The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-07-08

ever, has its value and place of useful ness, and while 1t is of especial value for some soils and sections, yet in other sec tions it is not at all suited or needed.
 Bermuda grass Is small. creeping, hardy perennial, which thrives on nearly all our soils. even growing on many of our poorer thin, sandy soils, though like all other grasses, 1t gives better results on richer soils. We might say that It is almost exclusively pasture grass. However, in many sections of the south ern states it is grown for hay and has given fine results. Some growers report as high a yield as an average of four tons per acre for a period of ten years This Is as much, perhaps, as could be realized from other crops, and while the land is In grass the form Is not losing its fertility.
 One of the chief reasons that this grass has not been more extensively introduced is the fact that 1t has been the practice of propagating 1t from roots, and 1t docs not mature seed in this country. The practice heretofore has been to grow the roots and chop them up fine. When they are sown broadcast and narrowed or plowed in on very finely prepared soil, which has or should have been very high ly fertilized with compost or well routed stable manure, these roots, containing eyes, soon sprout, come up and in short time completely cover the/ whole soil, forming complete mating or sod. Often 1t is advisable to cultivate this sod by the use of a disc harrow or small sin gle blow run through at right angles about three feet apart each way, this being followed with a smoothing harrow to leave the surface perfectly smooth.
 Now, large quantities of seed are inn ported and the land can be set and good stand secured at once by sowing the seed. The seed being so fine, the soils should be made very rich and fine before sow ings are made. The seed may be sown either in the spring or the fall. Another good plan for propagating this grass Is to prepare a seed bed as large as wanted, SOW the seed In drills about two feet apart and cultivate the plants the first year when they will produce an enormous amount or crop of eyes or rootlets which can be taken up, cut up and soWn as recommended above. Where failures with seed are common this nursery method Of growing seed roots will be the best, cheap est and shortest route to secure stand.
 While Bermuda grass will furnish inc pasture during our hottest, dry summers, yet, towards the end of summer or early fall 1t begins to turn brown and become woody. When this stage of growth ar rives the best way to continue the pas ture is to disc the grass sod, SOW to Burr clover and smooth over with good smoothing harrow. Where Bermuda grass is used for lawns it may receive the same treatment and the Burr clover sown which will give a green lawn for the winter. In the spring the new growth of grass will soon crowd out the clover.
 Sow ten pounds of good, new seed per acre. Some growers follow the practise of sowing Kentucky Blue Grass with the Bermuda and In some sections this works all right but the Bermuda soon crowds out t other grasses.
 The best sections for the growing of Bermuda grass are In Alabama, Ten nessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and the Indian Territory.
 This grass, like Japan clover, has been forcing it's way north for several years until we find it thriving in Missouri and Kansas up to within few miles of Kan sas City.