Meadows and pastures

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= JOSEPH HE. wNG
Staff Correspondent of The Breeder’s Gaz zette!

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

: PAGE
“WHERE THE AUTHOR LIVES AND THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN”’....... 2
See wan ey LE Sorel e euletatye Tobe CITE Pee te ia alk a septs cates e oh hs a che eb sc bee 24
EXFFECT OF TIME OF CUTTING ON TIMOTHY....... Ss ete Se eo a eae 27
LECDIDTTS TERN PAG Ss eS sind 00 Cope CIS) Pate eae ts aR ie ee ihe eS le ee ee 43
OECMWARD: GRASS. ‘CPactylis elomeratal), ¢, > .6is.c.0%-e 2 oslo wkncelc MAS ie tety Za 47
GROWTH MADE BY ORCHARD GRASS........... ESS Sre che ee ee eee 49
BROME GRASS (Bromus inermis)......... Wire a eee Peep i eee Fa
MMTADOW Mite SC UE » CHeStUICaClatlGr io cs cr". skis bare eae. Se . 54
Meemestare ts Lice (as: CIN CRE EA OWALIEN We ince. 2 area ee ed Sha Sb eects ge IP BT
TRABCAN JL YHGRASS (dohum=: perenne)... .2:). 2.38 oe oe ke BANE eer ett
TALL OATGRASS (Arrhenatherum avenaceum)................... Sic oe
JOHNSON GRASS (Sorehumhalapense). =: .:.2 co. fs eS oes ee do ced ee 63
Penney SVULGRAS Sa CE Od, eDEALCISIS)) ose «cc Sees occ eee bas ody
Pe CTN PAS VIO NAN: EAS DURES osc eG fa cick ese oe'h | So eee Stee. str:
Se PAZONG. Dhit DIte | VIRGUNTA MOUNTAINS 032 onc. os cls bocciee be Eee 83
BSSPORTSOTENRS: ON. (VIRGINIA, BUUEGRASS 3. oo. Car bh 2285 Soe. 93
MPEP ENG CATT, ON: GRASS IN CM RANCE 5 3 laio-. ovale eaves ee ee 95
eeatA BLUEGRASS (Od, (COMPpPPessa, i) 2. [occ d's laa he dae alons Jee ne. 101
BERMUDA GRASS (Cynadon dactylon)........... Bret foarte baie tenon ic nc eee 113
MET ATVs NT ODA tat AS Ss EP LANT sl afctehere eam exe obs cis mcee Sie ne ce eee 119
CARPET GRASS (Paspalum compressum)......... Ras ua eer eee ec ee ae ee 123
MPAs Bri UeGRASS= Pos. arachnitera). .t/0 dana ke Soe oe eS 125
OPAC GRASS CA SLOpY rut -KeEPCnS) <0. ..5.<.. Seine hc dtc eh ee 127
MemoiEwis,.(Muhlenbergia diffusa) 2... s2:c.3c hoo. ele oe Ue se wees 131
Pera TOOTS Wits NODULES « 5.0% Satay dytiiidinst. Uitele fo. 1.2 de eee, 136
SERED GOVE, EN = EN HSS BIE 4 5 6.e so cave cus siete terc:s.clcie crores whale Sheers en es |
GOMATON RED. CLOVER. CTrifoltum. pratense)... . 238. cc ch cc eta s colle
DODDER ON RED CLOVER.......... Sor as CSI ROR a as Coco ewes ot 163
SMA OLOVER —CuLellobus alba) hiss aos. mtee 6 oes. Ok RS o ilme eect 179
RED CLOVER ROOTS WITH TUBERCLES.......... Site te ee stage Oo tee ee ee 179
Peak WeCre: CVICIA SVILIOSA) = 2548 ates. 6 ats eS eee 184
TET BAL TREE Wo oR Oe Lh AG 2, 1s A, ce 2 a One mes ee ee Se 186
@GOWPREA PUANTD -5a0s)0 0.04. pole aaateerore BR oyab anoles. g Neb sheh o catacadlt ven ae eae 186
SAI ALP AG SS SERED POR AL ST TG ADUT «52. Sota espace ne soils c- eteletecs Systane aia ete we ie eae 193
OMG EE ANE. Werely LONG EROOLGs ye ete Ors siete sccSes oie ote tls SD 1)5
REN ITOR MC DHPNG (COWPEN TAY ved ek ones cel mek 197
Go WwiPWAS LEA COCKEDr OVER: ECACK Wii act secrets oo be -eie te os ee A ---198
Mie nAceLL AV EUACK sRePADY: DO. MONEE oie ci wk oceclecs ko S2-. acest. 199
PoP WAS LN SA SOL DEDERIN. ¢ HEEOTD 0. 20..'o« site svateine edocs alee fa se eR eee 201
Rare ESTPACN, MIS TTA TS SAND AAMT Goch cat ccaAlo chou lamebetans Sake shoe's 4c epi s 203

CR NGES TEATS RT TAU Tue e saettee Sid cat eualcereic ute Shere a ane! eroleas, casuatis ces, 2 RUM cE seo
mary Rie SCD VEREE ANGE ADEE Fe fea vos a tas as tie BEER VOR Core ice pe sd CCE LE 207
SOYBEANS IN A TENNESSEE FIELD.......... ie ee Sa tanieuoueveres stece vate 209
ROSATI Re OM PAIN ACD AEE AS wi TANI cathare or cleasuerets teoaaa es Sot cog wen ee aL 213
MATURE DODDER ON ALFALFA............ ete Ravay bi atte a [ota tvevctd Cat) sera 213
BLUEJOINT GRASS (Deyenxia CanadensiS)...................0000. 249
Howie MEADOW GRASS: (Poa. Serotina))ic00-i:.8 2.0 ow ed aedueeeccmen 251
BORDER LEICESTER SHEEP ON SCOTCH PASTURE.................--. 255
GRASS AND SHEEP IN ENGLAND........... See RS 6 ie SO se Ae aes See astembecreyo
Saetor ti AS We mised: PASTOR... Mos sts 6 ee hide bo ees ee 269
BLUEGRASS CUT FROM UNMANURED LAND.............-. restate eae 276
BLUEGRASS FROM MANURED LAND......... amare Busia cee Wea oman eh aes Bae 277
AMES IN: BINGLISH PTURDEMS......-.0.¢ 0.05 STON 5 eet ade on Ge Cee cept: 5
Map oF ENGLISH PASTURE WORK........ ere erate eas ast Oey ras rao 4
SKETCH SHOWING GAINS ON GRASS........ An en eee vee gre epie ls 2 ase O
CRIMSON CLOVER IN GUERNSEY...... RE EE ae eae er ae Tokio T
PARA GRASS IN F'LORIDA...... Pee a tel i Acs titel cate eek Ch RS eee REE Se Seu OO:
JAPANESE CANE IN F'LORIDA.......... EMMI Ns ig VS le ai awe eos to Sr ee a 362

MEnVviEn OSHANS OTN \SOUTELERNG HITED So cvebesic nies ov eiete o dlnkelene ne :
AISA AG EPA SES MIDIS) at. ete) c ac ocerety & ae Se hee etna s Guanes Natats ocean en ane

Next in importance to the divine profusion of water, light and
air, those three physical facts which render existence possible, may
be reckoned the universal beneficence of grass. Lying in the sun-
shine among the buttercups and dandelions of May, scarcely higher
in intelligence than those minute tenants of that mimic wilder-
ness, our earliest recollections are of grass; and when the fitful
fever is ended, and the foolish wrangle of the market and the
forum is closed, grass heals over the scar which our descent into
the bosom of the earth has made, and the carpet of the infant be-
comes the blanket of the dead.

Grass is the forgiveness of Nature—her constant benediction.
Fields trampled with battle, saturated with blood, torn with the
ruts of cannon, grow green again with grass, and carnage is for-
gotten. Streets abandoned by traffic become grass-grown, like
rural lanes, and are obliterated. Forests decay, harvests perish,
flowers vanish, but grass is immortal. Beleaguered by the sullen
hosts of winter it withdraws into the impregnable fortress of its
subterranean vitality and emerges upon the solicitation of spring.
Sown by the winds, by wandering birds, propagated by the subtle
horticulture of the elements which are its ministers and servants,
it softens the rude outlines of the world. It invades the solitude
of deserts, climbs the inaccessible slopes and pinnacles of moun-
tains, and modifies the history, character and destiny of nations.
Unobtrusive and patient, it has immortal vigor and aggression.
Banished from the thoroughfares and fields, it bides its time to
return, and when vigilance is relaxed or the dynasty has perished
it silently resumes the throne from which it has been expelled
but which it never abdicates. It bears no blazonry of bloom to
charm the senses with fragrance or splendor, but its homely hue
is more enchanting than the lily or the rose. It yields no fruit
in earth or air, yet should its harvest fail for a single year famine
would depopulate the world.—John James Ingalls.

Consider what we owe to the meadow grass, to the covering of
the dark ground by that glorious enamel, by the companies of
those soft, countless, and peaceful spears of the field. Follow but
a little time the thought of all that we ought to recognize in those
words. All spring and summer is in them—the walks by silent
scented paths, the rest in noonday heat, the joy of the herds and
flocks, the power of all shepherd life and meditation; the life of
the sunlight upon the world, falling in emerald streaks and soft
blue shadows, when else it would have struck on the dark mould
or scorching dust; pastures beside the pacing brooks, soft banks
and knolls of lowly hills, thymy slopes of dawn overlooked by the
blue line of lifted sea; crisp lawns all dim with early dew, or
smoothin evening warmth of barred sunshine, dented by happy feet,
softening in their fall the sound of loving voices.—John Ruskin.

PREFAGE.

The genesis of this book was a ride across England
one day in May, 1907. The earth was green and beauti-
ful, the pastures lush, the meadows giving brave promise.
Many cows grazed the pastures, fleecy sheep climbed the
hills of Derbyshire, great mares watched their lubberly
colts race across the sward and all was one harmonious
scene of peace, restfulness and security. There was some-
thing especially alluring in an agriculture based essentially
on permanent things like meadows and pastures that do
not let fields erode, that maintain and build fertility, that
make possible the higher types of agriculture based on
keeping good animals, on making milk for babes, wool for
soft garments or fine young horses for the use of man.

All along the way I observed there was much doing
in the meadows. Great hopper-shaped machines on two
wheels were going to and fro over the grass distributing
something, I knew not what. Evidently the grasses were
being fed; evidently the wonderful carpet of green did
not “just happen’—it was part of a definite plan. It was
fed, with what?

I learned a great deal during that summer in Europe
of the habits of men in feeding grasses in that land, in
making and maintaining meadows and pastures. All my
life I had loved grasses and clovers, the meadowland and
the pasture, as had my fathers and grandfathers before
me, and this work appealed to me. I resolved to help on
the same sort of work in America. My book “Alfalfa in

(7)

8 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

America” was the first step, and was a labor of love.
With that book out of the way, I took up this one and
have labored on it intermittently ever since. I am con-
scious of its imperfections and limitations, and can only
plead that in America the work of learning what can be
done with meadows and pastures is so new that I can not
find data.

Let me here give thanks to the men who have helped
me. On my table has lain constantly Beal’s “Grasses of
North America.” “Spillman’s Farm Grasses of the United
States,” Thos. F. Hunt’s “The Forage and Fiber Crops
of America,’ and every known bulletin of the various
states of America and the Department of Agriculture. I
have also drawn considerably from E. B. Voorhees’ —
“Forage Crops.” In truth, it has not infrequently come
over me with wonder, “Why, here is better material than
you can present; Why not tell your readers to go directly
to Beal, Hunt, Spillman or Voorhees rather than to read
a book of your own?”

I do, indeed, earnestly advise each reader to buy all of
these books. They are all valuable, each one in its own
way. Nevertheless, I have been able here to add, I hope,
a little to the sum of knowledge of grasses and clovers,
their care and the feeding of meadow and pasture land,
so that maybe this book will find use on American farms.

INTRODUCTION.

I sit to write this book just as spring comes timidly
sweeping over the land. Wiaunter has been long and cold,
the naked cornfields are sodden, gullied with winter rains;
there is no hint of life thereon. Wherever the plow held
sway last summer there is rueful countenance today. I
look out across wide stretches of meadow and pasture
land. There already the ground is covered with green-
ness, the tiny grass blades are pushing up, the clovers are
coming, too, the soil is alive, the field is a living thing,
_robing itself with green. On the cornlands there has been
waste during winter. The rains have washed; the fer-
tility has leached away. Not so with the fields of grass
and clover; they have more than held their own; they are
richer, not poorer, for the lapse of time.

Pastures feed mankind; they are the bedrock of civ-
ilization. From my window I see cows tranquilly graz-
ing the short, tender grass under the lee of the hill—the
grass that the first sun has warmed and made sweet.
Those cows are the foster-mothers of the human race.
They are alchemists, transforming the green carpet of na-
ture into milk yellow with cream, food for mankind,
making sturdy limbs of childhood and brain, muscle and
endurance in man. Children love the wide pastures, the
sunny, grassy slopes. The largeness, freedom and sweet-
ness of the grassy outdoors build the child. The cow

comes homeward with swinging udder filled to nourish,
(9)

10 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

to build, to replenish the mother, the strong sons, the little
toddling children. Truly their flesh is grass.

In another pasture I see white-fleeced sheep; I hear
the tinkle of their bells. Eagerly they nip the tender
grass and the budding clovers. Their lambs race on the
hill-slopes; a grave-faced man with stooping shoulders
walks among them, giving each ewe and each lamb a
searching glance. Under one arm he carries a dangling
lamb, one of new-born twins, wandered from their
mother. Presently he unites the little family and with
satisfaction sees the mother ewe own her lamb, and with
true maternal instinct proceed to fill it with milk. Its little
tail wags a joyous story; the shepherd smiles and goes on
his way. The pastures clothe mankind.

The races of men who wear wool dominate the world.
The keeping of sheep has made characters so strong, so
brave, manly and true that they have changed the history
of the world. Moses keeping his father-in-law’s flock on
the desert ranges of Midian dreamed there dreams,
gained strength, faith and persistent courage that enabled
him to lead the children of Israel from bondage to the
Promised Land. Young David, watching sheep on the hills
of Judea, gained strength, courage and farsighted wisdom
that led him to be the deliverer of his people, their great-
est king and singer. There is something that comes from
living amid pastures that makes men sane, patient, endur-
ing, imbued with deep love for their land and their
country.

Carrying farther the thought of the influence of pas-
tures on civilization, I see grazing on the hillside a mare
and a foal. While the sheep clothes and helps feed man-

INTRODUCTION 11

kind the horse gives him his strength. By means of the
horse he subdues forests, emerges into new lands which
he makes into states, plows, plants and reaps fields of
maize or of wheat, drag harvests to the railways that
carry them to the hungry peoples of the world. The
horse creates highways and maintains them, creates com-
merce, creates and carries food, fuel, clothing—all the
things that go to make up the needs of man. While the
sheep comforts mankind and the cow nourishes, the horse
makes man what he is—strong, swift, bold, daring. And
all this comes from the pasture.

In the past we have not esteemed pastures as we should.
We have with our pastures an inheritance of neglect. In
the beginning when fields were carved with infinite toil
from forests, the maize was fenced, the wheat enclosed,
the animals were turned outside. That land which had
received no labor was made pasture. Since then we have
followed a like practice; all our labor, all the manure, all
the lime and drainage, go to the plow land, the pasture
receiving nothing. The richest, most level and _ best-
drained lands are plowed; what is too rough or too poor
or too wet is made into pasture. In the northern and
middle states grasses come of their own accord, so on
pastures none are sown. The owner knows little or noth-
ing as to the profit derived from this pasture. Very likely
he will tell you that it has no profit at all, only conven-
ience. Year by year the grasses grow of their own ac-
cord; they require no sowing, no expense save fencing.
No credit is given for gallons of milk produced from
this grass, for pounds of butter, for growth of young pigs,
colts, lambs and calves. The work horses run on the

i? MEADOWS AND PASTURES

pasture at night, but the ownen forgets to credit the pas-
ture for helping in their upkeep and conducing greatly to
their health. When he has his plow lands well under hand,
he turns longing eyes toward his pasture, and probably
sets the fence in so that he can plow a slice of it and add
it to the field. It is doubtful whether he has any acre of
plow land that is making him more clear profit than the
same width of pasture land, yet he knows it not. It has
never occurred to him to drain his pasture land, to feed
it, to lime it perhaps, and make it more profitable.

The purpose of this book is to bring this matter of
permanent grass and clovers, the meadows and pastures,
before farmers, helping them to see the profit that may
be had from them, helping them make two blades of
grass grow where only one grows now. It is high time.
The year of 1910 witnessed almost a famine in many
cities, with foods so high in price that men, women and
children have made great outcry, and with good reason.
The way to feed the people is not to plow more land,
but better to till what land is plowed. To feed the
people we must first broaden our permanent pastures, and
make them more productive. An acre of bluegrass has
produced 500 pounds of beef in Virginia. An Illinois
cornfield with a 40-bushel crop (above the average for
that state) would make fewer pounds of beef or pork.
The Virginia pasture is not eroding and is losing its
fertility at least much more slowly than the land planted
to corn, given cultivation and exposed for seven months
to leaching and washing of rains. I know grazing farms
in Virginia that have yielded $15 per acre in beef and
lambs and colt flesh. Laying down lands to pasture or

INTRODUCTION 13

meadow is not going backward in civilization or develop-
ment. The growth of our cities makes call for more
milk, cream, lambs, pigs, calves and colts. We can lay
down a fourth of our corn acres and with feeding and
good culture grow more on the remaining three acres
than we have been accustomed to grow on the four. By
the aid of the land laid down to pasture we can become
in a measure independent of distant sources of supply
for animals to feed. The pasture land will make our
ladsbetter linked to the soil. A: boy .is.. not. easily
fastened to a plowed field; his affections are not deeply
set on a corncrib or a grain bin. The pasture, with its
inhabitants, the frolicking lambs, the bright-eyed calves,
the sturdy colts and great, gentle mares—these touch
his heart and make him glad to succeed his father on
the old home farm.

Withal there is such deep ignorance of the art of
making, holding and feeding meadows and pastures in
America that I have thought it well worth while under-
taking these investigations and seeking to help what I
could. Before I began this task I addressed a letter
to each experiment station director in the United States
asking for help. It was amazing to see how many re-
plied in effect, ““We regret that we have made no in-
vestigations along the line of work about which you in-
quire, and have no record of ever having fertilized any
pasture or permanent grassland.” . Beside these letters,
I did receive many most helpful ones not only from
home, but some even more inspiring from abroad. In
the Old World one finds pastures most prized, best fed,
best cared for; there already men have begun to learn

14 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

the art and science of making two blades of grass grow
where but one grew before. I wish this book to be as
short, simple and concise as will go with accuracy. I
promise to leave out of it everything that my conscience
will permit me to leave out.

There are 3,500 species of grasses in the world and
6,500 species of legumes. All of these are interesting.
Life is so short that we shall here consider only those
that have proved their merit. The list is a surprisingly
short one both of clovers and grasses.

THE GRASSES (GRAMINEOE).

Probably the grasses are the most useful plants in the
world. It may be that more than half the individual plants
in the world are grasses. It is a great family of more
than 3,500 species, embracing species that are so tiny
that they hardly reach an inch in height, and the giant
bamboos of the tropics that sometimes grow to be 100
or more. Corn is a giant grass; and wheat, rye, oats,
barley, rice and sugar cane, all are grasses. Then there
are millets, sorghum, Kaffir-corn, broom corn—all
grasses. Some few plants we call grasses are not true
erasses ; the sedges are of a lower order of plants. Broom
sedge is not a grass.

One can know a grass usually by its round often hol-
low stem, its long, narrow leaf with usually parallel
veins and its manner of growth, not from buds at
the terminus of the part, but by leaf and stem being
pushed up from beneath. All grass stems are jointed;
the nodes are bulging and usually solid. The leaves clasp
the stems in enveloping sheaths.

Most grasses, especially the perennials, have creeping
underground stems or root-stocks. These make new stems
to spring up around the parent stem and thus perennial
erasses usually thicken themselves rapidly. Some an-
nual grasses do this and some do not; nearly all grasses
“stool” or increase by sending up many stems from one
root. Wheat may send up 40 or more stems from one

seed if the soil is rich; corn will sucker, sending up sev-
(15)

16 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

eral stalks, as will the sorghums, millets and all those
classes of large grasses. Some species send out long
trailing stems or runners lying flat on the earth and tak-
ing root at each joint. Some, like the quack grass (Agro-
pyrum repens), fill the soil with a mass of roots that will
each send up new stems and if dragged to a fresh spot
will there make a new center of growth. |

The number of species of grasses is enormous, yet we
have adopted into our system of agriculture but a few
sorts. In part that is due to the ease or difficulty of
seeding grasses. Timothy grass, for example, is so easily
sown and the seed so easily gathered, that it is soonest
set of any, and has become the standard hay grass of
northern climes. In some regions Kentucky bluegrass is
the almost universal pasture grass because it comes in of
itself; in other regions with different soil (poor and
lacking in lime) redtop has possession. Naturally the
farmer follows the line of least resistance, yet it is by no
means certain that he has adopted into his agriculture all
the best grasses that nature has provided.

On the mountains and hills of Utah, for instance, once
grew wild bunch grasses that would keep cattle fat all
winter, standing dry, yellow and cured on their stems.
We have not yet learned to use that bunch grass in cul-
tivation; maybe we shall never learn it. In Ohio the
wild grass of the open plain, blue joint (Calamagrostis
Canadensis), made far more hay to the acre than tim-
othy does, and I think the hay was fully as good. Some
day we shall do more towards using now neglected spe-
cies; their seeding habit is what is now in the way.

On the other hand, many grasses listed as useful are

HOW GRASSES FEED 17

not in use, and there must be good reason for this. Some
of the little used but recommended grasses are not easily
established. Sheep fescue, for example, I have always
found most difficult to establish in Ohio, though the few
plants that I have succeeded in getting have grown well.
So of a number of the other fescues; while they may be
useful grasses in their place, yet the part they play in
American agriculture is negligible, with the exception of
Meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis). While one may
doubt the wisdom of the individual farmer, here and there,
yet there is no denying that collectively, as a mass, they
have followed the lines of least resistance and, as a rule,
found the plants that will give them best results. There
are exceptions to this rule. For example, in most of the
states north of the Ohio River brome grass (Bromus
inermis) seems to me to be the best of all pasture grass-
es, yet because it does not come of itself it is as yet al-
most never seen. So, too, the reed canary grass seems
unusually prolific and productive, but because of difficulty
in seeding it is seldom used.

HOW GRASSES FEED.

Grasses have wonderful root development. Their fine,
fibrous roots penetrate deeply into the soil and occupy
each tiny crevice. I have seen barley roots penetrate 8’
into loose loamy soil in California before the tops had
reached 12” in height. These tiny rootlets have great
power to absorb; some of them have power even to dis-
solve. Grasses use a good deal of silica to stiffen their
stems. This silica is sometimes dissolved from grains of
quartz sand. Some silica-loving plants will even etch

18 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

glass that comes in contact with their roots, dissolving it
to obtain their building material. Grasses have great
power of absorbing whatever fertilizing materials there
may be in the soil. Their roots cluster thick wherever
there is food, finding any decaying material in the soil
and nesting there in multitudes. There seems indeed a
subtle intelligence in nature; it is almost as though the
grass roots were alive, for they seem to seek out and find
the desirable feeding places in the soil. The fact prob-
ably is that they penetrate nearly every crevice in the
soil, but unless they find nourishment they do not thicken
and increase. The way grass roots find their way through
the soil is interesting. The tip of a growing root has
a constant motion to each side, so that as it pushes for-
ward it feels its way, entering every open channel.

This explanation explains only in part, for the fact is
that the roots of a plant persist in keeping a more or
less direct course away from the stem, spreading in
every direction much as the branches do above ground.
Were there not some subtle intelligence in nature the
roots would double back on themselves and tangle inex-
tricably. They very fully occupy the soil and to far
greater depth than is often supposed, especially if the
subsoil happens to be permeable and fertile. This ex-
plains why underdrainage helps grasslands and why
grasses so thoroughly use up soil moisture during periods —
of drouth.

Plants absorb the moisture and available plant food of
the soil, having also the power to dissolve locked-up, min-
eral plant food. There are four elements that the plants
mainly need in soils, (the others usually being in plenti-

GRASSES AND CLOVERS TOGETHER 19

ful supply and so of lesser importance in considering the
fertility of a soil). These elements are phosphorus, po-
tassium, nitrogen and calcium. It is notable that soils
‘seem to select their plants, or vice versa. One finds in a
certain soil one type of grasses, in another soil a very dif-
ferent type. Where lime abounds, with phosphorus, po-
tassium and nitrogen, one sees the Kentucky bluegrass
occupying all the land, no other species being able to main-
tain a foothold. In a soil poorer in lime and phosphorus
Canada bluegrass will be found, and where lime is mark-
edly deficient with also a scarcity of other mineral ele-
ments (they usually go together) redtop predominates.

Clovers gather nitrogen from the air through the ac-
tion of bacteria that inhabit their roots. Grasses have
no such affinity for bacteria, and no means of gathering
nitrogen. Grasses feed largely on nitrogen and soon take
it out of the soil when kept closely cropped or mown off
for hay.

GRASSES AND CLOVERS SHOULD BE GROWN TOGETHER.

Because clovers have power to provide nitrogen they
and the grasses should always be grown together. In-
deed, this is nature’s way. There is commonly seen in
nature an intermixture of plants and none more perfect
or adapted to good ends than the mixture of grasses with
clovers. One often sees an old pasture become thin and
the grasses somewhat feeble, then white clover appears
and overruns it. The clover finds mineral elements suffi-
cient and the grasses weak and off their guard. After the
clover has grown well there for a time the soil is filled
with nitrogen once more and then the grasses spring up
with renewed vigor and the clover is subdued and nearly

20 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

suppressed. When the grasses have again exhausted part
of the available nitrogen and become less vigorous the
clover reappears, and so the endless round of nature goes
on. Timothy yields much more hay when red clover is
sown with it than when sown alone; Bermuda grass
thrives best when white or bur clover is grown with it,
for any clover will secure nitrogen from the air.

AN OLD SOD IS RICH.

“To break a pasture will make a man, to make a pas-
ture will break a man,” is an old English saying. It is
well known that sod ground is rich, especially rich in
nitrogen. Grasses will not yield their maximum till they
have accumulated a “sod.” What is a sod? It is a tough
fibrous mass of roots, stems and decaying leaves; half is
alive and half is dead. It is made up of all the plants
that grow on the pasture—grasses, clovers and weeds.
It may be as tough almost as a carpet, and can be cut and
rolled like a green rug. Sods contain much nitrogen.
How do they get it? It was not till t901 that we knew of
a group of beneficent bacteria that live on decaying veg-
etable matter in the soil, the “‘azotobacter.” This group
of bacteria revels in old pasture sods; the bacteria like a
soil rich in decaying vegetation,- with enough lime, with
air in plenty and moisture enough. It is through these
azotobacter that old sods, even when clovers have been
absent, are yet rich in nitrogen.

PRODUCTIVITY OF PASTURES.
Old sods often have double the carrying power of new-
ly-seeded grass land. The reasons for this may be va-
rious, yet one chief reason is in the presence in the old

SOD-BOUND; HOW GRASSES GROW 21

pasture of a sod, a dense mass of decaying stems, leaves
and rootlets, with their accompanying bacterial flora add-
ing nitrogen to the soil to promote life in the living stems.
The lesson is plain; do not overstock young grassland;
let it grow rank enough so that part of the grass may
fall to the ground and decay to start the development of
these life-giving bacteria. The work may also be greatly
expedited by scattering manure over the newly-made pas-
ture land.
DO PASTURES BECOME “SOD-BOUND”’ ?

A common belief among farmers is that pastures fail
to produce as well as they should sometimes after stand-
ing for a term of years because they have become “‘sod-
bound;”’ that is, too many plants are established to a
square foot. Probably this is seldom, if ever, true. The
pasture declines not because of over population but be-
cause of the using up of its available plant food. To test
the matter, take the worst bit of dense pasture sod you
can find and feed it, either with manure or with nitrate
of soda (at the rate of about 34 pound to the square rod)
and see if it does not at once immensely improve and
grow perhaps four times as much forage as will grow on
the adjoining land unfertilized. To plow that sod, kill-
ing the grasses and letting their stems and roots decay in
the soil, would also fill the land with nitrogen, but it
would take years to restore as good a set of grass as was
already there, needing only to be fed.

HOW GRASSES GROW.

A curious and distinguishing trait of grasses is their
manner of growth. Most plants grow from the unfolding

22 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

of terminal buds, and the continual formation of new
buds at the tips or sides of branches. Grasses grow from |
the lower ends of their leaves or blades; thus, you may
cut off the grass blades as often as you like and they will
again be pushed up from below. This curious fact is of
the greatest value, as it makes possible the pasturing of
grasses with no injury to them. Clovers fed down close
yield only a fraction of their normal growth, since they
can not after being bitten off grow again till new buds
are formed, while grasses bitten off will, if there is mois-
ture and warmth and fertility under them, at once push
up the bitten blades high enough to afford a second bite,
and this they will do indefinitely.

HOW GRASSES THICKEN.

Grasses tend to increase by means of their spreading
underground rootstocks. These rootstocks are not true
roots, but are in reality underground stems. Some grass-
es are very wonderful in their development of under-
eround stems, providing very stout, stiff, powerful root-
stocks armed with hard, sharp points able to penetrate
almost anything. It is not unusual to see a root of quack
grass penetrate entirely through a potato. A large num-
ber of grasses have these creeping underground stems,
Kentucky bluegrass, brome grass, redtop, and Bermuda
grass being good examples. There are other grasses that
tend always to remain in clumps, as the fescue grasses,
timothy, orchard grass, and western bunch grass. Even
these stooling grasses increase, but the new offshoots are
always sent up close to the parent stem.

This tendency of grasses to thicken themselves makes

GRASSES FOR MEADOWS 23

it easy to get a good thick sod. One need not sow more
seed after one gets a sprinkling of grass; one needs only
in some way to increase the fertility of the soil either by
manuring or fertilizing or by sowing legumes, and in a
short time nature will plant the grass plot so thickly that
no room will be found for more plants.

SOME GOOD GRASSES FOR MEADOW.

Timothy.—More has been said for and against timothy
grass than almost any other grass or forage crop. It has
been lauded as the best feed for horses. It has been de-
nounced as the poorest forage coming from the meadow.
It has been declared unfit for sheep or cows because of
its deficiency in protein. It has been declared to be no
better than straw in a ration for cattle or horses. Livery
stable keepers refuse to buy any other hay for their hard-
driven horses. Many men declare that horses will work
better on timothy hay than on alfalfa or almost any other
hay. The fact remains, after all has been said, that tim-
othy is, and will long remain, the standard hay crop of
America. There are several very good reasons for this
fact. It is very easily established; the seed is cheap and
easily sown. It comes soon and yields its best crop, very
likely, the year after it is established. It is an easy grass
to make into hay. It has fair palatability and horses once
accustomed to it relish it. It is not very nourishing when
cut as ripe as is common practice, and thus there is no bad
result from feeding horses plenty of it; in truth, they
will not ordinarily eat too much of it, as it is not suffi-
ciently palatable to tempt them. Contrasted with alfalfa,
it has far less of nourishment in it, but alfalfa is often

24

MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Timothy (Phleum pratense).

WHEN TO CUT TIMOTHY 25

fed in too large amounts to horses and the excess of nu-
triment fed them must be eliminated and that fact makes
them sweat more and tire sooner than had they not been
overfed.. The plain truth is that timothy hay is safest
for horses ordinarily because it is not much more than a
filler, the animals getting nourishment from grain.

When to Cut Timothy Hay.—Timothy hay is not a
suitable forage for dairy cows, fattening animals, or
sheep; it is too woody and unnutritious for that unless it
is cut early. Early-cut timothy hay is tender and digest-
ible. As it ripens it becomes more and more woody. Prof.
H. J. Waters, when Director of the Missouri Experiment
Station, made some very valuable investigations as to the
effect of harvesting timothy hay at various stages of de-
velopment. Briefly, it was mown when in full head but
not in bloom, when in full bloom, when the seeds were
formed, when the seeds were in the dough and when the
seeds were fully ripe and some of them shed. It was ex-
pected that a large increase in yield of weight of hay
would be found as ripening progressed. This did not
prove to be true. The tests were carried through several
years and varied in results considerably, yet usually nei-
ther the first nor last cutting made the greatest weight
of hay; sometimes it fell to that cut when in full bloom,
sometimes to that with seed just formed and*in one in-
stance to the cutting made before bloom. Usually there
was considerable shrinkage in the hay cut before bloom.
The evidence, judged by weight alone, seems to point
conclusively to cutting just when the seeds are formed.
Cutting at that time also produces hay of the highest
market quality.

26 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Digestibility and Time of Cutting.—There is another
factor than yield to consider, especially if one is to feed
the hay to one’s own animals; that is, palatability and di-
gestibility. Early-cut timothy is tender, well-flavored,
easily masticated and digested. Animals like early-cut
hay and eat it readily. Late-cut hay is tough, woody,
hard to chew and hard to digest. If one succeeds in get-
ting a great weight of hay cut with seed fully ripe one
has little if any more than so much straw. A great deal
of the protein that should be in the hay has gone into the
seed, and animals can not digest timothy seed. The
plants have developed a great deal of woody fiber and that
has locked up much nourishment that otherwise would
have been available.

Green grasses are full of sap; that sap is the best part
of the grass. Everyone knows the good that follows put-
ting animals out to graze tender, juicy grass. Grasses
cut with the sap in them, dried and made iato hay, will
maintain animals nearly or quite as well as though they
were grazing it green. My father knew that well, and
by cutting his meadows early, he would usually be
through haying by the time his neighbors had begun. He
often told me that early-cut grass would feed young cat-
tle as well as ripe grass and grain. His practice proved
his theory. He always wintered young steers on hay
alone and they grew well and came through in good or-
der, afterward grazing exceedingly well. It was not un-
usual for him to cut timothy before it flowered; oftener
he would cat it when in full bloom. He would always
have red clover mixed through his timothy meadows so
long as it would endure.

27

WHEN TO CUT TIMOTHY

CUT JUNE 20. CUT AUNE 28.

IN
FULL BLOSSOM. Fe ast ae

eRe E RR

role
IN DOUGH.

CUT WY IZ
SEED
FULLY RIPE.

Showing the Effect of Time of Cutting Timothy On Succeeding Yield of Hay,

28 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

The Missouri Experiments.—To test this thing, Prof.
Waters at Columbia fed steers on timothy hay alone and
gave them their choice of the several cuttings. These
were put in the rack so that the steers, would eat as they
liked. In every instance, they began to eat the first-cut
grass, taking next that cut second and refusing to eat any
of the ripe cut hay till the earlier-cut was all consumed.
The instincts of animals are very safe guides when mat-
ters of nutrition are concerned. The investigations of
Prof. Waters are so interesting and the results secured
so valuable that I advise the reader to see THE BREEDER’S
GAzETTE of June 9, 1909 and June 16, 1909. I quote
his conclusions: “So far all the results have been in fa-
vor of the earlier cuttings. The yields were larger, the
hay was more completely digested, and was more pala-
table to the stock. In the matter of convenience of har-
vesting the balance tips heavily the other way. ‘The
ereener the grain is cut the longer time it takes to cure,
the more easily it is damaged by showers and heavy dews,
and the more readily it will sunburn.” The fact is, how-
ever, if one is farming to feed one’s animals one can well
afford to face those obstacles in the hope of getting the
larger nutrition from the land and of having the animals
in better thrift and flesh. .

Time of Cutting and the Health of the Plants.—There
is another side to this question—that of early or late har-
vesting. Fortunately, Waters has also made this clear.
It is the effect of the cutting at different times on the fu-
ture yield. It has long been noted that in the drier parts
of the timothy belt, the yield of subsequent crops was
injured by early cutting. This is not usually true in the

WHERE TIMOTHY PAYS ZY

eastern and moister parts of the country. Prof. Waters
points out that* timothy increases by multiplication of
bulbs, somewhat as some sorts of onions increase. These
bulbs store food for the future growth of the plants. As
the timothy ripens nutriment is being stored in the new
bulbs as well as in the seeds. If it is then cut too early the
bulbs are weakened and the stand lessened. These
bulbs also increase and store nourishment in the fall while
the aftermath is growing; therefore it is a serious injury
to a timothy meadow to pasture it in the fall. Timothy
meadows should never be pastured unless the aftermath
is unusually heavy due to a moist fall. It is not easy to
thicken a timothy stand by sowing fresh seed. Nature’s
way is to thicken by increase of bulbs. Good feeding
will do much to keep the stand dense. Except in the
moister and cooler parts of the United States, one can
not expect to make a permanency of a timothy meadow;
it must occasionally be plowed and cultivated for a year
or more and resown. Other grasses creep in to oust the
timothy, the chief offenders being Kentucky and Canada
bluegrasses and redtop. These grasses being much more
firmly rooted than timothy, can not be got out without
plowing the meadow.

Where Timothy is Profitable-—Timothy may be grown
as far south as central Mississippi if sown on rich alluvial
soil; it does not endure for a long time except in cooler,
moister regions. Its natural home is along the northern
edge of the cornbelt, northward far into Canada through-
out New England, the high parks of the Rocky Moun-
tains with irrigation, and the rainy side of the Pacific

: The Breeder’s Gazette, June 30, 1909.

30 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Coast states. In the central states timothy thrives for a
few years, but tends steadily towards replacement with
other grasses. Timothy responds to rich, moist soil, well
filled with decaying vegetable matter.

What to Sow.—Perhaps no other grass has been found
that affiliates well with timothy, and any admixture will
lower its grade in the market. On poor soils deficient in
carbonate of lime, redtop thrives better than timothy and
is sometimes sown with it, though redtop is an inferior
grass. Clovers grow well with timothy and are an aid
to it. Common red clover suits it best under ordinary
conditions, though on moist land inclined to need lime ©
alsike clover is more vigorous, and on dry, rich soils al-
falfa and timothy thrive well together. Unfortunately
the market objects to a large proportion of clover in tim-
othy hay, though if it is nicely cured the hay is really
very much enriched by the mixture. Red clover disap-
pears after the second year quite completely and there is
no doubt that the yield of timothy is materially increased
by having had the clover as an associate. Timothy rap-
idly uses up the nitrogen of the soil, and this the red
clover accumulates.

Alfalfa with Timothy.—Where one grows timothy for
one’s own use one can well afford to sow with it alfalfa,
since the alfalfa will greatly enrich the timothy as hay_
and will also make it grow the more vigorously. To ac-
complish the mixture, however, one must sow the two
seeds together, either in August or in spring, or else es-
tablish the alfalfa first and later sow the timothy. We
may sow alfalfa alone in April or May or June, depend-
ing on situation and the season best adapted to alfalfa

SOWING TIMOTHY AND CLOVER oe

sowing; then in the fall, after the alfalfa has been har-
vested, one can harrow in timothy seed with every hope
of a stand. In the course of three years the timothy will
rather get the upper hand of the alfalfa, unless the land
is especially well adapted to alfalfa, yet that fact need
not deter one from sowing them together, as when the
alfalfa is gone the timothy will be more vigorous than if
it had not been sown with it. Another method of sowing
timothy and alfalfa together is to sow them very early in
April on well-prepared land. In this case a seeding of a
bushel to the acre of spring barley may be used, which
will be cut for hay when in bloom or soon afterward. If
the timothy should seem a little thin in the fall a bit more
seed may be sown then. It is useless to sow alfalfa ex-
cept on well-drained land that has in it plenty of carbon-
ate of lime. It is true, however, that any land that is
just right for alfalfa is right to make a maximum crop
of timothy as well. The mixture of alfalfa and timothy
comes far nearer being a balanced ration than either of
the plants used alone.

Method of Sowing Timothy and Clover.—Timothy is
usually sown in the fall with wheat or other fall sown
grain. Hardly any crop is easier established. Given a
good seedbed and a fair degree of fertility and the tim-
othy seed sown with wheat in September or October, one
will secure a stand in nearly every instance. It is usual
to sow with a grain drill having a separate grass-seeding
compartment which scatters the seed in front of the drill,
though some prefer to have it fall behind. It is largely
a matter of how the weather behaves that determines
which practice is best.

32 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Quantity of Seed—The amount of seed used is from
4 to 20 pounds per acre. Very thick stands are less pro-
ductive than normal stands. Probably a rational seeding
for ordinary soils and seasons would be one peck or 11
pounds to the acre. The clover is added in the spring.
There are several methods in vogue to get a catch of
clover in wheat that has been sown to timothy. The usual
method is to sow about 10 pounds to the acre of clover in
March when the land has been honeycombed by frost, de-
pending on the frost to cover the seed. Another and bet-
ter plan, so far as the clover is concerned, is to wait till
the land can be harrowed, say in April, and then to sow
the seed and harrow sufficiently to cover it slightly. With
care this can be done with no marked injury to the tim-
othy and with marked benefit to the wheat.

Mixtures Produce the Most Hay.—Very much more
forage can be taken from land seeded to mixtures of
grasses and clovers than when any one plant has exclusive
possession of the soil. Thus timothy and clover produce
more than would timothy alone, and if more than one
species of clover is put in it will yield more than if red
clover alone is the consort. Alsike clover may be added,
‘a sprinkle of alfalfa, some mammoth red clover and some
redtop. Orchard grass and brome grass ripen too early
to be sown with timothy. Meadow fescue added in the
spring will help somewhat. It is really astonishing the
amount of herbage a mixed planting will yield, especially
if the land is well enriched and has been deeply-plowed
and well-prepared. The different species of plants have
somewhat different food requirements and habits of feed-
ing. The legumes can utilize the free nitrogen of the

SOWING AND MANURING TIMOTHY 33

air; some root deeper than others and thus by growing
them together the whole soil and space are best occupied.
Sowing Timothy Alone.—It is not necessary nor al-
ways desirable to sow timothy with a nurse-crop. In any
region not subject to very dry falls it is good practice to
sow timothy and clover together in late summer, say in
late July or during August. Sown thus early the grass
will make a full crop of hay the next year. This it will
not do sown in the fall, as there will not be time for the
fall seeding to grow a crop of the bulbs on which the
rapid spring growth depends. Getting a stand in late
summer is dependent on good treatment of the soil. It
should be plowed some time before seeding, and carefully
pulverized as fast as plowed. After each rain (not too
immediately after) the land must be disked well and har-
rowed to conserve moisture and yet more perfectly com-
plete the pulverization. The seed must be sown when the
soil is stored well with moisture beneath and in a com-
pact, mellow condition. It must be lightly covered.
Given these conditions, success is almost certain.

Feeding Timothy Meadows.—Timothy is a crop rather
exhaustive to the soil. This is especially true if it is
grown in nearly a pure stand without clover. The “run-
‘ning-out” of timothy meadows is more often the result
of exhaustion of readily available plant food than of any —
other factor. It pays largely to feed timothy meadows
and feed them well. Experience of older countries like
England and Scotland is all in favor of feeding grass-
lands, great profit resulting therefrom. Now that the
manure spreader has come to nearly every stock-farm it
affords an easy way to rejuvenate a timothy meadow. At

34 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

any time after the hay is taken off, manure may be spread
evenly over the meadow. Care should be taken to break
up large masses so that the grass may not be smothered,
and it should be spread so evenly that while all will be
covered, yet the grasses will be seen peering through. If
now this manure has been reinforced with something car-
rying phosphorus, say with acid phosphate, using about
40 pounds to the ton of manure, or with “floats,” (finely-
ground phosphatic rock) using 100 pounds or more to
the ton of manure, the fertilization will be quite complete
and very effective. No fear need be felt that the manure
will damage the next year’s hay crop. The rains of fall
and winter will have so decayed it that it will practically
have melted into the soil before another year. Eight to
12 tons to the acre make a good fertilization, though
much less will serve and give marked results in the suc-
ceeding hay crop. I have taken more than 3 tons of tim-
othy from an acre of land top-dressed with manure. The
same land untreated would hardly have yielded one ton,
and with hay worth $12 per ton it is plain that the 8 tons
of manure applied brought return of $24 or $3 per ton.
Furthermore, there was left considerable residual fertility
in the®%soil which subsequent crops of hay and corn recov-
ered. Where manure is not available timothy meadows’
are very responsive to artificial fertilization.

Fertilizers on Timothy Meadows.—Quite a large num-
ber of field experiments with fertilizers on timothy are
recorded. The grass seems unusually responsive to good
fertilization. Wheeler and Adams working at the Rhode
Island Experiment Station reported* in 1902 experiments

* Bulletin 82, Rhode Island Experiment Station.

FERTILIZING MEADOWS 35

on meadows of mixed grasses, 15 pounds of timothy sown
with 7 pounds of red clover and 7% pounds of redtop.
Following are given the yields of field-cured hay ob-
tained, per acre, upon each of the three plots in 1go1:

Pounds of hay per acre.
i er acre.
Nitrogenous manures per First Reet Total
crop. crop. crop.
ALG ae REL OTT Cire, 38) ore wite sk im areera De ae eieiatele e his sia als 3,050 240 3,290
Plot 19. with 133.52 pounds nitrate of soda..... 5,150 400 5,550
Plot 21, with 400.56 pounds nitrate of soda*.... 8,750 640 9,390

“Grass from like areas of each plot was harvested in the case of
the first crop, and assorted for the purpose of ascertaining the
relative amounts of redtop and timothy which were present. Follow-
ing is the result of this examination:

_ RELATIVE PERCENTAGES OF REDTOP AND TIMOTHY UPON THE
THREE PLOTS.

Plot 17. Plot 19. Plot 21.
Without nitrogenous | With a ration of | With a full ration of
manures. nitrate of soda. nitrate of soda.’
Timothy..... 20 per cent. 39 per cent. 67 per cent.
Redtop...... 80 per cent. 61 per cent. 33 per cent.

“Tt will be noted that with each increase in nitrate of soda the
percentage of timothy showed a marked gain, just as was the case
with the total yield of hay. The most plausible explanation which
has suggested itself for this striking result, is the influence upon
the growth of the crop brought about by the soda of the nitrate
of soda, by virtue of its tendency to render the soil alkaline. It
will be recalled that in other experiments at this station, it has
been demonstrated that redtop is capable of thriving on soil
too sour (acid) to be suited to timothy and Kentucky bluegrass.
When nitrate of soda is applied to soils as a manure, plants re-

*Four hundred pounds of nitrate of soda furnish about 62
pounds of nitrogen,

36 2 MEADOWS AND PASTURES :

move the nitric acid of the nitrate more rapidly than-the soda, and
in consequence, the latter, which is capable of overcoming or
lessening the soil acidity, tends to accumulate in the soil.”

The plain lesson of this is to sweeten the soil with lime
before making the meadow. Carbonate of lime (ground
raw limestone) is the cheapest and best source of alkaline
base for restoring the sweetness of the soil. It is interest-
ing to see how, as the soil is fed, the inferior redtop re-
cedes and the better grass predominates. On this espe-
cial type of Rhode Island soil (rather markedly deficient
in fertility) it was found well to use potassium, phos-
phorus and nitrogen in the following proportions: 807
pounds of 16 per cent acid phosphate, 200 pounds of mu-
riate of potash and 400 pounds of nitrate of soda. It is
very noticeable that fertilization increased the density of
the stand and excluded weeds. I again quote from Rhode
Island bulletin 82%

“In 1900 the following numbers of grass stalks per square foot
were found upon each of the three plots:

Plot without nitrogen, 222.
Plot with a one-third ration of nitrogen, 271.
Plot with a full ration of nitrogen, 236.

The greater quantity of nitrate of soda was an important factor
in maintaining the stand of timothy probably on account of the
soda left behind, by which the tendency of the soil to become acid
(sour) was partly counteracted. The largest yield of field-cured
hay in 1901 was 9,390 pounds, or 4.7 tons per acre, which was
found to be equivalent to 7,549 pounds, or 3.8 tons, after lying in
the mow until the following February. An allowance of 20 per cent.
to cover shrinkage in the barn was found to be excessive except
in the case of the heaviest crop of the first cutting, in which case
4.4 tons of field-cured hay were obtained per acre. The hay was,
in every instance, sufficiently cured to keep in the best condition
before being weighed and stored in the barn. The quantities of
plant food removed by the crop were determined. It was found

USING CHEMICAL MANURES S/

that if supplied with everything else that was necessary, the fol-
lowing amounts of manurial ingredients were removed from the
soil by 1,000 pounds of field-cured hay, free from clover:

5.6 to 5.8 pounds of nitrogen.

14.7 to 16.2 pounds of actual potash (K:2O).

3.3 to 3.5 pounds of phosphoric acid (P:0O;).

“The early application of top-dressing is of vital importance in
a dry season such as that of 1900, when, notwithstanding the severe
drouth, 4.1 tons of field-cured hay were harvested per acre. At
present the great drawback to profitable grass culture in New Eng-
land is the neglect systematically to top-dress mowing lands and a
general lack of knowledge of the relative quantities and absolute
amounts of chemical manures to apply. If every one of the 78,824
acres of grass land in Rhode Island were treated in an intelligent
and economical manner, the increased revenue to the state would
be enormous. The facts presented ought to emphasize the impor-
tance of chemical manures.”

In 1902 the experiment was continued, each plot re-
ceiving phosphorus, potassium and two of them nitro-
gen. Below are given the quantities of nitrate of soda
applied per acre, and the amounts of actual nitrogen con-
tained therein:

Plot 17. | Plot 19. Plot 21.

Pounds. Pounds. Pounds.
dA OMODE SOMA ss aieea ce Sees cic Dass vam ones None. 138.12 414.35

Nitrogen in the nitrate of soda............... None. 21.00 | 63.00

“The following are the amounts of field-cured hay harvested
in 1902, upon each of the three plots:

No. of Plot. Amount of nitrogen per acre. Pounds of

hay per acre.

124 Ko} car Ly (ee Withoutmitrocene \cigaccs eat t. 3. hasten 2,950
PIGt 190. 8285.2: With 21 pounds of nitrate nitrogen.............. 4,850

Plot 2 acs. 3. With 63 pounds of nitrate nitrogen.............. 8,200

38 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

“In 1901 a careful examination was made to determine the rela-
tive percentages of the two chief grasses on each of the three
plots. It was found on the plot without nitrogen that these per-
centages for timothy and redtop were 20 and 80 respectively,
upon the plot with one-third ration of nitrogen they were 39 and
61, and where the full ration of nitrogen was used they were 6/7
and 33. Similar though perhaps more marked differences were
noticed this season. This is the fourth successive demonstration
of the importance of nitrate of soda in maintaining a stand of
timothy.

An interesting and important finding from these ex-
periments was that timothy grown on land well supplied
with nitrogen was itself richer in that element. Nitro-
gen is the element from which protein is largely com-
posed and it is well known that feeds rich in nitrogen are
most costly to purchase and best adapted to building body
tissues in animals and to making milk. That this experi-
ment in Rhode Island paid well the following financial

results per acre in 1902 show:

Plot 17, Plot 19. | Plot 21.
Without With a 4%ration| Witha full
nitrogen. of nitrogen. /ration of nitrogen.
Tons of field-cured hay.......... 1.475 2.425 4.100
Tons of barn-cured hay.......... 1.280 2.042 3.444
Value of crop based upon $16 per :
ton for barn-cured hay*........ $20.48 $32.67 $55.10
Mesto tHe gmManidres T) os.65.cc00 5. 13.04 . 16.15 22.36
WOUTHEPETICE o£ ok ines sxc aes oie $7.44 $16.52 $32.74

“Comparing the results upon plots 17 and 19, it will be seen that
an extra outlay of $3.11 for nitrate of soda’on plot 19 gave an

*The actual price of hay has been considerably in excess of the
value used in this estimate.

_ 7Muriate of potash valued at $42, acid phosphate at $15, and
nitrate of soda at $45 per ton, respectively. These prices are
above what most of the goods could certainly have been bought
for early in the season,

PASTURING TIMOTHY 39

additional net profit of $9.08. Comparing the data in the case of
plots 17 and 21, it will be seen that an expenditure of $9.32 for
nitrate of soda resulted in an additional net profit of $25.30 per
acre. In order to show more clearly the increase in the profits from
the use of liberal amounts of nitrate of soda, the value of the
crop over that of the manures is given for the plot without nitrate
of soda, for that with a one-third ration, and for that with a full
ration of the nitrate. These data show the results secured for the
entire period of four years already covered by the experiment, as
follows:
PLOT No. 17, WITHOUT NITROGEN.
Value of the crop over that of the manures* in 1899..$ 6.09

Value of the crop over that of the manures in 1900... 13.42

. Walue of the crop over that of the manures in 1901... 12.13
Value of the crop over that of the manures in 1902... 7.44
MoE LOR THE LOU AVCAVS Cas crehel be were ct oteiay eeuhaw eh a oe Weer ares $39.08

PLOT No. 19, WITH A ONE-THIRD RATION OF NITRATE OF SODA.
(21 LBS. OF NITROGEN PER ACRE.)
Value of the crop over that of the manures} in 1899...$14.34

Value of the crop over that of the manures in 1900... 20.37
Value of the crop over that of the manures in 1901... 23.97
Value of the crop over that of the manures in 1902... 16.52

ROcalerOr sch CV LOUIE Gy CALS srs ois cucteee ohaoit otwalong Biel Sede tca chose $75.20

Pasturing Timothy.—Timothy is net well adapted to
being pastured. Animals grazing it close soon destroy it.
The bulbs must have chance to develop and store them-
selves with nutriment for the following year, and pastur-
ing would not allow this. It is injurious to a timothy
meadow to pasture it after the hay has been cut. The
one exception to this rule is, should there be danger of
so much aftermath lying on the ground that it will en-
danger smothering or harbor too large a number of field
mice, it may be well to pasture lightly in the fall. There
is a time in late spring when the weed commonly called

*Potash and phosphoric acid. ;Potash. phosphoric acid, and
nitrogen.

40 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

whitetop (Erigeron annuus ) appears and threatens greatly
to injure the market quality of the timothy hay. If sheep
are put in for a time (before the timothy is jointed) they
will eat out most of the whitetop and leave the meadow
clean. Care must be taken not to let the sheep remain
long enough to eat down the timothy, or the cure will be
as bad as the disease, unless the season proves very moist
and favoring. Sheep on timothy in winter will nearly,
destroy it by eating the bulbs, which are tender and nour-
ishing. |

Mice in Timothy Meadows.—The common short-tailed
meadow mouse is a great pest in timothy. It lives on the
bulbs which are sweet and nutritious. J have found the
underground burrows of these mice packed full of tim-
othy bulbs. The remedy for mice is to have many cats
about the farm, feeding them milk at the barns, to pro-
tect sparrow and other small hawks, and to scatter poi-
soned grain about in the meadows where their runs
abound, doing this so far as possible in such manner as
not to destroy innocent wild birds and domestic. animals.
Quail seldom if ever eat shelled corn which mice greedily
devour.

Do not Clip Timothy too Close.—Close-cutting of tim-
othy meadows is most injurious to them. I have tested
this thing well and have nearly destroyed meadows by
very close cutting. At least two of the lower joints of
the stem should be left if the future good of the meadow
is considered. ,

The Life of a Timothy Meadow.—There are soils so
well suited naturally to timothy grass that meadows of
it may endure thereon for many years. Ordinarily, in

TIMOTHY LEADS TO PASTURE 41

the cornbelt region, timothy is more profitable the first
and second years after sowing than it ever is afterward.
Kentucky bluegrass runs into it wherever the soil is fairly
rich in lime. Timothy declines in vigor, owing! no doubt
usually to lack of feeding and to hard pasturing in the
fall after hay has been cut. Doubtless with good feed-
ing on suitable, moist, rich soil in cool climates timothy
can be kept for six or even Io years, but for most farm-
ers its profitable life will be found to be but two, three
or.four years; then it will need plowing and the land
planted to some other crop allowing good clean cultiva-
tion, with enriching, after which the timothy may be re-
sown.

Timothy as a Bridging Pasture-——While not a good
grass for permanent pasture, except in mixture, timothy
is one of the most useful crops that can be sown with
other grasses where one wishes something on which ani-
mals may feed while other and slower grasses are becom-
ing established. Thus in making a bluegrass pasture,
timothy may well be sown with bluegrass and will afford
erazing for a year or two while the bluegrass is becom-
ing established.

SUMMARY.

Timothy is perhaps the easiest established of cultivated
grasses. It is the standard hay grass. It is of rather
low nutritive value compared with alfalfa or even when
compared with other grasses, its protein content being
quite low. It has, however, considerably more pro-
tein in its composition when cut early. Probably the
greatest feeding value is obtained by cutting timothy when

4? MEADOWS AND PASTURES

in bloom or very soon afterward. Clovers enrich timothy
hay and add much to its thrift and yield. Alfalfa grows
well with timothy on dry, rich soils having enough lime.
Timothy rapidly exhausts the soil of nitrogen and tim-
othy meadows are wonderfully helped by applications of
stable manure or fertilizers. When fertilizers are used
they should contain a considerable amount of nitrogen.
Timothy is a short-lived pasture grass and for best re-
sults as meadow should be very lightly pastured in the
fall or left untouched. It is a good temporary pasture
to afford feed while bluegrass is coming in.

Redtop (Agrostis alba).—It is curious how plants find
their best-suited environment; each one has its place. The
place for redtop is on soil rather moist, deficient in lime
and somewhat deficient in fertility. Not that redtop will
not thrive in rich soil, but it will-endure a degree of soil
poverty that timothy and Kentucky bluegrass will not
endure. When one has a soil that is not quite rich enough
nor dry enough for timothy one may hope to get a vig-
orous growth of redtop. Indeed it will almost grow in
the water. Redtop is a slender grass somewhat of the
type of Kentucky bluegrass but taller-growing, with a
creeping underground root-stock which makes it spread
rather fast and soon form on suitable soil a dense sod.
It grows 2’ or more high and yields from 1 to 2 tons of
hay per acre. It makes good pasture. It is not so soon
established as timothy but increases in thickness for sev-
eral years after sowing. Redtop is a variable grass, as-
suming new characters in each different situation. In
England it is declared to be of little growth. In New
England it is considered a good hay and fine grazing.

THE MERITS OF REDTOP

Redtop (Agrostis Vulgaris).

43

44 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Prof. J. B. Killibrew declares that in Tennessee “It will
grow upon every soil and give more general satisfaction
than any other grass. It is scattered over the whole state
of Tennessee. The writer has seen it growing vigorously
on the highest mountains of east Tennessee as well as in
the deepest valleys, on the sandstone soil of the Cumber-
land table land and on the cherty soils of the highland
rim. It sparkles in the beauty of its verdure on the lime-
stone soils of the central basin and acquires its largest
growth in the sandy river and creek basins of west Ten-
nessee. There is no place in Tennessee in which it does
not prove a profitable grass to the farmers.”

Redtop will grow as far south as New Orleans and in
north Louisiana is sometimes sown for pasture and hay;
it will vield well on the moist bottoms throughout all
the South. While it makes good grazing it is not so nu-
tritious nor so well liked as bluegrass. It is, however,
much more adaptable to soils and climates than bluegrass.
It contains more protein than timothy. Animals com-
monly prefer timothy and farmers prefer it because it
yields more. Redtop, they say, is a good grass when one
is not ready to get a better one. It has the widest range
of any grass in America, from the gulf to the northern
limits of agriculture in Canada, from the Atlantic Sea-
board (where because of lime shortage in the soil it is
common) to the high meadows and parks of the western
mountains.

To oust redtop and get timothy or bluegrass instead,
one has but to drain, cure the acidity of the land, and
make it fertile. Ordinarily the use of 2 to 8 tons to the
acre of finely-ground raw limestone or 2 to 3 tons of air-

REDTOP FOR FRESH FORAGE 45

slaked lime will restore the alkalinity of the soil, and then
manure or fertilizers will afford food for the better grass-
es. As redtop holds the land in a dense growth, it may
be necessary to plow, till and reseed in order quickly to
displace it. Redtop is not to be despised and when one’s
land is not ready for a better grass or one’s climate fa-
vors, one should utilize it. Garman of the Kentucky Ex-
periment Station reports in comparative yields of fresh
forage. Redtop, 4.80 tons to the acre; Bromus inermis,
7.20; Orchard grass, 8.40; Timothy, 7.12; Canada blue-
erass, 2.64; Kentucky bluegrass, 4.08. It is evident then
that the generally conceded superiority of bluegrass over
redtop lies in its greater palatability and somewhat su-
perior nutrition. It is notable that while analyses in
America report redtop to be fairly nutritious, at least as
much so as timothy, in England it is disliked and de-
nounced. Sir J. B. Lawes says: “It flourishes most on
dry soils and is a troublesome weed on arable land, dis-
liked by cattle and sheep. It is reported as useless and
should be discouraged as much as possible. In manur-
ing the land the proportion of this grass was very much
reduced in every instance, a result certainly not to be re-
eretted.”

To sum up opinions concerning redtop, it is not a
grass of first quality; it suits certain soils, and is adapt-
able as to climates. It thrives in high mountain valleys
and on wet land and on land deficient in lime and fer-
tility. Drainage, limestone and fertility will bring in bet-
ter grasses.

Quantity of Seed.—Redtop seed in the chaff weighs
about 10 to 12 pounds per bushel, the recleaned seed 35

46 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

pounds. It is commonly sown with wheat in the fall, 10
to 15 pounds of recleaned seed or double that of seed in
the chaff being used. It may also be sown alone very
early in spring or with a nurse-crop of oats or barley
which should be mown off for hay when in bloom.

Orchard Grass (Dactylus glomerata).—This is the
cock’s foot grass of England and the English colonies.
It grows 3’ to 5’ high. Most of the weight of hay is
from the leaves near the ground. It is one of our best
grasses. It is not much in use as yet for several reasons.
Orchard grass seed is not so easily sown as timothy seed
nor in so abundant supply. It is, however, easy to get a
stand of orchard grass and it is a vigorous, thrifty grass
yielding much leafy forage and a fair amount of hay. It
yields about the same amount of hay as timothy and the
hay is much richer in protein if cut at the right time. As
a pasture grass, it is a little richer than timothy and about
half as rich in protein as bluegrass. At the Kentucky
station orchard grass yielded in green forage cut June
12, 8.4 tons to the acre; dry hay, 3.6 tons. Timothy cut
July 2 yielded of fresh forage, 7.12 tons; dry hay, 3.68
tons. Kentucky bluegrass cut June 11 yielded, fresh,
4.8; dry hay, 1.68. Bromus inermis cut June 17, fresh,
7.2; dry hay, 3.04. It is evident from these comparisons,
which I think are fairly typical, that orchard grass is of
ereat merit, judging it by its yield and quality. It must
also be considered that orchard grass mown so early will
yield a good deal of good aftermath which may be grazed
with no injury to the sward, if not grazed too closely,
while timothy is seriously hurt by grazing after the hay
has been cut.

¥

‘

ORCHARD GRASS

Orchard Grass (Dactylis glomerata),

47

48 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Why is orchard grass so little used? Mainly because
the seed costs more than timothy and it takes more of it.
Timothy seed at present (June 15, 1910) is worth $6 per
100 pounds; orchard grass, $16, Further, it is customary
to sow three times as much orchard grass seed as timothy
seed to the acre. To offset this fact, it must be remem-
bered that orchard grass lasts much longer than timothy;
in truth, on suitable soil, it lasts indefinitely, and even
spreads to adjacent fields, encroaching on bluegrass. I
have watched the behavior of this grass in many states
and am assured that it has much more value than is com-
monly ascribed to it. Animals much prefer to eat blue-
grass or brome grass and so it is not wise to mix orchard
grass with these grasses. When orchard grass is used
as pasture it should be fenced to itself, not left adjacent
to another pasture of bluegrass, since animals will neg-
lect the orchard grass for the better-liked forage. It is
thought that cattle will put on more fat grazing bluegrass
than orchard grass. While this may be true, yet as or-
chard grass yields about twice as much per acre it might
easily make the most pounds of beef. Henry Fairfax
of Loudoun Co., Va., likes orchard grass and makes
horse pastures of it. His horses are as good as are pro-
duced anywhere. On the other hand, his neighbor, E.
B. White, destroys orchard grass and replaces it with
bluegrass. Both men are very successful, which is a curi-
ous illustration of the difficulty of reaching truth from
observing the farm practices of others.

On Woodland Farm we have one pasture of orchard
grass that carries annually a great burden of live stock.
Orchard grass is a rank feeder, and this pasture is occa-

ORCHARD GRASS FOR GRAZING 49

sionally covered over thinly with stable manure. Here it
has been observed that while animals graze the orchard
grass well they gnaw close the spots where bluegrass
grows. After orchard grass gets old and rank, say by the
middle of June, animals do not like to graze it. Rank
spots in pastures should therefore be mown and made in-
to hay, after which the fresh new grass will be grazed as
it comes up and the field will be thus eaten off together.

Growth of Orchard Grass April 10 in Tennessee.

I have observed that where a great burden of grass was
left on the land all winter, it sometimes smothered out
the roots, so there is no economy in not using it either by
grazing or mowing or both.

It will not do at all to mix brome grass (Bromus iner-
mis) with orchard grass, although at first thought it
would seem an ideal mixture, as the brome grass has a
great tendency to thicken up by underground stems while
orchard grass is inclined to grow in bunches. The chief

50 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

objection to mixing these grasses is that animals like
brome grass so much better than orchard grass that they
will not touch the latter while they can get the brome,
which is soon weakened by too close grazing and finally
nearly disappears. When used as a meadow, this mix-
ture would do very well.

Brome Grass (Bromus inermis).—Brome grass is of
rather recent introduction from Europe. It is prized in
south-eastern Europe for both hay and pasture. It was
introduced by the Department of Agriculture and dissem-
inated throughout the West and Northwest in the hope
that it might prove adapted to the semi-arid regions. This
hope has been in part realized. It is fairly drouth-resist-
ant. It will not make much growth during dry weather,
but it survives to grow when rain comes. Brome grass
makes considerable hay of nutritious quality if cut early.
It is hardy and one of the first grasses to start in spring;
nor is it cut down by frost till all else is killed. As a pas-
ture grass in regions adapted to its growth, it is doubt-
ful whether there is a better. It out-yields Kentucky blue-
grass by 100 per cent, and animals like it fully as well,
often indeed preferring it. The forage is tender, juicy
and sweet. Brome grass is a vigorous perennial with
stems 2’ to 5’ high, rather broad blades like oats, slender
seed stalks, a wealth of leaves lower down and a habit
of making a good deal of second growth of blades after
being mown off. It has a habit of thickening and spread-
ing by strong creeping root-stocks, so that a thin stand
soon thickens and indeed the danger is that the sod may
become so interlaced with roots and the stems so crowded
that the growth will be very short. When the grass thus

‘(SIWIOUL SNWIOIG) SS¥IN-OWOIG JO jug O[SUIS VW

‘WIOOTA [INT Ul (SIWIISUL SNUIOAg) SSBIH-oWOIg Jo o[DIUeG YW

BROME GRASS

52 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

becomes sod-bound it is common to plow it or disk it
thoroughly, when it will in a short time reestablish itself
and produce well again.

Brome grass makes nutritious and palatable hay, if cut
early, the best time being when the heads are in flower.
There will afterward be a considerable growth of leaves
that may be mown or depastured. Brome grass is very
easily established if fresh seed is sown. I have had best
success sowing it quite early in spring on a well-prepared
seedbed. It should never be sown alone but with some
sort of clover or alfalfa. Alone, brome grass often be-
comes unproductive through its exhaustion of the nitro-
gen from the soil; mixed with clovers or alfalfa it re-
mains productive for a very much longer time.

Quantity of Seed.—The seed of brome grass is light,
weighing about 14 pounds to the bushel and 20 pounds
are commonly sown to the acre. If sown with clovers I
would use less, seeking to get a full stand of clover or al-
falfa and a thin stand of brome grass, after which it will
rapidly thicken itself by means of its many creeping un-
derground stems. In time it will probably take posses-
sion of the land and after a while need either fertilization
or plowing and reseeding. The Nebraska Experiment
Station showed that unproductive brome grass could be
made to yield well by simply disking it thoroughly and
sowing clover in it.

There are some dangers in brome grass seeding. One
is that one may get quack grass seed. On Woodland
Farm, seed sown in 1897, and received from the United
States Department of Agriculture, was mixed with
quack grass and brought the first of this grass to the

TWO VALUABLE FESCUES 53

farm. One should buy brome grass seed from a repu-
table seedsman who knows its source. It has been re-
ported that brome grass is hard to get out of land. We
have not found this true, but when planted to corn the
grass is readily subdued and does not return. I would
not sow brome grass for meadow alone where timothy
succeeds well nor in the South where it has never suc-
ceeded except in the higher altitudes. Along the west-
ern edge of the timothy belt, brome grass is well worthy
of trial. It shares with meadow fescue the esteem of
experimenters in Kansas and Nebraska. It is preemi-
nently a pasture grass.

Meadow Fescue and Tall Fescue, (Festuca pratensis—
F. elatior).—It is curious the way American farmers
follow closely in one another’s footsteps and imitate one
another’s farm practices. This is illustrated well in the
case of the fescues. They are admirable grasses, more
nutritious and palatable than timothy, larger yielding
than Kentucky bluegrass, far better from the viewpoint
of the animals than orchard grass or redtop, yet one can
travel very far and see not one field of meadow fescue.
I once rode more than half way across Ohio by automo-
bile and scanned closely the wayside fields to see what
was growing within. I saw abundant fields of timothy,
many fields of red clover, a few of alfalfa, much blue-
grass of two sorts, a few bits of orchard grass, more of
redtop and not one of meadow fescue. It was not be-
cause the grass was not adapted to the soil, because along
the roadsides it had come of its own accord, curiously
enough, and oftentimes was displacing bluegrass. Prob-
ably the reason why farmers do not sow more fescues is

54

MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Meadow Fescue (Festuca Elatior),

MERITS OF MEADOW FESCUE 55

that they are not often offered by seed dealers and when
they are bought the seed may be old and poor or adulter-
ated, so that one does not get what one desires. Certain
it is that they are well worth a wider field than they now
have. As it is, meadow fescue is now prized in eastern
Kansas and in parts of Washington and Oregon. In Eu-
rope too meadow fescue is one of the highly prized
grasses both for pasture and meadow, and is a component
part of nearly every mixture. Englishmen nearly always
sow grass mixtures, seldom a grass alone.

Meadow fescue is a perennial growing about 3° high.
F. elatior is a taller-growing species or variety. It is
commonly called “tall meadow fescue” or ‘Randall
erass’’ or “evergreen grass.”’ These fescues spread rather
slowly from the root, and lack that vigorous suckering
habit that belongs to the poas, brome grass and redtop.
They endure a long time in suitable soils, once established.
It endures dry weather well. It is thus a good grass for
regions a little too far west for timothy. It is “nip and
tuck” between meadow fescue and brome grass in the es-
teem of some western farmers, though brome grass has
the advantage of spreading and thickening when one gets
a partial stand. These grasses do not yield so much hay
as timothy. Practically speaking, I think meadow fes-
cue should be in all meadow mixtures and in most pas-
ture mixtures. It associates well with other grasses and
endures for a long time in the soil, far longer than tim-
othy.

Quantity of Seed to Sow.—The seed of meadow fes-
cue weighs 22 pounds to the bushel; of tall fescue 14
pounds. If sown alone a bushel of seed would be none

56 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

too much for an acre. It seems that the great place for
these fescues in America is in mixtures.

Sheep Fescue-—While not a meadow grass, we may
as well mention this little grass at this time. It makes
very dense tufts of narrow, rather hard, deep green, al-
most blue blades with rather few seed stems. It grows
about 1’ high. It is frequently advised as a good grass
for poor pastures and for sheep.. I recall with lively
interest climbing steep hill pastures in the south of
England that were carpeted with this grass and that
were so slippery with it that I could hardly stand. The
sheep seemed to eat the cultivated crops in the folds be-
low to the bare earth, leaving their fescue almost un-
touched. In an effort to have a good example of it on
Woodland Farm I have sown considerable seed with the
net result of a few scattered plants. It is apparently
of no value except as an admixture for poor pastures.
Garman reports, however, that with him it yielded at the
rate of 2.24 tons of dry hay to the acre, at Lexington,
Ky.

The Rye Grasses—Of the Loliums there are about
20 species, distributed about the north temperate zone.
Of these two are in use through cultivation, L. perenne,
and Lolium perenne, var. Italicum, or perennial rye grass,
and Italian rye grass. Neither grass is much in use in
America. The Italian rye grass is at best’a short-lived
grass, living but a year or two; the perennial rye grass
lives for two to five years and by seeding itself seems
to live longer.

Rye grasses are easily established and make a rather
large amount of hay. The perennial rye grass is com-

57

THE RYE GRASSES

Sheep Fescue (Festuca ovina).

58 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

monly called “English” rye grass. It is largely in use
in England but almost unknown in America except west
of the Cascade Mountains on the Pacific Coast. Animals
prefer rye grasses to most other cultivated grasses, the
seed is usually good and the grass makes a great amount,
as much as 4o bushels to the acre, so that the farmer
can save his own seed with ease if he likes. On the
irrigated plains of northern Italy rye grass makes great
crops and in England and Scotland where there are
irrigated farms it is employed and makes as many as four
cuttings in a year of very heavy forage. Spillman says
that the sewage meadows near Edinburgh grow rye
grass and yield enormously; also that it is grown much
in western California, Oregon and Washington on the
moist dyked lands.

Rye grass was one of the earliest grasses adopted
into culivation. Spillman remarks that the early English
husbandmen at first made no attempt to separate the
various grasses but grew them altogether. Later they
began saving the seed of rye grass and it has been popu-
lar ever since. It is said that it was taken to Europe
from England. The Italian grass sown in the fall makes
a fine winter lawn for the South, and is considerably
used in this way. |

From my observations, the rye grasses are probably
desirable in mixtures for pasture and meadow, and have
hardly received the attention that they deserve in
America.

Quantity of Seed to Sow.—The seed weighs 20 pounds
per bushel and commonly about two and_ one-
half bushels are sown to the acre. Rye grass is in

THE RYE GRASSES

Italian Ryegrass (Lolium perenne).

59

60 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

America not so very productive. Garman reported a
yield of 2.24 tons to the acre for Italian rye grass and
2.32 tons for perennial rye grass. This is not encourag-
ing when smooth brome grass made 3.04 tons, orchard
grass 3.6 tons, and timothy, 3.68 tons.

