Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-01-09

| doubtedly be one of tho best grasses for
that purpose.
OF the hay grasses, timothy, redtop. tall
oatgrass, Italian ryegrass, perennial rye
grass, and number OF others which are
quite generally cultivated by farmers
hays succeeded very well. There are one
or two others, the growth of which has
| been exceptional. or these the most
| striking, perhaps. is "Teff," which pro-
| duced on OIL acre of measured ground,
| hay at the rate OF CO tons as the result
| Of one moving. This 'Teff" comes to us
| from Northern Africa, where il is grown
| both for hay and for the seed. the latter
| being used like the millets for food by
| some of the native races. II has been
grown by a correspondent of this divis-
ion in Florida for the past two years
with most excellent results, but it has
been found that IL requires a rich soil
and a wel-prepared seed bed, and plenty
of moisture. 1t is an annual and the
chief disadvantage i'm it's 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 10 give IL bulk so that IL may be |
sown without getting too thick stand, |
and 1t is so small that ii requires no |
narrowing and no covering whatever II |
1t were not for the fact that this seed |
is so small, 1t could be highly recon- |
Southern States, for like most things that /
come from warmer countries II makes its
best growth during the hot weather. but
requires moisture and an abundant food |
supply 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 fifty or
sixty stalks having been produced from
~ 10 ro1r ont. To- l..fff-
TO six feet apart and two feet apart I'm
the row. 1t requires rich, warm. loamv
SOILS, and yields an enormous amount of
green fodder. excellent for soiling pur-
poses. Dairy farmers would do well TO
try an acre or two of this crop. The seed
is sown at the rate of one and a half TO
two pounds per acre. The seed has al
ways been too expensive to make II
worth while TO grow on large scale.
as 1t does not ripen anywhere in the
United States outside of tropical Florida,
ana hence fresh supply must be DUR
chased each year. but for any one who
wishes a great amount Of succulent.
green fodder for summer use we would
-ecommond the trial of a small patch of !
reosinte. !
There are several wild turf-fornning
pasture grasses from the prairie States
which have done very well at Knoxville. I
including curly mesquite from Texas. :
'ufalo grass from Nebraska and the
'ramas which abound throughout the ]:
,rairie country from North Dakota to \
he Gulf. These are all summer pasture
raises and are deserving of further trial I
q cultivation because OF the exceedingly r.
nutritious heritage produced.
In addition to the grasses, there were X
bout dozen varieties of soy beans. and D
ONE thirty or more named strains of
owpeas, together with a number OF
eggarweeds and other wild forage plants
alive to East Tennessee. Many of these
utter have shown adaptability to the eli
rtificial condition OF cultivated land and n,
eserve further trial to determine
leir value. Cowpeas are, OF 10
purse, we'll known in all the
outhern States and the soy beans are be- 50
g grown each year on a larger scale Y,
II OF these latter plants belong TO the
family. They are crops which IN
srive nitrogen from the air and which
irich the land by large amounts OF that ia
iluable and costly fertilizer taken from M
lie air and left in the soil In a form that
ay be readily used by succeeding nitro ma
n-hungry crops The leguminous plants d.
Q the best soil renovators, supplying an
mus, as well as nitrogen and their Gull ,
ration deserves 10 become far more ex- o.,
nded than at present -
JARED G. SMITH. =
Assistant Agrostologist. ~,