
thing ; for it needs prompt action to start off in good
shape and to work well.

" We consider the draught not heavier than that of
the common plough. Were it used at the same time of
the year, our opinion is that the team would chafe and
sweat quite as much. A man on his own farm would
have no occasion to work his team so as to injure it in
the least, for the reason that he could mow more in the
first half of the day than he could secure in the afternoon
of the same or the next day, with the same team. We have
done our mowing, the past season, with one and the same
pair of horses, working them from three to seven hours
per day. The usual practice is to mow in the morning
two or three hours or more, as the case may be, and use
the same team in the afternoon to draw the hay to the
barn, which is from one to two miles distant. The speed
required to work a machine to advantage is about the
same as that for a plough on stubble-land, or from two
and one-half to three miles per hour. There is no objec-
tion to quicker speed, however, in making good work."

In a case within my knowledge, a machine with a
cutter-bar five feet in length, and with horses weighing
in harness 1,968 pounds, driven at a moderate speed,
only equal to 20 rods a minute, or 3J miles an hour, a
half-acre, 20 rods by 4, with a burden of 2,400 pounds
of hay to the acre, was cut in fourteen swaths, an
average of 4TVu feet, in eighteen minutes, including the

312 COMPARATIVE RESULTS.

turnings. This would be 2TV<j miles the hour, including
the turnings. At this rate, 1,210 square feet of grass
were cut in a minute. At the same time a good mower
cut a swath 168 feet long and 7 feet wide, making 1,176
square feet, in 3 J minutes ; or, at the rate of 336 square
feet in a minute, allowing no time for rest or to sharpen
the scythe. Now, allowing the machine no time for rest
or turning, it cut a swath 4Ty<y feet wide and 20 rods
long, equal to 1,554-^ square feet in a minute, or 4T6^
times more than a good mower with a scythe in the
same time. It is natural to suppose that a man mow-
ing with such a competition and a large number of
spectators would exert himself to his utmost, and that
he could not mow half a day at the same rate ; and it is
certain that he was far better as a mower than the
average of farm laborers, while at the same time it is
evident, from the above-named speed, that the team,
with the machine, could work pretty steadily.

It is, therefore, fair to state the comparative quantity
cut by the machine, in this experiment, as five times
greater than that cut by the mower. That is to say,
one man, a pair of horses, arid a machine, would cut as
much in a half-day as five men, or a pair of horses and
a machine equal to four men. Now, as to the work
performed, it was admitted by all that the machine cut
much the best ; and, when it is considered that with the
mowers one man is required to every five to do the
spreading, we have to credit the machine with another
man's labor in spreading, or a machine and horses equal
to five men instead of four, or, including the driver,
machine, and horses, equal to six men. This supposes,
we will say, a half-day's work.

The cost of the six men for the naff-day, in haying,
would be at least four dollars and a half, under ordinary
circumstances. The cost of a driver would, at the same

MEN AND HORSES. 313

rate, be seventy-five cents for the half-day. The keep
of the horses, at seventy-five cents per day, would be
equal to thirty-seven and one-half cents, and, allowing
for the use of the machine a dollar a day, which is, per-
haps, a fair charge, we have, for the cost of machine
labor, one dollar and sixty-two and one-half cents,
instead of four dollars and a half, or, adding a dollar
more for the interest on cost of horses, and we have
two dollars and sixty-two and one-half cents to compare
with four dollars and fifty cents, the cost of men.

In another instance, where a four-feet eight-inch cut-
ter-bar was used, instead of five-feet, the horses weighing
1,820 pounds, instead of 1,968, the trial was made on
a piece similar to the last, 4 rods by 20, having a burden
equal to 2,700 pounds of hay to the acre ; the machine
made 17 swaths, averaging 3T8^8<j feet to each, mowing
the half-acre in 19 minutes, at a speed, including turn-
ings, of SyVfr miles an hour, cutting l,146TVu square
feet of grass a minute, including the turnings. A good
mower, on the same field, cut a swath 20 rods or 330
feet long and 6J feet wide, or 2,145 square feet, in 7J
minutes, or 286 square feet in a minute, allowing no
time for rest or sharpening the scythe. Here the
machine cut 4T§Ty times as much as the man ; or, allow-
ing the machine no time for rest or turning, it cut
1,270TV square feet a minute, or 4^</<j times more than
the man in the same time. In the first instance, 4TV><j
times, with the five-feet cutter-bar.

Many similar experiments, in different parts of the
country, have come within my knowledge, where the
results were so nearly alike as to lead to the conclusion
that the above is a fair calculation for lots similarly
situated.

" The gain in cutting the grass," says an experienced
practical farmer, "must be apparent to all who have
27

314

THE NEW BUCKEYE MOWER.

land smooth enough to work a machine on ; and in this
connection it may be best to speak of the horse-rake
with the mower, as one naturally follows the other, and

is about as important in the operations of haying.
Our way of getting hay when, the weather is good,
is this : To cut and rake it into the windrow the first day.

ECONOMY OF MACHINE LABOR. 315

The next, open and turn it, if necessary, then rake it
and cart it.

" Now, one man with a machine and horses, in the
forenoon, and one horse and rake three hours after
dinner, can put five or six acres of grass into the wind-
row every day, if he chooses, which is as much as ordi-
nary farmers in this vicinity wish to do, as our hay has
to be carted from one to two miles, and that takes time.
How many men will it take to do the same work ? Any
one can answer this to his own satisfaction ; and, as
labor differs in price in almost every section of the
country, the actual cost would vary somewhat. But
here it would take from five to ten men to do the same
work, varying as the burden of grass does per acre ; for
in lodged grass ten would hardly do.

" Then the advantage of having it done in good
weather, and cutting the grass when he chooses,
whether in blossom or after it is fully ripe, I think
can be safely put down at ten per cent., and some
call it as high as twenty per cent."

From what has already been said, and from the tes-
timony of many practical farmers, it appears that the esti-
mate which has been made, requiring five men to do the
work of one man, machine, and team, or six men, includ-
ing the spreading, is a very reasonable one, since, in
the cases stated, no allowance is made for the want of
endurance of the men at the rate at which they worked
in the experiments named.

Other considerations give further credit to the
machine, since the grass was mown better than the
average of good mowers, while it is easy to see that it
was spread better by the machine, thus making a saving
in the quality of the hay cured.

The cost of a man, machine, and horses, for a day,
according to what has been said, would be not far from

316 THE LESSONS TAUGHT.

four dollars and fifty cents, while the cost of their
equivalent in men would be not far from nine dollars.
This calculation is based on the cost of keeping the
team and price of labor on small farms, and it seems to
show the economy of machine labor there. How much
more valuable may it not be on the large farms of the
Middle and Western States ?

But, with regard to the economy of the use of the
machine, it seems to me that, even if the cost per acre
were the same as by hand labor, — and all unite in
putting it less, — we should, nevertheless, consider it a
great and clear gain to have it in our power to substi-
tute machinery which will cut grass well and rapidly
at a time when labor is very difficult to obtain, with-
out paying an exorbitant price for it. And even sup-
posing the money cost of hand and horse labor to be
the same, there is still this further consideration in
favor of the machine, that, as a general rule, every
mechanical operation which can be effected at all by
machinery will be performed more accurately, more
uniformly, and therefore more economically, than by
hand labor.

Among the important lessons taught us by the use
of the machine is, that the fewer division fences on the
farm the better. It has been the custom, from time im-
memorial, in some parts of the country, to dispose of
the stones turned out by the plough in ugly-looking
stone walls, which mar the beauty of the farm, and
occupy much land which is now thought to be worth
something for the purposes of cultivation. The idea
was to have a frequent change of pasturage for cattle,
rather than to allow them to range over a wide extent,
without much confinement. This minute subdivision
of farms is a great impediment to the economical use
of machinery, and even of animal power to any great

THE WOOD MOWER.

317

extent ; and many an old wall which was built fifty or a
hundred years ago, at great labor and cost, perhaps for
the purpose of getting rid of a surplus of rocks that en-

cumbered the land, and has come to occupy twice or
three times the space originally allotted to it, is now
being removed and buried beneath the surface or other-

318 ADAPTATION TO CIRCUMSTANCES.

wise disposed of. With small lots, the farmer loses the
time of turning at every furrow in ploughing, and other
operations of a similar nature, like the use of the mow-
ing machine and the horse-rake. There is one advan-
tage, however, of no small importance, in these division
fences, and that is the protection which they afford to
the field in breaking the fierce winds, in arresting leaves
and dust, which settle upon and fertilize the soil.

Another important lesson taught us by the use of the
machine is, that the stouter the grass is, — other things
being equal, — the more easily and economically it
can be mown ; and hence the importance of a high and
thorough cultivation of all grass lands, not simply in
the clearing away of stones, stumps, or other obstruc-
tions, which the use of the machine will lead to, but in
the use of more manure, and the more complete and
thorough tillage with the plough, the harrow, and the
roller. Many farmers have already taken the hint, and
are preparing their lands with reference to some future
use of a mowing machine.

But the experiments thus far made establish con-
clusively that the machine can be used in a far greater
variety of circumstances than was at first supposed.
I have seen it operate safely and advantageously on
rough lands covered with stones, on hilly and broken
surfaces, reclaimed bogs and salt marshes, with two
horses, with one horse, and with oxen, and with fewer
accidents than might reasonably have been anticipated
under the circumstances of a new implement, and want
of experience and skill incident to the introduction of
machinery. It is, nevertheless, true that it will prove
to be a great saving, in the end, to put the field in good
condition, have it free from stones and all other ob-
structions; and some doubt whether it is economical to
buy and use a machine till this state of cultivation is

TIME PER ACRE. 319

attained, or at least till an approximation is made to
thorough tillage.

The average time required is about forty-five minutes
per acre. I have known eight acres, yielding sixteen
tons of hay, to be cut in three hours and forty minutes,
or at an average rate of twenty-seven minutes per acre.
After making all necessary allowance for stoppages to
rest the team, and occasionally to repair the machine,
we may reasonably estimate the work which could be
done, without over-urging, at an acre per hour.

As to the power required, all the reports concur in
saying that there is less labor for the horses than in
ploughing. In most cases the horses actually gained in
weight while they worked with the machine. This is
the testimony, not only of competitors, but also of com-
mittees of various agricultural societies. One of these
committees says, " The team used may be called a fair
average of farm-horses, the pair weighing about two
thousand pounds. They required no urging, so far as
we could observe, but performed their daily work on
the machine with ease, and, could they give an opinion,
your committee have no doubt they would consider
mowing the most agreeable part of the harvest labor."

It is also the opinion of most who have used the
machine that horses of medium size, say from nine to
ten hundred pounds in weight, do their work, on the
whole, with greater ease and safety than larger ones.
This is especially the case on soft or wet ground.

Much observation leads to the belief that, at the rate
of an acre per hour, including all ordinary stops, a good
pair of horses could continue the work so as to cut,
without undue exertion, from ten to twelve acres a
day.

Many think it to be far more economical to use oxen
than horses on small farms, and hence many farmers

320 PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS.

prefer the former to the latter. In many cases where
the mowing machine has been worked by oxen they did
as well as horses, while they did not apparently suffer
from the exertion, even in the hot weather of July.
This fact will make it possible for many to use this
implement who could not otherwise do so, and its
advantages will thus be brought within the reach of
thousands who cannot afford to use horses.

There are some general suggestions for beginners in
the use of the mowing machine, most of which are
alluded to in the letters of practical farmers already
quoted, but which may be briefly summed up as fol-
lows:

1st. See that the knives are sharp, and in good
order. No man would think of beginning his day's
work of mowing without having first ground his scythe.
A dull scythe requires too great an expenditure of
physical force, and the mower works to great disadvan-
tage. The same is true of the machine. The labor for
the team is quite sufficient, even under the most favor-
able circumstances, without increasing it by neglect in
this particular.

2d. See that every nut and bolt is perfectly tight ;
the wear of the machine will be less, and it will be less
likely to get out of order.

3d. Keep all the bearings well oiled with pure
sperm oil ; some of them will need an application of it
every ten or fifteen minutes.

4th. Take the field lengthwise, and keep straight
forward, at a regular, steady pace, without too great
haste, which would fret and worry the team. An acre
per hour is fast enough ordinarily, and the team
will do that without over-urging, if the driver be
skilful.

Other things, of minor importance, will suggest them-

SKILL REQUIRED BY THE SCYTHE. 321

selves after a little practice. But it is especially import-
ant to have patience and perseverance, and not to give
up in discouragement on account of a failure at the
outset, nor even if there should be a second or a third
mishap ; for, if proper care was taken in selecting the
machine, these difficulties show either the want of suffi-
cient study of all its parts, or some mistake in putting it
together. Many will give up, in despair, if they have
met only with some one of the slight accidents to which
every new implement is liable, particularly when time
presses and things go wrong.

That some degree of skill is necessary for the proper
use of the mowing machine, is no objection to it, since
even the common scythe requires skill, and it is rare
that any man who has failed to obtain that skill by
practice, when young, ever becomes a good mower. If
the machine were so complicated that only a mechanic
could operate it, no doubt the fact that it was so would
be a serious obstacle to its introduction. But this is
not the case, and it is the general testimony that any
farmer of ordinary capacity can very soon learn to
work it successfully.

What has been said of the mowing machine applies
with equal force to the reaper, into which the former
may be easily converted.

Many of our grain crops, like wheat, barley, and oats,
come to their maturity at nearly the same time. Some
varieties of oats are very easily shaken out, and never
should be allowed to become^over-ripe ; wheat is very
liable to sprout in moist weather, and barley to become
discolored, if allowed to stand too long. The work of
harvesting by the old methods was necessarily pro-
tracted. Previous to the introduction of the reaper,
very large quantities of our most valuable grains were
annually lost, from the impossibility of harvesting

322 THE SICKLE. — THE REAPER.

them properly and in time. It is not too much to say
that the successful introduction of the reaper into our
grain-fields has added many millions of dollars to the
value of our annual harvest, not only by enabling us to
secure the whole product of all that was before planted,
but also by making it possible for the farmer to increase
the area of his cultivated fields, with a certainty of
being able to gather in his whole crop.

The sickle is undoubtedly as old as the days of Tubal
Cain, and was almost universally used till within the
memory of men still living. No one, who has had a
practical experience of its use, can fail to appreciate
the immense saving of slow and wearisome hand
labor by the use of the reaper.

The reaper is no new thing in point of fact. It
would, indeed, have been an astonishing evidence of
stupidity on the part of the ancients, who relied mainly
upon wheat and the other small grains, had they not, at
least, tried to replace the sickle by something better.
This they did. They were accustomed to use a simple
reaper in France, a few years after Christ ; for Pliny
asserts that the inhabitants of that country fixed a
series of knives into the tail-end of a cart, and this,
being propelled through the grain, clipped off the ears
or heads, and thus it was harvested.

In England the importance of adopting some method
to shorten the labor of harvesting grain was early seen,
and efforts were made to accomplish this end at the
close of the last, and the beginning of this century.
The first patent granted for a reaping machine was that
to Boyce, of London, in 1799. Then followed the
patent of Meares in 1800, that of Plucknett in 1805,
and that of Gumming in 1811, clearly foreshadowing
some of the useful improvements of subsequent patents.
Smith, of Deanston, Scotland, invented a machine in

THEATRICAL EXPERIMENT. 323

1812, which, with some improvements, worked success-
fully, though it had only a local reputation till 1835,
when it was used before the Highland and Agricultural
Society. The next model was produced by Dobbs, on
the stage of the Birmingham theatre, in 1814. The hand-
bills posted in the streets stated that the performance
was for the " Benefit of Mr. Dobbs." — " J. Dobbs re-
spectfully informs his friends and the public that, hav-
ing invented a machine to expedite the reaping of grain,
<fec., and having been unable to obtain a patent until too
late to give it a general inspection in the field with
safety, he is induced to take advantage of his theatrical
profession, and make it known to his friends, who have
been anxious to see it, through that medium. Part of
the stage will be planted with wheat that the machine
has cut and gathered where it grew, and the machine
worked exactly as in the field." The Birmingham
Gazette, shortly after, said the " first experiment was
completely successful."

In 1822 another machine was brought before the
public, and several of the successful reapers of a later
date were modelled after it. Bell, of Scotland, obtained
a prize for a reaper as early as 1829. This machine
remained in comparative obscurity till the World's Fair,
in 1851, when the success of the American machines
again stimulated the inventor to come forward as a
competitor. Previous to 1851 Bell's machine had
never been in general use, though used to a limited
extent in the neighborhood of the inventor. Its great
weight, and other defects, made it difficult to use for
reaping in the field.