Tall Oatgrass——According to Hunt, tall oatgrass
(Arrhenatherum clatius) is closely related to the common
cultivated oat, and also to the common wild oatgrass
(Danthonia spicata), which forms a portion of the herb-
age of permanent pastures and meadows on the poorer
soils of the North Atlantic states. The tall oatgrass is
a fibrous-rooted, erect, tall grass growing on suitable
soil 3’ to 5’ high, with a long open panicle bearing two-
flowered spikelets. It yields an abundance of coarse
forage, and will grow on rather sandy soils where other
grasses do not thrive so well; but in the United States its
lack of palatability has prevented its extensive cultiva-
tion. It is known in France as ray grass, where, as in
other parts of Europe, it is highly prized. The seed is
principally imported, but it can be easily harvested. It
may be bound, cured in shocks, and threshed as in case
of common oats.

Quantity of Seed to Sow.—There are 150,000 seeds to
the pound. About 50 pounds of seed with a germinating
power of 70 per cent are required to sow an acre. Gar-
man reports a weight of dry hay of 4.08 tons per acre.
He also says:

“Among from 40 to 50 forage plants kept growing on
the Kentucky Experiment Farm for a number of years,
tall oatgrass has always, winter and summer, been one
of the finest in appearance. In the matter of hardiness

61

TALL OATGRASS

Tall Oatgrass (Arrhenatherum avenaceum),

62 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

and productiveness it has no equal on the farm. It
stands drouth better than timothy. It has not been af-
fected by the severest cold weather we have had during
the past six years. It grows rapidly on poor soil. When
fully grown about the middle of June it is often 5’ in
height, with a panicle somewhat like that of oats, and
inclined to droop a little, but not so coarse. After flower-
ing it soon becomes rather woody and should on this
account be cut promptly before the panicles mature. Af-
ter cutting, a new growth of blades appears, that might
furnish either pasture or hay. The experience of Amer-
ican farmers who have tried this grass is in its favor, but
British farmers say it is bitter and unfit for either hay
or pasture. It is at least worthy of trial in Kentucky.”

Johnson Grass.—Johnson grass is a sorghum, S. hala-
pense. It masquerades under a good many names, as
Means’ grass, Arabian millet, Egyptian millet, Syrian
erass and others. It comes from the Orient. In 1835
Gov. Means of South Carolina obtained seed from Tur-
key. A few years later William Johnson of Alabama
began praising it and distributing the seed. Had he
but known its future he would have been very slow to
spread its seed. It is a coarse grass, with thick stems,
usually about 3’ to 6’ tall. It has a head somewhat like
broom corn, though much smaller, with sorghum-like
seeds. The rootstocks are large, often %” in diameter;
creeping and branching, they have a way of ramifying
all through the soil and each joint can produce a new
plant. It is a terrific weed when once it gets into a
cultivated field. A prodigious amount of labor may fail
to exterminate it once it is established. At the same

JOHNSON GRASS

Johnson Grass (Sorghum halapense),

63

64 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

time it makes fairly good hay when cut green. It should
always be cut for hay before the seed forms, else it is
almost criminal to sell it or move it about the country.
But there are places where Johnson grass is profitable.
It thrives in the dry plains of Texas, and makes much
pasturage and hay on which cattle are fed. It has a
curious need of being plowed up now and then, else it
becomes sod-bound and the roots too close to the sur-
face to thrive. When this occurs it 1s only necessary
to plow the land and harrow it well as though one were
about to destroy the plants entirely and presto! there
springs up a new, fresh stand which is soon as thick as
ever.

In order to keep Johnson grass productive one must
get some sort of legume to growing with it. On suitable
lands alfalfa is doubtless the best legume for this pur-
pose. Sometimes alfalfa not only holds its own but
actually causes Johnson grass to disappear; in other soils
Johnson grass in a few years gets the upper hand of
alfalfa.

It is sometimes said that Johnson grass enriches land.
If the field on which it grows is kept mowed or eaten
off by animals it can hardly fail rapidly to deplete fer-
tility, since it gathers no nitrogen from the air and in
fact nothing except what it takes from the soil. Sugar
planters bitterly deplore the presence of Johnson grass
in their fields, and one has declared to me that the labor
of cultivated sugar cane was fully $20 per acre more in
fields infested with it. I can not, therefore, advise its
sowing anywhere that cultivation may sometimes be
desired and yet it is probably the very best hay grass

ERADICATING JOHNSON GRASS 65

yet found for our southern states. To tell of Johnson
grass and not tell how to get rid of it would be to
incur the dislike of most of my southern readers. First
let me advise careful buying of field seeds, especially of
alfalfa seed, which is sometimes infested with seed of
this grass. Next consider its habit of growth. It is a
plant of the tropics; it can not endure freezing; any
roots turned up in the fall so that they freeze will be
destroyed. This alone will destroy Johnson grass in Ohio,
Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee and the northern
ends of all the Gulf States. The fact is, farmers in
the South are not often provided with suitable plows
for combatting Johnson grass. The ordinary one-mule
plow only tickles and invigorates it. Spring-plowing
does not much hurt it. Each joint of the long, creeping
root-stocks will grow if left in the ground. Hogs, by
the way, thrive on these succulent root-stocks.

Prof. W. J. Spillman has made a careful study of
Johnson grass and its extermination and declares that
it is conquerable. He says:

“The difficulty of dealing with this weed is greatly increased by
the implements used for tillage on many southern farms. To check
the grass effectively a good two-horse turning plow is absolutely
necessary, an implement not found on many small farms. In plowing
it is necessary to cut and turn over every inch of the land. By
doing this it is entirely possible to plow a Johnson grass meadow ‘in
spring, harrow out the rootstocks and make a good cultivated
crop the same year; but it requires careful work, and a great deal
of it, to do so. The grass may be entirely eradicated in a single
season if the farmer can spare the land and afford the necessary
labor. The best way to do this is to plow the land with a turning-
plow in the fall, selecting a time when the soil is mellow. Harrow
out as many rootstocks as possible and remove them from the

66 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

field. “hen sow some winter grain, such as oats, barley or rye.
Wheat is too late in maturing. The grain should be cut for hay
in the spring, and the land plowed again immediately and thoroughly
harrowed, as in the fall previous. Then every time the most forward
bunches of grass reach 4” to 6” in height, run over the land with
a heel-scrape or any other implement that shaves off the surface
of the soil. To be effective this shaving process must be so thorough
that every sprig of grass is cut. If this is kept up till October every
vestige of Johnson grass will be destroyed. It may come again
from seed next. year, but the seeding plants may be killed, like any
other weed, by thorough cultivation. Care should be taken not to
let any of them get large enough to send out rootstocks before
destroying them. Some badly infested farms have been freed from
this pest by the above method. The usual practice is to take one
field at a time for this treatment, taking several years to extend the
work of eradication over the whole farm. With a rational system
of crop rotation, and the thorough working of the soil common
in the north of England and in many parts of this country, Johnson
grass would not be a pest, but a valuable adjunct to the list of farm
crops. The climate of the entire Johnson grass area permits at
least two crops a year to be grown on every acre of land. A crop
of winter grain, hay and one or two summer crops of cow-pea hay
or sorghum hay can be grown on the worst infested land, with little —
or no interference from the grass, if the land is thoroughly plowed
and harrowed before planting each crop. Better than all, however,
on land adapted to it, and this includes nearly all the worst areas,
alfalfa can be sown on Johnson grass land with periect success.
To do this the land should plowed and the rootstocks thoroughly
harrowed out early in the fall. If, after this, a good beating rain
comes to firm the soil, all the better. Then sow the alfalfa, at the
rate of 20 pounds of seed per acre, early enough in the fall for it to
get a good start before cold weather. The next summer cut it
promptly every time it gets high enough to make a fair crop of
hay. This treatment helps the alfalfa and greatly discourages the
Johnson grass. As alfalfa makes four or five crops of hay a year
in the South (six to nine in some places), and Johnson grass only
three, and as Johnson grass gradually declines in yield anyway, so
that it yields very little three or four years after the last plowing,
the alfalfa will, in a few years, be practically free from the grass.
What little is left actually improves the quality of the alfalfa hay.”

PARA AND GUINEA GRASSES 67

The difficulty in eradicating Johnson grass arises
largely from the inherent quality in the human mind to
let “pretty well” alone. Thus when the grass is fairly
well subdued there is danger that the owner will relax
his vigilance, just when he should redouble his efforts.
It can be eradicated, but the nearer one is to that de-
sired goal the more intense should be his efforts. Salt
will not kill Johnson grass, but kerosene oil is said to
do so; it might be an efficient aid when once the grass
was reduced to a small number of plants.

Para grass (Panicum molle), and Guinea grass (Pani-
cum maximum ).—These two grasses are of great use
in Cuba and other tropical regions. They have been
introduced in a small way into Florida and southern
Louisiana. They are quite unlike in their manner of
growth. Para grass likes rich, moist or even wet land.
It is planted from slips or the roots are obtained. These,
when pushed into the prepared soil during the dormant
season, take root and send out long runners that lie
close on the ground. After the ground is well covered
with these leafy runners, upright stems appear. Para
erass is used mostly for pasturage and makes on rich
soil an astonishing amount. Guinea grass, according to
many writers, is the best of tropical grasses. Of it says
Prof. Frank S. Earle of the Cuban Department of Agri-
culture: “It is the best pasture and hay grass in the
world. It is usually planted by slips. The para grass
is rather a bad weed in some soils, about as bad as John-
son grass. It thrives best in low, half-swampy places.

It yields enormously on lands that would not be fit for
anything else.”

68 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Neither of these grasses will yield much forage on poor
soils, even in Florida.

CEREALS AND ANNUAL GRASSES FOR HAY.

There are situations where it is best to sow some
grass that will make a crop of hay soon after sowing.
There are regions where summer drouths make perennial
meadows impracticable, and there are emergencies on
most farms that make it expedient to sow some seed that
will quickly return to the farmer a crop of hay. Quite
a wide range of plants can be used for such purposes.

Wheat Hay.—In California winter wheat is the almost
universal hay, besides alfalfa. It is not so much sown
for hay as it is cut from the boundaries of the fields to
open places for the harvesters that follow as soon as the
wheat has ripened its grain. Cut before the grain has
formed, or just as it is forming, the straw is full of
sweet sap and the whole plant is palatable and nutritious.
Horses and mules work well on wheat hay, which is,
indeed, preferred by such animals to alfalfa. Barley is
used in the same manner. In eastern America rye is
sometimes cut for hay. In northern America oats and
peas sown together make excellent forage, and while
commonly fed green are sometimes cured into hay.

Time to Cut Cereals for Hay.—A principle involved
in choosing the time to cut any grain for hay is that
at blooming time the plant has gathered from the soil
about all that it will gather; it has stored in its sap
nearly all the nutrients that later will go to make the
grain. After bloom, the nutrients are gathered into
the grain and the stem steadily accumulates wood and

CEREALS FOR HAY 69

loses its nourishing qualities, while the grain gains in
weight and perfection. The lesson is plain: if one wishes
grain he should let it ripen; if he wishes hay he should
cut before the grain forms, after bloom and while the
nutritious sap is all through the structure of the plant.
Then all of the plant will be eaten and none wasted.
Also there will be none of the annoyance of rats and
mice burrowing through the mow in search of grain.

Winter Wheat for Hay.—Probably one of the smooth
wheats (not bearded) will be found best of any of the
common cereals for hay. There are many varieties of
wheat and one can find them adapted to almost all soils
and situations. In testing wheat, oats and rye for forage
in Louisiana on rich alluvial buckshot soil, I was aston-
ished to find how much superior the wheat proved to
either of the other cereals both in weight of yield and
palatability. Rye, a vigorous and worthy crop in north-
ern situations, proved the poorest of all.

Winter Wheat and Vetches for Forage-——Many ex-
periments in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana have
shown winter wheat and winter vetches to make the most
and best forage to be mown off in early spring or during
the winter in far southern latitudes of anything yet test-
ed. Cereals and the legumes, furthermore, balance each
other very well.

CEREALS FOR: HAY.

Rye Hay.—Rye makes as poor hay as one could de-
sire. If it must be used for this purpose mow it as
soon as it begins to shoot, not waiting for it to head
at all.

70 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Rye as Soiling Crop.—For soiling rye has its use,
especially in regions of poor soil and rigorous climate.
It is always a forage deficient in protein, and its chief
good is as a filler and a provider of succulence in rations.

Beardless Spring Barley as Hay.—Beardless spring
barley makes an exceedingly good nurse-crop for clover
or alfalfa. Its merits are that it does not usually lodge,
and being not very prolific does not too much shade
the young legumes. It is best cut for hay just before
the grain forms, since it thus affords its maximum
amount of feeding value, and, getting out of the way,
gives the alfalfa or clover opportunity to grow.

Rescue Grass (Bromus unoiloides).—This grass 1s al-
lied to the cheat grasses. It is hardy, makes pretty good
winter grazing in the South, and has been considerably
exploited. I do not see that it is any better than wheat
and usually seems inferior, though the seed should be
less expensive, and to some extent it will reseed itself.
Seedsmen oftentimes substitute cheat seed for rescue
and thus make good profit, as cheat is a weed seed
that is found in large amounts in wheat and separated
by millers. Spillman says that cheat is by no means,
as good a grass as rescue grass. Unless it is desired that
the grass shall in a manner perpetuate itself by self-
sowing, I should choose wheat or oats rather than res-:
cue grass for the South. This is the “Arctic grass’ of
some seedsmen.

THE MILLETS.

The millets are of a very ancient and honorable fam-
ily of cultivated plants. Our ancestors found them
edible and began their cultivation—perhaps as early as

MILLETS AS DROUTH CROPS 71

they did wheat. Spillman says there are four great
families of millets, three of which are in common use
and have been used as food for man, the most common
being the so-called German millets, Hungarian grass
and the like. These grasses belong to the botanical
species Chaetochloa italica. The second group com-
prises the broomcorn millets. Mulions of men live
on the seeds of these millets, while our ancestors cer-
tainly in Europe ate the German millets, as we find their
seeds in the old lake dwellings and kitchen middings
of Europe. The third group comprises the Japanese
millets cultivated extensively in parts of Japan and China
as food for man and beast. The fourth is Pearl millet
(Pennisetum spicatum ).

. Millets Dry Weather Crops.—The millets seem nearly
all of them to be adapted to conditions of relative scarcity
of rainfall. In the United States Spillman has shown
that millets (German millet; Hungarian grass and their
relatives) are mostly grown in Kansas, Nebraska, both
Dakotas, northwest. Missouri, somewhat in Iowa, north-
ern Illinois, and on the black soils of Texas. Millet
comes in where timothy is uncertain and forage is needed.
As it is sown in the spring the land can have good cul-
ture to aid it in holding its moisture during hot, dry
weather following. It is also a quick-growing crop
that may be sown as late.as June, perhaps on land de-
voted previously to some crop that failed. It is often
called in as a help when one sees a hay famine im-
pending, and in this use there is good. For a compre-
hensive account of the millets I direct the reader to
Spillman’s “Farm Grasses of the United States,” and

V2 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

to Hunt’s “The Forage and Fibre Crops of America.”
They do not properly belong in my scheme of meadows
and pastures because being annual plants they can not
be used in any plan of permanent meadowland.

Sowing Millets—I may say, however, that the millets
should not be sown till the earth is warm in the spring.
Often one will get best results from sowing in June.
The millets revel in hot weather.

Quantity of Seed to Sow.—A bushel of millet seed
weighs from 48 to 50 pounds. From 1 to 4 pecks of seed
are sown to the acre, depending on the soil. With
good soil and a good seedbed a peck of seed will pro-
duce more forage than a heavier seeding. If grown for
the seed a peck to the acre is sufficiently heavy seeding.
Under favorable conditions 3 to 4 tons of hay or 20 to
So bushels of seed: per acre are secured.

When to Cut Millet—The time to cut millet hay
is when in’ bloom and before the seed form. Millet
hay sometimes injuriously affects horses fed on it be-
cause of its effect on the kidneys. When cut early
enough and fed in moderation it seems a satisfactory
forage for most animals. Spillman calls attention to
the fact that it is somewhat richer in protein than is
timothy. Millet is a heavy féeder and by no means
enriches land on which it is grown. It is so rank in
its growth, and shades the land so well, that it smothers
out many weeds. It is said to destroy even Canada
thistles and quack grass, though such reports must be
taken with a grain of allowance. Doubtless it would
set these pests back not a little if a good stand were
obtained and it grew over them and shaded them.

CONCLUSIONS: GRASSES FOR HAY 73

The millets are not at all adapted to use as nurse-
crops for clovers or other grasses. It has been my ob-
servation that many men sow millet occasionally, but
few care for the crop in regular use. In Ohio I have
known few men to sow millet two years in succession.
Doubtless the fact that the market does not call for
millet hay has considerable influence.

SUMMARY: GRASSES FOR MEADOWS.

Farm practice seems to be about abreast with good
science in the matter of grass meadows. ‘Timothy is
the almost universal meadow grass and deserves the
place wherever there is enough moisture, lime, fertility
and not too much heat. The other grasses are almost
all inferior to timothy in point of yield, ease of estab-
lishment and general adaptability to a farm scheme. In
dry soils north of the Ohio River brome grass seems
the best meadow grass, especially desirable for the Da-
kotas, Nebraska and farther west. There is danger in
sowing brome grass that one may get seed of quack
grass. Timothy seed is easily distinguished and not
much adulterated. Orchard grass is a better grass for
pasture than for hay. Redtop denotes a second-rate
soil or worse. Meadow fescue has considerable merit
and is well worth putting into mixtures. It seems es-
pecially well adapted to the soils and climate of Kansas.

After 30 years’ study of grasses I could advise a
beginner in farming whose land was located within the
cornbelt no better than this: Drain your land, lime it
and feed it. Sow timothy, mix with it if you choose
some meadow fescue and brome grass. Sow red and

74 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

alsike clover with it. Feed the meadow each year. Mow
it but once—just as the bloom falls. Pasture lightly
if it grows up rank in the fall. If timothy does not
thrive on your soil because of poverty or wetness, take
redtop. If you wish to combine mowing with pasturage
take orchard grass. If you are growing for a short
term of years you may mix in rye grasses if you like;
they are being steadily discarded in England, once their
chief stronghold. Timothy will do the trick easiest
for you, as it is easiest sown and established.

To the man in the Gulf States I would say: You may
use timothy and clover also if you have rich soil; sown
in the fall they will give you at least one good hay
crop but you will find redtop better adapted to your
climate and more enduring. Better lime your soil if it
needs it and sow alfalfa; it likes hot suns and the
grasses do not. Do not sow Johnson grass if you do
not have it aready, but if you have it sow alfalfa with
it; cut always before seed forms; it will yield you a lot
of good hay—nearly better than timothy.

To the man of Oklahoma, Texas, the dry parts of
Kansas, Nebraska and New Mexico, where “dry farm-
ing” is being done: Do not depend much on perennial
grasses; they do not root deeply enough. You must till
your soil each year in order to hold your moisture;
you can make hay of wheat, oats, barley, sorghum and
corn. Permanent meadows are for lands with ample
rainfall. Meadows in permanent grass waste much
moisture through evaporation from the surface soil. They

can not be tilled without destroying the grasses that you
wish to cherish.

PASTURE GRASSES 75

And yet there are many splendid native grasses that
root deep. Bluestem (Ogropyron repens) is one of our
native western grasses, better than timothy, adapted to
dry soils in the Northwest. So of the great bunch grass
of Washington, Oregon and Idaho (Amropyron diver-
gens); it has promise for dry lands but nothing that
I know is adapted to the dry, hot Southwest but annual
grasses, as wheat, sorghum and the Kaffir-corns.

GRASSES FOR PASTURE.

There is a difference in the requirements of pasture
and meadow. Meadows are left undisturbed by ani-
mals; they are mown off once or twice during the year
and then left to grow up again. Pastures are usually
fed off nearly constantly all during the growing season,
and even more or less through the winter season. Some
grasses are especially adapted to being so fed off: others
are not. ‘Timothy, easily the first of meadow grasses,
soon disappears under close pasturing. Even rank John-
son grass succumbs to close pasturing. Little sheep fes-
cue would hardly make enough mowing to be gathered
with the rake, and yet it yields well as a pasture grass.
Kentucky bluegrass, the almost universal pasture grass
of America, 1 a poor hay grass, yet it has made 500
pounds of beef. from one acre in Virginia. A good pas-
ture grass is not injured by being tread upon by animals’
hoofs. It thickens itself and heals over scars, grows up
cheerfully when eaten down and yields tender, palatable
nutritious herbage. In America it is common to con-
sider a pasture a permanent thing. Some grasses im-
prove with age, with the accumulation of a “‘sod,” a

76 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

sort of laboratory where nature is performing mysteries.

The best pastures I know are old pastures. In Eng-
land also old pastures are often highly esteemed, yet
there is also a custom to lay down grass and clovers for
a few years only, feeding them off with sheep or cat-
tle. The rye grasses and fescues, indeed a very long
list of grasses, are added to a pasture or grazing mix-
ture. They do not highly esteem our all but universal
Kentucky bluegrass. They complain that it soon takes
possession of the land and displaces coarser and larger-
yielding grasses.

Kentucky Bluegrass (Poa pratensis).

Ever smelt Kentucky grass,
Or heard about its blueness?

Seems as if the whole blamed world
Was bursting out with newness.

Skies and folks alike all smiles,
Gracious! you are lucky
If you spend a day in June
Down in old Kentucky.
—Alfred Monson.

Of no grass has more been said than of this. It is
almost everywhere found in eastern America from far
north in Canada to the Gulf States. In many places it
is called “June grass”; in Maryland “green grass.” Beal
says it is found in Australia, Asia and Europe. It varies
somewhat according to its locality. Its name “blue-
grass’ seems to me somewhat fanciful for assuredly its
sister-grass, Canada bluegrass, is more blue. I think Ken-
tucky bluegrass came originally from Europe. The evi-
dence to me is found in the fact that it was not one of

KENTUCKY BLUEGRASS

Kentucky Bluegrass (Poa pratensis),

77

78 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

the prairie grasses of Illinois, nor seen on the rich open
plains of Ohio, until white men came. When introduced
into prairie regions it quite often crowds out the native
grasses and afterwards, so farmers complain, yields less
forage during dry seasons than did the grasses dis-
placed.

Give bluegrass credit for having fought its own way
alone and unhelped. Without any aid of man it came
to the new clearing; it grew about the cabin dooryard;
it carpeted the newly-cleared pasture; it enriched and
beautified the roadside; it held the clayey hillside and
animals cropped it and waxed fat. Not corn, not wheat,
not tobacco, but bluegrass became the chief article of
export from the Central West, going out disguised as
beef, mutton or pork, a large part of each being of its
making. Of the millions of bluegrass pastures in Amer-
ica only a few have ever had seed of this grass sown
upon them.

Bluegrass varies much in height. I have seen it 4’
high where something held it up and again blooming
when less than a foot high on poor soil or in cold climate.
Its fine, feathery top does not last long but dries up and
is not then relished by animals. There is a great wealth
of blades, however, and these do not cease to push up
all summer and long after most things are frozen in the
fall. The decay of these blades and the creeping roots
make the sod which is often tough enough to be rolled
into a roll like a green carpet.

Bluegrass spreads rapidly by creeping rootstocks and
thus thickens up a thin stand. Indeed it crowds out most
other grasses, give it time. Tts ability to displace other

THE BLUEGRASS REGIONS 79

grasses depends much on the soil in which it is found.
In rich limestone soils it revels, and there few things
are able to keep foothold with it. Brome grass seems
crowded out by it, and even that dreaded quack grass.
Orchard grass seems to hold its own with bluegrass and
even to spread among it. Meadow fescue grows well
with it. When the soil is right, Canada bluegrass, red-
top and timothy give way before it. All the wild prairie
erasses yield to Kentucky bluegrass sooner or later if
found growing where there is enough soil moisture.
Clovers of many sorts consort well with bluegrass.
Naturally the little creeping white clover is found with
it. Red clover and mammoth clover grow well with
*t. <Alsike clover is found with it on certain soils. Al-
falfa does not much like bluegrass but bluegrass likes
the afalfa well and crowds in wherever it is sown. With
clovers growing in it, bluegrass is at its best, makes its
best yield and makes its fattest lambs, pigs and cattle.

THE BLUEGRASS REGIONS OF AMERICA.

There is a distinct relationship between the carbonate
of lime content of a soil and its ability to grow good
bluegrass. Carbonate of lime is one of the foundations
of soil fertility—perhaps the one thing most essential
and most lacking in many types of soil. Where car-
bonate of lime abounds in the soil there is found the
most bountiful fertility. There is found a soft carpet
of bluegrass over every bit of land not tilled or forested,
often, indeed, carpeting the land beneath the oaks. Car-
bonate of lime is also the mother of ‘the clovers and they
feed the bluegrass. The reader interested in what car-

SU MEADOWS AND PASTURES

bonate of lime can do for the soil should read “Alfalfa
Farming in America,” where a rather close study of this
important subject has been made.

Wherever limestone is found bluegrass is seen. It
grows also all over the northern states, but it does not
assume great importance elsewhere than on limestone.
It can be made to grow on many soils by the simple
expedient of heavy application of carbonate of lime. On
sands in Maryland I have seen good bluegrass along the
roadsides where oyster shells had been ground up by
wagon wheels. In Vermont is a notable bluegrass re-
gion: some spots of it are found in New York (it grows
sparingly over nearly all the state) ; there are fine lime-
stone valleys where it thrives in Pennsylvania and Mary-
land. One reaches Virginia before one finds bluegrass
enthroned as queen of all field crops. In the limestone
regions, mostly in a belt running through the state from
the Potomac River to the line of Tennessee, one sees
splendid pastures fed by fine cattle, horses and sheep.
The chief interest in the good parts of these bluegrass
counties is in grazing, and the livestock fed there is ex-
ceedingly good. ‘There is practically no other grass than
bluegrass on these hills. One finds splendid examples
in Loudoun, Clarke, Shenandoah, Augusta, and on down
through Tazewell, Russell and Smyth counties. I have
not named all the counties having fine bluegrass but
enough to show the line or “pay streak” of carbonate of
lime that makes the grass. In Russell county Hon.
Henry Stuart has grown from a pasture as much as 500
pounds of beef per acre and had considerable fall pas-
ture left for calves when the export steers were gone.

VIRGINIA GRASS LANDS

Virginia Mountain Pastures,

81

82 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Once in Burke’s Garden in Tazewell county an old
man told me of the first coming of bluegrass to that
mountain vale. His father was a slave-owner who grew
corn, and the new grass coming unsown troubled him
greatly. He had the slaves dig it up and lay it on the
stumps to die, dolefully predicting that “this grass will
some day run us out of the country.” Instead, the grass
now carpets nearly all of the valley and sends out many
fine fat cattle and lambs each year.

When the Virginians went to: Kentucky they unwit-
tingly took the grass with them in their old high wagon
boxes as forage for their horses or as bedding for them-
selves. Thus it spread along the wayside and in a few
years was at home in the new, rich soils of central Ken-
tucky. It found there a most congenial home. That
soil is rich in phosphorus and rich in lime. Bluegrass
grew there so vigorously that it seemed like a new plant
and took the name of the state in which it grew best.
It is assuredly true that bluegrass partakes considerably
of the nature of the soil upon which it grows. | This is
true of other plants as well, but is perhaps more espe-
cially true of this grass. At least it is notable that
horses grazed on bluegrass in Kentucky on the soils so
rich in lime and phosphorus have a splendid bone and
a wonderful stamina and endurance. They have also
an almost inextinguishable goodness that is hard to de-
fine or explain. It is as true of the men and women
of the region, so the underlying rocks and soil do assur-
edly influence what springs out of them. Ohio may on
its more favored acres grow more bluegrass than Ken-
tucky, but it seems to make softer horseflesh and poorer

83

CATTLE ON BLUEGRASS

Grazing in the Mountains of

Vireinia.

84 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

bone. Illinois grows big, juicy bluegrass but it does not
make cattle fat as does the grass of the Virginia moun-
tains.

Ohio was settled soon after Kentucky, and bluegrass
came with settlement. The natural bluegrass area of
Ohio lies mostly west of the Scioto River, though there
are rich hills and valleys east of the river that pro-
duce the grass well. The advantages of bluegrass are
that it is very hardy, is green early in spring and late
in fall (it is not quite so hardy as brome grass, though) ;
it is very nutritious and palatable; it makes much milk,
muscle and fat; it is fairly productive. It yields nearly
as much dry matter as the larger grasses, if we except
the meadow grasses. The yield is variable, depending
on-moisture of the soil and fertility. Neglected and
closely grazed, bluegrass pastures are often yielding com-
paratively little. On Woodland Farm we have tested
plots with and without manures; the land unfed yielded
at first cutting 6,400 pounds of green forage per acre;
the manured land, 20,000 pounds.

This was the spring growth only; there would be
about two-thirds as much more to come from the land
during later croppings. The grass was cut about July 1.

Bluegrass for Lawns.—Wherever the soil is good and
moisture can be had, north of Tennessee bluegrass is
the best lawn grass. It is doubtful whether any grass
added to it improves it. It is better when mixed with
white clover. If the soil is poor sheep fescue and other
inferior grasses may help it out. Canada bluegrass will
grow on poorer soil than Kentucky blue. In Tennessee

SEEDING BLUEGRASS 85

if the lawn can have partial shade, if it has a rich soil
supplied with enough lime, bluegrass will thrive. South
of this state the summer suns seem too hot and Bermuda
grass is better.

Disadvantages of Bluegrass.—It spreads rapidly and
crowds out timothy, clovers and alfalfa. It is a little
hard in wet seasons to eradicate from plowed fields,
though this is not serious. It grows in the moist weather
of spring and crowds out better drouth-resistant grasses.
This is especially true in the western prairie states and
in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, where it is com-
plained that “bluegrass crowds out all other grasses and
then dies itself of drouth.”

Seeding Bluegrass.—Bluegrass seed is small; there are
about some 2,200,000 seeds in a pound, yet one cannot
bank on more than.a very small percentage of them germi-
nating owing to the difficulty in sowing them to a proper
depth, having sufficient moisture and other favorable con-
ditions. Hunt says that when 40 pounds are sown on
one acre it puts 2,000 seeds to the square foot. I think
that bluegrass will lie dormant in the soil for some time,
as it often appears almost spontaneously in a meadow of
timothy or alfalfa. One can not establish bluegrass ex-
cept very early in spring or during cool, moist weather
of fall. The seed does not: germinate unless during some
part of the day the temperature drops to 4o°. It is
cheaper and easier to establish bluegrass by sowing it
with other grasses. If the grass is not already found
growing wild in that neighborhood it is probably of no
_ use to sow it at all until something has been done to

86 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

change the soil type. However, if the climate is all
right the soil may be made right. Heavy liming, prefer-
ably with ground and unburned limestone (carbonate of
lime), then manuring, are all that bluegrass requires to
make it succeeed. In Virginia it is a custom to turn
under a heavy crop of cowpeas before seeding to blue-
grass. The more nitrogen in the soil the better for this
crop; it revels too in humus. It is not a poor-soil grass.

One should prepare a fine, firm seedbed for bluegrass.
He can hardly harrow and firm his land too well. He
may sow in September with fall wheat or barley. This
mixture will give good results (sooner or later the blue-
grass will have almost complete possession): Timothy,
15 pounds; Kentucky bluegrass, 10; meadow fescue, 5;
red clover, 7, or alsike clover, 6 pounds or, better, mix
them together and sow 8 pounds, little white clover, 2
pounds. Clovers are not well sown in the fall; this mix-
ture can be sown early in April or in late March if the
ground can be gotten ready. Or the grasses may be sown
in September with wheat, a very thin seeding, or barley
or even rye, so it is sown very thin; rye makes too many
leaves to be a first-rate nurse-crop for small grasses, and
the clovers added in the spring. I really prefer the
spring-sowing, as then the conditions can all be con-
trolled nicely. Late spring seeding is useless. Timothy
is the first grass to appear but sooner or later the blue-
grass will crowd that out.

Mixture with Brome Grass.—Really I should prefer
the brome grass mixture to that with timothy. Brome
grass is as easily set as timothy, so one gets good seed,

PREPARING TO SEED BLUEGRASS 87

and once it is set it makes far better pasture than tim-
othy, more and better pasture. Indeed, it is possible that
it may make better pasture than the bluegrass itself; that
is a point yet to be determined. In time on bluegrass
soil the brome ewill disappear almost completely, this
because the animals eat it soonest and because the blue-
grass though a smaller grass has a.way of crowding in
very closely, so that even the vigorous brome grass is
outdone. In any event, in sowing a mixture with brome
grass one is assured of good pasturage almost from
the outset. The one objection to the mixture is that
sometimes one buys seed of quack grass with brome grass,
but this is no evil if one is to devote the field to permanent
pasture. In truth, quack grass (Agropyrum repens) is
one of the very best grasses for pasture. Nor is it very
hard to conquer except in northern and ultra-moist lo-
calities. I do not find it a particularly troublesome weed
in central Ohio, while in Michigan, Wisconsin and New
York farmers dread it exceedingly.

Coming now to seeding bluegrass with brome grass, I
suggest early spring as the best time. The land is well
to be plowed during winter or else disked up with no
plowing at all. Manure will help; use it as liberally
as you can. I should sow then 20 pounds of bluegrass,
Io pounds of brome grass and a mixture of clovers ac-
cording to the soil. Sow with it also 5 pounds of tim-
othy if you like; it will help thicken the sod at first. Do
not mix orchard grass with this seed as it does not give
brome grass a fair show; animals relish the brome grass
too well to eat orchard grass while it is to be had.

88 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Methods of Sowing the Seed.—Having the fine, firm
seedbed I suggest drilling into it one bushel to the acre
of beardless spring barley, afterward sowing the grass
mixture by hand. To cover the seed sufficiently a brush
harrow is good. One can readily make this by fastening
small, stiff, wiry branches to a brace, or even drag brush
over the field—anything that will not dig deep or cover
seed deep. Mind it is done early in spring. Observe
afterward how much finer a stand you have where you
have applied the most manure. If no manure is avail-
able and one wishes to stimulate the young grasses one
may apply before sowing the seed commercial fertilizers.
Bonemeal will do wonders—say 400 pounds to the acre,
or the same amount and 100 pounds of nitrate of soda.
In truth, the use of bonemeal or phosphatic fertilizers of
some sort has been well proved to be a first-rate agricul-
tural practice when establishing grasses.

Sowing Bluegrass with Alfalfa—lf{ I wished to estab-
lish the very best possible bluegrass I would forget the —
bluegrass and prepare the land exactly right for alfalfa.
Then when the alfalfa has been sown and established I
would know that the bluegrass would come in tremendous
vigor, even if no seed were sown at all. Naturally it
would come in better when seed was sown, say 15 pounds
of alfalfa, and at the same time in early April 20
pounds more or less of bluegrass. In England the best
farmers have learned that there is nothing else so good
a preparation for grass as alfalfa.

Improving Bluegrass by Sowing Alfalfa.—Similarly,
it is a great scheme to sow alfalfa on an old bluegrass

SOWING FERTILIZER WITH SEED 89

sod. One first drains the wet places in the pasture, plows
the land in early spring, disks and harrows it and sows
to alfalfa with a good dressing of fertilizer. It takes well
on such a seedbed. In two years there is a splendid mix-
ture of alfalfa and bluegrass and in four years the heaviest
of bluegrass and not much alfalfa left.

Example of Successful Seeding.—In 1900 we bought
a clay hill field above our own land. It had not been in
grass for half a century. It was beginning to wash and
gully badly and the clay was covering our better kept
soil below. We had little expectation of profit from this
field for many years, believing that regeneration would
be slow. There was no available manure for it. We
therefore bought commercial fertilizers, mixing them our-
selves. Acid phosphate and tankage were the ingredients,
the tankage being slaughter-house waste, dried and
ground, the acid phosphate the bones of pre-historic ani-
mal life, treated with sulphuric acid to make it dissolve
in the soil and available to plants. We disked the field
very early in spring and as deep as we could, then drilled
in about 300 pounds per acre of this fertilizer. We sowed
two bushels of barley per acre and right behind the drill
a mixture of grass seeds; there were brome grass, orchard
erass, timothy, Kentucky bluegrass and white clover.
After sowing the seed we rolled it with a 2,200-pound
roller, bringing it down to a firm condition, so that
the moisture would come clear to the surface. It proved
to be a dry summer. When the barley grew up about
18” we turned in sheep which ate it down; then we took
them off. Their tiny feet yet further firmed the soil.

90 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Later in the season they were turned in again for a
few weeks—not long enough to eat the young grass close.
In the fall cockleburs came thick with other weeds. We
put the mower over the field. Stock was kept off in the
winter and at wet times, as there was only the young
grass and no sod as yet. In the spring of 1902 we put
the manure spreader over the entire field. The grass
came on well and thickened up wonderfully. That old
scarred hillside became a mass of thick grass and white
clover. It pastured a great deal of stock—sheep, cattle
and colts. I have no doubt that it yielded us at least $5
per acre. And each year since it has done better, for the
grass is now firmly rooted. The bluegrass is gradually
rooting cut most of the other grasses. White clover has
been luxuriant over all the land. That is because
of the acid phosphate which we applied. Clover has
also stored the soil with nitrogen, which the grasses take
up and use. Men seldom sow white clover because they
say it will come in of itself. That is true, but it does
not pay to wait; better sow the seed and get immediately
what would take years to accomplish in nature’s leisurely
process of seed-growing and distribution. It does not
pay to allow nature to do one’s farming.

{ write now in July, 1910. The foregoing account
of the old field was written seven years ago. That field
has continued to give us great profit and has taught us
some lessons. For one thing, we now know better than
to mix brome grass with orchard grass. There is now
little indeed of the brome grass left; it is mainly a field
of orchard grass and bluegrass. It is not well to mix

MAXIMUM BLUEGRASS RETURNS 91

orchard grass and bluegrass. Each should be in separate
fields.

Mixing Orchard Grass with Bluegrass—The result
has been that animals like the bluegrass so much better
than they do the orchard grass that the bluegrass is kept
grazed too close and the orchard grass let grow too rank
and tall. Nevertheless, the bluegrass is steadily encroach-
ing on its competitor. Orchard grass is a tremendously
good grass, but sow it in a field by itself where it will
be fenced so that animals must eat it when they are
turned to it.

Securing a Maximum of Bluegrass—Not many men
understand how to manage a bluegrass pasture; in truth,
they seldom give it any thought at all. It is assumed that
pastures should care for themselves and be always cheer-
ful carriers of all the animals that can be piled on them.
The following principles of good management the author
has observed: Feed animals on the sod in winter when
it is not wet enough to tramp into mire. Use the manure
spreader to cover thinly the poorer spots in the field.
Keep animals religiously off in early spring; let the grass
not only start but grow till there is a good, rich, sweet
bite. In latitude 40° May to is early enough to turn on
bluegrass pasture. This one feature is of great im-
portance—more than is often realized. Grasses are half-
killed by being gnawed to the very earth in spring when
they are seeking to re-establish themselves after a long,
cruel winter. The carrying capacity of a pasture may
be nearly doubled by observing this rule, though it re-
quires good management to accomplish it,

92 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Export Cattle on Bluegrass.—‘“Have enough grass so
that the cattle can never eat more than two-thirds of it;
have enough grass for 20 and put on it 15; let the grass
cover the pasture so that it shades it and prevents the
land drying out in summer. If you find you have too
much grass when the cattle are gone fat in the fall you
will be able to feed it off during November and December
with younger cattle. Enough grass for three and two
eating it will make export cattle.’ This is the advice of
one of America’s most successful cattlemen who owns
thousands of acres of mountain pastures in Virginia. In
deed, the one item of leaving the grass long so that it
will mulch the soil and keep it moist is worth a great
deal, though grass too long is not relished by animals
as is shorter, sweeter, fresher blades. From my own
observation, I urge the use of the manure spreader on
bluegrass pastures, the use of phosphorus, of clover seeds
when needed, of keeping animals off till pastures can
start in spring.

How Bluegrass Came to Ohio.—The settler came with
much toil and trouble into the woods of Ohio. He chose
a dry little hill in the woods for his homesite. Below the
house there bubbled up a spring. After the cabin walls
of log were reared and roofed the spring was dug out
and walled with stone. Then clearing was begun. The
first crop on the fresh-cleared and burned land was wheat
or corn. About the sole crops undertaken were wheat,
corn, flax, and buckwheat. Hay was cut from the
marshes from native wild grasses. Cows were turned
outside the clearings to browse in the woods. Each little

93

EXPORT STEERS ON BLUEGRASS

Virginia Bluegrass Makes Superior Export Beef,

94 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

herd had its bell-cow which signalled constantly the
whereabouts of the herd to the boy whose mission it was
to bring them home to be milked. Sometimes the boy
got lost in the woods while hunting cows. One nearly
grown young man who lacked woodcraft was lost several
times and finally his father gave him a compass with in-
structions that if he found the cows they would surely
lead him home; if he did not find them the compass would
tell him the direction. Yet he was again lost. Search-
ing parties found the trail of the boy and cows, going
the wrong direction, then of the boy alone, he having
abandoned the cows. When they overtook him he was
miles in the wilderness. He explained that “the dumb
cows would not go in the right direction without being
driven,” then he got tired of driving them and they were
contrary and he left them. “Later the compass itself
got contrary and pointed east when it should point north.”

Those cows did not find much grass. There was some
woods grass, for the trees had little undergrowth beneath
them. There were old clearings made by fire and Indians
along the streams and here was wild grass. It seems
there was no bluegrass. This first sprung up about the
camp-fires of emigrants from Kentucky and Virginia. It
spread slowly at first, then rapidly and occupied the
roadsides, the settlers’ dooryards, the fence corners, erow-
ing in the woods wherever the sun shone. It grew espe-
cially strong in southwestern Ohio, in the land west of
the Scioto and as far north as Hardin county. It even-
tually overspread nearly the whole state. Pickaway, Ross,
Fayette, Madison, Butler, Warren, Montgomery, Miami,

ae bt hee

GRAZING IN FOREIGN LANDS

95

96 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Greene, Clark, Champaign and a few other counties grew
it especially strong and vigorous. Timothy grass was
introduced and sown for meadow. Blue grass established
itself in these meadows and crowded out the timothy.
The national road was builded and communication with
the East established more easily than before and cattle
began to be a prime source of wealth. In the early .’30s
tmen began learning that there was as much profit in
fencing pastures and letting cattle graze the unsown blue-
grass as in anything. Later it became the most profitable
industry of the southwestern part of the state. Hogs
were always grown in numbers and this industry was
most important, but cattle could travel afoot to Baltimore
or Philadelphia.

In Pickaway, Madison, Clark, Greene and Champaign
counties there grew immense estates, from 600 to 4,000
acres in extent. The timber was bur or white oak, black
walnut, elm, wild cherry and ash. It did not stand very
thick. There grew up after settlement thickets of hazel-
nut. These the cattlemen grubbed out and the bluegrass
took possession of the ground beneath the trees. Im-
mense pastures set with trees like parks of England were
grazed by cattle that fattened mostly on the grass. Charles
Phellis had one pasture of this nature of 500 acres as
late as 20 years ago. White clover came with the blue-
grass. Neither was ever sown, so far as I can learn.
The cattle were sold at four or five years, sometimes as
young as three years. They were mostly grown from
cows kept by the settlers on the hills, New England Yan-
kees. Many of these hill farmers were content with small

BLUEGRASS ON LIMESTONE 97

farms of 100 to 200 acres, milking cows and making
cheese, raising calves and pigs, selling the calves in the
fall to the big farmers of the “plains country.” The
hill farmer pitied the plains farmer, who was stuck down
in mud and miasma, suffering plagues of chills and fever,
mosquitoes, green-headed flies and rattle-snakes.

The long-headed, ambitious young men went to the
plains for all that. Some of them walked there. They
were men of mighty muscle and brain. They could do
anything that men needed to do in that land from break-
ing oxen to hewing out timbers to roof a home. These
men worked hard and lived long. Their sons, born in
prosperous times, worked very little. Their grandsons
have taken two ways of life—part of them have deserted
the soil altogether, others have taken hold with about
as much energy as their grandfathers had and are re-
conquering the soil and learning to make two blades
of grass grow where but one grew in the palmiest days
of their grandsires.- It is a land resting now on a foun-
dation of drain tiles. Not a farm but has miles of them.
~Woodland Farm has as much as 16 miles of them just
at the edge of the plains country. It is a land threaded
now with stone roads. It is a land of homes, of old
trees, of memories that awaken pride, a land of beauty
and chivalry. They say the fairest women out of Ken-
tucky are in that land. It is a land of limestone and
sturdy-legged boys, and of girls with the blush of the
rose in their cheeks and the glint of the sun in their hair.

The methods of growing and fattening cattle in those
early days were delightfully simple. Calves did not fare

98 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

very sumptuously the first winter. They got some nub-
bins of corn from the best feeders’ hands. The hay was
wild grass later intermixed with bluegrass and corn sto-
ver. Corn was all cut up into shocks of 144 or 256 hills.
It was fed on the ground in the fields in the shelter of -
the timber. The second summer of the steer’s life he
was on bluegrass. He got round and sleek there. He
had salt and good water and no more. The second win-
ter of the steer’s life was like the first except he might
not get any nubbins of corn at all or he might get a por-
tion of shock corn. He generally got rather thin before
spring on corn stover, which was weatherbeaten in Feb-
ruary and March. But he came to grass with a good
appetite. He was now two years old and something be-
gan to be expected of him. He might grow fat on grass
alone or he might be fed green corn as soon as it ripened,
and this be continued until some time in December, or
he might be fed shock corn all winter and go to market
when he was three years old. Some that did not look
ready to feed would be roughed through the third winter.

After the Short-horn blood came in, the quality of the
cattle and their early-maturing qualities were greatly im-
proved. In the ’50s there were very good cattle leaving
Ohio. In the ’60s my memory begins and some mag-
nificent cattle were fed in my country. They were larger,
rougher, fatter than cattle now, as I remember it. They
were far heavier. In the ’70s cattle were marketed at
an earlier age than had been customary and seldom were
they more than three years old when shipped. The rail-
way began to supersede the drive in the ’5os.

CONCLUSIONS ABOUT BLUEGRASS 99

What of the number of cattle fed then and now? It
is mere guess-work but I think there are double the num-
ber fed now. There are more men at it now. There is
little forest left. Cattle are no longer grown on the farms
to any great extent; they come to be filled up, fattened
and to go on. The land produces double what it ever
did despite the roseate visions of eyes turned back-
ward. We are better farmers and better feeders, too.
We are not the mighty men of muscle our sires were, nor
are we so saving and economical as they. We are making
more money but we are not building fortunes as they did,
nor can we so readily as they did. They were in a new,
glorious land, blossoming with hopes.

SUMMARY OF KENTUCKY BLUEGRASS.

Bluegrass is the most universal of grasses, the best for
lawns on suitable soils not too far south, the best for
roadsides and certainly one of the best for pastures.
Bluegrass loves a rich soil with enough carbonate of
lime in it and sufficient phosphorus and nitrogen. It is
essentially a grass of limestone soils. It affords much
herbage of unusually high nutrition. Seemingly its one
rival as a pasture grass on good soils is brome grass
(Bromus inermuis). Bluegrass pays well for being fed
with manure and fertilizers.. It grows well with clovers,
and they strengthen it. Bluegrass creeps into alfalfa
meadows and the result is strong, unusually luxuriant
bluegrass, though the alfalfa will be weakened. It is
best sown with a mixture of coarser grasses, such as
timothy, meadow fescue and brome grass, which it later

100 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

supplants. It does not grow well with orchard grass
since animals eat the bluegrass too greedily, leaving the
orchard grass untouched. To get the most possible out
of it do not turn animals on the pasture before the grass
is strong and affording a full bite, and do not during
hot weather graze it down to the bare earth. Blue-
grass finds summer heats and drouth its worst enemies.
It enriches soils on which it grows by accumulating a sod
rich in nitrogen. |

Kentucky bluegrass varies in worth according to the
soil on which it grows. One can hardly get the maximum
yield from his soil sown to bluegrass because it is rather
a shallow feeder and dries out the soil rapidly. Never-
theless, as it needs no cultivation, enriches land and prop-
erly managed affords much excellent grazing that makes
the highest quality of animal life, one should reflect well
before he plows up a bluegrass pasture, and should con-
sider whether he is not seriously at fault in not estab-
lishing a new one. It pays as well to manure a blue-
grass sod as any other land on the farm. ‘There is
no leaching away of fertility put on bluegrass.

Canada Bluegrass (Poa compressa).—It sometimes
seems to me that this grass should really bear the name
“bluegrass,” as it is of a dark, bluish color, much more of
a blue than the common Kentucky bluegrass. It has
many common names, wire grass, Virginia bluegrass and
flat-stemmed bluegrass. It is a shorter, more slender
grass than Kentucky bluegrass and more nearly ever-
green. Its stems do not dry up as do those of blue-
grass, but remain green for a considerable time. It is

CANADA BLUEGRASS 101

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Canada Bluegrass (Poa Compressa),

102 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

rather hard and somewhat tough, but it is sweet and
very nutritious. Animals like it well and cattle fatten
on it. Horses especially thrive on Canada bluegrass and
when it is sometimes made into hay, horsemen are glad
to have a chance to buy it.

It is right curious how widely distributed is Canada
bluegrass. I have seen it in northern Idaho. It is said
that as early as 1823 it was found growing wild along
the upper Saskatchewan in Canada. It is everywhere
in the eastern states of America and as far south as Ten-
_nessee and the mountains of North Carolina. It is not
a southern grass, but will endure about the same amount
of heat and drouth as its cousin, Kentucky bluegrass.

Canada bluegrass is less particular about its soil than
is Kentucky bluegrass. It likes clays and hard soils;
it comes where the land is rather infertile and makes
the best of it. Where there is not quite enough lime, not
quite enough fertility for bluegrass, we find this hard-
ler type. Sow the two together and if the soil is in-
fertile and lime lacking, presently the Canada bluegrass
will have possession and the Kentucky cousin will have
retreated. Enrich that soil and it may be that the Canada
cousin must retreat while the more pampered cousin
comes to the front. It is a fair indication of land to
note which of these grasses it supports in nature. I
should say that land supporting spontaneously Kentucky
bluegrass was worth about 50 per cent more than that
growing Canada bluegrass; there may be even a greater
difference than that. It is a good grass, though, not to
be despised—grass that holds its color and freshness even

CANADA BLUEGRASS 103

till snow buries it—a tremendously hardy grass, difficult
to kill in cultivated fields and not tolerating companion-
ship of clovers as well as does its namesake from Ken-
tucky.

There are many soils on which it should be sown,
either alone or in mixture with other grasses. Lands
lacking in lime, in fertility, may take it quite well when
they would not take Kentucky bluegrass at all, The best
grasses to mix with it for somewhat inferior soils are
redtop and orchard grass. Sheep fescue added to this
will also serve well. Cattle are fattened on this grass.
Sometimes where both grasses are found on the same farm
cattle are first fed on Kentucky bluegrass and later in the
season are turned on Canada bluegrass to finish them.
It is unquestionably a grass of high nutritive powers.

Quantity of Seed to Sow.—Canada bluegrass seed is
often sold as a substitute for true Kentucky bluegrass,
which leads to some disappointment. It is an easy grass
to establish; 15 pounds of seed sown with grain in the
fall, or with timothy, will give a stand. What has been
said of sowing Kentucky bluegrass will apply as well
to this grass.

Canada Bluegrass as a Lawn Grass.—Where there is
not quite enough fertility nor moisture for Kentucky
bluegrass it may easily be that Canada bluegrass will
make a very good lawn. For this purpose it should not
be mixed with Kentucky bluegrass, as the two do not
blend well. Sheep fescue sown with it will do very well.
Seed of Canada bluegrass is usually threshed with a
common thresher. The crop is mown with a mower after

104 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

the stems begin to assume a golden color. It is cured in
cocks and in the mow or stack. Much seed is also ob-
tained from wheatfields in Ontario, where the grass is
cut and bound up with wheat and both are threshed to-
gether and saved.

If I had a field of cheap land growing Canada blue-
grass I would consider it well set in a profitable pasture
grass. If it was growing on high-priced land I should
begin to work on that field with underdrainage, carbonate
of lime and fertilizers till it was replaced by more pro-
ductive grasses. If one is in doubt as to whether he has
Kentucky or Canada bluegrass let him look at the stems.
Canada bluegrass has flat stems, nearly solid, rather hard
and bluish green in color; Kentucky bluegrass has taller
stems, round and less strong, green and turning yellow
soon after the seed forms.

I once made a grass experiment on very thin mountain
land in Tennessee, quite devoid of lime. The grasses
that best succeeded there were, first redtop, second Can-
ada bluegrass and third orchard grass.

Redtop (Agrostis alba).—For a fuller account of red-
top see page 42 under meadow grasses. Redtop is
really a better pasture grass than a meadow grass. It
has much the same habit of growth as the bluegrasses,
thickening remarkably by underground stems and mak-
ing a dense sod. It yields a little more herbage than
Kentucky bluegrass. With Garman in Kentucky the
yield was 3.04 tons of dry hay per acre, which was
exactly the same yield as brome grass and a little under
meadow fescue. Timothy gave 3.68 tons cut nearly two

EXPERIMENTING WITH GRASSES 105

weeks later and orchard grass cut 8 days earlier yielded
3.6 tons. Redtop is not so much liked by animals as
is bluegrass, nor will they fatten so well on it. It is
adapted to wetter soils than most other useful grasses, and
is not such a stickler for lime as are the better grasses.
It endures heat better, too, and will grow farther south
than will bluegrasses. I have seen very good redtop on
black buckshot soil in north Louisiana, where I am sure
bluegrass would promptly perish in summer time. Never-
theless, it is not at all at home in hot countries; Ber-
muda grass is a far better pasture grass there. I am
inclined to advise this: Do not try to force nature.
Follow her lead. If you have a redtop soil and climate
use redtop. If you wish to grow bluegrass where natural-
ly only redtop grows, try drainage, limestone and ferti-
lizer first.

Farms as Grass Experiment Gardens.—It is interesting
to the student of plant life to observe how very many
forms of grass may be found on almost any farm. On
Woodland Farm, for example, we can find every grass
mentioned in this book excepting the distinctively south-
ern grasses, and even some of these are represented.
Johnson grass has survived several winters and is yet in
evidence, accidentally established. One should familiar-
ize himself with the different species; he can do it readily
enough, and if he finds a new grass that he cannot quite
place he will get its identification if he will send a flower-
ing specimen, top, stem and a bit of the root, to his ex-
periment station. Today (July 23, 1910) I can find in
bloom or just out of bloom on Woodland Farm the blue-

106 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

grasses, two or three fescues, orchard grass, timothy,
redtop, tall oatgrass, nimblewill, quack grass (and a fine
grass it is, too, one of the best, if only not so devilish)
and brome grass—these of the important cultivated
grasses, and many minor grasses beside the annuals. It
seems to me one can tell just by the behavior of these
grasses what is best fitted to his soil and has a chance for
the most profit. With us redtop is seen chiefly in the
moister places; it grows exceedingly well; we have never
sown it nor, in truth, have ever knowingly sown several
other things that are with us, notably quack grass (Agro-
pyrum repens). If one would accustom himself to ob-
serving even stray clumps of grass here and there on his
own land he would hardly need ask any man’s advice
as to what was best for him to grow.

Redtop in Mixtures.—For all soils inclined to poverty
or wetness, I should include redtop in a pasture mixture,
putting with it Canada bluegrass, sheep fescue, orchard
grass, alsike clover and little white clover. There is a
peculiar relationship between alsike clover and redtop.
It has been observed by many farmers that the soil that
suits the one suits the other admirably.

Seeding to Redtop.—There are from 4 to 6 million
seeds in a pound of redtop seed. It is smaller than tim-
othy and is usually sown in much the same manner only
it must not be covered as deeply as timothy hay. It is
easily established and lasts longer than timothy. It is
the best grass for sour land that one has not had time
to correct with carbonate of lime. It is a sure forecaster

of soils; when one sees a region given over to redtop one
:

YIELD OF ORCHARD GRASS 107

knows that there is much soil acidity there and a back-
ward agriculture generally.

Orchard Grass (Dactylis giomerata).—For description
of the grass see page 46. Hardly any other grass has
been more written of than orchard grass, and yet it is
seldom used. It is less easily sown than timothy among
meadow grasses. Animals do not eat it with the relish
that they do bluegrass in the pasture, yet it has its place
and has great value. Garman credits it with a yield of
dry forage of 3.6 tons to the acre on June 12. In con-
trast, brome grass, a much more palatable and nutritious
grass, yielded five days later 3.04 tons; redtop, 3.04 on
June 20 and bluegrass, June 11 1.68 tons. It is evident
from this comparison that orchard grass yielded more
than double what bluegrass did, and experience proves
orchard grass to make very good horses and cattle when
grazed. It yielded practically the same as the very much
more palatable grass bromus inermis, however, which
would indicate that where one could choose between the
two one should take the latter. Orchard grass, however,
will grow on land too poor in lime and too deficient in
fertility for bluegrass or even brome grass. It is easily
established. The seed is apt to be good and pure and is
not very dear. There is good profit in growing orchard
grass seed. It roots deeper than most other cultivated
grasses and stands drouth better. One can get from 150
to 250 pounds of orchard grass seed from an acre and
afterward can have good pasture.

Quantity of Seed to Sow.—It may be sown as timothy
is sown, and if sown alone 30 to 40 pounds of seed are

108 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

sown to the acre. I have had excellent results in sow-
ing this grass in spring, very early and on well prepared
land. While orchard grass always grows in stools it is
doubtful whether one can make any gain by trying to
fill the spaces between the stools, as the roots occupy
the land. It should always be mixed with clovers and
grows quite well with alfalfa. In sowing it with the
latter one should not use more than 15 pounds of orchard
grass seed, else it will too much crowd the alfalfa. Sown
with alfalfa, it reduces the tendency of bloat among pas-
tured cattle and the first cutting will be of nicely inter-
mixed hay. The right mixture to put with orchard grass
is likely redtop, meadow fescue and Canada bluegrass,
always with clovers added. One must not let orchard
grass grow up too rank, else the animals dislike it. One
can keep it fresh and tender by mowing the rank spots
in the pasture and making the coarse herbage into hay.
I have seen a curious thing here; cattle and horses would
come to the mown grass when in cock and eat it readily
though they were running where they could get all the
uncut grass they desired.

Do I advise sowing orchard grass pastures? Doubt-
less they may be made very profitable. They are espe-
cially useful for horses, which relish the grass more than
do cattle or sheep. Simply see to it that the pastures of
this grass are fenced to themselves, so that once turned
to it the animals can not choose but eat it; they will then
not neglect it. I think almost any stock-farmer would
find one pasture of orchard grass properly cared for a
_ profitable aid in maintaining herds, flocks and studs.

WHERE BROME GRASS THRIVES 109

Brome Grass (Bromus tnermis).—For description of
this grass. read page 50. I will add here that this
is one of the deepest-rooted of cultivated grasses. In
pervious soil its roots will penetrate 4 to 6’. It is there-
fore much more drouth-resistant than bluegrass or most
cultivated grasses. Brome grass comes to us from the
steppes of Russia, those lands so much like our Dakotas
in soil and climate. It is therefore adapted to all our
half-moist lands west of the Mississippi River, and will
grow well out beyond where corn grows, but as one gets
far west the yield decreases according to the moisture.
I have seen it growing wonderfully in eastern Washing-
ton where long dry summers are the rule. In central
Ohio it has proved on Woodland Farm at least the best
pasture grass we have ever tested. Animals relish it even
better than bluegrass, and that is high praise. I have
often seen pastures that were in part sown to brome grass
and in part to other grasses eaten to the earth where
the brome grass stood and left almost untouched in the
other parts. It is therefore not perfectly adapted to be-
ing sown as a pasture mixture. I have seen Kentucky
bluegrass entirely supplant brome grass in 12 years, main-
ly because animals always bit the brome grass first and
closest. It will not do well mixed with orchard grass or
redtop. With Kentucky bluegrass it goes fairly well,
though I have observed that sheep and cattle usually eat
the bluegrass last.

Thousands of farmers should sow pastures of brome
grass who have yet to test it, as where it is adapted to
the soil and climate it will yield probably double what

110 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

they are now receiving from their native grasses. I
would not sow it for meadow in the timothy region. It
does not appear to thrive far south of the Ohio River.
Hunt remarks that at Ithaca, N. Y., animals relished
brome grass pasture better than that of any other grass,
a number of species being grown in one field. It seems to
prefer a soil rich in lime. On the whole, it is a better
pasture than a meadow plant.

I have found brome grass very easily established, and
if the soil is good it rapidly thickens if the stand is at
first somewhat thin. Spring seeding on a good seedbed,
preferably early in the season, seems best. If I were
to mix any grass with brome grass for pasture it would
be timothy (which soon disappears), meadow fescue and
Kentucky bluegrass.

Quantity of Seed to Sow.—-Twenty pounds of good
seed to the acre will give a stand. In sowing brome
grass on cultivated lands one should be cautious in the
matter of the source of seed, since it is sometimes mixed
more or less with quack grass. This will do no harm
for pasture; in truth, quack is one of the very best pasture
grasses. I do not know which will be victorious in
the struggle for supremacy, the brome grass or the quack,
though if the land is plowed the brome is soon killed,
and quack is left in possession. Brome grass needs clo-
vers or alfalfa in company to make it fully productive.
I have found it one of the very best grasses to sow with
alfalfa where the land is to be pastured, as its presence
prevents animals suffering from bloat. It is curious
that while nearly all the cultivated grasses spread them-

SOILS FOR THE FESCUES 111

selves more or less unaided by man’s intent, brome grass
is seen nowhere unless sown. Yet it is tremendously
hardy and able to care for itself, once established. Per-
haps the heavy seeds that do not readily carry with the
wind are unable to travel as lighter seeds do. Brome
grass pastures will be green and give a good bite in spring
earlier than any other good grass of my acquaintance,
and it will endure longest in the fall. It makes very
poor growth in infertile soils. Given rich land, it will
make a splendid showing. It seems not adapted to south-
ern conditions.

Brome Grass Needs to Recuperate.—L. Ogilvy, a good
observer of things pastoral, says that brome grass to do
its best or even to do very well as pasture grass should
have a chance occasionally to grow, after which it may be
eaten down again. He says that in the West he has not
seen brome grass do very well when it was subject to
continuous close pasturing.

The Fescue Grasses——For a description of these see
page 53. The fescue grasses are much used in Eng-
land for permanent pastures. There are many species,
only half a dozen of which are in common use, and these
only nominally so in America. Meadow fescue, or Eng-
ish bluegrass (Festuca elatior var. pratensis) is the most
worthy of cultivation and introduction into pasture mix-
tures. The richer the soil the more meadow fescue
crowds into the pasture. It is evident, too, that animals
relish it. Of all the others, red fescue and sheep fescue,
it is difficult to say how much value they may have.
Seedsmen list them but have so little call for the seed

E42 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

that it is often old and of poor vitality when sold. Sheep
fescue has much value for poor pastures unable to hold
bluegrass. Sheep fescue is really a very good grass on
pretty good clay soil. In making a mixture for poor
soils I should include sheep fescue and perhaps some
of the other species, while for good soils I should in-
clude meadow fescue.

Bermuda Grass (Capriola dactylon).—Bermuda grass
is a low, creeping grass, found in the South, usually no
more than 1’ high, though on rich soils it may be as
much as 2’. It spreads rapidly by means of underground
stems and above ground will send out stolons or long
runners that strike root at each joint. In this manner
it rapidly covers the ground. It is propagated by plant-
ing chopped-up bits of sod, and from its rapid spread
when conditions are right it soon has possession of the
land. Bermuda grass is sometimes propagated by seed,
but as the seed is very costly and of uncertain germina-
tion, it is far more profitable to plant the roots. I have
sown a great deal of seed under what seemed favorable
conditions without getting more than Io in a million
to make plants. To plant the roots fortunately is easy.
One need only plow shallow furrows through a Bermuda
sod, with a spade cut the sod into bits as large as bis-
cuits, throw them into a wagon or into barrels and take
them to the field where they may be planted as one would
plant potatoes, only covering not so deep. The better
the land the better the Bermuda grass. It will grow,
however, on rather thin soils, if it must. It is well in
planting it to make a good seedbed by plowing and har-

BERMUDA GRASS 113

Bermuda Grass (Cynadon Dactylon).

114 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

rowing, just as one would for a cultivated crop, then
furrow in shallow furrows about 3’ apart, drop the sods,
push them in with the foot and with a drag make the
surface smooth again. If afterward the weeds are kept
mowed, the Bermuda will within one year make a dense
sod.

Bermuda grass loves intense heat. Frost kills it and
freezing the roots is often fatal to it. There are strains
hardier than others, and in Oklahoma there seems to
have developed a strain of unusual hardiness. It is of
little use after frost, as the leaves do not seem to retain
their virtues in winter as do the blades of many northern
grasses. Nor will it start early in spring; it awaits warm
weather.

Bermuda is the bluegrass of the South. It makes a
similar but tougher sod. It yields a very great amount
of forage on suitable soil. It affiliates well with clovers,
especially with little white clover. I feel assured that
on a bit of sandy loam alluvial soil in Louisiana set to
Bermuda. grass and white clover, I have seen more cat-
tle, pigs, horses and mules grazed than I have ever seen
on a similar area anywhere else in the world. It is not
very productive on poor or dry soils, yet it may do more
than any other grass would do there. It is a most effi-
cient soil binder where there is danger of erosion, and
river levees in the South are always sodded as soon as
they are completed. It will stand more or less submerg-
ence, but to be under water for a long time will destroy
it. Bermuda grass is little seen north of Tennessee,
southern Missouri and Oklahoma, though it is a little in

BERMUDA ON POOR SOILS 115

use in southern Kansas. It is not a grass for arid lands
nor for regions of frequent frost. It is essentially a
pasture grass, yet under favorable conditions, rich, moist
soils, it may be cut for hay several times during the sum-
mer. ‘The yield is hard to estimate. Planters have re-
ported as much as 4 or more tons to the acre, taken in
four or more cuttings. It is a grass that soon gets woody
and wiry unless either mown off or grazed close. ‘The
closer it is grazed on rich, moist land the better it is.
It is said that an acre of well-set Bermuda grass will
carry 10 sheep for 10 months. I fear the sheep thus
confined would sicken of parasites in less time than that,
but it would not be the fault of the grass if they did.

It has been often said that attention to Bermuda grass
would revolutionize the South. This, unfortunately, is
not quite easy of accomplishment. It is not true that
very productive Bermuda grass would cover all the old
cotton fields and gullied hillsides. It might be made
to grow there in time, and no other grass would grow
there so well, yet there is no mysterious power in Ber-
muda grass that will find fertility where it has not been
put by Nature or man. On worn soils Bermuda grass
will need to be fed.

Bermuda Grass on Poor Soils.—If one has any sort
of manure he is indeed fortunate, and no other prepara-
tion will be needed than to manure the land, plow it,
and plant the sods. The difficulty with the South is, how-
ever, that there is usually not much manure available
and recourse must be had to other means. A good prepa-
ration would be to turn under a crop of cowpeas. The

116 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

land could then be fertilized well, using whatever arti-
ficial fertilizer best suited the soil, then the Bermuda
grass planted and at the right time sowing little white
clover. One can not use the large-growing clovers with
Bermuda grass, since it will not endure shade. It is
really a tropical grass and revels in heat and sunlight.
Bur clover grows with it fairly well, but white clover
fits it best of all, and fortunately this clover is native to
nearly all the South. Lespedeza grows fairly well with
Bermuda grass and this also may be sown after the grass
has been planted.

Weeds are the bane of Bermuda grass. When well-
shaded it dies. I once wondered why in the dooryard
lot of a southern plantation that I was studying there
was not one sprig of Bermuda grass, though it was
abundant on the levee bank a few hundred feet away.
Later I learned that there had been a fine Bermuda lawn
there for many years and only the rank weeds that sprang
up during a temporary abandonment of the place had
killed the grass. On the levee trespassing cows had kept
the land clear enough to perpetuate the grass. In one year
we re-established the grass in the lawn. It is indeed a
marvel of rapid establishment on good soil. The lesson
is to mow off the weeds once or twice a year while es-
tablishing the grass. Afterward, when in pasture, there
will be few or no weeds to trouble. A pure stand of
Bermuda and white clover, hard-grazed, on rich land,
is as clean a thing as one will ever find. On thin, poor
soils it will pay exceedingly well to fertilize the Bermuda
pasture. I should do this very early in spring, or, if

ERADICATING BERMUDA GRASS 17

white clover can make a winter growth, as in the Gulf
States, do it in the fall. This fertilization may be of
any enfiching material. Acid phosphate will stimulate
the clover; bonemeal is perhaps better, or one may use
a complete fertilizer. The object is to make the white
clover grow as vigorously during the cool part of the
year as it can. While it is growing it is filling the land
with nitrogen which later on the Bermuda grass will
use. Do not graze the clover down close if you wish
to get the most good from it. Unquestionably it would
add tremendously to the wealth of the South to put Ber-
muda grass over a great proportion of the plowed land
there. It stops erosion and builds soil. There has long
been in the minds of southern men a deadly fear of Ber-
muda grass—fear that it could not be eradicated when
they wished to farm the land.

Eradicating Bermuda Grass.—There is no great diffi-.
culty in destroying Bermuda grass on most soils. Assur-
edly one needs to know its nature and go at it intelli-
gently. It is best to combat it with shade.j The land

may be plowed in the faiB and sown , to what or oats.

In order to have a rank crowd Of ther of these grains,
fertilize the land well. Harvest the crop, preferably for
hay, before the Bermuda makes much growth in the
spring, and at once plow thoroughly again. Here the
worn, half-starved mule of the negro tenant farmer must
be replaced by the well-fed span of the modern intelligent
farmer. It requires motive power to do things right.
Sow the land to cowpeas or velvet beans, choosing a

very prolific variety that makes much vine. The peas

118 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

had better be cultivated and fertilized as well. When
they are taken off the land will be free from Bermuda
grass and in more fertile condition than ever before.
When the peas come off it may be sown again to wheat,
vetches, alfalfa or some suitable clover. The following
spring it may safely be put to corn or cotton.

Choice of Land for Bermuda Grass.—l observe the
best Bermuda growing on sandy loams or on the loess
soils along the Mississippi River. On hard clays and
“buckshot” lands it does not yield nearly so well, mainly
because when tramped by stock these lands become so
very hard that they dry out badly and the Bermuda suf-
fers an almost continuous thirst.

Bermuda Grass in Oklahoma.—l have seen nothing
finer than the Bermuda grass lawns and pastures of Ok-
lahoma. John Fields, former director of the Oklahoma
Experiment Station, was the first to see the great value of
this grass for that state of hot sun and summer dryness,
and his efforts have resulted in thousands of Bermuda pas-
tures being planted there. L. A. Moorhouse in Bulletin
75 of the Oklahoma station writes thus of the es of |
Bermuda grass:

“Bermuda grass is a well-known plant in our southern states.
It has been grown in the south for more than three-quarters of
century, and many are, therefore, familiar with the characteristics
of this plant. According to the most authentic records this grass
was formerly introduced from the tropical regions of the east, and
it is not indigenous to the Bermuda Islands as the name might lead
us to suppose. One of the earliest records of the appearance of
this plant in America dates back to 1825, at which time it was
~ found growing in Georgia. It was distributed to some extent at this
early date; thus this grass has come to be of economic importance

e

‘quB[q SSBIQN Bpnueg [voIdAL W

HOW BERMUDA PROPAGATES

Le

120 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

in southern sections. Bermuda grass seed was sown in Oklahoma
in 1892, and a set was secured in the Experiment Station grass
garden. The frosts of winter damaged the stand to some extent;
however, a subsequent analysis of the plot led to the selection of
some plants which survived these low temperatures. These plants
when reset came through the winter in good condition, and a new
growth started quite early in the spring. Later studies with regard
to this feature have demonstrated the fact that this selection pos-
sessed a characteristic which has been described as hardiness.

“In referring to the initial selections the following outline was
made a matter of record in Oklahoma Bulletin No. 70, entitled
‘Hardy Bermuda Grass’: Close observation of several different
plats of Bermuda grass indicated that some of it withstood the cold
weather better than others and began growing as early as April 1,
even after a hard winter. In order to test this characteristic more
carefully a large planting of roots was made early in July, 1904.
Part of the roots were taken from a plat recently grown from seed.
Other roots were taken from a plat that had been growing for at
least 10 years and which may have started from seed sown in 1892.
Its source is not known, but it is certain that this grass passed
through the freeze of February, 1899, when the temperature fell 17
degrees below zero with no snow on the ground. Little difference
was shown in the growth of the grass from the different plats,
and there was a heavy growth over all the field before frost. In
the spring of 1905, after an unusually severe winter with a tempera-
ture of 18° below zero, there was a marked difference. On March
29 all of the Bermuda grown from acclimated roots was green
and growing vigorously. It soon covered the ground perfectly to
the exclusion of crab grass. When roots recently grown from seed
were planted, all the previous season’s growth was killed; new
growth did not start from the roots until May, and then only in
patches. There was more crab grass than Bermuda grass on this
plat throughout the season.

“Bermuda grass roots have been sent out to a large number of
districts within this state. Within the past 15 years a large num-
ber of the standard grasses have been grown on trial plots at the
station farm, and it has, therefore, been possible to compare these
types not only with Bermuda grass, but they have. also been com-
pared with our native pasture grasses. For the average upland
soils of central Oklahoma Bermuda grass is superior to such types

FITTING SOIL FOR BERMUDA 121

as Kentucky bluegrass, English bluegrass or meadow fescue, and
Bromus inermis or brome grass; after making these tests we are
also firmly convinced that Bermuda grass has a wide range of
profitable culture in the new state. In making field trials with the
grasses which have been mentioned, it should be observed that
some success might attend the efforts of the husbandman if these
grasses were grown on very fertile soil, as the rich alluvial river
and creek bottom lands of the state; but we must remark that
such areas are ideal for the culture of alfalfa, and, wherever this
forage plant can be grown, it should be given the preference. The
common grasses do not return more than two cuttings per season
at best, and the yield per acre would not exceed 2 or 2% tons;
alfalfa, on the other hand, makes at least five crops per season, and
will bring all the way from 5 to 7 tons per acre on such land. The
lesson which ought to be drawn from this discussion may be stated
briefly: Use the best land on the farm for alfalfa; the poorer sec-
tions can be set aside for the growth of Bermuda grass.

