The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1900-08-31
GRASS CULTURE.
A Boiled Down Edition of Success
full Growers Method.

There are many theories and no the
Dries about grass culture. Following
is boiled down" edition by The Ru-
raj New Yorker of the method of Gin
tense cultivation" pIacticed and de-
scribed by Mr.. George NJ. Clark, an
eastern grass specialist:
would prefer moist land, as that is
the best for grass. ! will deal with a
plain field covered with stiff turf and
commence the work July l. | would
take a pair of 1000 TO 1000 pound
horses, a 81 inch bladed revolving disk
plow, a six foot bladed disk harrow, a
smoothing harrow and grass hoe or
| underground rake. In July | would
plov it four times and harrow it four
| times. In August | would pillow it
twice. harrow it eight times, level it
| four times and use the grass hoe one
day with one horse. September l, aft
cr cultivating two months, l would
SOW 1t to rye or crimson clover and
April 90. with the revolving plow and
disk harrow. most thoroughly mix the
rye or clover with the surface and then
SOW oats with 200 pounds of oat fertili-
ger.
July l or when the oats are in the
milk l would cut them for hay. The
fertilizer ought to make large crop.
Then commence again with the revolv
ing pillow. bladed harrow and smoother
and go over it three times each week
until Sept. l and with the grass hoe
wherever necessary. | would thus
make the land clean. true and in per-
feet condition. at which time | would
SOW 1G quarts of recleaned redtop and
l6 quarts of timothy, also 600 pounds
of fertilizer. and in the spring | would
add 400 pounds more July I would
cut four or more tons of hay and then
add 200 pounds more Of fertilizer Sept.
2C would cut ~ tons more hay. This
is the story in nutshell.
one may ask what becomes of the
sod or turf with your method of plow-
ing? Each one Of the sharp blades Of
the disks enters the sod, cuts and
twists cut 4 piece. and by going over it
a few times it is cut and mixed with
the surface soil. In fact. it seems to
melt away and soon becomes plant
food.
One asks, Why not use the common
pillow? There are many reasons why
not. 1t makes a plow crust, turns the
sod in a hard roll beyond the reach Of
other machines, cuts off the subsoil
water and causes premature drought;
in fact. stirs the earth too slowly for
this generation.
Why go over the field so many times?
Each time over changes the surface
soil to the depth of six or more inches
and lets in more sunshine and air.
Why not SOW grass seed the first
fall? An old field would not be proper
ly aerated in so short time.
Why not commence in the spring?
The land is too wet, weather cold, and
usually some crop can be saved by
July.
Is the grass coarse when large crops
are grown? No; it is exactly the re-
verse.
What height Of grass is required to
make one ton upon an acre? If a good
stand, in other words if it is as thick
as it can stand, every six inches in
height will produce ton.
Do you have any trouble with such
heavy grass lodging? If a perfect
stand, no. 1t can only crinkle little
at most.
Can fertilizers be compounded to
make grass stand stronger. Yes; when
the grass is weak, more potash is re-
CURED.
How late in the growth of the crop
can fertilizers be used? They should
be used before the grass is six inches
high, but can be used with profit until
the grass is one foot or even two feet
high.
Has the weather any effect upon the
use of fertilizers? Yes; all fertilizers
containing nitrogen should be used if
possible just before a rain.