The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1878-01-26
Ghe 6armeg.
Sowing Grass Seed by Itself.


The usual practice Of sowing the several
kinds of grass most generally used by our
farmers with the grain crops is being de-
parted from by many intelligent farmers,
who claim that there is no reason why
they should not be sown with equal if not
greater advantage by themselves. A pa
per by Mr.. c. 7. Alyord, Of Vermont,
published in the Boston CaltiUator upon
this subject cannot fail to be read with
interest. We make an extract from it,
showing the results obtained by that
gentleman in his trials:
"When / commenced blowing my grass
lands early in the fall, and then seeding
them down again, found two objections
to that method. One was that the grass
would winter-kill in places; the other that
/ could not SOW clover seed as / wanted
to. / also learned from this experiment
that where grass seed was sown on the
winter-killed places in the spring, the grass
was as good and as ripe when it was cut
as where the seed was sown in the fall.
/ then tried the method Of fitting my
land, and sowing the grass seed just be-
fore the ground froze or the snow came, so
that it would not start till spring In this
way | avoided the winter-killing Of the
grass In both of these ways of seeding !
have always obtained good crops Of grass.
For a number of years past have sown
grass seed only in the spring. On such
lands as wish to seed down without grain
fit my land in the fall if | can, as that
saves valuable time in the spring; but if |
do not have time to perform the work in
the fall, then / fit the land as early as
possible in the spring, then sowing the
seed. On all lands that seed down fin
ism working the land before the seed is
sown, never covering the seed. think
where grass seed is narrowed, raked or
pushed in, much Of the seed is covered 80
deep that it never comes up.
Many persons thinks that grass seed
sown in the spring viii not make crop of
hay the first season, and that it requires
two seasons to do it. This is an error.
On all the lands that / have sown with
grass seed in the spring, the grass has been
ripe enough to cut in from ten to twelve
weeks from the time the seed was sown,
while l invariably get better crops of grass
from such methods than / do when / seed
down with grain. IF the grain lodges it
viii kin the grass, and if the weather is dry
the grass is liable to dry up; while in both
cases the land viii need re-seeding, else
weeds and foul grasses will occupy the
soil.
If grass seed is sown by itself in the
spring it win generally get so good start
that no ordinary dry or hot weather in the
summer viii injure the crop. When seed
ing land in this way sufficient quantity
Of seed should be sown, so that if it all
grows, the land win be all occupied with
grass, thus preventing the growth of
weeds; also giving a larger yield with
better quality of grass, while forming a
thicker turf to be turned under for the
enrichment of the soil when the land is
again plowed.
On lands which / have seeded in this
way the first crop of hay has averaged two
tons per acre, while the second year l
usually got two crops, aggregating at least
four tons per acre. It is well know that
on our old cultivated fields, as the vegeta-
bic matter becomes exhausted the soil
packs down and becomes hard, hence the
crops suffer from dry weather. In plow-
ing grass lands, if the turf is turned under
and remains without being disturbed, it
keeps the soil from packing, it facilitates
the free entrance of air, and water enters
to greater depth, thereby bene6ting the
crops to greater extent. Another ad-
vantage is that when our lands need it we
can work them over more rapidly and
more frequently. In my experience !
have found that the same amount of labor
and manure applied to the land in this
way win produce better crops of hay, and
that the land viii not need to be plowed
so soon again as under the old method Of
treatment; and, finally the fertility and
productiveness of the soil is increased.