In the mean time, Schuebley, of Maryland, invented
a machine thirty years ago, on which a patent was
granted in 1833, the same year in which Obed Hussey,
of Baltimore, obtained a patent on a reaper, which has

324 AMERICAN REAPERS IN FRANCE.

not only been extensively and successfully used, from
that time to this, through the Western States, but which
has furnished the basis for the most successful models
in this country, among the most noted of which are
those of McCormick, of Virginia, Ketchum, of New
York, and Manny and Atkins, of Illinois.

The American reaping machines, some of which have
been extensively used for the last twenty years, have a
world-wide reputation, and a generally-acknowledged
superiority, and the credit of having made the prin-
ciple which the English and Scotch had invented prac-
tically useful undoubtedly belongs to our ingenious
mechanics.

It is not my province to specify which of the machines
lately patented is, on the whole, the best, or to point
out the parts in which each excels the others. Every
farmer has the means, in the reports of the various com-
mittees appointed to determine the relative merits of
the machines now in use, of forming a tolerably correct
conclusion in regard to these matters. The trial made
under the direction of the Industrial Exhibition at Paris
is still fresh in the minds of many.

This took place on a field of oats, about forty miles
from the city, each machine having about one acre to
cut. Three machines were entered for the first trial,
one American, one English, and a third from Algiers,
all at the same time raking as well as cutting. The
American machine did its work in twenty-two minutes,
the English in sixty-six, the Algerian in seventy-two.
At a subsequent trial on the same piece, when three
other patents were entered, of American, English, and
French manufacture, respectively, the American machine
cut its acre in twenty-two minutes, while the two others
failed. The successful competitor on this occasion "did
its work in the most exquisite manner," says a French

MATERIALS USED. 325

journal, " not leaving a single stalk ungathered ; and it
discharged the grain in the most perfect shape, as if
placed by hand, for the binders. It finished its piece
most gloriously."

The contest was finally so narrowed down that it
was confined to three machines, — all American. One
of these now gave out, leaving but two to strive for
the prize.

The machines were afterwards converted from reap-
ers into mowers, one making the change in one minute,
the other in twenty. Both performed their task to the
astonishment and satisfaction of a large concourse of
spectators, and the jurors themselves could not restrain
their enthusiasm, but cried out, " Good, good, well
done ! " while the people hurrahed for the American
reaper, crying out, " That 'a the machine, that >s the
machine ! " " All the laurels," says the report of a
French journal, "we are free to confess, have been
gloriously won by Americans; and this achievement
cannot be looked uppn with indifference, as it but
plainly foreshadows the ultimate destiny of the New
World ! »

With respect to the materials used in the manufac-
ture of reapers and mowers, particularly the latter,
there is a difference of opinion as to whether the frame
should be of wood or of iron. The weight of opinion
seems to be that for all practical purposes wood is the
better material. The iron cutter-bar has been tried to
some extent, but not sufficiently to lead to its adoption
in all cases. But, that the materials of which these im-
plements are constructed should be far better than they
have generally been, there can be no question. Many
of the bolts in some of the machines have been made,
apparently, of a poor quality of iron, while they should,
perhaps, have been made of steel, and in the most per-
28

326 HEIGHT OF CUTTING GRASS.

feet manner. A large proportion of the accidents which
occur arise from the breaking of bolts and fingers.
These, though apparently trifles, cause not a little an-
noyance and interruption. Accidents will happen, it is
true, even with the common scythe ; but those referred
to are, for the most part, such as a more careful con-
struction would prevent.

The manufacturer, who, for the sake of a trifling
saving, slights his work on a machine newly intro-
duced, so as thereby to retard its introduction, and
create a want of confidence in the machine itself, must
indeed be blind to his own interest, while he both strikes
a blow at his reputation, and, what is of infinitely greater
consequence, delays and retards the whole progress of
agriculture.

With respect to the height from the ground at which
it is best to cut grass, the practice and the opinions of
farmers differ widely ; for, while the answers from about
half of the towns say that farmers generally cut as close
as possible, the replies from others vary from four inches
to one-half inch. Thus, forty-four farmers return, " as
close as possible ; " fourteen others, " close, or very
close ; " sixteen others, " from two and a half to three
inches high ; " ten say " two inches high ; " twenty-
three say " from one to two inches ; " and one says
" four inches ; " while some say, " it might be cut too
close," or " close cutting is injurious," or " most people
cut too low," and many say, " close as convenient," and
this is the most common practice.

It would be difficult to deduce any general rule from
the replies to the question, " At what height from the
ground do you prefer to have your grass cut, and
why ? " One farmer, of great experience and close
observation, says : " I should prefer to have my grass
cut high enough to protect the roots from the hot sun.

.

PRACTICAL STATEMENTS. 327

/ have seen Timothy grass nearly killed by cutting close,
in a dry, hot time"

Another intelligent practical farmer says : " I prefer
to shave pretty close, within an inch of the ground
when smooth enough. I still remember some proverb-
ial sayings of my teacher to this effect: 'An inch at
the bottom is worth two at the top/ l you are leaving
your wages behind you/ &c. Possibly, in very hot, dry
weather, on a dry soil, some plants might be injured by
a too close shaving ; but I should not apprehend any
harm, even then, and as a general rule I prefer to have
grass cut as close as it conveniently can be." Another
says : " Upland mowing grounds I do not like to have
cut close, having an idea that the hot sun and dry
weather which often follow the mowing season will
have an unfavorable influence on the roots of the grass.
Low and wet meadows I like to have mown close as
possible. There, the heat of the sun is beneficial." —
" The height fram the ground at which it is best to cut
grass," says a very successful farmer, " depends on the
season, the soil, and the grass. No gra^s, except on
moist ground, should be cut so low, in a very dry sea-
son, as it will do to cut it in a wet season. The natural
grasses I like to have cut within about two and a half
inches of the ground. Our old fields of cultivated
grasses do not afford much after-feed after the clover is
run out ; what of stubble is left on them is lost, so I
like to mow close."

One of the most observing farmers in the country
says: " I prefer grass cut from an inch and a half to two
inches, as it starts much quicker to grow, when cut at
that height, than when shaved close to the earth, as
some that are called good mowers do their work. If it-
is true that all crops are benefited from the ammonia in
the atmosphere, as I have no doubt they are, judging

328 TOP-DRESSING THE STUBBLE.

from grass side by side, the one cut close, the other
two inches high, the grasses should have some leaves
left them to receive this benefit. Grass cut two inches
high will keep growing, while that closely cut will be
even weeks before it will show the first signs of life."

Some make a practice of top-dressing immediately
after removing the hay from the ground, and when this
course is adopted the grass is cut quite near the surface.
A farmer who takes this course says : "Where I top-dress
immediately after, I cut as low as I can, to save all the
grass I can. If I do not top-dress, I cut from two to
three inches high, to protect and nourish the roots. I do
not feed in the fall where I do not top-dress. I intend to
manure all my natural upland mowing land, and never
feed my old fields." And another : " I like to cut rather
near the ground, for the reason that more hay is obtained.
If the soil is in good condition, and not too dry, it will
start again immediately. I know some say cut high,
the stubble will manure the land and protect the roots ;
but I prefer to manure with something better for pro-
tection. I top-dress my mowing land, and prefer a
compost made of woollen waste and meadow mud for
soil not very wet ; but for a cold, heavy soil, should
prefer sand, or sandy loam, to mix with wool waste.
Apply fifteen cart-loads, of thirty bushels each, late in
autumn."

Thus, the testimony on this point is somewhat at
variance ; but many have noticed the injury inflicted
upon Timothy by low cutting in dry weather, sufficient,
perhaps, to establish the principle alluded to on a pre-
ceding page. Most concur in saying that the finer
grasses can be cut lower with safety, particularly if the
season be not too dry. Much, undoubtedly, depends
upon the soil and the season.

CHAPTER X.

CURING AND SECURING HAY.

WE have seen that grasses attain their full develop-
ment at the time of flowering, and then contain the
highest percentage of soluble materials, such as starch,
sugar, and gum ; and that these, with the nitrogenous
compounds, then also most abundant, are of greatest
value as furnishing the nutriment of animals, while
woody fibre and mineral matter, though important as
giving bulk to the food, are insoluble and least nutri-
tious. We have seen, also, that, in the transition from
the flowering to the ripening of the seed, the starch,
sugar, &c., are gradually transformed into woody fibre,
in which state they possess no nutritive qualities, and
are, of course, of little value. This fact, which is per-
fectly well established by careful experiment and accu-
rate analysis, confirmed, as already seen, by intelligent
practice, is of great importance as indicating the condi-
tion in which most of our cultivated grasses should be
cut, and our practice is pretty uniformly consistent
with it.

But there is another equally instructive suggestion
in these transforming processes, and it is this : If grass
is cut in a condition ever so succulent, and before the
transition of sugar, <fcc., into woody fibre has commenced,
there will even then be some loss of sugar and starch
from the action of heat and moisture, especially if the
38* (329)

330 OVER-DRYING HAY.

grass is exposed to the rain in the process of curing,
and lignefaction, or change to woody fibre, takes place
to considerable extent, dependent, of course, on the
length of time it is exposed to air and light ; so that
grass cured with the least exposure to the searching,
sifting winds, and the scorching sunshine, is, other
things being equal, more nutritious than grass cured
slower and longer exposed, however fine the weather
may be. In other words, grass over-cured, in the pro-
cess of hay-making, contains more useless woody fibre
and less nutritive qualities than grass cured more has-
tily, and housed before being dried to a crisp. There
can be no doubt which of the two would be most pal-
atable to the animal. Some loss of nutritive elements
must, therefore, take place in the process of curing,
however perfect it may be ; and the true art of hay-mak-
ing consists in curing the grass just up to the point at
which it will do to put it into the barn, and no more, in
order to arrest the loss at the earliest possible moment.
And this fact of the loss of sugar and starch, or of
their transformation into woody fibre, by too long ex-
posure to the sun and wind, I think equally well estab-
lished as that any transformation at all takes place, and
as equally suggestive.

But on this point far greater difference of opinion
exists among practical farmers, some considering one
good hay-day sufficient, while others require two, and
sometimes three, as if it were not possible to dry it too
much. Our practice in this respect is, I believe, better
than it used to be twenty years ago. Most farmers now
think that grass can be dried too much, as well as too
little, and that the injury and loss in the crop is equally
great from over-curing as from housing green. A prac-
tical farmer says : " One good hay-day is sufficient to
dry Timothy, redtop, or wet meadow. I think farmers

PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE. . 331

lose more by drying their hay too much than by not
drying it enough."

Another writes me as follows : " As far as my experi-
ence and observation extend, I think farmers dry their
hay too much, as a general thing. Grass should never
be dried any more than just enough to have it keep
well in the mow. I think it is best to get in hay as
green as it will possibly do, for it contains more juices,
which constitute its value."

This is in accordance with the experience of another
farmer, who says : " Redtop is a more difficult grass to
make into hay than Timothy. To make hay from any
grass, it is highly important that the swaths of the hand-
scythe be well shaken ; here lies the secret of making
hay evenly, without having green, heavy locks. If the
burden is heavy, time in making the hay, if cut in the
morning, will be gained by turning it by one o'clock, P.
M., and then putting it into good-sized cocks while it is
warm. If the weather be clear, according to my expe-
rience, this hay will do to cart the second day without
giving it much attention, — the sap has become can-
died, and it is fit for the mow. The exposing the hay to
the air on the second day, by pitching, is of essential
benefit. When carted the same day it is mown, unless
dead ripe, it will be withy, clammy, and will be likely to
smoke in the mow ; in which case the hay has lost
much of its valuable quality.

" To keep it till the third day, and expose it to the
rays of the sun every day, as some practise, dries out
the juices, and the stem becomes hard and brittle, — the
life of the hay is gone to some degree. Our mothers
and grandmothers used to dry herbs in the shade ; I
hold to curing hay in the cock."

Another practical farmer in the same section says :
" My way of making Timothy and redtop is to mow it

332 WHAT FARMERS SAY.

early in the morning, and when the dew is off spread it
well. I like to dry it in one day's sun, if I possibly
can ; if not, put it into cocks before night, then get it
into the barn as green as I can and not have it hurt.
I do not want my hay all dried up ; it injures it. Wet
meadow I put into the barn on the day it is cut, if the
weather is suitable for curing it."

Another writes, saying : " If the weather is good
and the grass not too heavy, we cut in the forenoon
and get into the barn in the afternoon. If the grass is
heavy and the weather not good, cut in the forenoon
and turn over the swaths at night ; spread and get in
the next day. I do not believe in drying hay as much
as some do. If not quite dry, two or three quarts of
salt to the load will preserve it, and it will be the bet-
ter." Another says : " I prefer to cut hay in the blos-
som on a good hay-day in the forenoon, and it is fit
for the barn, if raked with the horse-rake and care is
used to turn it over and bring the green grass to the
sun, by two or three o'clock in the afternoon of the
same day. Much hay is spoiled by being dried too
much."

" Timothy will dry sufficient for me," says a sensible
farmer of my acquaintance, " in one good hay-day.
I dry less and less every year. If there is no moisture
on it, there is little danger of hurting after it is wilted."
He cuts his swale hay before it matures and while it is
quite green, and lets his upland grasses stand till they are
fully developed, and commence changing their deep
green color, and thinks it will keep the same stock
longer and better, if cut at that age. Another experi-
enced farmer says : " My way of making hay is to cut
when in blossom, in the morning, shake it out evenly
over the ground, turn it over at eleven o'clock, and get
it into the barn on the same day, if the weather is good.

THIRTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE. 333

But, if the grass is very heavy, I put it into cocks over
night. I consider it made as soon as dry enough not
to heat in the mow. To get dryer than this is an injury
to the hay."

One of the most extensive and experienced stock-
feeders in New England, a practical farmer, says : " I
prefer to cut all English or swale grass from the tenth
of June to the first of July, including Timothy and
clover at the same time. More than thirty years' expe-
rience has convinced me that hay secured in the above
time — or just before coming into blossom — will make
cows give more and better milk and butter, will put
more fat on animals for the slaughter, with four quarts
of meal per day, than eight quarts of meal with hay
well secured from the first of July to the first of
August. That will give the second crop, if you wish,
time to grow, and it may be cut the last week in August,
or the first week in September ; there will then be a
crop of fall feed, which most farmers prize very highly,
If you do not wish a second crop, the feed, by early
mowing, is very valuable. On the other hand, if the
grass is cut late, the hay is not only poor, but the feed
is mere nothing. Every farmer of my acquaintance
admits that the hay cut early is far superior to that cut
late, unless it be those that are in the habit of selling
hay ; even that class must lose in the weight of their
crop by late cutting. Many buyers have not yet learned
the difference between early and late cut hay, when the
real difference is oftentimes from four to six dollars per
ton. Working horses and oxen will keep in better
condition with half the grain when fed upon early-cut
hay."

Another writes me as follows : " My method is to cut
with the mowing machine, which leaves the grass per-
fectly spread. It is turned over between one and two

334 THE PREVAILING PRACTICE.

o'clock in the afternoon, while still warm, and before
the evening dew falls it is put into cocks. It is spread
and turned the next morning, and at one o'clock is
ready for the barn. I cannot tell, on paper, the precise
point of dryness at which hay should be housed ; but
with my hands, eyes, and nose, I can judge when it is
dry enough not to hurt in the mow, and not so dry as
to crumble, or to have lost any more of its virtues than
necessary. The less drying the better, if it does not
injure in the mow." Another practical farmer says : " I
prefer two days, but want to have it lay thick together,
and stirred often the first day, and but little the second.
In this way the hay retains more of the juices, smells
sweeter, looks greener, and the cattle like it much better.
Hay should be cured so that it will not heat in the mow,
and no more.'' Another says : " Hay may generally be
dried enough in one good hay-day, with proper care, to
be left over night in the cock, and carried to the barn
the next afternoon without spreading. Hay may be
dried too much, as well as too little.'7 " Timothy and
redtop," says another, " carefully spread as soon as the
ground between the swaths is dry, and, if heavy, turned
about noon, will dry sufficiently in one day, if a clear
one, to be put into the barn before sunset. I believe
many dry their hay too much. Never dry it so as to
make it brittle when twisted in the hand."

These, and many other extracts of a similar import,
which might be given did space permit, indicate, with
sufficient distinctness, the prevailing practice among
the best farmers : but, as constantly intimated, it is very
common to find hay dried far too much. Every farmer
is aware of the importance of keeping his grass and
hay as free from dew and water as possible. An expos-
ure to rain washes out much of the soluble constitu-
ents of the grass, leaving a useless, brittle, woody fibre.