“In rolling sections large ditches or gullies are frequently
washed out by the roadsides, and if no attempt is made to check
this erosion the road bed itself may be cut to such an extent that
it will be impossible to haul heavy loads over that portion. Ber-
muda grass may be used to check such washes. It may also be
planted on very rolling fields. We have many field illustrations in
this section which serve to show that continuous culture, whether
it be with corn or cotton, results in such a disfiguration of the sur-
face that many portions are finally discarded. Areas of this char-
acter should be devoted to pasture, and if planted to Bermuda,
the soil will remain intact. Bermuda grass furnishes an excellent
covering for pond banks, and it may also be planted in districts
where the sand has a tendency to drift or blow.”

Preparation of Soil.—“Fields which are to be set to Bermuda
grass should receive almost as careful preparation as in cases
where the land is to be used for the production of corn or cotton.
Although this grass is a persistent and vigorous grower and thrives
fairly well, when planted on a poorly-prepared surface, it will
respond readily to good treatment. It can be grown on all types
or classes of soil, from the sandy or open type down to the heavy
impervious clay soils. If the soil is open in structure and does not
have a tendency to bake, the plowing may be done two or three
weeks prior to planting; the heavier soils should be plowed early

122 ; MEADOWS AND PASTURES

in the season. A few severe frosts assist materially in securing a
mellow surface or seed bed. A few days prior to planting the field
can be worked down thoroughly with a disk harrow, and later, may
be brought into level form with a smoothing harrow. In latitudes
as far north as central Oklahoma Bermuda grass does not produce
very much pasture after the middle of November, and the plants
lie dormant during the winter months. The new growth starts as
early as March 15, and if the spring is open, some pasture may be
secured from the field during the latter part of April. Bermuda
grass makes its best growth during the warm summer weather,
and, for this reascn, it is not advisable to plant roots much before
the first of May. We prefer to do this work in May, at which time
the soil is usually moist; hence the roots commence to grow and
spread as soon as they are placed in the soil. We have already
stated that it is not advisable to use seed. The planting season,
then, opens about the first of May and the work may be continued
throughout May and June. Fairly satisfactory sets have been ob-
tained in cases where the roots were planted as late as July 15. .
The later plantings are not as desirable as the earlier plantings,
for the reason that the dry summer weather checks the root in its
growth, and a dense turf cannot be produced during the latter part
of the season unless the weather is ideal.”

Method of Planting —‘‘After the soil has been cultivated thor-
oughly it may be marked off in rows 30” to 36” apart and small
pieces of Bermuda roots may be dropped at intervals of 18” in
the shallow furrows or rows. A corn-marker or a cultivator with
two heavy shovels set at the proper distance may be used to open
the furrows. The roots should be covered with a small quantity
of earth. It is not a difficult matter to provide this covering either
by using a hoe, or by moving the earth with the foot as the roots
are dropped. If the seed bed is loose and will permit the rapid
escape of soil moisture, this condition may be changed by using
a roller on the field. Some growers make a practice of harrow-
ing after the sods have been planted, but this operation has a ten-
dency to bring many of the roots to the surface; hence they fail
to grow. Others prefer to scatter the roots broadcast and disk
them in; however, this method has not given as satisfactory results
as the first plan. Bermuda plants produced from seed have in
some cases made a fair showing the first season, but many lack
vigor and severe frosts will destroy the major portion of them.”

CARPET GRASS ‘23

Carpet Grass (Paspalum compressum): a, attachment of spikelets to rachis;
b and c, spikelets; d, floret.

124 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Carpet Grass (The Paspalums).—There are several
species of paspalum. They are low, creeping, spreading
grasses that come in moist land in the South. They make
the best grazing on the lowland prairies of Florida, and
are often seen in Louisiana. Animals like to graze on
carpet grass, but it is less nutritious than Bermuda,
which it sometimes crowds out. I do not know that seed
of these native carpet grasses is ever sold; it is sometimes
spread by cutting the ripe stems and spreading them over
the land. The carpet grasses are good pasture grasses
and are mentioned here because probably southern read-
ers may desire to know how good a thing they may have
growing wild. Compared with Bermuda the paspalums
are hardier, and are green in cold weather, though they
do not actually grow unless there is some warmth in the
soil. They are easily eradicated by land cultivation.

Texas Bluegrass (Poa arichnifera).—Perhaps this
should have been described among the poas. . It is left
for this place because it is distinctively a southern grass.
If only it had some way of easy distribution and seed-
ing, it would be an invaluable grass for sputhern, soils.
It makes a very beautiful sward, which is green at near-
ly all seasons in the South. It is thus far better than
Bermuda grass for a lawn. In Kansas, Prof. Shelton re-
ports that it is hardy and that it yields three or four
times as much as Kentucky bluegrass. The seed of Tex-
as bluegrass is very light and peculiar, having a cobwebby
feel. I have not been able to get a stand of grass by sow-
ing the seed, though it has a way of thickening itself af-
ter the manner of poas when one gets a thin stand. It is

TEXAS BLUEGRASS 125

Texas Bluegrass (Poa arachnifera).

126 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

better spread by planting small bits of sod as one would
potatoes, only covering no more than an inch deep. The
sod may be cut into pieces no more than an inch square,
so that a little of it will go a good way, but as it does
not spread so very rapidly the bits should be placed about
one foot apart. Texas bluegrass likes good soil. If I
were living in the South I should endeavor to establish
it in my garden, whence I could transplant it to the lawn,
and later perhaps to permanent pasture.

St. Augustine Grass (Stenotaphrum dinideaton).—
This grass is used in Florida as a lawn grass. It seems
to thrive on very poor sandy soils, and to make an ex-
cellent sod. It seems hardy as far north as Charleston,
but is not seen far from the coast. It is planted by cut-
tings, as is Bermuda grass.

Quack Grass (Agropyrum repens).—Death is a thing
that is pretty sure to happen to the other fellow. No one
ever considers that it may happen to him. The same
thing is true.of our enemy, quack grass. We see it on
other men’s farms, and complacently believe that it will
never attack our own. It is in Iowa, Minnesota, New
York; it will never come to Ohio or Illinois, so we im-
agine. Take it from me that quack grass can and will
come to all regions north of the Ohio River, and I see
no reason why it should not thrive far south of that.
When it comes it comes unannounced. You do not dream
that you have it till it has made a few patches in your field
so tough that men can not cultivate through them; then
you begin to wonder what it is that has possession of you.
It takes you after that several years really to awaken to a

Quack Grass

QUACK GRASS

(Agropyrum—triticum—repens).

128 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

realization of what it means to root it out. After all,
quack grass is one of the best of pasture grasses. If one
cared only for pasturing a field he need not desire a bet-
ter grass. It is like bluegrass in its habit of growth, only
the running underground stems or rootstocks are long-
er, and penetrate deeper. One can turn up a sod of blue-
grass and have every rootstock so that the whole mass
is easily killed. This is not so easy with quack grass, as
it roots too deeply for that. It is a good pasture grass
for that very reason. It grows from 1’ to 3) high and
makes a dense mass of leaves and stems. The forage is
sweet and good. It makes a lot of hay on good soil, but
one should cut it before any seed stems form, else it will
seed further areas by the seeds getting in the manure.

Quack grass is a pest in Europe. In England it gets
into the alfalfa meadow and destroys it in a few years.
It is harder there to destroy than here, because there the
earth seldom becomes dry enough to kill roots not actu-
ally raked out into the air. In Iowa it has been said that
the value of a farm infested with quack grass was cut in
two. In Minnesota it is very troublesome. I once at-
tended a number of farmers’ institutes in Minnesota and
it was amusing to observe that in our question box at
every point were several questions alike, “How can I kill
quack grass?”

On rich black soil if quack is left to thicken for a few
years it is all but impossible to plow through a sod of it.
It is impossible to cultivate through it with ordinary cul-
tivators; they will not pass through the tough sod. It is
well, therefore, to take it in time. It came to Woodland

ERADICATING QUACK GRASS 129

Farm all unawares. We got the seed in some grass mix-
ture, and before we knew it, it had become a pest. There
had been brome grass in the field and we thought at first
we were only having trouble with that. Later we learned
with a good deal of alarm what had possession of us, and
began to fight it rather vigorously. At the outset we
plowed the field very thoroughly and with the harrow
kept the grass down till corn could be planted. We be-
gan to cultivate the corn before it was up, and cultivated
it deep and often. To our joy the grass proved under
our Ohio sun easy to kill, once the roots were thrown up
to its rays. Twice during the summer men went through
the field with hoes and carefully dug out what the plows
had missed. To get after the worst patches I had spe-
cial tools made by taking 4-tined hay forks and having
their tines bent at right angles like human fingers. These
scratchers will dig down into a patch of quack grass and
pull out every root. It is not enough to cut off the tops
unless it is done more often than is practicable on the
ordinary farm. One must dig out the roots. To our de-
light the enemy has been put to flight. At really very
slight expense more than we should have taken to give
the corn thorough tillage, we have the grass so subdued
that it is rather hard to find. As I write men are search-
ing carefully for stray plants of it. We will repeat this
promising method next year and hope thus entirely to
eradicate it.

We are foolish if we let quack grass encroach on our
cornbelt farms. It is sure to be a worse pest in the land
where small grain is the chief reliance. It must have a

130 MEADOWS AND- PASTURES

hoed crop—a crop that can have deep cultivation in or-
der to subdue it.

First then, to know it, be on lookout for it. One can
not trust to one’s men for this; they are not sufficient-
ly close observers. When you see a suspiciously persist-
ent grass in your cultivated field go at once and dig to
see what sort of root it has. The top of quack grass is
not unlike timothy at first ; the blades are narrower; when
it heads the head is distinctly different but it will not
head maybe for a year or two; do not wait to see that.
Dig down and see if it has that running underground
rootstock, about as large as a shoestring, with its sharp
point, shooting out after new space to fill. If you find
that get busy. Do not dread it, do not worry over it, but
above all do not procrastinate a day; get action of some
sort. Salt will not kill it unless enormous amounts are
used. Dig it out; cut it off deep under the ground but as
far as you can; get the roots out where they will dry.
Then “do it now.” Do not put it off; if you have only a
few patches of the grass today you may have a solid field
of it in a few years.

It has been said that there is no more valuable pasture
grass for Nebraska and Dakota than this, and it may be
true; it is assuredly a sweet, nutritious grass and rather
heavy-yielding. I should sow brome grass though, for
there is no doubt as to our ability to get rid of that when
we wish. |

Nimblewill—tThis is often mistaken for quack grass.
It is a branching grass, with a peculiar odor. It has
sharp-jointed creeping rootstocks and also makes a bad

NIMBLEWILL A BAD WEED 131

Nimblewill (Muhlenbergia Diffusa).

132 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

weed, but it does not send out so long underground run-
ners and so spreads very much less. Moreover, one can
with one pull of a hoe unearth every bit of a clump of
it and shake off the earth so that it dies. I do not know
the real value of nimblewill, but advise its extermination.
Like quack grass it is very bad for alfalfa, and soon
crowds it out.

Eradicating Quack in the Northwest.—For some rea-
son the .grass is harder to destroy and spreads more rap-
idly in northern regions than elsewhere. It may be be-
cause of our habit in the cornbelt of frequent rotations
of corn which is cultivated during hot, dry weather when
the grass is easiest killed, while the northern regions are
more given over to crops of small grain. Prof. Henry
L. Bolley of the North Dakota Experiment Station thus
relates his method of destruction in The Breeder's Ga-
Sette :

“To give advice to farmers whose lands are now over-run by
quack grass may seem as though adding insult to unavoidable in-
jury, for to quack grass extermination there is no easy road. No
spraying method for eradication of this grass is economically pos-
sible while other crops jare to be grown. Direct application of salt
to the areas has not proved satisfactory. If in small patches up-
root it in dry hot weather and as far as possible, remove all
underground stems. Visit the areas. once every eight or 10 days
and remove every apparent spear of grass with the attached under-
ground stem. Or cut it off in July and cover closely with tar paper
so as to quite exclude the light. Allow the paper to remain there
through July and August; then plow deeply. Or cut it off. closely
in July and cover deeply with straw or manure. Visit the areas
often. Dig up any scattering plants not covered.

“Tf in large areas, mow the grass off when in blossom, break
the sod shallow (not to exceed two inches) in mid-July. Back-set
in mid-August ‘at a depth but slightly deeper than before. Then

LEGUMINOUS CROPS 133

disc and harrow throughout the fall never allowing any green
leaves to show. Then plow deeply in the late fall. Plant a culti-
vated crop the following season and follow the cultivator with a
hoeman who looks for every spear of the grass. Or, after thor-
oughly preparing the seed bed in the spring give it a heavy seeding
of German millet, say, 2 to 2%4 pecks of good seed, preferably sown
broadcast. Sow the millet late in May. At no time during this
process of field preparation should the quack grass be allowed to
show green and if possible the ground should never be worked
while wet. The drier the ground and hotter the weather the better
the killing effect of the cultivation. Any annual forage crop which
will give a dense and rapid growth may be substituted for millet
though I think it has no equal unless it is fodder corn sown broad-
cast.”

EEE bEGUMES:

For a full and valuable account of the cultivated leg-—
umes I refer the reader to “Forage and Fiber Crops of
America” by Hunt. Prof. Thos. Shaw also has an ex-
cellent book on clovers, and Prof. H. Garman of the Ken-
tucky Experiment Station has an exceedingly valuzble
descriptive bulletin on legumes (No. 98). Within the
limits of space assigned to this volume I can give only a
very superficial account.

The leguminosae comprise a vast number of plants.
Some are tiny herbs; some are among the largest trees.
Among the common ones are the peas, beans, locust trees,
clovers, alfalfa, cowpeas, soybeans and vetches. It is a
curious thought that all these plants probably came from
one stock; the ancestral form of the sweetpea, alfalfa,
red clover, and locust trees is one and the same. If one
will look closely one will indeed see that flowers of the
pea, the bean, the locust tree and even of the clover or al-
falfa plant are very much the same. There is no other

134 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

flower with a structure similar to that of the legumes.
There is often a similarity in seed as well; the seeds are
usually in pods of a peculiar and familiar shape—usually
like littie kidneys, though some are round, as the soybeans.
If one tastes the seeds one is astonished to find them with
a good deal of similarity of flavor. 1 have when a boy
sowing clover seed caught seeds in my mouth and chewed
them, marveling that they tasted so much like beans or
peas. Nearly all the legumes have more or less showy
flowers. Why is this? Be assured the brilliant coloring ~
of the pea or the clover is not meant for your delectation.
Things do not happen in nature. There is reason for all
of nature’s processes. In the case of the legumes it means
that they can not pollinate their flowers unless they have
the aid of insects. The insects find the flowers because
they are showy. To reward the insects, or rather to in-
duce them to come and do the work, there is usually found
in the flower a sweet nectar, deliciously scented. Some
blooms, such as alfalfa, are most ingeniously arranged so
that as the insect crawls down the throat of the flower it
touches a little trigger, the flower violently explodes and
the pollen-bearing part is thrust vigorously upward to
perform its work of fertilization. One can imitate the
work of the bee in the alfalfa plant by scratching the
throat of the opened flower with a pin point or end of a
erass blade. All of this is most curious and seems in di-
rect refutation of any idea that the world came into ex-
istence without a guiding intelligence. It seems prob-
able that nature meant the legumes to be always cross-
fertilized, though this point is as yet uncertain.

HOW LEGUMES SECURE NITROGEN. 135

Acquiring of Nitrogen—Leguminous plants have a
high nitrogen content. In the farmer’s parlance, they
make “rich feed.” They are rich in protein. Protein is
the thing in feeds of which the world is most short. Leg-
umes are rich in nitrogen, and nitrogen is commonly de-
ficient in soils. Legumes make soils on which they grow
rich, particularly when they decay on the land or are
turned under. The farmer knew ages ago that clovers,
alfalfa and other legumes enriched soils. Within very
recent years men have learned how this is done. It seems
to be accomplished by means of micro-organisms living
on their rootlets or in nodules attached to their roots.
There is much to learn about this process.

How the Nitrogen Is Secured.—There is much to be
learned yet about how this work is done. So far as we
now know this is the way of it: There are probably a
number of kinds of bacteria inhabiting leguminous plants.
Few if any legumes are without their own especial sort
of bacteria, and each sort produces on its host plant a
nodule or tubercle. One can find these even on locust
trees, on wild legumes, on soybeans, cowpeas and clovers
of all sorts. Some men believe that the bacteria inhabit-
ing one species will in a little time adapt itself to another
species, if that chances to be planted on the soil which
it inhabits ; that is, if alfalfa were sown on land filled with
red clover-inhabiting bacteria within a few months the
bacteria of red clover would learn to grow on alfalfa. My
own observation would not at all support this view.
True, certain bacteria live on a number of related spe-
cies. For example, the same bacteria, so far as we know,

136 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

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BACTERIA FOR LEGUMES. 137

inhabit alfalfa, melilotus and the bur clovers. It seems
necessary to have separate inoculation for cowpeas and
soybeans, while sainfoin, which has nearly always been a
failure in America, is probably a failure in most instances
through lack of inoculation. Red clover, alsike clover
and little white clover seem to take the same bacteria,
while it is doubtful whether crimson clover can get along
without its specific bacteria.

One can tell “how it is done” as easily as one can de-
fine the nature of electricity. What we can see is that
the bacteria attack the rootlets which very graciously
build out fleshy coverings for them, “nodules” or “tu-
bercles.””’ These nodules vary in size from that of a very
small seed to the size of a pea or larger. The nodules
are full of nitrogen and inhabited by millions of bacteria.
These bacteria are continually reproducing, growing, dy-
ing, giving up their nitrogen to the soil and plants. The
bacteria obtain their nitrogen from the air that enters all
good, dry, pervious soils. When you stop to think of it,
nearly all leguminous plants thrive best in dry soils that
the air easily can enter.

How the bacteria get from one part of the soil to an-
other, how natural inoculation takes place, we do not
know. Probably it is done mainly by the washing of
soils and perhaps sometimes by the wind. Sometimes
the bacteria do not come until they are artificially intro-
duced by man. In some neighborhoods the bacteria of
alfalfa are found everywhere and no inoculating is need-
ed; in other neighborhoods, alfalfa seeding is a failure
unless the proper bacteria are introduced.

138 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Methods of Inoculation.—The bacteria are readily
enough grown in cultures, and these cultures may be sent
in liquid form to the man sowing seed of new legumes
on soil needing inoculation. The liquid culture is diluted
with additional water and the seed wet and sown. This
has usually been found effective. Dry cultures are not
often successful. The drying of the organism seems
usually to deprive it of its vitality. Soil may be taken
from a field where the legume grew and developed tuber-
cles. This soil may be scattered over the new field and
at once harrowed in to prevent the bacteria drying and be-
ing killed by sunlight. This method has given better re-
sults thus far than any other. There are several ways
of using this method of soil inoculation. If one is inocu-
lating a field near another field that has already good in-
oculation one can take earth and spread it with the ma-
nure spreader. ‘This is the best method where soil is in
abundant supply. Follow the spreader close with some
efficient harrow that will cover the soil from sunlight.
It seems that either sunlight or drying will usually de-
stroy the bacteria. It is well, then, when it can be done,
to apply the soil after 4 o’clock in the afternoon and at
once follow with the harrow, stirring it into the soil.
Where soil is harder to secure one may sow a very small
amount and yet get inoculation, if only it is well spread
and carefully covered. Often in sowing alfalfa seed I
have directed the use of 100 pounds of soil mixed with 20
pounds of seed, the two sown together. This has given
good inoculation. Or, one may make one’s soil fine by
sifting, wet the seed and mix with it soon after wetting

CLOVERS NEED INOCULATION 139

just enough soil to make it so that it can be sowed again.
This gives good inoculation. Or again, one may simply
leach water through infected soil and apply the water to
the seed. This method is said to have been successfully
used at the New Jersey station.

Curiously enough, when stable manure has been applied
liberally to soils, they are often found inoculated with bac-
teria belonging to certain clovers that may never have
been grown there, and none of the substance of which had
been applied to the manure. For example, alfalfa sown
on manured land seldom needs any additional inoculation
to cause it to be covered with nodules; whereas on land
adjoining none could be seen. This has been frequently
observed even when no alfalfa hay had ever been fed in
the barn whence the manure came, and is a mystery yet
to be cleared up.

Clovers Needing Inoculatton.—Crimson clover seldom
thrives except when inoculated, and inoculation is by no
means common in the South until the clover has been
grown for several years. The fact that it grows up so
slenderly when not inoculated has caused many experi-
menters in the South to discard this very valuable winter-
growing plant. I have observed in Tennessee that inocu-
lated plants made more than 10 times the growth that
non-inoculated plants made close by. If one wishes to
grow crimson clover in a new region of the South one
should inoculate at least a small area, whence later earth
could be taken for inoculating larger areas. An acre will
inoculate a county, the earth rightly used. A flower-bed
of crimson clover in the garden may be the source of soil

140 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

for a needy field. Bur cloyers need inoculation on many
soils, especially those away:,from the limestone and river
bottoms. Alfalfa quite generally needs inoculation in
eastern and southern soils. For some unexplained rea-
son alfalfa on alluvial land commonly needs no inocula-
tion. This is true of the land along the Mississippi and
Missouri Rivers. Whence came the bacteria there? It
is a curious thought. Alfalfa needs no inoculation any-
where west of the Missouri River, so far as I have seen.
Doubtless there are soils where it does not early find the
right bacteria, but the other conditions are so favorable
that it manages to get along till the bacteria arrives—
whence, we do not know. In the East it would die await-
ing its allies. Along the Pacific Coast in Oregon and
Washington I think inoculation is often useful for alfalfa.
This is the verdict of many growers in that region.
Vetches need inoculation on many, if not most, soils.
Without inoculation the growth is very small and poor.
With it there may easily be a hundred times the weight
of plant that would be seen otherwise. If one sows
vetches on land unused to them and gets only a few
thrifty plants one should sow again the following year
and maybe then one will find the inoculation good. »«
Soybeans need inoculation nearly everywhere. One
can either secure earth which when powdered one can sift
over and mix through the seed, or sow earth over the land
as one would for alfalfa, mixing it in promptly. The sec-
ond year of soybeans usually sees good inoculation, often
when no artificial means have been used. Curiously
enough the varieties vary in their ease of inoculation,

CONDITIONS FAVORING BACTERIA 141

some vigorous sorts taking it much more rapidly than
others of the more moderate-growing kinds.

All New Legumes May Need Inoculation.—I once tried
to grow gorse plants in Ohio. Gorse is a common shrub
in Europe, bearing a yellow, pea-shaped bloom. Though
in good soil, still they refused to grow, probably because
I had neglected to bring their peculiar bacteria with the
seed. Whenever one is establishing clovers, cowpeas, soy-
beans or any new legumes, one is wise if he finds some
source of infected soil to start the bacteria at work. The
little white clover is the one thing spread by nature from
northern Canada to the Gulf, which has always its bac-
teria with it. It is astonishing how much inoculation
usually helps. I have growing in good garden soil, plants
of Cassia occidentalis, a common leguminous plant of
Louisiana, there called “coffee weed.” It will grow there
nearly 6 inches a day and has nodules as large as peas
thickly studded on its roots. Here, on rich soil and dur-
ing weather as hot as Louisiana often sees, the growth
without nodules is no more than 2 inches in a week.

Conditions Favoring Bacteria.—Good agriculture is es-
sentially practice that favors helpful bacteria. When con-
ditions are right for them they are steadily gathering
nitrogen from the air, adding it to the soil, and it is then
taken up by plants. Experiment has shown that there
may be gathered by the legumes very great amounts of
atmospheric nitrogen, as much in one year as would cost,
were one to bity it, $30 or more, on one acre. Thus,
when legumes thrive, when the soil conditions are right
for them and the bacteria are abundant and active, one

142 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

may see the soil become richer and richer year by year.
Even when the legumes are each year removed from the
land the soil may accumulate nitrogen. Hunt gives an
instance of a soil area at Lupitz which bore 28 successive
crops of lupines which were removed and nothing sup-
plied but kainit. Notwithstanding the large amount of
nitrogen removed from the field it was found to make
a steady gain in soil nitrogen. The conditions that favor
the useful bacteria are that the land shall be moist but
not wet, shall have air entering it somewhat freely, and
shall be alkaline, not acid, in its reaction. The presence
of a considerable amount of carbonate of lime in the soil
is very favorable to these nitrifying bacteria. It is clear
that they can do nothing in a waterlogged soil, since it
has in it no air. It has been abundantly proved that sour
soils are unfriendly to legumes and unfriendly to their
allies, the bacteria. Indeed it may be true that the one
reason why sour soils are unfriendly to legumes is that
the bacteria will not increase there.

Carbonate of Lime and Legume Growing.—lIt is very
noticeable that in regions with much carbonate of lime in
the soil wild legumes are abundant. In the semi-arid re-
gions, where soils are usually rich in lime—because it has
never been leached away, one often finds a great number
of species of legumes. Such soils are so well filled with
many kinds of bacteria that few legumes growing on
them need inoculation in order to start out vigorously as
soon as sown. In other soils, where lime is wanted, one
finds few or no legumes at all. I was recently engaged
in studying certain mountain soils in California and dur-

CARBONATE OF LIME FOR SOILS 143

ing several days’ riding I saw hardly any leguminous
plants. Analysis of that soil showed me what I expected
to find, that it was most markedly deficient in carbonate
of lime. At the same time it is so markedly unproductive
that no successful efforts have been made to grow on it
grain or gardens without manures. On other soils in
similar location and altitudes where much carbonate ot
lime was found in the soil, the number of wild peas,
vetches, lupines and other leguminous plants was aston-
ishing, and when that soil was plowed its fertility was
found to be very great. It is the truest thing in nature
that legumes make soil rich and carbonate of lime makes
legumes grow thriftily. This lesson has long been under-
stood in the Old World. There since the history of agri-
culture was first written lime has been used as a soil-
corrective to make it produce legumes so that it may
gather riches and feed man. Indeed, the fathers did better
than the sons are doing today, for the increased use of
commercial fertilizers has to some extent displaced lime,
and the result has in many instances been evil. I have
seen land in Scotland reclaimed from barren heaths in
the following manner: First, deep drains to lead away
the surplus moisture, then the use of “20 cartloads of
lime” to the acre (unburned marl or chalk, I think, was
used), afterward good plowing, then a moderate amount
of manure, and seeding to grasses and clovers. Thus
were meadows established where nothing but wild heaths
had grown before, and on these meadows sheep were fed,
phosphorus sprinkled from time to time with manure, till
at last a very rich, productive soil was gained, almost

144 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

unbelievable in its contrast to the barren, heath-covered
soil only across the wall. |

Most plants crave nitrogen; men work for it; women
and children starve and die for it by thousands every
year, while nitrogen exists in unstable compounds, and
if we do not use care it is soon gone from us. Infertile
soils are nearly always nitrogen-hungry. With enough
nitrogen in our soils we could easily support two blades
of grass where one grows now, with all that that implies
in added comfort for greater numbers of men and women
in the world.

Air and Our Nitrogen Supply.—There are few spots
on the world where nitrogen is found in such combina-
tions that it can be mined and used. Over each acre of
soil there exists about 75 million pounds of atmospheric
nitrogen. The one way that we can get it changed into
form that we can use is by means of the bacteria in the
soil. True, the electrician with command of tremendous
electric power, can secure nitrogen compounds that the
farmer may use, and this is being done in a small way in
Norway and elsewhere, but the farmer may have on his
own place a complete establishment for nitrogen-gather-
ing that will work silently and surely, day and night dur-
ing the growing season. In order to have this, however,
he must first store in his soil a supply of carbonate of
lime. It is true, then, that adding carbonate of lime to
a lime hungry soil, and then planting it to legumes, is as
though one added nitrate of soda to the land. Nitrate of .
soda will do wonders in making crops grow, but it is
costly to buy. When one grows clovers, cowpeas, vetches,

IMPROVING SOILS WITH LEGUMES 145

alfalfa, or any other nitrogen-gathering legume accom-
panied by its particular form of bacteria, in a soil favor-
ing the bacterial life on the legumes, one is indeed in-
creasing one’s nitrogen store very fast.

The amount of nitrogen gathered will vary accord-
ing to the sort of plant grown, and then according as
the soil is fitted to make large growth of legumes. That
is, in order to help plants in their work of nitrogen gath-
ering, one should make the conditions as favorable as
possible in all things except supplying nitrogen. The
plant that comes to a soil rich in carbonate of lime, rich
in phosphorus and potassium, with air enough in it
-and moisture enough, will gather a great deal more
nitrogen than one growing in a soil where any of these
factors are lacking. So if one wishes to enrich soil by
growing on it cowpeas, clover, or any legume, one
should begin by making it dry, by plowing well, and
then supplying what phosphorus may be needed. Thus
strengthened, the plants will gather very much more nitro-
gen than if they struggled to grow in a soil inhospitable
because waterlogged, hard or poor in phosphorus or pos-
sibly in potassium.

Dr. Cyril G. Hopkins, experimenting with alfaifa (one
of the most energetic gatherers of nitrogen) tested plots
with inoculation against plots without, assuming that
the uninoculated plots got all their nitrogen from the
soil. He found that alfalfa, when supplied with lime
and phosphorus, gathered about 252 pounds of nitrogen
per acre, worth 15 cents a pound, or $37.80. In con-
trast a plot having no inoculation, and neither lime nor

146 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

phosphorus applied, made about one-third the total yield,
and, unless bacteria found their way in unaided by man,
gathered none of its nitrogen from the air. The plain
fact is that one can afford well to make the conditions so
that the bacteria will gather nitrogen. Indeed one can not
afford to farm in any other manner.

Humus Aids Nitrifying Bacteria.—lIt is noticeable that
where there is much vegetable matter added to the soil,
legumes thrive especially well, and by aid of their bacteria
gather especially large amounts of nitrogen. Some leg-
umes seem more dependent on the aid of humus than
other. Cowpeas, for example, will grow where there is a
rather small amount of vegetable matter in the soil, while |
red clover enjoys a plentiful supply. The lesson is clear. If —
you would build soils by aid of legumes do all that you
can first to help them. Make the soil alkaline rather than
acid by adding to it carbonate of lime, feed it with phos-
phorus, give it what humus you can, and see that it is sup-
plied with the right sort of bacteria. Nature may attend
to this duty, but, in case she has forgotten, do your part.
Of all the steps needed to make legumes grow and thrive
one can afford to neglect not one.

The Purpose of Legumes.—There seems in nature an
orderly arrangement of things dependent on one another.
For example, legumes store the earth with nitrogen.
Grasses feed freely on nitrogen and grow rank when so
fed. Thus, after clovers have made the land rich, grasses
come with riotous strength and perchance crowd out the
clovers. Afterward, when the grasses have depleted the
soil of nitrogen, the clovers find foothold again. This is

NITROGEN-GATHERING BACTERIA. 147

nature’s rotation of crops. The legumes exist, their bac-
teria store the priceless nitrogen, the earth is enriched
‘thereby, and all manner of pleasant grains and grasses
and fruits follow, feeding on this store of nitrogen gath-
ered mainly by the legumes and their allies, the bacteria.

Other Nitrogen-Gathering Bacteria——There seem
other bacteria, not inhabiting legumes, that can in some
manner store nitrogen. These are found in soils fairly
well filled with vegetable matter. In old pasture sods are
found the azotobacter bacteria, most beneficent organisms,
storing fertility as they live on decaying leaves, roots and
stems. There seem no helpful bacteria in any soils devoid
of humus or legumes.

Lessons that All May Read.—See that field of oats with
the sharply-outlined line of dark, rich green? On the
part growing so rankly stood alfalfa or clover. The
chances are there is now too much nitrogen there for the
oats, and they will likely lodge. Corn should have been
planted instead; it stands stiff no matter how big it grows
and no soils are too rich for it. In California on alfalfa
fields, orchards and orange groves have shown the effect
of having been planted on alfalfa fields years after the
alfalfa roots had crumbled to mould.

Value of Legumes.—Chemical analysis shows legumin-
ous plants to be rich in protein. Protein makes red flesh,
blood, milk and brain tissue. Most feed-stuffs are poor
in protein; legumes come in‘to balance the excess of car-
bohydrates in the grasses and grains. Thus timothy hay
is too poor in bone and muscle-making material, properly
to nourish animals; a portion of clover or alfalfa mixed

148 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

through it makes it a more nearly perfect feed. In
America our most common grain, corn, has in it too much
starch and not enough protein for feed. If one has then
at hand clover or alfalfa hay one can make a proper bal-
ance in rations for stock. Animals.are quite largely what
they are fed on. Thus ponies come from poor, barren,
sour soils having no legumes and only poor grasses; splen-
did horses come from pastures rich in carbonate of lime
and growing mixtures of grasses and clovers of several
species. The horses raised on alfalfa meadows in Cali-
fornia are among the most perfectly developed in the
world; the horses of bluegrass Kentucky eat a fine mix-
ture of bluegrass and white and red clover.

Legumes and Grasses Go Together.—While it is true
that grasses alone are commonly deficient in that essential
builder, protein, yet it is also true that the legumes are
commonly too rich in protein and an excess of even a
good thing may be nearly as harmful as a deficiency.
Thus animals bloat on alfalfa pasture and horses fed ex-
clusively and heavily on alfalfa hay may become “soft,”
that is, not enduring, through fatigue caused by an excess
of the very thing in their blood that would build if fed
only in right amount. So it is true that animals graz-
ing clovers or alfalfa are ravenously hungry for grass
and if allowed access to it or if grass is grown mixed
with the clover or alfalfa they will not often bloat. Like-
wise animals pastured on grass are ravenous for clover
or alfalfa, nature seeming to teach them what should be
their diet properly to nourish the whole animal. Diversi-
fication is good for soils as variety for stock.

THE CLOVER FAMILY 149

Effect of Legumes on the Soil—tI have never seen a
legume that did not leave land better than it found it.
Clovers penetrate deep with their roots and decaying leave
channels for both air and moisture. Alfalfa is even more
vigorous in such work. Vetches leave the soil loose and
permeable. There is indeed a curious effect on the soil
of the growing of legumes difficult to explain—the effect
in making clays friable and hard soils mellow. The ef-
fect on the succeeding crop is indeed marvelous, especially
if the whole forage of the legume is turned, under or fed
off on the land by animals.

Legumes May Not Enrich Soils—Mooers has shown
at the Tennessee Experiment Station that cowpeas grown
in rotation with wheat, the peas cut and carried away
from the land, apparently reduced fertility instead of in-
creasing it. Probably the peas drew heavily on the soil’s
store of phosphorus or else drew so heavily on the mois-
ture of the soil that the wheat following it secured a poor
start in the fall. Assuredly if the mineral requirements
of a soil are not given attention the taking away of crops
of legumes may end in a depleted and unproductive soil.

TEE CLOV ERS,

The very sound of the word “clover” suggests fields
of sweet-smelling bloom, bees, birds and sunshine. Take
away the first letter and you have left “lover,” the best
estate ever achieved by man, and decapitate the word
again and you have left “love,” the mainspring of action
in all that is best in the world. There are many species
and varieties of clover. Curious readers should read the

150 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

chapter on varieties in Hunt’s “Forage and Fiber Crops”
where 30 species are listed and we are assured that 250
species exist. Since that book was written several new
ones have been introduced from the Old World. We
have not time here even to list them, but must content
ourselves with describing those that are most commonly
seen. One may know the clovers by their having leaflets
in threes and each one attached at the main point, whereas
in alfalfa and other plants belonging to the family of
Medicagos the leaflets are differently arranged, with the
two leaflets set down the mid stem a little way.

White Clover or Dutch Clover.—I sit to write this be-
neath an oak tree on the lawn and all about me is the
ereen carpet of Kentucky bluegrass and little white clover
(Trifolium repens). I choose this little clover to head the
list because it seems the most universally found of any of
the clovers. I have seen it in every land that I have ever
visited except in the burning deserts, and even there it
comes soon after man has begun to pour cooling streams
of water over the thirsty soil. White clover seed is very
small and easily carried; it is probably not digested when
eaten by animals and thus the animals themselves in their
journeying have taken it about. While white clover is
found nearly over all America, yet I think it must be an
introduced species since had it been truly native to
America it should have been found on the prairies when
white men first saw them, and there is no record of this.

White clover is a creeping plant, seldom rising more
than 1’ high, but making a dense mat of herbage over the
ground. The stems lying on the earth root freely after

CLOVERS IN PASTURES 151

the manner of strawberry runners and thus it rapidly
covers the land when there is space for it and conditions
are good. The flower stems may rise up I2. or more
and sometimes are so thick as to make the field one mass
of bloom. There is a large species of white clover from
Italy, called giant broad-leaved white clover. It is said
to produce twice the herbage of the common sort, but to
make few seeds. White clover likes rich soil and abund-

White Clover May 12 in Tennessee.

ant lime in it. It thrives in moist soil and during cool
weather. In the north it is green all summer; in the south
it nearly disappears during hot weather and reappears in
the fall, remaining green and beautiful all winter. Thus
it grows well with Bermuda grass. The amount of white
clover in the pasture is a fair indication of its fertility of
soil. One can bring it in by liming and dressing the
land with phosphorus. Wood ashes, too, have a great

152 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

effect in bringing in white clover. In Maryland on very
poor sands I have seen strips of white clover along the
shell roads where the wheels had powdered the shells into
dust and it had washed into the soil. Bees love white
clover, as also do pigs, fowls and all grazing animals. It
is richer than the larger-growing.clovers and makes dur-
ing the season a large amount of grazing. It is not of
much value for mowing. The one objection to white
clover is that after seed forms it sometimes causes horses
to drip a large amount of saliva or “slobber.” They
should for a short time be taken off white clover pasture.
It seldom bloats cattle or sheep, as other clovers do, per-
haps because it is nearly always intermixed with grasses.
I should add white clover to nearly every pasture mix-
ture. Men often ask, “Why sow white clover—it comes
of itself?” The truth is it comes much more abundantly
and sooner, as a rule, when a little seed is sown.

Quantity of Seed to Sow.—The seed is small and 2
pounds will go well over an acre, so the expense of sow~
ing is slight. It seems to be easily established, sown
either very early in spring or, in the South, in fall. The
seed may lie dormant for years if buried too deeply in
the soil, growing after being raised near enough to the
surface so that it can reach daylight—an example of
the wonderful intelligence of nature.

Red Clover (Trifolium pratense).—This is the most
common sort of cultivated clover in America, and the one
of which most has been said and written. There are two
species, the common red and mammoth (Trifolium pra-
tense perenne). ‘There seems all sorts of intermediate

MAMMOTH AND RED CLOVERS P55

forms between these. If the man exists who can surely
know mammoth clover from plants of red clover I wish
introduction to him. In a seedling nursery of several
thousand clover plants at the Tennessee Experiment Sta-

Common Red Clover,

tion Prof. Mooers and I tried vainly to arrive at any con-
clusions as to characteristic shape of leaf or habit of
growth that would distinguish the species. The plain
truth is that red clover is extremely variable in habit of
growth and character, and one could with little difficulty

154 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

select and propagate a hundred varieties of it. Many of
these varieties would be superior, too, to the common
assortment that one gets in commercial seed. Plants will
be found having a weak stem, lying almost as prone on
the earth as white clover; others that stand erect; some
very leafy; some with leaves of one shape and some with
another sort. Time of blooming and color and shape of
bloom vary also and, unfortunately, some of the best
varieties are poor seed producers. There is also a white-
blooming variety; it is strange that some one does not
propagate it, as it seems to be fully as desirable in man-
ner of growth as the red. In my opinion there are not
really two species of red clover, common and mammoth,
the so-called “mammoth” being a later-blooming form
of the common red, and a larger-growing variety.

Red clover is commonly classed as a biennial, living two
years, ripening seed the second year and dying. It is
very loosely and irregularly a biennial. Sometimes plants
will ripen seed the year they are sown, and sometimes
the conditions will be such that a field will mostly bloom
and seed the first year. Many of the plants will then
die, as seed-bearing is the function for which clover lives;
others will live another year in weakened condition. Most
often clover blooms but little the first year, but heavily the
second year, forming seed and most of the plants dying.
Always a few plants will survive for three or more years,
but after bearing seed they do not seem very vigorous or
useful. It is safe then to call red clover a biennial.

Habit of Growth of Red Clover.—Red clover sends
down a strong tap root, sometimes to a distance of several

RED CLOVER INOCULATION 155

feet into the earth, and, branching, fills the upper soil
pretty full of fibrous roots. The roots are well covered
with nodules inhabited by nitrogen-securing bacteria.
Most of the roots of this clover are found in the upper
layers of soil. The top branches and many stems are sent
from one root; vigorous plants in favoring soil may send
up as many as 40 or more stems. If the soil and season
favor, red clover makes a very dense mat over the earth,
quite effectually smothering out weeds and perhaps favor-
ing the accumulation of nitrogen by its very shade.

The nodules on red clover roots are much more easily
found than on alfalfa and some other legumes, since they
are more firmly attached and on larger roots. There are
now few soils that are not inoculated with red clover
bacteria, though once on prairie lands of Illinois, Iowa
and other western states red clover repeatedly failed till
finally by natural causes inoculation came. Red clover is
grown everywhere throughout eastern America and
westward till it meets alfalfa in middle Kansas and
Nebraska. It is found in use along the seacoast in north-
ern California and the states above. It is a lover of tem-
perate climes, and in the South, while it will grow and
yield fairly well, it is inferior to crimson clover as a
winter-growing plant, and to alfalfa in summer. There
are regions where red clover is supplanted by alsike clover.
There are two causes that may make alsike clover more
vigorous: one is a lack of carbonate of lime in the soil
and the other the bacterial disease of red clover found
in Tennessee and parts of Kentucky. The systematic
rotation of crops corrects many soil troubles.

156 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

The Soil That Red Clover Likes.——One can form a
good idea of soil by the way red clover thrives on it. If
the clover is small, slender, easily displaced by weeds and
grasses, the soil needs something. Perhaps the need is
carbonate of lime; in fact, 10 chances to one it needs
that since lime soils will grow healthy, vigorous clover
even if it is small. Maybe the land needs draining or
needs phosphorus, less often potassium or vegetable mat-
ter. Any one of these lacks may be fatal to good clover
srowth. A soil well underdrained, strongly calcareous,
and with enough phosphorus and a dash of vegetable
matter thrown in, produces red clover in splendid vigor.
Wood ashes make red clover grow. On many areas that
now produce it only sparingly, applications of lime make
conditions right and it succeeds well. It is the basal
truth that legumes love lime because alkaline earths favor
their nourishing bacteria.

Seed and Seeding—Red clover seed is commonly
fairly free from adulterants, especially when one selects
a seedman with some care. True, there are innumerable
weed seeds found in poorly cleaned red clover seed, but
most of these can be cleaned out by use of proper ma-
chinery. The various sorts of plantain are the most com-
mon weed seeds found, and they make very bad pests in
new cloverfields. Clover dodder is found sometimes and
is a deadly weed. A farmer who would cut for seed a
field infested with dodder must have something wrong
with his moral faculties. Occasionally clover seed is in-
tentionally adulterated by seedsmen. Among the things
put in have been alfalfa and the little trefoils. Alfalfa

SEEDING RED CLOVER 157

seed is usually dearer than red clover seed, so there is not
often danger of its use in this way and one could not
desire a more harmless substitute if such one must have.
Commonly red clover is sown in rotation after wheat.
The usual plan is to sow timothy in the fall, following
with red clover in March, February or April. Probably
99 per cent of the red clover sown in America is sown
broadcast in the spring over fields of wheat, with no other
effort than scattering the seed.

Quantity of Seed to Sow.—Usually 10 pounds of ibd
are sown on an acre. When conditions are right this
plan succeeds well. If the frost loosens the soil or the
rain beats down and covers the seed, if the soil is fertile
and well drained, inoculated with the right bacteria and
with enough lime in it, if the wheat and timothy are not
too rank-growing, a stand of clover will be secured. In
my boyhood days we secured wonderful growths of
clover, but then our lands were newer and richer, with
more phosphorus and humus in them. Today there is
greater difficulty in getting stands of clover in this easy,
hap-hazard manner. A better plan is to wait till the
ground is dry enough to harrow, say in late March or
early April, depending on latitude and climatic conditions ;
then harrow the wheat lightly and sow the seed. After
the harrow has roughened the surface the seed will be
covered usually by the first shower, though it may be
harrowed again with good effect after sowing the seed.
This harrowing will not often harm the wheat and may do
it much good. Sown thus, one seldom fails in getting a
stand of clover. Another plan is to sow twice, the first

158 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

time early, the second time late, using half the seed at
each sowing. Five pounds of seed will give enough
plants for an acre if only half of them grow. Some very
good farmers follow this practice.

Sowing Clover with a Spring Crop.—l can get a better
stand of clover by sowing it with a spring-sown crop. In
this manner of sowing I can have the land better pre-
pared, deeper stirred and less apt to suffer from summer
drouth. One can sow with oats, barley, or flax. Spring
barley makes a good mother-crop for red clover. One
should choose a sort that is short and stiff in straw, so that
it may not lodge. The beardless varieties have proved
good nurse-crops for clover. Similarly with oats one
should choose a short-strawed, strong-growing variety
that is not apt to lodge. Thin seeding of the nurse-crop is
best. I find a bushel of barley to the acre is enough, and
three pecks of oats may prove too much if the soil is rich.
To sow liberally of phosphatic fertilizer with the clover
will stimulate it to strong growth and make it a better
stand. One dares not put too much nitrogenous manure
or fertilizer on the land, else one’s oats or barley will be
too rank in growth and apt to lodge; also bad weeds will
spring up and choke the clover. Should one desire des-
perately to get a stand of clover, cut off the nurse-crop
for hay when it is coming into bloom, or before it lodges.
Thus taken away, it relieves the young growth which now

~

comes rapidly forward. I have taken off a crop of oat _

hay and later in the summer a very fair crop of clover
hay from the same sowing. Commonly splendid stands
are secured in this manner.

TIME OF SEEDING CLOVER 159

Clover may also be sown alone in spring with first-rate
success. I do not think the advantage quite sufficient to
compensate for the loss of the hay or grain crop that
might have come from wheat, oats or barley as a nurse-
crop. Clover may be sown in fall on land especially pre-
pared, usually with good results. Here much depends
on the nature of the seedbed, which should be fine, firm
and as moist as one can get it at that time of year. In
plowing land for fall-seeding of clover one should har-
row each half day what was plowed immediately before,
making it at once into a fine, mellow seedbed. If one
lets it lose its moisture after plowing one will hardly get
a seedbed in time for fall-sowing. The time of fall-
sowing depends on the latitude; in Ohio it should be in
late July or August; in Louisiana it may be in October
or November. Sometimes it is possible to get a catch of
red clover by sowing in standing corn at the time of last
cultivation. In parts of Minnesota and elsewhere this is
practiced.

The common use of red clover in America is to sow it
with timothy in wheat. The first year after sowing there
will seem to be little timothy and much clover. The fol-
lowing year the clover is nearly gone and timothy pre-
vails. Afterward the clover shows but little. I have tried
to keep stands of clover more than two years by prevent-
ing its seeding, but have had rather poor success. I
have tried also patching up thin clover meadows by sow-
ing more seed, and this too has not usually resulted well,

’ the new seedlings not growing off as they should. The
best results seem to come from plowing red clover after

160 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

the second year and putting the land to some crop that
will utilize the fertility that it has stored. Corn or po-
tato seems the best crop for this place.

Sowing Clover Mixtures.—I have found that mixtures
of clovers result in heavier growths and better forage than
red clover alone. ‘This is especially true when the clover
is to be pastured. A mixture of red, mammoth and alsike
clovers with a dash of little white clover and a goodly
sprinkling of alfalfa has with us resulted in astonishingly
good pasturage throughout the season. With this can be
sown timothy if it is for subsequent mowing, though it is
not of much use if it is to stand for but one season. How-
ever, the seed is cheap and it will at least repay that much.

Mammoth Clover.—This was until recently called T771-
folium medium, now Trifolium perenne. It seems rather
a distinct variety, maturing later, being of coarser growth
and lasting longer in the ground. While I accept it is a
distinct variety, yet the common beliefs concerning it are
mistaken. It has been held that mammoth clover was
worthless for hay; that it would not grow after being cut,
so that two cuttings could not be taken off in one year,
and that it had little or no value for pasture. The clover,
as I have observed it, is simply a later-blooming; later-
maturing variety of common red clover, and there are all
sorts of intermediates between, perhaps caused by cross-"
fertilization of the blossoms by insects. Mammoth clover
makes good hay if cut soon enough, though it is coarser
in stem than the common clover; if cut early it will make
a second growth the same year, and it makes good graz-
ing for stock. For poor soils mammoth clover is doubt-

MAKING CLOVER HAY. 161

less better than common red; as a soil-improver it has
some advantage, and to add to pasture mixtures it is prob-
ably better. One sows mammoth clover exactly as one
does common red clover and the seed can not be distin-
guished. Seedsmen find considerable difficulty in getting
the seeds of these clovers pure and true to name, and this
difficulty arises in no small measure from the habit of the
farmer in failing oftentimes to designate whether the
seed he is offering is of the mammoth or common variety.

Making Clover Hay.—Volumes have been written
about making clover hay. To make the best hay, clover
should be mown before the blooms have turned brown
and cured as much as possible without too long exposure
to the bright sun. It should be raked before the leaves
are crisp enough to powder and fall off, put up in small
cocks not wide at the base and as high as they can be
safely piled, left in cocks for a day or two to cure some-
what, perhaps afterward opened to the sun for an hour
or more and then hurried to the mow. The test of right
curing is when one can not by hand-twisting of a wisp of
the hay cause any moisture to exude. There are, how-
ever, a thousand contingencies of weather that will inter-
fere with any well-devised programme of clover hay-
making in the land of summer showers. One must be a
schemer, ready to take advantage of sun and wind,
prompt to act when sudden dark and portentous clouds
roll up in the west, patient and unstinting in cocking,
opening out to dry, and cocking again. The alternative
is to let the heads brown before cutting, mow in the
morning of a hot, dry day and take to the barn in the

162 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

afternoon, using the hay-loader and side-delivery rake.
Thus with the least cost and effort one gets a large
amount of woody and less nutritious hay.

Growing Clover Seed.—Clover should be cut for seed
as soon as the most of the heads have turned brown, and
left to lie in the sun for a week or more before it is
threshed. There are clover bunchers that attach to the
mower cutter-bar that will gather the clover as fast as it
is cut, or a self-rake reaper may be used. The less the
clover is handled the better, since the heads readily break
off. If rain comes it will do no harm; in truth, several
rains with alternate spells of dry weather will make the
clover hull all the easier. 1 have stacked clover seed
with fair success, but it must stay in stack a long time
and be well protected from the weather, else it will be
too tough to thresh well. Ordinarily it is better to
thresh from the field or else wait till a cold day in win-
ter, when it may be threshed from the dry stack. Yields
of clover seed vary from a few quarts to 10 bushels from
an acre. A moderately thin stand, on a soil not too rich,
makes the most seed.

Clover Dodder.—Within recent years a new pest has
come to cloverfields—the slender parasitic vine, called
dodder. It is an almost leafless yellow vine found twin-
ing itself about the clover stems which it ties into an in-
extricable tangle. Wherever it touches a clover stem it
sends a rootlet into it and preys on the juices of the un-
fortunate host plant. In time it destroys the clover. It
spreads rapidly. Dodder comes from seed and is at first
attached to the earth. As soon as it reaches a clover plant

DODDER ON RED CLOVER 163

an al] \
{y AN \

SS ihe
TSS ==
A =
S

/
y

Field Dodder on Red Clover; a, Flowering cluster; b, cluster of dry seed vessels.
From a photograph. Natural size.

164 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

it twines about it and sending in rootlets into it never
afterward depends on the soil for sustenance.

Dodder can not all be cleaned from clover seed by use
of the best machinery. If one finds it in one’s field one
should at once cut off the infected spots, and leaving
the plants lie on the earth let them dry a few days, then
add straw to them and burn over the spot where the
dodder grew. In this manner one may easily eradicate
the pest and prevent one’s soil becoming infested with
dodder seed. It seems little less than criminal to cut
clover seed from a dodder-infested field, yet evidently
some farmers do or we should not so often find it in
clover seed. Laws insuring the purity of agricultural
seeds have been put on the statute books in several states.

Clover and Timothy for Feeding.—Hunt says: ‘The
total amount of digestible nutrients in 100 pounds of
clover hay is almost identical with that of 100 pounds
of timothy hay. The Pennsylvania station has shown
that the full value,—i. e., the total energy that can be
set free in the body of a steer, is nearly the same in
both kinds of hay. The net available energy, however,
of clover hay when fed to a steer as a maintenance ration
is found to be considerably less than that of timothy hay.
On the other hand, clover hay furnishes more than three
times as large a proportion of proteids as does timothy
hay. The practical application of these experiments
would seem to be that, for the purpose of balancing the
ration, clover hay has a high feeding value for growing
or milking ruminants; but where the ration has already
sufficient protein for the needs of the animal, clover hay

SUMMARY OF RED CLOVER 165

is not superior, and is perhaps inferior to timothy hay in
feeding value.”

SUMMARY OF RED CLOVER.

Red clover has done more than any other legume to
benefit American agriculture. It is best adapted to the
needs of the American farmer because it is so quickly
and easily established, and commonly so hardy and
thrifty. It is adapted to all of Canada, and the United
States north of the Gulf States and east of the Missouri
River. If one finds one’s soil responding better to alsike
one should try the effect of drainage and good liming,
preferably with carbonate of lime (ground limestone),
which will in most instances make red clover succeed,
especially if one has added phosphorus and vegetable
matter to the soil. Red clover is a better plant than al-
sike clover because it is larger-growing and deeper-rooted.
and more abundantly supplied with nitrogen-securing bac-
teria. It is not so good a plant as alfalfa where alfalfa
may be grown, because alfalfa gives more and _ better
forage and also enriches the soil more rapidly than does
red clover. There are degrees in good farming. Alsike
clover-growing might be called the first degree, red clover
comes with the second degree and alfalfa with the third
and highest degree. It is nearly true that any soil that
will grow red clover will also grow alfalfa, if it is made
a little drier by tiles, a little richer in carbonate of lime
and phosphorus and given a little more humus. While
one is learning to do the best thing one should keep one’s
red clover and strive to make it as strong as possible.

166 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Diseases of Red Clover.—“‘Clover-sick” lands in Eu-
rope are found sometimes to be afflicted with a fungus
which, attacking the clover, is sufficient to destroy it. I
have not known of the presence of this disease in America.
Clover-sick lands in America are commonly deficient only
in lime, phosphorus and vegetable matter, or else are
poorly drained, though I have known lands to refuse to
grow the plant till potassium had been applied. Thorne
found at the Ohio Experiment Station that liming cured
soils that would not grow red clover. In Tennessee is
found anthracnose attacking red clover and alfalfa, but
doing no damage to alsike clover. Anthracnose is a
fungus attacking stems and leaves and causing “clover-
wilt.” Diligent search revealed growing in the state
many immune plants which were collected in nursery and
propagated at the Tennessee station, from which it is
hoped enough seed may be secured to restore the clover-
fields of the state. In the meantime, alsike clover is being
sown as a substitute for the familiar red, in which use it
is fairly successful.

Alsike Clover (Trifolium hybridum).—Alsike clover
has a curious resemblance to both red and little white
clovers, and is sometimes called a hybrid, though there is
no proof that it is so. It has in part the recumbent habit
of growth of little white clover, but is much larger and —
makes more hay. It is a smaller-growing species than
red clover and yet it will in certain soils make more hay.
It is able to endure wetter soils than red clover, and is not
so hungry for lime. Thus it finds certain ranges of soil
and situations on which it is a better clover than any

GRASS MIXTURES WITH CLOVER 167

other. In Europe it is esteemed a perennial. In our
own North and East it is said to be nearly a perennial. In
Ohio and southward it is, however, much shorter-lived. I
do not think it worth planting where red clover or alfalfa
thrives, except in mixtures where it seems to add to the
weight and quality of the hay. Alsike clover feeds bees,
which red clover does not usually, and it makes delicious
honey. It makes a good seed crop, and the seed is so
small that one may sow less than half the amount that
one would sow of red clover. The seed is in the first
crop, though it may be pastured for a time in spring. It
is better to sow alsike clover with timothy, as it is then
less apt to go down and be hard to mow. A good mix-
ture is timothy 15 pounds, red clover 6, and alsike clover
4 pounds when cut for hay. A favorite mixture, and one
in general practice in middle Tennessee, is 5 pounds or-
chard grass, 5 pounds meadow oatgrass, 4 pounds redtop,
and 4 pounds alsike.

Alsike clover has come into disrepute in certain sec-
tions because horses and mules pastured on it exclusively
have been troubled by eruptions of the skin. Unless the
vital organs are affected, animals recover all right on be-
ing removed from such pasture. This has affected more
animals which have white feet or noses. The cause of
this malady is obscure, and so far as observed no cases
have originated in pastures having grasses mixed with
clover. I have not heard of animals being affected by
eating the hay; the disease originates in pastures.

Crimson Clover (Trifolium incarnatum).-—This clover
Is often called scarlet clover or carnation clover, and in

168 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

England trifolium. There are two varieties: one with
crimson and the other with white flowers. There are in
France recognized a number of minor varieties differing
chiefly in their time of maturing. A field of crimson
clover in bloom is a sight not soon to be forgotten. The
bloom is more brilliant than that of any other plant of
our fields or meadows. The clover is well worth growing
as an ornamental in the flower bed if there is not room
for it in the meadow. I recall vividly the crimson patches
on the landscapes of England and France, more especially
the latter. In France it seems the custom to sow clovers
in mixtures. I have seen crimson clover sown with red
clover and rye grass, all mown off together and fed to
dairy cows. In England it is used as a soiling crop for
lambs that are fitted for the shows, and it is a gaudy sight
to see at the showyard the great lusty lambs, nicely col-
ored as to fleece, standing at racks filled with crimson
clover, very crimson as to top and very darkly, richly
green as to leaf. I think the clover is sometimes fed off
there in hurdles as well. Crimson clover is strictly an
annual, living less than one year. Commonly the seed
falls to the ground in June, germinating in July or Aug-
ust. The plant makes growth during the cool weather
or fall, and is so resistant to cold that it is green nearly
all winter. With the first warm days of spring it is up
and doing; it heads in May, perfects seed and dies.

Where Is Crimson Clover of Use?—Crimson clover is
a plant for mild climates. It can not endure extreme
frost. It has failed with me more often than it has
succeeded in central Ohio. North of me along Lake

WHERE CRIMSON CLOVER THRIVES 169

Erie it has succeeded with the orchardists, I think, about
two years out of four. It is of no use in the cornbelt
except in very favoring years, which is unfortunate, as
it would be the best sort of legume for keeping our nitro-
gen, and enable us to follow corn with corn much more
than we can now safely do. The home of crimson clover
in America seems to be limited to Long Island, New Jer-
sey, Delaware, eastern Virginia, the Carolinas and all
the Gulf States. It is in use chiefly in New Jersey, Dela-
ware and Virginia. There it is commonly sown after to-
matoes or other truck crops, or in the corn at the time
of last cultivation. In Maryland it grows in very poor,
sandy soils deficient in lime, which it does not seem to
need as much as do most clovers. I have seen it green
all winter, even with a good many hard frosts and some
freezing weather. It responds to fertilizers admirably,
and in these poor sandy soils it is a godsend, accumu-
lating nitrogen and humus, using the little dole of com-
mercial fertilizer thrown in it in a most economical man-
ner and returning with prodigious liberality. It is a
plant for poor soils and mild climates. Nevertheless, it
yields most on good soils, which it makes still better.
Steadily the region of crimson clover’s domain en-
larges as men know how to use it and soils become in-
oculated for it. After testing every one of the common
clovers in Louisiana, I am convinced that crimson clover
has more merit than any other for a winter-growing
catch-crop, though I liked well there the mixture of
crimson clover, bur clover and red clover. This use
convinced me that the whole South should take up crim-
son clover and use it after corn and cotton as a catch-

170 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

crop; it should, indeed, sow fields of it especially for
its soil-building effect, and to use as forage for winter
grazing with pigs, calves and sheep. It should grow its
own seed, which could easily be done, and learn to inocu-
late new soils, for this is one of the clovers that resénts
a raw, uninoculated soil. There are many legumes that
will help the South, and this, it seems to me, is chief of
them all at present, since it is tolerant of poor soils, and,
growing during southern winters, would put the land to
double use, besides stopping the waste of nitrogen from
leaching of winter rains. The chief reason why crimson
clover has not met with more favor in the South is that
commonly it has been sown on uninoculated soil. An-
other difficulty is the dry weather in the fall that some-
times interferes with getting a stand, especially on clay
or buckshot soils. Crimson clover grows commonly 2’
or more high, and stands erect with less tendency than
red clover to lodge. It makes much less weight of hay
than one is led to expect from seeing it grow. It is
better fed green than made into hay. If fed after the
heads begin to ripen, there is danger of death to cattle
and horses from the forming of “hair balls’ in their
stomachs. While crimson clover makes good forage and
is relished by all classes of animals, its chief worth is as
a soil-renovating plant. It is sown in orchards to be
turned under, after truck crops come off the land, or
after corn or cotton. In Virginia it is commonly used
as a forerunner of alfalfa. When thus used it is turned
under when in full bloom, and the land afterward given
good culture for some weeks till late July or early
August, when the alfalfa seed is sown. It is very notice-

EFFECTS OF CRIMSON CLOVER 171

able that when one is endeavoring to bring up poor soils
by the use of crimson clover, the more one helps the
clover by means of manures the more the clover in turn
is able to help the land. Thus it pays well to fertilize
liberally when the clover is sown, choosing a fertilizer
rich in phosphorus, and for some soils potassium. Crim-
son clover is ‘ess insistent than some clovers on lime in
the soil, though it thrives best when the land is fairly
sweet.

Bees revel in crimson clover, which is a good point. It
makes seed very abundantly and the seed is easily threshed
by either machine or hand. Crimson clover seed must be
harvested at night or very early in the morning. Nota
few southern farmers take squares of canvas to the field,
and having the clover cut and dry, flail out the seed. This
may leave the seed in the chaff, but for home sowing
this is no objection; in truth, some believe it grows more
surely in that condition. It may yield 5 to 10 bushels
of seed to the acre. The yield of green forage from
crimson clover may easily reach 10 tons to the acre. As
a gatherer of fertility it may yield to the soil as much as
200 pounds to the acre of nitrogen, besides considerable
good grazing, and all, practically, for the cost of seed-
ing, since it grows mainly during the time between crops.
I suggest to farmers living south of the Ohio River the
establishing of small fields. of crimson clover, if no more
than plats in the gardens, whence can be taken soil to
inoculate larger fields. For the small plat one can doubt-
less secure inoculated earth from experiment stations.

Sowing Crimson Clover.—Crimson clover seed is large
and commonly of good quality. It is not often adulter-

172 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

ated. It can not be sown in the spring. July, August,
September or October are the months of sowing, depend-
ing’ on location; the later months are best for the Gulf
States.

Quantity of Seed to Sow.—From 10 to 20 pounds to
the acre are sown. It is commonly sown alone. I have
had good results mixing it with other clovers in Louisi-
ana, though the crimson clover outgrew its rivals at
first. The chief difficulty is to get the plants started at
this dry time of year. It is not always safe to sow in
the dust, since there may come a very slight rain that
will sprout the seed without sustaining it. Besides sow-
ing as a catch-crop in the standing corn, it may be sown
alone on fields especially prepared for it. Thus sown
in Louisiana we had best success, and it made us good
pasturage for hogs. It may be mixed with rape seed,
one pound of the latter to five of crimson clover, for hog
pasture. One must not graze closely if one wishes to
get the greatest good from the plant.

Crimson Clover as a Regenerator.—I feel that I can
not urge too strongly the importance of this legume to
the South. It comes at a time when fields are commonly
idle, wasting and unlovely. It covers them over with
a mantle of green. It stores them with fertility, adds
humus and makes them mellow. It affords feed for
plantation stock, commonly half-famished for something
green and succulent, and is good for fowls and bees.
The farmer once having his fields inoculated and a start
of the clover, is able to save his own seed and have
enough for himself and his neighbors. Crimson clover
rightly used will lay the foundation for better things.

CRIMSON CLOVER AND PEAS 173

If the southern farmer is ready for no more, let him
sow a single pound of seed in some good spot of well-
prepared soil, nourish it and sow again the succeeding
year, and, continually, till the inoculation is complete.
From that little spot may radiate lovely fields in every
direction ; it may become the center of a new agriculture.
Crimson Clover and Cowpeas Together.—The “South-
ern Farm Gazette” contains the subjoined helpful letter
written by W. C. Crook, Henderson County, Tenn.:

“We sow crimson clover alone in our corn fields at last plow-
ing, at the rate of 15 to 17 pounds of seed per acre. From this
sowing we nearly always get a splendid winter crop for our
soil. But after careful experimenting we have almost abandoned
sowing it alone at the last plowing of corn. We found by sowing
it with cowpeas that, in case clover failed, we still had one legumi-
nous crop and could follow with rye just the same. But when
sown with peas we have but few failures with the clover. It is
greatly shaded by the peas and thus protected while young from
the hot sun and parching winds. The decaying peavines also pro-
tect and nourish the clover through the winter season. We also
sow crimson clover along after wheat and oat harvest and get fine
results. But here, as in our corn land, we get best results when
sown with peas. By so sowing we can cut the peas for hay and
still have the clover for a second hay crop, or to be turned down
for green manure. We do the latter, as we get all the hay we can
use from cowpeas, and it is a better grade of hay. The cowpea hay
is not so good when sown with clover, as one must not sow over
34 bushel of pea seed per acre. Therefore the hay is coarse.

“We find it pays to give land intended for peas and crimson
clover a top dressing of 250 to 300 pounds phosphoric acid per acre.
By doing this we are able to take very thin land and get a heavy
crop of both peas and clover. We have made many experimental
tests to see the effects of turning in a good growth of peas and clo-
ver; and always found the following crop to withstand a drouth
splendidly, make a very rapid growth, and yield from 200 to 400
more pounds of seed cotton to the acre. In one test we found the
wheat yield increased 734 bushels, and on another the corn yield

>

174 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

was increased 11 bushels per acre, where a growth of this kind had
been turned down. We made a test with potatoes where a rank
growth of crimson clover and decaying peavines had been turned, nf
and found that we had not only gotten 18 bushels more potatoes
per acre, but they were much smoother, more uniform, and freer
from scab also.”

Bur Clovers.—There are a good many species of bur
clover that have more or less value. Among those most
commonly seen are Medicago maculata and M. denticu-
lata. These annual wild clovers were found originally in
southern Europe, then naturalized in California, later
coming into more or less use in our southern states. In
California bur clover in the winter makes a lovely sight,
much resembling our white clover, only of more robust
growth. Animals eat it after they become accustomed
to it, though it is not at first relished. After the forage
is dry it seems better liked. In California it dries up
after the rains cease, and remains dry and yellow till
eaten during the long, dry summer. After it is eaten
the earth is found covered with the burry pods, which
are greedily licked up by cattle and sheep. The burs
of some species become. entangled in the wool of sheep
and are more or less troublesome. Bur clovers are rela-
tives of alfalfa, and carry the same bacteria. They enrich
land on which they grow, as do all clovers, and,-as they
grow in winter, have distinct value. Growing with Ber-
muda grass it is objected that animals do not eat the
clovers, and they tend to make too rank growth and to
smother out the grass in patches. In Louisiana I have
seen bur clover growing luxuriantly along the Missis-
sippi River, and have tried to establish it by sowing the
seed. It seems less easy to establish than crimson clover,

THE MERITS OF BUR CLOVER 175

and of less value, on the whole, though it has the merit
of reseeding itself, once established. I approve of bur
clover, as it is a nutritious, soil-enriching legume, and ad-
vise southern farmers to make effort to establish it along
roadsides and in pastures, which it would beautify and
enrich. It seems to like a soil rich in lime, and to need
inoculation.

There is a new bur clover, Medicago obiculata, that
makes a most astonishingly vigorous growth in California,
affording of dry forage as much as 4 or more tons to
the acre, and leaving when raked away many bushels
of seed on the earth. This clover is said to be some-
what tender, but it should thrive in southern Texas and
the Gulf States. In California this bur clover would af-
ford 20 times the amount of summer feed that is now
had from native wild growth, and is well worth test-
ing. It may need to have stock kept off it till it has
nearly matured, in which case one could have a fenced
pasture of Medicago obiculata and another pasture of
native wild oats and smaller bur clover. Seed of all
these bur clovers is obtained by removing the vines and
sweeping the seed from the dry ground with wire brooms.
None of them is of any use in the northern states, but
all have their uses in the South and should be taught
to grow in pasture and as catch-crops. One of the first
men to call attention to the value of bur clover was Dr.
Tait Butler, then of North Carolina, now editor of the
“Southern Farm Gazette,” from which valuable southern
farm journal I quote:

“The chief use of bur clover is as a clover crop during the win-
ter and spring, to gather nitrogen for soil improvement, and as an

176 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

early pasture. It is an annual and must be sown every year or
sufficient seed allowed to ripen to re-seed itself. It makes an early
spring growth and sufficient seed will ripen from May 1 to May 20,
according to location, to re-seed the land. In two years’ experi-
ments on one of the test farms of the North Carolina State De-
partment of Agriculture bur clover produced sufficient growth of
hay to yield an average of $28.27 worth of nitrogen per acre at
current prices in mixed commercial fertilizers. On two plats fer-
tilized with the same quantities of phosphoric acid and potash, but
the one having grown a crop of bur clover and the other having
been fertilized with 120 pounds of cottonseed-meal, the bur clover
plot gave at the rate of 400 pounds more seed cotton per acre. At
4 cents a pound for seed cotton this would give an increased profit
of $16 per acre. The increased cost of picking, and the like, would
be covered by the 120 pounds of cottonseed meal used on the other
plot, which would leave a net profit of $16 for the crop of bur clo-
ver. That a heavy crop of bur clover was grown is shown by the
fact that nearly three tons of hay were obtained as an average of
two years’ trials on this farm, but half that growth would yield a
profit sufficient to more than justify the use of this plant as a win-
ter cover crop on the cotton fields.

“Its chief value as a pasture crop is in the fact that it affords
pasture during February and March when there is a scarcity of
green feed. While it is a legume, and rich in protein, it is not read-
ily eaten by stock except when other more palatable green feed is
not obtainable. It grows on a great variety of soils and will, un-
der proper conditions, probably do well practically throughout our
entire territory. Bur clover may be sown at the last working of
the corn or cotton crop. In fact, that is probably the best time to
sow it if seed in the bur is used instead of clean seed. It takes
the burs some time to rot and unless sown in July or August a
stand is not so certain. If clean seed are used, later sowing may
be advisable. The seed may be sown broadcast and lightly covered
with a cultivator at the last working. When level cultivation is
practiced this will be found satisfactory, but if the turn plow is
used in cultivating, the seed may be covered too deeply unless a
very large quantity is used. After the seed burs ripen they fall to
the ground and are usually swept up in gathering the seed. In this
way more or less soil and trash are gathered with the seed burs
and sufficient of the germs or bacteria usually adhere to the burs

SWEET CLOVER OR MELILOTUS AE

to inoculate a fresh soil if a liberal quantity of seed be used—about
two bushels to the acre. If clean seed are used, it will be necessary
to inoculate the soil in some way if bur clover has not been recent-
ly grown successfully on this soil, and the most satisfactory way to
inoculate—as for any of the legumes—is to obtain a few hundred
pounds of soil for each acre, from a field that has produced a good
crop of this clover. Even with the seed sown in the burs, complete
and satisfactory inoculation is not usual the first year, but the sec-
ond year it usually becomes sufficient. It is usually claimed that
soil that has grown alfalfa or melilotus successfully is inoculated
for bur clover.

“Many failures to obtain a stand of this plant are recorded and
in the opinion of the writer they are most often due to sowing too
late, when the seed are in the burs, and to the lack of inoculation.
There is probably no winter cover crop from which the best re-
sults can be obtained in time to prepare the land again for cotton.
For this reason, as well as for many others, some other crop should
follow the cotton and bur clover. If corn be planted after the bur
clover, ample time exists for the ripening of the clover, the prop-
er preparation of the land and the growth of the corn crop. As
soon as enough of the bur clover has ripened to insure re-seeding
of the land—May 1 to 20—the land should be well broken, thor-
oughly harrowed and the corn planted. We advise those who are
thinking of trying bur clover for the first time, to sow only a
small area, say one acre. Procure seed in the burs and also, if
practicable, 200 to 500 pounds of soil from a field where the crop
is now growing well. Sow the latter part of July or in August,
and after a success has been achieved on one acre the seed and the
inoculated soil are at hand for sowing several acres if desired. As
a cover crop and soil improver bur clover is worth much more
than it will cost to grow it, but get your soil inoculated and learn
how to handle it before you try it on a large scale.”

