Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-05-11
PAPERS By DIR. 9ORDON-NO. Is.
Agricultural Geology of Middle Ten
nessee.

ciples and rules of management which
apply to our best grasses. In order to
understand how to manage any species of
grass, to bring it to full perfection, the
constitution and habits of that grass
ought to be studied.
l. Every variety of grass has its season
for making blades or leaves, and its sea-
soG for making seed.
2. The blades or leaves manufacture,
in the sunshine, all the food which builds
up and makes the whole plant (the roots
included), and therefore the more blades
or leaves you enable the grass TO produce
and mature, the more vigorous and luxu-
rant you make the whole plant.
8. Any grass will be damaged snd
made feeble by its production of seed.
While producing seed, the whole energy
of the roots and blades is devoted to the
feeding of the seed, while the plant it
self is not nourished but starved, made
feeble and sickly, if not killed. The an
nusls, such as wheat, oats, rye and millet
are completely killed By their efforts to
make seed; but the perenDisls such as
blue grass and timothy are not complete
ly killed by the seeding process, but they
are exhausted, made sickly, dwartish and
puny for many months.
4. Any grass which makes a Sod by
sending out lateral roots, 10 crowd the
surface soil, will be uplifted ard damaged
by hard freezing. In this latitude, blue
grass and timothy will be uplifted from
one TO two inches, and when it thsws if
will be left detached from the soil be-
low, TO die from the drouth of the next
summer.
8. Any sod of grass will die in spots,
if not pressed to the ground after hard
freezing.
These principles point cut the whole
practice of the farmer; and it msy all be
embraced in one plain rule. Take care
to allow the grass to make al the blades,
which it is able to produce. Never let
it make seed. Always pack the cod well
in the latter part of winter.
Every variety of grass has its own nat
ural habits, and therefore, the farmer
must learn the nature of every one he
aims TO cultivate.
Blue grass makes two crops of blades
in the year, a spring and fall crop, and
it makes one crop of seed, soon after the
spring crop Of blades. In Middle Ten
nessee blue grass begins to grow about
the 14th of February, and continues 70
make blades till about the 15tl of April.
Hence, the interest of tie grass re-
quires that it shall not be g-szed or
meddled with during these tYo months.
1t must be allowed TO make al the btatfes
- IoEo-, . -
About the middle of April the seed stalks
will shoot up rapidly, and Just at that
stage you must turn in al your stock TO
Craze it down as soon as possible, to pre-
vent it from making seed. Thus you
will cut off the seeding process and pre-
vent it from impoYerishing the roots Of
the grass. 1t will, therefore, not stop
growing, as it would do if allowed 10
make seed. The stock ought to De taken
off as soon as the seed stalks are well
grszed down, and let the grass put forth
more blades to support the roots. The
roots cannot thrive and 1--we without
blades. Therefore il will not do well If
you retain the stock in the lot after once
fed down, to bite off every blade as soon
as it springs up. Continual gnaaing will
damage the grass, because you keep it
without blades to support it,
Then take off all stock and let the
blades grow till you see weeds growing
up to Overshsdow the grass. This will
generally be in June, when you ought 10
put in your cattle and keep them there
till they eat down all weeds and bushes
But if the stock will not destroy all weeds
anu bushes, then you ought to cut with
scythe all that are left, and keep all stock
off for three or four weeks. The lot
should be grazed again for two or three
weeks in July and August.
About the Goth of August take out all
stock and keep them out till the 25th OF
December. Then there will be a b avy
coat of grass, which will keep your stock
abundsntly till the middle of February,
provided you have cross fences enough
to confine the stock on a small 1T at a
time. The winter lots ought not to be
large, for then your stock would Tamb,e
over large space and tramp the grass,
and expose more TO be killed by
frost than they would eaL Con-
fine them on one lot at time, till they
Craze il to the ground completely, before
you turn them in fresh lot. II your
winter grass shall be in your divisions,
and one division shall be graz d at a time,
your grass viii feed three times as many
cattle as it would feed, were all the grass
in one large lot. The stock will rsmble
over the whole lot however large; and the
tramping causes more grass t. be killed
by frost than they eat. About the middle
of February, take the stock of all lots,
and let the grass make lis spring crCp.
Your stock ought then TO be feed in q
pound, or in a clover lot. Ii will not IL
jure clover TO Craze and tramp it I'LL the
18th of March or even till the frst of
April. And your stock may run in rye
field or wheat field, from the I4th of
February till the first of April. Thus
you protect your grass, and do not injdre
the small grains.
The number of lots on stock farm
will be limited by the ability of the farmer
TO make cross fences; but the more lots,
the better for the grass, so that the sock
need never be long on any one lot Il e
| time, in winter or summer. II the farmer
can well do il, he ought 20 divide his blue
grass into about six lots. Then he would
never be compelled to keep his stock too
long al time on any lot.
Thus We Lave given the best manage,
m5ut of blue grass for one year; ana the
future management should be the same.
The management of blue grass now sci
! forth, is the same that is required to make
timothy and clover, provided the treat
ment be made to conform 10 the natural
habits of those two grasses.
Timothy makes two crops of blades
and one crop of seed in course of the
year. The spring crop of blades begins
to grow about the middle of February,
and continues till about the middle OF
June. Then it blooms and makes seed,
the blades growing none during the seed
ing process, but they perish in the effort
to make seed. In the fall about the 15tf
of September, the blades begin to spring
up, and continue 10 grow until freezing
weather sets in. These habits must bt
observed in managing timothy. From
the 14th February till the timothy head:
drop the blooms, no stock ought to be il
the meadow. But just at that stage, tie
hay ought TO be moved completely off,
to save the hay, and prevent the grass
from injury by making seed. The meadow
should be grszed in the fall to feed of
the fall crop; and during the winter til
the middle of February, the more it i
tramped by stock, the better will the soc
be packed to prevent its being uplitted b!
freezing, and the more certainly will moss
broom sedge, white top aud other enemie
be destroyed. TO make the direction
short: Now the timothy every sunlme
Just when it drops the bloom, ant
Craze and tramp it heavily al
winter, till the 18th of February
In the year, red clover has two grow
ing seasons, and two seasons for making
seed. As soon as the spring frosts vii
permit, clover springs up say, about tn