CURING CLOVERS FOR STOCK. 335

Grass and hay are greatly injured by remaining too
long under a hot sun without being turned. A some-
what different method is adopted for the artificial
grasses.

The natural grasses, when cut for hay, are generally
spread and dried as rapidly as possible, in order to
secure them in the best manner. Experience has proved
that the same method is not applicable to the clctver
crop. It requires a longer time to cure it properly,
and, if exposed to the scorching sun, it is injured even
more than the natural grasses, since its succulent leaves
and tender blossoms are quickly browned, and lose their
sweetness in a measure, and are themselves liable to be
wasted in handling over. Most good farmers, therefore,
prefer to cure it in the cock. A practical farmer, of
long experience, says : " I prefer to mow clover when
it is dry, free from dew ; let it wilt, and the same day
it is mown fork it into cocks "which will weigh from
forty to fifty weight when fit for the barn. Do not
rake and roll it : that process will compress it too
much.

" According to the weather and my convenience, I
let it stand ; it will settle and turn the rain very well,
and will answer to put into the mow while the heads
and stalks are yet green and fresh. When fit to cart,
the stalks, although green, will be found to be destitute,
or nearly so, of sap : the sap has candied, and the
clover will keep. On the day of carting, turn the cocks
over, expose the bottom to the sun an hour or so, and
to a ton of hay add four to six quarts of salt in the
mow.

" Good clover — not rank — cured in this way I con-
sider to be worth nearly or quite as much as clear Tim-
othy to feed to a stock of cattle, and for milch cows I
consider it to be by far preferable to Timothy. Good

336

CUEING CLOYEKS FOE STOCK.

clover hay will keep up the quantity of milk, while
timothy will diminish it."

Still another says : " I have found no better hay for
farm stock than good clover, cut in season. For milch
cows it is much better than timothy. It keeps horses
that are not worked hard better than any hay. And

MIXING WITH OLD HAY. 337

small clover, as the rowen crop, is better than any other
kind for calves. Clover is not good market hay, as it
wastes in removal from the barn. Stable-keepers give
much more for coarse Timothy, that cannot easily be
drawn through a rack." — " We mow clover in the fore-
noon, and let it lie in the swath, and put it into small
cocks in the afternoon/7 says another farmer. " If the
weather be fair on the third day, open it to the air and
sun for two or three hours, and then put it into the
barn. I have found clover cured in this way keep
sweet and free from mould, and of equal value with
other hay." Another says : " I have tried three differ-
ent ways of curing clover. One was, to make it in the
same manner of other grasses ; another, to dry it one
day in the swath till wilted, and then pitch it into cocks
to stand some days, according to circumstances ; and
the third was, to give it one good day's sun, turning it
over and getting out the water, and mixing it in the
barn with old hay or straw. I managed in this way a
year ago, the weather being very l catching/ cut and
dried it as much as possible in one day, and carted it
into the barn the same afternoon. I mixed it with some
old swale hay that had been left over, placing a layer
of old hay, then a layer of clover, building it up in a
square mow. My neighbors laughed at me, and said I
should burn my barn down by putting in that ' green
stuff.' But I must say I never had better clover hay
than that. The cattle would eat all the meadow or
swale hay, as well as the clover. There was not a par-
ticle of smoke about it, on feeding it out. When cured
in this way, or by the second method, in the cock, I
think clover hay is worth two-thirds as much as good
English hay to feed out to farm stock."

From what has been said in these extracts, which
might be multiplied, it appears evident that good
29

338 TESTIMONY OF PRACTICAL FARMERS.

farmers appreciate the importance of so curing clover
as to preserve its tender and succulent foliage. They
are careful not to over-dry it, for fear of loss of the
blossoms and the leaves. But it is not uncommon
among thriftless farmers to handle it in such a way
that the best parts of it are shaken off and destroyed.

The method detailed in the last extract, of mixing
clover with a poor quality of hay or straw, has some-
times been adopted with great success, the clover im-
parting its fragrant odor to the hay with which it is
brought in contact, greatly improving its quality, while
its own value is preserved without injury. It is not
only a matter of convenience, oftentimes, to have the
clover so secured in catching weather, but, on careful
experiment, may be found worthy of being more gener-
ally practised..

The general testimony of practical farmers, as to the
value of clover hay as compared with that of Timothy
and redtop; our prevailing natural grasses, varies ex-
ceedingly; some making it of equal value, others esti-
mating it at one-half, and from that Jto two-thirds and
three-fourths.

The practice of raising Indian corn to cut and feed
out green by way of partial soiling is very common in
New England, as already intimated, in speaking of the
natural history of the grasses. This culture has been
carried still further by many farmers, and many acres
are raised, in various parts of the country, for the pur-
pose of cutting and curing for winter use. Great hopes
are entertained, by many, of the utility of the culture
and use of the Chinese sugar-cane also, which, it is
thought may be raised, cut, and cured, in the same way,
and for the same purpose.

The common practice with regard to Indian corn for
a fodder crop, and which has been alre.ady partially

INDIAN CORN FODDER. 339

stated, is to sow in drills from two and a half to three
feet apart, on land well tilled and thoroughly manured,
making the drills from six to ten inches wide, with the
plough, manuring in the furrow, dropping the corn
about two inches apart, and covering with the hoe.
In this mode of culture the cultivator may be used
between the rows when the corn is from six to twelve
inches high, and, unless the ground is very weedy, no
other after culture is generally needed. The first sow-
ing commonly takes place about the usual time of corn
planting, and this is succeeded by other sowings, at
intervals of a week or ten days, till July, in order to
have a succession of green fodder. But, if it is designed
to cut it up to cure for winter use, an early sowing is
generally preferred, in order to be able to cure it in
warm weather, in August or early in September. Sown
in this way, about three or four bushels of corn are re-
quired for an acre ; since, if sown thickly, the fodder is
better, the stalks smaller, and the waste less.

The chief difficulty in curing corn cultivated for this
purpose, and after the methods spoken of, arises mainly
from the fact that it comes at a season when the weather
is often colder, the days shorter, and the dews heavier,
than when the curing of hay takes place. Nor is the
curing of corn cut up green so easy and simple as that
of drying the stalks of Indian corn cut above the ear,
as in our common practice of topping, since then the
plant is riper, less juicy, and cures more readily. The
method sometimes adopted is to cut and tie into small
bundles, after it is somewhat wilted, and stook upon the
ground, where it is allowed to stand, subject to all the
changes of the weather, with only the protection of the
stook itself. The stooks consist of bunches of stalks
first bound in small bundles, and are made sufficiently
large to prevent the wind from blowing them over.

340 KILN-DRYING INDIAN CORN.

The arms are thrown around the tops to bring them
together as closely as possible, when the tops are broken
over or twisted together, or otherwise fastened, in order
to make the stook " shed the rain " as well as possible.
In this condition they stand out till sufficiently dried to
put into the barn.

But Indian corn stooked in this way often becomes
musty or covered with dust, while the rains often soak
it thoroughly and wash out much of its soluble matter,
and its nutritive value is in a great measure lost. Be-
sides, every one knows that to cut up a green plant, as
a willow or any other thriftily-growing plant or shrub,
and set it up with the cut end resting upon the ground,
where it can still derive moisture from the soil, will
prevent its drying. There can be no doubt, also, that
the exposure to the sun, wind, and rain, greatly injures
it, by removing much of its sweetness, or changing it
to woody fibre, while it takes from it its beautiful fresh
green color.

To avoid the losses necessarily attending these modes
of curing, some have suggested kiln-drying as far pref-
erable, and, on the whole, as economical. I have
known the experiment tried in one or two instances
with complete success, the fodder coming out with its
fresh green color, and apparently better relished by
cattle than that dried in the ordinary way. This
method appears to me to be worthy of much more
extended and careful experiment. The kiln need not
be elaborately or expensively contrived. The process
of drying would be short, and the labor slight.

Another mode which has been suggested is to hang
it up in sheds open to the air, precisely as tobacco is
cured. This process would be longer, but the nutritive
qualities of the plant would probably be better pre-
served than if cured in the open air, with the exposure

THE METHODS OF BAKING. 341

to the frequent changes of the weather. It is hardly
necessary to say that, if it is proposed to cure in this
way, it should be hung up thinly, and the air should be
allowed to circulate through it. After being well dried,
it is taken down and stowed away in the barn for use.
This method avoids the trouble of stocking, and the
liability to injury from rains and dews, which blacken
the stalks, though it requires considerable room, and is,
of course, attended with some additional labor.

Fig. 164.

Hay, when sufficiently cured, is gathered either with
the common hand-rake, Fig. 164, or most frequently with
the horse-rake, Fig. 165.

This implement has come into almost universal use,
and no farmer of any extent would be without one. It
met with great opposition and encountered great ridi-
cule on its first introduction; but has survived it all, and
become indispensable in all thrifty and economical farm-
ing. I shall do no more than give the authority of
practical farmers in answer to the thirteenth question
of the circular, "Have you used a horse-rake; ifsOj what
patent, and with what advantage?"

To this an experienced farmer of Massachusetts thus
replies : " I have used various horse-rakes for fifteen
years. Much labor is saved by the use of any kind of
horse-rake that has been introduced within that time.

" Horse-rakes are on a footing different from mowing

machines. Grass may be cut in the morning, in the

evening, or in a cloudy day. But hay must be raked

at the very right time, or it may be entirely spoiled.

29*

342 THE HORSE-KAKE.

It is, therefore, quite important to work quickly, when
the time for doing it comes. With a good rake, a man
and horse will gather more hay in half an hour than a
laborer with a hand-rake usually gathers in a long after-
noon,— that is, one acre; this is considered a half-day's
raking by hand-rake."

Fig. 165. Revolving Rake.

The independent rake operates very well. The old
revolving rake, Fig. 165, costs about the same. One
objection to the spring-tooth rake is, that tKe wire teeth
scratch up too much earth. This is seen in Fig. 166.

* . Fig. 166. Spring-tooth Rake.

These are primitive forms of the horse-rake, but they
are still used in some parts of the country.

A practical farmer says : " My opinion is that no mod-
ern invention of agricultural implements has made so great

THE INDEPENDENT BAKE.

343

a saving over the old method of performing farm work
as the independent horse-rake."

Another says: "The 'Independent' has taken the

place of the revolver with me; it is managed with
much more ease, the teeth, each one acting independent
of all others, at all times laying on the surface, whether

344 OPINIONS OF FARMERS.

even or otherwise, will rake cleaner than the revolver,
and will not get so much dirt on the hay as will the
spring-tooth."

And another : " I use the wire-tooth. The independ-
ent or wheel rake is used some ; both are good. I cut
about sixty tons of hay, and my rake I have no doubt
saves me twenty dollars every year. First in labor,
and second in quality of hay, — everything being
raked at night." Another says : " We have used the
revolving horse-rake lor the last ten years or more,
and my opinion is that, could I have my choice
between six men or a horse and rake, after dinner,
with a quantity of hay to secure, I should take the
latter."

Fig. 167. The Loafer Rake.

The mowing-machine, the hay-tedder, and the horse-
rake, all comparatively recent inventions, have done
much to lighten the burdens of securing the hay crop,
and to enable us to save time and to harvest the crop
in a vastly better condition. They have superseded
the old and slow methods of haying to a very large ex-
tent, and they are appreciated as among the most
important of modern laboi -saving implements.

But there was still left the laborious work of pitching
and stowing away in the barn or in the stack. That
required strong muscle, and took much valuable time.

THE HORSE-FOEK. 345

The horse-fork came to save that work, and to enable
us to stow away the hay in much less time. To unload
a ton in five minutes or less, without much expenditure
of physical strength, was a very great gain.

Fig. 168. The Grappling Hay-Fork.

Several different patents of horse-forks are in common
use, the simplest, perhaps, and the least expensive, being
the harpoon-fork and the modifications of it. By a
simple arrangement of pulleys the hay is easily and
quickly conveyed from the load to any part of the
barn, and dropped in the bay.

With a good hay-carrier or elevator any fork may be
used, and it makes little difference whether the load is
under the track or twenty feet away. The harpoon-
fork is easily adjusted, durable, and easily handled. It
can be used for hay or straw. A double harpoon-fork
is shown on p. 346.

346

THE HOESE-FORK.

Fig. 170. The Palmer Fork.

Fig. 169. Double Harpoon -Fork.

The frequent losses to which farmers are subject in
making hay have suggested the use of hay-caps, made
to cover the cocks and protect them from the weather.
It is but recently that their use was introduced, and,
like most novelties, it has met with objections from
some on the score of economy, while their use is as
strongly approved by others on the same ground. I
have often seen them used, and the time taken to cover
an acre of grass or hay in cock partially cured is less
than most would naturally suppose. Where they are to
be used, less care is needed for " trimming down " the
cock, and putting it in a condition to shed the rain.

An experienced practical farmer says : " I have used

USE OF HAY-CAPS. 347

hay-caps with good results. I have one hundred made
of cotton sheeting, two yards square, with pins attached
to the four corners with strong twine ; the hundred
cost me just forty dollars. I think they have saved me
twenty dollars this year. I had at one time this season
one hundred and thirty cocks standing out in a six
days' storm. One hundred were covered, and, not
having caps enough, thirty were left uncovered. The
uncovered was worth but little, while the covered was

Fig. 171. Hay-caps.

passable hay. I stocked some oats, which I capped.
They stood a two days' rain without injury." And
another : " Our caps are made of heavy five-fourths
cotton cloth, cut square, with four little loops, through
which we run a slim wooden pin into the hay-cock.
The pins hold it better than weights in the corner.
Ours cost twenty-one cents apiece. Have saved the
cost in one storm this season."

" In reply to your question as to the utility of hay-
caps," says another farmer, " it gives me pleasure to

348 ECONOMY OF HAY-CAPS.

say that, after using them constantly, for the last seven
years, 1 consider them of the first importance in the
most critical branch of farming.

" I can safely affirm that my hay has been intrinsically
worth, on the average, one or two dollars a ton more
than my neighbors', which has been proved by the
remarkable health of my animals.

" My horses have not been sick an hour, and the
heaves are unknown in my stable, which may fairly be
attributed to the fact that no musty hay ever enters my
barn ; and it is probable that the milk of cows may be
as unhealthy, if they eat badly-cured hay, as if fed on
what is called swill in the cities.

" Having these covers always at hand, it has been my
practice to mow my grass when it was ready, without
consulting the almanac, or waiting for a change of the
moon ; and the result has been that I have had more
than my share of good luck in this important branch of
business.

4< They are also very useful as a protection against
heavy dews, and as a cover for coarse clover and
Timothy I consider them indispensable.

" After long experience, I have found the most ap-
proved method of making the hay-covers, which may
be used for wheat and other grain crops with great
advantage, is to take stout unbleached cotton sheeting,
of a suitable width, say from thirty-seven to forty-five
inches wide, — the latter is the best, — cut it into
squares, and attach to each corner, by a string or other-
wise, a pin made of wood, twelve or fifteen inches long,
cut off smooth at one end and rounded over at the
other, which completes the affair. The size of the pin
should be about an inch in diameter.

" Hemming the selvages is a matter of fancy, as they
would do very well without it ; and, if a tannery is near

A PERMANENT STRUCTURE. 349

by, it would greatly improve them to plunge them
into a vat for two or three days. This would thicken
up the cloth an inch or two, and make it more durable,
as well as much more effectual. A decoction of bark,
with alum, or some other astringent, would probably
answer equally as well ; but this is not necessary ', to
make an excellent hay-cover. Like a cotton umbrella,
the first dash of a heavy shower would cause it to
spatter through for a moment, but would do little or no
harm. I doubt whether a larger size than forty-five
inches square, or forty-five by fifty, would be desirable.
Mine have been not much over thirty-six inches
square."

Another farmer says : " I have never used them
myself, but they are used in the neighborhood to good
advantage. A neighbor of mine, who has used them
for three years, says they have been worth to him this
year the whole cost, as with them he has been able to
get all his hay in in good order, while a large quantity,
where they were not used, was made nearly worthless
by the long-continued wet weather."