Sweet Clover (Melilotus alba, M._ officinalis).—This
plant resembles alfalfa, and is closely related to it. When
young it is hard to distinguish from alfalfa unless one
tastes the stem or leaves, when its characteristic bitter
taste is discovered. It has also a distinct odor that gives
it its name “sweet clover,” and this odor it retains when

178 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

made into hay. There are two species, white and yellow.
The yellow-blooming variety (M. officinalis) is smaller
and of less value than the white-blooming one, though
it lacks the troublesome coarseness of its relative, VW. alba.
Sweet clover is a biennial, starting one year and making,
no attempt to bloom, blooming the second year and dy-
ing. Seed may drop so that there will be a continuous
growth on the land, and sometimes men sow the seed for
two years in succession so as to have it in continuous
growth. Of few plants has more been said for and
against. Some states have proscribed it as a noxious
weed; others have expressly stated that it was not a weed
at all. Men have, without reason, feared it and cursed
it; others have with care established it and are using
it as a bee pasture and as forage, both green and dry,
for cattle, sheep and swine. Sweet clover has a mar-
velous luxuriance of growth. I have seen it full 8’ high,
and that on very hard soil, but rich in carbonate of
lime and phosphorus. It carries the same bacteria as
alfalfa, and enriches soils in the same manner. It is
the most vigorous soil-enricher of any of the clovers
and will do what the others will not, that is, begin on
very poor worn soils. It luxuriates on poor hillsides and
in time covers them over with ‘good grasses. It grows
on old, worn fields in the South and is grazed eagerly
by lambs, ewes, pigs and calves. It is occasionally made
into hay, and the Wyoming Experiment Station has
shown that lambs fed on this hay make as much gain
as on alfalfa, or even a little more. It is the best bee
pasture extant, and it will grow on soils too hard and
too deficient in humus for alfalfa. After growing for

THE VALUE OF SWEET CLOVER 179

a time the land will grow.the better legume. All in
all, there is hardly a better legume than sweet clover,
and none that can fill its place. _Withal, it has not fulfilled

WSs
Kew SN ;
NANA

Sy BTR.
ae et es

Sweet Clover. Roots of Red Clover showing nodules,

the hopes of its friends. It seems a capricious plant.
Growing luxuriantly on the roadsides or along railway
embankments, it becomes a sickly, insignificant thing
sown on cultivated fields. The truth is that sweet clover

180 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

is a lime-loving plant. It will grow anywhere that the
soil is filled with carbonate of lime; rich or poor, sweet
clover will enrich a lime soil. It can not be established
on a soil deficient in lime. It must be inoculated in or-
der to thrive anywhere, but inoculation in right soils
comes easily and soon, whether artificially applied or not.
It is a splendid forager for food and if it has its lime-
hunger satisfied is not exacting in other things, and is,
indeed, far less exacting than any other legume that I
know.

Sweet Clover Nowhere a Pest.—Il have never seen
sweet clover do injury to any cultivated crop. In the
meadow it disappears completely under ordinary mow- .
ings, since it can not seed. In pastures it seldom comes,
since animals graze it when young and prevent its seed-
ing. Along ditches, roadsides and in waste ground it
may grow thick and rank, but there it is better than
weeds since it feeds the bees and is beautiful when young.
Men unused to it are sometimes annoyed or frightened
if it comes in their new-sown alfalfa meadows. Nearly
all western-grown alfalfa seed contains more or less sweet
clover and few can distinguish between the seeds, nor is
it possible to separate them. The melilotus will do no
harm in alfalfa and will disappear in two years of ordi-
nary use of an alfalfa meadow.

The Use of Sweet Clover.—I have + teen for years
the steady spread of sweet clover over certain hilJsides
and mountainsides of Kentucky. When first I knew
them they were washed, gullied and nearly barren. They
are stony hillsides and contain much carbonate of lime.
Now they carry thousands of fields and patches of sweet

ESTABLISHING SWEET CLOVER 181

clover and present a very beautiful appearance in spring
and early summer. Sheep, pigs and cattle graze this
melilotus and stock-buyers comment that they get their
best lambs from these farms. Further, on these once
bare hillsides, the bluegrasses are coming in, following
in the wake of sweet clover. It is made into hay, and
horses, cows and sheep eat it with relish. It is neces-
sary for animals to learn to eat the plant, and probably
they would always prefer the other clovers, yet they
thrive as well, apparently on the sweet clover as on
any other forage. In the limestone soils of Alabama
and Mississippi sweet clover is doing wonders, and some
farmers in those regions claim it to be more profitable
than alfalfa. In Colorado and other western states it is
being sown on very hard adobe soils to prepare them for
alfalfa, the practice-being to turn it under when at the
height of its growth. It is found to have great power
to mellow hard adobe soils.

Establishing Sweet Clover.—Only on soils too poor or
wet for alfalfa would I suggest sowing sweet clover. The
seed is sown in much the same manner as alfalfa—in the
fall in southern climates and in the spring or summer
at the North. The land should be well limed if it is at all
lime-hungry. Carbonate of lime gives best results with
sweet clover. What sweet clover especially does is to
secure nitrogen from the air by means of its bacteria,
and these live only in soils rich in lime. It must have
inoculation or it is a poor, sickly thing. Inoculation
can be had by sowing soil taken from a rank-growing
sweet clover patch or from an established alfalfa field.
Wherever nature has put lime in the soil or one can buy

182 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

it, one can grow either sweet clover or alfalfa; the sweet
clover may very easily be a forerunner of the better le-
gume. I am firmly convinced that there are millions
of acres in the United States that would be far more
profitable sown to sweet clover than they are today, for
they would then be made ready for corn or alfalfa, and
the sweet clover would yield honey, wool and meat, while
doing its work of soil restoration. Especially has it im-
mense value as a soil ameliorant. There are vast areas
now being reclaimed by irrigation that have most diffi-
cult soil, hard and clayey, difficult to irrigate and to till.
These soils are rich in mineral elements of fertilization.
They lack nitrogen and humus, something to open them
and let in air and water. Sweet clover thrives on these
hard, lime-impregnated lands and should there be grown.
When it reaches full height it should be turned under.
Money could be made by saving a seed crop, too, as
sweet clover seed sells for nearly as high a price as alfalfa
seed.

Yellow Trefoil (Medicago lupulina).—I would not
mention this little clover only that it so often comes where
it is not expected, and causes owners no end of wonder-
ment. It is a small, creeping clover with a yellow bloom.
It is harmless and makes good grazing, though not very
much of it. In Europe, it is sometimes sown with intent.
In America, it is gotten only as an adulterant with al-
falfa or clover seed, chiefly with alfalfa. It may do much
harm in alfalfa by crowding the better plant while it is
young; otherwise it is not a weed, and the worst about
it is that one is deceived when one buys it and is de-
frauded. |

HAIRY VETCH DESCRIBED 183

Hairy Vetch (Vicia villosa).—There have been intro-
duced into America many species and varieties of vetches.
Some are sown in the spring and some in the fall. There
is also much variation in the vetches themselves, that they
might well be divided into varieties of greater or less
merit, would anyone take the trouble. The spring-sown
vetches are not adapted to our hot dry summers, and prac-
tically the one species in cultivation in America is the
hairy or winter vetch. Hairy vetch has several very strik-
ingly good qualities. It is very hardy. It grows late in
the fall and early in the spring. It is tolerant of poor
soil and is especially adapted to soils deficient in lime
and humus. It grows better in good soil and is grateful
for being fed. It is a heavy carrier of root tubercles
and these increase more during colder weather on vetches
than on most legumes. It makes good forage that is rel-
ished by all classes of animals. It gathers more nitrogen
than anything else that can be sown for a winter-cover
crop. It is adapted to all the South where it grows near-
ly all winter and is hardy in New York. Hairy vetch is
a slender, vine-like, trailing plant with pinnate leaves and
tendrils on the ends of the leaf stems. Its blooms re-
semble small purple or bluish peas, and later pea-like
pods with small, round, black pea-shaped seeds. The
vines may grow 4, 6 or 8 ft. long, then recline on the
ground, unless they find something up which to climb.
It is useful to sow rye or wheat with vetches so that they
may have support. In the north rye may be the better
plant; from: Tennessee southward wheat is better. The
mixture of vetch and wheat makes a prodigious amount
of forage for spring cutting which may be used for soil-

184 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Hairy Vetch (Vicia villosa).

ESTABLISHING VETCHES 185

ing cows or other animals. I have seen astonishing
growths of this plant in Oregon, Washington, Tennessee,
Alabama, Mississippi and other states. It is not, so far
as I have seen, regularly in use by farmers anywhere.

The difficulties as to vetch are several. The seed is
expensive, costing now (1910) 6 cents a pound, and it
requires 70 to 75 pounds to the acre for a good seeding.
Then the seed lies in the earth sometimes for a year or
more and may come up in small grain and prove a trou-
blesome weed, though it will not interfere with any cul-
tivated crop. It must absolutely have inoculation or it
makes very slender growth. I know of no legume de-
pending more on its bacteria than the hairy vetch. In
Louisiana I sowed vetches on sandy loam soil, well worn,
with the result that few plants exceeded a foot in height,
while a few plants accidentally inoculated made a growth
of many times that. I should say from observation that
on poor soils there would be more than 10 times the
growth of hairy vetch where the soil is inoculated over
where it is not. The Alabama station reported a growth
of 232 pounds to the acre without inoculation and 2,540
pounds with inoculation.

In the South vetch may be sown on Bermuda grass
sod, which may be disked or even plowed to give a seed-
bed. It should, however, be grazed off close, or mown
as soon as hot weather begins, otherwise its shade will
destroy the grass. At the Cornell station in New York
three months’ growth of hairy vetch made 6,824 pounds
of dry forage per acre containing 240 pounds of nitrogen,
53 pounds of phosphoric acid and 52 pounds of potash,
while during the same period cowpeas produced 2,262

186 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

pounds of forage per acre, containing 46, 23, and 19
pounds respectively. It seems to me the one serious ob-
stacle to cultivation of vetch is the cost of seed, and this
the farmer could in a measure obviate by growing his
own seed—a thing easily enough done. Vetches germi-

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nate slowly and should be sown early—in northern lati-
tudes in late July, in the South as late as October and in
the Gulf States it may thrive sown in November, though
earlier seeding is desirable if there is moisture sufficient
to germinate it. Inoculation may be given by immers-
ing the seed in very muddy water, made by stirring in-

VETCH AND CRIMSON CLOVER 187

fected earth from some inoculated vetch field into a buck-
et of water. This will give a thin coating of mud on
each seed and the inoculation will be found efficient.
The seed should be sown at once without exposure to
light.

Vetch and Crimson Clover.—My friend, L. W. Lighty
of Adams Co., Pa., a shrewd, practical Dutchman, has
this to say in the ‘National Stockman and Farmer”
about the use of these two legumes in Pennsylvania:

“Sow any time after the middle of July to the end of October.
If you never grew vetch before it may not succeed so well the first
year as it, like all legumes, does better on inoculated soil and the in-
oculation comes from the growing of the plant. My preference is
to sow a half-bushel of vetch and a bushel to a bushel and a half
of rye to the acre. If you do not care to plow early in the spring,
and the land is fairly fertile, a peck of vetch and three pecks of rye
will make quite a mass of vegetable matter. I prefer heavy seed-
ing so as to get a dense growth and prevent washing during win-
ter and it also gives me more material to plow under early in the
spring. Would it pay to sow vetch the last working of corn if the
stubble is to be sowed to wheat? No, the growth of the vetch is
best in cool weather, so you would have but little growth, besides
it would be hard to destroy all the vetch plants and they would be
in your wheat like cockle, and almost impossible to separate if you
would wish to sell the wheat. Vetch, like rye, may be a weed and
you do not want it in your seed or selling wheat. Would not crim-
son clover be preferable to vetch? It may be, in fact is, in some
soils preferable to vetch. I note wherever there is a good propor-
tion of sharp sand in the soil, crimson clover flourishes, but in the
clayey or shaley soils, devoid of sand, crimson clover is an unsat-
isfactory manurial crop because it thrives so poorly. Rye and
vetch are generally preferable because they grow and thrive under
the most adverse conditions. Being a sort of weed, they flourish
in spite of neglect, do not winterkill, nor do insects disturb them.
Crimson clover is delicate and wants things just so or it will quit.
I prefer the robust, rough-and-ready plant that is there when I
come to plow it under. If crimson clover succeeds on your soil

188 MEADOWS AND PASTURES |

sow it, but rather than have the soil lie bare during winter, by all
means sow rye and vetch. As a soiling crop this rye and vetch
mixture is superior to the crimson clover.”

Japan Clover (Lespedeza striata).—Japan clover came
to us probably in packing about tea chests or china ware
in 1850. It spread rapidly over the South during the
Civil War, and is now found nearly everywhere south of
the Ohio River, especially on poor soils where bluegrass
and other perennial grasses are not seen. It is most
abundant and luxuriant in the Gulf States. It has an
astonishing ability to grow on poor soils, yet makes most
growth on rich soils. Ordinarily it is only 4” to 6” high;
in Mississippi and Louisiana on rich bottom lands it may
be 2’ or more high and make 3 cr more tons of hay to
the acre at one cutting. Japan clover is abundantly sup-
plied with large, firm nodules and is an efficient nitrogen-
gatherer, greatly enriching soils on which it grows. It is
an annual clover and comes each year from seed. It seeds
well, and, once established, is nearly permanent unless the
land is cultivated. Animals can hardly graze it close
enough to prevent its seeding, since when close-grazed it
sends out, close to the earth, branches that bloom and
bear seed. When undisturbed it has an erect growth, es-
pecially when growing thick on rich soil.

All animals relish Japan clover and thrive on it. It
is invaluable as an admixture with Bermuda pasture. It
is said to uproot broom sedge, though I doubt its ability
to do this on ordinary soils. It is not insistent in demand-
ing a good soil or a soil rich in lime; in fact, it will grow
on a greater variety of inferior soils than any other use-
ful clover. Japan clover “comes of itself” on many soils,

SEEDING LESPEDEZA 189

yet it is being more and more sown with profit, especially
along the rich alluvial lands of the lower reaches of the
Mississippi River. It is not intolerant of occasional flood-
ing of the ground so the water does not stand too long or
become too deep, hence it is adapted to poorly-drained
southern lands as well as to hillsides. I have seen it
grow luxuriantly on hard subsoil along railways where
every bit of the topsoil had been removed. Speaking for
Oklahoma, John Fields remarks that it is not worth while
sowing lespedeza where it does not come of itself; that
it is not adapted to drouth conditions. In Louisiana, it
is often sown with winter oats, the oats being sown in
the fall and the lespedeza in the spring. After the oats
are taken off, the lespedeza uses the land effectually and
makes a crop of hay in the fall. The seed is best sown
on bare earth and either left uncovered, when it will be
covered by the beating rains, or else lightly brushed in.
It will not endure much earth upon it. It may be sown at
any time in spring or late winter.

Quantity of Seed to Sow.—Ordinarily the seed is sold
in the pod and a half bushel or more is sown to the acre.
If one gets at first a thin stand of lespedeza, one may
hope that the second year it will have thickened by its
own self-sown seed. In mowing lespedeza for hay, one
must use caution or one will lose the stand. When it
grows thick and tall there is danger that the mower may
cut off all the bloom and seed. Some growers remove
two or three sections from their mower knives so that
strips are left uncut for the purpose of maturing seed.
Lespedeza hay is richer in fat than alfalfa and compares
well with it in all points. It is probably a more valuable

190 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

hay. It is highly prized wherever it has been fed. Many
old abandoned cotton plantations since the advent of the
boll weevil have been sown in part to lespedeza with
first-rate profit. It is common to mow it off early in the
summer to remove the weeds and wild growths so that
the lespedeza hay may be nearly pure.

After studying the problem of live stock production in
the Gulf States for several years, I am convinced that
this clover should be the first to be sown. It has not as
high value, acre for acre, as vetches or alfalfa: it will
not grow to add fertility in frosty weather; in fact, it is
a very tender annual, but it is so humble, so little insist-
ent on good treatment, that one can take an old field too
poor and undrained for good farming, plow lightly, level
off, and sow to lespedeza, and presto! one’s land is occu-
pied, at work, and getting richer even if slowly, will sup-
port stock, and more than hold its own till one can get
ready to take it seriously in hand with drains, deep plow-
ing and fertilization preparatory to growing the larger
legumes or corn. On the richer parts of his land he can
grow from 1 to 4 tons to the acre of prime, nutritious
hay if he feeds it, and bringing a good price if he sells
if ,

Samfom (Esparcette) and French Clover (Onobrychis
sativa).—I have never seen a successful field of this beau-
tiful and valuable clover in America. In France it is
much used both in mixtures with alfalfa (lucerne) and
other clovers, and sown alone. On the best farms near
Paris it is nearly always a part of the composition of the
meadow. In England it is highly esteemed for dry, cal-
careous soils. It is somewhat slow to establish but when

TRIALS WITH SAINFOIN 19]

it is developed it is very productive and the hay is of su-
perior quality. It likes dry, calcareous soils which it is
said to enrich remarkably. It seems altogether unrea-
sonable to me that it should not find somewhere in Amer-
ica a congenial soil and climate. I have tried it in Utah
with only moderate success. I suggest that probably this
clover is only another instance of the necessity of inoc-
ulation. True, most soils in America are lime-deficient,
yet there are other soils in the West and Southwest that
have a considerable excess of lime in their composition
and are well drained. I have seen soils in Colorado, New
Mexico and Texas with from 4 per cent to 25 per cent of
carbonate of lime in their composition, surely enough to
satisfy even sainfoin. It is not worth while for the farm-
er to work with sainfoin before his experiment station
has shown him how to grow it, though I assuredly look
for it to come into use in America some day. There are
hills of limestone gravel in northern Illinois and south-
ern Wisconsin that should take it; there are limestone
hills in Kentucky now growing sweet clover that might
take it, and then the vast areas of lime made soils of the
Southwest. I suggest to directors of experiment stations
that they secure from some source, perhaps from the
farms of France, soil in which good sainfoin is now grow-
ing, choose a dry plot of land, lime it very heavily with
carbonate of lime, and make serious effort to learn what
inoculated sainfoin will do in America.

Quantity of Seed to Sow.—tIn Europe it is common to
sow about 60 to 80 pounds of unhulled seed to the acre.
Clovers or alfalfa are sometimes sown with the sainfoin.
The seed can not push up through any great depth of

192 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

earth, so the seedbed must be fine and level so that the
seeds may be put in at a uniform depth of about 1” or a
little less. It is sown in spring. In Europe are fields 20
years old in productive condition. It endures drouth
well and has enriched many poor, half-barren, hilly, cal-
careous lands of Europe. I venture here to prophesy that
we shall learn to use this splendid clover some day in
parts of America and that it will do us great good. I
would never sow it without inoculation, and at this writ-
ing that is difficult to secure.

Field Pea (Pisum sativum var. arvense).—Field peas
must have mention because they are of importance in
Canada, Michigan, Wisconsin, New England and north-
ern New York and in high altitudes of the western moun-
tains. They are a close relative of the common garden
pea, a mere variety, more resistant to cold and hardier
to endure field conditions. They produce smaller peas
than the garden sorts, and are smooth, while garden peas
are commonly wrinkled. The growth of vine is remark-
able, the Golden Vine variety having a length often ex-
ceeding 10’. As the vines get older the leaves drop and
the stems become bare. ‘The Utah station reports the
greatest yield of both green forage and dry matter when
the plants were in bloom, water-free substance, 4,997
pounds to the acre. Field peas are commonly grown for
soiling purposes, mixed with oats. They grow best in
cool weather and should be sown as early as possible in
spring. In some soils they may, indeed, be sown very
late in the fall, just as winter sets in, and they will lie
dormant till early spring and then grow. Because sandy
soils are first dry and warm in spring, field peas are com-
monly found to thrive best there. They like calcareous

CANADA FIELD PEAS

Canada Pea.

nos

194. MEADOWS AND PASTURES

soils or soils having been well limed. They need the right
bacteria in the soil to cause nodulation of their roots, but
commonly this is naturally present. Any soil that grows
common garden peas well will inoculate field peas. They
should be sown deeply, on deeply-plowed land. Often
they are covered with the plow or drilled in very deep.
In the Gulf States they should be sown in November;
they will often make growth in mild winters.

Quantity of Seed to Sow.—From 1 to 3 bushels to the
acre are sown. When in drills, 2 bushels will be found
sufficient seed. Wheat is, in the South, a better crop to
sow with peas than oats, the standby of the North. Peas
have considerable power to enrich soils, as. was shown by
their behavior in the San Luis Valley of Colorado. Lands
there long devoted to wheat ceased to produce well and
were sown to field peas, the seed coming first from the
Mexicans. The peas throve and were either grazed off
by sheep and pigs or mown and fed in corrals in winter.
Afterward an astonishing rejuvenation of the soil was
observed. The peas also proved very profitable as fat-
tening feed for lambs, sheep,’ cattle and pigs. The
altitude there is about 7,000 feet. Irrigation furnishes
a soil always moist and the climate is cool with especially
cool nights. There are other valleys in the Rocky Moun-
tains too high for alfalfa and cool enough for peas, which
do not resent an occasional light frost. The dry winters
usual to those regions permit the feeding off of the peas
with very slight expense, and the manure made is dropped
on the land.

In the cornbelt region peas are little used, and in cen-
tral Ohio they have with me proved less profitable than.

COWPEAS DESCRIBED 195

other forage crops. I
have confidence in
them for the North,
the mountains, and
the South where there
is warmth enough for
them to grow the
winter long.
Cowpea.—The cow-
pea, called appropri-
ately in Europe the
China bean (Vigna
sinensis or Vigna cat-
jang), is not properly
speaking a pea, but
resembles more the
garden bean. It is an
annual plant of great
importance inthe
South, and, though
not properly making
either meadow or pas-
ture, must have brief
meson ,nerc, he
strong points of the
cowpea are that it will
erow on very poor
Coil and: that it) 1s
very soon inoculated
by natural means,

Cowpea plants with roots 41” long.

196 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

though inoculation may come sparingly the first year. It
enriches soils, as do all legumes, but for enriching quite
poor soils it is perhaps better than almost any other. It
makes good forage somewhat difhcult to cure into hay.
The seeds are good food for man or beast. It is not in-
sistent on the soil being sweet, as are most legumes, but
it will not grow in wet soil. The richer the soil is in min-
eral elements the better the growth of peas. It gathers
sufficient nitrogen from the air by the aid of its root nod-
ules and bacteria, but must have phosphorus and perhaps
potassium fed it, the latter being most commonly needed
‘on sandy soils. There are very many varieties of cow-
‘peas; among the most common in use are Whippoorwill
and Unknown used in the South, and Black, a good va-
riety for the North, though it may not mature seeds there.
‘The Iron pea is immune to the cowpea wilt, so it has -
value in regions subject to that disease. ‘There is also a
wild cowpea growing in Louisiana that perpetuates it-
self from year to year and makes much forage. The
northern limit of profitable cultivation of the cowpea is
probably the same as the limit of the larger dent va-
rieties of corn, though it can be grown much farther
north and will do fairly well. As cowpeas love sun and
warm soil, it is not well to plant them until the earth is
warm, say 10 days or two weeks after the usual corn-
planting time. The lightest frost is fatal to the cowpea.
Method of Seeding Cowpeas.—To secure a good crop
of peas one should plow and prepare the land well. The
seed is better sown in drills 30” or more apart, and culti-
vated once or twice. Two or three pecks of seed will
sow an acre in drills. A larger amount of seed is com-

MAKING COWPEA HAY 197

monly secured when planted in drills, but for hay it is
common to sow broadcast and cover by disking or with
shallow plowing. Thus sown, a bushel or more of seed
is required if the crop is to be mown off for hay. The

A Rack for Curing Cowpea Hay.

cultivation should leave the land as level as is conveni-
ent. Since cowpeas are weak-stemmed plants, it is desir-
able to plant something with them-that will hold them up.
Soybeans planted thin are used for this purpose, as also
is sorghum. The latter makes good growth with cow-

198 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

peas and together they make much good forage, though
it is hard to cure.

Making Cowpea Hay.—There is no easy way of mak-
ing cowpea hay. The Tennessee station uses frames
made of four upright timbers about 9’ long, bolted to-

Cowpea Hay Cocked Over a Rack,

gether at the top and spread below like a tripod with
cross pieces that hold the vines off the ground. On these
frames green forage can be cured in large cocks of maybe
500 pounds weight. In Bulletin No. 40 of the Mississippi
station is given an account of how to cure cowpea hay.

MAKING COWPEA HAY 199

The mower is started in the morning as soon as the dew
is off, and run till noon. As soon as the top of the vine
is well wilted it is run-over with a tedder. When the
crop is very heavy, the tedder is used a second time.
Vines that have been cut in the morning and teddered in

Cowpea Hay Rack Ready for Moving.

the afternoon are usually dry enough to put in small
cocks the next afternoon, and if the weather promises fa-
vorable they are allowed to remain in the cocks for two
or three days before they are hauled to the barn. If it
should rain before the vines are put in cocks they are not

200 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

touched until the surface is well dried, and are then ted-
dered as though freshly cut. We find the only safe plan is
to put the vines in a stack covered with straw for a few
weeks, or, still better, in the barn, where they should not
be piled too deep. After a month the hay may be baled
with safety if it appears then to be well dried out.

Harvesting Cowpea.Seed.—Commonly the seed is
picked by hand as the pods ripen, negro women usually
doing the work.” This is a rather slow and costly method. |
The vines may be cut and threshed with a special pea
thresher. After being threshed the haulm 1s readily eat-
en by stock. The use of this machine should make cow-
pea seed cheaper, the chief difficulty in using the plant
having been the cost of seed.

Cowpeas in Corn.—Cowpeas are commonly planted in
corn at the time of the last cultivation. They may be
sown broadcast or put in with a drill. In the South there
may be much growth during and after the ripening of the
corm, and a notable gain im fertility | The’ peas! mayae
harvested or fed off by pigs or other animals or all the
growth left to enrich the soil. The peas may be drilled at
the time the corn is planted, or soon after. Thus planted
they may make too much growth for the best develop-
ment of the corn, though some experimenters believe that
the corn is fed. with nitrogen directly from the associa-
tion of the peas. The mass of corn and peas may be put
into the silo. Commonly,: soybeans | pln pe corn |
give better results for the silo.

The Cowpea as a Soil Enricher.—The cowpea. is to
the South what clover is to the North and alfalfa to
the West. It is a stepping-stone to sufficient fertility

YIELDS OF COWPEA HAY 201

for better farming. Long southern summers are longer
than the corn crop can utilize; the cowpea fills in the
space and keeps the land busy till fall, meanwhile gather-
ing humus-making material and nitrogen. Two tons
of cowpea vines to the acre equal in nitrogen content
600 pounds of nitrate of soda. The cowpea may not
always enrich soils. Mooers found at the Tennessee
station that where cowpeas and wheat alternated in rota-

Cowpeas in a Southern Field,

tion, and the peas were removed from the land, the yield
of wheat was reduced over adjacent plots where wheat
followed wheat. In Louisiana, turning under cowpeas
increased the yield of sugar-cane the first year 2.91 tons,
the second year 3.69 tons and the third year 0.82 tons.
The soil on which this cane grew was the alluvial soil of
the Mississippi River Delta, fully supplied with phos-
phorus and potassium, lacking only nitrogen and humus.
The Delaware station finds that a maximum crop of al-

202 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

falfa yielded 1,230 pounds of protein (containing 200
pounds of nitrogen) per acre while maximum crops of
cowpeas and crimson clover yielded about 725 pounds
each of protein (115 pounds of nitrogen) per acre. Since
cowpeas and crimson clover may be grown on land where
alfalfa fails, they will perform its work. It is not worth
while growing cowpeas where alfalfa thrives, except
that they may help prepare the land for the better peren-
nial legume. In Virginia cowpeas often precede sowing
land to bluegrass, and with marked results.

Comparing Cowpeas with Soybeans.—I have tested
these plants side by side in Louisiana, and concluded that
in nearly all ways soybeans were superior. The soys
made more forage and more seed and were more easily
harvested. Cowpeas, however, are better adapted to rude
methods of cultivation, and may do more to smother
out weeds.

The Field of the Cowpea—To utilize the soil left
vacant by ripening corn and gather nitrogen for a suc-
ceeding crop, to prepare poor land for cultivation, to
yield nutritious forage hard to gather but worth the
effort on the southern farm, to store in the soil humus
and nitrogen to help a following crop, to make a catch
crop for feeding off the land with hogs, to furnish
southern farmers with a ready source of protein for
dairy or feedlot—these are among the uses of the cow-
pea. It is hardly comparable with clover or alfalfa, but
even on farms where these may grow it will often find
temporary use.

Velvet Bean (Mucuna utilis).—This is a bean having
a liking for hot, moist weather and sandy or fairly well-

COWPEAS RANK GROWERS 203

drained soils, It is a rampant grower and will make
vines 30’ to 50’ long in a season and in Florida will pro-
duce 20 to 30 bushels of beans per acre. It makes over
the land a dense tangle of vines that are commonly al-
lowed to lie for a year and decay, before they are turned
under. Hogs and cattle thrive on the beans. The vines

Velvet Bean, showing leaves, flowers, and young pods.

are sometimes made into hay and yield from 2 to 4
tons per acre. The effect on the soil of velvet beans
is much the same as of cowpeas, but they are not adapted
to northern latitudes. On Woodland Farm, in central
Ohio, they made one year a respectable growth, but ani-
mals accustomed to other forage would not eat them

204 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

well green. The soil-enriching powers of velvet beans
are about the same as of cowpeas. The effect of grow-
ing them in sandy soils far south is most beneficial, and
is much enhanced when they are liberally fertilized with
phosphorus and potassium. Much better results with
velvet beans would be secured if the vines were turned
under and, the year following their growth, the field
planted to some crop that could utilize the nitrogen
gathered. This could readily be done with the lane
disk plows made for deep tillage.

Soybean (Glycine hispida).—This plant gives promise
of becoming a great factor in American farming,~espe-
cially in regions parallel in location to Kentucky and
Tennessee, though it thrives well as far north as the
4oth parallel and is grown more or less for 100 miles
farther north, and as far south as central or southern
Louisiana. There are many varieties of the soybean
which have been grown as feed for men and animals
for untold centuries in China, Japan and Korea. It is
a comparatively recent comer to America, but already
promises to displace the cowpea in many situations and
to supplement corn in rations for farm animals in such
states as Tennessee, Oklahoma and Kansas. At pres-
ent, its most enthusiastic advocates are properly to be
found in Tennessee, where soil and climate and habits
of men seem congenial to it. The soybean is distinctly
unlike any other legume. It commonly stands erect,
though there are trailing varieties, has strong, hairy
stems, a strong tap root, broad leaves, small, purplish
flowers, and short pods downy and with rather few
seeds. The pods are often attached to the main stem

THE SOYBEAN DESCRIBED 205

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and branches. The seeds are of several colors: green, yel-
low, white and black. Soybeans seem to have more
varieties and variation than the cowpea. They vary
in height from 2’ to 6’, and in time of maturity from

206 MEADOWS AND PASTURBS

go days to so long a season that they will mature only
in the region of cotton-growing. Soybeans love sun
and thrive best if planted when the earth is warm; they
are not hurt by cool weather so much as cowpeas and:
may be planted somewhat earlier, though it is better
to plant them a little later than one plants corn. They
are best planted in drills as close as can be consistent
with the use of horse cultivation. I have had good suc-
cess spacing the rows 2’ apart, though for large horses
a little more room is desirable. The beans are not easy
to get up. The soil should be made fine and level so
that they can be drilled in at uniform depth, and the
seeds must not be deep, about 1%” being the maximum
depth allowable. ;

Quantity of Seed to Sow.—The amount of seed re-
quired is about 20 pounds per acre. It pays well to
cultivate soybeans carefully till they cover the ground
and shade it enough to keep down weeds. When the
seeds are ripe comes the problem of harvesting the crop
—a problem yet in solution. The most economical way,
if one wishes to avoid loss of beans, is to cut with a
short, strong scythe one row at.a time, or to use a hand
knife like a strong, short sickle, taking hold of the plants
with the left hand, cutting them off and laying them
aside in bunches to dry. Commonly they are cut with
mowers or self-rake reapers and left to lie a few days
in the sun to dry. They may then be threshed with
a common thresher or a bean thresher. There may be
much loss from the pods popping open as the plants lie
drying on the ground. Pigs can afterward glean the
field. When cut for forage they are mown off before

207

SOYBEANS AND INOCULATION

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208 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

the pods are ripe, and made into hay. They cure far more
easily than cowpeas.

Soybeans and Inoculation.—lIt is a curious fact that
soybeans will, if grown on the same ground consecu-
tively, inoculate themselves the second year. .There is
yet some undiscovered reason for this fact, which was
first pointed out by Prof. H. Garman in Kentucky Bul-
letin 98, page 19. Certain varieties of soybeans become
inoculated much sooner than other varieties—another
unexplained fact. One should always, where possible,
grow soybeans for two or more years successively on
the same land. Artificial inoculation is very easily per-
formed; one can take earth where inoculated soys have
grown, make it fine by sifting, wet the seeds just as
one is ready to plant, and mix with them the dry, sifted
earth till they are dry enough to plant. Or, ome (cam
simply drill the dry, sifted earth along with the beans,
which may work better with machine-drilling. Unless
the soil is very rich, the growth with inoculation will be
much better than without. The nodules of soybeans are
very large and the amount of nitrogen secured from
the air must be considerable.

Uses of Soybeans —The whole crop may, mixed with
corn, be put into the silo, and it is believed that thus
cows may have their protein cheaply supplied. Tests
with beef cattle do not show superiority. of this mixed
silage over that from corn alone. The beans may be fed
as a soiling crop, and this is one of the best uses. The
seeds may be allowed to ripen, threshed and ground and
fed to pigs to furnish protein for balancing a ration of
corn. Remarkable results have been achieved in this way,

CUTTING SOYBEANS FOR HAY 209

as one can find by consulting bulletins of the Kansas,
Oklahoma and Ohio stations. The crop may be fed off
by cattle on the ground, followed by pigs to glean the
fallen beans, and thus remarkable gains have been shown.
The Tennessee and Alabama stations have published valu-
able bulletins detailing work in this line. Soybeans may
be cut for hay and results from feeding the hay show that
it is about as good as alfalfa. When cut for hay the

A Field of Soy Beans in Tennessee.

best varieties are the Mammoth and Ito San. For hay
soybeans should be cut when part of the seed is formed,
but before the pods ripen. Nothing will make more
or better growth with lambs than soybeans fed in con-
nection with other grains. The composition of soybeans
is such that it has a very high feeding value. Its pro-
tein content is about 35 per cent and its fat 20 per cent.
There is no starch in the soybean. In Japan an arti-
ficial milk is said to be made from the beans, and they

ANG) MEADOWS AND PASTURES

are employed in many ways as food for men. They are
slow to soften with boiling, but if ground into meal make
delicious soups and porridge. We have grown them for
a number of years in field culture on Woodland Farm
and they have been profitable, yielding sometimes nearly
30 bushels of beans per acre. We decide finally, however,
that where one’s soil is fitted for corn and alfalfa one
will usually find greater profit in these than in soybeans
in our latitude, except that it is desirable to have a sup-
ply of the beans for pushing forward pure-bred lambs.
In Louisiana the beans were much more profitable than
cowpeas and easier grown on alluvial soil. I have de-
voted a good deal of space to this legume because, wiile
it is not strictly a meadow plant, it is assuming con-
siderable importance at present, and is destined to come
more and more into use in general farm practice, espe-
cially in the South. Interested readers should have Farm-
ers’ Bulletin 372, from which I quote:

Comparison of Soybeans and Cowpeas.—Inasmuch as the soybean
is adapted to nearly the same place in the farm rotation as the cow-
pea, a comparison of the two plants is pertinent. The soybean is
determinate in growth; that is, it reache$ a definite size and ma-
tures. Nearly all varieties of cowpeas, on the other hand, are in-
determinate, continuing growth until killed by frost. Soybeans,
with the exception of a few varieties, do not vine, but grow erect
or nearly erect. Cowpeas, on the other hand, are viny plants, and
therefore more difficult to harvest. Soybeans mature all their pods
at one time. Cowpeas continue to produce green pods as long as
the plant lives. Soybeans will withstand quite heavy frosts, both
in the spring, when young, and in the fall, when nearly mature,
while the same frosts are fatal to cowpeas. Soybeans are more
drouth resistant than cowpeas, and in a dry season will give much

greater yields; they will also withstand excessive moisture much
better. For green manuring or soil improving, the cowpea is far

CHIEF FACTS ABOUT SOYBEANS 211

more valuable than the soybean, as it will smother weeds much
more successfully. The value of the hay of the two plants is near-
ly the same. There is frequently doubt as to which is the more
desirable to grow. On relatively poor soil or when broadcasted
cowpeas are always preferable. When cultivated, the soybean will
yield the greater return, and if cut late the hay is more easily cured.
For growing with corn or sorghum for hay or silage the cowpea
is generally preferable to the soybean. The feeding value of an
acre of soybeans for beef cattle was found by the Tennessee Ex-
periment Station to be about 50 per cent greater than that of cow-
peas grown on an adjoining acre. This was also approximately the
difference in yield of the two crops. As a grain producer the soy-
bean is in every way preferable to the cowpea, as it produces larger
yields of richer grain and can be harvested much more easily. The
soybean, therefore, is to be recommended above the cowpea where
intensive rather than extensive farming is practicable and desirable.

SUMMARY.

For intensive farming the soybean is the best annual legume to
grow for forage in the southern part of the cottonbelt and into
the southern part of the cornbelt. The soybean, whether used as
hay, grain, straw or silage, is very valuable as feed for live stock.
Soybean hay is practically identical in feeding value with alfalfa
and yields from 2 to 3 tons per acre. To make good soybean hay
the crop must be cut when about half the pods are full grown or
when the top leaves first begin to turn yellow. Soybean grain is
more valuable than cottonseed-meal as a supplemental feed in the
production of pork, mutton, wool, beef, milk and butter. A bushel
of soybeans is at least twice as valuable for feed as a bushel of
corn. As the grain is hard it is usually desirable to grind it into
meal for feeding. This is best done by mixing with corn before
the grinding to prevent gumming up the mill.

Harvesting ordinarily should be done when the leaves first begin
to turn yellow, as the quality of the straw rapidly deteriorates
‘thereafter and the yield of seed will be practically as large as at
any later time. From 20 to 30 bushels of grain and 114 to 2 tons
of straw per acre are not uncommon. If soybeans are grown for
the seed alone, and sometimes this is desirable, the harvesting can
be done most easily by waiting until all the leaves have fallen. Soy-
bean straw, if the crop is cut before the leaves fall, is fully as val-

212 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

uable for feeding as timothy hay for cattle, and is eaten by stock
with much relish. Even when the harvesting is delayed until all
the leaves have fallen, stock will eat the straw readily. Mixed with
corn, soybeans are excellent for silage. The two crops may be
grown together, but it is usually better practice to plant in separate
fields and mix when putting into the silo. It is necessary to give
the soil thorough preparation in order to be successful with soy-
beans. Only fresh seed or seed which has been tested for germina-
tion should be planted. Two-year-old seed is usually not reliable.
The seed should be planted shallow, not to exceed 2” in depth, and
preferably in rows 30” or, better, 36” apart to permit sufficient cul-
tivation to keep down weeds. For harvesting soybeans a mower
with or without a side-delivery attachment, a self-rake reaper, or
a self-binder can be used. A binder can be used only with the tall
varieties. The thrashing can be done with a grain separator by
using blank concaves and running the cylinder much slower than
for small grains or by the use of machines specially designed for
handling soybeans and cowpeas. ;

Soybeans and cowpeas can be grown together satisfactorily; the
hay of such a mixture is better than either crop alone and the yield
is generally greater. In planting the two together the seed should
not be covered too deeply, as deep planting will result in a poor
stand of soybeans. As a crop in a short rotation soybeans are very
desirable. They can be grown so as to use an entire season in the
case of the late varieties, or two crops in one season can be se-
cured from some of the earlier ones. They can also be used very
advantageously to follow a small-grain crop the same season. The
important commercial varieties of soybeans are the Mammoth, the
Hollybrook, and the Ito San. Among the most valuable new va-
rieties are the Austin, the Wilson, the Riceland, the Meyer, and
the Haberlandt.”

Alfalfa or Lucerne (Medicago sativa).—I have pur-
posely left the description of the best forage plant to
the last. There is no clover, vetch, cowpea, soybean
or grass, worth growing where alfalfa will grow well.
Of all forage plants alfalfa is easily queen. It makes
the greatest weight of forage during the year. The
forage is richer than almost any other, and more palatable.

THE VIRTUES OF ALFALFA Zin

All animals thrive exceedingly eating alfalfa either green
or dry. As the old Roman author put it, “It is good
for all manner of famished cattle whatever.” Alfalfa
uses the whole of the soil, rooting deeply; it uses all
of the season since it is hardy and endures frost. It re-

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Dodder. Stem.
quires sowing only once in several years. It enriches
soils more than any other clover. It has many vir-
tues and not one fault save that it will not grow on im-
poverished soils nor on sour, cold or wet soils. These
very faults are made virtues because they cause men to

214 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

think and study their soils and become better farmers
and better men. The truth is that any soil that will
not grow alfalfa is seriously deficient, and when it has
been so ameliorated that alfalfa thrives on it the soil
is fit for any crop whatever, save that it may be too
full of nitrogen to grow oats or other grains with soft
straw.

Alfalfa is a strongly perennial clover-like legume, hav-
ing a large deeply penetrating root and a top with
many branching stems. It carries a small purple, green-
ish or yellow bloom, and the seeds are arranged in screw-
like pods. It is a plant starting very early in spring and
capable of yielding 2 to 6 or 8 crops in one year, 3 cut-
tings being commonly taken in Ohio, Illinois, Nebraska
and Colorado, and more in regions to the southward.

History.—No one knows the origin of alfalfa. It
came to Europe through the Persians and was highly
esteemed by the ancients. It has long been cultivated
in Europe under the name of “lucerne” and is today
held in the highest esteem of any legume in France,
Italy and some other countries with soil and climate
adapted to its culture. Though it has been grown many
centuries, it is only within recent years that it has been
well understood, so that today its culture is being more
rapidly extended in parts of Europe than ever before.
I saw its introduction pushed in Denmark and listened
with pleased interest to accounts of its virtues and needs,
“that the soil be well drained, that it have lime enough
and inoculation.”

The Spanish people brought alfalfa to the New World
from Chili; it came to California whence it spread to

SOILS FOR ALFALFA ZL5

Utah, Colorado, Kansas and the east. Our grandfathers
grew it too in a small way, bringing seed from France
and England, and some few spots, such as the lime-
stone region about Onondaga Co., N. Y., grew it for
many years, as did a few farmers in Virginia and else-
“where. Possibly I should state that I began growing
alfalfa in Utah in 1886, and alfalfa seed was first sown
on Woodland Farm the same year by my father. In
Ig00, convinced of its great worth, my brothers and I
began growing it in a small way in Ohio on the farm
on which we still reside. Since then I have studied the
plant in many states and foreign countries, and may
hope to have been helpful in getting it established on
many farms that had not previously grown it.

Soul for Alfalfa Growing.—Alfalfa roots penetrate
deep and forage wide. They refuse to grow in a wet
soil and may die and root off if the soil fills with water
for even'a few days in hot weather. A dry soil, then,
is the first requisite. Nevertheless, land not naturally
dry may be made dry by drainage. On Woodland Farm
are many acres growing very good alfalfa that had first
to be drained by tiles. In tiling land where alfalfa is
to be sown, one should dig trenches 3’ to 5’ deep wher-
ever this is practicable. In truth, land drained to a less
depth than 30” had better be devoted to another more
shallow-rooted legume. In Louisiana, however, I have
seen very good alfalfa grown where the permanent water
table was hardly more than 2’ down, but there the plant
was treated almost as an annual; thriving at first, it
became unthrifty after a year or as soon as its roots
had reached the saturated subsoil. After a soil is dry,

ZiG MEADOWS AND PASTURES

next consider its lime content. Alfalfa loves carbonate
of lime. So-called “natural alfalfa soils” are always
soils heavily charged with carbonate of lime. ‘The al-
falfa-growing soils of Colorado, for example, contain
from 134 per cent to as much as 10 per cent or more
of carbonate of lime. The same condition is met every-
where in the West. In southeast Missouri along the Mis-
sissippi River one finds alfalfa growing vigorously; one
finds, too, a soil with about 144 per cent of carbonate
of lime. In Louisiana, on a very heavy, tenacious “buck-
shot” clay residue from the overflow of the Mississippi
River, I found alfalfa thriving well, and analysis showed
a. lime content of about 112 per cent or a. little amend
On Woodland Farm the subsoil is well filled with small
limestone pebbles and the surface soil of the best alfalfa
fields will effervesce when muriatic acid is poured onto
the soil. A natural alfalfa-growing region is found in
Alabama and Mississippi on the rotten limestone of the
black prairie region. .Onondaga Co., N.). YG is maade
up largely of limestone hills; there alfalfa thrives. In
the parts of France having most lime in the soil one finds
the most lucerne. In England it is grown where the soil
is calcareous or lime-impregnated. I have nowhere found
alfalfa growing profitably or well except on soils well
filled with lime either by nature or by man.

Soils Can Be Made Fit to Grow Alfalfa.—The fact
that alfalfa is a lime-loving plant would be discourag-
ing were it not that its peculiar requirements are quite
easily met if men will take trouble. For instance, there
are hardly any soils less adapted naturally to alfalfa-
growing than the sands of the Gulf Coast. These sands

ALFALFA FAILURES 237

are deficient in lime and in nearly all the mineral ele-
ments of fertility. In their natural state they would not
nourish alfalfa well enough to keep it alive for one year.
Alfalfa had always failed there until at last men learned
of its lime hunger. Since then, by using sufficient car-
bonate of lime on these sandy soils, alfalfa-growing has
been established, and as healthy alfalfa plants are now
growing within sight of the blue waters of the Gulf of
Mexico as can be found anywhere. If one wishes al-
falfa anywhere one can have it if one is willing to pay
the price, and the price is simply what it will cost to lime
the soil well, preferably with unburned raw ground lime-
stone or carbonate of lime, then to make the soil dry and
fertile and sow seed with inoculation. Success is abso-
_lutely certain, given these conditions. What will all this
cost? Is the game worth the candle?

It all depends on what one is trying to do, on one’s
ideals, agriculturally. It depends on the man, as well—
whether he is a “first-rater” or content with things sec-
ond best. It is easy enough, however, to estimate what
it will cost to make land ready for alfalfa—land that is
naturally very deficient. Experiments show that if one
uses burned and fresh-slaked lime one will need from
2 to 4 tons to the acre. More than this might decrease
the bacterial content of the soil enough to lessen the
chance of a stand and crop. Less than 2 tons to the
acre would not do the trick. If air-slaked lime is used,
as much as 3 to 6 tons to the acre may be applied. If
ground and unburned limestone can be had, and this
is best of all, one may use as much as one chooses and
the proper amount to satisfy will be found to be 4 to 10

218 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

tons per acre. Useful to most plants, it is simply indis-
pensable to alfalfa. There is absolutely no doubt that
the fresh ground limestone is safer and better than any
other form of lime when one is using large amounts in
the soil. I rejoice that recently many have been taught
to believe in this, and doubtless this year has seen applied
to fields destined to grow alfalfa at least 100,000 tons of
carbonate of lime in the form of ground limestone, many
using 4 tons to the acre, some using 6, some 8 and some
10 tons. Further, I have been able to induce manufac-
turers to make portable grinding machines that will go
direct to the farm and grind into dust the limestone rocks
that may be stored in the soil or strewn over it, and
many of these machines are in use from Pennsylvania
to Georgia. I have, then, a pretty fair knowledge of -
what it will cost to make into an alfalfa field land now
unfit because of lack of lime. To buy ground lime-
stone on cars in Illinois costs about 85 cents a ton—
this where it is ground by the state with penitentiary
convicts. In other states private capital is grinding it
and selling it for around $1 to $1.25 per ton. When
it is shipped and delivered to farms it costs commonly
about $2 to $2.50 per ton. When the farmer grinds
it himself and puts it on his soil from rocks that lay scat-
tered over his pastures it costs less than $2 a ton, and
some estimate it as low as $1.25. Further, when land is
sweetened by the use of large amounts of ground lime-
stone, it remains sweet for many years. Afterward ap-
plication of an occasional dressing of a ton to the acre
will ordinarily suffice in most regions to keep established
alfalfa in a vigorous, profitable condition.

LIMESTONE AND ALFALFA 219

Where is Liming Needed?—There are a few areas in
southeastern Kansas that need lime, and also in Iowa,
though probably not very much of it. Much land in
Missouri needs sweetening; all of southern Illinois and
much of southern Indiana need it, and there are instances
everywhere over Indiana where it would be beneficial,
and from Indiana eastward one finds an increased lime-
hunger in soils till one at last reaches the Atlantic Sea-
board. Where it is not needed is where bits and frag-
ments of limestone are found mixed through the soil,
left there by glacial ice or by the breaking down of lime-
stone rocks. Nearly the whole South needs carbonate
of lime sadly, the exceptions being the alluvial prairie
lands along the Mississippi, the Red, the Arkansas, and
some other rivers, and the black prairie lands of Ala-
bama and Mississippi. Liming is not commonly needed
where red clover grows rank and tall, where bluegrass
comes of itself and covers, although there are exceptions
to that rule, and I have seen good bluegrass land that
grew poor alfalfa till it was dressed with carbonate of
lime, after which it grew splendid alfalfa, and the blue-
grass too was greatly improved.

I make no apology for spending so much time in coup-
ling alfalfa with lime and drainage because really if the
reader had good enough drainage and plenty of car-
bonate of lime in his soil he would find alfalfa to grow
so easily that he would not trouble to read this chapter
at all. And yet there are other essentials; they are
found in nature associated with soils calcareous and well
drained, though when one is artificially making such a
soil one may require to supply them.

220 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Simple Test for Lime in Soils—The old litmus paper
test for sour soils is hardly conclusive to the alfalfa
grower, since it does not tell enough. Alfalfa is not
content with a soil that is simply neutral; it revels in a
soil fairly alkaline with lime and there keeps its most
perfect health. Fortunately the test for carbonate of
lime is a simple one. Muriatic acid, a cheap chemical
obtainable at any druggist’s, when poured on soil having
in it a large amount of carbonate of lime, will vigorously
effervesce. The bubbles given off are bubbles of car- |
bonic acid gas. If your alfalfa is sickly and yellow,
if sorrel comes in and alfalfa goes out, test that land
and the subsoil for effervescence. Ten to one you will
find nowhere any of it. Then begin seeking a source of
carbonate of lime cheap enough so that you can afford
to use it in large amounts, or else forsake alfalfa for
alsike clover and redtop.

Fertile Soils for Alfalfa.—Alfalfa also revels in a fer-
tile soil. I have found no plant of use to men that
does not like a fertile soil, but alfalfa more than most
revels in sufficient plant food. It likes abundant potas-
sium, phosphorus, some humus and much carbonate of
lime. Withal, it is a famous soil-enricher; its nodule-
bearing roots gather more free nitrogen from the air
than those of almost any other legume, but it will not
enrich very poor soils as well as will vetches, for exam-
ple, or cowpeas. It likes a soil on which man has worked,
although it finds in nature on the western plains soils
that suit it to perfection. In the older eastern states
it revels in rich, loamy, drained, sweet soils, full of
humus, full of beneficent bacteria. I have often remarked

METHODS OF ENRICHING SOIL 221

that in the East one could nearly predict whether alfalfa
would thrive in a field or no by simply watching the
plowman as he walked. If behind him blackbirds fol-
lowed he might feel sure that alfalfa would succeed;
if no blackbirds came he might well doubt. The black-
birds follow where there are earthworms. Earthworms
are in soils drained and stored with vegetable matter.
Where earthworms are bacteria also exist in myriads.
If, then, that soil in which blackbirds feed has in it
much carbonate of lime success with alfalfa is assured,
if a few other easily-met requirements are obeyed. In
short, make the soil dry, sweeten it with lime if you are
farming on soil needing lime, make it rich, then sow
alfalfa.

There are many ways of enriching land. In some
places men grow crimson clover, fertilizing it well,
which they turn under in spring and allow to decay
to make humus to aid alfalfa-growing. Dairymen and
stock feeders apply manure for a preceding crop, putting
it on heavily; of this enough is left to cause the alfalfa
to grow off vigorously. Any method of good farming
whatever that will make the soil rich if it is not already
so, will serve. I have found, however, that it is better
if one can avoid turning under manure directly for alfal-
fa. If one could begin by manuring the land heavily,
then grow corn or some crop that could be kept clean,
give absolutely clean culture for a year, and then sow
the alfalfa, one would avoid the curse of weeds. After
all, no universal rule of soil culture will serve. On an
old plantation in Louisiana, misused for 50 years or
more, but of naturally rich alluvial soil, I sowed alfalfa.

PP? MEADOWS AND PASTURES

The land would not grow more than 25 bushels of corn
per acre and seemed very poor, hard and clayey. Wish-
ing to make alfalfa succeed I cleaned out a stable that
had in it 40 years’ manure and enriched part of one field
well. I used also commercial fertilizers, chiefly of phos-
phorus. Other parts of the land had no manuring what-
ever. The final result showed absolutely no difference in
growth between the manured and the unmanured land—
no sign of the fertilizer was discernible. The fact was,
the soil was very rich in phosphorus and potassium.
The alfalfa did not mind its deficiency in nitrogen, since
the soil carried naturally the bacteria that alfalfa re-
quires and as soon as it started to grow it gathered its
own nitrogen. I have nowhere seen such a result else-
where, and it is a safe rule to make soils destined to
erow alfalfa as rich as one well can. Assuredly here
[I address my words to farmers in eastern America;
dwellers in Idaho and Colorado may smile if they will,
though in Nebraska manure gave good returns applied
as preparation for alfalfa, as, also, it did in lowa. Now,
with rich land, drained, filled with carbonate of lime,
are we ready to sow alfalfa? Nearly. Now comes in-
oculation. I know of no plant more dependent on its
bacteria than alfalfa. Without them it is a poor, sickly,
short-lived plant.

There are several ways of inoculating land for al-
falfa, but first let us consider where it*is needed. Assur-
edly not in California nor in any of the semi-arid land
of the West; not, commonly, in Kansas now, though
once it was needed; not often any more in Nebraska, but
in all the region east of the Missouri River one is apt to

INOCULATION FOR ALFALFA 2a5

run against land destitute of the alfalfa bacteria. It is
pretty safe to assume that if you have never grown alfalfa
on your farm you will be helped by inoculation.
If sweet clover grows naturally there you have the bac-
teria; they inhabit at pleasure either legume. If you
have fed hay made from alfalfa meadows and used the
manure you have inoculation; in fact, wherever you have
used much manure of any sort the chances are that you
have the bacteria. At the same time, I have seen very
small and sickly alfalfa growing close to a barn where
presumably much manure had been spilled, and search
showed that there were no nodules on any of the alfalfa
roots. In part this may have been the result of acidity
of soil, since no lime had been used there. In the course
of many years’ study I have yet to find any soil full of
carbonate of lime and highly manured that especially
needed inoculation. However, the trick is of inestimable
value on soils that need it, and many do, as there is an
overwhelming wealth of experience to prove.

Alluvial soils commonly do not need inoculation. For
example, in Louisiana there was no need of inoculation
in the heavy “buckshot” soils, but in the sandy soils with
less lime, inoculation was good. Inoculation is the life
of alfalfa in eastern Virginia, in Maryland and, in truth,
in most of the Atlantic Coast region. It is less seldom
practiced in Ohio, but is strongly advised for New York.
It is safe to do it wherever alfalfa is‘a new crop. On
our own farm in Ohio we observe that we now commonly
get a crop of hay the year it is sown, whereas in former

years, while we got good stands, we got no hay till the
second year.

224 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

How to Inoculate.-—The safe way is by use of soil
from either a successful alfalfa field or from a sweet
clover patch. If it is near at hand load up the earth in
a manure spreader, and just before sowing the seed dis-
tribute the soil lightly over the field, following the
spreader close with a harrow that will mix the inoculat-
ing earth with the soil below so that the bacteria will
not be hurt by the sunlight, which is commonly fatal to
them. If one must purchase soil one can make it fine
and mix 100 pounds with 20 pounds of seed and sow the
two together, covering instantly. If the seed and soil
are very well mixed together they may be sown with a
drill. There are now made drills that sow alfalfa seed
very well, putting it in at slight depth and affordiing
nearly perfect opportunity for growth. One can dry
inoculating material in the shade, make it fine by pass-
ing it through a sieve, wet the seed well and as soon as
it has drained but not dried mix with it enough of the
dry earth to make it sowable or drillable. This method
requires very little earth and gives good inoculation.

Spring or Summer Seeding.—In Oklahoma spring seed-
ing is commonly practiced because then farmers can have
enough moisture to start the plants, while their falls are
commonly dry as well as their midsummers. In Kansas
the same conditions prevail more or less, though some
midsummer and fall seeding is done there. In Iowa
sowing after oats or early potatoes or on land that
has been kept fallow during the early season gives good
results, while, because of the weed-infested nature of the
soil, spring seeding is not always successful. In Illinois
much midsummer seeding is done, and some spring seed-

SPRING SEEDING OF ALFALFA 225

ing. In northern Ohio, where is located our experiment
station, midsummer seeding seems best, while in central
Ohio, where is Woodland Farm, spring seeding has al-
ways been most successful. It seems to be largely a
matter of previous treatment of the soil; where land
has been permitted to become very much infested with
weeds it is hardly safe to sow alfalfa in spring until
a course of cleansing has been given; where the land
is fairly clean spring seeding is best. It also follows
lime to a greater or less degree. For example, in the
lime lands of Alabama men can often sow alfalfa in
spring, midsummer or fall, while in most of the South
only fall-seeding is safe, because of weeds and crab-
grass. ‘There is a steady increase in the call for seed
during June, July and August so that now rather more
than half what some seedsmen sell goes at this season,
whereas once nearly all was sold in February, March and
April.

Clean Land Essential to Spring Seeding.—I am sure
that few farms could have shown more weeds in corn-
fields than once we grew on Woodland Farm. After
we began growing alfalfa, however, and became de-
sirous of having a clean seedbed for it, we learned to
cultivate better and to clean out the cornfields with hoes
after the corn was “laid by.”’ The cost of this we found
was not great, and we warred especially on redroot,
lambsquarter and pigeongrass, or foxtail. All these are
bad weeds in young alfalfa; the foxtail nearly kills
it and is bad in old meadows as well. We had no hope
that our efforts would result in more than lessening the
weeds, but already we have found a marvelous change

226 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

in our fields. In this year’s seeding (1910) there are
many rods of alfalfa with not one weed nor one spear
of foxtail grass, but only clean, healthy alfalfa, whereas
in our neighborhood alfalfa is so overgrown with weeds
that it is doubtful whether it will survive at all. We
have learned one encouraging lesson; foxtail may readily
be exterminated. It requires but one year’s perfectly
clean cultivation to accomplish this, as the seed will not
lie dormant in the earth as will seeds of some other weeds.
It pays, then, to keep the land clean where alfalfa is to
be sown the following year.

Depth of Plowing.—In parts of the Old World men
plow much more deeply than we do in America. In
France it is common to plow 20” deep for alfalfa. It
has been our experience that, commonly, the deeper land
is plowed for alfalfa the better the health and vigor of
the plants, and the less danger from weeds. Soils vary,
subsoils sometimes containing much more carbonate of
lime than do surface soils above them. Where this con-
dition obtains it pays to plow as deeply as one can. I
have seen clean, vigorous, thrifty alfalfa on deep-plowed
land and just alongside it poor, thriftless, weed-infested
plants where it had been plowed shallow. On the other
hand, there are doubtless soils where deep plowing would
do no especial good. The new type of disk plow or
“tilling machine” that uses two disks, both in one fur-
row, one under the other, promises to be a great aid to
alfalfa-growing. Deep-plowed land will hold much
more moisture than shallow-plowed, which is a decided
advantage nearly everywhere, as there is seldom or never
enough moisture in the soil throughout the season. As

THE SOWING OF ALFALFA 227,

a rule, then, plow for alfalfa as deep as you can, no
matter how much raw, fresh earth you turn up. It is
wise to leave strips for testing the result with ordinary
plowing.

Seedbed for Alfalfa—The plowing should be done
some time before seeding time where this is convenient.
It is necessary for it to be in some manner settled to-
gether. When seeding must follow plowing at short
intervals, one can use the disk and other harrows freely
to bring the earth firmly together again. A fine, firm
seedbed is needed, made smooth enough so that one can
seed to a uniform depth. If the alfalfa is to be irrigated
the land must be carefully leveled also, so that the water
may be led over it at no place too deep, yet all be covered.

Quantity of Seed to Sow.—Alfalfa seed of good qual-
ity commonly germinates well. When sown broadcast
and covered with the drill or harrow if the seedbed is
good 15 pounds of seed will give a thick stand. When
the seed is drilled with special alfalfa drills so that each
seed has proper depth of planting, 5 pounds or less gives
a thick stand. Ordinarily as sown on rough ground
and given unequal covering it is advisable to sow 20
pounds to the acre. The Ohio station secured the same
yields from 5 and 25 pounds. The practice with us is
to sow from 15 to 20 pounds. It does no harm to have
a stand slightly too thick. Nature thins it soon enough.
To sow 30 pounds to the acre seems sheer waste.

Nurse-Crop for Alfalfa—wWith spring seeding east of
the Missouri River a nurse-crop seems desirable. One
gains the hay made from the nurse-crop and ordinarily
does no injury to the stand. The nurse-crop in a measure

228 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

prevents growth of annual grasses and weeds. Beard-
less spring barley is by far the best nurse-crop, since it
is not apt to lodge and draws less moisture from the soil
than would oats. One bushel of barley to the acre
is enough. Commonly it should be cut for hay, though
if it stands well it may be allowed to ripen its seed. If
oats are sown as a nurse-crop 3 pecks of good seed will
be enough for an acre, and the crop must be mown for
hay as early as bloom appears, else the stand of alfalfa
will be greatly weakened or entirely destroyed. Long ago
a farmer in New Jersey told of using winter rye as a
nurse-crop, sowing it in the spring. We tried this with
excellent results. The thrift of the alfalfa was better
in the part of the field sown to rye than in any other
part, and the stand was perfect. Winter rye sown in
spring should not be allowed to form heads; it dies down
when hot weather comes, and thus does its work without
injury to the alfalfa.

Method of Sowing Alfalfa in S pine een practice
for many years has been to make the land ready by sev-
eral diskings and harrowings, having it smooth by using
last a plank drag. A common grain drill with a grass
seeding attachment sows the barley, one bushel to the
acre, and the alfalfa is sown ahead of the drill so that
it is covered by the disks. Some of it is covered too
deeply, but enough gets through to give a good stand.
A plank drag-is floated over the field to make a finishing
touch, so that the mowers may run nicely there later in
the season. Having all our land inoculated now, we
give that matter no thought; were we to start in a
new place we should first distribute the inoculating earth.

FERTILIZING AND DRILLING ALFALFA 229

Fertilizer for Alfalfa——The sooner alfalfa gets a vig-
orous start the better; therefore it is wise to fertilize it
well as it is sown. We commonly use bonemeal or acid
phosphate at the rate of 300 pounds per acre, though
we have used “floats” or fine-ground raw phosphatic
rock with good results, using of course more to the acre.
In Virginia I have, by the way, seen better results come
from goo pounds of floats to the acre than grew on an
adjoining plot where was applied 400 pounds of bone-
meal. Sometimes we add a little potassium to the ferti-
lizer, this on special soils needing that element. We
do not use nitrogen on soils that are inoculated and
think it more often harmful than helpful since it en-
courages weed growth.

Alfalfa Seed Drill—A drill is on the market that
will sow alfalfa seed at the proper depth, and several
manufacturers are now working at the problem of mak-
ing drills that will accurately place alfalfa seed as to
depth and amount. Such drills should save much seed
and give uniform stands. They can not work well unless
the land is made very fine, smooth and level. In using
such drills where a nurse-crop is desired, one can double-
drill; that 1s, follow the grain drill with the alfalfa drill.
In seeding later in the season where no nurse-crop is
permissible the alfalfa drill finds its almost undisputed
field.

Summer Care of Spring-Sown Alfalfa.—When the lit-
tle alfalfa plants are six weeks old and 5” high they will
be found to be inoculated and to have nodules attached
to their roots. Your sole care will be to keep off of the
field and keep all animals off. Should coarse weeds ap-

230 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

pear they may be pulled by hand. Carefully avoid clip-
ping or cutting the alfalfa until it has sent out from the
base of the stems, at the crown, small shoots or suckers
that are about to make new stems. When these shoots
come the alfalfa needs cutting without much regard to
how large it is or whether it happens to be in bloom or
no. If it is mown off the first season before these shoots
appear it may be destroyed. In truth the rule holds good
during the life of the plant that it should not be mown
off before the shoots appear; after the first year it will
not die if mown too soon but it will be markedly weak-
ened. + Let it alone, then, till it is ready fo ecut;) tem
cut it off with its accompanying nurse-crop and make
into hay. Ordinarily there will follow another growth
that will be made into hay in about 40 days.

Fall Care of New-Sown Alfalfa.—I admit that I am
writing this chiefly for the help of men living out of
the recognized alfalfa-growing districts. In Utah it did
not much matter what one did to alfalfa; it came serenely
forward the next year just the same, and this is true of
Idaho, Colorado and other western states. In all the
eastern country, however, it pays well to send alfalfa
into winter with a growth standing of at least 12”. There-
fore we avoid late cutting and never in the East pasture
in the fall, unless we desire to destroy the alfalfa and
plow it up. Bear this well in mind: Land well inocu-
lated can safely be seeded in the spring, as the vigorous
alfalfa gets ahead of the weeds.

Summer and Fall-Seeding of Alfalfa.—Commonly
men sow alfalfa seed in late summer or early fall. The
reason for this is that their soils are thoroughly well

SUMMER SOWING OF ALFALFA 251:

seeded with weeds and foxtail grass, so that they do
not dare sow in the spring. There are certain rather
rigid requirements that must be met if one is to sow in
the summer or fall. First, manage to get a good seed-
bed, fine, firm, moist and deep. He may slight his seed-
bed somewhat in early April, but he must make it very
perfect indeed if he sows in July, August or Septem-
ber, as the hot suns of the summer soon take out the
moisture and leave the seeds to perish. The ways most
commonly adopted for midsummer seeding are to plow
in the spring and afterward give weekly harrowings to
retain moisture till mid-July, by which means also one
will destroy most of the weed seeds that lie near the
surface; or, sow the land to barley, oats or wheat, cut
off the crop either for grain or for hay and at once plow
the land and prepare the seedbed for alfalfa; or, plant
early potatoes, as early as possible in the spring, enrich
the land well where they are and dig as soon as possible,
then immediately prepare the land and sow to alfalfa.
The latter plan works well where one wishes to grow
potatoes. The heavy fertilization needed for the crop,
and the frequent cultivation during the season of its
growth, together with the cultivation given by digging,
leave the land in good order for alfalfa. When one plows
a stubble to sow to alfalfa one should take all possible
care to avoid loss of moisture. The best method is to
harrow and make fine each morning and afternoon what
is plowed during the half day. One may plow till 10
o'clock, then harrow on the strip till noon, plow again
till 4 o’clock and harrow till 6. The use of the roller
will also aid in conserving moisture at this time.

252 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

One can not safely sow alfalfa seed in the dust. There
is danger that there may come a shower sufficient to
make the seed germinate, but not sufficient to wet the
underlying dust. The result would be that the little
seedling would perish before its rootlets could reach soil
moisture below. One must wait till the earth is moist
clear down before sowing the seed, or take chances.
After a good rain, as soon as the soil is fit to work, har-
row to loosen the surface and then drill in the seed.
No nurse-crop is needed or permissible in fall or mid-
summer seeding of alfalfa. North of Tennessee one
should sow as early as possible after the middle of July.
Alfalfa is in no sense a plant like wheat or rye or tim-
othy grass, liking to be sown in the fall. It must get
a strong root before cold weather or it will likely perish.

Making a Seedbed in the South.—In Louisiana I had
direction of a demonstration farm on an old abandoned
cotton plantation. The soil was the so-called “buckshot,”
that is, a dense clay made by a deposit of still flowing
water of the Mississippi River, rich in lime, rich in phos-
phorus and potassium but very deficient in vegetable mat-
ter and nitrogen. The land was level and wet, being
flooded by each heavy rainstorm. Previous attempts at
alfalfa-growing had commonly resulted in failure, though
the manager had established one thrifty field on slightly
sloping ground. The first successful step in getting al-
falfa there was to plow the land 10” deep in July, throw-
ing it into ridges 2 rods wide and as high in the centers
as we could raise it. The middle furrows were cleaned
out with a road grader so as to give perfect drainage.
When we had the land ridged, the rounded ridges re-

CLIPPING ALFALFA SEEDINGS 233

sembled well-graded roads; the summit of each ridge
was about 2’ above the furrow. The land being im-
mensely hard, broke up in great lumps and clods. These
we made no effort to subdue, as they were quite hopeless.
When rain came at last the clods melted, then the disk
and other harrows were used and the land made into a
fine seedbed. In September, weather and soil conditions
were right, and the seed was sown. It came up well and
made a good growth before cold weather. The follow-
ing year each of the fields made fine harvests of hay,
probably the best that had ever been grown in the Mis-
sissippi bottoms in Louisiana. These buckshot soils need-
ing no inoculation, none was given. I mention this in-
stance to point a lesson. The preparation for alfalfa
went on up to seeding time. All the land that was
plowed early made good alfalfa, the first plowed lands
the best. From this degree of value there was steady
deterioration, till at last there was complete failure. The
early-prepared land is the winner with alfalfa sowing,
since one can not in late plowings often get a fine, moist,
firm seedbed. |

Do Not Clip Seedings of Alfalfa.—Nothing is to be
done with late-seeded alfalfa except to leave it alone. If
one can stimulate-it by fertilization at the time of seed-
ing to make rapid growth well and good; one can help
it no more after the seed is sown in the ground. Neither
clip, pasture nor even let an animal set foot on it again
till warm weather in spring. The one thing that one
may do in the North is to go over it with the manure
spreader after the land freezes and sprinkle it with ma-
nure—enough to prevent the frequent freezing and thaw-

©

234 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

ing of the land, but not enough to smother the little al-
falfa. Light, chaffy, strawy manure is better here than
heavy material.

Treatment and Use of Alfalfa Meadows.—lf one’s
land is deficient in phosphorus (and whose is not east
of the Missouri River?) one should in the spring go over
the alfalfa meadow with a fertilizer distributor and leave
there a good dressing of some phosphatic fertilizer.
Various substances are available; basic slag, which has
in it much lime and available phosphorus, is a good thing
to use near the seaboard where it is cheap. Freights to
the Middle West make it impracticable to use it there.
Acid phosphate is everywhere available and is so soluble
that it is perhaps the best substance for mere top-dress-
ing. Bonemeal is always good and can be got into
the soil by disking or by use of the spring-tooth har-
row. One can apply raw phosphatic rock or floats,
though it is not available unless mixed through the soil,
and will need to be well dug in with spring-tooth or
disk harrow. We seem to keep up the production of
our alfalfa meadows by using 300 pounds to the acre
of acid phosphate of as high analysis as we can buy.
Next let the alfalfa alone. It injures it to walk through
it or drive through it. Rust is its bane in the East;
wherever it is disturbed this rust starts and from that
point it spreads. I have seen alfalfa destroyed in a strip
20 wide along a footpath made by fishermen near a
creek; it is injured where teams turn in cultivating
corn. Let it be till it is ready to be mown.

Time to Mow Alfalfa——When you suspect, finally,
that the alfalfa is ready to be made into hay, go to the

MAKING ALFALFA HAY 2355

field and, getting on your knees, make close examination
to see the condition of the small shoots near the ground.
If these have not yet started at all, delay a little until
they do start, no matter if it is in bloom. When the
shoots are an inch or two long, cut and make into hay,
no matter how much or how little bloom there may be.
The stage of bloom is no certain index of proper time
to cut alfalfa in the East, if it is anywhere. The shoots
at the base of the stems are unfailing as telling the in-
ternal condition of the plant, its vigor and readiness to
send out new and vigorous growth. If one lets it stand
long after these shoots appear, one will be in danger of
cutting them off, and the leaves will have fallen from
the stems, leaving very hard, woody hay. I. D. O’Don-
nell of the Yellowstone Valley cuts down 400 acres at
one dash when the right time arrives, so as to keep his
alfalfa always in full vigor:

Making Alfalfa Hay.—The making of alfalfa hay is
an art seldom learned. Most men are content to allow
the sun to dry the stuff till it is crisp and brittle, then
rake it, leaving the earth green with leaves, the best part
of the hay lost. Alfalfa leaves have been proved by the
Nebraska station to be worth pound for pound a little
more than wheat middlings, so it is clear that one can
not afford to leave them scattered over the field. The
right method is to rake the hay while it is yet tough
enough to hold its leaves, making the windrows small
so that it may go on drying somewhat in that condi-
tion. Afterward it may be laid up in small cocks, laid
high enough to put enough hay together so that a rain
will not penetrate through, and narrow enough to let

236 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

the air do a good deal of drying. In these cocks the
hay will often finish its drying perfectly. Often it is
wise to open them during the heat of the next day after
cocking, and let them lie in about six flakes exposed for
a time to sun and air. If very damp it may be turned
once and then hurried into the barn or rick. It must not
be allowed to remain in the cock too long, else the
alfalfa below will turn white. This method is cheaper
than it sounds; men trained to the work will cock hay
astonishingly fast and once in the cock it defies most
weathers, especially if cocked green, as advised, because
then the stems droop so as to turn off water from the
clouds.

Use of Hayloaders.—Because labor is so hard to get,
men find the hayloader a profitable help. It is not so
safe to use with alfalfa as with other hays, but if used
intelligently little loss may follow. One should have a
side-delivery rake, turning the hay over lightly and loose-
ly, into long, smallish windrows; then after they have
sunned somewhat more, follow with the hayloader and
with no great loss put the hay on the wagon.

How Dry Must Alfalfa Hay Be?—Ii one is placing
only two or three tons in a mow one must have the hay
dry, else there will be often a disagreeable dusty mould
appear. If one is placing 50 tons, more or less, together,
one can have it more moist, since the heat evolved in
curing will destroy the mould germs. Our test is to take
a wisp of the dampest of the hay and twist it as hard
as we can. If moisture exudes, the hay will likely spoil
in the mow; so we dry it further before storing. If no
moisture can be seen, even though it feels tough, we

VALUE OF ALFALFA HAY aig

hasten it to the mow. In general, we try to get the hay
as dry as we can before housing. We seldom make in
Ohio any alfalfa hay of the bright green color so com-
monly seen in the West; but we find that animals relish
the brown hay as well as the green, and perhaps relish
it more.

