The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1898-01-13
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the
Jy 1rnphs
e G ass Garden.
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Leaving foreign nations TO contend over
Jsuch unmportant matters as extension
of territory aud th' balance of power
Uncle Sam turns his fathcrly attention to
the welfare of his big family and the i'm
proycmcnt Of the resources of this won
dcrful country Never was his careful
regard for every need of the American
people more concluslycy shown than in
the experiments now being made in an
immense garden to determine, not what
means are surcst to make orchids take
fanciful shapes or TO cause apes TO
grow on pear trees, but how to combine
the best qualities of the grasses of vari-
Gus countries so as 10 give American cat
tie the benefit of Il rich and iattcning
pasture that will still further improve
the quality of world renowned American
beef This great grass garden where the
experiments have taken place is located
ut Knoxville. Tenn. and the seeds used
in experimenting there have been care
fully collected by agents from every part
of the world. The results Of the cX-
pcrimcnts given below is not an official
statement, but has been written especial
~ for The Statesman by Mr.. Jared q.
Smith, the assistant agrostOlOgist of the
United States who, besides writing this
interesting statement regarding the work
done in the grass garden, has had pho
tOgraphS taken which are now repro
duccd and printed for the first time:
About $50 kinds of grasses and forage
plants have been grown in the garden at F.
Knoxville, Tenn, during the season. The !
year has not been II favorable one, there |
having been long period of drought in |
the latter part of I'll" summer which in !
tcrfercd with the growth Of those grasses !
which thrive best in lOwlandS or which |
require moisture, but the season has been |
an excellent one for determining which of |
those species tried Is best suited for |
withstanding drought. OF these 100 for ,
age plants, perhaps not more than one !
third appear TO he well suited to East |
Tennessee, and not more than Onc-fth |
might be called highly successful. There |
are some grasses, however, not ordinarily |
cultivated, which appear very promising, |
the cultivation of which might well he |
attempted by southern farmers on an cX-
tcnsivc scale. For their benefit | give
the following information: \ part are
foreign grasses, seeds of which may he
secured from sccdsmcn. the rest are ma
tive grasses from the prairie and Rocky
mountain regions.
One of the earliest grasses y appear in
the spring Is meadow foxtail This is
used quite extensively in Europe in pas
turc mixtures. II has not bccn\ uniform
" successful in this country, owing to the
fact that II does mot thglyc in summer,
hut il is one of the best pasture grasses,
continuing green late In the autumn and
appearing very early in the spring. 1t Is
not grown for hay and does not produce
sufficient heritage to amount to anything
in n hay meadow. 'orage appears
to be swr t and W. I'd by sock.
NJ 9 rs"'"' erv end aud
~.sc,p'-., auapieu Tor earl D IN pas
turage than for summer use. There are
four or five of these which have done
we'll at the Knoxville garden during the
past year. The Tennessee fcscuc native
of the bnlds and mountain parks of east
Tennessee and western North Carolina,
is an excellent pasture grass and deserves
TO he more widely grown. Seed may he
gathered by stripping or it will spread
from small pieces of the turf, by planting
ut intervals through the fields. Another
pleasing grass is Sleeps lcscue from
Montana. which grew very slowly dur
ing the summer but has now taken on
new lease Of life, showing that il is one
of the best winter pasture grasses. The
European reed fcsCuc makes Il most Wig
orous growth and promises to he valuable
both for pasturagc and for hay. The
true English blue grass, also Il fcscuc,
has been one of the best hay grasses dur
ing the present season and will supply |
considerable pasturagc after the second
growth of hay has been mown. The red
fcsclc is an excellent species for growth
in woodland pastures, MS il shades en-
during grass. II also commences to green
very early in the spring.
There are two native winter pasture
grasses (phalaris) which have done well
this year, Apache timothy, from New |
Mexico, and closely related grass that |
is quite common in the southern states.
Rescue grass also makes n fine winter |
growth, and is now very widely distrib-
utcd throughout the southern states. |
These grasses are not all important or |
prominent during the summer, but by the |
time of the first frost they commence |
to make rapid growth, continuing green |
through the winter Then in early spring |
they throw up their seed heads and are |
ready to cut for hay in April, but supply |
excellent grazing month or two earlier. |
Every southern farmer who keeps dairy |
cows should plant some of these early |
spring grasses in his pasture. The farmer