A permanent structure for covering and protecting
hay-stacks is described by a farmer, in answer to the
question proposed in the circular, as follows : " I have
a structure called a hay-cap, which, if farmers have not
sufficient barn-room, I think would be economical, as hay
can be more rapidly secured than in the common stack,
and it obviates the necessity of fencing, and prevents the
hay from being wet while the stack is open for feeding.
This cap is twelve feet square, and consists of two sills,
fourteen feet in length and eight inches square, four
posts, five inches square and seventeen feet long,
framed into the sills one foot from the end of the same.
The sills are held together by two girts, framed into the
post just above the sill. The posts are held firmly by
30

350 PERMANENT CAPS FOR STACKS.

girts, placed five feet eight inches above the sills, to
which height the box part of the structure is boarded.
The posts above the box are perforated with holes, one
foot apart, for the insertion of pins, to sustain the cap
or cover. This (in form of a pyramid) should be made
as light as possible, so that it may be readily raised by
placing the shoulder under the corner. The frame of
three by four joists must be large enough to fall outside
the posts and admit of some play. The rafters are
small joists, nine feet in length, the feet resting upon
short pieces of joist, placed across the corners of the
frame, thereby forming openings for the posts to pass.
The tops of the rafters are nailed together over the
centre of the frame. Girts should be placed half-way
from the eaves to the point of the roof, to nail covering
boards to. These should be good half-inch stuff, and
run from the eaves to the rafters. The tops of the posts
should be kept from spreading by stay lathing them.
A hay-cap of the dimensions given will hold five tons
of hay. The cost I do not know, as this was on the
place at the time of my coming on to it."

CHAPTER XI.

GENERAL TREATMENT OF GRASS LANDS.

THE importance of having the ground well tilled and
thoroughly prepared by liberal manuring before com-
mitting the seed to it, is too apparent to need remark.
When the seed is sown, it is the common practice to
harrow it in, either with an iron-tooth or a bush or
brush harrow, or both ; and those who adopt a more
careful culture follow these operations with a thorough
rolling, which compresses the soil, and usually causes an
earlier germination of the seed. The importance of this
last operation, that of rolling, is too often overlooked.
By reference to Table XIV., the importance of cover-
ing at the proper depth is also apparent, since it will be
seen that a large proportion of the seeds germinated
with a very slight covering.

Many questions of a practical character suggest them-
selves to the farmer, after all has been done to secure
a complete and thorough cultivation of the soil and a
luxuriant crop, and among the first is the economy of
fall feeding.

This is the term applied to feeding off the aftermath
of mowing lands, a practice which is very prevalent,
and justified by experienced farmers rather on the plea
of necessity than any other, since most farmers, of care-
ful observation, admit that it is, on the whole, injurious.
A large proportion of those who are in the habit of fall-

(851)

352 OPINIONS OF FARMERS.

feeding speak like the following, from a practical farmer,
who says : " I feed off slightly, although it would prob-
ably be better for the next crop if I did riot. My cows,
however, like it, and, as they pay me well at the milk-
pail, I like to see them enjoy themselves." Another,
in answer to the questions of the circular, " Do you
feed off the after-growth of your mowing lands in the
fall? Do you think it an injury or a benefit to the
field to feed it off?" says, "I do generally, but con-
sider it an injury to the field." Another says: "I do
feed off, moderately, the after-growth of my mowing
fields, and believe the grass worth much more so fed
than if left on the ground to rot. A dense mass of
dead grass is also much in the way of the scythe and
the rake, the next year." A practical farmer in another
section of the country says : " I feed off the after-
growth of mowing lands only when I am compelled to
do so in dry seasons, for want of pasture. I think it an
injury to feed off, unless there is a large growth, which
is better to be eaten, so that it will not fall down and
heat the roots and kill them."

Another says : " I feed my mowing lands in the fall,
and think it is a benefit to the field in all cases where a
top-dressing is used, and of no injury to an old field
that is ploughed once in three or four years. Where a
large growth of after-feed remains on the land, it is like
mulching trees, — kills the grass-roots and makes a grand
shelter in winter for mice." Another farmer says: "I
feed it off and then top-dress it, and think it a benefit
to the land, but should consider it an injury if I did not
top-dress." An experienced practical farmer writes me
as follows : " I feed it off, but think it an injury to the
field to do so, and I should much prefer not to feed
mowing lands at all. The grass holds in longer, and is
of better quality. I feed it off because it is necessary

PRACTICE AND EXPERIENCE. 353

to eke out a comfortable support for my stock.'7 And
another : " To some extent. I do not think it bene-
ficial to the land to feed much every year, nor very
injurious to feed some; but to feed close 1 deem highly
injurious." A very experienced farmer, of large obser-
vation, writes me : " To some extent I feed it off, not
from choice, but convenience. The treading of the
cattle is some injury, and they feed on the best kinds
of grass, and leave the wild grasses to extend the area
of their growth. In my experience, mowing grounds
are kept in the best condition by taking off the first and
second crops with the scythe, and biennially dressing
with compost manures."

This accords with the experience of another practical
farmer, who says : " My practice is to feed the after-
growth or mow it. To take all from the soil without
returning an equivalent, would be injurious. My cus-
tom is to top-dress my mowing grounds with good
compost manure, about fifteen cart-loads to the acre
once in two or three years, — a portion of lots in one
year, and a portion the next. Where the ground is not
liable to wash — carry the manure off — I prefer spread-
ing the manure in the autumn ; it is dissolved by the
fall rains and winter snows, and the grass is benefited
in the early spring."

An experienced farmer in another section says :
" Farmers here are in the habit of feeding off their
mowing lands in the fall, but have no doubt that the
crop of grass would be better, the next season, not to
feed them. Some think the injury not. so great as the
value of the feed of the after-growth." — "I have had
considerable experience in both ways," writes an intelli-
gent farmer, " and do not think fall feeding is any injury,
if it is not fed too close ; prefer feeding to mowing the
second crop, and feeding with sheep rather than cattle."
30*

354 EFFECT OF FALL FEEDING.

And another: "The feeding of dry mowing injures it
by causing it to run out, leaving the roots exposed to
the winter, while moist land is injured by the cattle's
feet much more than the value of the feed, in both cases
taking all off, and leaving nothing; to renovate the land
another season."

An experienced farmer in one of the best grazing
towns of Massachusetts says : " It is now more than
twenty years since I have allowed any kind of domestic
animal to feed upon our mown lands, and my opinion
previously has been fully confirmed by my experience.
It is a decided benefit to let the after-growth remain
upon the land ; it is a protection from summer's drought
and winter's cold. Some of my neighbors are following
my example." And another : " I sometimes feed off my
after-grass. When I do feed it off, I take good care to
feed it early, and leave a good growth to protect the
roots of the grass from frost in winter. I think it an
injury to feed ; mowings will last longer not to be fed
at all, and the land when broken up will produce a bet-
ter crop of corn or potatoes than if fed."

From these extracts it will appear that the practice
of fall feeding is very general, while the good judgment
of practical farmers almost unanimously condemns it as
injurious, especially to feed closely and late in the sea-
son. The reasons assigned for the practice are, chiefly,
the necessity generally felt for feed at that season of
the year, and the importance, in some situations, — par-
ticularly on interval lands, — of removing all protection
for the mice, which frequently prove very destructive
to the roots when buried with the snow in winter. All
condemn the practice of too close feeding, under all
circumstances.

The fall growth collects the elements of a thrifty
growth in the following spring. These are stored up

IMPROVEMENT OF PASTURES. 355

in the roots over winter for the early use of the plant.
If it is closely fed, the spring growth must be proper-
tionably later and feebler.

But one of the most important questions which the
farmer in the older sections of the country has to mee't
is the proper treatment of his pasture lands. Many of
our old pastures have been stocked hard, time out of
mind, and the grasses in them have been literally
starved out, and grow thin of necessity, while, as the
finer and nutritious grasses disappear, nature very
kindly covers up the nakedness of the soil with moss,
as an evidence of the effect, and not the cause, of
poverty. They are said to be " worn " or " run out."
Many of them are grown over with bushes and briers,
and other equally worthless pests, till they carry but
one animal to four or five acres, and often require twice
that amount to keep an animal on foot, to say nothing
of fattening him. It is a well-known saying, that " poor
pastures make breachy cattle."

Undoubtedly, thousands of acres in the older states
would be far more profitably covered with pines than
with cattle, and many an observing farmer is now con-
vinced of this fact ; but still we must have pasture
lands, and there are circumstances where it becomes
important to improve them, and increase their produc-
tiveness. Some of them are so situated that they can
be ploughed, and thus brought in, with other cultivated
lands, to the general rotation ; and where this can be
done, it may be, on the whole, the best and most eco-
nomical mode of improving them.

In answer to the circular on a preceding page, an
intelligent farmer writes me : " I have renovated my
old pasture land by pulling up the bushes by the roots,
scarifying the foul or mossy places with the harrow,
and sowing on grass-seed and clover, both red and

356 OLD PASTURE LANDS.

white." Another says, in answer to question 16, —
What is the best mode of renovating old, worn-out pas-
tures?— " Plough, manure, and re-seed. Some have
sown rye with the grass-seed, and then let the stock
feed on the rye, as it will not produce any seed-stalks.
It sometimes lasts three years. This method has been
put in practice with marked success. On our hills,
ground plaster or gypsum has brought in the white
clover the next year after sowing." Another practical
farmer says : " The best method I have found is to
plough in forty loads of good stable manure to the acre,
plant, hoe, and kill the bushes and moss, then seed down
with redtop and white clover, instead of taking a crop
of rye without adding any thing to the soil, then seeding
down with 'barn chaff,' as many do;" while an ex-
perienced farmer of another section says : " If the pas-
ture lands can be ploughed, do it in the month of June,
say seven inches deep, harrow thoroughly, sow one
hundred pounds of Peruvian guano and three pecks of
buckwheat per acre, harrowing them in' at the same
time. Sow as much grass-seed and of the kind best
adapted to the soil as you please, and bush it in.
I have tried twenty acres at a time with good suc-
cess."

Another writes me as follows, in answer to question
16 : "It can be done in various ways. I have a piece
of pasture land near my house that bore hardly a spire
of grass, and nothing else, except five-finger and other
weeds that usually grow on old, worn-out pine plains,
and I commenced twenty-four years ago by sowing
Timothy and redtop, and a bushel and a half of plaster
of Paris per acre, once in two years, up to this time ;
the grass increased from year to year, so as to cover
most of the land in thirteen years. Ten years ago I
commenced ploughing it. I ploughed about one acre,

HOW TO RENOVATE PASTURES. 357

and put on fifteen loads of compost manure, and planted
it with corn. I sowed it down in the fall with rye,
Timothy, and redtop, and sowed clover in the spring,
and about a bushel and a half of plaster of Paris per
acre. The next year I ploughed another part, and
manured it the same, except that I planted this with
melons, dunged in the hill, seven feet apart, and then
sowed it down in the fall the same as the other piece.
The next year I took up the remainder, and all the
manure I put on the piece, except in the hill, was the
water carted on it from a hole in my barn-yard. It was
immediately ploughed under, then holed and dunged in
the hill seven feet apart, planted with melons, and in
the fall sowed as the other parts. Since that it has con-
tinued to bear very large grass. When I have turned
my cattle into it, the first of June, I have judged, and
others who have seen it, that, had I not pastured it, I
might have cut a ton to the acre. The soil of this piece
consists mostly of sand, resting upon a subsoil of gravel.
Most of our pastures are spoiled by feeding off too
early in the spring, and over-stocking. Cattle should
not be turned in till the first of June, and then not
over-stocked ; so that there will always be spots of
grass to go to seed, which will keep the pasture well
stocked with grass. Always keep your pasture stocked
with grass. If you cannot keep it on any other way,
sow on Timothy and redtop, and harrow it in, once a
year. I prefer to do it in August ; but any other month
in which you are most at leisure will dp."

Another experienced farmer says : " Old pastures
should be ploughed and planted when they are not too
rough for those operations. They may then be seeded
down in July among corn or beans, or grain may be
sown with the grass-seed in the following spring. But
we have too much rough pasture unfit for the plough.

358 PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE.

It should never have been cleared for pasturing, but
should have been left to run to wood. Such rough
lands are often much improved by sowing plaster at the
rate of two hundred pounds per acre. Plaster gene-
rally works well on clays and clayey loams, which are
not wet." And another : " Where I have ploughed and
planted old pastures, and then seeded anew, the cattle
get a much better living." One of the best farmers of
my acquaintance, in reply to the same question, says :
" Either by ploughing, rolling, and sowing down grass-
seed and grain in September or April, or ploughing in
manure, after removing the crop on old ground, and
cross plough in the spring, then spread and harrow in
guano, at the rate of three hundred pounds per acre, or
a good dressing of compost, and sow Rhode Island bent,
or redtop, and white and red clover, with some variety
of grain ; or by scarifying mossy ground, and sowing in
grass-seed and harrowing it, then applying three hun-
dred pounds of guano, or one bushel and one peck of
salt, or ashes from ten to twenty bushels per acre,
harrow and bush the ground. Sow early in fall or
spring."

A farmer, who has lived and had a large observation
in England, says : " Some farmers say the plough. But
in England, where old pastures are seldom broken up, I
have known extraordinary results from top-dressing
with crushed bones, more particularly on the large
dairy farms in Cheshire. I am sorry I cannot give you
the quantities. .A neighbor of mine has harrowed an
old, worn-out pasture, dressed with a liberal coating of
Barilla ashes, from six to seven cords per acre, and
sowed white clover, and rolled it. It came out a beau-
tiful pasture. The brush harrow and roller, applied to
all grass land in the spring, will amply repay for the
labor. Breaking and spreading the cattle droppings on

USE OF PLASTER, 359

the pasture land is well worth attending to." The
methods of renovating pastures by top-dressing will be
alluded to hereafter.

A farmer of Massachusetts says, in answer to the six-
teenth question of the circular:

u This depends on the kind of land to be reclaimed.
If it can be ploughed, I would plough it and plant it
with potatoes or something else, to make it mellow and
fine, and then sow it to grass. If it is too rough or
stony to plough, — which is the case with a large share
of the pasturing in this section, — but is good, sweet,
warm land, I would feed it with sheep. I have a pas-
ture of this description, that, a few years ago, was
covered with briers and bushes so thick that there was
but very little grass upon it. I cut off the bushes, arid
put on sheep enough to eat everything that grew upon
it for four or five years. They have killed all the
briers, and most of the bushes. I have sowed some
plaster of Paris, which is all I have done to it, and now
one acre is worth and will produce more feed than
three would ten years ago. I should say that my sheep
have always done well on this pasture. If the land is
cold and wet, and inclined to grow bushes, I let it
go, and never try to reclaim it, unless it is near the
buildings, or near the village, where the land is very
high. In that case it may pay to ditch and work it
into good smooth land."

Another practical farmer, of great experience, says :
" We have a variety of soil in this town ; some of the
best of pasture lands, stony soils, generally clay sub-
soil. Plaster of Paris is our renovator for pasturage.
It works most admirably on almost all of our lands.
Two hundred pounds to the acre, applied once in two
or three years, in early spring, will keep our pastures
good." And another : " The best method I have ever

360 RUNNING UP TO WOOD.

used is to fence in small pieces, and then stock hard
with sheep. Feed it down till no green thing remains ;
then turn the sheep oft* days and on nights till Septem-
ber ; then harrow the land with a sharp harrow, and
sow on grass-seed, keeping the cattle off the remainder
of the season."

" It will improve an old pasture merely to plough and
re-seed it, without manure," says another ; " but this is
a slow mode, and not to be recommended where it is
possible to apply some sort of dressing. A better
method is, without doubt, to plant for a year or two,
manuring well, before sowing grass-seed. The soil, by
being thus thoroughly stirred and exposed to atmos-
pheric influences, will give a sweeter grass, and per-
haps more of it. But it is not always convenient to
plant a part of a pasture. In such cases great benefit
would result from simply ploughing, manuring, and
seeding to grass immediately."

But perhaps the best disposition that can be made of
many of our poor, thin pasture lands, and one which
has incidentally been alluded to, is to take the cattle
from them entirely, and cultivate them with forest
trees. This is frequently recommended, in answer to
the question proposed in the circular. One farmer
speaks in the following words : " Old, worn-out pasture
lands, that cannot be renovated by gypsum or ashes,
had better be suffered to run up to wood. Pine lands
can be seeded in the fall with a crop of winter rye, or
without. Pine-seed can be obtained by taking pains to
collect the burrs before they are open, and drying them
in some place where they can be threshed. This is
white-pine-seed year."

This, I am convinced, will be found to be perfectly
practicable, and a rapid growth of pine wood, inter-
mixed, as it should always be, with some deciduous

CULTURE OF PINES. 361

growth, like the white birch, will be found to be more
profitable than tha use to which pastures are now gene-
rally put.