Value of Alfalfa Hay.—There are three principal
hay plants in the United States; timothy, red clover
and alfalfa. At present there is probably a good deal
more alfalfa grown than red clover, since in 1899 the
production of each was about the same, though of red
clover the acreage reported by the 12th census was about
double for clover what it was for alfalfa. The produc-
tion-stood: alfalfa, 2:5 tons per acre; rediclover, 1.2
tons; cultivated grasses (mainly timothy), 1.1 tons.
Since then alfalfa has made great advance. It has passed
the experimental stage; there are now no serious prob-
lems of alfalfa-growing to be solved, and men are sow-
ing it more largely than ever before, while at the same
time the demand for the hay increases faster than the
production. For all classes of animals it is the best for-
age that can be grown in America, and at the same time
it is the most efficient soil-enricher. Spillman reports
that in Nebraska alfalfa has increased the yield of corn
grown on sod 75 per cent. In Ohio we have repeatedly
grown 100 bushels of corn per acre and more on alfalfa
sod. The same land would have produced about 60 bush-
els before it had been sown to alfalfa. In Idaho wheat
has increased in yield from 25 to 75 bushels per acre
after alfalfa. In California orange groves 25 years old
show markedly where alfalfa once stood, the portion of

238 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

the orchard on alfalfa sod producing one-third more,
and the trees being larger and thriftier, and this despite
the fact that the trees not on alfalfa land were given the
more fertilizer. In Colorado on alfalfa sod more than
1,000 bushels of potatoes have been grown, and 113
bushels of wheat on one acre. In Ohio it is not well to
sow oats after alfalfa, since they will lodge, but corn
reveling in fertility finds none too much where the alfalfa
erew. On the other hand, it is conceivable that continual
growing of alfalfa and taking off of all the hay, return-
ing neither phosphorus nor potassium to the land, might
result, after a time, in a most serious diminution of
mineral-element fertility; therefore it is wise in all the
eastern states steadily to add to the phosphorus supply
of alfalfa soils and to attend to the need of potassium
if any need there be. Rightly managed, an alfalfa field
is a mine of fertility by which little by little a farm may
be redeemed and made rich. If the hay is fed or pas-
tured, if the manure is returned and phosphorus is bought
as needed, there should be small difficulty in doubling the
productiveness of the average farm.

Feeding Value of Alfalfa Hay.—Alfalfa hay, cut at
the right time, has about the same nutritive value as oats.
It is rich enough so that it can be made into bread and
fed to men; in truth, this has been done. It is a feed
especially rich in protein, that material that makes the
red flesh and blood, milk and brain and nerve tissue
in the body. It has too much protein, in fact, for its
fats and carbohydrates. Thus alfalfa hay alone is an
unbalanced ration. I have been amused to see horses
and mules running in yards with stacks of alfalfa hay

ALFALFA AND HORSES 239

and stacks of bright straw going from one stack to
the other and eating alternately, balancing their own ra-
tions in that way. It is clear that the great value of
alfalfa hay is as a feed for milking animals, for young
and growing animals, and as a part of the ration for work-
ing horses. The natural complement of alfalfa is corn,
since that is rich in fat and starch and poor in protein.
Working horses fed alfalfa hay in moderation maintain
splendid flesh and work well and are enduring. Corn
fed with alfalfa hay better balances the ration than oats.
Horses should never be overfed with alfalfa, since they
will eat it as long as they can reach it. Idle horses may
become “soft” or of poor endurance when overfed on
alfalfa hay, because it taxes the eliminative organs.
Working horses accustomed to it endure fatigue well
and have good wind.

In the dairy alfalfa very nearly takes the place of wheat
bran. Some experiments place alfalfa meal as high as
wheat bran for milk production; other experiments indi-
cate that it is not quite so good: The Tennessee station
found that with ordinary alfalfa hay 114 pounds of hay
equaled a pound of bran. It is very noticeable that cows
fed alfalfa hay have a better look and weigh more than
cows fed other hay with more grain. Its use seems to
keep them in especially good health.

Alfalfa for Sheep—Alfalfa is the natural feed of
sheep. Millions of sheep are wintered on alfalfa hay
in the United States, and many thousands of lambs are
fattened on it. It is not profitable to fatten any stock
on alfalfa alone if grain can be procured, since alfalfa
is too bulky and one-sided in its composition to form a

240 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

perfect ration. Barley or corn fed with alfalfa make
perfect lambs. For a maintenance ration the alfalfa alone
will serve well, though even here bright straw, corn-
stalks or wild hay may be fed in connection with good
results.

Alfalfa for Swine—Hogs will eat a good deal of
alfalfa hay during winter to their great good and health.
If meant for hogs alfalfa hay should be early cut and
nicely cured. It may be chopped fine and cornmeal mixed
with it; it may be fed as one would feed it to cattle, or it
may be ground into meal. The relative profit of either
practice depends on the cost of alfalfa hay. Ordinarily
it is cheaper to waste a portion of the hay (which works |
into the manure) than to go to the expense of grinding.
For brood sows in winter alfalfa hay is almost indispen-
sable. Always, when feeding swine on alfalfa, a partial
ration of grain should be fed.

Use of Alfalfa Pasture—Alfalfa sown for pasture
should always be mixed with grasses, unless it is to be
merely grazed by horses and swine. The grasses usable
for this purpose are timothy, orchard grass and brome
grass. Brome grass seems best for the purpose, but in
time it will encroach on alfalfa and may weaken it. It
yields the most and best pasturage, however. There is
little danger of animals bloating on alfalfa pasture well
mixed with grasses. Bloating is the one thing most to be
feared in cows and sheep; horses and pigs seldom give
any trouble of this kind. There are certain rules that,
when observed, will commonly prevent bloating. Ani-
mals should not be turned on alfalfa until it has reached
a good height and come nearly to bloom; it should be at

STOCK BLOATING ON ALFALFA 241

least a foot or more high. The animals should be filled
as full as possible with green grass or some feed that they
like. They should be turned in at about 10 o’clock in the
morning and afterward left always on the field, not being
taken off at night or during rains. It is when animals
have been away from the field and become hungry that
they eat too rapidly on return and are troubled by bloat-
ing. For the good of the pasture it should be so wide
that it would never be eaten close, but once or twice a
year the mower should go over the parts not eaten and
the cut forage made into hay. Thus treated, alfalfa is
little injured by being pastured. Always, in frosty coun-
tries, all animals should be taken from the field before
time of very hard frosts, and no foot should afterward
tread upon it until growing weather of the following year.
Not only is it bad for alfalfa to be trodden upon in cold
weather (except in the arid West), but it is injurious to
animals to eat frosted alfalfa. Furthermore, alfalfa is
better to have left on it a growth of at least a foot in
height.

Alfalfa as a Soiling Crop.—Should one wish to get the
utmost from one’s soil, and be willing to perform the
needed labor, one should sow alfalfa and feed animals by
soiling. An acre of moderately good alfalfa will yield
during the season from 20,000 to 30,000 pounds of green
forage. A cow will consume, it is estimated, about 30
pounds a day of alfalfa with access to some other feeds,
grasses and perhaps a morsel of dry corn. Thus a cow
would in a month consume about 900 to 1,000 pounds of
alfalfa forage, the acre keeping 25 to 30 cows for a
month. In cutting alfalfa for soiling one should manage

242 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

to cut it as near as one can in regular rotation at the right
time, keeping watch of the upspringing of the little shoots
at the base of the stems, since to cut it before these start
will decrease the second cutting. Once started right, one
can mow off a certain area each day and thus keep it all
in full vigor. It is better for alfalfa to be allowed to
stand a few days too long than to be cut off too soon.
The best way to soil cows is to have near the alfalfa field
a pasture of bluegrass, brome grass or some other good
pasture grass with large movable racks into which the
green forage may be put. Thus the animals may largely
balance their rations as nature suggests to them. Thus,
also, the pasture is fed by the droppings of the animals,
and by frequent changes of location with the racks no
manure will ever be hauled. I have fed beef cattle in
this manner with fine results. They had also a daily
ration of ears of corn.

How Many Cuttings of Alfalfa?—Depending on the
latitude, from 2 to 6 or more cuttings are taken in the
United States. I believe, however, that alfalfa is often
cut too frequently and that in our latitude on the 4oth
parallel (running through Columbus, O., Indianapolis,
Ind., and northern Missouri and the border between Kan-
sas and Nebraska) it is really better to cut three times
than oftener. Commonly alfalfa here will be ready to
cut by June 1, and again by July 10; afterward it does
not come on so rapidly, unless the season proves very
favorable. The third cutting will be delayed till about
the last of August. Delays in doing the work caused by
unfavorable weather may prolong these dates consider-
ably. I should never cut alfalfa in our latitude in Oc-

INVIGORATION FROM MOWING DAS

tober, unless I wished to weaken the roots. However, if
one can do the work promptly, one can take off 4 cuttings,
and we have frequently done so, but 3 are nearer che
average, and it will not always be ready to cut by June.
In the South it may in the Gulf States be ready to cut
in March or April, and then of course one can hardly
avoid cutting it 5, 6 or more times.

Alfalfa Must Be Mown to Invigorate It—In humid
lands alfalfa will not live long unless it is periodically
cut. After it has grown a little while it ceases to be
vigorous, the leaves begin to fall and it is at a standstill
until it is mown; after which it at once starts into vigor-
ous growth again. Sometimes when it is time to cut
alfalfa the growth may be insignificant, and one not
knowing the habit of the plant might neglect to cut it,
thinking it not worth while. The truth is, however, it
will hardly start into growth at all until it is cut off. I
have mowed off in late July a short growth of alfalfa
plants hardly worth the raking, and had at once a vigor-
ous growth start up that made much more than a ton to
the acre in 40 days. ‘The reason for all this is a mystery
past finding out, but let the reader impress here upon
his memory once and forever that alfalfa should never
be cut before the shoots at the base of the stems have
indicated that it is ready, nor ever let it stand past their
coming or about 40 days’ growth, no matter if it is
no more than 6” high.

As I write this we have a field of 4o acres of perfectly
healthy alfalfa sown in April (it is now August) that
has been once cut with the barley nurse-crop, is now no
more than 6” to 8” tall and is beginning to bloom. It

244 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

has set the buds at the base of the stems,. too, and must
be mown off or it will make little more growth this year;
so, though it is a disappointment not to get our customary
crop of hay the year of sowing, we shall start the mowers
soon and cut it as close to the earth as we can, knowing
that it will at once start out vigorously and thus make
strong root for winter. Though it might make a good
hay crop in late September, we shall hardly cut it then,
depending on its yielding us next year all the more for
having been treated generously this.

How Long Does Alfalfa Endure?—I have seen alfalfa
fields that had endured in good thrift for 40 years or
more. These fields were in the Southwest, on rich, deep,
dry soil where alfalfa roots could penetrate for 30° or
more. The stand was thin, but each plant was like a
small tree stump, and the roots like great gnarled stubs of
oak fully 2” to 3” in diameter. Such facts as these have
led men to teach that alfalfa will endure forever. In east-
ern soils and under an eastern climate it will do no such
thing. It is commonly at its best the second or third year
after sowing, and then declines steadily in health and pro-
ductiveness. To get the most good from growing
alfalfa one should plow it up before it gets thin and 1s
displaced by grasses. We commonly let it stand three
or four years; though our practice was to leave it much
longer, we now see the greater profit in plowing the
field as soon as it begins to decline, not trying to resow
or nurse it, but planting to corn, manuring the land for
corn a second year, then resowing to/ alfalfa again.
Thus managed, we keep our soil always at near the
height of its production. :

VARIETIES OF ALFALFA 245

Inoculating in Expectation of Sowing.—I have given
much space to the subject of alfalfa because it has en-
grossed my thought for many years, and because it
seems to me assured that good farmers everywhere will
desire to grow it. A man, for example, sufficiently lib-
eral to possess and read this book is almost sure to de-
sire to grow alfalfa. It is well for him to begin to
get inoculation into his soil in advance of the time when
he will sow alfalfa. This he can do by simply sowing
alfalfa seed with his red clover each spring. He should
first make the land dry enough for clover and alfalfa.
If it is sour lime it; afterward he may simply mix in say
1o pounds of alfalfa seed with each 100 pounds of
clover seed sown and sow the clover, preferably in
April, by harrowing the land and covering the seed.
Thus sown a fine sprinkling of alfalfa all over the land
will result, and nature will attend to the inoculation,
so that in a few years when he is ready to sow to alfalfa
alone, the land will be ready for it. The growth of
alfalfa will also be a good index to the state of prepared-
ness of the land.

Varieties of Alfalfa—There are innumerable vari-
eties of alfalfa, but only a few have been isolated, and
the seed is on the market. At present there is more use
in getting seed from certain regions than there is in seek-
ing special varieties. For example, seed from France
thrives in the central states; seed from Algeria (im-
ported through France) is not hardy. Seed from Kan-
sas, Nebraska and Montana is hardy all over the eastern
and central states, and is the best supply available now.
seed from Arizona is not hardy in Nebraska, but thrives

246 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

in Louisiana. There are also special varieties adapted
to special areas. Among these are the new varieties
brought from Siberia by Prof. N. E. Hansen, the Tur-
kestan variety brought earlier by him and now in use in
the drier parts of the cold Northwest, and the so-called
“Grimm” alfalfa, which first came to our notice as grown
by German farmers in Minnesota. This Grimm alfalia
is especially hardy and productive and adapted to the
lands and climates of the Dakotas, parts of Montana
and the British provinces.

Irrigation of Alfalfa—One can get at the ground-
work of the science of irrigating alfalfa if one will con-
sider certain basal truths. First, alfalfa revels in moist
soil and dies in wet soil; next, standing water on alfalfa
in hot weather soon scalds the crowns and kills it; then,
alfalfa covered with ice in winter is destroyed. Where
it is practical, the best system of irrigating alfalfa is by
the furrow method. In this method furrows rather deep
and sharply defined are made across the field, running
right down the slopes, as a usual thing, and near enough
together so that the water will “sub” or soak through
from side to side. After the seed is sown (commonly
this is done before making the furrows, which are made
by special machines built for the purpose that open 4 or
more furrows at one time) one turns in water which is
allowed to flow in very gentle streams down the fur-
rows till the soil is thoroughly soaked, and the seed
germinated and above ground. Afterward, the alfalfa
is watered several times as it may seem to need feed dur-
ing the summer. In the second year there will be small
danger of washing, and large streams may be turned

IRRIGATING ALFALFA 247

out on the highest points along the head ditch and
allowed to spread and flood over all the ground.

The second system is by the contour or check plan.
Here little levees of earth are raised across the field, each
one on a contour or level line and each one so placed that
it will back the water up to the foot of the contour
above. By means of these contours the field is made into
a series of shallow ponds and all the surface is covered.
This is the almost universal plan followed in Mexico and
California. It is adapted to very level land. The fur-
row system applies to land having a strong slope. Once
alfalfa is established and water is available, the thought
is to keep it wet enough to have it growing vigorously,
and not wet enough to scald it or drown it. Soils that
are open, gravelly and pervious are best for irrigating,
since they can not be filled with water to the point of
drowning the roots. When water is abundant one can
get more crops than if it is scanty. It is well to irrigate
just before cutting and again within a week afterward.
To put water on quickly and take it off quickly is the
safe rule, but one must be governed by the permeability
of the soil. In winter time in arid regions one must
see to it that the soil is moist, else one’s alfalfa will
winterkill.

“Alfalfa Farming in America.”—There are many
points that the reader should know about alfalfa-growing
—so many that I worked for several years putting them
into a book with the title quoted. Interested readers
are referred to that book for further details, since to
give more space here to this queen of meadow plants
would be to neglect its first plan; that is, to give a com-

248 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

prehensive account of the care of meadows and pastures,
most of which are not today of alfalfa.

Meadow foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis L.)—This
grass is closely related to timothy, for which it may be
mistaken, although it blooms fully a month earlier, its
stems are not so tall, its heads are shorter and more
ovoid. According to Hunt, meadow foxtail makes a
good sod in its proper habitat. Stems are few, 1’ to 3’
high, and sparingly furnished with leaves. The leaves
are broad, long, thin, and grow rapidly when cut or eaten”
by live stock. Seed is sparingly produced and therefore
expensive. It is generally of poor vitality and hence a
good stand is seldom obtained, at least in America. The
number of seeds per pound is 1,216,000. All commercial
seed is imported.

Lamson says: “It grows naturally on rather superior
soils of medium texture, and constitutes the greater por-
tion of many of the richer, natural pastures of Britain.
It requires two or three years after sowing to arrive at
full maturity and, therefore, it is not suitable for alter-
nate husbandry.’ Hackel states that it is especially
adapted to wet meadows. Meadow foxtail is distinctly
a pasture grass, being one of the earliest grasses to start
in the spring. On rich soils it may be tried in mixtures
for permanent pastures at the rate of 1 pound of seed to
the jacre,

Blue Joint (Calamagrostis Canadensis).—Once much
of the open land of eastern America was more or less
covered with this fine, tall, nutritious grass. It made
the typical grass of the moister regions of eastern
America extending well up into Canada. It made a

DISTRIBUTION OF BLUE JOINT 249

Bluejoint Grass (Deyenxia—Calamagrostis—Canadensis).

250 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

dense, tough sod hard to break and where it grew great
crops followed. It is now seen occasionally in moist
places or by roadsides. It grows frequently 6’ high and
if cut early makes hay superior to timothy. The yield is
very good and the grass is permanent. I should expect
a well-set meadow of this grass to mow 3 tons or more
to the acre. It is well worth cultivating except that the
seed are small and not easy to get, and the grass is slowly
established. For permanent meadow in moist land in-
clined to be wet I know of no better grass than this.

Fowl Meadow Grass (Poa serotina).—This is a typi-
cal New England grass and is in use in low meadows
in Massachusetts and other eastern states. Prof. Beal
says: “It flowers about the same time as timothy. It
makes a soft, pliable hay of excellent quality. The stems
in damp weather branch at the lower joints and thus
the grass is inclined to spread. On account of the large
top and the slender stem this grass when sown alone is
rather inclined to lodge. This is one reason for growing
it with stiffer grasses, such as redtop. Like Poa com-
pressa, or wire grass, it flowers rather late, has a dark
green stem which remains green and nutritious a long
time after the plant has gone to seed. It does not spread
by rootstalks like bluegrass. It may be mown late and
will yet make nutritious hay.” This grass has not made
progress elsewhere than in New England. It is some-
what difficult to get good seed. It will endure being
overflowed more than other grasses. A Vermont sta-
tion bulletin says: “It is one of the most valuable of
our native grasses, being especially adapted to wet, over-
flowed intervale land where the usual hay grasses and

251

‘FOWL MEADOW GRASS

Fowl Meadow Grass (Poa Serotina).

252 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

clovers are liable to be killed by standing water. Redtop
and alsike clover are capable of enduring a wetter soil
than timothy and red clover, but fowl meadow grass will
thrive best in soil where even redtop and alsike soon
kill out. There are many acres in Vermont now occupied
by sedges and rushes where fowl meadow grass would
grow well if introduced. Seedsmen do not carry good |
seeds of this grass but it may be easily harvested from
the wild grass in almost any town in Vermont, provided
one knows the grass when one sees it.”

CARE OF MEADOWS AND PASTURES.

“Now the blades of grass thrust keenly through the soil, burn-
ished and glistening. It is as if spring marched into the land with
an army with banners. Grass is the most common and least
salient of the phases of nature. It does not lift itself into the vision
like the forest. It does not offer an everchanging panorama like
the sky. It has no dramatic violence like the sea. Yet nothing
gives a deeper sense of the overwhelming power of nature than
the silent upgushing of this rich, spreading tide of green. The
power that swings the suns in a leash is not mightier than this
which slowly and secretly urges the grass into the upper air.
Indeed, is it not the same power? ‘There is not a nobler symbol
in nature of the mystery of renewal, the mystery of life, than
the coming of the grass. To find a nobler we must look into the
soul of man. Only there in its struggle, through failure and un-
conguerable aspiration, toward perfection does the great mystery
take on a loftier beauty.”

TREATMENT OF MEADOWS AND PASTURES.

Adequately to treat the subject of making a soil right
and seeding it to clovers and grasses, then caring for the
plants after I had them, would fill a farm library, so one
can do little at getting it all into the space left in this

RICH SOILS FOR MEADOWS 253

book. We must make a beginning somewhere, however,
so here at the soil is a good place to set in.

Give the Meadow Your Best Sotl—One can till a
rather infertile and hard soil and get fair returns from
it because by tillage one can hold its moisture and lib-
erate all the plant food there is; but when one seeds it
down to meadow or pasture the tillage ceases, commonly,
and there is no way of conserving moisture or creating it
unless irrigation is available. It pays well to farm in
this way; to till land as thoroughly as one can, steadily
draining and enriching and getting it into the highest
state of productivity, all with the one thought toward a
final end—to get it at last laid down in meadow or pas-
ture. There is absolutely no doubt that the greatest
profit can come from the meadow some day, when things
have been made right and the grasses and clovers are
at home. Corn, prodigious though it is, will yield less
of food for beast, and, by transfusion, for man, than
will alfalfa. Many an acre of Virginia bluegrass is pro-
ducing more beef or mutton or horseflesh than the aver-
age acre of Illinois could possibly produce. In the Old
World men recognize this truth and lay down to per-
manent grass or meadows of a few years their best land,
meantime keeping under the plow lands not strong
enough to be profitable under other treatment. True,
there are lands too rough, steep, rocky or infertile for
cultivation, and these may be laid down to permanent
pasture or devoted to forestry, or a combination of the
two secured, and from such land profit may come; yet
in the laying down to grass of the best lands will come
the greatest profits. Furthermore, the men who steadily

254 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

plan their farm practices toward fulfillment of a scheme
that will end in increasingly large areas of meadow and
pasture in the height of productivity, and feed to prof-
itable types of animals, will always be the men who will
steadily grow richer along with their grassy fields, and
will be recognized, too, wherever they may be, as men
of substance and reliability, pillars in society and lead-
ers in their counties. There are curious psychological
reasons for this that we have not time now to consider.

Getting Land Ready for Grass.—I hope I may be per-
mitted here to use the word “grass” in the farmer’s
acceptance of the term to include grasses and clovers
erown in meadow or pasture, since it will be convenient
so to use it, and I have good scriptural warrant for so
doing. What type of soil will give us best returns in
erass, either for meadow or pasture? Let us briefly con-
sider the soil. An amazing thing it is to see how almost
any soil is covered with plants, one nearly as densely
as another, and when one comes to examine closely, one
finds that on certain soil types one class of plants is found
and on another soil type a quite different class of plants.
For example, he will find walnut trees and bur oaks,
ash and hickory for timber and when the land is cleared
it will set to white clover and bluegrass. It will grow
strong timothy and red clover, wheat, oats or corn.
Under that soil there lies limestone, be well assured,
and mixed through the soil is quite*a good deal of car-
bonate of lime. Near by there may be seen another soil
type; the trees will be beech and chestnut, pine and hem-
lock, sour gum and white oak. When this land is cleared
it may set to redtop or Canada bluegrass, or perhaps

Za

SHEEP IMPROVE GRASS LANDS

Border Leicesters at Pasture in

Scotland,

256 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

no grass will naturally set there at all, and of the clovers
alsike thrives best. If ferns and mosses come up in the
field it grows steadily poorer and poorer because the
clovers do not thrive, and so there is no nitrogen being
stored from the wealth in the air. If one will take pains
to examine that soil, one will find it made from material
deficient in carbonate of lime and, most likely, deficient
also in phosphorus, since lime and phosphorus often go
hand in hand. The plain fact is that useful plants, the
best in nature, love good soils just as good men choose
to live in fertile lands. One can find a wealth of growth
in an infertile soil but it will be growth of wild things
that are not useful to man. To the intending land-buyer
I urge, “Buy a farm in a region of rich soils; there you
will find gathering the best men, the best animals will
come from that soil and the best customs will develop
there. Poor soils are never sold as cheaply in compari-
son with good soils as they deserve.” However, one may
say to me, “But I own my farm; it is not very fertile, I
admit ; what may I do to make it good? I also wish good
meadows and pastures and fields of grain.”

Importance of Drainage.—First, in the natural steps of
development I should put drainage. Lead away surplus
soil waters. A living soil has moisture through it, but
also air in it all the time. Only inferior grasses, and no
clovers, grow in saturated soils. Begin then by draining,
and the best sort of drainage is underdrainage with
tiles. Drainage alone will work wonders in a soil and
the class and character of vegetation that covers it. Not
only do better grasses grow on drained soils, but ani-
mals like them better. There is no doubt more sweet-

DRAINING GRASS LANDS 257.

ness in grass grown on drained soil than in grass grow-
ing on wet land. I have seen wonders done in Eng-
land and Scotland by drainage; there, at least, tiles were
the foundation of soil improvement. I have seen heaths
covered over with little worthless heather, barren of
grasses or clovers, first deeply drained with tiles, then
limed and enriched and afterwards made into as splen-
did meadows as I have ever seen. Remember always
that clovers are the natural allies of grasses, and clovers
thrive with their roots in soil in which there is air as
well as moisture, since in no other soil can their roots
bear the nodules which carry the bacteria that gather
nitrogen from the air and thus enrich the soil for them-
selves and for their companion grasses. In any scheme
of soil improvement then let drainage go first.

Depth to Underdrain.—Drains laid deep do most good.
Here one must consider soil types and go as one must.
Sometimes one can not lay tile work deeper than 30’;
this depth will, indeed, give good results with grasses,
but not so good with clovers. I have laid them at all
depths from 2’ to 12’, and now we lay them, as nearly
as possible, 4’ deep. In draining very rich soil that is
to bear pasture grass alone, however, it may be that
shallower drains will give better results; thus, in Hol-
land, I have observed that men seek to keep the water
level about 16” below the surface of the soil. Indeed
they often have their ditches so arranged that they can
pump water into them so that it will seep back into the
land and keep it moist in times of drouth. That land,
however, seems unnaturally rich, and some unexplained
plan of nature keeps it filled with nitrogen. No doubt

258 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

the feeding of cattle thereon, the careful husbanding of —
manures, the steady purchasing of foodstuffs to be fed
in winter supplementing the grass, and the saving and
use of liquid manures, may all help account for this
maintenance of fertility with no great depth of soil free
from water saturation. Then there are in that land cer-
tain clovers, both red and white, that do not need great
depth of root; they grow well intermixed with the
grasses, and all help to keep the soil literally as “rich as
mud.” In America under ordinary conditions I am sure
that it is wise to drain as deeply as one well can; in
Scotland and England I found glorious meadow land
drained as perfectly as possible to depths of from 4’ to 7’.

Deep Drainage Prevents Effects of Drouth—Curi-
ously enough, deeply-drained land suffers less from
drouth than the more shallow-drained, the reason being
that, in the deeply-drained soil, roots learn to feed down
to great depths. I have seen barley roots penetrate
nearly 10’ in three months’ growing, and all grasses root
more deeply than we suppose. The fine fibrous feeding
roots go far down if there is anything worth going after,
but they never go into standing water; they drink the
water that is called film-moisture only. If we had con-
ditions of soil and climate like the Hollanders, we could
do no better than imitate their water meadows and pas-
tures, but except along tidal flats and in a few isolated
regions we can not so imitate, and must drain and pre-
pare crops to feed and forage deep and wide during
our seasons of heat and drouth.

Need of Carbonate of Lime.—Rich and productive
soils everywhere are those which have enough carbonate

GRASS MAKES WOOL AND MUTTON

Grass Going into Mutton in Lincolnshire, England,

260 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

of lime in them. The function of carbonate of lime is
well described by a writer signing himself “Robert John-
son’ in “Hoard’s Dairymah.” His article follows:

“Out in Idaho is a very wide desert plain. For unnumbered thou-
sands of years it has borne only stunted sage brush, tufts of scat-
tered grass, coyotes and jack rabbits. Far below the plain, in a
ragged rock hewn canyon, flowed Snake River. The desert plain
was silent, untenanted save in winter time when snow made it
possible for sheep and cattle to come out upon it and nibble the
bunch grass. Men could not come there to live because no man alone
nor neighborhood of men could dam mighty Snake River and take
out its water, life giving though all men knew that water to be. The
desert waited. Day came at last when one man crept down the preci-
pices that walled in the river and in a tiny widening of the canyon he
found a rift of soil and above it a spring. He stayed there to plant
that soil and the alfalfa, peaches, apples, prunes thereof were splen-
did. Then this man came from his hidden oasis and told other men
with gold and venturous blood of the land of silence, the wide
plain, the prisoned river. Returning the men of gold came with
him and together they traveled far over the silent land. Next
came the engineers squinting long through shining instrument of
brass, next armies of men with herds of horses; roads were made,
villages of tents and board shacks sprung up, canals were dug
across the plain, canals large enough to float any Atlantic steam-
ship, lacking only in depth. Other armies of men pushed out
perilously on the glassy rocks at the brink of waterfalls and with
cement made piers and bridges and then with gates let down, the
astonished river found itself trapped, dammed, made to flow away
from its canyon into new canals. Content it crept their winding
lengths, it penetrated quietly every lateral, every ditch; it spread
itself out smiling over the land in tiny furrows. Thus was a river
lost and came to be only moisture of an irrigated plain so wide that
no man could see across it.

“Thus was regained Paradise, land of orchards and meadows.
Then came men from many lands, men with plows and harrows,
with hoes and shovels, men driving rumbling wagons, building tiny
houses of boards, bringing women and many children, planting
trees of poplar, apple and peach. Thus was tamed and made into
farms and orchards and gardens the mighty desert, wild and drouth ©

GRASS LANDS IN IDAHO 261

stricken desert, of Idaho on either side of winding Snake River.
Thereon sit many villages, towns and even cities, while long lines of
towering poplars reach up to proclaim the tale of a land made glad.
And yet, curiously enough, the land smiled doubtfully at first when
water was turned on. Wheat made only about 20 bushels to the
acre, potatoes no more than 100 bushels. These rewards, ample
enough in Ohio or Pennsylvania, were quite inadequate in the far
off desert. Men freely predicted that it was a mistake settling the
desert plain, that the millions of dollars thrown into the river and
its canals would be forever sunken and lost, that the land was too
poor to make farming profitable. Chemists examined the soil and
learned that it was rich in phosphorus, rich in potash, made indeed
from volcanic ash and decayed lava rocks, but that it had in it little
nitrogen. Now nitrogen is the life of soils, the quickening wine
that invigorates plants.

“Nitrogen is the essential element in protein. Soils nearly every-
where are starving for nitrogen, so are the world’s poor, both man
and beast. Nitrogen comes from the deserts of Chili, from blood
of beast, a little from nitrogen factories in Norway where the
electric furnaces take apart the air and make captive that elusive
element. So these farmers on Idaho’s plains could have brought
nitrate of soda from South America or bought dried blood from
Chicago, only that the crops harvested would not have repaid that
price and the great length of travel. Clearly the land was doomed
and the settlers thereof to poverty and unprofitable toil, unless
some home source of nitrogen could be found. Not that the farmers
themselves knew clearly what was wrong, to them it was only that
“The derned land is poor. Whether it had lack of phosphorus,
potash, nitrogen or what not, they knew not.

“There was another curious thing about that soil that we have not
considered; it had in it four percent of carbonate of lime. That is
a most extraordinary amount of lime for an American soil, its origin
from volcanic ash, from decayed lava rock gave it the lime. Soils
of Maryland or New York have in them usually not one-tenth
that much lime, maybe not one-fiftieth as much. When wheat did
not seem profitable or potatoes, some sowed alfalfa. The alfalfa
grew gloriously after a time. At first it sometimes failed to
grow well, but presently some miracle happened and it grew like
Jonah’s gourd. That was when bacteria got to work. Men cut it
three or four times during the summer and harvested as much as

262 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

6 to 10 tons of hay to the acre. Afterward some plowed their
alfalfa fields and planted them to wheat, to potatoes. Herein was
seen a miracle, the wheat yielded as much as 75 bushels to the acre
and the potatoes 600 bushels. There was now nothing wrong in the
soil, it was complete in its fertility and producing power. Whence
came this increase? What had happened to that soil?

“What had happened was simply one of God’s miracles, one of
the things that God had planned when He made the world, no doubt.
Nitrogen He knew must be in soils, must be in foods, the air was
full of it but*not in such form that plants could absorb it, so the
legumes, the clovers, were planned to store soils with nitrogen.
Alfalfa is a clover, a vigorous, long-living clover. Alfalfa leaves
are as unable to absorb nitrogen as are the leaves of other plants,
so were designed little living organisms called bacteria, especially
fitted to digest the nitrogen that is in the air—digest it and assimilate
it and dying to turn it over to the plants. So the marvelous produc-
tivity of the Idahe desert soils is based on their large content of
carbonate of lime, that and the fact that they are permeable by water
and air and have enough phosphorus, potash and other plant foods.

“Those farms of Idaho are sure of a splendid destiny. They are
rich in mineral elements of fertility and because of that the alfalfa
can for thousands of years be counted on to bring to them their
nitrogen. One knows well that there will ever be a land of fertile
fields and great crops in that wide, western valley, that never fear
of hunger will be felt between those ranges of snow-capped moun-
tains as long as the river flows peacefully through canals and loses
itself in cool depths of alfalfa or wheat or between rows of apple
trees, pink and white with bloom or gleaming red with apples in
October. Seventy-five bushels of wheat to the acre grow in Idaho,
600 of potatoes, while in the eastern states wheat yields from 8 to
20 bushels and potatoes in good years up to 150 bushels. Near 2,000
miles of railway haul to bring food from Idaho to New York, and
within driving distance of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and
Washington one finds abandoned fields growing up to pines and
bushes! Why do we not develop fields near at home? To irrigate
that land in Idaho costs from $50 to $100 per acre, here are fields
on which God makes rain fall in gentle showers all through the
crop season. What is wrong in the East?

“First, let me say it is not the men that are wrong. They are
as good men who inhabit the infertile farms of the East as the men

a

LIME AND SOILS 263

who live on Idaho’s plains. The chief difference is that the strong,
prudent, daring ones have gone to people the West. Those who re-
mained at home remained to combat a stubborn soil fact.

“Wherever men have found a soil strong in carbonate of lime
they have found a soil rich and a soil easily kept rich. All the great
and enduring civilizations in the world have been built up on soils
that had an alkaline reaction because of their abundance of carbonate
of lime. Civilizations that did not endure were founded on soils
that were sour. Men came from food, after all. Food comes from
fertile soils. Soils are fertile in proportion to their being alive, to
their having life-giving bacteria in them. These bacteria most
abound where there is much carbonate of lime. In France large use
is made of lime and the result is a fertility and bloom and har-
vest unknown in America. In France, in summer one sees wide
stretches of blooming fields of clover, alfalfa and sainfoin. Lime
makes these things grow. They in turn enrich the soil and make it
ready for wheat. Thus are the people of France fed from the
stones. Thus are fields in France, that thousands of years ago were
cultivated fields, today richer than any we find in eastern America,
where the land has not been plowed yet for two centuries.

“Have we no fields, then, that have been limed in the East to
show what results might follow? Prof E. B. Voorhees on well-
limed land in New Jersey grew last year more than 7 tons of
alfalfa on one acre. The land is exactly similar to what other Jer-
seymen call poor, and prove to be unproductive. On that alfalfa
field he could now grow 100 bushels of corn or 50 bushels of wheat.
Would it not do something to relieve the hunger in eastern cities,
were there a million such fields along the Atlantic Seaboard? Would
that not reduce much the cost of living? In Pennsylvania, within
driving distance of Philadelphia, lives Wayne MacVeagh. Older
men will remember that he was once Attorney-General when Gar-
field was President. MacVeagh farms well. Loving his soil, he
feeds it liberally; the cattle of this man are good. Wishing then
to provide yet better forage for his animals, MacVeagh sowed
alfalfa but the alfalfa throve not. Learning that alfalfa needs car-
bonate of lime he spread that over his field and harrowed it to mix
it with the soil. He did as God did when He made the soils, taking
ground raw limestone rocks and mixing the dust through the soil.
Full six tons to each acre he did spread. Then also he put on phos-
phorus, and with that he waited. Soon a miracle appeared in that

264- MEADOWS AND PASTURES

field; the alfalfa that had been yellow, sickly and in despair became
all at once alive, bright green, full of thrift and vigor. It produced
several very heavy crops of hay; it beautified the hillside; it enriched
the soil; it made the old man see a vision and caused him to plan
wisely and well to cover yet more fields with lime, mother of alfalfa;
to cover more fields with alfalfa, to better feed his cows and better
feed his land. Carbonate of lime is the key, then, that unlocks the
strong door leading to soil enrichment in the East.

“Would you hear another story? There lived in California a
man named J. F. Jack. This man knew of ranching and irrigation,
of alfalfa, oranges and farming. He had never lived in the Fast.
Because he wondered that God out of His goodness made it to rain
on the eastern farms while He left the western farms dry, Mr. Jack
went to Virginia to study the strange situation. At-that time he
did not know that the long drouth of the West, enduring for un-
numbered centuries, had saved for them their carbonate of lime; he
did not know that eastern soils are starved for it. Because he liked
the people of Virginia, Mr. Jack bought a great plantation on the
Rappahannock River. There he essayed to make alfalfa grow and
at first it would not grow. Then he took counsel with wise men in
the Department of Agriculture and they told him of the lime need of
his soil and how it was famished for humus and hungry for phos~
phorus. He brought lime, crimson clover followed, that turned un-
der made humus and alfalfa was sown. Last year from 300 acres
of once worn-out land, Mr. Jack harvested 1200 tons of alfalfa hay.
Afterward he had a shipload of ground limestone brought to his
wharf and in one summer 700 tons more of the life-giving carbonate
of lime went out to his soil to make ready more acres for alfalfa.
Some day there one will see a thousand acres in one glorious alfalfa
field, a most hopeful thing for old Virginia, a thing that should
make Virginia farmers, young and old, think long and well and take
new heart.

“Here is fresh field for exploitation. In Jersey are thousands of
acres of land turned out to pines. The land is termed poor, and
-they say well who call it poor. It has in it no life-giving carbonate
of lime and little of any other element of fertility. No man can
now till that land and make it pay. Yet from those barren fields
one can drive with two horses and a farm wagon to the crowded
streets of Philadelphia or New York. Prof. Voorhees has shown
that this land can easily be redeemed. Here lies the way. First

COST OF LIMESTONE 265

carbonate of lime enough to take away the sourness of the land and
make it sweet instead. Next some good growth on the land to turn
under and make life in the soil. Crimson clover or cowpeas will do
that. Then alfalfa or red clover, and after these crops the stubble
when plowed will grow gardens or potatoes or corn. True, one must
buy phosphorus; that costs not much when the lime is in the soil,
for a pound of phosphorus will last as long on land with lime in it
as 5 pounds will when the land is lime-hungry. In Jersey are great
mountains of limestone rock. Crushers there are and grinders ready
made to powder this rock and railways ready to take it to the soil.
It is almost parallel to the story of Idaho; there flowed the Snake
River in its deep canyon, doing no manner of good to herb or tree.
There came strong men and turned Snake River out to water
the fields. Here lie solemn mountains rich at heart with priceless
carbonate of lime; near by are barren fields suffering for this one
thing. Now should men come to grind this lime and make channels
to carry it out to the fields? If men with gold wished they could
indeed buy these Jersey lands for any song and fill them with lime,
sow them to alfalfa, make them rich and beautiful and sell them
again to farmers who would use them to make food for the markets
of our cities. It is a work that should belong to strong men, for the
need of such lime is great, ten full tons of ground and unburned
lime dust would be none too much for an acre of hungry land, and
men with means could own their own railway cars and grinders and
put the stuff out for a small price and in large amounts.

“Strange it is, but in Illinois, state of rich soils, most has been
done in this endeavor. There Dr. Cyril G. Hopkins has persuaded
his state to set convicts to grinding limestone in the penitentiary at
Menard. There the men grind the stone and load it on cars, and the
state sells it to the farmers for 65 cents a ton, and the railways,
wishing to make farms more productive so that they in turn might
have the freight to haul, do haul these cars of stone dust a mile for
20 cents, each car laden with 40 tons of ground limestone.

“It is a wonderful thought, is it not, that men leave their land near
eastern cities, crowded with hungry people willing and able to pay
their price—leave these old states and migrate to the arid West,
thousands of miles from their customers and there expend more
money to get water on the land so that they may grow erops to feed
the people of the eastern cities than they would have had to expend
on their old acres near those cities in putting carbonate of lime on

266 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

their fields, putting alfalfa or clover there, getting fertility there so
that they could have grown bounteous crops right at their hungry
customers’ doors! It will take less money to make acres fertile in
Jersey, Virginia and New York than it will to water other acres
already fertile but arid in the far off West.”

In Maryland one sees shell roads built through soils
so sandy that they are half barren. Where the wheels
erind up the shells into dust and the dust is washed
down over the soil, bluegrass and white clover spring
up and a good sod is made. Bear in mind that there
is a good deal of horse manure left there besides the
carbonate of lime. The ground shells alone might not
have done and probably would not have done the work.
In Alabama on sandy coast land there is growing fine
alfalfa, the work of carbonate of lime applied liber-
ally. In Florida the same story is told, and in truth
wherever man has used carbonate of lime with intelli-
gence he has had meadow or pasture to show for it.

Further, carbonate of lime changes the character, even
the species and varieties, of grasses and clovers growing
on a soil. When it is deficient one sees broom sedge
(not a good grass), redtop, Canada bluegrass and many
other grasses of inferior value. Wiuth the balance of
carbonate of lime restored, the soil is made sweet, clovers
enrich it and the broom sedge disappears, as do the red-
top and Canada bluegrass and are replaced with Ken-
tucky bluegrass, timothy and clovers.

There is yet another side to the carbonate of lime mat-
ter. Where it is abundant in soils grasses growing there
are sweet and well-flavored, and animals relish them.
Thus one may find parts of a pasture eaten down close
and other parts neglected, the parts eaten close being

EFFECT OF LIME ON GRASSES 267

where there is most lime in the surface soil. I have
often observed on our own pastures that on certain hill-
tops and slopes where erosion has put the limestone
‘pebbles in the surface soil the horses gnaw the grass to
the earth, while in other parts of the field with less lime
in the surface soil the grass is left uneaten.

Lime Sweetens Pastures.—Experiment has shown that
animals so much prefer the grass that grows on limed
soil (supposing it to have been lime-deficient) that
there is nothing that pays better than to sweeten old pas-
tures with lime before any other work of improvement
is begun, though this and drainage go right together.
One can not have sweet grass unless it is on land free
from both soil acids and excess of moisture. If an old
pasture is to be sweetened the lime may be applied as
a top-dressing, in any form most convenient, either
ground limestone, freshly-slaked quick lime applied in
powder form, air-slaked lime, or carbonate of lime.
Naturally the least harmful form is the raw ground lime-
stone, and when this is available at a low price it should
be chosen. The amounts that are advisable to use are,
of fresh-burned and slaked lime, from 2 to 4 tons to
the acre; air-slaked lime from 2 to 6 tons to the acre;
carbonate of lime from 2 to Io tons to the acre.

I recall an amusing instance of the effect of raw pow-
dered lime dust on pasture. A friend in the bluegrass
land of Kentucky allowed a contractor to take from his
field stone which was crushed and carried to the high-
way. The crusher made a good deal of dust which the
wind carried to the leeward until several acres were more
or less powdered with the white dust. My friend was

268 | MEADOWS AND PASTURES

much disturbed to see this dust and to observe that the
cattle refused to eat the grass where it lay, and sug-
gested to the contractor that he owed damages for this
nuisance and to this the contractor agreed. Then a rain
came and washed off the grass and put some of the dust
into the soil. Afterward there was very marked dif-
ference in the aspect of the grass, the dusted grass being
markedly superior and much more greedily eaten- by
the cattle, so that my friend laughingly recalled his com-
plaint. It seems fairly effective simply to dust lime over
the sod on old pastures, though doubtless much of it is
slow to be worked down to where it is effective and
sometimes it would be advisable to disk or harrow it into
the soil. If there is. a, good sod, however,; the jeantm
worms will be abundant there and their casts will be
laid above the lime particles so that finally they will be
worked down to moist earth. :

Effect of Lime on Pastured Anmals.—In some re-
gions it is common to find animals licking the lime wash
from fences and buildings, gnawing bones, and in other
ways displaying their lime-hunger. No good animals
can ever be produced on such soils—at least not until
they are corrected. Lime-hunger in a soil means lime-
hunger in plants and lime deficiency there, and that, in
turn, means animals eating the herbage will be deficient
in bone, in stamina and substance. Furthermore, ani-
mals in heavy milk can not possibly maintain their nat-
ural body lime content, as has been shown by experi-
ments at the Wisconsin station, and this lime exhaustion
in the milk-giving animal is doubtless responsible for
much of the breakdown among heavy milkers.

‘g0UBIT UL OAN}sB_G eyoI9g BI B Ul

HORSES ON LIMESTONE PASTURES

269

‘270 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Animals and Pastures Rich in Lime.—There are pas-
tures noted the world over for their splendid animals.
At Nogent-le-Rotrou in France I was shown pastures on
which could be produced the most splendid types of
Percheron colts. These pastures were where they had
the river wash from the Huisne, a stream that breaks
through hills of soft limestone. ‘These bottoms are doubt-
less very rich in lime and in phosphates too; they bear
splendid thick grass, and colts grazing on them will
make marvelous development, while if they were pas-
tured on the sandstone soils a mile away they would
make only common work horses with no hope of coming
to America as founders of a new race. In England it
has long been recognized that pastures rich in lime and
phosphorus made the best race horses and the best bone
in drafters. So much is this believed that breeders there
do not hesitate to go to great lengths artificially to lime
pastures devoted to mares and colts of royal blood. There
carbonate of lime in the shape of chalk 1s commonly
used, though more or less burned lime is also applied and
very much lime in combination with phosphorus in the
form of basic slag. In our own land we have the ex-
ample of Kentucky sending out a steady stream of splen-
did colts, bulls, sheep and men from that central region
where the rich limestone lay near the surface, and where
their decay has left the land rich in both limestone and
phosphorus. There are other regions nearly as notable,
and many a failure has been recorded where men have
taken good animals to soils deficient in lime and sought
to breed young things as good as their sires and dams.
Without exception, if they depended on the herbage of .

EFFECT OF LIME ON STOCK 271

the natural pasture, the attempt has resulted in failure.
One of the regions where the effect of lime in the soil
is most markedly shown is in our own arid West. In that
region there is commonly about 2 to 4 per cent of car-
bonate of lime present in the surface soil, and grasses
erowing out of that land are very sweet and nutritious.
Furthermore, the water of spring and stream is invari-
ably impregnated with lime salts. Horses grown on the
grass of that land have astonishing bone, hard, dense
and nearly four times as strong and tough as the bone
of horses grown on grasses in lime-deficient soils of the
Fast. In France the Government once made examina-
tion of soldiers, grouping them according to their birth-
place, and found that those from regions where lime-
stone abounded were nearly 114” taller and correspond-
ingly stronger and healthier than those from the lime-
deficient lands.

Feeding Lime and Bone to Animals.—While there is
lack of accurate data as to the effect of feeding mineral
substances directly to animals where the herbage is sup-
posedly lime-deficient, yet we have proof that there is
considerable gain in the practice. If one has not yet suf-
ficiently limed one’s soil so that the forage has in it nor-
mal or above normal lime supply, one can lime the food
or water that the animals drink. There are several ways
that this has been done. L. Ogilvy of Colorado has
placed lump lime in the drinking troughs with good
results, and says it is a practice among some successful
horse breeders in England. The amount of lime should
be small; a piece of fresh-burned lime as large as an egg
dropped into a troughful of water say once or twice

2/2, MEADOWS AND PASTURES H

a week would seem to afford lime enough. Air-slaked
lime may also be mixed with the salt at the rate of about
equal parts, and the mixture kept always before animals,
so that they will not become hungry enough for salt to
eat too much at one time. Bonemeal is prepared espe-
cially for stock-feeding and may be fed in any amount;
what is not digested and retained will feed the pasture.

Example of What Lime-Deficiency Will Do.—I know
land that appears at first glance a paradise for animals
and men. It lies at an altitude of between 3,000 and
4,500 feet in the southern mountains. It has rich, black
soil filled with humus and a thousand springs of spark-
ling soft water. The grasses and clovers grow fairly
well, though the shyness about either to remain in the
land is indicative of lime-hunger. The water is like dis-
tilled water. The cattle of that land are very small,
with especially small bone. The men are short, slender
and not strong. A friend cleared up a large sheep farm
there and put on it Southdown and Shropshire sheep of
fine breeding. He gave them intelligent care, yet stead-
ily the flock deteriorated, the size ran down, the bone
diminished, health and vigor were hard to maintain, and
at last the down sheep were replaced by Merinos which
throve far better for the very evident reason that Merino
lambs are far slower in maturing than the downs and
thus had time gradually to accumulate what lime they
needed for bone-building and body use. While these
pastures were too inaccessible to have lime hauled onto
them, I think the flock could have been maintained by
the simple expedient of feeding bonemeal and putting
lime into the drinking water and the salt.

BONEMEAL AND BASIC SLAG 273

Bonemeal and Basic Slag—As sources of lime and
phosphorus, bonemeal and basic slag must be considered.
Bonemeal is rich in phosphorus, has some nitrogen and
considerable lime in the form of phosphate of lime.
There is hardly any fertilizer so good for stimulating
grasses and clovers as bonemeal. Its one drawback is
the price, but this is commonly paid back and often sev-
eral times over. There is no fear of bonemeal leaching
from the land; it is a permanency once applied. I have
seen marvelous results from its use in the South where
it is in common use for lawn-making on very infertile
soils. The fact that bonemeal supplies some nitrogen
as well as phosphorus is all in its favor in establishing
and feeding grasses and clovers.

Basic slag is a by-product of the steel-making plants.
Foreign ores have a surplus of phosphorus, which is re-
moved by smelting them with limestone, the lime united
with the phosphorus making phosphate of lime. The
slag is ground finely, and the finer it is ground the more
valuable it is, since it is more available. It may contain
T5 to 20 per cent of phosphoric acid and 50 per cent more
or less of carbonate of lime. Basic slag is the founda-
tion of pasture improvement in the Old World. Its use
brings in better grass and many clovers. It seems lit-
tle less than miraculous to see how the sods become cov-
ered over with young clovers where basic slag is used on
pastures in England. Unfortunately, our own steel mills
do not make basic slag and the freights from the Atlantic
to the Middle West are almost prohibitive of its use.

Lime, Drainage, Phosphorus, then What?—After all,
one can not make a short cut by chemical means to na-

274 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

ture’s results in fertility-building. Nature builds soils by
long accretions of fertility and by slowly accumulating
organic maiter, humus. We can not put mere chemicals
into a poor soil and get the same results that nature gives
in her slower way. Vegetable matter is needed. The
slow decay of organic matter in the soil is needed to
promote nature’s wondrous soil chemistry. The soil is
a true laboratory. There are little bacteria living on
decaying vegetable matter that do miracles there, gath-
ering nitrogen of their own accord, and other bacteria
in that very mysterious place, the soil, are at work too.
Make the soil sweet, feed it phosphorus, and potassium
if need be, but after all this is done add all the organic
matter you can. Manure makes land rich now as it did
in the days of our fathers. Chemicals help, are essential,
indeed; but after them one must conserve organic mat-
ter and increase it all one can.

Two Lessons in Meadow-Building—Some years ago
we bought a very poor field and began work at reclaim-
ing it. One corner was especially unfertile, a cold, wet
clay. We drained this corner, then enriched it well,
spreading over it a good deal of stable manure. The
rest of the field was, some of it, very fertile land and had
naturally less manure, though all the field had more or
less manure and all alike was treated with phosphorus.
The land was sown to alfalfa. At the outset the alfalfa
‘on this poor corner was lighter than elsewhere, but after
two years the heaviest growth came from this part; the
field was reversed and what was originally the poor cor-
ner became the most productive. There would seem now
no reason why this condition may not be maintained.

EFFECT OF MANURE ON GRASSES 275

The other lesson is of a field not manured but deeply
plowed and cultivated 20 times, then fertilized with
various artificial fertilizers, no manure given, and seeded
to grass under the “Clark method.” <A good stand of
grass was secured and the first year saw a heavy crop
of hay. The following year, however, the yield was
but ordinary and the third year saw the field in worse
condition than those about it. The evident lesson is
that the deep plowing, the frequent cultivation during
warm weather preparatory to seeding the crop, used up
a good deal of the humus needed to make the land have
moisture-holding and bacteria-growing qualities, so that
the last state of that land was worse than the first. It
may be that had this field been top-dressed with manure
after the first year it would have maintained itself, but
it is clear that chemicals alone on soils deficient in humus
will not make permanently for large yields of grains or
clovers.

Manure in Soils like Yeast m Bread.—Manure,
vegetable matter decaying in the soil, acts much as does
yeast in the moist dough; it starts ferments, bacterial
processes, some of them understood, some of them not.
For example, we once bought a poor field and at once
re-sold half of it to a neighbor. Our half we treated
with acid phosphate, tankage, good plowing and a very
slight sprinkling of manure. The land was then sown
to clover with oats or barley. Our neighbor imitated us
exactly except that, having no manure, he omitted it.
We secured a good stand and a fine heavy growth of
clover. Our neighbor secured a fair stand and a light
growth. The amount of manure applied was insignifi-

2/6 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

cant, so far as the actual fertility contained in it, but it
was pregnant with results when it came to act.
Cowpeas and Bluegrass.—In Virginia the best farmers
desiring to sow worn limestone clays to bluegrass com-
monly put the land first in cowpeas, which are turned
under with all their growth. Afterward bluegrass takes
well and the effect of the peas is seen for some time;
whereas it might be nearly impossible to establish the

Bluegrass (40 lbs. green) from a square rod of Unmanured Land—Equal to 6,400

Ibs. green per, acre.
bluegrass. The conclusion is irresistible: manure, veg-
etable matter decaying in the soil, is the mother of grass
and clover.

Moisture the Limiting Factor in Grass Production.—
What limits the production of meadow or pasture is the
moisture supply. In not one year in a century is it ample
at all seasons. Plants drink their food, and can make no
srowth’ in dry soil. It is best, theretore, to devote ihe
better more moisture-holding soils to grasses, and put

HUMUS NEEDED IN SOILS DF

the drouthy soils to cultivated crops. Moisture is con-
served by deep plowing and cultivation of the soil. Deep
plowing on certain types of soil will help the grass, but
cultivation after once meadow or pasture is laid down
must cease. Alfalfa meadows are sometimes tilled after
being cut, but no other meadow plant seems adapted to
this culture, and it is hardly proved that it is profitable
so to treat alfalfa. It is notable that soils well filled with

Bluegrass (125 lbs, green) from a square rod of Manured Land—Equal to 20,000
Ibs, green per acre.
humus hold more moisture than those without vegetable
matter, as the latter dry out like brick and are not well
adapted to the growth of shallow-rooted grasses. If one
wishes to grow grasses on these hard soils one should
strive to get into them as much manure or vegetable mat-
ter of any kind as can be secured, and afterward try
so to manage that the grass will in a manner mulch
itself by leaving enough of it to shade the land. There
is great virtue in shading land, thus preventing injury

278 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

from sun-burning. Some careful pastoralists manage
their pastures so that the sun never reaches the earth
because the grass is never eaten down bare. Animals
are kept off in spring till the grass has a good start, and
afterward the amount of stock turned to pasture is so
proportioned that the grass is always a little ahead of
the beasts grazing it.

Making Water Meadows.—In England and the con-
tinent of Europe the effect of irrigation of meadow-
land is well understood, and there when it is possible
grasslands are arranged to be irrigated. I have seen in
England water meadows so old that each little ditch
bringing irrigation water was situated on the summit
of a little ridge, whence the water flowed gently in every
direction. The ridge effect was the result of countless
erains of sand and silt, brought by water through the
long years that it has run in these meadows, deposit-
ing in the entangling grass blades and among the roots,
thus steadily building the soil each year a little higher.
It seems the practice in these meadows to allow the water
to flow in almost continuous stream, though it is so
distributed that only a trickle goes out at each point
where it is diverted. The yield of grass obtained from
these meadows is large, so that they commonly bring
rentals:of £3 and more ‘per acre, whereas, common
meadow land may bring no more than £1. I have seen
no water meadows in America comparable to these of
Europe since here irrigation is almost altogether confined
to the arid West, and is given chiefly to alfalfa, though
along the eastern slopes of the Sierras in California and
Nevada I have seen irrigated pastures of bluegrass and:

WHERE GRASS PAYS 279

white clover that yielded marvelous burdens of forage.
Furthermore, cattle on those irrigated pastures become
as fat as we can make them in Ohio with grass and corn.
I think one of the first works that should be undertaken
to increase the production of grass, beef, mutton and
colts on eastern fields should be to begin to utilize our
streams, now all running to waste, in irrigating grass
fields. It is not, of course, possible except in exceptional
locations, and the first installation costs labor and money,
but after once it is installed the maintenance is very
cheap and the production of the land should be nearly
trebled. Water meadows, however, commonly need no
other fertilization than that brought by the water, and
build themselves steadily in fertility from year to year.

Where Grass 1s Most Profitable-—The fact that the
moisture supply is the limiting factor in the production
of meadows and pastures determines to a considerable
degree their profitable placing. Where there is abundant
summer rainfall there grow the rankest grasses; where
heats and drouth prevail there one must plow and till
in order to reap. Thus New England, New York and
the moist mountain valleys of Virginia seem the most
natural grass regions of the United States, though good
production is seen as far west as the Mississippi River,
and south to the line of Tennessee. lowa, Missouri,
Kansas and Nebraska have decreasing rainfall and hot
summers; here evidently, deep-rooted crops such as
alfalfa, or tilled crops such as corn or sorghum, are
most profitable. Thus in Oklahoma and the Panhandle
of Texas it once required 20 acres to keep a steer a year
on the short but thick. and nutritious grass that was

280 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

native to the region. No growth could take place during
most of the summer months, and only during periods of
rainfall could grasses advance. In those regions the
advent of the plow was truly in accordance with sound
practice, for by deep plowing and good tillage much
moisture that falls in winter is conserved and the deep
rooting corn, sorghum and Kaffr-corn make good
growth. I have seen sorghum stalks 12° high alongside
the native buffalo or grama grass 4” high. The lesson
is clear: In hot countries there is always lack of moisture
near the surface and there one should plant things that
root deep or plant annuals that permit good soil culture
in preparation of their establishment.

Seeding the New Grassland.—We have now taken a
general survey of the situation. Let us get out and sow
down a bit of pasture or meadow land. First, scan the
land itself. Let’ us walk over it. Is it well-drained?
If not, choose where tiles or open ditches will best draw
away the water that, stagnant in the land, brings in
rank stuffs that we do not want and discourage the good
things. Is it sour? We can after a little experience and
observation judge of that, and if we are in doubt we can
test the soil with a few drops of hydrochloric acid and
see if we get effervescence, or we can adapt our grasses
to a sour soil if we do not care to sweeten it with lime.
Then we study its fitness in the matter of accumulation
of vegetable matter, humus. If it is very sandy, grav-
elly or clayey, and has in it little organic matter, we
must do something for that sooner or later. Perhaps
we will wish to plow first, then run the manure spreader
over the field and disk in the manure left there. And

AID FROM DEEP PLOWING 281.

finally to the questions of how to plow, when to plow,
when to sow, and what to sow.

Plowing.—There assuredly are soils that are helped
enormously by deep plowing. There are other soils
that need to be kept religiously “right side up.” There
are thin soils with an inch or two of top stuff brown with
slowly accumulated humus and beneath very dense, cold,
poor clay. Suddenly to turn such land over to a depth
of 12” or more would be to court defeat unless one had
a considerable quantity of manure that one could apply.
In event one has the manure and will mix it in well,
probably the deep plowing of this hard poor clay would
be useful, and might result in much better grass than
would come with shallow plowing or mere disking; but
to turn suddenly that dense subsoil to the surface and
attempt to make in it a seedbed for a tiny grass plant,
would be to court disaster. There are soils, however,
so deep, with subsoil immediately under them well filled
with carbonate of lime, that the deeper they are plowed
within reason the better the results will be. On such
soils we are plowing 14” deep, and more when laying
down to alfalfa, and we would not hesitate to do the
same in laying the land down to grasses. As a rule,
however, with many exceptions, when making a seedbed
for grasses, keep the soil as near right side up as you can
and try to have in the upper surface as much decaying
vegetable matter as you can get. Imitate the natural
sod which is a mass of decaying stems, leaves and roots.

However deep the land may be plowed, here is a rule
that should be inviolable: plow early. If the seeding is
to be done in the fall, plow if possible in midsummer.

282 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

The land must settle together again, so that the capillaries
will be established and moisture can come up from be-
neath. The land must not only be plowed early, but it
must be frequently harrowed afterward, and the first
harrowing should be within three hours of the plowing.
To accomplish this one may plow till 10 o’clock in the
forenoon, harrow the fresh-plowed land till noon and
repeat the operation at 4 o’clock on what is plowed after
dinner. By this means good pulverization is secured and
moisture conserved. To further moisture conservation
one should harrow with a steel drag harrow (or any
other sort may serve) soon after each rainfall, as the
land will work nicely without packing. The land should
be carefully dragged till it is level and smooth.

Top-dress With Manure Before Seeding.—lf the field
can have a top-dressing of fine manure, harrowed in and
mixed all through the surface soil, it will assure a fine
catch and rapid growth. Manure turned under will not
soon benefit the young plants.

Application of Lime.—When liming is foe the
work may be done either before or after plowing. Car-
bonate of lime may be stirred into the soil with the har-
row and 1f it comes in contact with the manure no espe-
cial loss will occur. Caustic lime should not touch ma-
nure, and it should be well mixed through the soil before
the manure is applied.

Time to Seed Grasses.—Nature ripens grass seeds in
the summer; they fall to earth and lie dormant till rains
of fall cause them to spring into growth. Commonly
the fall is the best time to sow grass seeds. If one be-
gins one’s work of preparing a seed bed in late summer,

SELECTING SEED MIXTURES 283

one can make a seed bed fine and fit by September. One
should not sow the seed until the ground is sufficiently
full of moisture so that if the seeds germinate they will
not perish for lack of support. Time of seeding varies
with location and with season. In the fall one can sow
grass seeds from August till November, with the best
chances of success probably about the middle of Sep-
tember. In the spring one can hardly sow the seed too
early; certainly as soon as one can get a seed bed one
must put in the seed, and in spring seeding one can not
and need not delay so long to perfect a seed bed as in
the fall.

The Mixture to Sclect—Many grass mixtures com-
pounded by seedsmen are silly agglomerations, with the
bulk made up of good varieties and many poorer ones
added literally to throw chaff into the eye of the cus-
tomer. There is not a long list of good grasses adapted
to any soil. For example, if one has a soil adapted to
Kentucky bluegrass, and wishes to grow that grass, one
has no use for Canada bluegrass, redtop or a lot of
other grasses listed in seedsmen’s catalogues. Mix with
bluegrass meadow fescue, brome grass and timothy, the
latter to come on soon and afford temporary pasture, and
the others because all three are good grasses liked by ani-
mals. One is unwise to sow orchard grass where one
desires bluegrass, because it is stronger and coarser, and
is not eaten by animals that can get bluegrass. For a
poor soil deficient in lime, use redtop, Canada bluegrass
and orchard grass. For mowing, in soil deficient in lime
and fertility, sow orchard grass, tall oatgrass and redtop.
For good soil with sufficient moisture, sow a mowing

284 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

grass, as timothy. A second choice for good soil and
plenty of moisture is timothy. For wet soil and lime-
deficient but yet fairly good, sow timothy and redtop.
For pasture or meadow in the Northwest, sow brome
grass and meadow fescue. For pasture and meadow in
Kansas and Nebraska, sow timothy, brome grass and
meadow fescue. For winter pasture or temporary lawn
in the South, sow Italian rye grass, and so on through
the list. The reader, after studying the chapters de-
scribing the various grasses, will have little difficulty in
making out his own mixture or choosing a single grass
to sow alone.
Mixtures vs. One Grass.—Hunt says that no mixture
will afford more forage than will a single grass sown |
alone, if it is adapted to the soil and climate. While
there is doubtless exaggerated expectation of the efh-
ciency of mixtures, I must say I have seen evidence that
mixtures for pastures are good in their way. ‘The evil
of a mixture is that sometime there is in it a grass of
inferior quality; that one will be neglected and the others
grazed, so that after a time the inferior grass 1s left
in the ascendency. Thus it is folly to mix brome grass
with orchard grass or bluegrass with orchard grass, since
animals commonly leave orchard grass untouched when
they can gnaw the more delicate grasses, and yet orchard
grass is nutritious and palatable and eaten well when
growing alone. When one is not sure of one’s soil one
may find that in the “shotgun mixtures” of many seeds
one will find some that will be especially well adapted,
and thus achieve better results than if one seeded at a
venture one grass alone. For hay one must bear in mind

QUANTITY OF SEED PER ACRE 285

that nothing sells so well as timothy and any admixture
decreases the price obtainable.

Amount of Seed to the Acre.—Grass seeds are com-
monly very minute. Thus of bluegrass there are 2,400,-
ooo seeds to the pound, of redtop 6,000,000 and of tim-
othy 1,700,000. If, then, one pound of bluegrass seed
could be evenly distributed over an acre, it would place
about 55 seeds to the square foot, a number ample to
give a good stand of grass. However, it is nearly im-
possible to get a perfect distribution of seeds, and quite
impossible to get them covered evenly, so that one can
not count on more than a very small percentage of ger-
mination. ‘There is the further fact that when the little
seedling grass plant comes to light it is very weak and
small, and alone is pretty sure to perish. Literally, in
union there is strength. I have sown grass seeds in the
fall and later seen perfect stands where the seed was
sown “too thick,” and very poor stands indeed where it
was sown “just right,” as we had believed at seeding
time, all the other care alike. With the smaller seeds
then of the bluegrasses, redtop, and others of that nature,
the thicker the seeding the better the hopes. I should
not hesitate with these seeds to put on 20 to 30 pounds
to the acre, no matter if it does seem too liberal a seed-
ing. Of timothy, orchard grass, brome grass, and seeds
of like size, one can sow much less seed and get good
stands. I found by experiment that timothy sown very
thick gave a very reduced yield, and Hunt found that
because of timothy’s strong stooling habit a single plant
had given 125 pounds of well cured hay. Only 3,200
plants such as that would be required on one acre to

286 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

give a yield of 2 tons of hay, or one plant to about each
I4 square feet. When 9 pounds of timothy are sown
on one acre over 200 seeds are left on each square foot.
When sown alone 10 to 15 pounds to the acre are com-
monly sown, and if clover is to be sown with it 8 to 10
pounds, and in the spring as much red clover or clover
mixtures. Commonly it is wise to err on the side of
too much seed, timothy on rich soil seeming the excep-
tion that goes to prove the rule.

Aiding Young Grass Seedlings —Anything that will
keep the earth moist and shaded while young grasses are
getting started will be a real help. To distribute chaff
or light manure over the field would aid. Chaff from
the mangers or feeding floor will often result in a stand
of grass, when sowing pure seed would fail simply be-
cause the chaff would keep the earth from too rapid dry-
ing out. Further, to make the surface quite firm and
almost hard after the seed was sown would be a distinct
gain since it would tend to hold the moisture near the
surface.

Sowing the Seed.—In my father’s time men sowed all
seeds by hand, but that day is gone, and the men who
could thus evenly distribute seed are dead. The best ve-
hicles for sowing grass seeds are the fiddlebow seeder,
the Cahoon seeder (these with winged discs that throw
the seed far on either side, the man walking and turn-
ing the machine by hand) and the wheelbarrow seeder.
The latter tool is possibly the better, assuredly the most
accurate, though one can with care give good distribution
with either of the machines. There are drills made
for drilling in clover and alfalfa seeds; these work: well

COVER GRASS SEEDS 287

and save much seed, besides giving better stands than
are commonly secured. ‘These drills will also seed blue-
grass and timothy quite well, though to do so the land
should be very fine and smooth. An efficient leveler to
precede a grass or clover seeding drill is made by taking
two pieces of 2”x6” stuff 8 long, setting these on edge
like the runners of a sled, spacing them to be parallel
and 6’ or 8 apart. Between these, connecting them at
right angles, place 4 cross pieces of the same dimension
stuff, each piece set on edge at the same level. This is
drawn by a rather long hitch so that it drags earth with
each of the 4 cross pieces (five may be provided) and
each one deposits something in a low place and aids in
scraping off the high places. A little weight may or
may not be needed to make this leveler operate well, de-
pending on the looseness of the soil. It pays well in
sowing grass and clover seeds to have the land fine, firm
and smooth.

Covering the Sced—The lightest covering must be
given to very small seeds such as bluegrass; other
stronger seeds, such as timothy and brome grass, may
be covered half an inch or more deep and yet find their
way through. Ordinarily, if the seed is sown alone, a
bush harrow may be used to good advantage, or a plank
drag will rub the seed sufficiently into the earth. If
the seed is sown with a nurse-crop it may be sown in
front or behind the drill; if in front, some of it will be
lost but commonly enough will be covered to a proper
depth to give a stand.

Seeding with a Nurse-Crop.—titn sowing grass seed in
the fall it is the almost universal custom to use a nurse-

288 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

crop, commonly of wheat, winter barley or rye. The
use of a nurse-crop is often an advantage, since it les-
sens the danger of the little seedlings being lifted out
by the frost or buried by repeated thawings and freez-
ings. Timothy sown alone on a good seedbed, well en-
riched, will come along better alone and make a fair
crop of hay the next season. If sown with wheat it may
be so far advanced as to struggle with the wheat for
supremacy, so it is common in some sections to sow the
timothy 10 days after the wheat to hold it in check. It
is always better for the grasses if the nurse-crop is
mown off early for hay, as sometimes when it is per-
mitted to ripen grain it has so shaded the land and
drained it of its moisture that the little seedling grasses
are lost.

Seeding Clovers in the Spring.—Where grasses have
been sown in the fall the clovers are commonly best
added in the spring. Fall-sown clovers need early sow-
ing in northern climes, though in the South they are best
and may be sown as late as November in the Gulf States.
Commonly in the regions where grass is grown clovers
are added in spring. There are several methods of doing
this. The easiest and perhaps most common is to sow on
frozen ground at a time when the frost has honey-
combed the land. This lets the seed sink down and
become more or less covered. Others sow as early as
February and trust to the freezing and thawing of win-
ter to bury the seed. Yet others sow half their seed
over the ground early and the remaining half after
growth starts in the spring. It has been my experience
that each way will succeed if the soil is right, though

. HARROWING BEFORE SEEDING 289

there is always uncertainty more or less great in clover
seeding on unprepared land. When one can do so with-
out disturbing the grasses too much one should wait
till the land is dry enough to work in April or late March,
then harrow lightly and sow the clovers, perhaps harrow-
ing again to cover the seed. With proper care this may
be done with no resulting injury to the previous seeding,
or so little injury that the good of having a sure stand
of clovers much more than offsets it. One will need
here to be in the field in person since one can not trust
the harrowing of young grasses to ignorant and heedless
laborers. It is common to use 10 pounds of clover seed
which may be of purely red clover, or a mixture of red
and other clovers. Always where there is suspicion that
alfalfa may succeed one should sow in the mixture
enough alfalfa seed to give a thin scattering of plants
over the field, in order to inoculate the field and to show
the condition of the soil in respect to sweetness, drain-
age and fertility, since there is no such soil barometer
as the alfalfa plant. I have had fine success with a mix-
ture of 6 pounds of red clover, 3 pounds of alsike and
1 pound of alfalfa, though this mixture may put too
much alsike into the meadow, and the use of 2 pounds
of the latter and 7 pounds of red clover, with 1 pound
_of alfalfa, may give a better result, this depending cer-
tainly on the nature of the land. If one desires, one
can sow more alfalfa, but the small amount indicated
will be enough to give a scattering stand for purposes
of observation and inoculation. Sweet clover may be
introduced into the mixture if the field 1s to be mown;
animals do not graze this clover well when they may

290 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

get other grasses and clovers. If for pasture always add
2 to 4 pounds of white clover.

Seeding Grasses in the Spring.—lf all the seeds are
to be sown in the spring one should have the land plowed
early as possible so that it may be well settled together.
Much grass seed is lost because of too loose a seedbed
in spring. Give all the harrowing that you can and
work the land down to a thorough seedbed, yet hasten
the work so as to get the seeding done as early as there
is growing weather. Along the 4oth parallel I like to
sow grass seeds the first week in April; during some
years March will be a better time, and farther south
the work may be best done still earlier. I do not think
that in spring the chances are very good of getting a
stand of grasses having small seeds, such as bluegrass,
unless one seeds quite early and on a good, fine, firm
seedbed. Here again it is true that the more seed used
the better the chance of success, since by their very mul-
tiplicity the seedlings protect one another. Here again
comes in the helpful nurse-crop.

Nurse-Crops in Spring.—I advise always the use of
a nurse-crop; that is, if the farmer can use one with
judgment and discretion; if he cares only for the nurse-
crop he had better seed the grasses alone. If he will sow
one bushel to the acre of spring barley, preferably a
short-strawed, strong variety that will not lodge, or 3
pecks of. oats, if he will remorselessly cut the nurse-crop
off for hay when in bloom, it will do good and no harm.
If, on the other hand, he seeks to get a maximum crop
of grain and a seeding of young grasses at the same
spring sowing, he will very often get the grain and a

A STAND OF GRASS 291

very unsatisfactory and uneven stand of grass. The thin
seeding of a nurse-crop is a distinct help if it is taken
away before it has exhausted the soil of moisture; if
it is allowed to stand till the grain is ripened many of
the young grass plants will have died.

A Sure Way to Get a Grass Stand.—In order to get
a stand of these young grasses one must have the land
firm, the shading weeds destroyed and the sun let in but
not too strongly. The best success that I have ever had
in seeding has been to sow early in spring with a nurse-
crop of barley or oats, and as soon as the grasses and
clovers and grain were well started turning in a flock of
sheep and letting them graze it all down, but not close.
As soon as it is well grazed down, which should be within
a few days, the sheep are taken out and all allowed to
start growth again. The sheep are turned in the sec-
ond, and later the third, time, judgment being used to
see that they do not gnaw the young clovers too. I have
had no such stands in any other system of management
as I have secured in this way. The little feet of the sheep
seem to firm the land just right withotit overdoing it.
The nibbling down of the oats or barley, the nipping off
of the weeds, all seem to favor the young and spring-
ing grasses and clovers. After the nurse-crop has been
disposed of finally in this manner, the sheep should be
taken out for some months to let the young seeding get
a brave start.

