The Red Cloud chief., 1882-03-09
Grass.

j., generally. ~ the hcrDayc which COW
crS the meadows and pastures, th" road
sides and the lawns ~! dDur-yarI>, aud
which gives the delightful cuIling 81
vcriUrc - the earth winch 80 much
plca>r> and rrfrr-hc- the eye. Bur IN
considering graS, We should mis- the
most Interesting part "f ia" Suhlcc, II
W. FORGOT tn think "i th,-..u"r gri~-t>
which arr - rliii'rcHt from thc~r ipwiy
form Of i - 10 ne rarely thought Ut
merely a grass.
. The bo'auist describes Grass asa plant
having a %i"intel AMI generally hollow
stem. with lonr. slender. alt"rnaf"l"aveS
and bctrin" It's flowers and seed IN
spikes or plni"l"S. SpmrS of thr~'
terms we cannot now stop Z" explain.
but in passing may LAY that 4 wheat ear
or a timothy head - a spike. while ~"
heads of June grass and oats arr PAM
clcS. Now. If We could -" 4 |iran'r"
bamboo zane growing We should rrr"%-
niZc il n Onc. ~ u "rl~S, although ihc
stem might hc Il foot thick and "Ir'tN
feet hiwh; for In" stem i. Is We a!
know. hollow and divided hy joints into
sections and the leaves a some know,
tl' l'il-. ill'N anu lE'' II IN ia
OF corn. 80 we should recognize IL"
splendid Southern ~su"ar-canr which
crows twcnty-four feet high and three
or four inches thick, a. a TITis~; our "
familiar orn too. l. a @ri~@. ia" ta>S'I
being Il paniclr and the ear Il spike. and
although the stem j. not hollow. Vet cT-
cry child knows that it is jTint"d, and
that from these joints the hong, narrow
leaves spriny. Wheat Isl grass. too.
and 80 are rye, barley. oats. mi,i",. Hun
glrian graS>. and the beautiful. tall Wa
Ter plant which grows on the banks Of
rivers and lakes known Is wild rec. and
10 is the cultivated rice "A grass. But
clover is not grass. although som" farm
crS consider il Is Srrch. It, stem i not
hollow or pointed; the lcivcS are not l"ng
and narrow, aud the seed j. borne upon
neither spikes nor paniclcS. Their
fore one vino calls clover grass, i, mis-
taken.
Grass is thus seen Ia he Il very inn
purtant class of plants. Indeed. with
uut grass We should have neither bread
of any kind, nor sugar. milk. iutt"r.
meat, leather or WOODEN cloth or cloth
I'M. But if We cOniimc thoughts 10
the humber grasses which cover IN"
meadows and I~sr>ture with ycrdUrc. We
should even then lind these indi-pcnSa-
bic TO our comfort and happiness. The
farmer could not live without Grass, and
It's culture is II of the FIRST parts nt ms
business which hr should hr familiar
with. Usually We are too apt I" think
that grass viii grow without any care
and merely 10y casting the seed upon
the ground AMI leaving it 10 its fat.
This is one Of the farmers greatest mis-
takes, and il causes him 4 good deal II
trouble and disappointment. For in
spring he procurc> some seed anu sows
il over the wheat or rye in the hop" Vt
having a meadow TN cut for nay the
next wear and 10 pasture tho vcar after
that. But when the grain i cut and
taken from the field hc ""c- in search
of the tiny blades from which he hopes
for so much. and finds none, whcr" he
expected L. find the ground covered
with them. Then he discovers how
mistaken he has been in surprising that
grass needed only the seed - h. cast
over the ground to spring up and grow
vigorously.
In fact, grass Is n crop which needs
the greatest Of care. n good soil. We'll
prepared ana enriched with MANURE.
ANY soil SO prepared AMI enriched will
produce grass Of some kind: for there
are some grasses which thrive On moist
clays; some upon low, pcaty. wet
gro0nd; some upon sandy soil and some
upon wood lands and under the shade
OF trees. For instance. Timothy grass
grows best on a moist clay s'ii. Al
though il Will grow Wei upon q lighter
and dryer kind If il j. rich and well ma
nured; orchard grass thrivcS upon dry,
light soils; Blue grass upon limestone.
grayeliy land and Red Top upon low.
wet ground. In choosing the right
Tra>S therefore il i necessary that the
nature of the Suil and the character rf
the grass should both be know n ami that
these should he adapted To each Other.
The seeds IF grass are very small
One ounce of the seed of Red Top con
tainS 500, 900 grains or sufficient to give
nearly twelve seeds To- every square foot
of ground Overcome acre, and Yet in SOW
i'm Red Top we Use more than twenty
pounds or $50 ounces to the acre, and
this quantity would give q thsn
TWENTY-FIVE seeds TO every square inch
of surface BhIe grass or June grass
has 250.Voo seeds in one ounce: Tim
othy hasabnus Is. uo) to the s,Inoe. and
orclfarl grass $4,000 in an ounce. Ii
one should figure up how many seciS
are owl - the square foot when twelve
pounds OF Timothy and twenty pounds
IF Orchard grass or twenty of Red Top
are scattered over an acre OF ground
and then count up how MANY young
plants can be found On that space. We
should begin 10 realize that merely ow-
ing seed i not sufficient for the success
full growth of grass.
When Il farmer intends n seed 4 field
to grass he needs To- begin to prepare for
IL 81 least two ear before he j. reaiy.
The ground should be cleared IF wcelS
bv growing a crop that needs good cul-
tivation. As corn. roots or potatoes. Il
':s-then TO be thoroughly plowed and
broken u and made fine: then well
manured and m3srich and then the
grass seed is sown in The-&eSt season.
either in the fall or spring, but : SHSh
times and in such weather as will he Y
the seed best TO ge-miaate aad grow. y
The choice of Seed is also quite im->
portant. As 3 rrlG a mixture Of seed is
better than to use only one kind For
hay the best grass is Timothy; the next
best is Orchard grass and the next is Red
Top. but the best hay is from a mixture
OF several grasses and Of Glove, fo>
pasture We cannot have too man.
grasses, because each one comes-to liz
best state At q different time ana. thu.
the herbage is continually growing, anii
remains inrgoed condition. And for a
pasture n should choose those kinds
which spread from the roots and grow
thickly, covering the ground and form
ing = close. thick sod--Rxn1l Nsr.
fOrfeS. - ~ 1
A Connscseut farmer seeing SOM |
railroad. surveyors getting ready to rRi
their line straight through the center B 3
h11barn unrestricted with them
v2nt you.-tew Understand said 81
.thes SssnsIIamthin' else .sews@A
6olfdesrun6in' out tew open anI7R2
them doors every time 3 train waufet
90 threw But. being monarch -
they surveyed, they went right
>A~ n~~o