1 know many pastures, of good, strong soil, never
ploughed within the memory of the living, some of
which are known not to have been ploughed for a
hundred and fifty years, which require from eight to
ten acres to a cow, so entirely buried are they in moss
and bushes. Such lands can be planted with pines at a
small cost, and would soon be covered with a growth
which would pay a large percentage on the outlay.

I have examined over a thousand acres of cultivated
pines, in different parts of the country, varying in age
from three months to twenty years, and can testify to
the surprising rapidity with which such a plantation
will cover the ground, concealing the fact of their
being planted by the hand of man, and assuming the
appearance of a dense forest.

In one instance, the owner informed me that his plan-
tation had averaged him a cord to the acre every year,
for twenty years, during which it had been planted,
while the land, a light, barren sand, had apparently been
improved, and a thick undergrowth of hard wood was
evidently ready to succeed the pine, when the oppor-
tunity offered. I have seen a growth of pitch pine,
made in one year, of over two feet six inches in length,
by measurement, and a growth of white pine, made in
the same time, of two feet nine inches. The growth of
wood is generally interrupted by the drought, during
the hottest months of summer, and then starts out a
new growth in the autumn ; but, in very moist seasons,
it continues, with extraordinary vigor, all through the
season. The average growth would not, of course,
equal that stated above.

But still there are circumstances, and they are not by
31

362 TREATMENT OF PASTURES.

any means unfrequent, where it is both practicable and
desirable to take other methods of improvements for
pasture and grass lands.

The idea was formerly entertained that pasture lands
were sufficiently enriched by the animals which fed
them. Practical men begin to think otherwise ; for it
is found that a profitable return is made for the little
outlay which they require. Particularly is this the case
with pastures fed by milch cows. They do not return
the essential elements of the plant to the ground in so
large a proportion to what they take from it as some
other animals. These elements are required in great
quantities to form their milk, while in other animals
they are required only to form bone and muscle. The
manure made by cows is, therefore, less valuable and
fertilizing than that of some other animals. The con-
sequence is, that lands fed wholly by cows are exhausted
sooner than those fed by other animals. For it is evi-
dent that where more is taken from the soil than is
returned, exhaustion must follow.

We furnish animal and vegetable matters to the earth
to supply it with substances which the growth of plants
has taken from it. It will be obvious, on a moment's
reflection, that the constituent parts of the plant are
taken up from the earth and the air, in somewhat the
same manner as our food and drink become our bone and
flesh. The analogy is still more distinct when we reflect
that all our applications for the improvement of the soil
are nothing more than the supply of food for plants.
For the food of plants is found in all manures, and the
value of these depends upon the quantity they contain.

The methods of renovating mowing and pasture lands
by means of top-dressings do not essentially differ. An
interesting experiment fell under my observation not
long ago, where common meadow mud, rich barn and

MIXTURE OF SOILS. 363

liquid manure impregnated with lime, were used as a top-
dressing on different parts of the same field. The mud
was hauled out in the autumn and thrown in heaps, and
there left to the action of the frosts and snows of win-
ter. In spring it was spread about the same time the
other manure was applied. Strange as it may seem, the
top to which the mud was applied appeared to far the
best advantage. The grass was heavier, and, after the
crop had been removed, that part of the field on which
the mud was applied came in more quickly and luxu-
riantly than the rest. This field was a light, gravelly
soil, which had not been under very high cultivation.

Many of our soils are gravelly, with a mixture1 of
sand. These soils need a mixture of marl and meadow
mud. Marl and mud contain the carbonate, or in some
cases the sulphate of lime, or plaster of Paris, and often
a mixture of clay, which sandy or gravelly soils need.
On these soils clayey mud has been found to do the
best. Peat mud is a rich vegetable food ; and if a
small proportion of potash, or ashes, be added, it is val-
uable as a manure.

Light soils are always improved by any substances
which make them firmer and more compact. Stiff clay
soils, on the other hand, are benefited by applications
which make them lighter and more permeable. No one
of the three kinds of earth, sand, clay, and lime, when
unmixed with the other varieties, would be capable of
supporting vegetation. The mixture of them, when any
one predominates, will correct and improve them; since
it is well known that the fertility of soils depends upon
the relative proportions of their different constituents.
In some marls the clay predominates, and these should
be used on the light, sandy soils ; in others, the sand
predominates, and these are adapted to stiffer lands.
The practice of mixing soils has always been attended

364 TEXTURE OF THE SOIL.

with success when judiciously managed, and it offers a
practicable means of improvement.

Nor is this application of mud and clay any new fact
to the practical agriculturist. The county of Norfolk,
in England, is said to owe much of its great fertility to
this source. The greatest European improvements in
sandy soils have been made by these means in Belgium.
As intimated in the experiment alluded to, it has always
been found best to expose the mud or clay to the action
of the frost. It becomes mellowed so that it may be
spread evenly upon the ground. Peat mud is composed
of vegetable matter which has been accumulating for
ages. When taken fresh it is found to contain an
amount of acid which would make it improper for im-
mediate use. Exposure to the frost, wind, and rain,
will, in time, entirely neutralize the acid properties.
Ashes, or potash, would have the same effect in a much
shorter time.

These substances may be said rather to ameliorate
and improve the texture of soils than to furnish imme-
diate sustenance to the plant. And in this view they
cannot be too strongly recommended ; for we have
never known them to fail of having beneficial effects,
both on pasture and mowing lands. And, besides, the
application of them is so simple, so much within the
reach of every farmer, that it is well worth the trial.
If the soils are much worn, or very barren from a great
preponderance of any particular earth, a liberal allow-
ance will be required ; but, ordinarily, as in the experi-
ments which have come under my notice, some twenty-
five or thirty cart-loads to the acre have been found
sufficient to increase very greatly the productiveness
of the land, while a still less quantity would be of essen-
tial service. Nor is the expense of this application so
great as some imagine ; for almost every farm contains a

USE OF LIME. 365

quantity of waste peat meadow, and clay is frequently
near at hand. It may be removed and prepared at a
season of the year when there is but little else to do.
The expense, therefore, need not deter any one from
its use.

But there is another substance equally accessible,
which acts both as an ameliorator and a fertilizer of
the soil. It is, perhaps, one of the cheapest and most
profitable top-dressings. It is the rich loam which
accumulates in the holes by the road-side, and wherever
the wash gathers from hills. Every one has observed
the effect of the loam thrown out upon the grass in
ploughing. The grass along the edges soon becomes
greener in spring, and grows with greater luxuriance.
The wash by the road-side would have a far more power-
ful effect. For this contains, besides the putrescent ani-
mal matters from the road, a quantity of fine sand, which
rich soils, wanting closeness and consistency, require on
the surface. Spread upon such soils when covered with
grass, it is very efficacious, and often makes the vegeta-
tion as vigorous as stimulating manure. Experiments
have clearly shown that the effect of sand on some soils
is to operate as a manure.

Among the mineral manures, lime has sometimes been
used as a top-dressing. Its effect arises not so much
from any direct nutriment furnished by it to the grass,
as from its influence on the substances in the soil. It
hastens the decomposition of vegetable and mineral
matters in the earth ; and in this way it may be said to
renew exhausted soils. It increases the temperature
of cold, sour lands, after being drained, and causes a
rapid decay of peat substances. Hence its use in the
compost heap. It destroys the mosses and coarse herb-
age which work in among the grasses, and indicate the
want of lime in the soil. It produces from them a fine
31*

366 EFFECT OF LIME.

vegetable mould, by causing the white and red clover,
and some natural grasses, to come in thicker and thicker
each year. Lime produces a more marked effect on the
grasses than on any other crop. It seems, very fre-
quently, to increase the nutritive quality of the grasses,
as well as to increase their quantity, by assisting them
to elaborate the juices, the albuminous substances, and
the sugar, in which their value as food for stock largely
consists.

But lime can never supply the place of other manures.
There are properties which it cannot supply, which plas-
ter can ; others which it cannot supply, as bones can ;
and others which it cannot supply, like ashes, and ma-
nures that contain salts. There are situations, however,
in which it is invaluable. On reclaimed meadow lands,
after thorough draining, and a covering of three or four
inches of gravel, a top-dressing of lime has a beneficial
effect. Crops of grass "of two and three tons to the
acre have been taken after such a dressing of lime. In
many cases the first crop will repay the expense of
bringing such land into cultivation. In these situations,
then, as well as on many pastures, it may be called one
of the most useful applications that can be made. Such
lands will bear an abundant supply of lime without
exhaustion. But on poor, sandy soils it should never
be used. It will soon exhaust and may render them
completely barren. When it meets with clay in lands
to which it is applied, it forms a kind of marl, and
greatly improves the texture of the soil : but, when it
comes in contact with sand, it forms, rather, a sort of
mortar. Hence it is thought to be injurious on sandy
soils. Many soils have naturally a sufficient quantity of
lime, and on these a further application is not needed.

No definite rule, with respect to the amount required,
can be given. It must depend upon the nature of the

USE OF ASHES. 367

soil, and must be left to the judgment of those who use
it. In general, on peat and clay soils, from ten to fifty
bushels to the acre will be required, though less would,
perhaps, be beneficial.

The addition of lime to the compost heap is often of
great importance. The decay of all vegetable sub-
stances is accelerated by it ; but it should not be
brought in contact with decaying or fermenting animal
substances, unless covered by a thick coating of peat or
other absorbent. Whenever lime is used in a compost,
— unless it be for the special purpose of hastening the
fermentation of vegetable substances, — it ought to be
mixed with salt, by dissolving the salt first in water and
slacking the lime with it. A bushel of salt will thus
prepare four bushels of lime. Refuse brine will answer
very well.

We come now to the use of ashes as a top-dressing.
Of this we may speak with more confidence ; for, while
experiments with lime have not invariably proved suc-
cessful, owing, probably, to the soils designed to be
benefited, we know of no instances in which the appli-
cation of ashes has not fully repaid the expense. If
farmers would bear in mind that ashes contain most
of the elements which assist plant-growth, they would
be unwilling to part with a substance which they might
turn to such profit. If the quantity is small, let it be
husbanded with the greater care, instead of being sold,
with the idea that so few can do no good. One sub-
stantial farmer says : " I am now, more than ever, fully
persuaded of the value of ashes as a manure. Nothing
in the whole catalogue of manures compares with them
on my land. The soil was a thin, clayey loam, and
where the ashes were sown there was a crop of excel-
lent clover, where for years the land had been almost
unproductive."

368 LEACHED AND UNLEACHED ASHES.

Grasses are often more benefited by ashes than other
crops, since they require a greater amount of the salts
which ashes contain. For all permanent mowing lands,
especially on the lighter soils, ashes are among the
cheapest of manures, where they can be had in sufficient
quantities. In parts of Flanders and Belgium, countries
in which the science of agriculture has been carried to
a high perfection, the great loss of inorganic matters
from the soil is constantly restored by ashes or bones,
together with other manures to be mentioned hereafter.
Indeed, almost all agriculturists, both in Europe and
America, have attached very great importance to the use
of ashes. In some parts of Germany they are held in so
high esteem that they are transported to a distance of
eighteen or twenty miles, to be used as a top-dressing.

According to Professor Liebig, with every one hun-
dred and ten pounds of leached ashes of the common
beech-tree, spread upon the soil, we furnish as much
phosphate as five hundred and seven pounds of the
richest manures could yield. Now, phosphates are
highly useful to all kinds of soil.

There can be no doubt that the process of leaching
takes from the ashes a part of their fertilizing proper-
ties. For many uses this is no objection. Especially
is this the case near the sea, where leached ashes are
thought by some to be even more serviceable, as the
gas in the atmosphere the more readily combines with
them. Every practical man has heard of the amazing
effects which bone-dust has upon the soil. Yet this is
valuable chiefly for the phosphate it contains. But, if
we may rely upon the statement of Professor Liebig.
leached ashes also contain a large amount of phosphate
of lime, which would show them to be extremely valua-
ble. But, suppose we allow four bushels of leached
ashes to one bushel of crushed bones, the expense of

ASHES AND PEAT MUD. 369

the ashes would, in most cases, be less than the bones.
But, if bones can be procured, a mixture of leached
ashes and bones, four bushels to one, forms a very use-
ful application. The compound should remain a week
or two before being used.

Those who have tried leached ashes have been fully
satisfied of their superior qualities as a fertilizer. Care-
ful experiments, by practical, conservative men, show
that land producing one ton to the acre has been so
improved by this means as to yield three tons to the
acre. Where thirty bushels were used on three-fourths
of an acre, in one instance, the crop was increased more
than three-fold. Nor are leached ashes subject to the
objections which are raised by some against the use of
lime. They do not apparently exhaust the soil. The
effect of them is felt for several years. Many farmers
have found, by experience, that one bushel of unleached
hard-wood ashes is nearly equal to two bushels of plas-
ter, as a top-dressing fofr the drier grass lands. If this
be true, what has been said would show that leached
ashes are about equal to plaster in their effects on such
lands. A peck of lime is commonly used in leaching a
bushel of ashes. This, of course, adds to the value of
leached ashes for grasses. They contain, also, a por-
tion of the alkali which is decomposed. by the action of
the atmosphere, and the water in the soil prepares it for
the food of plants.

As we have already spoken of the use of peat mud,
it is proper here to say that ashes may be mixed with
mud in the proportion of six or eight bushels to the
cord. The mud is better, as usual, dug in the autumn,
though the mixture might be made in the spring, or on
application to the soil. If leached ashes are used, the
proportion may be about one to three. In this case
the two substances mutually assist each other, and the

370 USE OF SEA-WEED.

compound is, perhaps, better than either alone would
be. So potash, added to peat mud, makes a valuable
compound.

In this connection allusion might be made to the
practice of burning sea-weed as a manure, and spread-
ing the ashes upon grass and pasture land. They form
a very useful and powerful stimulant, but the process
of burning causes the loss of some of its most fertiliz-
ing qualities. The most common and efficient mode of
application is to carry it directly upon the grass as a
top-dressing. The coarse rock-weed and kelp decay in
a much shorter time than the fine sea-weed, and are no
doubt far better than this. Sea-weed is best on sandy
or gravelly soils, where from twenty-five to thirty, or
even forty cart-loads to the acre, are sometimes applied.
Peat ashes form, in some cases, a very valuable top-
dressing for grass and pasture lands. In Holland, where
every fertilizer is preserved with care, peat ashes, as
well as wood and coal ashes, are highly esteemed. The
great value of the first is well known to many, and if
those who have them will spread them upon grass, at
the rate of fifteen or twenty bushels on the lighter, and
thirty or forty on the heavier soils, they will be abun-
dantly repaid.

If what has been said be true, — and it is the result of
many experiments, some of which have come directly
under my own observation, — farmers would do better to
buy ashes, on the return of every spring, than to sell
them, as is often done in some sections of the country.

Of the use of gypsum, or plaster of Paris, the most
contradictory opinions have been expressed. So far as
my observation goes, — and I have both seen and tried
many interesting experiments on old pasture soils and
mowing lands, — the application to moist soils has been
satisfactory. It has been said that plaster does not

PLASTER OF PARIS. 371

benefit natural pastures. This, I apprehend, depends
chiefly on the character of the soil. In one instance,
within my knowledge, a large pasture, which had be-
come worn and somewhat unproductive, received a
generous top-dressing of planter. The grass started
sooner, and continued throughout the season to look
far better, than the adjoining pastures of precisely the
same soil. So far as could be ascertained, the increase
in grass over the adjoining pastures was about seventy-
five per cent. Nor was this all. This pasture came in
the next season with the greatest luxuriance, and its
load of beautiful green was the wonder of the neighbor-
hood. Its effect on clover and Timothy is even greater
than on old pastures. Many have supposed that plaster
would exhaust the soil. That this could not be the
case will appear from the fact that it takes four hundred
and thirty parts of water to decompose one part of
plaster, while its decomposition is so slow that its influ-
ence is felt for several years. How, then, can it have
such immediate and beneficial effects ? It is generally
explained by saying that it retains the fertilizing gas,
which is constantly rising from fermenting vegetable
matter, and give's it up, at a proper time, for the nourish-
ment of the plant. It does not, like lime, cause vege-
table matters to decay, but rather, when they decay,
holds their most important parts from escaping.

The infectious odor which rises from decaying vege-
table matter, from the stable, from the manure heap, and
imperceptibly from the whole surface of the earth, is
one of the most important elements for the growth of
the plant. Plaster fixes this, and the first shower
washes it into the earth to feed the roots of plants.
The relative value of manure depends, in a measure,
according to the generally received opinion on this
subject, upon the amount of this noxious odor, or the

372 OPINIONS OF SCIENTIFIC MEN.

ammonia which it contains. Ammonia, commonly known
as hartshorn, is an exceedingly powerful stimulant.
Nor will it appear unimportant, when we bear in mind
that two and one-quarter pounds of this ammonia, lost
by fermentation, is equal, according to some, to the loss
of one hundred and fifty pounds of grass or grain.