Use of a Roller—The roller is an almost indispensable
implement in getting a good stand of grass in the spring.
The land must be made firm for little seedlings. Sev-
eral types of rollers are in use. In general we may say

292 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

that a roller may easily be too heavy, especially in a moist
season; that if the earth is moist the roller should not be
used until it has dried somewhat, so that no packing or
crusting will occur, and that it is often advantageous
to roll the new seeding weeks or even months after sow-
ing, should the land get dry and there be danger that
the loose seedbed may dry out before the rootlets of
the small grasses and clovers can reach permanent mois-
ture below. I have often taken out a very heavy roller
in midsummer and pressed down hard the young
meadow, with excellent results. For such use a roller
of concrete is very useful; it may be made to weigh a
ton or more, and for use in dry weather the heavier it
is, within reason, the better. The heavy roller is useful
also as a pusher-in of small stones and sticks that might
hurt the mower. One should own two rollers; one may
be light for use in the spring and the other to use on
old meadows or pastures much heavier.

Corrugated Rollers—Rollers are made with corru-
gations having a rather sharp V-shaped edge. These
are admirable for new seedings. ‘The seeds pressed in
by use of this roller are sure to be in part in moist, fit
soil and the resultant stand is apt to be very good. This
roller is not so well adapted to use on old-established —
meadows unless one is desirous of pushing in some fresh
seed.

After-Care of Young Grasses and Clovers.—And
when one has a stand, avhat? Consider that the young
things are infants, and be gentle. If the land must be
erazed take out the animals in wet weather. It takes
time to establish a tough sod that will bear up the ani-

METHODS OF MANAGEMENT 293

mals’ feet. It is really better oftentimes to mow the
new field for a year before animals are turned in. Weeds
do great harm; mow them off or pull them. Watch to
see that the clovers do not smother out the young
grasses; cut them off before they can do this if danger
there is. Commonly clovers do not smother, and alfalfa
least of all, since it grows straight, and lodges less than
red clover. Watch to see where feeding is needed and
make mental note of these places, so that the manure
spreader may go over them in the winter, lightly dis-
tributing stable manure, or if the grasses need immedi-
ate strengthening one may give them a dressing of 100
pounds of nitrate of soda and about 300 pounds of acid
phosphate per acre, distributing these on the surface
where rains will soon make their presence felt. Weeds,
nurse-crop, a too loose seedbed, and starvation—these
are the dangers to new seedings.

CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF MEADOWS
ASD PAS URS.

Some grasses seem benefited by hard grazing and much
tramping. Bluegrass is one of these; if the land is loose
the grass does not thrive as it will if it is packed by the
feet of stock. There are other grasses that are much
hurt by being tread upon; among these is timothy. Yet
while bluegrass is the better for being tramped and
grazed rather hard, it is wise management that takes off
animals in wet weather of early spring, when the ani-
mals’ feet poach hard the land and tramp it into cud.
Such tramping is injurious.

294 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Feeding on Pastures.—The thing most helpful to a
pasture is to feed animals on it some rich feed, as cot-
tonseed-meal, alfalfa hay, or, in fact, any ration that
makes the animals thrive, though feeds rich in nitrogen
add most to the value of the grass. English farmers
know this well and buy our linseed meal or cake, and
cottonseed cake as well, which they feed to bullocks and
sheep on grass. They feed, also, our corn, but say that
they do not,see so much benefit to the land where corn
has been fed as where cake has been fed, and this is but
natural, since the cake is rich in nitrogen (derived from
the protein of these feeds), while corn is rather deficient
in protein. Assuredly feeding on pasture is the best
method of making it good, and commonly profit is de-
rived from the feeding operations as well. There is need
of care that the feed troughs do not always remain in
one spot and that the animals do not destroy the grasses
by tramping it into mud during the wet time of the year.
It is all too common in America to place feed troughs in
the pasture or feedlots and leave them in one spot for
years. Thus there is wasted, and much more than
wasted, a great deal of manure, the net result of which
for years will be the rank-growing jimpson weed and
dog fennel. Feed troughs and racks should always be
on runners so that horses can.quickly move them from
one spot to another and thus have the manure well dis-
tributed over the pasture. The yield of grass may in
this manner be very much more than doubled, and it is
doubtful whether there is any better way of recovering
the fertility deposited by the cattle than by a wise man-—
agement of pasture grasses to take it up.

‘SoTPANTT USI[sum Url squey uMopyyNos

A WAY TO FEED

PASTURES

2°

~

2)

296 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Effect of Manure on Permanent Pasture.—I have
found nowhere any greater profit from the use of com-
mon farm manures than on old pastures, principally blue-
grass. Commonly men do not have any means of know-
ing just what good they get from manure on pasture. In
our lawn, which is newly taken in from an old bluegrass
pasture, I applied in the winter of 1908 manure to one
square rod of grass, giving it only a fairly liberal dress-
ing, maybe at the rate of 10 tons to the acre. In 1909 I
harvested the square rod with the scythe, and it. yielded
more than 125 pounds; in truth, the actual weight was
155 pounds, but as it was weighed a little damp I called
it 125—much too little I feel; while the unmanured rod
right alongside made a yield of 55 pounds, which I
guessed at 40 pounds, allowing for the moisture of dew.
These weights were at the rate of 3 1-5 tons and 10 tons
to the acre. Thus the manure had made an increase per
acre of 6 4-5 tons or about a ton of forage for a ton of
manure. This was cut in May, so that there was nearly
as much more growth during the summer and fall, which
illustrates just how profitable bluegrass pasture may be.
Ten tons of silage corn is considered a fair yield of for-,
age. Is not 10 tons of green grass eaten off by good ani-
mals fully as likely to give profit? Consider, too, that to
grow the acre of silage corn will.cost at least $5 and to
grow the acre of bluegrass mixed with white clover has
cost only the manuring, which would be even more neces-
sary in the case of the corn than in the case of grass.
While the unmanured bluegrass, producing about 3 tons
of green forage to the acre, might show a small profit,
yet the point is to know how yields may be increased.

PHOSPHORUS FOR PASTURES 297

Mineral Manures on Pastures.—Lime is the bedrock of
good grass pasture. After lime, comes the need of phos-
phorus and potassium. Most soils in the United States
have in them now a good supply of potassium. The ex-
ceptional soils are those derived from peat and sandy
lands. Peaty soils may be so deficient in potassium,
though not all of them are, that the grasses growing on
them will have little value. Sandy soils are more often
in need of potassium, but on such soils pastures are, as
yet, rarely established. Phosphorus is the substance
more commonly needed in soils; in fact, there are few
soils in the world that are as rich in this element as would
be best for plants. The one region that I call to mind
now that is not benefited by use of more phosphorus
than is native to the soil is the bluegrass region of Ken-
tucky. There are parts of this region that show about
5 per cent of phosphoric acid in its subsoil, and many
small nodules of phosphatic rock are scattered through
the earth within easy reach of plant roots. I have tested
several forms of phosphorus on permanent pasture in
Ohio, but unfortunately have no figures showing re-
sults. Apparently the best results were secured by a
very liberal use of floats or finely-ground phosphatic
rock distributed right over the thick sod of an old pas-
ture. Of this substance nearly a ton to the acre was
used (it costs about $8 per ton in large lots) and it is
plain to see that the result has been a doubling of the
grass and a great increase in the number of clovers in
it, beside a distinct difference in color of the herbage.
I applied also a sprinkling of stable manure, which com-
_ plicates the situation, but I have no doubt that I will

298 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

recover much more than the cost of this phosphorus
and that it will continue to return good results for many
years. There is no fear of the phosphorus or floats being
washed out of the soil; it becomes slowly available when
in combination with decaying vegetable matter or in
acid soil and is steadily buried in the land as earth-
worms bring up their casts and rains wash the floats
down. 3

Bonemeal will do wonders to grass, as I have often
seen, commonly where applied to lawns, but I regret
that I have no figures of American practice showing the
cost and results. Nor, though we have used it, have I
any accurate data as to the result of acid phosphate on
pasture land. I have, however, found it to increase the
yield of alfalfa applied on meadows that were failing.
There are now experiments being conducted in Missouri,
Ohio, Virginia, and I hope other states, to determine the
best use and profit resulting from the use of many sub-
stances on grass land, though as yet but meager results
have become available.

Animals Graze Manured Grass Better.—‘“T do not ob-
ject,” remarked Josh Billings, “that folks know so much,
but I do object that they know so many things that are
not so.” It is indeed annoying to learn how many of
the common opinions held by mankind are erroneous, even
when they are on such easily observable phenomena as
pertain to farms. Nearly all farmers believe that manure
put on pasture makes the grass coarse, rank and dis-
tasteful to animals. The reverse is true; manure on pas-
ture makes the grass more appetizing and nutritious.
This is true as to sheep and cows, and to an extent as to

EXCESS OF MANURE ON GRASS 299

horses. I have daily opportunity to witness how eagerly
the cows and sheep nibble certain strips in a pasture
nearby, where manure is thinly spread each year and
where the grass grows thick and green. There are ex-
ceptions to this truth, however, and things well worth
bearing in mind.

Excessive Horse Manure on Pastures.—It seems
proved that it is dangerous to put large amounts of city
manure on horse pastures, for though it may make a
great growth of grass the grass seems sometimes to
cause disease among the horses grazing it. In Virginia
where men have bought farms and turned them into
grazing land they have sometimes sought a quick short
cut to good grass by the use of large amounts of manure
shipped from cities. This manure would be nearly all
made by horses. While the result in growth was very
satisfactory, yet there developed quite frequently the
disease called “pighead.” Henry Fairfax, a very care-
ful observer, related these facts to me, and further stated
that he had cured a number of cases by simply taking
them away from the excessively rich manured pastures
and putting them on his own grass where little or no
manure had ever been applied. I have observed that
horses very unwillingly graze over or near their own
droppings, nature seeming by instinct to direct them
where it is safe and healthful to graze and away from
the unsafe. Sheep and cattle graze readily on the spots
neglected by horses.

Mixed Stocking of Pastures——For many reasons it is
wise to graze pastures either with a mixed company of
cattle, horses and sheep, or else to alternate them, using’

300 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

say the sheep first, following with cattle and later by
horses, though the order of rotation is not so very essen-
tial. The first animals turned to the grass will take the
cream from it. If the three classes of animals graze
together there will be few weeds left uneaten and the
grass will be cut down pretty evenly all over. |

Do not put Sheep Manure on Sheep Pastures.—While
all animals harbor parasites, sheep are more in danger
from these scourges than other animals. There are
various parasites that may develop in the grass, chief
among them being the stomach worm, though tapeworms
and the worm causing nodular disease cause much trouble
and loss. These parasites all come from germs that pass
out in the excrements and develop in the young spring-
ing grass. It is clear that grave danger to the flock
lurks in any land manured with sheep manure and carry-
ing grass. There is of course no danger that sheep
parasites would attack horses, and small danger that
they would attack cattle, though the stomach worm seems
to find a host in calves at times and to cause considerable
trouble. It is safe to put sheep manure where it will be
plowed under for crops. There is no danger of infection
from hay or other forage mowed from manured fields.

Foreign Experience im Feeding Pastures.—In the Old
World men have long practiced the art of feeding and
maintaining pasture lands. I was much interested to see
that they not only fed their pastures, but they fed espe-
cially certain parts of them. For example, Ernest Per-
riot at Nogent-le-Rotrou in France showed me pastures
that were never fertilized, being subject to overflow of ©
the river Huisne, and other pastures that were fed in

ENGLISH WAY TO FEED GRASSES 301

parts and in other parts left unfed. There much reli-
ance was placed on basic slag, which seemed to make the
grass sweeter and more filled with clovers. James Peter
in Gloucestershire, England, showed me pastures parts
of which he fed and other parts that needed no feed-
ing. His practice is to use 1,000 pounds of bonemeal
once in 7 years, and annually a few hundred pounds of
basic slag. He also feeds corn and cake to good cattle
on grass, and the results are extraordinary, the thickness
and richness of the grass being almost past belief. In
England it is a common sight in spring to see manure
distributors going over the fields putting on basic slag,
mixed sometimes with a small amount of nitrate of soda.
It is thought, however, that the slag should for best
results be applied in the fall. In Scotland I observed
the use of fertilizers on pasture, and the intelligent sys-
tem of study by which the land was divided into a series
of small pastures, each one given a different fertilization,
and each lot stocked with sheep, careful account of which
was kept so that one could know just which combina-
tion of fertilizers paid best. This work is new to us in
America, but it seems assured .that we shall soon come
to it with the plowing up of pasture land in the West,
and the consequent decrease in cattle stocks just at a time
when meats are higher than ever before within our
knowledge.

Fertilization an Art of Diversity.—It is no simple
problem to take a given bit of land and ascertain just
what sort of fertilization will best suit it. The problem
will require a separate working out for each class of
soils. Roughly, we may thus divide our soils and their

302 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

requirements: First the clays, deficient in limestone.
These soils need carbonate of lime, and are benefited by
phosphorus and manures. They rarely call for potas-
sium. Second, clays having enough carbonate of lime
already in their composition. These are our natural
grasslands and are easiest made to grow good grasses.
They respond to applications of phosphorus and sprink-
lings of manures. In our hot climate and under our
burning suns we use up humus faster than they do in
England, and so any sort of vegetable matter laid over
the land is of great use, even to feed cornstalks and let
them lie to decay will help grass on these heavy clays.
On these limestone clays phosphorus and nitrogen are
the deficient elements, but if the phosphorus is supplied
commonly clovers will come in, or may be invited in,
and will supply the nitrogen. Here one could use basic
slag if one were near enough to the seashore to get it
at a reasonable cost, since even on these soils there is
seldom quite enough of carbonate of lime in the top-
soil. Next may be placed sandy soils. These are helped
by the use of carbonate of lime, phosphorus, potassium
and the seeding in of clovers. Lastly come peaty lands,
of which we have less than are found in the Old World;
these are vastly helped by the use of potassium and phos-
phorus, but they do not usually need applications of nitro-
gen, as this element can be obtained by growing legumes.

Thus it will be seen that each man will have to feel
his way in this work, testing one substance and another,
feeling pretty sure, however, that phosphorus will al-
ways help, that the land that is not benefited by the
use of stable manure is a curiosity in America; that

FERTILIZERS FOR TIMOTHY 303

drainage is always a good thing, and that carbonate of
lime sweetens grass and makes clovers thrive. |

Fertihzation of Timothy and the Crop Following.—
Bulletin 273 of Cornell University Experiment Station,
Ithaca, N. Y., is full of significant facts relating to the
effect of fertilizers of various sorts and of farm manures
on timothy and on the corn crop following. Briefly,
the fertilizers applied were nearly all profitable in in-
creasing the timothy crop alone, and the corn following
showed marked results. By far the larger residual re-
sults were secured from the use of barnyard manure,
to tons to the acre producing an increase of I10.3 per
cent and 20 tons producing 115.1 per cent increase. The
summary follows:

“This bulletin shows that both manure and artificial fertilizers
have a marked residual effect. On plats 711-732, the average yields
of the plats receiving fertilizers above the check plats show a gain
of 35.8 per cent for forage, 25.15 per cent for stover, and 66.65 per
cent for ear corn. In all cases the increase in ear corn was greater
than that in forage or stover. When a single fertilizer was used,
potassium increased the ear corn more than nitrogen or phosphorus.
When two were used in combination, potassium and phosphorus
gave the greatest increase in forage and stover, potassium and nitro-
gen in ear corn. The maximum increase in forage, ear corn and
stover was obtained when all three fertilizers were added. (The
previous year the same combination gave the highest yield of tim-
othy.). The residual effect of barnyard manure was greater than
that of any combination of artificial fertilizers. Ten tons per acre
show an increase of 110 per cent in ear corn and 20 tons per acre
an increase as high as 115 per cent. The increase in stover and
forage, though not quite so high as in ear corn, was much greater
than that of any combination of mineral fertilizers. The increase
in yield of hay in 1905-06-07 was in every case worth more than
the cost of fertilizers applied, so that the increase in yield of corn
was clear gain. Figuring on the current market prices for the fer-

304 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

tilizers, and 50 cents per ton for farm manures, the use of 20 tons
of farm manure applied twice to timothy but not used for corn,
gave a gain of $108 per acre in four years. Ten tons of manure
gave a gain of $72 per acre, and the most profitable combination
of fertilizer constituents produced a gain of $60.85.”

Lessons from the Old World.—Prof. Douglas A. Gil-
christ of Armstrong College, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne,
England, has made many experiments in fertilizing
meadow and pasture land long laid down in the counties
of Cumberland, Durham and Northumberland. Ina bul-
letin on “Effect of Manures on Old Hay Land,” issued
in February, 1906, I find much of great interest and
value. The soils operated, however, are some of them
quite different from any commonly used in America, ex-
cept that we have peaty soils in our northern states. The
experiments found a most interesting change in the
character of these old meadows consequent on fertiliza-
tion, the use of basic slag bringing in the better species
of grass and many clovers. Work of a similar nature, and
equally significant in results, is under way at the Rotham-
sted Experiment Station at Harpenden, England, as re-
ported by Director A. D. Hall. I quote thus from Prof.
Gilchrist : |

Effects of manures on herbage and soil nitrogen.—“From an anal-
ysis of the soil of the unmanured plot, it was seen to’ be of a very
poor character. It contains 14 per cent of stones and nearly 6 per
cent of poor, turfy, organic matter. It is remarkably poor in avail-
able phosphates and potash, and contains only 25 per cent of lime.
This poorness in lime probably explains the greater effectiveness
of basic slag than of superphosphate on this soil, and also the much
worse results with sulphate of ammonia than with nitrate of soda.
This has been demonstrated in a striking manner at Woburn. A:
student took samples of soil, 12” square on the surface and 6” deep.
from four of the plots in July, 1905, and also collected the herbage ~

BRITISH EXPERIMENTS 305

growing on each of the samples, and made a botanical analysis of
them. Following are the results:

COMPOSITION OF HERBAGE (HAY).

Weeds Weight of

Plot. Manuring. Legumes.' Grasses. dry hay

Per cent. ‘Per cent.|Per nent Grams.

1 INO AANANE IEE ore cis nha oe ore le a eis 11.5 48.7 39.8 19.9
7 LOMA MAIL... oc.cs 5 cSeniag san: AAD 53.8 23.2 53.4
8 Nitrate, slag and kainit......... 19.3 59.8 20.9 49.3
9 Sulph.ammonia, slag and sii ee 8.5 64.3 27.2 42.6

“On Plot 1 there was an abundance of plantain and field wood-
rush, while the grasses (chiefly bent and fescues) were poor and
stunted, with no seed stalks, and the legumes were represented only
by a little birdsfoot trefoil and white clover. Plot 7 had an abund-
ant sole of white clover herbage, with some red clover and other
legumes. The grasses were bent and fescues, with some Yorkshire
fog and cocksfoot, the last being better developed here than on any
other plot. There was much less white clover on Plot 8, and the
plants were weak. Sweet vernal and crested dogstail were present,
in addition to the grasses on the last plot, while plantain and yellow
rattle were the principal weeds. On Plot 9 white clover was weaker
than on Plot 8; fescues and bent were the chief grasses, with some
sweet vernal, while plantain and field woodrush were the principal
weeds.

NITROGEN IN THE HERBAGE, ROOTS AND SOIL OF DIFFERENT PLOTS.

Plots Plot 8. Plot 9.

Roots and soil toa Plott

2g Slag and Nitrate, slag |Sulph. ammonia,
depth of six inches. | No manure. kainit. and kainit. | slag and kainit.
Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Per cent.
Nitrogen in herbage. .013 .029 .031 .032
Nitrogen in roots.... .039 .047 044 .051
Nitrogen in soil...... .107 si .103 .109

“The foregoing figures show that the soil is practically no richer
in nitrogen on Plots 8 and 9, after the continuous application of
either nitrate of soda or sulphate of ammonia for thirteen years,

306 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

than on Plot 1, the unmanured plot. Plot 7, however, continuously
dressed with slag and kainit, but no nitrogen, for the same period,
has now about 5 per cent more soil nitrogen in the surface 6” of
soil than in the same of the unmanured plot, and has also produced
more than double the weight of hay. From the analysis of the hay
it has been calculated that the hay removed annually from Plot 7
contained 18 pounds more nitrogen per acre than that removed from
Plot 1, or as much nitrogen in 13 years as is contained in 13%
cwt. nitrate of soda. There is also an increase of .005 per cent
nitrogen in the surface 6” of soil of Plot 7 over that of Plot 1,
which represents about 75 pounds of nitrogen an acre, the equiv-
alent of nearly 5 cwt. of nitrate of soda. The slag and potash on
Plot 7, therefore, have indirectly provided as much nitrogen per
acre during the 13 years as is contained in about 18 cwt. of nitrate
of soda, and this only takes into account the surface 6” of soil.
Here is, therefore, an excellent demonstration of how mineral
manures (slag and kainit) may indirectly make use of nitrogen from
the air by developing clovers and other leguminous plants. The
amount of phosphates applied in the slag is double of that in the
superphosphate; but in each case the quantity applied is probably
about the right quantity for giving the best results. The lessons to
be derived from these thorough and long-continued experiments
on the manuring of old land hay are:

“On the heavier soils phosphatic manures are by far the most im-
portant, and of these basic slag is on the whole the most satisfac-
tory. On the lighter soils basic slag alone is not likely to be effec-
tive, but when accompanied by a potask manure, excellent results
are usually given. Too heavy dressings of superphosphate may do
considerable harm on some soils. It will be seen when the results
of several years are taken into account that neither nitrate of soda
nor sulphate of ammonia is a desirable manure for old land hay.
The weight of the crop will probably, in the long run, be less, while
the quality will undoubtedly be poorer. This applies either to these
manures used by themselves, or in combination with phosphates and
potash. Slag only (on the heavier soils) or slag and a potash
manure—say muriate of potash or kainit—usually develop clover
and allied plants in a marked degree, and small annual dressings
of these will continue this development of clover herbage, as is
shown by many of the experiments. On the whole, neither ground
lime nor common lime has given anything like profitable returns,

MANURING ENGLISH PASTURES 307

even several years after application; in fact, these experiments in-
dicate that basic slag is really the best source of lime for this pur-
pose, and that it owes its good effects to the lime as well as the
phosphates that it contains. Half a ton of basic slag contains as
much lime—partly free and partly in combination—as is contained
in % ton of ground lime. The fineness of grinding of the slag un-
doubtedly increases the effectiveness of the lime as well as of the
phosphates it contains. It is, therefore, suggested that for most
soils the use of basic slag makes the application of either common
lime or ground lime unnecessary for old land hay or for pasture.
It is only soils of a peaty character, or those with a good deal of
rough, matty herbage, or some organic matter, that are likely to give
a return from these forms of lime. Slag generally supplies the lime
requirements of all except this class of soils with more profitable
results. The results of some experiments elsewhere have indicated
that lime added to slag diminishes the good effects of this latter
manure.

“The nitrogen-collecting effects of slag, or of slag and a potash
manure, are well illustrated by the results at Broomhaugh, where it
is shown that the amount of nitrogen collected per acre in the sur-
face 6” of soil in 13 years together with that contained in the extra
hay grown during that time, amounts to nearly as much as is con-
tained in 1 ton of nitrate of soda. It is also evident that this natural
supply of nitrogen has most beneficial effects in the soil, this being
a marked contrast to the effects of active nitrogenous manures. The
complex dressings of manures—containing dissolved bones, bone-
meal, fish meal, slag, superphosphate, kainit, and a very little active
nitrogen—have given excellent results on loam soils, but have not
done so well on stiff clay. These results are worth close attention,
as are also the uniformly good results with bonemeal and kainit
when continued for 11 years at three centres. When an old land
hayfield becomes matted with herbage on the surface, harrowing
with heavy harrows at the time the manures are applied is of great
benefit, to open up the surface. Tusser, in the sixteenth century,
in his ‘Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry,’ advises farmers
as follows:

‘In meadow or pasture (to grow the more fine),
Let campers* be camping in any of thine.’

*Football players.

308 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

“This suggests that, when the turf of an old land hayfield be-
comes matted, it should be grazed for one year (or two if necessary )
with cattie* and that these should be heavily caked, which will,
by the heavier stock kept, tread down the turf more thoroughly and
so allow much finer hay being produced in future years. Dung
gives excellent results on light sandy soils but is not profitable if
applied to peaty soils, nor is it likely to be so on heavy clay soils.
This manure develops coarse herbage and usually increases the
weeds. To sum up, on soils in poor condition an initial dressing
of 14 ton of slag, with, on the lighter soils, the addition of 2 cwt.
muriate of potash or about 6 cwt. kainit, is likely to be useful. If,
however, dung has been used on the lighter soils, the potash manure
may not be necessary. For the after treatment of these soils, and
for the general treatment of soils in better condition, the application
of about 5 cwt. basic slag every three years (with the addition of 1
cwt. muriate of potash for light soils) is likely to be a good plan
of manuring per acre for old land hay. On the lighter class of
soils, 10 tons dung in addition at lengthy intervals should give ex-
cellent results, in which case the potash manure may be reduced. On
soils rich in lime, superphosphate may be preferable to basic slag.
If no dung is used, about 3 cwt. of fishmeal, or other manure con-
taining organic nitrogen, applied every three years, is likely to be a
useful addition. The excellent results already obtained on a pasture
field by feeding Bombay cotton cake, or other cake, on poor pasture
which has already been improved by basic slag, indicates that the
best nitrogenous dressing for old land hay is to graze it for one or
two years and to feed cake to the stock. Basic slag and the potash
manures will give the best effects if applied early in the winter. The
distribution of all the manures must be perfect and they should be
well harrowed in, especially if the herbage is at all coarse and benty.
The improvement of large areas of poor clay pasture in the north
of England can be commenced by a dressing of 7 to 10 cwt. an acre
of basic slag, followed up by the regular feeding of cake to the graz-
ing stock. It is desirable that tufty pasture should be mown before
applying the slag. The lighter soils in pasture lying on the sand-

* Sheep and especially horses are not good for this purpose.

The aftermath of an old land hay crop should always be eaten
down and it is an excellent practice to feed cake to the cattle while
doing so. On old pasture, which has become very coarse with the
growth of plants like heather, this heavy treading is essential.

ENGLISH GRASS EXPERIMENTS 309

stone rocks of the Mountain Limestone and the Millstone Grit, and
other light soils poor in lime, may be effectually improved by the
foregoing treatment, with the addition of, say 2 cwt. of muriate of
potash to the slag. For the after treatment of these pastures, and
for the general treatment of those in better condition, the same
manuring as is outlined for the manuring of old land hay may be
followed. Dung, however, is not likely to give as good results for
pasture as for hay-making purposes, but it should be noted that
dung greatly assists the formation of a sward on thin pasture soils
which have been recently laid down. When limestone is the under-
lying rock, superphosphate may be more useful than slag, while the
feeding of cake will also be useful. The same remarks apply to
lime as have been made in connection with old land hay.”

Example of Pasture Improvement in England.—In
Bulletin No. 8 of the County of Northumberland Edu-
cation Committee, Prof. Douglas A. Gilchrist presents
the results of pasture experiments running from 1897
to 1905. This collection of data is so strikingly useful
in giving a basis on which to work and something frorn
which to plan work of our own, that I present the greater
part of it. I regret that the sheep pastured were all
wethers, since it may be that ewes with lambs would
have shown greater gains. It is significant, however,
that one may expect from pasturing wethers during the
summer season (the reader will find by table the vary-
ing lengths) gains of from nothing (on unfed pasture)
to 152 pounds per acre where the pasture has had liberal
treatment—which in this instance meant cake (cotton-
seed) fed on the grass—and in one instance 163 pounds
where basic slag was used. While these results seem
somewhat small yet it must be conceded that here a gain
of 100 pounds per acre from pasturing would net at least
$5 more rental for the land, and with our fresher soils

310 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

of greater natural fertility than I assume this field to
have had, we should reach that gain or more. Returns
from pastures in Great Britain are, in many cases, of eye-
opening character to an American. I have changed the
values into American terms:

“Manures for pasture in Tree Field.—This report deals with the
complete results of the Tree Field experiments for the nine years
1897-1905. A slightly modified scheme of treatment was begun in
1906. The field extends to about 34 acres, and is divided into 11
plots, each 3 1/20 acres in area. While experiments on crops admit
of testing the comparative results by the weight of crops produced,
this cannot be done with pasture. The results of these experiments
have, therefore, been gauged by the increases in fasted live-weight
of the sheep on the various plots. The average prices of several
years indicated that about 7%4c. a lb. was a fair figure at which to
value the increase in live weight of the sheep. Of course this must
have a higher value on the better than on the poorer plots, but
granted that this is so the results arrived at would simply be accen-
tuated. In arriving at the final results, the increase in live weight
on the untreated plot is deducted from the same on the other plots,
and the value of this per acre has deducted from it the average
annual cost of the dressing. The result is the net annual gain or
loss resulting from each of the dressings. Each plot has been
treated differently, and has been stocked each year with a suitable
number of sheep. These have always been carefully selected, and
graded at the beginning of each season so that each plot: might have
sheep of the same average quality; and they have been all regularly
weighed every four weeks during each season, having previously
been fasted. Cross-bred wethers were purchased in the spring for
the first three years, and half-bred wethers in the second three years,
while for the last three years the stock has been mainly half-bred
and three-parts-bred wethers. The grazing periods have been as fol-
lows: 1897, June 21-Oct. 11; 1898, May 16-Oct. 3; 1899, May 4-Sept.
21; 1900, May 23-Oct. 10; 1901, May 10-Sept. 27; 1902, May 20-Oct.
7; 1903, May 15-Oct. 2; 1904, May 17-Sept. 6; 1905, June 5-Sept. 25.
The first and the last two periods extended to-16 weeks, and the re-
mainder to 20 weeks. As the last. four weeks always gave very low
increases in the longer periods, a reversion was made to the shorter

SHEEP GAINS ON GRASS 311

in the last two years. The numbers of sheep per plot have varied
according to the quality of the pasture, and have been as follows:

me -

Plots 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
1897 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 —
Looe © LOF re EOF 26 8 8 6 role Seat} et ats ep
1899 8 Ge LZ 8 8 6 8 8 8 8 —
19007 8 6 Oi. eran ees 6 9 9 9 9 8
1901% 6 6 9 9 9 4 9 oe ale 9 9t
1902 5 6 9 9 9 4 DS AG 8 9 12
1903 11 D 9 10 9 4 ee pat 8 9 10
1904 12 5 9 9 8 4 9 9 8 9 9
1905 9 5 8 9 7 4 9 9 6 7 9

“The live weight gains per sheep per week have been of great
assistance as a guide in stocking the plots, as whenever these be-
came unduly high more stock was required, and vice versa. Follow-
ing is a statement of these for the nine seasons:

Plots 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ul 8 9 10 tal

ibse tps.” ps. lbs: “lbs. = lps... 1bs.: Ibs: = bss>. Ibs. 3 bs:
1897 9 0.7 1.8 1.0 ies 0.9 ae 1G 1.8 1.4 —
1898 2.0 eA 22 2.1 1.9 U3" 21 Dee 15 1.9 1.6
1899 2.0 vol 2.6 Za i) 1.2 2.0 2.1 2.0 2.0 1S
1900 iL 15) ikeIFi 2.2 2.0 ipa 2.3 2.4 eal 2.2 2.1
1901 ae 1.0 Uy 1.8 EN) 0.9 1.9 1.9 1.6 ei 1.8
1902 2.1 Li 2.1 2.4 2.1 15 2.3 2.5 2.2 2.3 2.3
1903 2.6 1.4 ar 1.8 ee 1s et 1.8 1.9 1.8 1ST}
1904 2.8 1) iar 19 1.8 1.5 1.9 2.0 1.4 1.6 2.2
1905 1.0 1.2 1.0 (Bil 0.9 0.6 0.9 1.2 0.9 1sil 2,

“The soil is a poor stiff clay lying on boulder clay. The diagram
shows the character of the soil and subsoil throughout. This has
been extracted from a complete soil map, which has been prepared
from notes made during a careful soil survey of the farm. In
making this, holes were dug at suitable distances apart and full notes
made of the characters of the soils and subsoils, every care being
taken to dig the holes in such positions as would show the average
depths of the soil, and expose good sections of the soil and subsoil.
From the diagram it will be seen that the soil is of almost even char-

*On June 27 Plots 1 and 7 had one added; and Plots a A hal
10, two added.

7 On June 20 Plot 3 had three added; on July 18 Plot 4 had one
added, and Plot 8 had two added.

£ On June § Plot 8 had three added; on July 13 Plot 11 had three
added.

oe MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Seale. 20‘ bo a rule,

Le CE (IRAE 20Hen
BC+¥SS Gr BESS

MOL Sin Mt OL
5 BC vss?

© Qhuvial,
p hovers r

GG 0° G¢-.L..
Bari [tv S. AG

Ce A S" Pe Boe
B.C + St Dart 13.C & CL 13.0
above + suh-
sorls below the hne

ae

vo paGik . tig sek
@ank 13.C. SH. Mark, B.C

ENGLISH PASTURE STUDIES 313

acter throughout, except for the variations on Plot 11, which are
there indicated. This last plot is sheltered by trees on its northern
and western boundaries, which also renders it not quite comparable
with the others. Generally speaking the soil of the field varies from
4” to 12” in depth, is a poor clay and clay loam throughout, and is
practically all lying on a subsoil of poor yellow boulder clay. Of the
706,000 acres under crops and pasture in the County of Northum-
berland, there are over 400,000 acres lying on this boulder clay sub-
soil, so that the Tree Field results are of great value as a guide to
the manuring of the bulk of the pastures of the county. That Tree
Field has one of the poorest of this class of soils may be judged
from the fact that Cockle Park has not since 1829 been let at more
than $3.60 an acre, and that this field is one of the poorest on the
farm, and has at no time been worth more than $2.40 an acre. It
was under cultivation and grew wheat crops frequently till about 40
years ago, since when it has been lying under pasture, which before
1897 was poor and benty and worth only about $0.60 an acre. The
soil has been analyzed by Mr. Collins, who found it to contain .2
per cent nitrogen, .07 per cent phosphoric acid, and .5 per cent
potash. There was soluble in a 1 per cent solution of citric acid,
.005 per cent of phosphoric acid and .013 per cent of potash. It also
contained .69 per cent of lime (CaO). For the last five years this
Plot (Plot 6, untreated) has been stocked with four sheep, but it
had a larger number in the previous years. The average gain in
live weight per acre per annum has been 37 1/9 pounds, which at
7c. a pound is equal to $2.78 an acre. Live weight increase, how-
ever, is not worth nearly as much from this plot as from the plots
which have been improved by treatment, so that the real returns
are considerably less than the above. In five of the nine years
the sheep on this plot were worth less at the end than at the be-
ginning of the season. On Piot 3, 10 cwt. slag applied for 1897 has
at a gross cost of $5.44 given an average annual gain of $5.34 for
the nine years, a marvelous return from this single dressing. It had
the greatest effect in the third season after its application (when it
gave 163 pounds per acre of live weight increase, worth about $12.24)
and even in the ninth season afterwards has given 33 pounds of
live weight increase, worth about $2.44 an acre. Clover develop-
ment was greatest in the second year (about 20 per cent of the herb-
age). The poor bent grass has been greatly reduced. The soil has
been improved in texture and darkened in color to a marvelous

314 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

extent on this plot, and on all the plots where clover development
has taken place.
“On Plot 4, 10 cwt. slag, half applied for 1897 and half for 1900,

MANURES FOR PASTURE IN TREE FIELD. RESULTS PER ACRE FOR
NINE SEASONS, 1897-1905. PLOTS 3 1-20 ACRES IN AREA.

Treatment and its total cost for nine

= years, 1897-1905. Average of nine years, 1897-1905.
: Live weight increase
per sheep over plot 6. |Annual
Treatment. Cost.| Hay. |——————_|gain or
Amount. eae a loss (—)
1 | Dee. cotton cake fed on plot, total Cwt. Lbs.
of 597 lbs. 1897-8, again 1903, and
aman 1G04EF oN as tae ene sae ce $27.84} 19% 69 5-9 $5 22 $2.14
2 |Common lime, 4 tons 1897, and
Evsrnbi IM\ Bigs aagomsnopobosuedcoosc 24.00) 12% 12 5=9 94 ena:
3 | Basic slag, 10 cwt. 1897............ 5.44] 25 79 8=9 5.98 5.34

4 | Basic slag, 5 ewt. 1897, and again
GOO eee Be ecicis ote bioie eitamiersiolare 5.44] 20% 66 4.96 4.32

5 | Superphosphate, 287, 7 cwt. (100
lbs. phos. acid) 1897, and again
HSM eas ates eracres weeteroabbegnvaroue sore axolelars 8.64] 16% 57 6.26 3.39

6 | Untreated throughout............ |...... BiG [haces Sete st Pa ee eee

7 | Supers. as on plot 5; and_sulph.
potash, 100 lbs. 1897, again 1899,
and again 1903.................. 14.88) 1725 65 7=9 4.94 3.28

8 | Supers. as on plot 5; and ground
lime, 10 cwt. 1897, again 1909,
and again 1908.................-- 16.80) 2025 79 1=9 5.94 4.08

9 | Supers. as on plot 5; and sulph.
am., 84 lbs. (17 ibs. N.) 1897,
again 1899, again 1900, again 1903. | 18.00; 20 54 4.06 2.06

10| Diss. bones, 6 ewt. (100 Ibs. phos.
ac. and 17 lbs. N.) 1897, and
Plratd LOO eecslsiaclroewteseieieiatere 15.84) 20 61 1=3 4.62 2.86

* Each lot of cake contained 42 Ibs. nitrogen and (assumed) 18 lbs. phos. acid
and 9 lbs, potash.
+ Plot 10 has received half the total amount of nitrogen applied to plot 9.

5 ewt. slag contains 100 lbs. phosphoric acid. 100 lbs. sulphate of potash con-
tain 50 Ibs. potash. Dissolved bones, 1906, contain 100 lbs. phosphoric acid and
99.8 lbs. nitrogen. 142 lbs. nitrate of soda contain 22.8 lbs. nitrogen.

The cost of manures per ton was as follows: Basic slag, $11.43; superphos-
phate, $12.65.; sulphate of potash, $47.20; sulphate of ammonia, $63.26; dissolved
bones, $26.76. Decorticated cotton cake cost $35.28; common lime, $3.04, and
ground lime, $4.87.

SHEEP GAINS ON GRASS 315

has not been quite so effective, the average annual net gain for the
nine years being reduced from $5.34 to $4.32. It is evident that the
application of this amount of slag in a single dressing is likely to
give the best result in commencing the improvement of poor pasture
of this character; 10 cwt. slag gave 321 pounds live weight increase
per acre in the first three years after its application, whereas 5 cwt.
slag gave only 132 pounds in the same time, considerably less than
half of the larger dressing. That a second application of slag may
be most effective is shown by the fact that for three years after the
first application of 5 cwt. slag the live weight increase amounted .
to 132 pounds, while the same for three years after the second appli-
cation amounted to 284 pounds. The second application therefore
more than doubled the results. In the ninth season Plot 4 has given
an increase of 41 pounds in live weight per acre, as compared with

LIVE WEIGHT INCREASES IN SHEEP PER ACRE, 1897-1905

Total on Over plot 6 (untreated throughout) on plots ———
plot 6. 1 2 3 4 5 7/ 8 9 10 11
a LS} 7 (eee 37 43 —5 40 a 19 35 32 42 22 _

1898..... 53 91 11 118 60 51 68 66 41 64 =
SES Bad 48 Ge =i 163 65 55 =—s-59 66 61 58 =
1300 44 36 16 87 9 93 # £9 115 84 90 45

1901..... 23 28 18 82 84 92 90 121 75 77 108
1902..... 41 30 27 86 105 86 94 123 79 98 144
1903..... 41 152 7 58 76 50 = 62 79 58 68 70
1904..... 33 152 20 52 61 45 59 65 31 46 73

1905..... 14 36 20 33 41 22 86382 46 15 30 44

Total ....334 626 113 719 594 513 592 713.0 4860s 553 484

Average i =
annual 371-9 695-9 125-9 798-9 66 57 657-9 792-9 54 614-9 80%

33 pounds on Plot 3, which shows that although the net gain has
been the greater after the single dressing of slag, the unexhausted
residue is now the greater where half of it was withheld till three
years later. 5 cwt. slag increased the proportion (not total amount)
of clovers to the same extent in the first three years as did 10 cwt.,
while in the first year after the second application of 5 cwt. slag,
the clovers amount to 32 per cent, and even in the ninth year (or
sixth after the second application of slag) to 17 per cent. While
therefore the results on this plot have not been quite so good as
on Plot 3 the clover development has been greater and much better
maintained.

316 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

“The following figures show the comparative effects of 15 cwt.
slag on Plot 11, and 10 cwt. slag on Plot 3 for six years after appli-
cation, the former having been applied for 1900, and the latter for
1897. (Plot 11 was started three years later than the others and its
results therefore are not included in the table). The better results
given by 10 cwt. slag may be partly accounted for by the fact that
while 10 cwt. slag developed 20 per cent of clover two years after
its application, 15 cwt. increased it to over 35 per cent, but York-
shire fog was developed to the extent of nearly 50 per cent four
years after the heavier dressing of slag, whereas it increased in
the same time to less than 20 per cent by the lighter dressing. This
large amount of fog is the likely cause of the smaller returns from
the heavier dressing of slag in the later years.

LIVE-WEIGHT INCREASES IN POUND PER ACRE (OVER PLOT 6).

15 ewt. slag. 10 ewt. slag.

PITStV Caty os oy Wis scarce meee oe ORE Ge es Co aA ae 45 40
NECOMGKY Cals ane hasan ra anse es enyR eee eae ee 108 118
Mian ye aie eels ers is Chee eee rao sustain ae rae 144 163
ROMP Hevea’. ohn 5, ua ee a cen de ors eae utente 70 87
Ronithsyi@ ar eicrnciecicie w eae veri eaaear era Ue Raia Plc ae 73 82
TRL Garr s Paves” wines en Ruse «lh came enn a aig ae 44 86

PERG feel Uc) Oe Be ee ibn ten ate Cale’ Sh We nnn a ae crt ee 484 576

723 (@ 2 Cy 27 SUR acd sein en at ey arate A OT pA et a 8025 96

“The soil of Plot 11 is more variable in character than that of
the other plots, and there were slight differences in the treatment
of this plot in the earlier years, but the fact that the results here
were probably the same as those on the untreated plot for three
years before the application of the slag, renders the foregoing re-
sults fairly reliable. Plot 5 had 7 cwt. superphosphate per acre ap-
plied for 1897 and the same for 1900. This contained the same
amount of phosphoric acid and was applied at the same times as
the two dressings of slag on Plot 4. In the first three years super-
phosphate gave a total live weight increase of 125 pounds as com-
pared with 132 pounds from slag similarly applied on Plot 4. Super-

MANURE ON ENGLISH PLOTS 37

phosphate gave the better result in the first year but a poorer in
the fast two years. The second application of superphosphate gave
271 pounds increase in live weight in the three years after the sec-
ond dressing had been applied, as compared with 284 pounds by
slag in that period. That this manure becomes more quickly ex-
hausted than slag is shown by its giving only 22 pounds live weight
increase per acre in the ninth season (sixth after the second appli-
cation) whereas slag gave 41 pounds in the same year. The net
gain from this plot was $3.30 per acre annually as compared with
$4.32 from slag similarly applied. With one year’s exception (1900)
clover has not been so well developed on this plot, but at the same
time the clover increase has been of a satisfactory character, and
has been well maintained till the ninth year. Plot 10 had 6 cwt.
dissolved bones in 1897 and the same in 1900. These contained
the same amount of phosphoric acid as the superphosphate for
Plot 5, and in addition the former contained 34 pounds nitrogen
in the two dressings. The sheep have increased in liveweight
414 pounds more per acre annually on this plot than where super-
phosphate was used, but owing to the less cost of the latter manure
the net gain per acre annually on this plot is only $2.86 an acre
as compared with $3.30 from superphosphate. The results also
show that the lasting effects of dissolved bones correspond very
closely to that of superphosphate. Both these manures gave their
best effects more quickly than slag, but did not give such good
results in the later years. Dissolved bones have not retained
clovers so well in the later years as superphosphate.

“Plot 8 has had the same superphosphate as Plot 5, and in
addition 100 pounds sulphate of potash for each of the years
1897, 1899 and 1903. The result has been an average increase
per acre annually of nearly 9 pounds live weight over Plot 5,
which has just paid the cost of the potash manure, but has given
no increase in the net profit. It is rather striking that the potash
manure has not at all increased the clover plants, as there have
been fewer of these here than on Plot 5, where superphosphate
only was used. There is evidently nearly sufficient potash in
this clay soil to supply the pasture requirements, at any rate for
a considerable time. Plot 9 received the same superphosphate as
Plot 5, and in addition 34 cwt. sulphate of ammonia for each of
the years 1897, 1899, 1900 and 1903. As a result the average an-
nual increase in live weight has been reduced by 3 pounds an

318 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

acre, and the net gain per annum from $3.30 to $2.06 an acre. In
the four years that sulphate of ammonia was applied the live
weight increase was greater by 7 pounds per acre per annum, but
in the five years this manure was not used the average decrease
was 1334 pounds (= $2.42 per acre per annum). Here we have a
clear demonstration of bad after-effects of this manure on pasture,
and a striking evidence against this manure having any residual
value after the first year it is applied to pasture, showing on the
contrary that compensation is needed for its bad after-effects. This
manure has on the average slightly repressed the clover.

“Plot 2 had 4 tons lime per acre for 1897, and another 4 tons for
1903. The increase in live weight of the sheep has been only 12%
pounds per acre annually, and when the cost of the lime is de-
ducted, the net loss has been $1.74 per acre per annum. On this
poor exhausted soil (especially poor in available phosphates) there
has not been sufficient plant food on which the lime could exert
its beneficial action. Nor has the lime sweetened the coarse natural
herbage to any extent, as sedges and mosses are still nearly as
abundant here as on the untreated plot, while clover development
has been very slight. Plot 8 has had the same superphosphate as
Plot 4, and in addition 10 cwt. ground lime in each of the years
1897, 1899 and 1903. This addition of lime has increased the live
weight of the sheep per acre per annum by 22% pounds, and the
average annual net gain from $3.30 to $4.08 per acre. The live
weight increases due to the addition of lime have been about
the same for the first, second and third years after each appli-
cation. The average annual increase in live weight from this plot
is practically the same (about 79 pounds) as that from 10 cwt. slag
all applied in 1897 (Plot 3), these being the two plots that have
given considerably the highest increases. The greater cost of the
superphosphate and lime than of the slag accounts for the consid-
erably less net gain from the former. The results on Plots 3 and
8 show that a combination of superphosphate and lime has given
very similar resuits to slag, and indicate that the lime present in
slag is a valuable ingredient. Lime and superphosphate have de-
veloped clovers on this plot to practically the same extent as slag
on Plot 4, and considerably more than superphosphate has done on
Plot.5:

“On Plot 1 about 600 pounds per acre of decorticated cotton cake
have been fed to the sheep in the two years 1897-8, while 600 pounds

319

BRITISH PASTURE STUDIES

17S 1897-1905.
-1903 ONLY.

v. monthly §
Fi—FTH MONTH 1899

TREE wists ;

<

ounds.

)in p

106; 49° 07> 103" 94 e387" 103° 116" OT -2 98

—

Corrected

ge live weight gains (

Teta) avera

WW \\\\
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a eeN
aie \

IN AWC

AW sl
AAW
Z\\ A\
SW AXXKXWW
*\fE \\\\

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=\\ AN

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i

320 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

were also fed to them in each of the years 1903 and 1904. The
result has been an increase of 6914 pounds in live weight per acre
annually and a net gain of $2.14 per acre per annum. Taking the
two years 1897-8 as one for this purpose, the cake in the years
in which it was fed gave an average increase of 146 pounds in
live weight per acre per annum, which is equal to $10.94 at 3%4c. a
pound. As each 600 pounds of cake cost about $9.28 this left a
gain of $1.66 an acre from feeding the cake in each of these years.
In the five years that cake was not fed on this plot the average
live weight increase per acre was about 3714 pounds, equal to about
$2.80 in value, a most satisfactory result. There is no doubt that
the extra treading of the pasture, by the heavier stock in the years
that the cake was fed, has assisted the manurial ingredients of the
‘cake, passed through the sheep to the land, in improving the pas-
ture. The good effects of the cake fed in 1897-8 were well main-
tained for four years thereafter, as even the fourth season after
the cake was stopped there were 30 pounds an acre of live weight
increase, worth just over $1.92. The results in 1905, however, were
not up to expectation as only 36 pounds increase in live weight were
given, although cake had been fed for the two previous years. For
every shilling spent on treatment the following returns have been
given: By slag on Plot 3, $2.28; by same on Plot 4, $1.90; by super-
phosphate on Plot 5, $1.06; by same and potash on Plot 7, $0.72;
by same and ground lime on Plot 8, $0.76; by same and sulphate
of ammonia on Plot 9, $0.48; by dissolved bones on Plot 10, $0.62;
by lime on Plot 2, $0.16 (loss) ; and by cake fed on Plot 1, $0.40.

“The Tree Field average monthly and average annual gains cal-
culated per acre per annum, are shown in the diagram. The best
results were given in the earlier periods of the season, and were
comparatively small in the last periods (each of four weeks) when
grazing was continued for twenty weeks. The climatic conditions
make the average grazing season quite a short one. The good
results of slag (Plots 3 and 4), and of superphosphate and lime
(Plot 8) stand out in a striking manner. Cake fed on Plot 1 also
shows well, but lime only on Plot 2, contrasted with Plot 6, shows
little improvement over this the untreated plot.”

There follow very interesting accounts of the effect
of the various fertilizers on the composition of the herb-
age. Briefly, it was seen that any sort of fertilization

SUMMARY ON FERTILIZATION 321

decreased the weeds and increased the useful plants,
- grasses and clovers; that basic slag increased the clovers
goent 20 perocent. and Some years up to. 35 per cent,
while weeds were much reduced, and that the plot having
1,500 pounds of slag resulted in the cleanest pasture
fullest of grasses and with most clovers. Lime added
to superphosphate resulted in the most clovers of any
plot and here also weeds were most effectually repressed.
Lime alone slightly increased the clovers but had little
effect on weeds. The feeding of cake increased the
grasses and repressed the weeds. It was found that
orchard grass was increased where basic slag was used
and to a less extent by bonemeal and superphosphate.
Sheep fescue was increased by ground lime and super-
phosphate and by cake feeding. As the sheep were
taken off at the end of summer there was left grass to
be grazed by cattle. Calling the keep of a cow worth
24 cents, the plots produced yearly revenues varying
from 64 cents on the untreated plot to $1.36 on Plot 3,
we2o) on Plots:4 and 9; $1.02 on Plot 10; $1 on: Plot
1, $1.08 on Plot 8, 86 cents on Plot 2, 96 cents on Plot
FoeO2 on Plot:7:

SUMMARY OF FERTILIZATION.

Grasses take from the soil available nitrogen, thrive
especially well in soils rich in nitrogen, and need also
phosphorus, potassium and lime. Most American soils
contain enough potassium, so the need comes down to
lime, phosphorus and nitrogen. Grasses can not get
nitrogen from the air, while clovers can. When the
conditions are right for clovers and they are well estab-

322 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

lished, they aid grasses, since they furnish available nitro-
gen to the land. Clovers revel in a soil well drained, .
somewhat alkaline rather than acid (this is brought
about by carbonate of lime) and well supplied with
phosphorus and potassium. The way, then, to secure
nitrogen in the meadow or pasture is to get clovers
growing in association with grasses, or to use fertilizers
rich in nitrogen. Nitrate of soda applied to the grass
meadow in spring after growth has started is an efficient
carrier of nitrogen. It should be mixed with acid phos-
phate or some other carrier of phosphorus. Wheeler and
Adams of the Rhode Island station recommend for their
soils in timothy meadow an annual top-dressing of 400
to 500 pounds of acid phosphate, 300 to 350 pounds
of nitrate of soda, and 300 to 350 pounds of muriate of
potash. Leaving out the potassium for soils not defi-
cient in this element, these proportions would doubtless
serve well anywhere. Commonly 200 pounds of nitrate
of soda to the acre is termed a liberal use. Winter top-
dressing of meadows with manure is effective. The fer-
tilization of pastures is yet on trial, the principle in-
volved being to make the land sweet, encourage clovers,
supply phosphorus and other elements when needed.
Profitable results in most instances will result from the
use of basic slag, bonemeal or carbonate of lime and
acid phosphate. It pays well to spread barnyard manures
evenly and with moderate thinness over pasture land.
The feeding of concentrated feeds to cattle on grass
gives perhaps the best. results of any, and rightly man-
aged the gain is clear.

The first step in the improvement of pastures is to

MANAGEMENT OF GRASS LANDS 323

drain them. Liming with ground limestone may fol-
low if the soil is lime-deficient. Apparently the use of
floats or fine-ground phosphatic rock in large amounts
is effective through a series of years. If one is in haste
to improve a pasture first correct soil acidity with lime
carbonate and disk the surface enough to loosen it some-
what without destroying the grass. Then fertilize with
500 pounds to the acre of bonemeal, or with 400 pounds
of acid phosphate and 100 to 200 pounds of nitrate of
soda, or use the phosphate or bonemeal alone and sow
over the land fresh seed, mainly of red and white clovers,
say 4 pounds of red and 2 pounds of white per acre (less
will often serve well) and again harrow to cover the
seed. This should be done in early spring. It will cost
something thus to fertilize a pasture, but it is doubtful
whether any outlay on the farm will return better profit.

MANAGEMENT OF PASTURES.

It is commonly assumed that a shaded pasture is best
for grazing animals, and that shade may have some
value in preventing sunburning of grass. These beliefs
are fallacious. Animals graze best in pastures with lit-
tle or no shade, and the grass suffers sooner from drouth
under trees than in the open sunlight. Tree roots are
vigorous feeders and absorb moisture and fertility more
rapidly than can grass roots. There is but one tree
which will, to my knowledge, benefit the pasture land
as pasture, and that is the black locust, which, being a
legume, enriches the soil. It is not worth while to ferti-
lize grass growing under trees of dense shade; in spread-
ing’ mantire on grass we always give directions to our

ao MEADOWS AND PASTURES

men not to drive beneath the oak trees with which the
pasture is studded. Moreover, what grass there is found
erowing under the trees has in it little sweetness or rich-
ness, and animals do not care to eat it. No one loves
trees better than I, and we have them in our pastures,
but we consider that amount of land covered with trees
as forest land, park land or what you like, not pasture
land. I do not like sheep to lie under trees durme dhe
heats of midday, as they pollute the grass with thetr
droppings and afterward myriads of parasites appear,
and when the grass springs fresh and green lambs nib-
bling it take them in and are sickened and destroyed.
While I would not, from esthetic reasons, counsel the
destruction of all the trees in the pasture, yet I should
expect to get larger returns from the pasture that had
at most only here and there a tree scattered over its
surface, and most profit of all from the field that had
not one tree, but where animals grazed in the open and
took refuge from the sun if at all in airy sheds which
might be situated on the highest land and whence manure
would be taken from time to time and scattered over the
field. The waste of manure under trees. and in pond
holes and streams from pastured cattle is a serious drain
on the resources of the land and one that no field can
forever safely bear.

Turning to Grass.—Once I ranched in Utah and we
had 2,000 cattle running over the desert hills in winter,
eating the dry grass. Commonly they kept their flesh
fairly well, though after the snow had gone they must
make long marches over hard and stony trails to water
and back again to grass. We lost few from starvation,

WINTER PASTURING 325

however, until grass came green in spring, then sud-
denly the cattle grew weak and our troubles began. It
was literally true that Io times as many cattle starved
to death after green grass came as before that time,
though the weather was much more favorable then. The
fact is that the first upthrust of the grass contains little
more than colored water; there is need of long days of
sun to put any sweetness or strength into it, and this
is as true of clovers and all plants grazed by beasts. It
is often well to allow cattle or sheep or horses to roam
over the pasture during winter; it is well if they are
fed on it, since thus the pasture is enriched, but the
moment the grasses begin to spring into growth at the
advent of warm weather, every animal should be taken
off and confined to the barns and yards. It is better
for them, because they will then continue to eat their
dry hay and grain with good relish. Their gains will
be far greater than if they were distracted by the lure
of tempting morsels of green grass, about as fattening
as pickles to the schoolgirl. It is better for the grass,
also, because having been besieged all winter by cold
and darkness, it now needs a chance to stretch up into
the sunlight and elaborate its sap, strengthen its root
system, and in general organize itself for the season’s
campaign. There may be three times the weight of
grass taken from a properly managed pasture than will
come from one gnawed down right to the earth from
the day it first turns green in the spring. I am con-
vinced that this one almost criminal blunder of too early
stocking, more than any one other thing, has tended to
make pastures unprofitable. Many evils result from the

326 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

practice. Weeds are encouraged, since through animals
enawing the palatable grasses weeds get started on the
almost bare land, then the soil has too little shade and
the sun dries it out badly. Probably twice as much
available moisture is retained in the pasture that is al-
lowed to get a good strong start in the spring, as is found
in the pasture grazed down hard from the start. In
short, make a soil mulch of the grass itself. You can
not cultivate grass land; the one thing probably that
you can do to help retain.moisture is to allow the grass
to. mulch the ground... And even here one imist/use
discretion.

Conditions vary according to localities. There are
moist regions where it is safe to pasture rather closely—
where, in fact, the grass falls and becomes matted to-
gether, so that it no doubt loses its sweetness if not
erazed fairly close. Most of America, however, has hot
suns and dry weather so that the pastures need moisture
more than any other thing, and the one way to main-
tain it is to avoid close grazing until in midsummer or
a little later, when it becomes necessary. I have seen
bluegrass in north Missouri make a dense mat a foot
thick over the ground and cattle fattened well on it. On
the other hand Prof. Lyman Carrier of the Virginia
station writes as follows:

“T have been making some notes on pasture management in this
part of the state and a few things seem to be of importance. One
is that heavy pasturing in this section is better than light. This
seems to be contrary to the general opinion of writers on the subject.
We can ruin our pastures by leaving them ungrazed for a year or

two. I do not mean to say that the pasture should be grazed early
in the spring»before the grass gets a good start or late in the fall

SHIFTING GRAZING STOCK 327

after growth has stopped, but during the summer I do not believe
there is much danger from over-grazing, but, on the contrary, heavy
grazing will give the best sod. We are working on the matter of
weed eradication and have seen various instances where broom
sedge and other troublesome weeds have been destroyed by feed-
ing a haystack on the infested area and also by liberal dressings of
stable manure.”

This indicates that the question requires quite local
interpretation. Deeper in the Virginia mountains, in
a moister region, perhaps, lives Henry Stuart, a leader
among cattle grazers. It has been his experience that
there should be “good grass in June and just enough
cattle on it so that the grass keeps gaining a little all
the rest of the summer.” Thus he makes his export
steers, and after they have gone he puts younger, thinner
cattle on the pasture to graze in the fall.

Rotate Animals in Pasture.—Where possible it is best
to feed off the pasture with different classes of animals
in rotation. Horses like one class of herbage and cows
a different sort, while sheep eat things that both horses
and cattle reject. If then the pasture can be grazed al-
ternately by each class of stock, or if they can live peace-
ably together, the whole field will be well eaten down
together and few spots left to grow up untouched. Sheep
also will aid greatly by keeping down the weeds. If
brush comes in to trespass, goats will aid in destroying
it. Naturally, the animals first put in take the cream,
the sweetest clovers, the best herbage, and those coming
later may not thrive quite so well unless rains cause
the swift upspringing of the tidbits again. There is
one great advantage in rotating animals on pasture—
they do not take parasites from each other, so the sheep

328 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

do not by the germs they may drop on the grass en-
danger horses or cattle, and vice versa.

Managing the Rank-growing Spots.—On good strong
soils there will be spots where grasses will stand un-
eaten, while other places will be gnawed too close. This
is a serious waste of pasture land, the richest soil doing
no duty while the poorest 1s overworked. The best
remedy may be to mow off the rank spots, setting the
knife as close to the ground as it can well run, and mak-
ing into hay the herbage taken off. It will commonly he
greedily eaten in winter. I have even mowed it and left
it stand in the field im large cocks and seen 1t all eaten:
nearly, the perverse animals that had steadily refused the
grass while it was green crowding around to eat it after
it was made into hay, neglecting the green and growing
grass to so do. I suppose that animals are lazy enough
to like part of their feed cut for them. On soils need-
ing lime, after cutting off the herbage from these rank-
growing spots, one can lime them well. Or it may be
that they need drainage, though there is no doubt at all
that animals will refuse to pasture down places that
need neither liming nor drainage, some difference in the
flavor of grasses determining their choice.

Weeds in Pastures—The best way to exclude annual
weeds from pastures is to feed the grasses. The one
weed that may come no matter how good the grass 1s 1s
ragweed (Artemesia) and this will be eaten by sheep if
they have access to it. To help the pasture, cimerie
mower over it if need be. Cockleburs are troublesome
in some pastures, but if they are kept mown off for two
years they will very nearly disappear. This is true of

THE WEED NUISANCE 329

most annual weeds and some perennials. One can set
the mower so high that it will not especially injure the
grass. Ironweeds (Vernonia noveboracensis) are trouble-
some perennials. After 40 years of more or less persist-
ent struggle with them in one of our pastures they are
still present, though much reduced. Mowing off just
as they come into bloom, and feeding with sheep which
eat off their leaves when young and tender, seem the
available remedies. Jronweed comes in the best soil
and troubles over a very wide area; its roots are very
large and strong. Mulleins are biennials and are de-
stroyed by pulling or mowing just as they bloom. Coarse
rank weeds such as horseweeds (Ambrosia trifida) and
jimpson (Stramonium) are easily destroyed by mowing;
in fact, the mowing machine is a most effective ally of
the pastoralist. Some weeds are destroyed by sprink-
ling repeatedly with strong brine. The nettle is thus
affected, as also is poison ivy (Rhus) and the horse net-
tle (Solanum Carolinense). This latter weed is a dis-
tressing one, and is now invading all of the central
states. It has not one use nor redeeming feature, nor,
after it is established all over one’s farm, can it ever be
eradicated ; so it should be fought to a finish at the out-
set of its invasion. One of the most persistent and
troublesome weeds is spearmint. Mowing twice during
the season greatly injures it, and will in time perhaps
destroy it. Hoarhound should be pulled by hand as soon
as it appears. Canada thistles; who can in a sentence
dispose of them? In England farmers content them-
selves with cutting them down once or twice a year to
prevent their seeding. They will continue, however,

330 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

to spread from roots. Canada thistles may be destroyed,
if there are but few, by continually putting salt on them,
and as soon as they reappear they should be seasoned
again. Cattle will eat them. They may be destroyed
also by persistently cutting them off just under the
ground with a sharp hoe. A field badly infested may be
cleaned by being sown to alfalfa; the frequent cutting
of the alfalfa, and its competition for soil moisture,
cause the weed’s destruction. One must, however, make
the soil right for the alfalfa or it will not be able to do
the task. Afterward, if the land is desired for pasture,
it may be sown to grasses without disturbing the alfalfa,
and soon it will be more richly set and more productive
than before.

The common or bull thistle is a biennial and easily
destroyed by cutting and preventing its seeding. My
father thought these thistles worth letting alone because
of their soil-enriching powers. Doubtless their large
tap roots may open the soil, and the rest it gets where
the thistle stands has some effect. Of docks he felt dif-
ferently, and dug them out religiously. He had a story
of a blind man who wished to buy land and was driven
into the field with his old horse. “Just tie’ him to a
dock, will you?” he asked the would-be land seller. If
the man replied, “Aye, I can do that easily enough,” the
sale was all off, but if he replied, “There’s no docks
hereabout but here’s a thistle that will hold him,” the
blind man closed the deal for the land forthwith.

English farmers sow some yarrow in their pastures;
sheep graze it somewhat, though in America it seems to
be practically uneaten and is a somewhat troublesome

MOSSES AND FERNS 331

weed. Digging it out or killing it by salting seems the
remedy. Plantains and weeds in the meadow are eaten
in pastures pretty well. The daisy (Heliopsis hehan-
thoides) is a bad weed in eastern meadows and pastures.
It thrives in soils deficient in lime and fertility, and will
not persist in rich soils well grassed. The remedy there-
fore is to add to fertility and crowd it out, meantime
cutting before it seeds.

Mosses and Ferns.—In northern latitudes on moist
land there is often rank growth of ferns and large-grow-
ing mosses, which so completely occupy the land that
there is no space left for grass. These are most trouble-
some on rather poor land deficient in lime. The remedy
for moss is drainage, lime and enriching. Ferns may be
slowly killed by repeated mowings or they may need
thorough cultivation following deep plowing.

British people are great students of pastures. They
grow large numbers of grasses, clovers and other
plants together, believing that by such means they
get the most good. They may be right for their own
localities, though it would seem that the highest quality
in a few plants would be more useful than more medi-
ocrity. With the view to determining the relative value
of different species of grasses, and of different species
of plants other than grasses upon the permanent pastures
of England, the Royal Agricultural Society appointed a
commission, which, after investigating the subject for
several years, reported that in different pastures the spe-
cies of cultivated grasses ranged from 11 to 100 per
cent, of legumes from zero to 38 per cent and miscel-
laneous plants, so-called weeds, from zero to 8g per cent.

332 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

No correlation whatever was found between the value
‘of the pasture as shown by the beef and mutton pro-
duced, and the botanical character of the herbage. Pas-
tures with widely varying proportions of grasses and
other plants produced equally good results; while pas-
tures with the same percentages of grasses and other
plants gave widely different results, according to Hunt.

In Great Britain it is common to sow such plants as
burnet (a plant of the rose family), chicory, (a deep-
rooting plant that is supposed to benefit soils by its deep
root), yarrow and many others. Of all these we can
only render the Scottish verdict, “Not proven.” To the
writer it would seem that two or three grasses best
adapted to a soil, with as many clovers, will commonly
give better results than more, and, in fact, the seeding
of rare grasses is almost impossible owing to the poor
germination of many of the seeds found on the market.

What Farmers Buy in the Middle West—Men whom
I know have sold grass and clover seeds for several years
and the following figures, showing what is called for,
may prove interesting. They make a specialty of alfalfa
seed and advertise it, so it would be misleading to com-
pare their sales of alfalfa seed with the sale of other
seeds, but excepting that many men buy clover and
timothy seeds of their local seedsmen, the list should
be in line with the demand. In percentages they sold
of red clover, 100; mammoth clover, 32; alsike clover,
36; crimson clover, 32; white clover, 6.4; sweet clover,
8 (the demand rapidly increasing) ; timothy, 88; brome
grass, 16; all the fescues, 16; Kentucky bluegrass, 10.4;
redtop, 6.4; orchard grass, 6.4; Canada bluegrass, 4.8;

GORSE IN PASTURES 333

English ryegrass, 1.6; tall oatgrass, 1.6; Hungarian mil-
let, .32; German millet, .8; hairy vetch, .8; spring vetch,
.24, and alfalfa, 800.

What Might Be Introduced into Pastures—In Nor-
mandy and parts of southwestern England apple trees
are grown in pastures, not so much for the purpose of
feeding the animals as for making cider. Still, I have
often thought that if sweet apples were grown in pas-
tures there would be good profit resulting, and the idea
is worth thought in regions where apples grow easily.
Persimmons grow spontaneously in all the region south
of the 4oth parallel, and their fruit is relished by pigs
and sheep, so in clearing pastures in the South I have
directed that persimmon trees be spared, but thinned
somewhat. Mention has been made of the black locust
tree, the leaves of which seem to enrich poor soils and
make bluegrass come. The best grass on many a hill-
side in Kentucky and the Virginias is in the groves of
locust trees. I am acquainted with no other tree which
has so much helpfulness. Most trees are “poison” to
atmospheric nitrogen; they are giant clovers. I should,
if I lived in a climate as mild as that of Virginia or
Kentucky, introduce the furze or gorse plant, and get
it growing on my poorest hillsides, as it does so freely
on poor hillsides in Europe. Gorse is a leguminous, spiny
shrub, with tender, nourishing young stems in the spring
and during thé growing season. It affords much brows-
ing for cattle and sheep, enriches land somewhat and
beautifies a landscape when blooming in spring. In
Scotland there is a saying that “when the gorse is out
of blossom, then love is out of fashion,” but in Scotland

334 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

they say that the golden gorse blooms every month of
the year! The broom, too, is a legume; is eaten more
or less by sheep, is a lovely shrub, and should be started
in wild, rocky pasture lands in mild climates, as indeed
it is in the Willamette Valley in Oregon and in Bedford
county, Va. One can buy seed of either gorse or broom
of European seedsmen. Gorse is sown as a hedge plant,
on the tops of earthen walls, in Guernsey and Jersey, and
its branches bake the bread of the cottager after they
have served their purpose of keeping the cold wind from
the browsing cows. Gorse needs inoculation, probably, to
succeed in America. There are other things that we
could bring in to special localities with climates suiting,
and in time our pasture flora will no doubt be consider-
ably enriched.

Sir Walter Gilbey’s Idea on Overstocking.—Sir Wal-
ter Gilbey, a careful student in England of the horse,
seems to have found clue to the disappointnient that so
often follows attempts at horse breeding. There will
be seen, for instance, that one or two wonderful horses
have come from certain pastures and then men will un-
dertake to produce there many colts, hoping that they
also will have great excellence. In this they are fre-
quently disappointed. To quote Sir Walter: “TI trust.
that my practical experience as a breeder of most descrip-
tions of stock may be held to excuse me for offering
an opinion on so important a subject as the raising and
feeding of blood stock. Whenever large breeding studs
have been established, I have found, in every instance,
that after a period the animals have failed to maintain
their original standard of excellence. I am convinced

PASTURES INJURED BY HORSES 335

that their deterioration has been due to the overgraz-
ing of the land whereon the dams and young stock were
pastured—overgrazing, or ‘staling,’ of the land reacting
unfavorably on the horses; and that soundness, bone,
muscle and stamina depend very largely on the treatment
of the dams and young animals which, above all things,
need fresh and untainted grazing.”

I should be glad if every horseman would read the
whole of Sir Walter’s thought-arousing little book. Here
are some of the thoughts: In nature horses graze wide
and are ever changing their grazing ground. In order
to be kept in their full health and vigor they still require
to be shifted from pasture to pasture, and their thrift
is immensely increased if they are allowed to run where
no horses ran the preceding year. Mention is made of
customs in Norfolk where one horse and no more is al-
lowed to graze over 6 acres. Keeping mares in re-
stricted pastures, even with good feeding in addition,
commonly results in weak foals or disorders of one sort
or another. That elusive but very real thing called
“quality” is developed on new pastures or on pastures
where but few horses run, and the range is very wide.
After observing that these pastures produced fine animals
men have often stocked them more heavily with greater
numbers of horses and have been amazed to see that they
did not again reproduce animals of like remarkable parts
and qualities. To quote again, “From the time of her
conception she (the mare) should be allowed to run in
fresh, untainted pastures; if in pastures where horses
have not been for the last three years, all the better.
After foaling the same policy should be adopted towards

336 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

the mare and her foal as regards fresh herbage. The
foal from its weaning should be treated in as natural
a manner .as possible; turned out and fed on pastures
where the herbage is succulent, and allowed a free run
at his pleasure. Not more than three yearlings should
be turned out in any one pasture, and the field should
not be of less extent than 15 acres.”

I have seen many instances to prove the soundness of
this position. On a ranch where I once lived in Utah
the mares ranged very wide, having no restrictions.
Though not always well fed they were remarkably
healthy and prolific, and lacked little of dropping 100
per cent of foals and all of them were strong and healthy
at birth. I have seen men make strenuous effort to
produce draft colts when they had very small but good
pastures; they kept the mares well and got them in foal
fairly successfully, but raised very few colts, while neigh-
boring farmers who had wider pastures and fewer horses
had “luck” and raised many colts. There seems some-
thing in the restricted range and the grazing of mares
after one another that lowers vitality in the offspring,
even if it does not noticeably lower it in the mares them-
selves. If one must use small and overstocked pastures
for mares one should at least endeavor to lessen the over-
stocking by keeping the geldings off some of them and
putting the mares when possible in meadows or outlying
grass. I have seen in the West large bands of draft
mares turned in alfalfa meadows with grass pastures
adjacent and they foaled well and the colts throve. Wide
pastures for pregnant mares seems the safe rule. Pas-
ture of some kind seems most essential. Mares confined

‘(Aesuaeny JO PUBIS[) TOACTO UosuTIy ul po1eTy}oOL

TETHERING ON GRASS

337

338 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

to the stable with no access to grass seldom drop strong
foals.

Pasturing by Tethering—In France, the Channel
Islands, Denmark and other countries of Europe it is
common practice to tether cows and horses (the latter
more rarely) in pastures, letting them eat the grass clean
as they advance. Twice daily the tethering stakes are
taken up and moved forward, maybe no more than a
foot and maybe two feet or more, depending on the
length of the tethering chain and the quality of the grass.
The practice is a good one where labor is cheap enough
to give the animals attention and where the climate per-
mits. Water is taken to the cows in some instances; in
other places they are led away to water. This system
insures even pasturing of all the land and the deposition
of the manure where made. I do not think that we are
ready to adopt it yet in America except in places where
dairy cows are kept, pastures are rich and there is labor
enough to give them attention. In Denmark | have seen
ewes tethered behind the cows, eating what they had
left, while their lambs running free went forward and
ate what pleased them. The results were good, as all the
animals throve, though I should suppose that the cows
would ordinarily leave too little to keep the ewes well.

The Hurdling System.—The visitor to rural England .
is amazed to see the wonderful flocks of sheep kept
often on comparatively little land. I have seen 2,500
Hampshire sheep kept on 1,400 acres of fairly good land
in England. Most of these sheep were in hurdles. Brief-
ly, the hurdling system is this: ‘The farmer has panels
of movable fence; in England they are commonly made

THE HURDLING SYSTEM 339

of small round poles and twigs; here they could easily be
made of light wood which should be creosoted. He
encloses an acre, more or less, of good forage which
may be of pasture grass, vetches, rape or a mixture of
forage crop. In this enclosure sheep are penned until
they have eaten the land nearly bare. It is comman prac-
tice to enclose enough so that it is eaten off daily, so
that each evening the flock is given fresh pasturage. If
there are lambs, two enclosures are made, and through
creeps the lambs are allowed to “go forward” into the
enclosure farthest into to the field, the ewes remaining
behind but being turned the next day where the lambs
had been, while the lambs again go forward to fresh
grazing. There is no better manner than this of feeding
off stuff, if one has time to attend the sheep and move
the hurdles. In America there is often some need of
shade, also, which can often be best afforded by letting
the flock come at 10 o’clock to the cool barn sheds, which
should be airy and clean. At 3 they would go again to
their hurdles. Temporary shelters from the sun are
also used in America; even tents have been in use, but
they are troublesome and subject to windstorms. In a
system of feeding off crops by hurdling there is little
waste, small danger of the animals becoming parasitic,
and thus the greatest bloom and health are seen in the
flock. It is a system practiced by some well-known ram
breeders in the United States, and with the best results.
After the land has been eaten over it is common in
England to plow it and sow to Swede turnips, crimson
clover, winter vetches or some other quick-growing crop
for later use.

