The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1885-07-10
SPRING SEEDING.
The Treatment of Land Which Is to b
Devoted to Grass.

The Treatment of Land Which Is to BE
Devoted to Grass.
IL Is usual to sow grass-seed as early
as possible so that the young plants
may make a fair growth before the very
warm days of summer. The principal
grass crop is clover, which is sown upon
the wheat, the young clover being thus
shaded and protected by the growing
wheat. 1t is common to sow clover
seed without the use of a harrow for
covering, though a brush is sometimes
passed over it if the field is clear Of
snow, and then. again, the seed is son.
times sown over the snow, upon which
it remains until the snow melts, and the
seed finds its way to the soil.
Farmers who contemplate sowing
grass-seed over the wheat should en-
deavor to first harrow the field before
that the Yield of wheat will be increased
by spring narrowing, while the amount
of grass-Seed required for an acre may
and thrown up by the frost, pass the
roller over the field after sowing the
graSs-seed, and the field will be smooth
ed, the wheat benefited and the seed
covered.
AS rule timothy and clover are used
together, but no two grasses could be
selected more at variance in regard TO
growth and periods of ripening.
Timothy is earlier than clover, but still
the two crops must be moved together
when grown upon the same field. The
consequence is that either the timothy
must be oYerripe or the clover not fully
matured. Orchard grass is suggested
as a substitute for timothy, as it ripens
in about the same time as clover. The
objection to orchard grass is its ten
dency to grow IN tussOcks, but this may
be partially avoided by care in sowing
the seed evenly. 1t stands the drought
we'll, and grows on nearly all kinds of
soil. As a pasture grass it ranks high,
due to its beginning to grow very early
in the season.
One of the most frequent causes OF
failure in securing good catches" is
using an insufficient quantity of seed
Clover especially does not always make
O heavy stand, owing as a rule to care
Iessness in the use'of seed. When it is
considered that much of the seed sown
over the surface is uncovered, and that
a large proportion is destroyed by
severe cold, birds and other causes, it is
best to use an excess rather than too
little. If the amount of seed usually
sown were Increased, and the seed har-
rowed in, there would be good crops of
clover secured where catches" are
now difficult.
The best fertilizer for grass lands is
potash, and the next best is lime. A
mixture of wood ashes and lime
answers, but the cheapest mode is the
use of the commercial sulphate of
potash (kainit). If fhe grass seed is
sown in the fall, after the dry season
has passed, there will be no necessity
for sowing it on a grain field. On
pastures II small proportion of different
grasses may be added to the orchard
grass and clover, though for that pur-
pose timothy may be freely used, such
as blue grass. meadow foxtail, white
clover and sweet vernal grass. As
some grasses do not thrive on all classes
of soils, it will be found more advan-
tageous to rely principally on clover,
timothy and orchard grass Pasture
land should be prepared by reducing it
to fine condition, givinga good broad
casting of manure. Old pastures should
not be plowed, but good coating of
manure, with reseeding, will prove
beneficial. Philadelphia Record