Scientific men will say that this gas is taken up in the
atmosphere by the rain, and descends with the rain to
fertilize the earth; and this is probably true. This
ammonia, so valuable, so indispensable to the earth, is
not lost forever when it flies away into the air ; but the
shrewd farmer will perceive that as much of it as he
allows to escape from his own hands, by neglect, falls
upon and improves the fields of his neighbor as much,
and perhaps more, than his own. Is it not evident that,
by saving all that we can, and by receiving whatever
the genial rain brings with it, we get a double benefit ?

If the effect of plaster is such as has been described,
no one can fail to see how important are the functions
it may be made to perform. But it also adds a certain
amount of lime and sulphur to the earth. It is com-
posed of these substances for the most part, and hence
called by chemists sulphate of lime. I shall have occa-
sion to speak of its use in connection with other ma-
nures in the compost heap, and I now allude to its use
by itself, simply as a top-dressing.

On some soils it is not so satisfactory as on others ;
but our pastures are, many of them, covered with the
white clover or honeysuckle, and these are often called
clover lands. On all such lands, whether reserved for
pasture or mowing, plaster generally has a wonderful
influence. A bushel, or two bushels, to the acre, have
been known to double the crop, and- to add more than
twenty times its own weight to it, while even greater
results have followed. For, if we may believe Bous-

USE OF CHARCOAL. 373

singault, one of the most distinguished chemists, every
pound of nitrogen which we add to the grass increases
the produce one hundred and ten pounds; and this
increased produce of one hundred and te*n pounds is
effected by the aid of a little more than four pounds of
gypsum, or plaster. Another accurate investigator, Sir
Humphrey Davy, found, by actual experiment, that the
ashes of an acre of red clover contain no. less than
three bushels of plaster of Paris. This important fact
proves that the earth already contains a large amount
of this substance, and that it is essential to the growth
of clover. This may, perhaps, explain the so-called
clover sickness in some land. The requisite supply of
plaster has been exhausted. In any case, the addition
of plaster to clover lands, and especially to pastures, is
of the highest importance.

The effect of charcoal is somewhat similar to that of
plaster. Charcoal will absorb ninety times its own bulk
of ammonia, which is held from escaping till it is sep*
arated by water, and carried into the earth for the plant.
When dry, the operation of fixing the gas is repeated,
till the next shower sends the gas into the earth, and
the particles of water take its place in the charcoal. In
this way, as a top-dressing, charcoal, as well as plaster,
performs the most important functions. If we take any
decaying animal matter, which has begun to give off its
offensive and noxious odor, its ammonia, and cover it
with charcoal or plaster of Paris, this escaping gas is
immediately stopped. No infectious odor arises from
it. The decay of the substance has suddenly ceased.
This simple fact will show the intelligent farmer to what
purposes these substances may be applied. His ch6ice
of these should depend somewhat on the expense of
procuring them. The relative expense depends so much
upon circumstances, that I need not make the estimate.
32

374 EFFECT OF BONES.

As an absorbent and retainer of the valuable properties
of manure, peat mud and loam will also be found of
essential service. If used on a high and dry soil, the
effect of plaster will not be very apparent the first sea-
son, unless there are frequent rains.

There is an impression among many that plaster does
not produce so good results in the immediate vicinity
of the sea-shore, If this is so, it does not arise, prob-
ably, from the proximity to the sea, but from other
causes. Many of our lands do not need the application
of plaster ; but I have seen it used, to the best advan-
tage, within two miles of the sea. If there were any-
thing iii the sea air to prevent plaster from performing
its usual functions as an absorbent, the effect would be
perceived to a far greater distance inland. If any fail-
ures have occurred in its use in the vicinity of the sea,
they were probably owing to the soil rather than to the
atmosphere. There is one other remark in this connec-
tion. When plaster has been applied without immediate
effect, we should not at once conclude that it is useless
on the particular soil to which it is applied. The first
season may be dry, and ill-adapted to its decomposition.
In such cases good results have ordinarily followed the
second year.

The great utility of bones as a manure arises from
the large amount of phosphates which they contain.
On all pastures which have been long fed the phos-
phate of lime is exhausted. It is constantly taken from
the earth in the grass, to form the bone, the muscle, and
the milk of animals. Of the earthy matter in bones,
nearly five-sixths consist of phosphate of lime and mag-
nesia" Nitrogen is also abundant, and, of course, am-
monia, for nitrogen is an element of ammonia. A few
bushels of bone-dust will often quite restore old, "worn-
out " pastures. Indeed, almost every part of which

BONE-MEAL AND ASHES. 375

bones are composed goes directly to the nourishment
of vegetable life. The ashes of ail grains are very rich
in phosphate of lime. This shows the importance of
furnishing this element for their use.

A mixture of crushed bones and ashes, or leached
ashes, forms a valuable top-dressing. Nor will this ap-
plication, in small quantities, be thought expensive, if
what is said be true, that the animal part of bones,
which amounts to about one-third, contains eight or ten
times as much ammonia as the manure of the cow. A
small quantity of bone-dust will answer the purpose, in
some respects, of a larger quantity of manure from the
stable. We can but hope that every farmer will try
the experiment. It may be done on a small scale at
first, though in the vicinity of every butcher's estab-
lishment bones can commonly be procured in any
quantity.

Thus far I have spoken of manures which belong
more peculiarly on the surface, as a top-dressing for
grass. For, though they are sometimes used, especially
plaster, on ploughed land, with potatoes and other
crops, yet their influence on the surface is thought to
be far more effective. Indeed, the benefit of lime,
plaster, and charcoal, would, in a great measure, be lost,
were they to be buried to any depth in the earth. But
there are other manures which are often used as top-
dressings.

One of the best practical farmers in the country says.
" I top-dress almost all of my mowing in the fall, cut
two crops on all of them, and on some a third. I make
a compost of earth and manure ; make in the lot where
it is used, by ploughing off a thin turf on the lower
side of a small hill or knoll, taking the turfs to the hog-
yard, and then cart from the stable three, five, or ten
loads, or more, as I have the manure. Drop the manure

376 OPINIONS OF FARMERS.

upon the ground that the turf was removed from, then
plough on the upper side of the hill, and shovel two
loads of earth upon each load of manure, beginning in
the spring, and so on through the season. As the manure
of the barn increases, cart to the meadow, placing it
upon the upper side of the first heap, and plough and
shovel as before. From one hundred loads of good
stable manure it makes three hundred loads of good
compost, and will make as much grass as so many loads
of stable manure. For grass, put ten cart-loads per
acre. Spread in the fall upon mowing, this compost
makes more grass than green manure, carted and
spread upon mowing in the spring. In almost all cases
the knoll or hill carted until it is level with the adjoin-
ing ground produces more crop than before."

Another writes me as follows : " Top-dressing for
mowing lands is very beneficial, but too expensive, if
barn-yard manure alone is used, so much passes off by
evaporation. A compost of one-half or two-thirds turf,
or swamp muck, and one-third good manure, is quite as
beneficial to the land, and probably better or more en-
during than all manure. If ashes are mixed in this com-
post, it is all the better. But, if stable manure alone, or
in compost, is to be applied, it should be in autumn, so
that the frosts of winter may incorporate it with the
soil."

Another farmer, of great experience and observation,
says : " I top-dress generally late in the fall, but should
prefer early spring dressing, if we could cart on the
field without injury, and the time could be spared from
other business. My land is chiefly of a cold, tenacious
soil, and a compost is made of one-fourth stable manure
and three-fourths light loam. For warm land, peat mud
would be used instead of the loam. Twenty common
ox-cart loads, from thirty-three to thirty-five bushels

COMPOSITION OF POTATO- TOPS. 377

each, to the acre, is as small a dressing as can be judi-
ciously applied. Double that quantity would not be ex-
cessive." " With respect to top-dressing for mowing
lands," says another practical farmer, " I would state
that for several years we have been in the habit of rais-
ing from one to three acres of early potatoes for
market. We have usually dug them early in August,
and before the tops were dead. The tops are taken
directly from the field, and spread on the mowing lands
to very great advantage. We think the tops from an
acre of potatoes sufficient to top-dress an acre of mow-
ing land, and the effect is equal to three or four cords
of good manure."

The practice alluded to in this extract is worthy of a
careful trial by those who are so situated as to adopt it.
It is known that the tops of potatoes contain a large
percentage of the organic elements of plants.

Fromberg found in one hundred pounds of the leaves,
in a natural state, from .82 to .92 per cent, of nitrogen,
and that one hundred pounds of leaves dried contain from
5.12 to 5.76 per cent, of nitrogen. If his results are
correct, — and there is no reason to distrust them, — we
add to the land fifty pounds of inorganic salts, besides
nearly twenty pounds of nitrogen, among the organic
constituents of every ton of potato-tops. This would
make a ton of them equal in value more than two
tons of the best Ichaboe guano.

In a case which I have in mind, a very poor, worn-
out grass lot was top-dressed with fourteen ordinary
cart-loads of good stable manure to the acre. The
quantity of grass was increased four-fold. Clover and
Timothy came in as luxuriantly as on any new-laid
piece. If the top-dressing were repeated once in five
or six years, there would be no danger of exhaustion,
though there would be an advantage in loosening the

32*

378 PRACTICAL OPINIONS.

earth with the plough. But the use of stable manure
should be confined mostly to mowing land. On closely-
fed pastures it would be injudicious, from its exposure
to the sun. On these, ashes or plaster would be better.

One experienced farmer, in answer to the circular on
a preceding page, says : " Peruvian guano, mixed with
loam, is unquestionably the best manure for top-dress-
ing that can be found. Ashes are very good for lands
that are liable to be washed by the fall and early spring
rains. I should think that the spring would be the best
time to spread it ; but on lands not so situated the fall
would be more proper. In the latter case, the manure
would be entirely mixed in around the roots of the
grass, and all the strength of the manure would remain
in the ground."

Another experienced and intelligent practical farmer
writes me : "I top-dress moist mowing lands in winter
or early spring, with eight or ten loads of fine manure,
or with about three hundred pounds of guano, mixing
the guano with twice its bulk of dry sand, moistened
with water, containing about two ounces of sulphuric
acid in solution to the gallon of water."

No farm should be managed without a compost heap,
since it may be so made as to form an extremely
valuable article for top-dressing. A quantity of meadow
mud should be dug out in the autumn for this special
purpose, where it is practicable. Two cords of peat
mud, added to one cord of good stable manure, will
make, in the estimation of many practical farmers, a
compost of three cords of valuable manure. This has
been tried repeatedly, and is constantly done by those
ambitious to excel in farming. To this compost heap
should be added, from time to time, all the animal and
vegetable matter adapted to ferment and enrich the soil.
Woollen rags, the remains of fish, the blood and flesh

THE COMPOST HEAP. 379

of animals, the hair of animals, all these make an ex-
ceedingly rich manure. A most intelligent gentleman,
connected with a wool factory, informs me that a cord
of matter collected at the establishment is worth at
least five or six cords of the best stable manure, for a
top-dressing. This we cannot doubt ; for here are the
blood, the wool, pieces of the skin of the animal, a little
lime, and many other substances, all collected together.
A fermentation takes place, by which the richest gases
are formed. Such a compost heap, with an addition of
loam and mud, would be invaluable for a top-dressing.
But, though in most cases all these substances cannot
be procured, many of them can, and should be saved by
every one who is desirous of improving his land. Those
who are near the sea, or near the market, can procure
an abundance of fish to add to the compost. Nothing
is better for soils than this. A little lime added to the
heap causes its rapid and thorough decomposition.
Ashes should also be added. When additions of
manure are made, they should be covered with mud or
loam, to prevent waste.

We need not enter more minutely into the details of
forming the compost heap. It is sufficient to say, in a
word, that everything capable of fermentation should
be added to it. The lower layer shou-ld be of loam or
mud. Nothing is more common among farmers, on the
death of a horse or any other animal, than to throw the
body away. It is estimated by some that the body of
a single horse, when divided and mixed with peat mud
and loam, will make a compost worth fifteen or twenty
loads of the best and richest manure. This is, perhaps,
too high an estimate ; but animal substances ferment
rapidly, or rather they may be said to putrefy without
fermenting, so quick is their decomposition. If leaves,
grasses, moss, straw, and other substances of like

380 USE OF LIQUID MANURES.

nature, are used, lime will be useful in causing their
rapid decay. When these are well fermented, the heap
should be thrown over, and if made long and narrow,
so as to expose the greater surface to the air, it will be
the better.

The value of a compost, properly made, is greater
than the aggregate value of the several ingredients ap-
plied separately, no matter what or how rich they may
be. Besides, some divisor is needed for concentrated
or other powerful manures, by means of which they
may be more evenly and judiciously applied. Peat, or
dry meadow muck, is one of the best and most available
of these divisors, if properly prepared by exposure to
the influence of air and frost. No good farmer would
ever use lime in compost with barn-yard manure or
animal substances, unless peat muck, gypsurn, or char-
coal, were largely used in the same mixture.

Animals fed on rich food make far the most valuable
manure. This will serve, in part, to show why the
manure from the sty is so fertilizing. Swine are fed
on a great variety of rich food. The actual profit of
raising them arises mainly from the amount of sub-
stances they will mix together and make into good
manure. If the sty be supplied, at intervals, with mud,
loam, and other vegetable matter, the farmer will not
complain of the cost of these animals.

Liquid manures are highly useful to grasses. Care
should be taken to apply them, also, to the compost
heap. The richness of manure from the sty is due to
the quantity of liquid matter it contains. Hence the
importance of adding a great variety of vegetable sub-
stances, loam, and mud. In a word, it may be said that
all liquid manures contain a large amount of nitrogen,
which is one principal ingredient of ammonia, to which
we have alluded. The importance of saving the liquid

MODES OF IMPROVING PASTURES. 381

of the stable, either with the compost or to be applied
by itself, may be seen, also, in the fact that the exceed-
ing richness of guano, and the manure of all fowls and
birds, is due to the union of the liquids and solids.

After fermentation has taken place in animal manures,
in the compost or elsewhere, they may be spread with-
out much loss by evaporation; and hence it matters not
whether the top-dressing is applied in the autumn or in
the spring. Plaster is better spread in the spring, when
the moisture of the earth makes it immediately availa-
ble. Some prefer the autumn for spreading compost
manures, while others prefer the spring, just before the
thick grass surrounds and protects them from the sun
and wind. The soil, in autumn, is not injured by the
loaded cart, as is liable to be the case in spring. Others,
still, apply them after the first mowing, and before the
summer rains. The new crop preserves the manure
from drying up and wasting. This, however, is ordi-
narily too busy a season to attend to it with con-
venience.

We have, then, these several methods of improving
our pasture lands. First, To allow some of them to
run to wood, or, which is far better, to plant them with
forest trees, which should never have been entirely cut
from them. This applies to poor, thin soils, at a dis-
tance from the homestead, and chiefly in the older
states, where the pastures have become exhausted or
run out.

Second, To plough and cultivate, where this can be
done, on strong, good soils, which are not too stubborn
and rocky. This applies to many lands which have
been used as pastures time out of mind, the soils of
which are naturally good, but have run out from neg-
lect. Put soil into a good state of culture, and rich
and nutritive grasses will flourish as naturally as

382 SOWING GRASS-SEED.

weeds. The former are nearly as spontaneous on
good soils as the latter are on poor ones. The suc-
cess will depend chiefly on good culture, if this mode
is adopted.

Third, To scarify the surface thoroughly with a
sharp-tooth harrow, sowing on a suitable mixture of
grass-seeds spoken of above, and then harrow and brush
over again, the work to be done in September or very
early in spring, if the surface is hard enough to go over
with cattle without too much poaching. This applies
to old pastures covered with moss, where the sweet
grasses are run out, but which, from their particular
location, may not be desirable for woodland, nor pay
for a more complete and careful improvement.

Fourth, To mix the grass-seeds as evenly as possible
with a finely-divided compost, and use it as a top-dress-
ing, first harrowing the surface to loosen it, and, after
spreading the compost, brushing it over with a brush
harrow to break up the lumps. This will cost a little
more than the preceding method, but the grass-seed
will start sooner, make a larger and finer growth the
first season, and give greater satisfaction. This applies
to very much the same class of lands as the preceding.
In both cases, if the pasture or any part of it is cov-
ered with bushes, they should of course be cut or
grubbed up ; if it is wet or covered with stagnant
waters, they should of course be drained off, so as at
least to leave a dry and healthy surface. It is unneces-
sary to say that the top-dressing should be free from
weed-seed, and be in a finely divided state. This method
of improvement is perfectly practicable on thousands of
acres which are now in a state both discreditable and
unprofitable to their owners.