340 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Sheep on Permanent Pastures——Sheep in the West
have few diseases apart from starvation and predatory
animals. In eastern pastures they find enemies far more
deadly and insidious, the internal parasites. He who
conquers the parasite has nothing else to fear in sheep-
farming; the other problems are simple and easy. The
history of the stomach worm, the parasite creating the
worst ravages in American flocks, is briefly this: It is a
small worm about 34” long inhabiting the fourth stomach
of the sheep or lamb. It causes anemia or bloodlessness,
disordered digestion, scours, constipation and in lambs
death and in old sheep emaciation. The worms live from
year to year in the bodies of the old ewes; their eggs
are deposited on the ground, hatch and the small worms
develop and crawl up a little way on the green grass.
Lambs eating them become afflicted and a whole train
of terrible consequences ensues. :

Stomach worms have done more to deprive eastern
pastures of sheep than all other causes combined. There
are certain things that will decrease their work. Re-
membering that ewes carry over the germs, one can con-
fine ewes and lambs to the dry lot and barn until the
lambs are old enough to wean. If the ewes are bred
for early lambing the lambs will be old enough to wean
by the time grass is sweet and strong. The lambs may
then be taken to fresh pasture with no old sheep mixed
with them. If the pasture had in it no sheep at all for
12 months or more all the better. Thus treated lambs —
will commonly be clean and thrifty. There is little dan-
ger of infestation in dry lots, though one should early
treat scouring ewes with worm-eradicating medicine. One

TOBACCO FOR SHEEP ON GRASS . 341

and a half ounces or more of coaltar dip diluted with 6
ounces of water and administered to a ewe is said
effectually to rid her of stomach worms. Scouring ewes
may infect through soiling of the teats. Some shepherds
practice separating the ewes and lambs each day, put-
ting them together in the yard at night and the ewes in
one field and the lambs in another. This has given clean
and thrifty lambs.

Sown Pastures for Sheep—The most practical thing
perhaps is to use only sown pastures for sheep. There
seems little danger of infestation when ewes and lambs
graze rape or red clover or oats or vetches. The reason
for this immunity 1s probably that the animals do not
graze so close to the ground as when on bluegrass or
other permanent grasses, so do not so readily take in the
worms or germs. Even here there is fear lest the sheep
have access to small plots of old grass, maybe along
fences or in yards to which they are given access and
which though small in extent may infect all the grazing
animals. When one is turning to fresh and clean pas-
ture one must strictly avoid letting animals have access
to old and infected spots.

Feeding Tobacco to Sheep on Pasture.—Tobacco feed-
ing has come into favor and seems to have much merit.
Tobacco will not always eradicate worms in a sheep,
but it will often serve to prevent their lodgement. One
can use stems or “trash” or any waste tobacco. There
is no fear of their eating too much; they should be given
all that they will take. I have found that to dip the to-
bacco in not very strong salt water, taking out at once
and putting it in boxes where the sheep can have access to

342 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

it and feeding no other salt, is an effectual way of get-
ting them to eat a good deal of tobacco. Some will
naturally eat more than others. | have testimony from
many men that this treatment has been most helpful.
Where tobacco dust is fed, one may sprinkle it lightlty
with salt to encourage sheep to eat a good deal of it.
Management Insuring Healthy Flocks——Two men in
America fought stomach worms all through the disastrous
years of the go’s, when little was known to help; they
found light, they conquered the pests in a measure, and
kept on keeping sheep and studying flock management.
Finally each made a journey to England and studied the
conditions there with a view to solving the problem for
America. There they found hurdling the best answer
to the question. Independently of each other they reached
the same conclusions as to the practical solution of the
question in America. Dr. H. B. Arbuckle of West Vir-
ginia and the writer were the two men. But they wish
to give all due credit to the Department of Zoology of
the Bureau of Animal Industry at Washington for at
least giving accurate details of the history of the Haemon-
chus contortus (formerly called Strongylus contortus),
for without the details that we now have no certain plan
could have been formulated. The basis of this plan 1s
the fact that lambs are born free from parasitic infection;
they are healthy. It is only necessary to keep them
healthy by preventing infection. Their mothers carry
over in their bodies the germs that will infect them in
the form of mature stomach worms, which when ripe
pass away in the droppings and thus infest the pasture.
When the temperature is below 40° F. the eggs will not

SHEPHERDING AND PASTURING 343

hatch. When it is above that they will hatch out in a
few hours or in a week or so, depending upon how warm
it is. Freezing or drying soon kills the unhatched eggs.
So it is seen that ewes will not pollute a field in winter,
their droppings are sure to be soon frozen, at least in
the region where sheep are mostly kept. But if the tiny
worm hatches from the egg it feeds for a time upon the
material of the manure and continues to grow till it is
about one-thirtieth of an inch long. Then it creeps up
on a blade of grass and waits to be swallowed by some
lamb, after that it finishes its growth within the fourth
stomach of the lamb, and, incidentally, finishes the lamb
as well. The ewe flock should be treated for stomach
worms. ‘This is best done in the fall, when they come
from pasture. It may be again done in the spring before
their lambs come. The use of some of the coaltar dips,
in small doses, much diluted, will eventually be recog-
nized as most efficient. This treatment alone has doubled
the weight of lambs in some experiments in Kentucky.
Next, the flock should at the approach of spring weather
be confined to the yard and shed. There are two reasons
for this: it is better for the grass, and thus in the long
run better for the flock, and there is no contamination of
land over which the lambs will later feed. If it were
possible wholly to eradicate the worms from the ewes
by treatment this care would not be needed, but unfortu-
nately it seems almost impossible with our present knowl-
edge to kill all of the worms by any medication. While
confined to the yard the lambs will probably be born. It
is essential that the flock be well fed at this time, so that
the ewes will be full of milk. If desired they may be

344 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

provided a run to a rye-fneld, or to some grass pasture
that will not be afterwards used that summer, to help
stimulate the milk flow. By May 15 probably the grass
will be so forward that the flock may be turned out for
good. Now begins the new management.

Instead of turning the flock to a large pasture to
roam over it at will turn them on a very small part of
it. How best to manage this will depend on circum-
stances. I think that in our land of small supply of
labor and much hurry and turmoil during the summer
season it is safest to divide the pastures by permanent
wire fences. These are not costly, and need not be very
high. We will, then, turn the whole flock together into
the first division; none shall be scattered about. Of
course there may be two flocks, one with lambs and a
dry flock, but the dry flock had better be put apart
somewhere or else put with the ewes. It will not do to
let anything interfere with the regular rotation of these
pastures. Now once in this pasture the flock will be al-
lowed to eat it down close to the ground. That will not
hurt the grass, for all will go in a short time and the
erass may spring up again. This is how pastures are
often managed in England by hurdles.

Dr. Ransom says that sheep may probably be safely
left on May pasture for two weeks. We will shorten
this time to 10 days, to make sure. That is, the germs
falling to the earth could not before 10 days find their
way back into any sheep or lamb, and we are going to
move the flock on before they are able to get in. Now
in the division between this pasture and the next we will
place creeps so fixed that the lambs can readily pass

SHEEP PARASITES IN GRASS 345

through to the next enclosure. This they will early learn
to do, and so they will be eating the fresher parts of the
herbage in advance of the ewes. In Io days then the
whole flock will go forward one pasture, the lambs yet
having access to the fresher feeding on ahead. Doctor
Ransom says we shall need for this sure treatment the
following divisions: For May, 2 pastures; for June, 4
pastures; for July, 4 pastures; for August, 4 pastures; for
September, 3 pastures; for October, 2 pastures. That
makes 19 enclosures in all and insures that the flock shall
be kept in absolute freedom from infections throughout
the year. However, one will not absolutely need so many
enclosures as that. By June many of the lambs will be
ripe, by July many of the others, and even when the lambs
are born late, when managed in this way they should all be
ripe as peaches by the middle of August. After the lambs
are gone the ewes can be managed a little less carefully,
especially if they are in strong condition, though there is
a comfort in knowing that every stomach worm germ
that falls to the earth must die from lack of a host.
To make this thing doubly successful put flat-bot-
tomed troughs in the pastures ahead, where the lambs
run, and put feed in them; any sort of grain, corn, oats,
barley, bran, coarse-ground or broken cake or oilmeal.
Thus the lambs will grow like weeds and pay many
times over for their grain. Thus more sheep may be
carried on the same ground than would be possible under
ordinary treatment. There is scarcely any limit to the
number of sheep that can be safely kept on an eastern
farm under this system of management. The limit is,
of course, the size of the farm and the amount of grass.

346 MEADOWS AND. PASTURES

Even this can be greatly helped by soiling. Racks may
with great profit be placed in the fields and the ewes fed
with green crops, fresh mown oats, peas, clover or alfalfa.
Thus twice as many ewes may be kept as the grass alone
will support. I suggest that about 400 ewes would keep
one man nicely busy in caring for them and their lambs,
hauling water to them, soiling somewhat, and feeding
the lambs. I would not hesitate to undertake the man-
agement of 400 ewes on one farm in any part of the
cornbelt, the regions most infested with stomach worms.
There is no business more sure of profit than this. Lambs
sell remarkably well and the prospect is that as the west-
ern ranges are diminished they will sell better, for the
ravages of the stomach worm deter eastern farmers from
going into the business. The two serious obstacles to be
overcome are: first, the question of water and next,
the question of shade. Water is readily hauled in mount-
ed tanks as it is usually in England. Shade is not abso-
lutely essential. I have seen very fat sheep in the San
Joaquin Valley of California confined to the alfalfa mea-
dows and with no shade whatever. Probably a system
of canvas sheds, long and narrow, would not be very
expensive nor too troublesome for one man to move
and set up unaided. Any sort of grass will serve. Ken-
tucky bluegrass is to be preferred, perhaps brome grass
is better, clovers may be utilized and oats sown to be
grazed off, with peas.

I do not hesitate to say that I look forward to seeing
many sheep farms established in the cornbelt, each carry-.
ing from 200 to 500 ewes and managed nearly under this
system. I feel confident that no other branch of hus-.

NODULAR DISEASE IN SHEEP 347

bandry holds forth better prospects. It should be borne

-in mind that the earlier the lambs are born the sooner
they will be gone to market, and thus the fewer pastures
will be needed. Also the market is usually best in June
and July, after a flood of fed lambs has passed and be-
fore the new crop from the ranges has started to come.
Besides the stomach worm there is the worm that makes
the nodular disease of the intestines. Any observant
man who has dissected a mature sheep has often noticed
on the small intestines little nodules or “knots.” These
are really small tumors, filled with a greenish, cheesy
substance. They do not do much harm when they are
few in number but the trouble is a cumulative one and
the numbers of the nodules increase until after a time
digestion and absorption are much interfered with. Some-
times parts of the intestines become calcified; that is, so
impregnated with lime salts that they are almost like
stone. Death ensues in a longer or shorter time from
the nodular disease. It does not work quickly as does
the disease caused by the stomach worm. The worm
causing these tumors is called cesophagostoma columbi-
anum.

Nodular disease is difficult to cure, if indeed it is pos-
sible to cure it at all after it is established. Prevention
is about all that one can do. Dr. W. H. Dalrymple of
the Louisiana station has shown, however, that it is read-
ily communicable from affected ewes to their lambs
through the medium of the pasture. He has also demon-
strated that where diseased ewes are kept confined to the
barn and their lambs allowed to run on clean pasture
not contaminated by the presence of any old sheep, the

348 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

lambs remain healthy and thus a new healthy stock can
be had even from a diseased flock. None of these dis-
eases originates spontaneously. There are no other
known hosts of these diseases than sheep, goats and per-
haps deer, so it is merely a question of starting with the
lambs, born free of all parasites, and keeping them in
health by putting them on fresh and uninfected pasture.
This insures freedom from these devitalizing pests.

Feeding Sheep and Lambs on Pasture.—Vhere is often
good profit in feeding western lambs or natives on grass
in the spring, summer or fall. At this art some men
succeed admirably; others fail lamentably. The keynote
of success is to put the troughs in a small yard which
may be moved from time to time as the land gets foul.
When grain is put in the troughs the sheep must be ex-
cluded; afterward all must be brought in. It will not
do to depend on their intelligence or memory; pigs can
be called to feed and will all come, but this is not so as
to sheep or lambs, as a rule. The shepherd must see
that every one comes to its feed and that none goes
away until the feed is all consumed. Sheep are imitative
animals and if one leaves its feed others may follow, let-_
ting those that remain have a chance to overeat.

Feeding Sucking Lambs on Pasture.—I have found
ereat profit from feeding young lambs corn on the grass
in April, May and June, as one would feed pigs. I would
fence a place so that the ewes could not get in or else
give the lambs access through creeps to a pasture from
which the ewes were excluded and feed them ear corn,
simply throwing it down on clean grass and letting them
shell it as pigs shell corn. This mingling of succulent

ALFALFA AND SHEEP 349

green grass, mothers’ milk and good sound corn produces
very rapid gains.

Alfalfa Pasture for Sheep.—For many years it was
common practice with us to turn ewes and lambs on
alfalfa pasture. Great profit resulted from this prac-
tice with some little loss. Commonly about 2 per cent
to 4 per cent of the animals turned on alfalfa would
die during the season, though there were years with
less than I per cent of loss. We learned the following
points: The alfalfa should always have grasses mixed
through it. Timothy, brome grass, bluegrass and even
oats or wheat drilled in will serve. When thus mixed it
is not nearly so apt to cause bloat as when fed pure.
The animals should be kept off until the alfalfa has
reached a good growth, almost to the blooming stage.
They should be filled with other feed before being turned
on, and the best time for turning on is at about Io
o'clock in the morning. After they are once filled with
alfalfa they must not be taken off, not even for a half
day, nor at night, nor when it rains. Their safety de-
pends on their never again getting very hungry for al-
falfa, but on their having it always before them and
mixed with grasses that they may eat alternately. The
meadow should never be fully stocked, but the mower
should run over it twice during the season and the sur-
plus alfalfa made into hay. It may be wise not to mow
it all off at one time. The practical disadvantage that
we found was that the ewes thus treated would quite
often become barren, probably from over-fatness, but
the lambs throve wonderfully and remained quite free
from internal parasites.

350 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Feeding Colts on Pasture.—In Kentucky, in the best
of bluegrass pastures, men growing Thoroughbred colts
commonly feed them oats while suckling their dams.
This is accomplished by putting railed enclosures about
large troughs; the rails are low enough to exclude the
mares and high enough to allow the foals to go to their
feed. Thus pushed the colts grow splendidly and reach
probably the maximum development of which they are
capable. In France I have observed that very often
draft colts are given the best of pastures and liberal
feeding of oats or oats and bran besides. This is good
for the colts and good for the pastures as well.

Pasturing Caitle.—It is wise to keep cattle off grass
until it has become sweet and good. This is best for
the pasture and best for the cattle. When at last they go
to grass much can be done to aid them in making good
gains. One of the easiest and most useful of practices
is to place large portable racks in the pasture and place |
in them green forage, alfalfa, clover, or whatever may
be most convenient. The cattle will consume a great
deal of this without neglecting their grazing. Cattle
are too indolent to fill by grazing as full as they should
be, this especially in warm climates. By means of this —
half-soiling system the pasture is rapidly enriched and
made to support many more animals than it otherwise
would. Cattle will also eat a great deal of dry hay
or even bright wheatstraw or oatstraw when on clover
pasture, and stacks may be thus devoured with much
profit right in the pastures. There is great profit in
feeding green corn, stalks, blades and ears, to cattle in
the fall. Throw it on grass or feed it in racks. If fed ,

SALTING STOCK ON GRASS 351

judiciously on good pasture the gains are probably more
rapid than under any other system. When cold weather
comes on if the cattle have been well chosen they are
ready to go to market. There is profit to animals and
to grass in feeding linseed or cottonseed meal or cake on
grass. The manure from meal or cake fed animals is
richer than when they are fed corn and the grass re-
sponds well. It is more profitable commonly to feed corn
with the meals.

Giving Salt on Pasture-—Ordinarily it is unwise to
limit animals in their consumption of salt. After they
have become accustomed to salt by having been “salted’’
for several days in succession one may as well fill a
strong box in some place where rain will not leach it
away with coarse cheap salt, one sort being about as
good as another. When barrel salt is cheapest one may
as well roll a barrel into one’s shed and cutting a liberal
good-sized hole in its side allow the animals to go to it
at will. If there is danger of bloating from too much
succulent alfalfa or red clover in pasture, slaked lime add-
ed to the salt is said to lessen the trouble. Pure bone-
meal (it is made especially for feeding animals) should
be mixed with salt wherever there is lime-deficiency in
the soil. Put in several pounds of bonemeal to one pound
of salt.

Making Export Steers on Grass.—There are parts of
the Virginias and some other states devoted largely to
making steers for English markets to which they are
sent alive. It requires for making export steers good
grass, good water and suitable climate. It is notable
that mountain pastures though somewhat less luxuriant

552 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

make more fat than do lush pastures in the cornbelt.
Once the cattle making export steers were all raised
from Short-horn cows kept in the neighborhood or in
nearby counties. Now they are many of them brought
from western ranches, especially from the Panhandle
region in Texas. The cattle go to grass when yearlings
and are fed during their first winter on cornstalks with
a few small ears of corn. Some graziers feed consider-
able corn as grass starts green in spring, though it is not
a common practice since not much corn is grown in that
region. During the season they are given as good pas-
turage as possible, care being taken not to crowd or over-
stock them. They are fat in September, October and No-
vember and are sent direct to the seaports and thence
to England. The cattle are not when sold as fat as
cornfed cattle, but are such as command good prices
on the markets of Great Britain. After the export steers
have gone to market there is often left much grass that
is taken by youngsters following them. There is often
very good profit in making export steers. Sometimes
more than $10 per acre is received for the grass that
they have eaten. Only the bluegrasses have been found
suitable for making export steers.

LETTERS FROM EXPERIMENT STATIONS.

Before writing this book I addressed letters to the
directors of all experiment stations in America, and to
those of several foreign lands, asking for information as
to what grasses, clovers and other plants were in suc-
cessful use in their respective states, and asking them to
mention the few that seemed in highest regard. The

a

GRASSES IN ALABAMA 303

following replies seem to have so much interest and
merit that they well deserve space herein, and I only
regret that it has been found necessary in some instances
to abbreviate them.

ALABAMA.—Prof. J. F. Duggar, Director of the Alabama Experi-
ment Station of Auburn:

Bermuda Grass.—This is more generally used than any other
grass as summer pasturage throughout the cottonbelt. On the
whole it is the most valauble pasturage plant of the South. It can
be propagated with greatest certainty by the use of rootstocks
dropped in checks 2 x 3 feet and at any time from February to
June. It can also be propagated by seed, but the germination of the
seed is sometimes poor and there is also danger of the stand being
poor by reason of rain and baking sun soon after the date of plant-
ing. There may well be combined with Bermuda, lespedeza for sum-
mer pasturage, and bur clover for winter pasturage.

Carpet Grass—Carpet grass is probably next to Bermuda in
value as a summer pasturage grass for the region to which it is
adapted, namely, the southern half of the cottonbelt. It is most
useful on low or damp sandy areas and is especially resistent to
an acid or water-logged condition of the soil. It is of slight
value on the dry hills. It is superior to Bermuda on the low-
lands, to which it is adapted, its superiority consisting in remain-
ing green later in the fall or winter and the greater ease with
which, when desired, it can be eradicated. Propagation is most
certain by means of portions of the old plants. This plant seeds
poorly but is sometimes spread by cutting the seed stems for hay
and spreading this over the land to be seeded.

Orchard Grass—This is of limited suitability and is only avail-
able for soils naturally fertile and well-drained or else soils that
have been improved by rotation of crops and good farming. It is
of more value in the Northern than in the Southern half of the
cottonbelt, but even in that region it is not of universal adapta-
bility. Its chief value of course is for pasturage, for which pur-
pose it may well be combined with lespedeza or with other
clovers and grasses.

Red Top Grass—This is suited to the moist lowlands through-
out the greater part of the cottonbelt when the purpose is pas-

354 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

turage. The best time for sowing is the latter part of September
or early part of October. It is not unfavorably affected by acidity
of the soil.

Cowpeas——The cowpea must be ranked as the legume of first
importance in the South. Its chief value is as a hay plant and a
soil-improving crop. It is also valuable for the production of
seed and for pasturage. The pasturage season is very short and
as a rule the crop is used for pasturage only incidentally, for
example, when live stock is turned into a cornfield where cow-
peas have grown as a catch-crop between the corn rows.

Lespedeza.—This is adapted to almost every grade of soil and
to the entire range of climate throughout the cottonbelt. It is
useful almost exclusively for pasturage, although on very rich
land in seasons of abundant rainfall it grows tall enough to be
mowed, when it makes a grade of hay equal to alfalfa. This is
an annual, which, however, reseeds freely, even when closely
grazed. When first introduced into a field the seed should be sown
on prepared land in February or March, either among the grow-,
ing oats or alone, using about one bushel per acre of the seed
still in the hull. Lespedeza should form a part of practically all
pasture mixtures for the South.

Bur Clover—This is a winter-growing annual legume which
reseeds itself, provided it be lightly grazed, or not grazed at
all, during the period of seed formation in April and May. The
seed of the southern variety is obtainable only in the bur; that is,
uncleaned. In this condition it requires no inoculation on any
soil, but requires very early sowing, preferably in August, so
as to give time for the rotting of the burs. Seed of the California
variety may be obtained either in the bur or in the threshed con-
dition, both kinds of California clover seed apparently requiring
inoculation on most southern soils. Here again the burs need to be
sown early, but the threshed seed may be sown a month later, or.
in September. Inoculating soil for bur clover is obtained from
an old field of bur clover or of alfalfa.

Hairy Vetch—tThis annual winter-growing legume is useful either
for hay or pasturage, and also for soil-improvement. It is best
grown in combination with either oats or wheat, the mixture be-
ing cut for hay. The seed may be’ sown throughout September
and October in most parts of the cottonbelt and the hay cut in
May. Sow about one-half bushel of vetch seed with the usual

GRASSES IN ARKANSAS 355

amount of oats or wheat. On most soils in the South vetch needs
to be inoculated. For this purpose one may use soil from a
spot in the garden where English peas have grown or from a
field of any kind of vetch.

Crimson Clover.—Crimson clover is a winter-growing annual, the
seed of which at the rate of 15 to 20 pounds per acre should be
sown in September and thoroughly inoculated with soil from a
field where either crimson, red, white or Carolina clover has
grown and produced abundant tubercles the year before. The
seed may be sown broadcast among the growing cotton plants
and lightly covered, or, when hay-making is the end in view, the
seed may be sown on well-prepared land. This plant should be
cut early for hay to avoid the danger sometimes reported from
the use of over-ripe hay. This danger consists in the formation
of balls in the stomach of horses from the matted hair that de-
velops around the ripening seed. The pasture season of crimson
clover is comparatively short. Its greatest value is for soil-im-
provement.

Soybeans.—This plant is rapidly growing into importance in
the South, but has not yet played a prominent part in southern
agriculture. Probably the best use is as a crop to be hogged off
while the pods are forming and after seed formation is com-
pleted. It also makes a nutritious, though rather coarse hay. The
plant is of about as great value as the cowpea for soil-improve-
ment, though apparently requiring somewhat better land. It is
adapted to a wide range of soils and of climate. The foregoing
are arranged in order of importance as I conceive their rank.

ARKANSAS.—Prof. Martin Nelson, Agronomist of the Arkansas
Experiment Station, Fayetteville, Ark.: In naming the grasses that
are most suited to Arkansas, I may say, first, as our best yielder
for hay purposes and for pasture as well, I will name Johnson
grass. I am aware that people of the South are afraid of this
grass, but not all, fortunately, are timid. Johnson grass belongs
to the Sorghum family. It spreads and perpetuates itself not only
by seed but by a jointed rootstalk. This grass puts forth a vig-
orous growth, stands drouth well and can be cut for hay several
times during the season. The yield is heavy. The same charac-
teristics that make it suitable for meadow make it suitable for pas-
ture also. The other grass especially adapted to this state is Ber-

356 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

muda grass. It grows thickly and makes a very excellent turf,
tends to bind loose soil with a close turf as well as the heavier
soils. It is the favorite grass for lawns and parks. It also per-
petuates itself by seeding and by the underground system of root-
stalk. Its character of growth above the ground is that of many
fine-stems and it does not as a rule grow very high, seldom reach-
ing more than 18” or 20” even on the best of land. It does not
start growing early nor grow very late because it is a hot-weather
grass. To sow for pasture or meadow purposes, but particularly
for pasture, it is necessary to seed other grasses or clovers with
it in combination. We have no other grass that will stand as
much drouth as the Bermuda. It is dreaded by many of our farm-
ers. Foundation for this fear is largely imaginary. We must ad-
mit, however, that it cannot be eradicated by wishing it to be gone.

Other grasses that are pretty well adapted to this state I will name
in this order: Orchard grass, tall meadow oatgrass, meadow fescue
and redtop and timothy. Clovers have not been given much of a
trial in this state. The clover, however, that has demonstrated that
it is a good one here is Japanese clover, which comes on of its
6wn accord, both on lowland and upland. Being a small clover it
is to be recommended for pasture rather than for meadow, but in
the bottom lands it makes very excellent hay in combination with
other natural grasses. Another clover, commonly termed yellow
clover (Medicago lupulina), is also coming in of its own accord
and demonstrating that it is adapted to our conditions. White
clover is also spreading of its own accord over the entire state. I
look on these three clovers as the most promising and would recom-
mend that white clover and Japanese clover be sown in combin-
ation with Bermuda grass for permanent pasture and with John-
son grass also. The white clover will produce earlier pasture and
late pasture while the Japanese and Bermuda will hold out during
the hot weather season. Crimson and burr clovers thrive under
ideal conditions and seem to be well adapted to our climatic con-
ditions, though they are both annuals, and for that reason do not
persist as we should like to have them do, nor are they first-class
hay plants. Alsike and red clover grow with fair success, but as
yet we are in the experimental stage with most of the clovers,
and find that while they give first-class results in one locality they
may fail elsewhere. While alsike or red clover will thrive on the
poorest soil, alsike is especially adapted to fairly fertile, low-lying

GRASSES IN DELAWARE 557,

soil that is not too wet. Red clover thrives best on the richer soil,
although occasionally is found doing excellently on wetter soil.

DELAWARE.—Part of Bulletin 81: The object of an investigation
was to determine what combinations and quantities of commercial
fertilizers could be most profitably applied to meadow lands. The
experiment was planned by Director Harry Hayward. In the spring
of 1907 a field which had been in wheat during 1906 and sown to
grass, was divided into 18 one-acre plats. The stand of timothy
was not heavy, but uniform, since it had been sown with a wheat
drill. The fertilizers were applied with a distributor from April
26 to May 2. The season was favorable, and the grass made a
good growth. Harvesting began July 5. Each plat was cut and
weighed separately. The following table shows the treatments, the
increase due to treatment, cost of fertilizers, and the profit or loss
from each plat. Plats 4 and 12 remained as checks—nothing was
applied. It will be noted from the table that Plats 1, 2 and 3 re-
ceived the same treatment, except in the amount of sodium nitrate
applied. That is, Plat 2 received twice the quantity of Plat 1, and
Plat 3 twice the quantity of Plat 2. The applications of sodium
nitrate were thus in the ratio of 1, 2 and 4, while the gain from
the treatments is in the ratio of about 1,2 and 3. The heavier appli-
cations—320 pounds of nitrate—did not produce a proportional in-
crease. From these comparisons we are led to the belief that a
considerable quantity of nitrogen may be applied with profit. On
Plats 2 and 3 the net profit due to treatment was $8.52 and $12.63
respectively, or more than 100 per cent. On Plats 5, 6, 7 and 8
the treatments are the same in kind and quantity, except that the
quantity of acid phosphate is double on each successive plat. In
other words, acid phosphate was applied in the ratio of 1, 2, 4 and
8. The yields of these plats do not show a corresponding ratio.
The fact is, Plat 5, which had 80 pounds of acid phosphate, pro-
duced more hay than Plat 7, which had 320 pounds, or even Plat
8, which carried 640 pounds. From this it appears that the quantity
of acid phosphate applied had but little effect on the yield. A
profit was made on each of the plats except number 8, where the
treatment cost $1.68 more than the increased yield was worth.
Similarly, the quantity of potash seems to have had but little effect
towards increasing the yield. Comparing Plats 10 and 11 as to
treatment, the only difference is in the quantity of potash applied,
which is four times as much on one plat as the other. Yet the

358 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

yields of the two plats show the opposite relation, the one with the
lighter treatment producing the heavier yield. A comparison of
the yields on Plats 3 and 9 shows that the lack of potash in the
treatment has not seriously affected the yield. Plat 3 with 80 pounds
of potash gave an increase of 4,890 pounds, while Plat 9 without
potash gave 4,170 pounds. Plat 9, however, received but 240
pounds nitrate, which probably accounts for its somewhat lower
yield. While no test was made with sodium nitrate alone, or either
acid phosphate or potash singly, yet from the foregoing it seems
quite likely that nitrogen is the only element which can be applied
in quantity with profit on this particular soil. Details are given in
the table on the opposite page.

Frorina.—Prof. John M. Scott, Assistant Director of the Florida
Experiment Station, Gainesville: In Florida we may if we wish
have an abundance of forage crops. Many different legumes and
grasses can be grown for hay, for pasture, or for soiling. How-
ever, out of the numerous varieties, only a certain number are of
especial value for pasturing live stock.

GRASSES.

Wiregrass—In the pine forests, the native wiregrass grows to
the exclusion of other kinds. After the pine trees have been re-
moved by the lumbermen it is only a question of a few years until
most of the wiregrass disappears, to be replaced by more nutritious
grasses, such as the paspalums.

Para-grass—This may be called a roe -purpose grass, as it either
furnishes good pasture for nine to 10 months in the year or it
may be pastured only in the winter from February to May. If the
para-grass sod be plowed during the latter part of May, a better
hay crop will be secured. If used solely for pasturage it will per-
haps be found advisable to plow only in December or January.
The plowing of the sod gives the grass new life and vigor for the
coming year’s growth, and also protects it from frosts. In some
respects para-grass resembles Bermuda grass, especially in its habit
of growth. When growth begins in the spring, runners 10’ to 30’
in length are sent out in all directions, rooting from the nodes.
When the ground is fairly covered with runners, upright shoots
are sent up from each node, from 12” to 3’ or 4’ in height. The
yield of hay per acre is from 1 to 4 tons.

359

i) oo -l] om On ~ CO bo cy “ON 181d

EFFECT OF TOP-DRESSING
Rann 2 PE S

—
oo

TOP-DRESSING MEADOW LAND. (Note: Financial returns based on the value of hay at $10 per ton.)
; Yield and Profit.

Nitrate Acid
soda. |phosphate.
80 320
160 320
320 320
160 80
160 160
160 320
160 640
240 320
160 320
160 320
160 Rep sear
160 See rails
160 100

Treatment.

Muriate of
potash.

80
80
80
80
80
80

eee eee

eee eae

see ewe

wee ee ee

see ene

Tankage.

Cost of
treatment.

$5.31
7.48
11.82

Yield,
pounds

3,250

4,930
6,620
1,730
4,120
3,310
3,920
3,210
6,330
6,240
4,980
2,160
3,560
4,190
2,960
3,560
2,050
3,130

Gain due to
treatment,
pounds.
1,520
3,200

4,890

1,400
—110
970

Value of|Profit or

increase.

$7.60
16.00
24.45
11.95

8.90
10.45

7.40
20.35
20.40
14,10

se eee

see ewww eae

7.00
10.15
4.00
7.00
—.55
4.85

loss.

$2.29
8.52
12.63

360 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Japanese sugar-cane.——This is of course really a large grass, and
for heavy yield of green forage containing large amounts of carbo-
hydrates there is perhaps no crop that surpasses it. A yield of
25 to 30 tons per acre is not unusual. This is perhaps three times
the yield that one is able to secure from either corn or sorghum.
Japanese sugar-cane is a perennial. It does not produce its maxi-
mum yield until about the third or fourth year after planting. One
planting, with proper attention, will give satisfactory yields for 20
years or more. This in itself gives a considerable advantage over
annual forage crops. Japanese sugar-cane may be used as pasture,
as soiling crop, for silage or as dry forage (hay). It will give
the best result as pasture from about Nov. 15 to Feb. 15. However,
it will not stand pasturing in the spring after the young growth
has started. For soiling it will give better results if not cut until
the crop is fairly well matured. However, it can be fed at any
time between July and January. The largest quantity of silage or
dry forage will be obtained by harvesting during November or
early in December. These dates refer to north-central Florida.
When used as a dry forage the best results will be obtained if the
forage be run through a feed-cutter just before feeding. Pre-
pared and fed in this way there will be a minimum of refuse and
waste. When properly handled, hay made from Japanese sugar-
cane may be kept for six months, and still be relished by horses,
cattle and hogs.

Bermuda Grass.—This is a good summer pasture, is relished by
all kinds of stock and is nutritious. From its method of growth
Bermuda grass does not make a desirable hay crop except on good
rich soil or where it is heavily fertilized. Bermuda will be found
to be a satisfactory pasture grass on all classes of soil. However,
the sod should receive a liberal amount of fertilizer. Two or three
light applications of fertilizer during the year will produce better
results than one heavy application. It will be found advisable to go
over Bermuda grass with either a disk or spike-tooth harrow each
time the fertilizer is applied. This harrowing seems to put new
life into the grass, and results in an increased growth of nutritious
blades.

LEGUMES.

Velvet beans.—Perhaps the velvet bean is the best legume for
Florida. It affords without doubt the best winter pasture that can

361

LEGUMES IN FLORIDA

A Para Grass Plot in Florida,

MEADOWS. AND PASTURES

Japanese Cane (25 tons per acre) in Florida,

363

FORAGE CROPS IN FLORIDA

Velvet Beans (22 bushels of she

lied Beans per acre) in Florida.

364 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

be grown here. Though the velvet bean does not furnish a green
pasture at any season of the year, yet it supplies good foraging from
December or January until grass comes in the spring. It is usually
estimated that one acre to one acre and a half of velvet beans will
be enough to fatten one animal. The cost of growing this crop
will be from $5 to $7 per acre. The yield per acre varies accord-
ing to conditions, but 1 ton to 144 tons of beans is not too much
to expect.

Bur clover.—This furnishes good grazing during the winter
months. If one may chance to have a good Bermuda pasture for
summer grazing it will be found advisable to sow bur clover on
the Bermuda sod (say during October), and disk in the seed. By
the middle of December this will have made a good growth and
will give good pasturage until April. If not pastured too close,
bur clover will reseed itself from year to year, and in this way
will make a permanent pasture.

SOME HAY CROPS OF FLORIDA.

Crabgrass.—This is perhaps the most common hay grass in
Florida. It is an annual found abundantly in most cultivated fields.
By some it is considered a noxious weed; but if it were not for
crabgrass, there would be but little home-grown hay put on the
market. Crabgrass requires next to no attention. If the grow-
ing crop be given proper attention in the way of cultivation but
little difficulty will be experienced in keeping crabgrass under con-
trol. After early crops (such as oats, melons, early corn, cabbage
and cucumbers) are harvested it comes up voluntarily, and, as a
rule, enough fertilizer will have been left by the previous crop to
give the crabgrass a good start and prodtice a good crop of hay.
The yield of hay will be from 1% ton to 2 tons per acre, depending
on conditions.

Beggarweed.—Beggarweed, sometimes called Florida clover, is a
valuable hay crop; but it is not grown so extensively as it should
be. It is seldom seen in the fields during the time that the crops
are being cultivated; but like crabgrass it springs up quickly when
cultivation ceases. To make the best quality of hay, beggarweed
should be cut before the stems become hard and woody. After
such crops as oats, melons, cabbage and cucumbers two good crops

365

AGE IN FLORIDA

4

GROWING FOR

Natal

Grass (21%4 tons per acre) in Florida.

366 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

of beggarweed hay can be secured. If the first crop be cut as early
as the first week in August there will be time enough for a second
cutting.

Natal grass (Tricholaena rosea).—This is an annual grass, a
native of South Africa, and is now grown to some extent in a
number of other tropical and sub-tropical countries. Its appear-
ance before flowering somewhat resembles timothy. When in bloom,
however, it is very unlike timothy, and has a purple flower. It has
a straight upright stem with many side leaves. It grows from 2’
to 5’ high. When natal grass first germinates and comes up it is
almost impossible to distinguish it from crabgrass; but after it has
reached a height of 4” or 5” it is readily distinguished. It is easy
to eradicate natal grass by cultivation. For this reason it is seldom
seen as a weed in tilled fields, while the growing crop is being culti-
vated. But when cultivation ceases natal grass seed may come up
and make a good growth, after such crops as Irish potatoes, melons,
oats and other early crops have been harvested. In feeding value
natal grass hay is somewhat richer than timothy hay. The analysis,
as given in the Florida state chemist’s report for 1907 is as follows:

Per cent.
MOIStUrG Asset etoivehige ee eC ne Oe oetetels Egil cnne ae ae 9.75
PU Gi Fee Nase SOE Oa te eee OR anc Ee eet 36.75
Dh 0 WL AST Ra rN SIR cit Rome par Ucar eee Ch a are 5.02
Proteins it eis Mose Rat nah ee Lino ee eRe eae 7.45
Nitrogen-free extract... 2.0.0.0 ccc ce et ee eee eee 39.23
Bther extra etesy wroiiic natbdlngie tree aeeie ee tien ee ere ee 1.80

The yield of hay from this crop is satisfactory, being from ™%
to 4 tons per acre for the season. Two good hay crops can gen-
erally be obtained during the year, and under very favorable con-
ditions 3 may be had.

Greorcia.—Director Martin V. Galvin of the Georgia Experiment
Station, Experiment, Ga.: J regret I can not find among the bulle-
tins of this station any that touch the’subject of meadows and
pastures. It is a very interesting and important subject, but, as
you know, our people—very many of them ex necesitate rei—have
been giving so much attention to cotton production that they have
lost sight of live stock. Out of office hours, I am, and have been,
trying to get a good word to the people through the secular press
in the interest of more and better stock, and improved, labor-saving,

GRASSES IN ILLINOIS - 367

farm implements. With more live stock will come the demand for
pastures and meadows.

Ittino1s.—Prof. O. D. Center of the Illinois College of Agricul-
ture, Urbana, Ill.: While the list of available grasses is long,
there are a few that are always serviceable, and are of greatest
value. These in the order of their importance for pasture grasses
in Illinois are: Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratense), redtop (Agros-
tis vulgaris), timothy (Phleum pratense), orchard grass (Dactylis
glomerata), perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and meadow fox-
tail (Alopecurus pratensis). This. list includes only the true
grasses that are of unquestioned value. It is also common to in-
clude in this list the clovers, medium red, alsike, and white, as
well as alfalfa, which last mentioned certainly comes more truly
under.the head of meadow plants than those for pasture. We
have such a diversity of soil types in Illinois that no one mixture
will do for all locations. Classifying the soils as good land well
drained, land of ordinary fertility poorly drained and poor soils,
dry, gravelly and broken, we present the following mixtures for
permanent pasture:

Good land well drained,

4 pounds Kentucky bluegrass | —Poa pratense

2 pounds Redtop = Agrostis vulgaris

2 pounds Orchard grass = Dactylis glomerata

3 pounds Timothy — Phleum pratense

1 pound Meadow foxtail —Alopercurus pratensis
1 pound Perennial ryegrass —Lolium perenne.

2 pounds Alsike or white clover
or a mixture of both.

This variety of grasses and the amounts of each give a total
of 15 pounds of seed per acre which will, taking the number of
seeds per pound of the different sorts and the average per cent
of viability into consideration, supply nearly. 21,000,000 fertile seed
per acre; this means that there are at least 450 seeds per square
foot of surface. While we realize that it is often advised to sow
twice as much seed per acre as here suggested, we contend that
this seeding is sufficiently thick if sown on a properly prepared

368 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

seedbed. For permanent pasture on poorly drained land the follow-
ing mixture is recommended:

5 pounds Kentucky Bluegrass —Poe pratense

2 pounds Redtop —Agrostis vulgaris

1 pound Orchard grass =Dactylis glomerata
3 pounds Timothy =Phleum. pratense
1% pounds Meadow fescue —(Festuca pratensis)
2% pounds Alsike clover =Trifolium hybridum

Here again we have 15 pounds per acre of a seed mixture fur-
nishing over 22,000,000 seeds—certainly a sufficiently heavy seeding
for all practical purposes. For permanent pasture on poor soil,
dry, gravelly, or broken, we suggest the following:

3 pounds Redtop —Agrostis vulgaris
2 pounds Orchard grass =Dactylis glomerata
4 pounds Sheeps fescue =Festuca ovina

3 pounds Timothy —=Phleum pratense
4 pounds Italian rye grass =Lolium Italicum

2 pounds White clover =Trifolium repens

It will be noticed that this mixture contains a greater number of
pounds to be sown per acre than either of the preceding. The
number of viable seeds per acre, taking a good average per cent of
germination for each sort, will be practically 23,000,000 or 530
per square foot of surface.

Meadows and Hay Land.—For meadows there are fewer sorts
of grass used than for pastures. The old but incorrect idea that
timothy is the best and most valuable grass for hay is still pre-
valent in too many sections of Illinois. Throughout the cornbelt,
however, the clovers and alfalfa are more in evidence. On the
poorer soils of the state, redtop is the staple grass for hay. It has
been aptly put by one of the most successful and progressive far-
mers of this state that the common practice of soil depletion of
Illinois progresses along the following lines: “Corn until the land
refuses to produce profitable crops; then corn and oats, or corn and
wheat, until the same limit is reached. After this condition pre-
vails, clover is brought into use and another period of profitable
cropping ensues until the soil refuses to respond readily, when
timothy is substituted, and a series of years of timothy hay pro-
duction follows. Presently, however, the timothy fails to yield a

GRASSES IN ILLINOIS 369

profitable crop, and redtop is hailed as the savior of the land, and
as the money-producer. This thought is soon dispelled, however,
for redtop quickly ceases to pay for the labor of cutting and
stacking, and the only recourse left for the thoughtless and care-
less farmer (?) is the poor house.” This expresses the exact con-
dition of the hay meadow situation throughout too large a proportion
of Illinois. The well-cared-for meadows of the state consist for
the most part of either pure timothy, clover and timothy mixture,
clover and orchard mixture, or some one ot the clovers alone.
There is a very small number of farms in Illinois that even at-
tempt to have permanent meadows. The extreme length of life
of a hay field, if it is at all available for cultivated crops, is
from 4 to 6 years. Where a field cannot be cultivated there is a
decided tendency toward seeding it to alfalfa and making the
most permanent hay land possible. True there are hundreds of
acres of land in the southern part of Illinois which produce a ton
or less of poor, weedy, redtop hay per acre, but these fields might
better be classed as abandoned rather than as meadow lands.

Care of Pastures and Meadows.—Special attention to a pasture
or to a meadow is one of the clearest indications of good farming.
Where cultivation and fertilization of the grasslands of a farm are
practiced, the grain crops and the live stock of the farm show
careful attention and good breeding. The use of the disk harrow
in the spring followed by a smoothing harrow has proved of
especial value in keeping a pasture free from weeds and promoting
the growth of grass. The same is true of meadows. When this
cultivation is accompanied by the addition of plant food, such
food as the soil indicates by response it is in need of, the growth
and yield secured far outweigh the cost of labor and plant food
applied. Carefully conducted experiments have proved that with a
clover meadow the yield may be increased more than a ton per
acre through cultivation and the application of phosphorus.
(Steamed bone or raw rock phosphate). This is especially true
on the land of the cornbelt of Illinois. While the effect is less
marked with the timothy meadow, it is still sufficiently large to
warrant the expenditure of labor and money for the application.
Pastures respond markedly to like treatment, and not only give
grazing facilities for a larger number of animals, but show the
benefits of the cultivation and addition of plant food, when broken
and put into crops. ;

370 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Following is a method of determining amounts of various sorts
of seed to include in a mixture:

Kentucky bluegrass................ 2,400,000 60 5,750,000
REGLODE eee ere c iss ani ceees 6,000,000 80 9,650,000
Orebard Brass n oie sic veces va oe ee 600,000 70 800,000
PUNVOUNY Se ci soe nice oem tose we eee 1,170,000 90 3,150,000
Meadow: foxtail fio. ice oe aves aes 900,000 50 180,000
Perennial TVERTASS hie oie sence ta 340,000 90 300,000
White or alsike clover.............. 700,000 80 1,120,000

AP OCA Steet ate aie Nase re cl tel Sent otoversi tee eat ator aie spe 20,900,000
Kentucky bluegrass................ 2,400,000 60 7,200,000
REGHOD iste). area risea uae sd eee sees 6,000,000 80 9,600,000
Orchard crass teceneosetih oan: 600,000 70 400,000
DIMOU 5 25% See one eee eae 1,170,000 90 3,100,000
Meadowaescuc.e .- -tnceacne earn 400,000 80 480,000
INISUIKC CLOMET. Se inea cde veclsne make eink 700,000 80 1,400,000

40) 8 Cae aon oh eck Ae eRe I een Siw 8 ki 22,180,000
IREGEO DT ee stocia-siet tact ee ees ae ee 6,000,000 80 14,500,000
Orchardteradsss. oe ee eee 600,000 70 800,000
BHECPSTESCUES. 32. unc: erase, ysis 700,000 70 1,900,000
AY Calero (tastes E Stpre eae ec een Cee 1,170,000 90 3,150,000
Italian nyearassss ieee ss Oe 300,000 90 1,080,000
White Glovers. tenes. meee ce 700,000 80 1,320,000

ROCAUESS Satear-o ccerayetera he erste arte rere le eee eae ae rae oo 22,750,000

InpIANA.—Prof. A. T. Wiancko, Agriculturist at Purdue Univer-
sity Experiment Station, Lafayette, Ind.: There is no doubt that tim-
othy is our best meadow grass in this part of the country. Orchard
grass has been considerably tried and advocated but in practice it
does not seem to meet with much favor among farmers. I judge that
this is on account of its form of growth, and its rather coarse stems.
Meadow fescue and redtop have a place but they are comparatively
unimportant beside timothy. Such grasses as Bromus inermis,

GRASSES IN KANSAS 371

ryegrass and the oat-grasses are valuable under certain conditions,
but they have found no important place in this part of the country.
I believe, however, that there is a good field for investigation along
this line and that the number of grasses that may be profitably
used for meadows will be increased. Concerning clovers, it is our
observation that for general purposes on an ordinary farm where
ordinary rotations are followed there is nothing that can quite
take the place of common red clover. There is very little else
used in this state. Where soil improvement is the prime object
in clover production I believe the mammoth clover has an impor-
tant place, and some of our farmers are using it for that purpose
with very satisfactory results; but where clover may be used for
either hay or seed production, or both, the common red has the
preference. I am of the opinion that alsike clover should be used
to a greater extent for sowing in meadows with timothy, as it
works in well with timothy and adds very materially to the quality
of the hay produced. Alsike is grown for seed to some extent
here, but a strong objection to it is that it is weak-stemmed and
lies too close to the ground when sown alone. With a mixture of
timothy this objection does not hold. Under favorable conditions in
southern Indiana it is practically a perennial and in well-cared-for
meadows should last a long time. Alfalfa is becoming quite popular
-here and will soon be one of the leading legumes grown for hay
and pasture purposes. For permanent pastures there is nothing
quite equal to Kentucky bluegrass, but in many cases it seems wise
to mix some other grasses and clovers with it, especially in cases
where the bluegrass does not grow luxuriantly at certain times of
the year. In this way several of the grasses and clovers may find
a place in permanent pastures. For temporary pastures, red clover
with a little timothy in it is most popular. There are a number of
annual crops that may be profitably used for pasture, especially for
hogs. Among these are the cowpea and soybean. Our observations
indicate that alfalfa will be more and more used for pasture pur-
poses as people become better acquainted with it and learn how
properly to treat it.

Kawnsas.—Prof. A. M. Ten Eyck, of the Agronomy Department
of the Kansas State Agricultural College, Manhattan: There are
no domestic grasses adapted for growing in central and western
Kansas which will make good permanent pasture or meadow.

B72 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Kentucky bluegrass and white clover have been gradually introduced,
and are becoming well established in the eastern and northeastern
porticns of the state; and, in fact, Kentucky bluegrass is about the
only variety of domestic grass which is well suited for permanent
pasture, and it must be associated with white clover in order that it
may continue to thrive and make productive pasture continually for a
number of years. Perhaps meadow fescue, commonly known in
Kansas as English bluegrass, comes as near being a permanent
meadow grass as any variety of domestic grass grown in this state;
yet as a rule it is much more profitable to seed new fields every
four to six years, and break up the old meadows, planting the land
to corn or other crops for a few years before re-seeding to grass.
As a rule, I do not advocate keeping the same land continuously
in any kind of grass, either for meadow or pasture, provided the
land can be used for other crops, and new seeding of grass can be
secured without too much expense or difficulty.

Covering land with grass is nature’s way of restoring to old
worn-out soils the fertility and good tilth characteristic of good
soils. The true grasses do not add nitrogen to the soil, as do
clover and alfalfa, yet they are in a sense nitrogen-gatherers in that
the nitrogen of the soil is collected and stored up in the soil in the
form of humus. Thus grasses prevent the wasting of nitrogen and
other plant food elements and serve to protect the soil and maintain
its fertility. By their extensive and deep penetrating root systems,
many grasses also tend to break up and deepen the soil, gathering
and storing plant food in their roots, and thus actually increasing
the humus and available plant food of the soil. The perfect tilth
and freedom from clods so characteristic. of virgin soils, is always
more or less completely restored whenever soil has been seeded
down to grass for a sufficient length of time. Grasses and legumes
maintain the supply of soil nitrogen and restore the proper soil
texture; besides they are profitable crops and, in fact, are absolutely
necessary on every farm on which stock is kept. Pasture must
be had on every farm, and it is quite essential that it be made a part
of the regular crop rotation. Much more grass can be produced
when pastures are kept fresh and new, and the increase of fertility
and improvement of soil texture result in larger crops of corn
and grain when the pasture is broken up and planted to these
crops.

There is still much native grassland in Kansas, and if permanent

GRASSES IN KANSAS 373,

pastures and meadows are desirable these lands had better be left
in grass, since there are no grasses better adapted for permanent
pasture or permanent meadow in Kansas than the native grasses
which grow on Kansas prairies. As yet we have not been able to
domesticate these wild grasses so that they can be re-seeded suc-
cessfully. Several of the native grasses are being grown by our
botanical department with the idea of domesticating them and select-
ing improved varieties for propagation. The following are valuable
and permanent wild Kansas grasses: Big bluestem (Andropogan
furcatus), little bluestem (Andropogan scoparius), buffalo grass
(Buchloe dactyloides), gama grass (Tripsacum dactyloides), Indian
grass (Chrysopogon nutans), switch grass (Panicum virgatum),
Prairie oats (Bouteloua racemosa), prairie grass (Koeleria cristata
and Katoniaz obtusata), and short gama (Bouteloua hirsuta).

As pastures and meadows get old they become sod-bound and less
productive, and this is true of wild grasses as well as of domestic
grasses. The available fertility of the soil finally becomes ex-
hausted and much of it is locked up in the immense root system
which is developed by a thick growth of grass. With domestic
grasses 2 new growth may often be secured by thoroughly disking
and harrowing the sod early in the spring, and this method has also
been successfully practiced with the native grasses. The disking
has the effect of destroying part of the grass plants, whose roots
soon decay, furnishing new food for the growth of the grass.
The disking also breaks up the compact condition caused by the
tramping of stock, and areates the soil, while the mulch of mellow
earth acts to conserve the soil moisture, thus favoring the growth of
the grass.

In order to get the greatest results, however, fertilizers should
be applied along with the disking. No better fertilizer can be
applied to grass than barnyard manure. The top-dressing applied
in the fall or early winter serves as a cover to protect the grass roots
from the extremes of temperature. As spring opens the water
from the melting snow and rains carries the nutrients from the
manure down to the roots of the grass, causing an early strong
growth, which continues throughout the season. During the sum-
mer also, the manure acts as a mulch to keep the water in the soil,
thus protecting the plants more or less from the influence of dry
weather. There is no more convenient place to haul manure than
on the grass land; there is no crop which responds more readily

374 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

and gives more profitable results from the application of manure
than does grass; and it is not necessary to wait until the pasture or
meadow is old and worn-out before making liberal applications
of manure. It is my recommendation always to use grasses in
rotation with other crops whenever possible. There are a number
of grasses which are more or less well adapted for growing as
rotation grasses in Kansas, and these may always be more or less
permanent. Judging from the nature of the grasses and their
general adaptation and the experience of farmers in growing them
I have prepared the following list of grasses and combination of
grasses and legumes as being suitable for meadow or pasture to
the several divisions of the state:

For meadows in Eastern Kansas:

Timothy and Mammoth alsike or common red clover.
Orchard grass and common red clover.

Bromus inermis and common red clover.

Meadow fescue and common red clover.

Bromus inermis, orchard grass, and common red clover.

ON Ne

Redtop, timothy and alsike clover.

Central Kansas:

Nos. 2. 3, and 5, as named above.

7. Western ryegrass and Bromus inermis, with clover.

Western Kansas:

8. Bromus inermis, Western ryegrass and alfalfa.
9. Bromus inermis and alfalfa.
10. Bromus inermis.
1 Dall oaterass.
For Pasture in Eastern Kansas:
1. Meadow fescue, orchard grass, Bromus inermis and common
red clover or alsike clover.

2. Bromus inermis, timothy, redtop and alsike clover.
(Especially on low lands.)

3. Bromus inermis and alfalfa.
4. Kentucky bluegrass and white. clover.

GRASS MIXTURES FOR KANSAS 375

Central Kansas:
5. Bromus inermis, orchard grass, western ryegrass and common
red clover or alfalfa.
6. Bromus inermis and alfalfa.
7. Bromus inermis.
Western Kansas:

8. Bromus inermis, western ryegrass and alfalfa.
9. Bromus inermis.
10. Bromus inermis and Tall oatgrass (Tall oatgrass is recom-

mended for western climate and light soil.

Combinations of grasses and perennial legumes are usually to
be preferred to any single grass, both for meadow and for pasture.
A combination of grasses is especially desirable for pasture, giving
more continuous grazing, greater protection, more variety, and
perhaps a better balanced food ration. In choosing grasses for
pasture the object should be to choose such varieties that the defi-
ciencies of one variety may be balanced by the good qualities of
another. Grasses should be chosen which are different in their
methods of growth and their dates of maturity, in order to lengthen
the grazing period, and give the greatest amount and most con-
tinuous grazing. On the other hand, for meadow, grasses and
legumes should be chosen which have the same maturing season,
in order to make the best quality of hay. A combination of grasses
usually makes a more perfect sod than any one grass will produce
and a more permanent pasture or meadow. A little clover or alfalfa
should be seeded with every combination of grasses, whether for
meadow or pasture. The legumes are enabled, by means of the
bacteria which work on the roots of these plants, to utilize the free
nitrogen of the air, and thus tend to increase the supply of nitrogen
in the soil, and act as host-plants or feeders to the nitrogen-exhaust-
ing grasses. It is very important therefore that every pasture or
meadow should contain some perennial legumes, because the pres-
ence of these nitrogen gathering plants will not only cause a greater
production from the other grasses, but it will make the pasture or
meadow more enduring, and leave the soil more fertile than would
otherwise be the case when the sod is finally broken for the growing
of other crops. Carrying out this principle it is a good plan to seed
clover or alfalfa in the native pastures and meadows. I have
observed this tried in a few instances, and clover especially often

376 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

makes a good catch and is beneficial in helping to revive and renew
the growth of the prairie grass. In establishing a grass meadow
or pasture one of the most important factors is a proper seedbed.
An ideal seedbed for grasses should not be deep and mellow,
rather the soil should be mellow but finely pulverized only about
as deep as the seed is sown; while below the seed the soil should
be firm but not tco hard and compact, making a good connection
with the deeper subsoil. This offers the most favorable conditions
for the germination of the seed and the growth of the young grass
plants. The firm soil below the seed allows the capillary moisture
to be drawn up to the seed, while the mellow soil above the seed
offers the most favorable condition for the warming of the soil and
the oxygen of the air to reach the seed; and these three factors,
moisture, heat and oxygen, are essential for the germination of
all seeds. Meanwhile, the mellow mulch of surface soil acts as
a blanket to keep the moisture from escaping and at the same
time gives the most favorable conditions for the delicate little
plant to unfold and push upward into the air and sunshine, also the
firm sub-surface soil gives the proper root-hold and environment
which conduces to a rapid and strong growth of the young roots.
Grasses, clover and alfalfa are not only much more likely to start
poorly in a deep, loose seedbed, but even after starting, the young
plants are much more likely to “freeze out” in winter or “burn
out” in summer than will be the case in the shallow, firm-bottomed
seedbed as described above.

Clover should be sown in the spring or early summer because
fall-seeded clover and alfalfa are apt to winter kill.

Throughout a large part of Kansas grasses and alfalfa may be
successfully seeded either early in the fall or early in the spring.
On the whole perhaps the early spring seeding is safer, provided a
good seedbed is provided and the land is not too foul with weeds.
It is safest to sow almost all kinds of grasses and perennial legumes
alone, or without a nurse crop. Always have the seedbed fully
prepared before sowing the grass seed, so that little work will have
to be done on the ground after seeding. If the seed is sown broad-
cast, one light harrowing after seeding is usually sufficient to cover
the seed, and is preferable to several harrowings or any deep work-
ing of the soil after seeding. Grass seed should not be covered
deeply, usually not more than an inch or so, or even less, depend-
ing somewhat on the soil and the weather conditions. A good seed-

GRASSES IN MICHIGAN 377

bed may be prepared by disking and harrowing corn stubble land,
or early fall plowing which has settled well makes a good seedbed
for spring seeding. If it is necessary to plow shortly before seed-
ing, the ground should be firmed by the use of a sub-surface packer
or by repeated use of the harrow and roller. Along with a good
seedbed do not fail to use the best quality of seed. The best is
always the cheapest even at the higher price.

MicuicAn.—Prof. R. S. Shaw, Director of the Michigan Experi-
ment Station, East Lansing: The following grasses are most com-
monly grown in Michigan: Timothy, orchard grass, bluegrass and
redtop. I doubt very much whether there is any one grass that is
used more than bluegrass in this state. I would place timothy
second, redtop third and orchard grass fourth. No matter what
combination of clovers and grasses may be sown in this state, at
the end of five or six years bluegrass will have taken almost com-
plete possession to the total exclusion of the other sorts. Blue-
grass takes possession here naturally, if given sufficient time, without
any seeding whatever. Redtop is being grown only on low-lying
lands or in connection with permanent pasture mixtures. Legumes
most commonly grown are red clover, both mammoth and medium,
alsike and alfalfa. The medium red clover is very largely grown in
the southern part of the Lower Peninsula, while the mammoth is
grown in the northern part of that region. Alsike clover is being
used very Jargely in connection with red clover 6 to 8 pounds,
timothy 2 pounds and alsike 2 pounds. It has become a very com-
mon practice to seed down for hay and pasture with a combination
of this kind. The alfalfa area of this state is extending very rapidly.
We have had a wide range of conditions here as regards soil and
climate, and it has taken some little time to find out just how to
handle this problem. Permanent pastures are to some extent fer-
tilized by applications of well-rotted barnyard manure with the
manure spreader as a top-dressing. I doubt very much whether any
commercial fertilizers are used in this way and only a compara-
tively small amount of lime.

Minnesota.—Prof. Andrew Boss, Agriculturist of the Minne-
sota Experiment Station, St. Anthony Park: The best grass in my
estimation for pasture in Minnesota is Kentucky bluegrass, especially
where the pasture is to remain for any length of time. The second
best is the Austrian Brome grass or Bromus inermis. Third,

378 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

timothy or preferably timothy mixed with a small amount of
medium, alsike or white clover. There are few others that are of
any value for pasture. In short rotations and in temporary pas-
tures, the common mixture of grass seeding is timothy 6 to 8 pounds,
medium red clover 3 to 6 pounds, white clover 1% pound per acre.
For permanent pasture the seeding would be somewhat lighter of
these grasses with 8 to 14 pounds of Kentucky bluegrass added.
On our rolling prairie lands where drainage is good, any of these
seedings will do well for pasture. On low wet lands preference is
given to timothy, redtop and alsike clover. For the drier and
sandier lands the Austrian Brome grass seems to be best adapted.
The common hay crop in Minnesota is timothy or a mixture of
timothy and alsike or medium red clover. All three grow in profu-
sion on land that is in good condition. On lowlands redtop and
alsike with a small-mixture of timothy are in high favor. In secur-
ing a stand of these grasses it is customary to sow them in spring
with the seeding of spring grains, preferably barley or spring
wheat. Fall-sown rye or winter wheat also make a very desirable
nurse-crop for grasses, the grass seed being sown the following
spring. Splendid results are obtained in the management of our
grasslands by top-dressing with barnyard manures. Both hay and
pastures yield heavily to this treatment, though the application to
the pasture should be made during the fall or early winter season.

Mississipp1.—Prof. W. L. Hutchinson, Director of the Mississippi
Experiment Station, Agricultural College: Bermuda and carpet
grass are the two essential pasture grasses for this state. Lespedeza,
which is a clover, is perhaps of more importance than either as a
pasture plant, as it appears in almost every pasture in the state and
ranges in importance from being essentially the whole thing along
down to about 50 per cent. White clover is an important pasture
plant. Bur clover is very much less so, but more so every year;
that is, effort is constantly being made to increase the area of bur
clover in the pasture. Lespedeza has spread all over this state by
natural methods, very little having been planted, and because of
this fact it appears in practically all pastures everywhere. It is a
particularly valuable plant in the brown loam area in the western
part of the state. This area extends from Tennessee to the Louis-
iana-line, and the Illinois Central Railroad runs through it. Ber-
muda grass must be planted, and hence it does not appear over

GRASSES IN MISSOURI 379

nearly so large an area as does lespedeza, but where it has been
planted one finds the Bermuda and lespedeza growing together, and
this makes a better combination or better pasture than either plant
by itself. In the southern part of the state carpet grass appears
along the branch bottoms (what we are in the habit of calling
draws) and like lespedeza spreads naturally, and in this section
one will find carpet grass and lespedeza growing together. In the
prairie section, in east Mississippi, on the worn areas thereof, par-
ticularly where there is considerable exposure of the lime rock,
melilotus, commonly called sweet clover or bokhara, is an import-
ant pasture plant. On such areas, lespedeza makes the poorest
stand, and in consequence is of less importance than on any other
areas in the state; but even in these pastures it doubtless assumes
a value equal to melilotus. The very best combination I know is
Bermuda, lespedeza, white clover, bur clover and vetch on the same
land; but the pasture area in this state on which one finds all of
these plants is very limited indeed. To recapitulate, lespedeza is
the universal pasture plant; Bermuda is essentially the pasture
grass for this section, but as it must be planted it does not appear
over our entire pasture areas by any means. It is not nearly so
general as lespedeza. Just what area we have in Bermuda I do
not know. Then comes carpet grass in the moist bottom lands in
the southern part of the state, while other important pasture plants
are white clover, melilotus, bur clover and vetch. Lespedeza, Ber-
muda, carpet grass, white clover and melilotus practically furnish
the grazing in the pastures of this state, and if I should venture
a remark I would say that lespedeza furnished more grazing than
all of the others combined on account of its being everywhere and
the other plants growing only on limited areas. Johnson grass and
Bermuda are essentially our hay grasses. Other hay plants of im-
portance are alfalfa, lespedeza, cowpeas, oats, wheat and sorghum.
Soybeans should and may become an important hay plant. The uni-
versal hay proposition, applicable on every farm in the state, is
wheat or oats sown in September and cut in the dough stage the
latter part of May, then on the same land plant cowpeas or soy-
beans, giving two hay crops a year on the same land.

Missourr.—Prof. H. J. Waters, Director of the Missouri Ex-
periment Station, Columbia: Our studies have been principally
with timothy meadows. but I have made considerable study of

380 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

bluegrass pastures at the same time. I have been studying the
life-history of the timothy plant in connection with our investiga-
tions of factors affecting the yield, and found, to my utter aston-
ishment, that it is not a perennial, as is popularly supposed. ‘That
is to say, when a plant has sprung from the seed it does not
have a period of some years of development, which would corre-
spond to the youthful or growing period of an animal, and then
a period of a few years of maximum efficiency and productive-
ness, which would correspond to the period of prime of life of an
animal, and then a period of decline and debility, corresponding
to the old age period of an animal. On the other hand, plants
spring anew each year from the old bulb, and the bulb, after it
has produced its new plant, dies. This new plant produces, in
addition to its top which we cut for hay, a new bulb to carry
the plant over the following winter, and this in turn produces a
new plant and dies. So that the timothy plant is an annual in
the same sense at least that a potato is an annual. ‘These studies
are the very basis of our knowledge of the management of meadows
and pastures. To say in a few words what the best grasses and
clovers for Missouri are is practically impossible because of
the great variation of the soil both physically and chemically.
Moreover, Missouri covers a distance of 300 miles from north
to sotitth ina portion of the country where the’ Horassame
fauna of the north and south blend. For example, cotton is
grown quite extensively in the southern portion of the state
and some spring wheat is grown in the extreme western por-
tion. Broadly speaking, there is but one hay grass in Missouri,
timothy, and but two hay clovers, the common red clover and
alfalfa, with a large reliance in the extreme southern portion of
the state on the forage plant, the cowpea for hay. Likewise, broadly
speaking, there is but one permanent pasture grass for Missouri,
and that is Kentucky bluegrass, and but one permanent pasture
clover, namely, white clover, which comes into bluegrass pastures
without seeding and covers the ground during the resting period
of the bluegrass, thereby giving the crop a much higher nutritive
value and larger yield. I have divided the state into nine principal
groups, as follows:

1. The loess soil both north and south of the river which is open
and friable and does not hold bluegrass well. This land, however
is rich in lime and on it timothy thrives; so does red clover and

GRASSES IN MISSOURI 381

likewise alfalfa. Broadly speaking, the hay grasses are the three
mentioned. The land is very valuable, and so far no permanent
pasture is laid down as a rule, but the meadows are mowed for hay
for one or two years then pastured for one or two years, cattle or
hogs being fed on them and then broken up and put in corn for
three or four years, then changed to oats for one year and again
sown to timothy and red clover. 2. The black prairie soil of
northwest Missouri and the best corn soil in the state. It is,
however, of a little too coarse texture to produce bluegrass to the
best advantage, although better adapted than is Region I, and is
more generally used than is Group I, otherwise the practices of
the two regions are identical. 3. Black limestone loam represents
the highest development of bluegrass pastures in the state. The
soil is capable of fully equaling the best bluegrass production
in Kentucky. Here the pastures are permanent with large shade
trees, the farmers breeding pure-bred stock to a large extent. The
meadow grasses are timothy and red clover. Alfalfa does well
on these soils and is coming to be more and more generally em-
ployed. 4. The same as 2, plus clay and finer and tighter, there-
fore better adapted to bluegrass than 2. Here the chief reliance is
biuegrass and white clover, while the hay grasses are with perhaps
iess reliance upon alfalfa than 1, 2, and 3, and more reliance upon
cowpeas. 5. A level prairie region with a very compact soil of
close texture and is the timothy region of the state. The great bulk
of the timothy seed produced in the state is grown in this region.
Clovers are not so extensively used and cowpeas are more widely
relied upon. In this region timothy meadows are kept for 10 years
or more without being plowed, although the trend is away from this
practice. 6. A lighter soil of coarser texture with some lime and
not so well adapted to either bluegrass or timothy or the clovers
as the regions just mentioned. Here considerable redtop, orchard
grass and the larger fescues find much favor, both for hay and
pasture with considerable reliance on the cowpea as a forage plant.
7. A limestone region in which red clover reigns supreme. The soil
is of slightly too open texture for bluegrass to reach its best when
first cleared. Continued tramping, however, rectifies this difficulty
and ultimately this will also be a great bluegrass region. The chief
reliance for hay here is timothy and red clover, and cowpeas.
For pasture bluegrass and white clover in the older sections, and
orchard grass and the tall fescues on the newer land, with the

382 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

native bluestem in the uncleared wilds. 8. The region for which
we have not yet found a dominant grass. All of the grasses named,
however, do moderately well, but there does not seem to be any
one that is taking possession of the country as yet. 9. A sandy
region in which Bermuda grass is practically the only successful
pasture grass, and where alfalfa is the principal hay on the black
waxy soils, with cowpeas on the sandier phases.

In all these regions in the wetter soils alsike clover is used instead
of red clover and either English bluegrass (Festuca pratensis) or
the tall fescues (Festuca elatior), or redtop (Agrostus vulgaris)
is used instead of timothy. Likewise on the soils deficient in lime
orchard grass or redtop is used instead of timothy, and cowpeas are
used as a legume instead of red clover.

Oxtanoma.—Prof, L. A. Moorhouse, Agronomist of the Okla-
homa Experiment Station, Stillwater: Bermuda grass is the only
grass that has given satisfactory results on our upland soils in this
section, and I believe that this statement will apply to many districts
in Oklahoma. We have tested practically all of the standard grasses
in this localitv, and we have failed to secure profitable yields on the
higher lands of central Oklahoma. While I believe that good crops
of Brome grass or timothy or possibly English bluegrass might be
secured on many of our creek and river bottom areas, I have the
opinion that these areas should be set aside for alfalfa. We could
not hope to harvest more than 1% to 2 tons of hay with any otf
the types I have mentioned, but when alfalfa becomes well set on
such areas we can harvest at least 5 tons of cured hay per annum.
We therefore recommend that our more fertile soils be set aside
for the culture of alfalfa; Bermuda grass and white clover will
make a satisfactory combination for the thinner upland soils. The
cowpea can also be utilized on such areas. English bluegrass or
meadow fescue has been grown to some extent in the north central
counties of Oklahoma, and I am informed that it produces very
satisfactory yields. I have visited a few farms where this type is
used and can say that growers presented very favorable results.
Brome grass, on the other hand, is used in the northwestern
counties of the state, while Kentucky bluegrass, orchard grass and
timothy may be found over on the east side. I am satisfied that
some field tests should be conducted in the localities where these
types have been introduced, and as soon as our district agricultural

GRASSES IN NEW ENGLAND 383

schools are located we may have an opportunity to make further
observations on growth of our standard grasses and clovers.

Connecticut.—Prof. L. A. Clinton, Director of the Storrs Experi-
ment Station, Eagleville: The best grass for pasturage purpcses in
Connecticut is Kentucky bluegrass. This is our natural grass
which makes its appearance on all soils where the regular seeding
fails, and it can be depended on with greater certainty than any
other grass. For seeding down meadows, I recommend a mixture
per acre of 8 quarts timothy, 6 quarts of redtop, 4 pounds of
red clover and 2 pounds of alsike clover. For the first cutting
this will give a larger percentage of clover hay. The second cutting
should have a little clover, but it will be largely timothy and red-
top. After a few crops of hay have been cut off if it is then turned
into pasture it will be only a short time before it will be June-grass
pasture, June-grass being Kentucky bluegrass.

Prof. E. H. Jenkins, Director of Connecticut Experiment Station,
New Haven: The best grass in general for lawns and for pastures
which are closely cropped in this part of the country I believe is
the Rhode Island bent, a small variety of agrostis vulgaris. It will
stand trampling, close grazing and dry weather better than any
grass I know of, and makes sweet pasture. The yield is too small
to make it a profitable hay grass. I have never seen the sheep’s
fescue used in pastures to any extent, but there are some strains
of it that I have no doubt would make excellent pasture. Here
timothy is universally grown where hay is to be sold, for it com-
mands the best price, though redtop is known to be much more
valuable for dairy use. Timothy and redtop are about the only
grasses that are ever sown in this state. Occasionally one will
find a farmer who has sown orchard grass in shady places and
who makes some use of the meadow fescue in mixtures of timothy
and redtop.

New HaAmpsuire.—Prof. F. W. Taylor, Agronomist of the New
Hampshire Experiment Station, Durham: A large part of New
England and especially New Hampshire is naturally adapted to the
growth of our most valuable cultivated grasses, timothy, redtop,
bluegrass, orchard grass, and the common clovers, with the excep-
tion of crimson clover, find the soils and the climate here most con-
genial for a permanent home. This is attested by the fact that
many pastures and meadows continue to produce fair yields of grass

384 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

and hay year after year without re-seeding. I have seen fields
which have not been plowed for 30 or 40 years, and without the
application of manure or fertilizer in the interim are still giving
an annual production of a ton of hay per acre. I make this state-
ment not as an approval of the practice but as an indication of the
natural resources of the section for grass-growing. The best
grasses for pastures, taking the state as a whole, in the order of
their value and importance, are probably as follows: Kentucky
bluegrass, timothy, white clover and wood meadow grass. For
mowing lands or meadows the following are of most importance:
Timothy, redtop, orchard grass and alsike clover. For re-seeding
pastures the following mixtures would be recommended for seeding
one acre:

Heavy moist soils: Timothy 5 pounds, redtop 8 pounds, orchard
grass 4 pounds, meadow foxtail 3 pounds, white clover 5 pounds.

Light soils: Timothy 8 pounds, redtop 4 pounds, Kentucky blue-
grass 8 pounds, orchard grass 8 pounds, white clover 4 pounds.

Orchards and shady places: Timothy 6 pounds, redtop 4 pounds,
Kentucky bluegrass 6 pounds, orchard grass 8 pounds, wood meadow
grass 2 pounds, white clover 4 pounds.

For re-seeding meadows the mixture per acre would be as follows:

Heavy soils: Timothy 10 pounds, redtop 4 pounds, red clover 6
pounds, alsike clover 4 pounds.

Light soils: Timothy 8 pounds, redtop 4 pounds, orchard grass
6 pounds, red clover 6 pounds, alsike clover 4 pounds.

