The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1874-04-21
AGRICULTURAL COLUMN
SOWING GRASS SEEI

SOWING GRASS SEED.
For pasture. SOW rcdtop, orchard grass,
ne grass, and sweet-sccntcd vernal for
principal kinds, to which may be adj
d meadow foxtall, meadow fescue, yell
oat grass and others. Mr.. Flint, in
fourth annual report of the agriculture
Massachusetts,, adds to the above list,
I'd fescue, tall tescue, two kinds of rye
ass, wood meadow grass, rough-stalked
oadow grass, timothy, and two kinds of
over,
Mr.. Harris Lewis's rule is TO buy, for
lsture. all the different kinds you can
ink Of and then buy all the kinds the
alers can think of. The object of having
any kinds is to obtain a succession OF
rietcs coming to maturity all through
season. If you would SOW at the very
,st time of the whole year, SOW in Au-
list and if you would have the ground
the very best possible condition, put on
good coat of manure this spring, and
ough and cultivate the land every two or
rec weeks all summer, till there is not
eed seed left unsprouted in the soil. If
lere were no weed seeds in the manure, it
ould be as well to apply that later in the
ason, say in June or July, but not too
tie to give it a thorough rottng and mix
gin the soil. 1t is a mistaken notion that
grain crop is bnneticial to newly-seeded
Ass. 1t certainly impOverlshes the soil,
I'd the advantages of shade are more I'M
gnary than real. A little shad would do
harm and might be beneficial to, if it
)uld be obtained from standing dead
raw, but a crop of growing straw takes
ON the soil large amount of both water
I'd plant food, enough In dry weather to
riously weaken, if not to entirely destroy
he young grass. In wet seasons, and on
oist lands, grass will often live and do
ell when sown with grain crop.
We have had very good success sowing
rass with winter rye, to be cut and ted
ut green as a soiling crop. In this case
lie rye is off so early in the season, before
le usual time of our summer droughts,
nat the grass has time to get well cstab-
shed. One of the worst, if not the worst
rop to grow with grass is oats, especially
allowed to go to seed. If we were
Ding to seed piece to permanent pasture,
e should try to make good job OF it.
We are apt to try to get too much from
ur land for the amount of labor and ma
ure applied. If we were not limited in
lie amount of manure for piece of pas
Ire, we might crop it with potatoes, then
orn, to be followed by oats or other
rain. This is the old fashioned way of
IMPROVING grass land, only there is gener
lily no more manure applied to all these
rops than would be profitable for the
rass alone.
We do not believe in raising half crops.
t costs nearly as much for labor as for
MI crops. So if we were renovating an
Id pasture, we would plough it at any
onvenient time during the summer, pre-
erring June. Then harrow and cross
Tough till it was as mellow as garden
'eople used to think it was necessary to
liant field in order to get it in fine
ondition to seed down.
We can cultivate much cheaper where
here is no crop than where there is. The
FORK can all be done with the team and
ust as often as the ground would be bene-
ted by the working, while if Il crop of
orn or potatoes were growing there would
G several weeks when no cultivating could
le done.
The best success we ever had in seeding
grass was on land which had been
nmmer titled, as we have proposed above.
inc lot was an old pasture and was not
ropped at all. Another had been planted
nd we intend to seed it early III the spring
but a press of work and frequent storms
prevented getting it ready till the Goth OF
July, when it was sowed to timothy alone
nearly a bushel to the acre. The lot haC
been cultivated over every ten days OF
two weeks all summer, and was as ligh
and fine field for sowing as there need be
The result was, the grass grew so mucl
that we were obliged to NOW it that fall
and harvested splendid crop Of hay. w
should treat grass and hay more as spccia
crops. IT they are worth growing at all
they are worthy of special culture, and par
ticularly is this true of a pasture that is t.
be kept in grass for a long term of years
While about it, you might as wei! do TIL
work as thoroughly as you know how
If You are short of manure, do not use III
large part of it by growing n-payin
crops of corn and potatoes, but keep til
whole of it for the benefit of the pasture
If your pasture is not in the very best con
dition for seeding this spring, we shout
advise to take the summer to put il int
such condition. Then, some time III Al
gust, put on the seed, and expect GRO
next year that will look so well you wi
NOW it for hay, which will be bette
plan than to feed it the first year. Ne
England Farmer.