Fifth, To pasture sheep, turning in as many as the
pasture will carry, — stocking, in other words, pretty

IRRIGATING GRASS LANDS. 383

closely, for a few years. The first objection that many
farmers raise to this method is, that the cost of fences
is great, and that it is a branch of husbandry with which
they are not acquainted. This may be so, but the testi-
mony of those who have tried this method is uniformly
in its favor. I have had some experience and consid-
erable observation in sheep husbandry, and my atten-
tion has been called to the changes wrought by sheep
upon rough pastures covered with bushes and briers
in part : and it appears to be a practicable method of
improvement, while the raising of sheep and lambs for
the shambles is destined to be a profitable branch of
farming.

Another practicable means of improving our grass
lands is by irrigation. Every casual observer, even, is
familiar with the fact that lands are fertilized by irriga-
tion, and especially that the grass by running streams
shoots earlier in spring, and makes a far more thrifty
growth, than lands on the same kind of soil which have
not the advantage of running water. The introduction
of the hydraulic ram among the implements of the farm
offers facilities for irrigating grass lands not hitherto
known; and it will unquestionably become, hereafter, an
important means of guarding against our severe summer
droughts, and of increasing vastly the production of
our lands.

It would be impossible to state with any detail the
different methods adopted to effect the objects of irri-
gation, since it would require a distinct treatise upon
the subject ; and it is sufficient to allude to the simplest
mode employed with success, and the advantages
offered.

Superficial irrigation, which is, perhaps, the oldest
and the most common form in which water is artifi-
cially applied for the purpose of increasing the growth

381 EFFECT OF IRRIGATION.

of grass, was undoubtedly suggested by observing the
wonderful effects arising from the overflow of rivers.
Remarkable examples of this are familiar to many, as
the annual or periodical overflowing of the Nile, where
the water, without being left to stagnate upon the sur-
face, is moving gently over it, depositing whatever allu-
vial matter it may hold in suspension. The extraordi-
nary richness of the valley of the Mississippi, and on a
smaller scale of the valleys of the Connecticut and other
rivers, is mainly due, also, to this kind of irrigation ; and
this is imitated in our attempts to conduct water over
grass land by a system of shallow, open drains, which
take the water from its natural channel, keeping a con-
stant flow, without allowing it to accumulate in any part.

The process of surface irrigation is not so simple as
many would suppose. It requires considerable skill and
practice, and many failures have followed experiments
of this kind, made without due care and attention. Sir
John Sinclair, however, in speaking of this operation,
calls it one of the " easiest, cheapest, and most certain
modes of improving poor land, in particular if it is of a
dry and gravelly nature. Land, when once improved
by irrigation, is put into a state of perpetual fertility,
without any occasion for manure, or trouble of weeding,
or any other material expense ; it becomes so produc-
tive as to yield the largest bulk of hay, besides abun-
dance of the very best support for ewes and lambs in the
spring, and for cows and other cattle in the autumn of
every year. In favorable situations, it produces very
early grass in the spring, when it is doubly valuable ;
and not only is the land thus rendered fertile without any
occasion for manure, but it produces food for animals
which is converted into manure to be used on other
lands, thus augmenting that great source of fertility."

The effect and value of irrigation do not depend

IMPORTANCE OF DRAINAGE. 385

altogether upon the artificial supply of moisture which
it furnishes to the plant. " The mechanical action of
the irrigatory current of water, in exercising the plants,
strengthening their organisms, keeping their stems and
root crowns clear of obstruction, promoting the equa-
ble circulation of water and oxygen around them, and
causing an equable distribution of the soluble materials
of their food, probably plays a considerable part in irri-
gatory fertilization. The differences of effect, from the
mere circumstance of flowing or stagnation of the water,
are prodigious ; for, while flowing water coaxes up the
finest indigenous grasses of the climate, and renders
them sweet, and wholesome, and nutritious, and luxu-
riant, stagnant water starves, deteriorates, or kills, all
the good grasses."

The effect which surface irrigation produces on the
nutritive qualities of the grasses may be seen by
reference to the tables of analyses found in a pre-
ceding chapter.

But, if one thing more than another may be said to
lie at the foundation of all real improvement of grass
lands, or lands under a course of rotation, it is a proper
system of drainage. Especially is this important for
low, wet lands, since it not only frees them from super-
fluous water, thus making them more susceptible of
tillage in early spring, but actually increases their tem-
perature several degrees, — in some cases as much as
from eight to ten, and rarely less than from two to four,
— and admits the air to circulate more freely around the
roots of the plants. The aquatic grasses require large
and constant supplies of moisture, and when the soil is
changed by drainage the more valuable species of grass
may be introduced and cultivated in it.

With regard to the management of salt marshes,
though they cannot be under-drained, there are few
33

386 DITCHING SALT MARSHES.

which cannot be ditched, and greatly improved, by the
introduction of a better quality of grasses than those
usually found there. The following statement of one
of the most intelligent practical farmers of the country
will show what may be done in this direction :

The marsh was one which never had been ditched.
"I purchased it," says he, "in 1840, which year it pro*
duced rather less than half a ton per acre of poor,
short, wiry hay, worth but little more than the cost of
cutting and curing. In the autumn of that year, I hired
faithful laborers, well skilled in the business, to cut
ditches over the whole lot, two rods apart, eight inches
wide and three feet deep ; the sods taken out were laid
in piles, to prevent the tide from washing them away.
The two following winters, they were taken upon a
sled to the cattle-yard, where they remained until the
roots of grass contained in them were decayed, so as
to break in pieces readily. For manure, and as an
absorbent, they are as valuable as the best of meadow
muck or peat. I paid for ditching the entire lot ninety
dollars ; more than one hundred cords of sods were
dug out and carted away, which I consider worth as
much to me as the sum paid for ditching. They were
placed in the barn-yard, in a compact form, to insure
a proper degree of moisture and cause a speedy
decomposition, and afterwards mixed with animal
manures.

" Three years after ditching, the produce was double,
— full one ton per acre was cut, of an improved qual-
ity,— since which it has annually increased. This year
the produce, as estimated by good judges, was two tons
per acre, including about five tons of second crop, cut
from the best part of the marsh. As an evidence of
the quantity cut this year, I would state that the prod-
uce has been sold for three hundred dollars in cash,

WELL BEGUN, HALF WELL DONE. 387

after the owner had used nearly one ton for feed for
his cows, the purchaser agreeing to take it at the barn
where it is now stored.

"I consider salt hay, when cut from marshes that
have been ditched, where the grass is thick and the yield
large, to be worth as much as the average of upland
hay ; that cows thrive as well, and give as much milk,
as when fed with Timothy grass and clover hay. It is
my belief that all marshes can be made more produc-
tive by thorough draining, at a very small expense. I
intend, next autumn, to cut ditches upon my own
marsh between those heretofore made. My opinion
is unchanged, that the sods are worth as much as the
expense of ditching, when within one mile of the farm
where they are to be used."

This subject ought to receive the careful attention
of the enterprising farmer. Even a farmer of very
limited means may do something each year towards
improving his pasture lands. He may lessen the area
of the bushes; he may plough up a small piece, at least,
and seed down at once with grass-seed and winter rye,
either in the spring or in the fall, and in either case his
stock will fare enough better to pay for it ; and the
next year he may take another piece in the same pas-
ture, till the whole is finished, when it will carry more
stock, and more stock will give him more manure, and
more manure will increase the fertility of other lands,
and increased fertility will add to his means of further
improvement. The difficulty with most small farmers
is to begin. Well begun is half well done ; for, the
moment any real improvement is begun in earnest,
the interest is excited, the mental activity is in-
creased, the desire for improvement partakes the
nature of a passion ; and hence, though the begin-

388 THE CONCLUSION.

ning may be small, the ending may be the renovation
of the owner as well as the land.

CONCLUSION.

In conclusion, I have another suggestion to make,
as to the propriety of encouraging the collection of
grasses for exhibition at the anniversary festivals of
our agricultural societies. It would be an easy thing,
I think, to engage many in this fascinating pursuit.
Some, undoubtedly, would be interested by the simple
suggestion, but the offer of small premiums for the
largest and best-arranged collection would induce
others to attempt it who now want something to stim-
ulate them to the work. The premium, however small,
might aiford the necessary stimulus ; and, if an interest
were once excited, the subject would be still further
pursued, till many others were interested, while the
collections, if properly named, would do much to dis-
seminate a higher knowledge of the exhaustless riches
of this class of plants.

" The royal rose, the tulip's glow,

The jasmine's gold, are fair to see ;
But while the graceful grasses grow,
0, gather them for me !

*' The pansy's gold and purple wing,

The snow-drop's smile, may light the lea ;
But while the fragrant grasses spring,
My wreath of them shall be ! "

INDEX OF SYSTEMATIC NAMES.

Page

AGROSTIS stolonifera, 17, 43

" ptrennans, 39

" vulgaris, 12, 35, 40

" alba, 42

" canina, 39, 42

" scabra, 39

" dispar, 44

" elata, 38

Anthoxanthum odoratum, 132, 222

Aira flexuosa, 120

" caepitosa, 121,206

" aquatica, 123

" atropurpurea, 123

Alopecurus pratensis, 30, 222

" agrestis, 31

" geuiculatus, 33, 207

" aristulatus, 33

Ammophila arundinacea, 49, 207

Audropogon furcatus, 148

" scoparius, 149

" argenteus, 149

« Virginicus, 149

Avena pratensis, 125, 206

" flavescens, 126,222

" striata, 126

" praecox, 127

u saliva, 127, 171

Aristida dichotoma, 59

" gracilis, 59

" ramosissima, 59

u tuberculosa, 60

" stricta, 59

" purpurascens, 59

" oligantha, 60

Arrhenatherum avenaceum, .... 127, 222

Arundinaria macrosperma, 110

Bouteloua oligostachya, .... 62, 249, 258

" hirsuta, 62

" curtipendula, 62

Brachyelytrum aristatum, 48

Briza media, 96, 222

" maxima, 96

Brizopyrum spicatum, 80

Bromus secalinus, 102, 103, 105

u racemosus, 102, 106

" mollis, 102, 197, 222

" kalmii, 107

" sterilis, 108

" ciliatus 107

'* pratensis, 108

Calamagrostis Canadensis, 48

coarctata, 48

inexpansa, 49

33*

Calamagrostis Pickeringii, ...... 49

" brevipilis, 49

« longifolia, 49

" arenaria, 49

Cenchrus tribuloides, 147

Cinna arundinacea, 45

tk pendula, 46

Ctenium Americanum, 61

Cynosurus cristatus, 137, 222

I Cynodon dactylon, 63,254

I Cyperaceae, 200

I Dactyloctenium Egyptiacum, 63

Dactylis glomerata, . . .12, 43, 66, 111, 206

i Danthonia spicata, 123

Dionea muscipula, 27

Diarrhena Americana, 66

j Dupontia cooleyi, 66

! Eatonia Pennsylvanica, 70

Eleusine Indica, 64

Elymus, arenarius, 119

" Virginicus, 118

Canadensis, 119

" striatua, 119

44 mollis, 119

Hystrix, 120

i Eragrostis reptans, 92

poieoides, . 93

" megastachya, 93

« pilosa, 93

capillaris, 94

u pectinacea, 94

«' Frankii, 94

" tenuis, 94

Erianthus alopecuroides, 148

" brevibarbis, 148

Festuca tenella, 96

" ovina, 97, 206

" pratensis, 99

" elatior, 100, 206

" duriuscula, 97,206,222

" rubra, 97

" loliacea, 101

" nutans, 101

Glyceria Canadensis, 71

" obtusa, 71

distans, 79

elongata, 73

nervata, 73

pallida, 74

acutiflora, 77

aquatica, 75, 207

fluitans, 75, 207

maritima, 77, 199, 207

(389)

390

INDEX OF SYSTEMATIC NAMES.

Page

Gymnopogon brevifoliua, 63

" racemosus, 62

Hedysarum onobrychis, 194

Hierochloa bor calls, 131

" alpina, 132

Holcus lanatus, 129, 222

u mollis, 131

Hordeum jubatum, 117

" distichum, 118, 164

" vulgare, 118, 163, 164

" pusillum, 118

Juncaceae, 198

Juncus bulbosus, 77, 198, 207

Koeleria cristata, 70

" truncata, 70

Leersia oryzoides, 26, 207

" Virginica, 26

" lenticularis, 27

Leptochloa mucronata, 64

" fascicularis 64

Lepturus paniculatus, 110

Lolium pdrenne, 110, 222

" Italicum, 112

" temuleutum, 112, 115

" multiflorum, 115

Medicago saliva, 189, 223

Melica mutica, 71

Milium effusum, 137

Muhlenbergia diffusa, 47

glomerata, 46

Mexicana, 46

" sylvatica, 47

" sobolifera, 46

" Willdenovii, 47

capillaris, 47

Oryzopsis melanocarpa, 55

" asperifolia, 56

" Canadensis, 56

Oriza sativa, 27, 156

Panicum filiforme, 140

" glabrum, 140

" sanguinale, 140

" agrostoideg, 141

" proliferum, 141

" capillare, 141

" anceps, 140

" amarum, 142

" autumnale, 141

" pauciflorum, 143

" dichotoraum, 144

" depauperatum, ...'.... 144

" verrucosurn, 144

" virgatum, 141

" latifolium, 142

" clandestinum, 142

" xanthophysum, 142

" crus-galli, 144

" germanicura, 145

" viscidum, 142

" miliaceum, 142

Paspaluua fluitans 139

" digitaria, 140

" Iseve, 139

" distichum, 139

" setaceum, 139

Phalaris arundinacea, . . . 105,134,206

" Canariensis, 137

Phleum pratenae, 12, 17, 34, 222

Page

Phleum alpinum, 36

Phragmites couununis, . . . 109, 207, 258

Poa serotina, 73, 81

" pratensis, ... 67, 80, 85, 88, 222, 258

" compressa, 91

" annua, 13, 14, 80, 222

" trivial, 85,222

" netnoralis, 84

" laxa, 80

" brevifolia 81

" flexuosa, 81

" alsodes, 81

" debilis, 81

" sylvestris, 81

Polypogon monspeliensis, 45

Saccharum ofticinarum, 152

S^CHle cereale, 118, 168

betaria verticillata, 146

" glauca, 146

" viridis, 146

" Italica, 146

Sorghum eaccharatum, 150

" nigrum, 150

" nutans, 149

" vulgare, 150,254

Spartina cynosuroides, 60

" polystachya, 60, 207

" glabra, 61

" aterniflora, 61

" juncea, 61, 207

" stricta, 61, 207

Sporobolus serotinus, 38

" junceus, 37

heterolepis, 37

cryptandrus, 38

compressus, 38

Stipa avenacea, 58

Stipa pennata, 57

" Richardsonii, 57

" spartea, 58

Tricuspia purpurea, 65

" sesleroides, 65

" cornuta, . 65

Trifolium pratense, 185, 223

" repens, 188, 223

" medium, 189, 223

" hybridum, 189

Triglochin pallustre, 197

" inaritiniuin, 197

" elatum, 197

Trisetum molle, 124

" pallustre, 125

" pubescens, 125, 222

Triticum repens, 115, 116

" caninum, .117

" vulgare, 117,158

" compositum, 117

Tripsacum dactyloides, 147

Uniola paniculata, 108

" latifolia, 109

" gracilis, 109

Vilfa aspera, 37

" vaginaeflora, 37

Xyris bulbosa, 199

i " caroliniana, 199

I Zea mays, 354, 174

Zizauia aquatica, 28, 207

i " miliacea, 29

GENERAL INDEX.