With the object of determining to what extent, by what means
and at what expense our pasture lands can be improved, the experi-
ment station began a series of experiments last year to continue for
a period of four years. The cost and relative merits of the following
treatments are to be studied:

1. Harrow and re-seeding.

2. Harrowing, re-seeding and liming,

3. Harrowing, re-seeding, liming and fertilizing.

4. Plowing and re-seeding.

5. The pasturing of sheep.

Although no definite results can yet be approximated the indica-
tions from the first season’s work are that plowing and reseeding
constitutes the most economical method of pasture improvement.

A series of fertilizer experiments on hay land now in operation.
for three years indicate that nitrogen fertilizers especially in the

GRASSES IN NEW YORK 385

form of nitrate of soda are the most effective in increasing the
yield of timothy and redtop, while wood ashes and the potash
fertilizers seem most efficient in maintaining and promoting the
growth of the clovers. While the application of lime has been
strongly advocated by many, its use on the soils of the college farm
and on various others in this section of the state has not proved
markedly beneficial.

New Yorx.—Prof. G. F. Warren, Professor of Farm Management
and Farm Crops, New York State College of Agriculture, Ithaca:
The one great hay grass in New York State is timothy, the second
hay grass of importance is redtop. There are no other grasses of
very great importance for hay production, although orchard grass,
meadow fescue and several wild grasses are met with occasionally.
The most important pasture grass is Kentucky bluegrass. Second
in importance is timothy. Canada bluegrass is very common on
the poorer lands. Redtop, meadow fescue and orchard grass occur
-to a considerable extent in pastures. Mammoth red and medium
clovers are the most important legumes in the state. Second to
these is alsike clover, and in all pasture mixtures white clover
should be included. Where it grows successfully alfalfa is a most
valuable hay plant for this state. For pastures a seeding of timothy,
Kentucky bluegrass and white clover is always desirable. To this
sometimes should be added redtop, orchard grass and meadow fes-
cue. For hay production a standard mixture is timothy, mammoth
clover, medium clover and alsike clover. To this redtop should be
added under certain conditions. Alsike clover grows on land that
is too acid or too poor for the growth of red clover; redtop grows
on land that is too poor for the production of timothy, so that on the
poorest lands, provided they are not manured and limed, it may
sometimes pay to grow redtop or a mixture of redtop and alsike
clover. Alsike clover is not grown quite so universally as it deserves
to be. It is not so seriously affected by the root borer as red
clover, and as stated will grow under more unfavorable soil condi-
tions. Throughout this section of the state where there is limestone
soil, alfalfa will grow readily. In practically every county in the
state there are some soils on which alfalfa will produce an excellent
crop, provided the land is limed, inoculated and manured.

Prof. Paul J. White, Assistant Professor of Farm Crops, New
York State College of Agriculture, Ithaca: What are the best

386 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

grasses for New York State named in order for pasture? First,
Kentucky bluegrass; second, timothy; third, Canada bluegrass;
fourth, redtop. We have hardly arrived at the point where we can
give definite instructions regarding mixtures for various soil types.
Many letters from farmers regarding this matter come in. If I do
not know the soil type I usually give them the following mixture:
10 pounds of timothy, 4 pounds of Kentucky bluegrass, 3 pounds of
redtop, 3 pounds of orchard grass, 6 pounds of red clover, 4 pounds
of alsike clover and 2 pounds of white clover. I do not include in
this Canada bluegrass which I place third in value as a pasture
erass. The reason is this: Canada bluegrass is thought by many
_to be a weed in pastures. However, throughout the sections of
New York State where the soil has become impoverished there
are large areas of which the principal grass is Canada bluegrass.
This statement is true of the hill farms of southern New York,
and of the formerly fertile clay or silt valleys of the Genesee Valley
regions in Livingston county. If I were to place these in order
of abundance of the grasses in general, I should place redtop before
Canada bluegrass, but our experience with redtop has been that cattle
avoid this wherever they can get any other grass. It seems to
be unpalatable. However, if the farmer states that his land is
inclined to be acid and poorly drained, I always recommend 3 to 4
pounds of redtop in the mentioned mixture. If I know that the
field is fertile and will grow meadow fescue I recommend? the
growing of this in small quantities, say 3 to 4 pounds per acre.
I find this grass present in pastures in the fertile sections of New
York state. It is considered fine where it will grow.

I have included clovers in the mixture which J recommend. As to
value, they will be arranged in the following order: First, red
clover; second, alsike clover; third, white clover. ‘This exhausts
the list of clovers adapted to our conditions. I would arrange our
grasses for meadows in the following order: First, timothy; second,
redtop; third, Canada bluegrass. Timothy is the universal meadow
grass in New York. We may say that it is always included in the
new seeding unless clovers alone are sowed. Occasionally a farmer
will use redtop. This, however, is not considered in the same class
as timothy. It does not make a marketable hay. In the old meadows
which have not been plowed for a number of years, especially
on the hill lands of our state, we find a great deal of Canada blue-
grass. They consider this a very superior hay grass for horses.

GRASSES IN NEW YORK 387

However, its market qualities are poor. It is never sown for hay,
but it comes into the old fields which have not been plowed for a
long time. On my own farm I cut 70 acres the past season of this
grass. It yielded about one-half ton of hay per acre. This is worth
on the market $10 per ton, while timothy is worth $13. We use
red clover, either medium or mammoth, and alsike clover in
meadows. No others are used. Usually about 10 quarts of timothy
to 6 or 8 quarts of red clover are sown per acre.

Regarding the system of management and fertilization of meadows
and pastures, I have but little to offer apart from the general
practice of other sections. We consider that timothy should not
be left down as a meadow longer than two or three years. The
first year we cut a crop of clover, and the second and third years
the hay is practically all timothy. We have been carrying on a
series of experiments with farmers in connection with co-operative
experiments which go to indicate that 100 pounds or so of nitrate
of soda per acre will increase the yield of timothy hay more than
enough to pay for the fertilizer and labor. This, however, we
do not recommend to be applied to timothy meadows which are not
at the present time producing more than a ton of timothy hay.

Under ordinary conditions I always recommend sowing timothy,
Kentucky bluegrass and white clover. These are found growing
naturally in all parts of this state, and on practically all kinds
of soil. They may not be the principal plants occupying each type
of soil, but they are there in greater or less numbers for permanent
pasture. I think that Kentucky bluegrass should always be included
in a new seeding because it will increase from year to year. White
clover is a pasture plant which eventually appears in nearly all types
of soil, but it should be sown occasionally. It is in and out and
adds materially to the forage of pastures. I often recommend to
farmers that they sow on their old pastures a light mixture of some
of the principal grasses and clovers. I think from $1 to $3 worth of
seed at a time will pay for itself and more in the course of a
year or two. Prof. Samuel Fraser, manager of the Wadsworth
Estate at Geneseo, sows from 60 cents to $1 worth of seed per acre.
About 500 acres, he tells me, were thus reseeded last year. He states
that he would prefer a light seeding to a heavy one. In case the
seeding fails he can try again another year. If, however, heavy
seeding had been applied the loss would be great. Without doubt
the application of stable manure to our run-down pastures is of vast

388 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

importance in increasing their efficiency. As I often tell the farmer,
he would not misuse his other crops as he does his pastures. For
instance, he would not expect to get a crop of corn or timothy
hay without seeding and fertilizing.

MassacuusetTts.—Prof. William P. Brooks, Director of the
Massachusetts Experiment Station, Amherst: The best single grass
for all pastures having soils fairly retentive of moisture is Ken-
tucky bluegrass; and the best single clover is of course the white.
There can be no doubt, however, that it is best to use a large variety
of grasses in pastures. I have generally advised about as follows:

MIXTURES FOR PERMANENT PASTURES.

Variety. Light soils. | Medium soils. | Heavy soils.
Pounds Pounds. Pounds.

THO thysas Ae ween ecak ene Ee eon, thee 3 | 4 3
REPGOD ee ee eiseee aoa nae > <e eieteciels oer 4 2 5
Orehardierass Hehe es eee eatek eee 8 8 4
Mesndow fescue sc. 2tn. 2 2. ce. oh sete aja 4 4 4
Hardteseule ssa: s cesccmanct aittlan cei rane oe 2
Ralieseuless ck s sR ees ie Bs aes 2 2 4
Rough-stalked meadow grass.......... 4
Kentucky bluegrass...........0...000+ 4 4 5
Rtahiaey COV assis eta dees oe meniscal 3 4 2
PallGAaterasss seer eee ese can eee rues 4
Meadow ftomtatle: 1 ec8 inch. .op ene 2 3 3
Vellow oatsrassiitij.tace teas ses teaton 3
SwWeer veri: S520 5 Por Ae ae Deis
Wihiteiclowert: ool ae ce rs cheeses es 4 4 4
AISI Ke ClOVIEI ee or. i 0. seicaia sleimimle hea i 2 3
Reawine Clover o\eotaioed Hf apenas: 2 2

Montana.—Prof. F. B. Linfield, Director of the Montana Experi-
ment Station, Bozeman: In our irrigated country we are using to
a considerable extent mixed grasses for pasture. These seem to
grow better at all seasons of the year and enable us to get the

GRASSES IN MASSACHUSETTS 389

maximum return from the land. On the average we find that it
takes not quite an acre of land for the season to support one
cattle beast with an irrigated pasture. Probably orchard grass,
brome ‘grass, English ryegrass are about the three best pasture
grasses, but in our mixture we nearly always use in bluegrass
timothy and tall oat if we can get it. Of the clovers the red, alsike
and alfalfa we use, the former of course being in this climate
biennial as a rule, and so does not persist for many years. The
alsike and the alfalfa are persistent. We do not, however, like
to have too much of these clovers, as with the luxuriant growth
under irrigation there is some danger from bloat if the clovers
predominate. For our dry-land country we have not yet determined
to our satisfaction what are the best pasture grasses. The native
grasses we find do not yield as well as some of our cultivated
varieties, even on the dry bench lands. Alfalfa has been one of our
most promising fodder crops and also pasture crops on the bench
lands. Brome and tall oat grass also seem to do very well. There
are other grasses which we expect to try, but are not yet able to
advise as to their adaptability. In our studies on the bench lands
the experiments so far conducted have not been continued long
enough to warrant us in drawing very positive conclusions.

NesrASKA.—Prof. E. A. Burnett, Director of the Nebraska Ex-
periment Station, Lincoln: It is difficult to determine the best list
of grasses and clovers for any region of Nebraska, and much
more so for a region which would cover so large an area as one-
half of the state. I have asked some of our leading farmers to
give me their experience in the matter, a summary of which, along
with my own experience would indicate something as follows:

Best grasses for pasture in the Eastern half of Nebraska:
1. Meadow fescue. 2. Bromus inermis. 3. Orchard grass. 4. Tim-
othy.

Best grasses for pasture in the Western half of Nebraska: 1.
Bromus inermis. 2. Western wheat grass, native. 3. Meadow fes-
cue. 4. Grama grasses, native.

As you go north in the state, past the center, the district in
which brome grass would be superior to meadow fescue as the best
single grass would extend to the east. In north-central and north-
eastern Nebraska these two grasses would be of about equal merit
and should be sown together. As a pasture mixture for eastern

390 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Nebraska I would suggest 8 pounds of meadow fescue, 6 pounds
of Bromus inermis or Bromus inermis and timothy, 2 pounds of
red clover, 3 pounds of alfalfa and 1 pound of white clover. Omit
white clover where pasture is largely for horses. Omit red clover
and alfalfa where the land is extremely wet so that they will winter-
kill. As a mixture for upland pasture in the western part of the
state I would suggest 10 pounds of brome grass, 4 pounds of meadow
fescue and 6 pounds of alfalfa. In valleys sow less alfalfa where
cattle are to be pastured. For permanent meadows, alfalfa seems
to be superior to all others when yield and value of hay are con-
sidered. Alfalfa does not seem to fit into a rotation of crops as
well as clover, and where meadows are in a farm rotation in eastern
Nebraska, 10 pounds of clover and 8 pounds of timothy hay make
an excellent mixture, and furnish a high quality of hay. In south-
eastern Nebraska it would seem that bluegrass, where some mix-
ture of white clover is present, furnishes one of the most valuable
pastures, especially for early spring and for winter pasture where
it has been allowed to grow up and mature before being pastured
down. In the care and management of pastures it is apparent that
the experience of all good farmers is against close pasturing at any
season of the year, and especially so as the period of hot, dry
weather approaches. Pastures should always have a sufficient
amount of growth on them to protect them against burning sun
and against the loss of water by run-off where it would be absorbed
if there were sufficient growth on the ground.

The experience of our best farmers indicates that pastures should
be mowed once or twice each year, first at the time when ragweed
and other coarse-growing weeds begin to mature in late June or
the early part of July, and second, if necessary, to get a few coarse-
growing weeds in the early part of September, before they have
ripened their seed. The experience of our farmers indicates that
the application of barnyard manure with a manure spreader very
greatly increases the productiveness of all upland pastures and prob-
ably of all pastures which are not liable to overflow from streams ;
that this manure can be applied at almost any season of the year
but can best be applied during the winter season, beginning in late
fall and continuing until. growth starts in the spring. An annual
application of manure to upland pastures has very greatly increased
and has frequently doubled the stock carrying power of these pas-
tures. It is good practice—where manure is applied to pastures—

GRASSES IN NEBRASKA la

to run over the land with a harrow and thoroughly break up and
distribute this manure so that it shall not lie in clods upon the land,
if it has not been evenly spread at the time of its application. The
application of manure te meadows is as beneficial as to pastures,
but where coarse manure is applied in the winter it should be
thoroughly harrowed in the spring and the coarser parts raked off
and removed, so that it will not damage the first cutting of hay.
Carl Rohde, Columbus, Neb.: My soil is all upland. The grass
mixture which I sowed consisted of brome grass, 12 pounds; orchard
grass, 6 pounds; meadow fescue, 6 pounds; alsike clover, 2 or 3
pounds; white clover, 1 pound. This pasture was seeded in 1904,
and has proved quite satisfactory ever since. We have always
been careful not to overstock it. I like the clover mixture in the
pasture, although we lost one heifer in June, 1907, on account of it.
As a general rule cattle will leave clover alone until it is matured
and the other grasses get shorter on account of a hot and dry spell,
which generally strikes us in the latter part of July and August.
For fertilization we have practised top-dressing with a manure
spreader, putting on about six loads to the acre. The effect of this
was quite marked, and I recommend it where the soil conditions are
similar. I do not carry more than one grown animal on every two
acres of pasture, but at that rate we have kept cattle as well as
pasture in excellent condition. The growth of the brome grass is
quite pronounced and easily determined on account of the broad
leaves and vigorous appearance, but I think that the other grasses
fit in well with the mixture. Regarding clover, I consider alfalfa
our stand-by, as it furnishes the best yield per acre, and seems to
be just what we need for our stock, with the present high price of
corn. Could we be sure however of getting a stand of red clover,
by sowing in wheatfields in the spring of the year, I think it would
fit in a little better with our crop rotation, especially when we con-
sider the bad results obtained by a good many farmers during the
past summer in plowing up alfalfa fields, and putting them into
corn. If reports are true, these fields were the first to show the
effects of the drouth. We do not like bluegrass for our upland;
it does not attain sufficient length. It does all right in valleys.
William Ernst: Of all pasture grasses in southwestern Nebraska
Kentucky bluegrass gives the most service if properly handled. If
you have enough of it horses and cattle will live on it and thrive
the year round if not covered with sleet or snow. The original

392 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

prairie grasses have practically all disappeared, killed out by the
trampling of stock and the remainder was crowded out by Ken-
tucky bluegrass and white clover. These are the pastures I like
better than even the pastures of mixed grasses sown on cultivated
lands and which finally run to bluegrass and white clover in the
same manner as the native pastures mentioned and which seem to
have stronger growth. The service and revenue of any pasture
depend more on the handling than on the rainfall during the season.
We did not think much of the Kentucky bluegrass until we learned
how to handle it. We would turn the stock out onto the pasture,
at the first starting of spring, before the grass was tall enough to
get hold of it with their teeth, and see that all stock would be
turned on that could possibly make a living on it. This being
kept up until perhaps June would present on the more or less
rolling land in eastern Nebraska a pasture of short, thick growth,
on which an inch, two or more inches of rain would run off with-
out soaking the ground one inch in depth; while in the adjoin-
ing cornfield the soil was soaked to such an extent that cultivation
had to be postponed for two or more days. This condition would
not change until fall rains and cooler nights brought some im-
provement. All this taught us that we must have a good growth
of grass in any pasture in order to catch and retain the moisture
necessary to have a good growth of grass during the season. <A
good bluegrass pasture wants fertile soil.

We handle our bluegrass pastures as follows: We turn our
stock on as early as March when the new grass comes through the
thick growth of old grass of the former season. Horses and
cattle will do remarkably well until about. May when they are
turned onto the mixed pastures. In this way the stock does not
know the change from dry feed to summer pasture. We now let
our pasture rest until nearly harvest and mow the ragweeds that
will be ready to cut the first week in July. If not cut they will
greatly injure the stock, the horses in particular, in which the
bloom-dust of the ragweed will produce an eye inflammation similar
to pinkeye. This weed, if not mown, will greatly hamper the
growth of grass, absorbing most of the moisture and holding down
the growth, while if mown it will not be harmful to the pasture;
on the contrary, it will act as a mulch and serve to hold up the
tall, rank growth of bluegrass. The stock now may be kept on
pasture until snow covers them, which is usually about the middle

GRASS MIXTURES FOR NEBRASKA 393

of December. Stock is kept on these pastures only in sufficient
number to leave plenty of grass to hold the snow. In this way
we have nearly eight months of pasture from our Kentucky blue-
grass.

We cannot keep the clover out, and while we do not think it im-
proves the feeding value of the pasture, we do think it gives new
life to the bluegrass, which is perhaps due to the nitrogen introduced
in the soil by the clover. Horses in particular would be better off
without the clover, as it makes them slobber. Clover and timothy
make a good fall pasture. While we do not sow clover for that
purpose, it naturally comes in in that way. We sow the clover for
fertilizing purposes, sowing all our small grain to clover regardless
of what the next crop may be. Spring sowing often gives 30 to
40 days’ good pasture during August until plowed up for winter
wheat, enough to pay for the seed. Alfalfa not fitting well in our
rotation of crops, we set aside for meadow and hog pasture, with
a partition fence to divide it into halves, mowing and pastur-
ing, turn about; that is to say, mow one-half the first of one month
and pasture the next and so on, turn about. A good all-round
pasture was always obtained by sowing the following mixture:

Meadow fescue, 12 pounds; orchard grass, 4 pounds; brome grass,
4 to 8 pounds; timothy, 1 pound; red clover, 1 pound.

This mixture would be about right for central Nebraska. Going
north I would increase the brome grass and decrease the meadow
fescue in proportion; while going south I would reverse the change;
that is, increase the meadow fescue and decrease the brome grass.
These grasses may be sown with or without nurse-crops and if
once established are quite drouth and heat-resistant. We have used,
if convenient, the first growth for hay, but found it lacking in
quality when compared with clover and timothy. The pasture of
the mixture usually is good by May 1, and will last until killed
by frost. It may be improved by mowing it high when seeds are
formed by the principal grasses, but the clipping is usually worth
as much when left to lie on the ground as when taken off for hay.
It will renew the pasture from year to year and make a thicker
stand and sod, which are both desirable for this mixture of
grasses. Here again, the same as recommended for the bluegrass
pasture, a big heavy top is at all times preferable to excessive short-
ness, as it will hold the moisture of the soil needed for big juicy
growth of vegetation,

394 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

As to the relative feeding value of the three principal grasses,
I have no positive knowledge, but know that they supplement each
other admirably, for the reason that they do not ripen all at the
same time. Meadow fescue after clipping or cutting for seed will
remain tender and to some degree for a longer time than either
brome or orchard grass. For real winter pasture there is perhaps
nothing better than winter rye, unless it be Kentucky bluegrass,
reserved for that purpose. Rye sown early in the fall on ground
calculated for corn may be pastured closely until May 1, when a
disk should be set to work and thoroughly kill it before planting
to corn. All remaining rye will not help the corn; on the con-
trary, it saps the ground of moisture and is obstructive to good
cultivation. Winter rye sown in the spring will not go to straw
much before July, and has helped us out as hog pasture and has
acted as a nurse-crop for grasses sown in the early spring. We
have been able to pasture the spring-sown grasses right after mowing
about July 1.

NortH Daxota.—Prof. J. H. Shepperd, Director of the North
Dakota Experiment Station, Agricultural College: Timothy, brome
grass and redtop have the field for meadow and pasture production
in this state. Brome grass finds its place in the drier districts where
timothy does not succeed, and where it in turn is readily killed by
ordinary cultivation operations when the grower is through with
it. Redtop is utilized for wet land that is subject to flooding.
Bluegrass is highly valued here as elsewhere for lawn-producing
purposes, but it is only a fair success where water cannot be pro-
cured for it, in the eastern part of the state, and is a failure in the
dry-land districts where an artificial water supply cannot be admin-
istered. Red clover is the most successful of the entire group of its
kind and is seconded by alsike. Mammoth clover survives here, but
is not so satisfactory as the common red strain. White clover is
used in connection with bluegrass for growing lawns.

Ounto.—Prof, Chas. E. Thorne, Director of the Ohio Experiment
Station, Wooster: We are comparing grasses in a small way, but
thus far have found nothing that would encourage us to expect
from it any superiority to our old and long-tested bluegrass and
redtop. Next to these I would place the tall fescue from my per-
sonal experience with it before the station was established. It is
especially adapted to redtop soils and possesses some points of con-

GRASSES IN OREGON 393

siderable superiority, starting earlier in the spring and giving later
pastures in the fall. The only objection to this grass is the greater
expense of the seed and the difficulty of getting pure seed, as the
seedsmen are disposed to substitute the inferior meadow fescue, or
even the English perennial ryegrass, which, while a splendid grass in
England, has not given similar results in our work by a long way.
My advice, therefore, has been to sow for permanent pastures a
mixture of timothy, medium red clover, alsike clover, Kentucky blue-
grass and redtop, the idea being that the red clover will occupy the
land practically but one year, and will leave additional fertility
for the grass following. The timothy will generally disappear within
two or three years, and by that time the redtop and blue grass will
be ready to occupy the land. The alsike seems to be better adapted
to moist situations and to be a little more permanent in its character
than the red clover. I am convinced that our permanent meadows
and pastures need regular and systematic fertilizing just as much
as do the grain fields, and that one serious defect in our system
of agriculture is the neglect of this point. I regret that we have
no definite experiments on this point, such as we have in the
management of cereals. We are now instituting a series of experi-
ments in the renewing and improving of pastures, similar to those
in progress in Scotland.

Orecon.—Prof. James Withycombe, Director of the Oregon Ex-
periment Station, Corvallis: There are many native grasses in this
state, but few are of much economic value. Among these are the
bunch grasses (Agropyron, divergens and spicatum) and the sheep
fescues. The former are found in the range districts of eastern
Oregon and the latter are practically distributed all over the state.
The bunch grasses, however, cannot withstand severe grazing, con-
sequently are in a large measure’ destroyed. After the destruction
of the bunch grasses the festucas make their appearance. The
station has tested about 150 varieties of grasses collected from all
parts of the world. Many of these did well, but only a few were
considered of especial value. Among the very best for western
Oregon are English ryegrass, Italian ryegrass, orchard grass and
meadow fescue. These are the best for both pasture and hay.
For seeding meadow land it is well to add a small amount of
timothy, redtop and Kentucky bluegrass. Kentucky bluegrass does
well on the irrigated or moist soils of eastern and southern Oregon,

396 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

which are usually well supplied with lime. There are some 17 native
varieties of clover found in Oregon; thus the common varieties of
clover do well. Red clover of course is the best, then come alsike
and white. Crimson clover has not been very successfully grown.
If it can be germinated early in the fall it will make a good crop.
Alsike clover does remarkably well on what is locally known as
“white land.” This is a whitish clay land, very wet during winter
and practically devoid of humus. Where a seed crop is not de-
sired the red and alsike clovers are sown together and the combin-
ation makes a very desirable hay.

Clover is usually sown in the spring with grain, although some
of our best farmers sow it alone or with about 1 pound of rape
seed per acre. This latter method is very popular in some dis-
tricts on account of the excellent fall pasture it affords for sheep
and other small stock. Another popular method for a somewhat
permanent pasture or meadow is to sow the clovers in the spring
and the grass seeds the following fall. Another popular system is
to sow red clover in the spring and timothy in the fall. This is
usually done for hay. The first hay crop is clover, the next is
half clover and half timothy and the next is practically clean
timothy. Gypsum is wonderfully helpful to all of the legumes, so
the general practice among our better farmers is to sow from 50.
to 75 pounds of gypsum per acre each spring on all of their
leguminous crops. This practice has been found good in pastures,
particularly when clover is present.

Little work has been done in this state in the way of rejuvenating
pastures and meadows. Some of our more progressive farmers
have secured excellent results from the application of a light coat-
ing of barnyard compost, disking and where needed re-seeding,
which is covered by harrowing. This should be done early in the
fall so that the first general rains will germinate the seeds. Over-
pasturing is the bane of the meadows and pastures. Close grazing
during the dry period is very destructive to the better grasses and
clovers.

Ruope IstaAnp.—Dr. H. J. Wheeler, Director of the Rhode Is-
land Experiment Station, Kingston: For ordinary open uplands
the best grasses for Rhode Island are timothy (phleum pratense)
and redtop. Common red clover and particularly alsike clover are
also very desirable. From my experience, orchard grass is only

GRASSES IN SOUTH CAROLINA 397

to be recommended for use where there is more or less shade and
in somewhat moist lands. For land which is too moist for the best
success with some of the other grasses tall meadow, oatgrass,
bromus inermis and meadow fescue can be successfully grown, and
I wish to lay particular emphasis on the last one. For pasture
purposes in this state I consider Kentucky bluegrass and Rhode
Island bent the best, though Kentucky bluegrass will not succeed
generally without the use of lime or wood ashes, while Rhode Island
bent will grow on our natural soil very readily.

South CarottinaA.—Prof. J. N. Harper, Director of the South
Carolina Experiment Station, Clemson College: Bermuda is with-
out doubt our very best grass. It makes a splendid pasture and can
be grazed for about seven months during the year. It withstands
drouth well and loves sunlight. As it does not seed in this climate
it is propagated by planting the underground stems. The early
spring is the best time to plant it. The best way to start Bermuda
is to lay off 3’ rows with a turning plow. Drop the particles of
Bermuda in these furrows about every 10” to 12”. Bermuda should
follow bur clover, vetch, cowpeas, soybeans or beggar weed. At
the time the plants are dropped in the open furrows, 100 pounds of
acid phosphate, 50 pounds of kainit and 150 pounds of cottonseed-
meal should be applied in the furrow and then covered with a
turning plow by running one furrow. About April 15, the following
year, 75 pounds of nitrate of soda should be applied as a top-dress-
ing. The second year after planting, plow shallow with a light
turning plow or disk harrow and sow cowpeas, cutting the cow-
peas off in the early fall. This should be repeated about every
third or fourth year. Bur clover planted in Bermuda pasture also
greatly benefits it.

The best time to harvest Bermuda is just after heading. In this
climate it is usually ready to begin to pasture with hogs and sheep
about June 1. On our bottom lands it makes a splendid meadow
grass. Bermuda pastures and meadows should not be allowed to
remain in grass except in permanent pastures more than 10 years.
Bermuda is rich in carbohydrates and almost as good as timothy
hay. It is of great benefit to our soils because it fills the soil with
humus and fibrous roots. The underground stems are perennial ;
the plant is annual. Its worst enemy in our pastures is the paspalum
grass. It is a heavy feeder on nitrogen. We get an average of
from 1 to 5 tons of hay from rich bottom soils.

398 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Texas bluegrass (Poa arichnifera) is another grass well adapted
to this section. The sod should be planted in October or Novem-
ber or March or April. Plant the same as Bermuda. The rotations
should be the same as Bermuda. It should be fertilized about the
same as Bermuda except it is well to use nitrate of soda, about 50
pounds per acre at the time of putting out the sod. It should be
cut for hay when in full bloom. It does not make a very good hay
and should be used entirely for pasturing. The rootstock is peren-
nial; the stem is annual. Its weed enemies are broom sedge, Ber-
muda, burdock and sour dock. It is a heavy feeder on nitrogen.
The source of seed should be southern Texas. It is best adapted
to a clayey soil or sandy loam with clay subsoil.

Bur clover is perhaps one of the best clovers for this country.
While it does not afford very good grazing, it is one of our greatest
soil-improvers. This year I obtained 50 bushels of seed from one-
third of an acre. The seed was harvested the middle of June. I
have now growing on the patch, corn, cowpeas, German millet and
sorghum and these crops are as fine as I ever saw on the rich soils
of Kentucky.

Crimson clover is also a splendid clover. It makes good hay and
puts the soil in good shape. Japan clover or lespedeza is a splendid
pasture clover. Red clover can be grown with us after the land has
been made rich. White clover is a very good plant for our pastures.
It does well in a pasture of Texas bluegrass. Orchard grass prob-
ably comes next to Texas bluegrass. We get from 1% to 2 tons
of hay on our: soils that have been improved. Redtop also does well,
and Johnson grass, while it is a pest in our cornfields, is a splendid
meadow grass. We get from 2 to 3 tons per acre, and sometimes
as much as 4 tons on our rich bottom lands. I would place the
legumes in this order: Cowpeas, soybeans, Russian vetch, Florida
beggarweed, bur clover, and crimson clover.

NortH Carotina.—Prof. B. W. Kilgore of the North Carolina
Department of Agriculture, Raleigh: The best grass for pasture in
the eastern two-thirds of the state is unquestionably Bermuda. We
can hardly say there is a second-best, though Japan clover or les-
pedeza with Bermuda will likely occupy second place. On our low,
wet and valley lands which furnish most of the pasturage for the
eastern two-thirds of the state, there are a number of native grasses
which give good pasturage. For the western third of the state

NORTH CAROLINA GRASSES 399

bluegrass stands first, with redtop second and timothy or tall
meadow oatgrass third and fourth. For the Piedmont and moun-
tain sections we recommend red clover, timothy and redtop. For
the eastern or sandy portion of the state we recommend Italian rye
and tall meadow oatgrass for hay. As to clovers for the Piedmont
and mountain sections, red clover stands first and for the eastern
part crimson clover, though crimson clover is gfown as a winter
crop to a considerable extent in the mountains and in the Piedmont
section. ,

For the coastal plain section the best grasses for pasturage pur-
poses are Bermuda grass (root cuttings), redtop, orchard grass,
white clover, Japan clover, mammoth clover, alsike clover.

Mixtures for permanent pastures are, No. 1: Bermuda grass
(root cuttings). One every 12” in 2’ furrows. Cuttings should be
about 4” long. Japan clover, 12 pounds. No. 2: redtop, 20 pounds;
mammoth clover, 10 pounds. Seeding per acre 30 pounds. No. 3:
Orchard grass, 10 pounds; redtop, 10 pounds; tall meadow oat, 7
pounds; meadow fescue, 7 pounds. Seeding per acre, 34 pounds.

For a permanent pasture in low woodiand, No. 1: Redtop, 14
pounds; perennial rye, 10 pounds; tall meadow oat, 5 pounds;
alsike clover, 5 pounds. Seeding per acre, 34 pounds.

Grasses for pasturage purposes in the Piedmont and mountain
sections: Redtop, timothy, orchard grass, bluegrass, mammoth
clover, alsike clover, white clover, red clover.

Best grasses for meadows: Redtop, fodder grass, bluegrass,
meadow fescue, orchard grass, tall meadow oat, Japan clover, mam-
moth clover, red clover, alsike clover.

Mixtures for permanent pasture, No. 1: Orchard grass, 10 pounds;
tall meadow oat, 10 pounds; bluegrass, 5 pounds, red clover, 5
pounds. Seeding per acre, 30 pounds. No. 2: Orchard grass, 10
pounds; redtop, 10 pounds; bluegrass, 4 pounds; red clover, 6
pounds. Seeding per acre, 30 pounds. No. 3: Timothy, 10 pounds;
meadow fescue, 5 pounds; bluegrass, 5 pounds; mammoth clover,
10 pounds. Seeding per acre, 30 pounds.

For meadows, No. 1: Timothy, 14 pounds; redtop, 10 pounds;
mammoth clover, 6 pounds. Seeding per acre 30 pounds. No. 2:
Redtop, 25 pounds; alsike clover, 5 pounds. Seeding per acre, 30
pounds.

For permanent pastures in woodland (mountain sides), No. 1:
Orchard grass, 14 pounds; redtop, 7 pounds; tall meadow oat, 6

400 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

pounds; bluegrass, 3 pounds; red clover, 5 pounds. Seeding per
acre, 35 pounds.

For permanent pasture in creek bottoms and other low lands, No.
1: Timothy, 14 pounds; redtop, 10 pounds; alsike clover, 6 pounds.
No. 2: Redtop, 24 pounds; alsike clover, 6 pounds. Seeding per
acre, 30 pounds. No. 3: Redtop, 14 pounds; meadow fescue, 10
pounds; white clover, 6 pounds. Seeding per acre, 30 pounds.
No. 4: Redtop, 14 pounds; tall meadow oat, 10 pounds; fowl
meadow fescue, 6 pounds. Seeding per acre, 30 pounds. No. 5:
Redtop, 14 pounds; tall meadow fescue, 10 pounds; Canada blue-
grass, 6 pounds. Seeding per acre, 30 pounds. No. 6: Tall
meadow oat, 24 pounds; alsike clover, 6 pounds. Seeding per acre,
30 pounds. | ae

Wyominc.—Prof, Aven Nelson, Secretary of the Wyoming State
Board of Horticulture, Laramie: Until within comparatively recent
years we have depended very largely on the native grasses both for
pasture and for meadow. Now, however, we are growing a number
of standard grasses in meadows and to some extent pastures are
being made. Of the introduced grasses I think timothy takes first
place as a hay grass and bluegrass and redtop as pasture grasses.
It is scarcely worth naming any legume other than alfalfa. It is
grown very extensively now and is without doubt our most valu-
able forage plant. Red and alsike clover are also used, but hold a
distinctly secondary place.

Texas.—Prof. H. H. Harrington, Director of the Texas Experi-
ment Stations, Fort Worth: We have no grass comparable to
Bermuda in all that part of the state where rainfall is sufficient
to produce a proper growth, say east of the 100th meridian, or
where rainfall of from 22 to 25” exists. West of this line where the
rainfall is lighter, the various mesquite grasses and grama grass
are the best grazing grasses. A variety of the mesquite known as
Tobosa along the plains and valleys north and east of Davis Moun-
tains is an excellent pasture grass and makes a good quality of hay,
the hay being preferred by liverymen to alfalfa; but when the grass
gets dry in the field in winter it becomes very tough, and of course
less valuable. Where the rainfall is more, rescue grass and bur
clover succeed well and a mixture of these sown in alfalfa sod
makes desirable pasturage. The bur clover serves for winter graz-
ing, and early in the spring the rescue grass comes up in the

GRASSES IN TEXAS 401

clover, and this is followed by the Bermuda. Lespedeza, or Japan
clover does fairly well in the eastern part of the state. It like Ber-
muda is especially valuable to prevent hillside washing. It will
grow on very thin land and thrives on such land much better than
Bermuda, but it requires more rainfall and more sunshine to succeed
best. In the Panhandle, orchard grass and Kentucky bluegrass
do well. I would put Bermuda as the best for pasture in the
central and eastern part of the state. In the western part the mes-
quite grass and in the eastern part crab grass perhaps would be
second to Bermuda, this to follow rescue grass in the spring.
Lespedeza for summer pasture and bur clover for winter pasture
among the clovers. Of course where alfalfa can be grown it is
the best pasture clover, especially for hogs and almost equally good
for horses; but Bermuda has so much wider adaptability that it is
superior even to alfalfa in general utility. Crab grass requires con-
siderable rainfall. It is of course in the nature of a farm pest,
especially detrimental to alfalfa. At the same time it affords good
fall pasturage and makes an excellent hay.

For meadows, Johnson grass is perhaps superior to all others.
Buffalo grass or Colorado bottom grass makes an excellent hay, but
its growth is confined mainly to the southwestern part of the state.
It comes up as a volunteer in the cornfield after the last plowing;
is cut after the corn has been gathered, and is frequently more
valuable than the corn crop; but if put in a meadow alone at least
2 cuttings or perhaps 3 can be obtained. We have had most excellent
success with it at our Beeville station. In every part of the state
sorghum is a valuable hay plant. A mixture of native grasses
in the black prairie belt of the state, especially about Forney, fur-
nishes a valuable hay. This is true also of the coast prairie belt
from Beaumont to Victoria; but south Texas hay is very much
less valuable than the north Texas hay, from native grass. Prac-
tically nothing has been done in this state in the way of fertilizing
hay meadows, but what has been done leads clearly to the conclu-
sion that cottonseed-meal scattered broadcast in the fall of the year,
or late winter, will give most beneficial results—300 to 500 pounds
peracre. Texas is so large with a corresponding variation of soil and
climate that it would be difficult within the limitations of a letter
to give more explicit information.

The most favorable grass for summer pasture that we have is Ber-
muda, although alfalfa after it has been established two or three

402 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

years and when it can be irrigated will stand rather heavy pasturage,
and hogs and horses especially do remarkably well on it. I recently
witnessed in the Toyah Valley 30 mares with foal running on
alfalfa as an exclusive feed, and the mares were seal-fat, with udders
like those of milk cows. For a winter pasture, bur clover is ex-
cellent from Waco south in the rainbelt, for hogs and cattle. Horses
eat it indifferently. Rescue grass in the early spring is excellent
pasturage. In the northwestern part, especially where irrigation
can be practiced, Kentucky bluegrass does well.

Prof, H. Ness, Horticulturist of the Texas Agricultural Experi-
ment Stations, College Station: I send you a list of a few impor-
tant grasses with such extemporary notes and remarks as I can
make in a very short time. Curly mesquite is found over the
entire prairie district from Parker county west and south clear
to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It grows to be about
6” to 12” high; is a runner, forming a dense sod. As pasture grass
for the arid West this has no superior, inasmuch as it cures into
the best of hay in a dry season, recovers itself and is succulent and
green in a very few hours after a shower, and is exceedingly
nutritious. Its power of resisting drouth is remarkable. The
leaves may dry and curl; hence the name “curly”, and the stems
may dry until they burn as easy as hay, and are actually dead,
but the joints preserve the vitality very much after the manner
of seeds, and are evidently store-houses of nutritive matter that
readily become useful as propagators of the plants after a rain.

Paspalum dilatatum, Poir, is found mostly in the eastern half and
agricultural portion of Texas, especially on wet prairies, where it
makes a quick growth very early in the season, continuing to grow
until frost, so long as moisture is abundant. It is a perennial, but ~
is not a runner. The stems are ascending and the foliage very
heavy, with large, succulent leaves. This is one of the best pasture
grasses and also meadow plants of eastern Texas. It 1s an especially
good meadow plant where the land is too wet for ordinary crops.

Carpet grass is found over the moister portion of the coast
country clear to the Red River, throughout the forest belt of east
Texas. It is common in low, wet, open places, and seems to
delight especially in a compact, close soil. It starts growth very
early in the spring and frequently remains in green and growing
condition until Christmas, or until killed by severe frost. It is a
runner and affords a sod so thick that no other grasses or weeds

TEXAS GRASSES AND HAYS 403

can readily get a good hold on the same ground. Like all other
-grasses, however, it avoids shady places, yet it constitutes the
principal native pasture plant, as well as meadow plant, for east
Texas. This grass derives the name ‘“‘carpet grass” from its carpet-
like sod. Cattle relish it very much, even more than they do Ber-
muda grass and very much more than they do Paspalum dilatatum.

Buckley is called the “Colorado bottom grass” in Texas. It is an
annual about 3’ tall and is generally found throughout plowed
ground over a large portion of middle Texas, especially the black
land between the Colorado and Brazos Rivers. In this district it
is highly prized as a hay plant, as it furnishes one of the most
nutritious hays and very abundant yields. It readily reseeds itself,
and starts its growth’ in June. It may readily be cut several times
during the summer in the rainy season before the root is exhausted.

Para grass is a very coarse but nutritious annual 3’ to
6’ tall. It has especially taken hold of the alluvial irrigated lands
of the western coast country. It is not very much cultivated in
Texas due perhaps to the fact that the people are not well acquaint-
ed with it, but in the Rio Grande Valley it speedily occupies all
cultivated lands not continually plowed during the summer, giving
immense crops of the very best hay.

Bouteloua Oligostachya, is one of the many so-called “grama-
grasses” of the western plains. It is a perennial and a bunch grass,
but the bunches crowd each other so as to form almost a contin-
uous sod. It is perhaps one of the most abundant and highly prized
grasses of the cattle-raising belt, having the same quality of the
grasses of the arid region, namely, curing into hay during
the dry weather and speedily recovering its green and succulent
nature after a shower. Besides this, there are several other species
of Bouteloua, all highly valued by cattlemen, and nearly all cover-
ing the same area; that is, the great plains west of the 100th meri-.
dian.

Buffalo grass is found in great abundance over the great prairies
west of the so-called “cross timbers” in Texas. It is a low, compact
growth, giving a patch of it the appearance of a well-cared-for lawn,
inasmuch as the leaf shoots only reach the height of 4” to 6”, but
the herbage is abundant, as it is very dense. This grass besides
being one of the most highly-prized pasture plants of Texas, is
exceedingly suitable for lawn purposes. It has a vivid green color
and even growth, which makes it superior for that purpose to

404 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Bermuda grass, and also the fact that it is readily killed . by
cultivation. It can stand a great amount of tramping and drouth.
In appearance it is similar to Bermuda grass, except that the leaves
are more narrow, and the shoots of more even height. The two
grasses can readily keep the same area without being one too strong
for the other. The only difficulty with this grass is that it produces
seed in such small quantities that its distribution and propagation
are carried on by means of pieces of sod or runners. Otherwise,
it would undoubtedly be preferred to Bermuda. It can also grow
outside of the arid region. Here at College Station, with a rainfall
of 36” annually, I have found dense patches of it holding its own
against the other grasses.

UtaH.—Prof. Lewis A. Merrill, Director of the Utah Experiment
Station, Salt Lake City: In recent years we have found that brome
grass is the very best grass we can grow on our arid lands. It was
introduced in the state some 12 years ago, and its growth has been
gradually extended until now there are thousands of acres of land
lying above the irrigation canal seeded to brome grass. We find
that it is absolutely essential to get a good seedbed before seeding.
If we attempt to seed it on the barren hillsides without preparation
of a proper seedbed the result is a failure. However, where the
seedbed is properly prepared and the seed drilled in at the rate
of 12 to 15 pounds per acre we get an excellent stand. The grass
yields when cut for hay from 1% to 2% tons per acre. It makes
a splendid aftermath, and thus makes a very profitable growth for
cheap lands. We have tried a large number of grasses on these arid
lands, including Agropyron spicatum, Elymus triticoides, Elymus
condensatus; also orchard grass, tall meadow oatgrass, and perennial
ryegrass. None of these has given satisfaction. They have not
made a good stand, and after six years’ experimental work with
these varieties on arid lands we have come to the conclusion that
brome grass is practically the only one of the list that we can
recommend to our farmers for arid lands. We have tried brome
under irrigation, but we prefer some other grasses under these
conditions.

For a pasture grass under irrigation we have found none that
begins to equal in importance Kentucky bluegrass. It stands at the
head of the list as a single grass for pasture under irrigation. As a
second choice under irrigation, I would place brome grass. I am

GRASSES IN UTAH 405

free to say, however, that in my opinion we would make a very
serious mistake, on our irrigated lands, if we confined ourselves to
one or two grasses. For our benchlands under irrigation I would
recommend the following mixture: Kentucky blue grass, 6 pounds;
meadow fescue, 3 pounds; perennial ryegrass, 7 pounds; red clover,
2 pounds; redtop, 6 pounds; orchard grass, 3 pounds; white clover,
2 pounds; lucern, 2 pounds. This mixture is used on our experi-
ment station pasture.

For light sandy soil under irrigation I would use the following

mixture: Kentucky bluegrass, 8 pounds; meadow fescue, 16 pounds;
tall meadow oatgrass, 5 pounds; Bromus inermis, 5 pounds; white
clover, 2 pounds. For our low moist lands we have found the
following mixture gives excellent results: Perennial ryegrass, 8
pounds; redtop, 10 pounds; Rhode Island bed grass, 4 pounds;
meadow fescue, 2 pounds; timothy, 2 pounds; alsike clover, 5
pounds; white clover, 2 pounds.
- Of course for meadow the crop mainly grown here is timothy
and clover. Hay from meadows of this kind sells at from $10
to $12 per ton, while alfalfa in good condition sells at $5 to $6
per ton. I think this is a mistake, but it is the practice here. I much
prefer a ton of alfalfa for feed to any of the domestic animals to
a ton of timothy or redtop. A number of our farmers make a prac:
tice of seeding orchard grass with alfalfa, since orchard grass
matures about at the same time, and it is claimed that because
it dries so readily it absorbs part of the moisture from the alfalfa
and enables them to put it into mounds greener than if the alfalfa
is sown alone. We have found it a very desirable practice to cover
our pastures with well-rotted barnyard manure at the rate of about
15 tons per acre once in three years. The manuring is done during
the winter season, and in the spring a sharptoothed harrow is run
over the ground two or three times, scratching the surface very
thoroughly.

We find it necessary about once in three years to reseed, and
this is done after the harrowing, and just before the spring rains
begin. Our alfalfa fields can be renewed and kept in splendid con-
dition by the use of the disk harrow. The field is thoroughly
disked and cross-disked along in February or March, and the prac-
tice of disking again after the removal of the first crop is gaining
many advocates. During the past few years there has been intro-
duced in this state a pest to the alfalfa crop, the alfalfa weevil.

406 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

Our entomologist recommends the disking of alfalfa fields after the
removal of each crop in order to exterminate the insect. The
practice has been found effective in destroying the insect and has
also resulted in renewing the fields in a splendid way.

WasHuIncTon.—Prof, R. W. Thatcher, Director of the Washing-
ton Experiment Station, Pullman: Alfalfa is the leading hay plant
in all our warmer irrigated belts that are not used strictly for fruit-
growing or vegetable-gardening. It is also becoming more and
more prominent in the southeastern part of our state for both a
pasture and a hay plant for hogs and what few cattle our wheat-
farmers may keep. It is just beginning to be grown in the western
part of Washington and enough has been done to show that all that
part of our state seems to need inoculation for alfalfa, but that it
will do well on any of the well-drained soils of western Washington
if such inoculation is given. I believe that it will become a very
prominent hay and pasture plant in western Washington. Nothing
has been done thus far in the matter of fertilizing for alfalfa. The
usual practice is to seed without a nurse-crop.

Clover is a very important forage plant in western Washington,
and is just beginning to be grown to a very limited degree in the
easternmost part of the wheatbelt where the rainfall is above 20”
per annum. At Pullman our trials on the experiment station have
shown clover to be as valuable as alfalfa in short rotations, as the
yield has been about equal to that of alfalfa and it is got rid of by
plowing while alfalfa requires persistent cultivation before it is con-
quered. To secure a stand of clover with certainty in eastern
Washington, however, it is necessary to prepare the seedbed in the
spring in such a way that a good, firm bottom will be secured
with a shallow, mellow surface mulch, then seed with an ordinary
grain drill, slipping the spouts of the drill from the grain box onto
the grass seedbox conducting the clover seed into the shoes of the
drill, then setting the shoes to run shallow. In this way the seed
is placed where the little seedling will not be destroyed with one or
two hot drying days. Seeded in this manner we find no more difh-
culty in securing a stand of clover than of oats. With the frequent
rains that occur in the early part of the season in western Wash-
ington such special pains are not necessary in seeding.

Alsike clover is useful in our state in very limited acreages
where the drainage is poor or the land is subject to overflow the

GRASSES IN WISCONSIN 407

early part of the season. Timothy is grown quite exclusively along
the’ streams close ta the mountains in both the eastern and western
part of our state. This grass is used very largely for hay. In
Kittitas Valley irrigated land is largely used for this purpose. With
easy transportationsto a good market like Seattle the better farmers
in Kittitas Valley are able to secure some seasons nearly $100 an
acre gross receipts from their timothy hay. It is grown to some
extent in, western. Washington, though certain other grasses are
grown in western Washington more proportionately than in like
latitude in any other part of the United States.

For pasture, our best grass is orchard grass, which :s grown prin-
cipally in the western part of the state, but it is being mixed with
alfalfa by a few farmers in our irrigated belt in order to overcome
the danger of bloat in live stock when used for pasture.

Italian and English ryegrasses are grown to a considerable extent
in western Washington for pasture purposes, but are of no value
in any other part of the state. Tall oatgrass has been found to do
fairly well in the lighter lands of western Washington, but it
matures too early to make a good hay plant in that section because
the rains are so frequent up to July that hay harvest is very
uncertain.

Wisconsin.—Prof. A. L. Stone of the Department of Agronomy,
Wisconsin College of Agriculture, Madison: There are only three
or four grasses of real importance in Wisconsin. We have a large
number of grasses, both cultivated and native, and many are valu-
able agriculturally. But for pastures and meadows there are but
three or four which are in common use. We consider Kentucky
bluegrass by far the best grass which we have for pasture. While
it does not equal some other grasses, like brome or meadow
fescue, for instance, in yields, it proves to be the best pasture grass
for all conditions. In our best pasture we have a mixture of Ken-
tucky bluegrass and white and alsike clovers, using but a very little
however, of the alsike. On our lower soils we use some Kentucky
bluegrass, a larger amount of redtop, white and alsike clovers.
We find that the redtop gives better satisfaction on the low soil than
the Kentucky bluegrass, though a mixture of the two gives very
good satisfaction.

In the order of their merit, I should say that the four best grasses
would be Kentucky bluegrass, redtop, brome grass and _ either

408 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

orchard grass or meadow fescue. For highlands, we would use
a mixture of Kentucky bluegrass and white clover; for lowland
Kentucky bluegrass, white and alsike clovers and redtop. For
meadows we use timothy, either alone or a mixture of timothy and
red clover for the higher ground, timothy and alsike clover for the
lower ground. ;

In establishing bluegrass pastures, it is customary for our farmers
to sow a mixture of timothy, redtop, Kentucky bluegrass, and white
clover. This gives an opportunity to get at least two crops of hay
from the timothy and clover, and by the time:the timothy and
clover are gone we get a fair sod of Kentucky bluegrass, and get a
crop which may then be pastured. Ordinarily the mixture for this
purpose would be about 15 pounds of timothy, 8 pounds of red
clover, 10 pounds of Kentucky bluegrass and 2 pounds of white
clover. This mixture for meadows would be changed somewhat
in regard to the soil, using alsike clover and possibly redtop and
Canada bluegrass in place of Kentucky bluegrass on low wet ground.

Since brome grass has become popular many of our farmers are
mixing some of it and also more or less redtop in all pasture seeding.
In this way they get grasses which are inclined to mature at different
times of the year, and so obtain a continuous pasture.

Medium red clover is the most popular of any of the clovers
grown in the state. Alfalfa where it does well is crowding out even
the red clover. Thus far we have found very few sections of the state,
however, where alfalfa has given very good satisfaction. The area
devoted to this plant, however, is rapidly increasing, as we come to
better understand the methods of handling it. Besides growing the
alfalfa by itself, many of our farmers have adopted the plan of
mixing in more or less alfalfa seed in their timothy and clover
seedings, thus getting some alfalfa in all the hay grown on the
farm. This not only adds to the palatability of the hay, but
assists in establishing the bacteria in the soil. Next to these two
alsike clover is perhaps next in popularity and importance. It grows
especially well in Wisconsin, and is used to a very large extent as
an addition to our meadow mixtures. Next in order would
undoubtedly be the mammoth clover. All of these give fairly good
satisfaction, though the mammoth clover is slightly too coarse for
the best grade of forage.

Few farmers in Wisconsin have yet resorted to the use of com-
mercial fertilizers. We have advocated the use of barnyard manure.

HAWAIIAN GRASS CROPS 409

and the rotation of crops to preserve the fertility of the soil, and
discouraged the use of commercial fertilizers. The programme for
the ordinary farmer is as follows: The whole pasture is given a
good coating of barnyard manure usually with a manure spreader,
thus dropping the manure evenly. This is plowed down and corn
planted the next year. Corn is followed by one year of grain,
either oats or barley, and the field is seeded to timothy, red clover,
Kentucky bluegrass, white clover, in the proportions already men-
tioned. The next year hay is cut, depending on circumstances.
The field is either left for hay the second year, or is turned into
pasture. Ordinarily the farmer runs it two years to hay, and then
one year to pasture, depending on the rotation of crops adopted.
We have found that by this system we have been able to get very
satisfactory crops of grain and hay. Nothing other than the ap-
plication of barnyard manure and the change of crops has thus
far been done to increase the yield of clover in this state.

Hawat.—Prof. F. G. Krauss, in charge of Rice and Cotton
Investigations, Hawaii Experiment Station, Honolulu: Bermuda is
a valuable pasture grass, thriving throughout the Hawaiian group.
It is very drouth-resistant, spreads rapidly, and is difficult to eradi-
cate. It responds wonderfully to irrigation and tillage, is rarely
fertilized; but results from cattle droppings in pastures suggest that
manuring would pay well. It is rarely used as a soiling crop, but
lawn mowings of this grass are commonly fed to family horses and
cows with good results.

Para grass is extensively planted by dairymen throughout Hawaii,
and-is considered a nutritious feed for both cows and _ horses.
Under irrigation it yields 4 crops in 12 months. The writer has
made weighings from fertilized plots averaging 20 tons of green
fodder per acre, per single cutting. The crop is planted from
cuttings of the mature stems, which are long, close-jointed trailers.
Furrows are plowed 18” to 36” apart and the cuttings a foot long
set. a few inches apart in the furrow, which is then partly filled
in and then irrigated. Often yields are obtained when the plants
are a year old. Fields require renewing, or at least plowing once
in five years or so. It is principally used as a soiling crop and
should not be permitted to get too old to avoid woodiness.

Water grass is a valuable Australian “bunch” grass gradually
meeting with the recognition it deserves. Imported seed germinates

410 MEADOWS AND PASTURES

poorly. It makes great dense clumps of tender nutritious forage or
fodder greedily eaten by all kinds of live stock. It responds well ps
irrigation and fertilization. The clumps may be divided and repl

ed, such renewal being advisable every three or five years. Whe
well established in pastures it spreads through natural seed distri-
bution.

Rhodes: grass, a comparatively recently introduced grass, is meet-
ing with high praise from all who have tried it. It is very drouth-
resistant and yields a nutritious grass, which may be cured for hay.
It pastures well or may be used for soiling. Horses, cattle and
sheep relish and thrive on it. It spreads naturally from seed,
or may be propagated by root division.

Buffalo grass is another valuable introduced pasture grass. It
produces a rather dwarf growth, but a very dense matting not easily
‘destroyed when once established. It is propagated by root. or
stem divisions as well as by seed.

Guinea grass is a dense, coarse, upright bunch grass, attaining
a height of 4’ to 6’, relished by stock when young and tender, but
becoming harsh with maturity it has more limited use than the
other sorts mentioned. It is very hardy against adverse conditions,
and finds favor on that account. .

Many grasses especially suited for range pastures have been
introduced into Hawaii. during the past dozen years, but the
writer is not familiar with their conditions. In a general way
I have understood that the peas, bent grasses, bromes, gramas, fes-
tucas and rye grasses have become more or less established through-
out the group.

Alfalfa is practically the only “clover” grown in Hawaii. It
thrives luxuriantly under favorable conditions and yields 10 to 12
cuttings annually. Its culture is continually being extended and
bids fair to become the leading fodder where conditions are favor-
able for its growth. }5

EncLanp.—James Peter, Estate Agent, Berkeley Castle, Berkeley:
As to pasture management, for fertilizers nothing can beat basic
slag for improving the herbage and giving a quick return. It is
marvelous the result it has on our cold clay soils with a dressing
of 5 and 6 cwts. to the acre. Farmyard manure well made is the
most complete’ manure of all others, but any kind of gdressing
if Only*fresh earth, will do pasture land good. Ditch cleanings and

ENGLISH PASTURE WORK 411

pond scrapings mixed with lime in a composite heap makes a fine
dressing for pasture land. Ground bones of 4 cwt. to the acre is
a dressing that should be applied to all grazing pasture land once
in 7 years. All pastures should be well harrowed in the winter to
remove the moss that grows in the bottom; the harrow helps to
stimulate the grass roots.

gee

Lh DEX:

Absorption, by roots, 18.
Acid phosphate, with manure, 34.
Aftermath, not pastured, 29.

too heavy, 39.
Agropyrum repens. (See Quack-

grass. )

Agrostis alba.
Alabama, 353.
Alfalfa, 212.

brome grass with, 110.

care of, 229.

cuttings, 242.

feeding excess, 24.

fertilizer for, 229.

hay, 235.

history of, 214.

irrigation for, 246.

life of, 4,

mowing, 234.

on Johnson grass land, 66.

pasture for sheep, 349

seedbed for, 232.

seed drill, 229.

seeding of, 230:

spring sowing, 228.

spring and summer seeding, 224.

varieties of, 245.

with bluegrass, 88.

with orchard grass, 108.

with timothy, 30.
Alopecurus pratensis, 248.
pani clever, compared with red,

(See redtop.)

effect on cattle, 167.

likeness to redtop, 106.
Amropyron divergens, 75.
Annual grasses, for hay, 68.
Arabian “millet, 62.
Arkansas, 355.
Arrhenatherum clatius, 60.
Artemesia, 328.
Azotobacter, 20, 147.

Bacteria, conditions favoring, 141.
in old sod, 20.
on legumes, 135.

Basic slag, expects with, 310.
on pastures, 273, 30

Barley, nurse crop for ‘Alfalfa, 228.

Bear dless spring barley, as hay,

Beggarweed, 364.

Bermuda grass, 353, 360.
choice of land for, 118.
climate for, 114.
eradication of, 117.
history of,
in the south, 116.
method of planting, 22.

on poor soils, 115.
preparation of soil fOr, 121.
propagation of,

stem of, 22.

with bur clover, 20.

Black locust, in pasture, 323.
Bloating, 351.
Bluegrass, advantages of, 84.
and cowpeas, 276.
disadvantages of, 85.
for lawns, 84.
how came to Ohio, 92.
ra distinguish from Canada,

how to seed, 88, 89.

in limestone regions, s0.
in timothy, 2

mixture with, 283.
securing maximum yield, 91.
seeding of,

stem of, 23.

summary, 99.

with alfalfa, 88.

with brome grass, 86.
with orchard grass, 91.

Bluejoint, 248, 16.
Bluestem, 75.
Bonemeal, for ‘stock, 271.

with salt, 351.
Boss, Andrew, 377.
Boutelona oligostachya, 403.
Bridging pasture, timothy, 41.
Brome grass,

care of pasture, 111.

cornered with orchard grass,

drouth-resisting power of, 109.
for animals, 109

how to sow, 52.

mixture with, 283.

north of Ohio River, 17.
not mix with orchard, 49.
seeding of,

stem of, 22.

value of, 50.

when to cut, 52.

with bluegrass, 86.

Bromus inermis.
grass. )

Bromus unoiloides, 70.

Brooks, William P., 388.

Broom corn millets, 71.

Bulbs, of timothy, 29.

Bull thistle, 330.

Bunch grass, 16.

Bur clover, 354, 364, 174.
with Bermuda grass, 20.

Burnett, EH. A., 389.

(See brome

(413)

414

Calamagrostis (See
Bluejoint. )
Calvin, Martin V., 366.
Canada bluegrass, 100.
as lawn grass, 103.
how to anaes from
- Kentucky, 104...
iva timothy, 29. -
mixture with, 283:
quantity of seed to sow, 103.
with. orchard grass, 108.
Canada thistles, 329.
Canary grass, seeding OF LT:
Capriola dactylon. (See ‘Bermuda
. STAass. )
Carbonate of lime, 258.
and legume growing, 142.
for sweetening soil,
Carnation clover, 167.
Carpet grass, 124, $53.
Cattle, bloat, 152.
pastured, 350.
Center, O. D., 367.
Cereals for hay, time to cut, 68.
Chaetolhloa italica,
Chemicals for soils, 275.
Clay soils, fertilization of, 302.
Clinton, rE. Ae Base
Clovers, 149.
care of when young, 292.
fed close, 22.
for feeding, 164.
grown with grasses, 19.
needing inoculation, 139.
seeding in spring, 288.
sown with spring crop, 158.
wheat and timothy, 32.
with orchard grass, 108.
with timothy, 30.
with timothy in wheat, 159.
Clover dodder, 162.
Clover ‘hay, making of, 161.
Clover mixtures, sowing of, 160.
Clover seed, growing of, 162.
with dodder, 164.
Clover-sick land, 166.
Cockleburs, 328.
Colts, fed on pasture, 350.
Connecticut, 383.
Corn, and cowpeas, 200.
Cornbelt, grasses for, 73.
Corn crop, after timothy, 303.
ore displaced by Japan clover,

Cotton cake, 314.

Cowpeas, 195, 354.
and bluegrass, 276.
with crimson clover, 173.

Crabegrass, 364.

Crimson clover, 167, 355.
as regenerator, 172.
climate and soil for, 169.
how to feed, 170
sowing of, 171.
with cowpeas, 173.

CIOUE effect of previous cuttings,

Canadensis.

INDEX

Curing green grain, 28.

Dairy cows, timothy unsuited, (25.
Daisy, 331.

Danthonia spicata, 60.

Delaware, 357

Dissolved bones, experiments with,

Dock, 3380.

Dodder, 162.

Drainage, depth, 257.
for poor lands, 256.
of grasslands, 18.

Drouth, and drainage, 258.
Dry farming, grasses for, 74.
Dry weather eee millets, 71.
Duggar, J. F.,

Dutch clover, "150.

HKarly cutting of timothy, 28.
Baer as indicate kind of soil,

Egyptian millet, 62.

England, 410

English bluegrass.
fescues. )

Erigeron annuus.
top. )

Ernst, William, 391.

Hsparcette, 190.

Pepe with grass at home,

(See meadow
(See White

Export ‘cattle, on bluegrass, 92.

Feed, danger in alfalfa, 25.

Feeding on pastures, 294.

Feeding pastures, 300.

Ferns, 331.

Fertilization, diversity of, 301.
summary, 322.

ay. oe on timothy meadows,

Fescue. (See sheep fescue.)

Festuca elatior. (See fescue
grasses.

Festuca pratensis. (See meadow
fescue. )

Fieldmice, in aftermath, 39.

Field pea, 192.

Floats, with manure, 34.

Florida, 358.

Forage, of winter wheat, 69.
yields of, 45.

Fowl Meadowegrass, 250.

Furze, 338.

Georgia, 366.
Glycine hispida, 204.
Gorse, 338.
Gramineae.
Grass, bunch,

manner of growth, 22.
mixtures, 283.

seeding of, 280.

where most profitable, 279.

(See Grasses. )

INDEX

Grasses, care of when young, 292.
characterization of,
for pasture, 75.
grown with clover, 19.
how they feed, 17.
number of species, 15.
on peaty soils, 297.
time to seed, 282.
with legumes, 148.
Grasslands, drainage of, 18.
Grazing, effect on grasses, 293.
Ground lime, 310, 36.
Guinea grass, 67, 410.
Gulf States, grasses for, 74.
Hairy vetch,

+eee 354.
Harper, J. N., 397
Harrington, H. ne 400.
Harvesting, future effect of, “2:8.
Hay, feeding value of alfalfa, 238.
from cereals, 68.
from winter wheat, 69.
timothy, 16, 2:0, 23:
Hayloaders, 236.
Hawaii, 409.
Borner, effects of manure on,

Hoarhound, 329.
Horse breeding, 334.
Horse manure, on pastures, 299.
Horse nettle, 329.
Horses, effect of alfalfa, 25.

on Canada bluegrass, 102.
Horseweeds, 329.
Hurdling system, 338.
Hutchinson, W. L., 378.

Illinois, 367.
Indiana, 370.
Inoculation, for alfalfa, 224.
methods of, 138
of soils, 137.
of soybeans, 208.
Tronweeds, 329.
Irrigation, for alfalfa, 246.
Italian rye grass,

Japan clover, 188.
Japanese BE Gee 360.
Jenkins, E. on
Jimpson weed, 329.
Johnson grass, 62.

how to eradicate, 65.

Kansas, 371.

Kentucky Bluegrass. (See blue-
grass.)

Kilgore, B. W., 398.

Knots, 347.

Krauss, F. G., 409.

Lambs, fed on pasture, 348.
Lawns, of bluegrass, 84.
Legumes,
effect on soil, 149.
number of species, 14.
purpose of, 146, 135.

415

value of, 147.

with grasses, 148.
Lespedeza ‘striata, 188, 354.
ees from Experiment Stations,
Lime, effect on milkers, 268.

experiments with, 310.

on new grass land, 282.

on pastures, 267.

test for, 220.

where needed, 219.

with salt, 351.
Linfield, F. B., 388.
Locust trees, 333.

Lolium, 56.
(See alfalfa.)

Lucerne.
Mammoth clover, 152, 160.
Manure, how it acts on soil, 275.
on timothy meadows, 34.
waste of under trees, 324.
Manured grass, relished by ani-
mals, 298.
Manuring, new grass land, 282.
old land hayfield, 306.
Massachusetts, 388.
Meadow, life of a timothy, 40.
top- -dressing Ot woos
Meadow fescue,
tures, 55.
mixture with, 283.
‘soil for, 111.
value of, 53.
with orchard grass, 108.
Meadow foxtail, 248.
Meadow mouse, in timothy, 40.
Meadows, and hayland, 368.
care of, 252, 369, 298.
feeding of timothy, 33.
of alfalfa, 234.
Means’ grass, 62.
Medicago lupulina, 182.
maculata, 174.
obiculata, 175.
Melilotus alba, 177.
Merrill, Lewis A., 404.
Mice, remedies for, 40.
Michigan, 377.
Middle West, wants of, 332.
Milk, and lime, 268.
Millets, 70.
Mineral manures, on pastures, 297.
Minnesota, 377.
Mississippi, 378.
Missouri, 379.
Mixture, for poorly-drained land,
368.

in meadow mix-

for poor soil. 368.
for well-drained land, 367.
with timothy, 32.
Mixtures of grasses,
of, 284.
and grass production,

advantages
Moisture,

Phi Ge
Montana, 388.

Moorhouse, L. A., 382.
Mosses, 331.

416

Mowing, tall oat grass, 62.
millet, ;
time for brome grass, 52.
timothy, 25.
Mowing lands, top-dressing of, 37.
Mucuna utilis, 202.
Muhlenbergia diffusa. (See Nim-
ble-will. )
Mulleins, 329.

Natal grass, 366.

Nebraska, 389.

Nelson, Aven, 400.

Nelson, Martin, SIE

Ness, Et 402.

Nettle, 329.

New Hampshire, 383.

New York, 385.

Nimblewill, 130.

Nitrate of soda, for timothy, 38.

Nitrifying bacteria, aided by
humus,

Nitroeen. how secured by legumes,

in soil, effect of manure, 304.
supply of, 144.

Nodular disease, 300, 347.

North Carolina, 398.

North Dakota, 394.

Rete seeding grass with,

Ohio, 394.
Oklahoma, 382.
Onobrychis sativa, 190.
Orchard grass, 738, 353.
deers pilily and requirements of,

for animals, 107.
for cattle, 48.
mixture, 108, 283.
not mix with brome, 49.
quantity of seed to sow, 108.
with bluegrass, 91.
yield of, 46.
Oregon, 395.

Panicum maximum, 67.
molle, i

Para grass, 358, 67.

Parasites, in sheep manure, 300.
of sheep, 342.
in pastures, 327.

Paspalum, 124.

Pastures: care of, 252, 293, 323,

early stocking of, 325.
effect of trees on, 323.
feeding on, 294.

for sheep, 341.
grasses for, 75.
improvement in eine 309.
manure for, 297,
manure on,

mixed stocking of, 299.
of orchard grass, 108.
of alfalfa, 240.
productivity of, 20.

INDEX

. retaining moisture, 326,
rotation of stock in, 327.
‘sodbound, 21. .-
sweetened with lime, 267.
timothy, 39
weeds in, 328.

’ Pasturing, cattle, 350.

effects of early, 91.
Pearl millet, 71.
Pennisetum spicatum, 71.
ee was on limed pastures,
Permanent meadow, of timothy,
Permanent pastures,
manure on, 296
sheep on, 340.
Persimmons, 333.
Peter, James, 410.
Phosphatie rock, with manure, 34.
Phosphorus, as fertilizer, 302.
in soils, 297.
Pighead, 299.
Pigs, glean field, 206.
Pisum sativum, 192.
Plantain, 331.
Plant food, mineral, 18.
Plowing, for new grass land, 281.
Poa archnifera, 124.

effect of

compressa. (See Canada blue-
grass.)

praetensis. (See Kentucky blue-
grass. )

serontina, 250.

Poison ivy, 329.

Poor soil, grasses for, 106, 283.
sheep fescue for, 112.

Potassium, in soils, 297.
Que eradication of, 129,

establishment of, 126.
method of rooting, 16.
roots of, 22.

Ragweed, 328.
ae Barone spots

Red clover, 152.
diseases of, 166.
habit of growth, 154.
quantity to sow, 157.
seeding of, 156.
summary of, 165.
with timothy, 20.

Redtop, 3538.
adaptability of, 44, 105.
characteristics ‘of, 104.
how to displace, 44,
in mixtures, 106.
in timothy, 29.
leaves sweetened soil, 36.
mixture with,
seeding to, 106.
soil for, 42.
sowing of, 46.
stem of, 32.
with orchard grass, 108.

in pasture,

INDEX

Rescue grass, 70.

Rhodes grass, 410.

Rhode Island, 396.

Rohde, Carl, 391.

Roller, use of on grass, 291.
Root. method of growth, 18.
Rooting, of quackgrass, 16.
Rotation of crops, natural, 146.
Rotation of stock, 327. -
Ryegrass, 65, 60.

Rye hay, 69.

Sainfoin, 190.

Salt, given on pasture, 351.

Searlet clover, 167.

Scott, John M., 358.

Seeds, adulterated, 156.
amount per acre, 285.

Seeding grass, 286.

Seedlings, protection of, 286.

Shade in pastures, 3238.

Shaw, RS: 377.

Sheep bloat, 152.

Sheep, hard on timothy, 40.
on alfalfa pasture, 349.
timothy unsuited, 25.
tobacco to, 341.
to eat whitetop, 40.

Sheep fescue, 17, 56.

Sheep pastures, not

manured, 300.

Shepperd, J. H., 394.

sheep

Sodbound pastures, 21, 64.
Soil, for alfalfa, 216, 220.
enriched in nitrogen, 141.
for meadow, 253.
judged by grass, 102.
liked by red clover, 156.
poverty revealed by redtop, 30.
Soiling crop, alfalfa, 241.
rye and vetch mixture, 188.
rye as, 70.
Soil pitrenen, effect of manure on,

South Carolina, 397.
Soybeans, 204, 355.
coated with . cowpeas, 202,
inoculation of, 140.
with corn, 200.
Sparrowhawks, for mice, 40.
Spearmint, 329.
Spring crop, with clover, 158.
St. Augustine grass, 126.
Steers, on pasture, 352.
wintered on hay, 26.
Stenotaphrum dimideaton, 126.
Stocking of pastures, 299.
Stomach worms, 340.
Stone, A. L., 407.
Stooling, 15, 22.
Sugar cane, infested with Johnson
grass, ;
Sulphate of ammonia, 310.
Sulphate of potash, 310.
Sunburned grain, 28.

417

Sunburned grass, 278.
Superphosphate, 310.
Sweet clover, 177.

establishing of, 181.

in alfalfa, eso:

use of, 181.
Sweetening soil, 36.
Swine in alfalfa, 240.
Syrian grass, 62.

Tall oatgrass, 60.
Taylor, EF. W., 383.
Temporary pasture, 42.
Ten Hyck, A. M., 371.
Tethering, 337.
Texas, 400.
Texas bluegrass, 124.
Thatcher, R. W., 406.
Thistles, 330.
Thorne, Charles E., 394.
ey amount of hay from,
effect of early cutting, 28.
for feeding, 23, 164.
fertilization of, 303.
how close to cut, 40.
injured by mice, 40.
in the North, 16.
life of, 41.
manner of growth,
method of sowing,
mixtures, 32, 288.
sown alone, 33.
time of cutting, 25.
with alfalfa, 30.
with clover, 20.
with clover and wheat, 159.
worth of, 73.
Tobacco fed to sheep, 341.
YTop-dressing, effect of, 359.
with manure, 34.
Tree field experiments, 310.
Tricholaena rosea, 366.
Trifolium. (See white clover.)
hybridum, 166.
incarnatum, see Crimson clover.

Utah, 404.

Vegetable matter in soil, 274.

Velvet beans, 202, 360.

Vetches, for forage, 69.
needing inoculation, 140.

Vicia villosa, 183.

Vigna sinensis, 195.

Warren, G. F., 385.

Washington, 406.

Water meadows, 278.

Waters, He J, 379:

Weeds, effect of fertilization, 36.
effect on Bermuda grass, 116.

Wheat clover and timothy, 32,

hay, 61.

in timothy, 40..
stems from seed, 15.
with peas, 194.

C2 po
—

418

Wheeler, H. J., 396.
White, Paul J., 385.
White clover, 150.

with Bermuda grass, 116.
Wiancko, A, T.,
Wild oatgrass, 60.

Winter wheat, for forage, 69.

INDEX

Wiregrass, 358.
Wisconsin, 407.
Withycombe, James, 395.
Wyoming, 400.

Yarrow, 330
Yellow ‘trefoil, 182.

Alfalfa in America

By Joseph E. Wing

In this illustrated work of 480 pages the
art of growing alfalfa is fully described,
and the way to success with this won-
derful legume made clear. It is the most
up-to-date, practical and comprehensive
book on the subject, and has received
more strong endorsements than any other
agricultural book published in years.

Price, $2 prepaid.

Address - - - THE BREEDER’S GAZETTE
542 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, IIl.

Sheep Farming
° s By
in America joseph £. wing

Success in raising sheep comes to those
who use the knowledge and advice that
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brie BISHO” prepaid.
; a ae

Address - - - THE BREEDER’S GAZETTE
542 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, Ill.

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