The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-01-17

ready to cut for hay in April, but sup
ply excellent grazing month or two
earlier Every Southern farmer who
keeps dairy cows should plant some of
the Sc early spring grasses in his pas
ture. The farmer of this region has an
advantage over the Northern farmer
in that his pastures remain green
throughout the twelve months of the
year, whereas in the North cattle must
be kept in the stable and fed dry for
age or ensilage in the cold winter
months. There are many excellent
pasture grasses and Of these perhaps
the best for winter use is rescue grass.
1t seeds very freely and fills in the
season when the summer grasses are
dead and brown.
Texas blue grass is another good
winter pasture grass, but it has the
disadvantage that it can only be prop
agated from the roots, the ripe seeds
being covered with dense wool that
makes 1t impossible to sow the seed,
even though good quality could be OBJ
tanned. The vitality of the seed of
Texas blue grass is much lower than
ether grass seeds, ranging from l in
200 to l In so. The grass, however, has
very strong underground creeping
rootstocks. The growth is slow but
sure, and If the roots are set out at
intervals in the pasture land it will
be found that in the course of two or
three years Texas blue grass will have
pretty thoroughly taken the ground.
1t is, like rescue grass, better for
winter and early spring paSturage
than as a summer pasture or hay
plant, and if it were not for the fact
that it must be propagated from the
roots it would undoubtedly be one of
the best grasses for that purpose.
Of the hay grasses, timothy, red-top
tall oat grass, italian rye grass, peren-
NAL rye grass and number of others
which are quite generally cultivated
by farmers have succeeded very we'll.
There are one or two others, the
growth of which have been exceptional.
OF these the most striking, perhaps,
is '"Teff," which produced on OF acre
of measured ground hay at the rate of
6.2 tons as the result of one moving.
This "Teff" comes to us from Northern
Africa. where it is grown both for hay
and for the seed the latter being used
like the millets for food by some Of
the native races. 1t has been grown
by correspondent of this division in
Florida for the past two years with
most excellent results, but 1t has been
found that it requires a rich soil and
well prepared seed bed and plenty of
moisture. 1t is an annual, and the
chief disadvantage in its cultivation
is that the seed is very minute, almost
as fine as tobacco seed, and difficult to
SOW. The seed should be mixed with
some dry soil to give it bulk, so that
1t may be soWn without getting too
thick stand, and it is so small that it
requires no narrowing and no covering
whatever. If it were not for the fact
that this seed is so small it could be
highly recommended as hay crop for
use in the Southern states, for, like
most things that come from warmer
countries it makes its best growth
during the hot weather. but requires
moisture and an abundant food sunplv
in the soil
Another rank-growing annual. which
has done well this season, is teosinte.
1t grows like Indian corn and stools
like wheat, sometimes as many as fiftv
or sixty stalks having been produced
from single seed. 1t is planted in
drills five to six feet apart and two
feet apart in the row. 1t requires rich
warm, loamy soils, and yields an enor-
nous amount Of green fodder excellent
for soiling purposes. Dairy farmers
would do we'll to try an acre or two of
this crop. The seed is sown at the rate
of one and a half to two pounds ner
acre. This seed has always been too
expensive to make it worth while to
o y" ~ oi d large scale, as 1t does not
rlpen anywhere in the United States
outside of tropical Florida, and hence
fresh supply must be purchased each
year, but for any one who wishes a
great amount of succulent green fodder
Tor summer use we would recommend
the trial of small patch of teosinte
There are several wild turf-formine
pasture grasses from the prairie states
which have done very well at KNOX
Vile, including curly mesquite. from
Texas, buffalo grass from Nebraska
and the gramas which abound
throughout the prairie country from
North Dakota to the gulf These are
all summer pasture grasses and are
deserving of further trial in cultivation
because of the exceedingly nutritious
heritage produced
In addition to the grasses, there were
about dozen varieties Of soy beans.
and some thirty or more named strains
of cowpeas, together with number of
beggarweeds and other wild forage
plants native to East Tennessee. MANY
of these latter have shown adaptable
ity to the artificial condition Of cu1-
tivated land and deserve further trial
to determine their value. Cowpeas are.
of course, well known in all the South
ern states and the soy beans are being
grown each year on a larger scale. All
Of LOT