Aftermath, growth and use of the, 31, 36, 87, 91, 351, 353, 354

Agricultural Museum, collections for the, 10

Agricultural Societies should offer prizes for collections, 388

Albuminous Principles, 222, 224, 226, 228, 234

Alfalfa, culture of, 189, 190, 192

Allen's Mower, illustration of, 314

Alpine Brown Bent, natural history of, 39

Alpine Reed Bent, description, 49

Alsyke Clover, characteristics of, 189

Ammonia, importance of, 371, 372, 374

Analysis of the Grasses, 23, 218, 224, 226, 228, 231

" Weeds, 234

Annual Spear Grass 13, 14, 80

Annual Beard Grass, description, 45

Arrow Grasses, list of the, 197

Ash of the Grasses, analysis of, 231, 233

Ashes, use of as manure, 367,369

Atmosphere, elements of the, 205, 210

Awned Brachyelytrum, description of, 48

Awnless Muhlenbergia, natural history of, 46

Barley, composition of, 163,167,168

" description and culture of, 163, 165, 167

" climatic range of, 261, 263

Barley Grass, description of, 118

Barn Grass, description of, 144

Beach Grass, natural history of, 49

" " culture of, 50, 52, 55, 290

Beard Grasses, natural history of the, 149

Bearded Darnel, seeds of poisonous, 115

Bearded Wheat Grass, description, 117

Benefit of Mr. Dobbs, 323

Bengal Grass, description of, 146

Bermuda Grass, natural history of, 63, 254, 258

Black Grass, description and value of, 198

Black Mountain Rice, natural history of, 55

Black Oat Grass, description of, 58

Blossoming, period of, 278, 290

Blue Grass, natural history of, 91

Blue Joint Grass, description of, 48

Bones, value of as manure, 374, 375

Burden's Grass, . 40

Bottle Brush Grass, description, 120

Bottle Grass, natural history of, 146

Branching Spear Grass, 94

Bristly Fuxtail, description of, 146

Bristly Muskit, natural history of, 62

Broom Corn, description of, 150

(391)

392 GENERAL INDEX.

Brown Bent, natural history of, 39

Buffalo Grass on the prairies, 249, 252, 258

Bur Grass, description of, 147

California, grasses of, 196, 251, 255

Canadian Lyme Grass, description of, 119

" Rice, natural history of, 56

Cane, natural history of the, 110

Catch-Fly Grass, description of, 27

Cerealia, description of the, 155, 158, 163, 168, 171

" importance of the, 155

" climatic range of the, 259, 261, 263

Charcoal, use of as a manure, 373

Cheap Implements, economy of, 310

Chess, natural history of, 102

" cultivation as Willard's Bromus, 104,105,106

Chinese Sugar-Cane, natural history of, 150, 151, 152, 338

Circular Letter on the Grasses, 243-245

Climate, effect of on vegetation, 184, 239, 241, 255, 257, 260, 262

" range of for grasses, 246, 254, 255, 260

" " " " grains, 259, 261, 262

Close-flowered Small Reed, description of, 49

Clover, comparative value of, 185, 226, 228, 230, 335

" mode of curing, 335, 337

" effect of on the soil, 210,285

" Seed, time of sowing, 187, 296, 297

Clustered Spear Grass, description, 79

Clustering Muhlenbergia, natural history of, 46

" Slender Grass, description, 64

Common Canary Grass, culture of, 135

" Manna Grass, description of, 75

" Millet, 142, 143

" Reed Grass, natural history of, 109, 207, 258

" Spear Grass, 87, 89, 91

Composition of the Grasses, 224, 227, 229

Compost, modes of forming, 378,379,382

" value of greater than its separate parts, 380

Corn Fodder, curing of, 338, 339

Couch Grass, natural history of, 115, 116

Cows, experiments in feeding, 105, 106

Cow Grass, description of, 189

Creeping Meadow Grass, description of, 92

" Soft Grass, natural history of, 130,131

Crested Dog's-tail, description of, 137, 138, 224, 227

Crop Grass, description of, * . . . 64

Crowded Calamagrostis, description of, 48

Cut Grass, natural history of, 26

Cutting Grass in the blossom, 136, 299, 301, 303, 307

" " modes of, 307,308,310,313,320

Darnel, or Perennial Rye Grass, 110, 111

Division Fences on the Farm, 316, 318

Downy Oat Grass, 125

" Triple Awn, description of, 59

" Persoon, natural history of, 124

Drainage, importance of, 385

Drought, effect of on vegetation, 294, 296

Dupontia Grass, description of, 66

Early Wild Oat Grass, description of, 127

GENERAL INDEX. 393

Egyptian Grass, description of, , . 63

Elements of respiration, 223

English Bent, natural history of, 42

Essential parts of the plant, 12, 16

Evaporation from the soil, 240, 241, 381

Fall Feeding, practice of, 351, 353, 354

" Seeding, 294, 296, 298

False Redtop, natural history of, 81

" Rice, description of, .' 26

Feather Grass, natural history of, 57

Fertilization, prufess of, 15

Field Barley Grass, 118

Finetop, 40

Finger. Grass, description of, 140

Finger-shaped Paspalum, where found, 140

Finger-spiked Wood Grass, description of, 148

Fiorin, natural history of, 43

Flesh-forming elements, 136, 220, 221, 225, 228, 230

Floating Meadow Grass, description of, 75

" Foxtail, natural history of, 33

" Paspalum, where found, 139

Flour of Wheat, composition of, 162, 163

Flowers of the Grasses, 12, 13, 14, 16, 22, 25

Fly-away Grass, description of, 39

Food of Animals, nutritive value of, 219, 221, 225, 235

Forest Trees, culture of, 360, 361

Fowl Meadow Grass, description of, 81

Fresh Water Cord Grass, where found, 60

Fringed Brome Grass, description of, 107

Gama Grass, description of, 147

Genus and Species, distinction between, 17

Goose Grass, description of, 77, 79

Grains, climatic range of, 259, 296

" and Grasses sown together, 294, 296

Gramineae, the order, 11, 16, 25

Gramma Grasses, history and distribution of, 62, 249, 254, 258

Grasses, adapted to green manuring, 209, 211, 213

" analysis of the, 23, 136, 218, 224, 226, 228, 331

" changes in the growth of, . .302,303,329

" classification of, -. . 11, 183, 205, 207, 216

" climatic range of, 246, 254, 255

" collection of, 10, 388

" cultivation of the, 183, 184, 186, 268

" description of the, 11, 26, 154

" effect of soil and seasons on, 239, 241, 247

« flowers of the, 12, 13, 14, 16, 22, 25

" green manuring, 56, 209, 211, 214

" growth of in sun and shade, 255, 256

" height of cutting, 326, 327

" importance of the, 9, 205

" list of the natural, 17, 18, 20, 22, 222

« mixtures of the, 268, 278

" nutritive value of the, 217

" of the Southern States, 253, 254, 255

" studying the, 16, 17, 22, 388

" the artificial, 183, 223

" the litter, 215

394 GENERAL INDEX.

Grasses, the rush-like, 197,198

" time of sowing the, 294,296,298

" " cutting the, , , , 299, 301, 306, 333

Grass Lands, drainage of, , 385, 386

treatment of, 351, 363, 375, 377, 383

" " top-dressing of, 328, 364, 365, 375, 381

" Seed, depth of covering, 271, 273

germination of, 265, 266, 270, 271

loss of from too deep covering, 271, 273

mode of buying, 270

selection of, 264, 265, 267

time of sowing, 294, 296, 298

weight of, 270, 271, 273

Green Manuring, importance of, 56, 209, 211, 214

« " modes of, 210, 211, 214

Green Meadow Grass, 87, 88

Growth, peculiarities of, 206, 239, 240, 329

Guano as a top-dressing, 356,378

Guinea Grass, description of, 150, 254, 258

Hair-panicled Meadow Grass, 94

Hair Grass, 39, 47

Hairy Muskit, description of, 62

" Slender Paspalum, 139

Hay, nutritive value of, 329

" curing of, 315, 329, 332, 334

" Caps, use of, 346, 347, 349

" " permanent, 349, 359

Hard Fescue Grass, description of, 97

Heat-forming elements, 223,319,321

Herd's Grass. See Timothy, Redtop.

Holy Grass, description of, 131

Horned Sand Grass, description of, 65

Horse-Fork 345, 346

Horse-rake, use of the, 341,342 344,346

Humidity, effect of, 242, 255, 257

Hungarian Grass, description of, 145

Imitation of nature, 269, 293

Indian Corn, climatic range of, 259, 261

composition of, 177

culture of, 178, 180, 181, 259, 338,' 339

importance of, 175

natural history of, 154, 174, 175, 176

stocking and curing of, 339, 349

varieties of, 178

" Grass, description of, 149

•« Millet, natural history of, 150

" Rice, description of, 27, 28

Irrigation, effect of, 383, 385

« process of, 384

Italian Rye Grass, description of, 112

" " " comparative value of, 113

Japan Clover 196

Joint Grass, description of, 139

June Grass, natural history of, 87, 88

" " qualities of, 89, 90, 91

Jungle Grasses, list of, 206

Kentucky Blue Grass, description of, 87, 88

" " ' " qualities of, 89, 91

GENERAL INDEX. 395

Large-pa nicled Vilfa, description of, 38

Late Drop Seed, natural history of, 38

Lawn Grasses, mixture of, 282, 283, 284

Liine in the Grasses, 232

" application of, 234, 365, 367

Liquid Manures, value of, , 380

Long-awned Poverty Grass, natural history of, 60

Long-panicled Manna Grass, description of, 73

Lucerne, culture of, 189, 190, 192

" description of,

Lyme Grass, natural history of, 118

Machine and hand labor, 310, 312, 313, 315

Many-flowered Darnel, description of, 115

Manny's Mower, illustrated, 317

Manures for Grass Lands, 359, 362, 365, 367, 374

Marsh Oat Grass, description of, 125

Meadow Broine Grass, description of, 108

Fescue " " " 99

Foxtail " " " 30

" " value of, for pastures, 31

Oat Grass, description of, 125

Soft " « " 129, 130

Spear Grass, " " 72, 73

or Swale Hay, 199, 200

Melic Grass, description of, 71

Millet, description and culture of, 142, 143

Millet Grass, natural history of, 137

Mixtures of Grass Seed, 263, 266, 273, 277, 278, 291, 293

" " soils, importance of, 263, 364

Moisture and Heat, effect of, 239, 241, 264

Mountain Cat's-tail, description of, 36

Mowing, height of, 326, 327, 328

Mowing-machines, use of, 308,310,312,313,315,318

" " management of, 320, 321

Muck-beds in low grounds, 204, 205

Muskit or Gramma Grasses, 62, 251, 258

Naked Beard Grass, description of, 62

Nimble Will, description of, 47

Nitrogen, importance of in food, 219, 235

Nitrogenous compounds, 136,219,220,235

Nodding Fescue Grass, description of, 101

Nutritive equivalents, tables of, 235, 236

Oats, natural hktory and culture of, 171

" quantity necessary to sow, 173

" varieties of, 171

Obtuse Spear Grass, description of, 71

Orchard Grass, natural history of, 12, 66, 68, 69

Over-curing of grasses injurious, 330

Over-seeding with few species, 273, 275, 276, 292

Pale Manna Grass, description of, . 74

Pasture Grasses, 277, 278, 280

Pastures, turf of old, 274, 278

" renovation of, 355, 357, 359, 362, 381, 383

" top-dressings for, 328, 362, 367, 375

Perennial Rye Grass, description of, . 110

Pennsylvanian Eatonia, description of, 70

396 GENERAL INDEX.

Phosphates taken from the soil, 231

Plants, number of in the turf, 274, 276, 278

Plaster of Paris, use of, 370, 372, 374

Porcupine Grass, natural history of, 58

Potato-tops, composition of, 377

Poverty Grass, description of, 59

Prairie Triple Awn, description of, 60

Prolific Rice, description of, 29

Pungent Meadow Grass, 93

Purple Alpine Hair Grass, 123

" Wood Grass, 149

" Wild Oat Grass 126

Quaking Grass, description of, 96

Rains, distribution of, ... - 242

Rattlesnake Grass, natural history of, 71

Reaper, history and use of the, 322,324,325

Redtop, description of, 40, 331

Red Clover, natural history of, 185, 186, 282

curing of, 335, 337

Reed Canary Grass, 105, 106, 133, 134, 136

" " nutritive value of, 136

Red Fescue Grass, natural history of, 97

Rhode Island Bent, description of, 40

Rice, history and culture of, 27, 156, 158

Richardson's Feather Grass, 57

Rough-leaved Vilfa, description of, 37

" Marsh Grass, natural history of, 61

" stalked Meadow Grass, description of, 85

Rush-like Grasses, list of, 239, 241, 260

" Salt Grass, description of, 61

Kye, description pf 168

Salt Marshes, ditching of, 386, 387

" Marsh Grass, natural history of, 61

" Reed " description of, 60

Sainfoin, history and culture of, 194, 195

Sand Grass, description of, 65

Scythe, use of the, 307, 320

Sea Spear Grass, description of, 77, 79

Seasons, influence of, 239, 241, 260

Sedges, description and list of, 199, 200, 203, 204

Seed, selection of, 179, 263

" quantity to be sown, 173, 278, 286

" vitality of, 263, 266

Seneca Grass, description of, 131

Shade, effects on the quality of grass, 239, 241, 264

Sheep's Fescue Grass, natural history of, 97

Sheep, effect of on the pasture, 382, 383

Short-leaved Beard Grass, 63

" " Spear " 81

" stalked Meadow Grass, 95

Silicates taken from the soil, 231, 232

Slender-tail Grass, natural history of, 110

Spike Grass, description of, 109

Meadow " " " 93

Three-awned Grass, description of, 59

Foxtail, natural history of, 31

Crab Grass, description of, 140

" Spiked Fescue, " " 101

GENERAL INDEX. 397

Slender Hairy Lyme Grass, natural history of, 119

Small Fescue, description of, 96

Smooth Marsh Grass, " " 61

" Erect Paspalum, description of, 139

" Crab Grass, natural history of, . 140

Snow, effect of on grasses, 257, 263

Soft Brome Grass, natural history of, 107

" Lyme " description of, 119

Soil, effect on the grasses, 12

Soils, mixture of, 263, 264

Sorgho Sucre, description and culture, 150, 152, 338

Southern Eragrostis, natural history of, 95

Specimens of Grasses, collection of, 10, 388

Spring Wheat, varieties of, 160, 162

Squirrel-tail Grass, description of, 117

Spike Grass, natural history of, 80, 108

Star Grasses, list of the, 199

Starch, transformation into woody fibre, 302, 329, 330

Striped Grass, 133, 134, 135, 136

Sterile Brome Grass, description of, 108

Strong-scented Vilfa, natural history of, 37

" " Meadow Grass, 93

Stocking of corn, practice of, 339, 340

Swale Grass, 199, 204

Sweet-scented Vernal Grass, 132, 133, 134

Swale Hay, value of, 199, 204, 233

Sylvan Muhlenbergia, history of, 47

" Spear Grass, description of, 81

Tall Fescue Grass, description of, 100

" Oat " natural history of, 127

" Redtop, description of, 65

« Thin Grass, " « 39

Technical terms, use of, 12, 14, 16, 17

Temperature of wheat districts, 241

Three-awned Grass, description of, 59

Tickle Grass, " " 39

Time of sowing grass-seed, 294, 296, 298

Timothy, description of, 12, 17, 34, 332

" sown with clover, 35

" time of cutting, 299, 301, 303, 305

Toothache Grass, natural history of, 61

Top-dressing of grass lands, 328, 362, 367, 375, 376

Treatment of grass lands, 351, 355, 362, 381, 385

Truncated Koeleria, natural history of, 70

Tufted Hair Grass, description of, 121

Twin Grass, natural history of, 66

Twitch " " " " 115, 116

Upright Sea Lyme Grass, description of, 119

Vanilla Grass, description of, 131

Vegetation, conditions of, 239, 240

Velvet Grass, natural history of, 129, 130

Vilfa, rough-leaved 37

" hidden-flowered, 37

Virginia Cut Grass, description of, 26, 27

Water Hair " " " 123

" Spear " natural history of, 75

34

398 GENERAL INDEX.

Wavy Meadow Grass, 80

Weak Meadow Grass, 81

Weeds, analysis of, 234

Wheat, natural history of, 117

culture of, 158, 160, 163, 281

composition of, 162

climatic range of, 261, 263

White Clover, description and culture of, 188

Grass, natural history of, 26

Top, " " " 42, 123

Mountain Rice, 56

Wi d Water Foxtail, 33

Chess, description of, 107

Oat Grass, natural history of, 123

Winter Wheat, effect of snow on, 263

Wire Grass, 91

Wild Rice, description of, 28

Witch Grass. See Twitch Grass 115

Woburn Experiments, account of the, 218

Wood Hair Grass, natural history of, 120

" Reed " description of, 45

" Meadow Grass, 84

" Spear " .81

Woolly Beard Grass, description of, 148

Yellow Oat " " " 126

Yellow-eyed Grasses, list of, 199

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