Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1883-12-21
A stockmanTs Experience With Tame Grass
es in Sumner County.

For several years have eagerly read
every line you have published relative To
the cultivation of tame grasses in Kan
sas, and presume you have many read
ers now watching your columns for in
formation as eagerly as have done.
Many farmers who have beenvery soc-
cessful in the cultivation of tame grass
es in Illinois and Missouri have failed
in Kansas. Here we have much less
moisture, dryer soil, fercer winds, and
hotter climate, and for these reasons
we have to adopt different methods of
seeding and propagating the grasses
from those in vogue in the older states.
l will not attempt to tell you the best
method TO follow, but / will tell you the
best method know of and name the
grasses that have proven themselves
best on my farm. For easy propagation
and number one meadow grass, l do
not think any will ever surpass orchard
grass in southern Kansas. Common
red clover does we sown with orchard
grass, as it fills up the waste spaces be-
tween the stools, makes good food, and
beauties and enriches the meadow. AL
falfa makes very slow and tender
growth the first season-thereafter it
grows very rank and strong, and is ex-
cellent for hogpasture. If intended for
hay it should be cut before it gets rank
and woody or it is not relished by hors-
es and cattle.
! Timothy does well in Kansas on low.
damp lands. but win generally fail on
| high dry lands.
Blue grass does very well for lawn,
or among trees where it is well shaded,
but our summers are too long and hot
| for it; it becomes parched and dry and
is worthless as meadow grass, except
for few weeks in the spring and the
fall.
Now a few words about seed and seed
ing. First of all put my ground in
the best of condition to receive the see
then send to reliable scotsman a. 1
! get clean, fresh seed and SOW quite lib
orally; lit is much easier TO SOW too
muoh) then harrow it in well, 80 that
the seed will be in moist earth below
the dry surface then roll well and let
it alone and get good stand the Artt
season. Put on plenty of seed and har-
row it in wefI, but never with other
grain if you wish to secure good mead
ow in southern Kansas.
i l have had best results from early
spring sowing. In addition TO tame
grasses, or on farms where they cannot
be attained the first season, it is good
plan TO have an early piece of wheat or
rye, for mich cows and young stock to
rua on through the fair winter wealth
eY.
Orchard grass, red clover and alfalfa
all do well on second sod if it is we'll
rotted and put in good condition to re-
eeive the seed. The best meadow have
was broken and sowed in miIlet last
year. The ground is now thoroughly
matted over with the above named
grasses, and is perfectly free OF weeds,
which is not likely tobe the case with
old ground for the FIRST year or two.
You viii see from the foregoing that
am not afraid to SOW grass seed on
comparatively new land. l shall SOW
still more next year. do not advocate
sowing to millet Che first year as did,
for it is very likely TO come mp thickly
among The grass seed and there is some
danger of its choking cut the other grass
if it should come up very thick. Ii SO
it should be fnown down, not toe Gloss
to the ground.
| hope to hear from others who have
had experience in the cultivation Of
tame grasses in southern or western
Kansas.--W. Z. Campbellin Live Stock
i Indicator.