Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1861-02-15
The Cultivation OF Grasses.-No. 1

By BENZ. BARR, OF MADISON COUNTY, TENN.
As to my experience in cultivating and curing the
several grasses and fodder plants, usually cutivat
ed in this latitude, and enumerated follows: rec
clover, herdsgrass, timothy cropgrass, muskeet
mlllet, rescue, and sugLr cane for fodder.
The following grasses are discarded after fair
trial. being either worthless in themselves or un.
suited to this latitude namely: muskeet, millet
rescue grass, and sugar cane.
First, muskeet or feather grass as it is called
by soma, account of its extreme lightness when
cured. My objections to it are its not being suited
to the climate its roots die out and is be the
second year only where it had been protected by
shade trees do | consider it valuable, if even
it stood we'll on account of its lightness and want
of nutriment.
Mlllet, found, after repeated trials on various
soils, to do well only on new ground. 1t requires
to be sOwn late in the spring. and when sown on
old ground, the cropgrass with it and chokes
it, and at best it is coarse thing.
Rescue grass, | found after several trials. with
and without manuring, to be entirely worthless
either for hay or pasture. Wien sown broadcast
on ordinary ground, would rarely grow long enough
TO cut at ALL nor would it stand pasturng as well as
rye or wheat. 1t was recommended principally as
winter grass for pasturing, but it would scarcely
grow at all unless the ground was heavily MANFRED,
and with that advantage any thing else was better
than it.
Chinese sugar-cane have also discarded, after
giving it what l considered fair trial as forge
plant. was very much disappointed in the result,
after hearing so much said of its immense yield in
weight of fodder per and then rich in sacah-
airline matter. cultivated like corn and cut down
and shocked at the time recommendations is when
the seed heads turned brown and at that stage it
invariably falls down and becomes tangled. found
it very tedious and laboFOus business to get it cut
and shocked. | let it remain in the shock until eff
fectually cured, and then housed it in good condi-
ton, sitting upon ends to prevent fermentation In
the winter commenced feeding it, first to my mich
cows, but found they did not like it, they
would only eat the seed and fodder; they did not
like it well stalks cured in the same man
ner. To try it further, hauled some of it to dry
cattle that we confined entirely to wild grass hay
too would only eat the seeds and fodder; they pre-
ferred eating sedge-grass hay to chewing Sugar
Cane. The cane being heavy to handle turned my
hogs to it where it lay they eat the seed and chew
ed some of the stalks, putting it in smaller bulk
then hauled it out and spread it in the cattle yard
to be tramped and make manure. believed it
would make syrup but never had any idea of trying
that experiment.
The grasses now cultivate are Glover, Timothy,
Rerdsgrass and Oropgrass.
Timothy is a grass have never yet been able to
succeed with. have tried it by itself repeatedly
and always failed to get good stand-it comes well
but dies out the first summer. | intend to try again
by fall sowing that the roots may be better able
to stand the drouth the first season; the usual plan
to insure good stand is to SOW Timothy and Herds
grass always oyerrunS it. l am of the opinion that
the soil here is not suited to timothy.
Herdsgrass, or red top, az it is called in some
places is the only tame grass that have ever tried
that seems to be congenal to our soil; it will grow
well in land that is too wet for cultivation. 1t will
spread and take possession of the ground and seem
ingly would make meadow that would last for an
indefinite length of time if it not for fact that
the well known Sedgegras seems to be still more
congenial to soil, and plants Itself in all onr
meadows and overrunS everything else, so that after
the third year we must be satisfied to make either
Ssdge- grass hay, or PlOw up
Glover, l consider the most nutritious of all the
grasses, and think the most valuable for haying,
were it not for the fact that it is so liable to be
damaged in the process of curing. l make
more hay from clover field in the course of the
season than from any other kind of meadow, (espe-
ciay the first years cuttng.) l mostly cut three
crops during the season-thatis when the ground is
rich-the first and second of clover, the last of
eropgrass, and frequently when the season is
wet the last crop is the largest. Oats and wheat
have also tried for hay and found them to do very
well when sOwn intending them for that purpose;
that Is, sOwn thickly. They should be cut at the
proper stage tkat is when all the heads are full out
and before it turns, and cured in proper manner.
With respect to wild grasz, such as Crews in river
bottoms, viz: Rice grass, Nimblewill, Sedge, and
several other varieties for which have no name.
and generally growing in a mixed state. of which |
cut and save a larger quantity than any other
riety. This wild grass meadow is permanent,
quirlng attention, emily a year taking up
any sprouts that may rise and this grass when cut
at the proper stage and that is rather than any 9TH
variety, and cured properly and sailed, makes
good hay. find it will support dry cattle very
well during the winter when they are canfined to
that sort Of hay alone and have access to it at
all times, and sheltered. In fact they retain their
flesh better than cattle usually do when fed more
sparlngly on hay of better quality -Soudhern
Homestead