The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1900-07-03
!; NOTES OF THE FARM. ;;
By W: F. MASSEY, of A. & M College.


friend in the Piedmont section
avs that lie has a small place, and has
IL riec of land now in broomsedge,
Japan clover and young pines, which
he wants to get into permanent pas
ture. He wants to know if it would
Ire safe TO plant Bermuda grass there.
and whether it would be apt to run
into his cultivated fields. Or would
the Carpet grass, of which so much
IS said in the South, do better.
Bermuda is not the grass for the
Piedmont country. Its natural home
i4 in the warm soils of the coast re-
rion. There it is the very best of pas
ture grasses, but in your soil | am
of the opinion that it would be more
of pest than anything else. At best
Bermuda is but d hot weather grass
and is used as a permanent pasture
anywhere. It should be mixed with
some winter growing grass. | have
seen it thus mixed with the Texas
Blue grass, and the result was
fine sod winter and summer on a
very sandy piece Of land.
For your section ] am of the opin-
ION. from a very brief observation.
that the newly introduced Bromus
Iucrmis. or Smooth Bronze grass is
about the best grass you can use for a
permanent pasture in your section
The Carpet grass of the South. Pas
raIUm COmprcSSum. is about as ag
ercssive as Bermuda. and is Il hot
weather grass. too. 1t has crept in
here about Raleigh along with the
Bermuda. and ordinary observers
II hat
found it last year about the college
grounds, and cannot see that it has
any advantage over the Bermuda
would make Il mixture on that land
lay planting root cuttings of the Texas
Blue grass. and then sowing the seed
of BrOmus lntermiS and narrowing it
with smoothing harrow. OF course
YOU can get seed OF the Texas Blue
grass. but it is all held together with
spider web like growth that makes
il almost impossible to sow it, and it
is necessary to plant the seed in
punches. But asa it spreads rapidly
it will soon cover the ground whether
The seed are planted in hills of the
cuttings are planted in the same way.
Mr.. j. {. Breeze. of Fayetteville. [ be-
icyc, sells the cuttings.
Prepare the land we'll and mark out
and drop these cuttings in these, and
cover. Then sow ten pounds per acre
of the BrOmus Intermis seed and run
1t smoothing harrow over all. | would
do this in October. for the Texas
grass entirely and the I'romus is q
perfectly hardy grass OF course on
land Of nature it will be desirable
TO apply some fertilizer to give the
grass Il start. Any good complete fer
tjlizcr Will do. But the most import
ant thing is to prepare he soil well in
the first place, for a permanent pas
tUre is expected to last a lifetime or
longer, ! would plough the land
deeply and if possible subsoil it Sc
that the red clay will be loOsened tc
d depth of fifteen inches. and the root
rf the grass can strike down. Thel
Give the grass annual attention. Give
If every year a light dressing of bon,
meal. and once in six years a dressing
ot ~lakcd lime at a rate of ten bushels
per acre. You will then find that II
VIII not run back into broomstraw
Tor the good grasses viii grow too
strongly for that. 1t might be as wei
to mix a little orchard grass see'
with the BrOmus as an earlier starter
! know of one section near Il large
northern city. where the soil is very
SIMILAR to yours. and which a gencr
mlnu ago was considered too poor tt
rIItvatc. The farmers changed thei1
practice to grazing They put tht
jdhd down in grass, and kept it dress
'd annually with bone meal. The pas
turage increased annually. and car
fIcd more cattle every year. | have
seen there in October. on land tina
mas been in grass for forty years, ant
ON which cattle bad been grazing al
summer, a growth Of matted gras
i'h1 II It could have~been cut WOult
~'"ht ton of hay per acre, ate
''"liiG nearly one steer per acre al
SUMMER, y permanent pasture that
SIMPLY @raZcd and has nothing don
,.F II, Will not be good pasture long
'"., 'herc Is no part of the farm tha
VIII pay better for manuring than tn
ornament partIlre. and there are few
'H'I'N ia this State where gOOt
"@nrnt pasture cannot be main
T"'d WIN some Of the many sraSse
IIfd 10 the purpose.
~ '"SWcII county friend Writes: ~
I'J'f'tN Of the farmers here beiicv
,I'' ""t" soWn in fall will turn t
.'' W" call cheat. | have been tel
'hrm that cheat is a distinc
,.u .u~' ana felt secure in my positio
Jew days ago, when a gentle
'" u" mas son who attended In
anu NJ. College told me that III
t.. 81" mat YOU said that oats dl
- cheat as result Of the Sc
,~ "I TN" top root of the oats. WI
~ I'aS" tell us all about this?'
+" any student who has ever a
t'' my classes here any length {
L "iH IHId any attention to VIII:
~" and was taught, could NAH
Nt-ltt