The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1885-02-04
Texas Blue Grass

The great need of the South at this
time is to diversity her industries by in
creaslng and improving her live stock,
and this end can be greatly promoted by
proper attention to the advantages OF
winter grazing. Our ordinary pastures
and grain fields afford ample grazing for
the summer, but with the majority of
southern farmers, the chief reliance for
carrying cattle through the winter is to
be found In shucks and wheat straw,
with mixture of pine tops and oak
leaves to vary their diet. In countries
devoted to stock raising, cattle and sheep
are expected to come out of the winter,
not only without loss OF flesh, but in an
improved condition, because when the
weather is too severe to allow them the
run OF the green lots, which are provided
Tor them, they are supplied with rations
of grain.
In the South, however, farmer is
pleased to get his stock through the cold
weather with breath in their bodies
such thing as improvement, or of even
maintaining the condition in which they
enter the winter, is not thought of.
Numberless experiments have been
made with orchard grass, blue grass and
clover, but the last two have not been
found suited to our climate, and while
orchard grass does fairly we'll, the growth
is too struggling, and it does not come on
as early as we need winter pasture.
Each bunch of orchard grass seems in
cllned to get as far away from every other
bunch as possible, and no matter how
thlckly it may be sown, the punches are
always thin and never cover the ground.
These objections to the orchard grass are
mentioned, because it is really the best
OF the winter grasses that have hereto
fore been commonly cultivated.
But 1t affords me pleasure to inform
those who contemplate sowing grasses
Tor winter pasture, that new grass is
now being introduced throughout the
South, called the Texas blue grass, that
| think is the ne plus ultra of all grasses
for our climate. Its habit is just the OPP
poslte OF the orchard grass, in thickening
up continually, and forming solid
covering for the whole ground that it oc-
cuples. The sets are usually put out
about one foot apart, but in few
months the tender shoots put up in I'M
expected places, and finally the whole
ground becomes solid carpet of green.
1t is succulent, tender and highly relish
ed by every species OF fowl and animal.
1t grows slowly through the summer,
and is eight or ten inches high when
winter comes, and is not affected in the
least by cold weather. In addition to
this, it is easy to get rid of, if desired
but nobody would be foolish enough to
put a pillow into a plat of Texas blue
grass. On the contrary, one hundred
dollars per acre. would be low valua-
ton for every acre that it occupied. BY
Spring, the blades would be twelve to
eighteen inches high, and early in the
Spring it heads out and makes seed.
Several gentlemen here, Mr.. r. L. Fore
man, Gen. B. w. Heard, the writer and
others bought the sets from Capt. Carlos
Reese, of Marion, Ala, last spring, and
all of us are highly pleased with the
grass. AS showing how itincreases, 1 will
state that Mr.. Foreman bought two hum
dred sets, and only few days ago, he
took up over four thousand sets. At
this rate of increase it would require but
a short time, to set out a large area from
a small beginning, and the grass can be
propagated either from seeds or sets. 1t
is just the thing that we need in the
South, and is far superior to any of the
common cultivated grasses, as L know
from experience. Altogether 1 regard it
as the perfection of winter grasses.
have neither seed nor sets for sale-W.
q. c., an Southern World.