The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1901-06-26
RESCUE OR ARTIc GRASS.
New Crop for the Southern States
Is Suggested.
Farrar s Harris. Props.

ROME. Ga. June /. 1901.
Hon. o. B. Stevens. Commissioner of
Agriculture. Atlanta. Ga:
DEAR SIR-In reply to yours of a re-
cent date in regard TO what l know
about Rescue grass, will say:
have sown for the past four years
what you refer to as Rescue grass" or
what we locally call it, Arctic grass"
which of course is no proper name for
it, but only given to describe one par.
ticular characteristic of its habit of
growth. and that is its extreme hardi.
ness in winter.
Without knowing positively, my opin.
ion is that this grass belongs to the
Bromus species of grass; that lG is the
winter variety of this family as the
Bromus inermis is the summer variety.
Bromus inermis, under successive eX-
periments made by the United States
government in the hot and arid far
west, has proven itself TO be able TO re-
sist the hot, dry weather of that climate
better than any other grass, and with
US it should prove a valuable pasture
grass in summer as well as a good nay
grass It should be sown in spring,
however to allow it to become well
rooted to enable it to resist tine winter.
After cutting off a crop of hay in
summer it should be allowed TO grow
until autumn, when it will afford abund-
ant pasture during our usually dry
months With this grass for summer
or autumn pasture and the Rescue grass
for winter pasture, cattle and sheep will
do we'll Oh very little other feed, except
during the months of January and Feb.
ruary, when cur lands are usually too
wet for cattle to run upon. 1t would be
hard to find a better com binaulon than
these two grasses afford for not only an
all the year round pasture, but ter val.
liable and abundant hay as we'll
| have said this much about the
Bromus inermis because 1t IS a new
grass Tor the south, being native of the
far west, and to suggest that 1t would
be a good scheme TO have your depart
ment Introduce it here, for | am quite
sure not one farmer in a dozen knows
the value of this grass.
AS for the winter Bromus, or Rescue
grass, as you are pleased to call it, there
s no grass that will make better hay,
and as a winter pasturage grass it is
incomparably the best. Not even rye
or barley will stand the winter better or
make more growth. 1t should be sown
on good land, for poor land will not
make any good crop.
The seed bed should be well prepared,
as for any other grass, and the seed
sown about bushel and half to the
acre, early in the autumn-say the first
week in September, or as soon there
after as possible, if you want early win.
oh 11lJ in doc cyhf hA
sown in spring, as it is safe to sow oats,
but the difference will be that you find
between spring and fall sown oats. 1t
will not be safe to sow it late in the
spring, as it is not fond of hot weather
1t can be cut early in may, when fully
green, for hay, and then. If the season
Is propitious, you may harvest later in
June light crop of seed, owing good
deal TO the strength of your land. But
left to seed it will bear an abundant
crop, say at least so or more bushels per
acre.
If cut in the dough" state, as we some
times cut oats, it will give you feed
equal to that of sheaf oats.
There is no other grass that Will STAND
more water. IL will remain unhurt for
ten DAYS under 10 feet of water and
seem TO continue TO grow. Therefore,
it is valuable for low, wet river lands.
In reference to this subject Mr.. w. M
Cannon of Rome says as follows:
II am neither farmer nor an agros.
tologisr and don't pretend to know, but
it would give me great satisfaction II
Mr.. Redding was mistaken. | have 6O
acres OF it, am cutting and have been
for two weeks, for hay. Am selling IL
in the field for SIS per ton. Of of IL
acres of good land cut five tons of hay
cured. All know is that it makes good
hay and sells readily"
Yours truly,
). LINDSAY JOHNSON.