The Lakeland evening telegram., 1917-07-03
BERMUDA GRASS FOR PASTURE
Fear of Difficulty in Eradicating Il
Should Not Deter Farmers from
Using Valuable Perennial

washington, y. y. july . o.-Ildy
and forage are as essential to the
maintenance of an adequate food
supply in this crisis as the produc-
ton of the staple food crops them
selves In the Southeastern states
perennial grass we have. 1t makes
iexcellent pasture and as hay its feed
ling value is the esual of timothy, al
though it's market price is usually
less
Despite its obvious ADVANTAGES, in
the past many farmers have hesitat-
ed to plant Bermuda grass for fear
that they would not be able to get
riI of it when they wished to use
the land for other purposes. In a
rev publication of the United States
department of Agriculture, however.
Farmers Bulletin S14, it is pointed
Iout that eradication need not be
troublesome matter Bermuda grass
will survive many unfavorable con-
ditions but it will not live when
I'shaded. An inexpensive method of
eradication therefore is to plow
field of it in September and rlant
vith oats, rye, barley, or some Other
winter crop When this crop is har-
vested the field should be disked or
plowed at once and planted with
cowreas or velvet beans. When this
second crop is removed there will be
| little grass left In this way two
profitable crops are obtained IN the
year and the ground left in good
Iccndition for corn r cttton.
Where the winters are sufficiently
severe, the so-called rotos ma; De
frozen after being exposed to the
air by very shallow plowing, leaving
the burrows on edge as much as pos
ls.ble.
The grass is propagated by seeds,
roots, or cuttings. Domestic SEED
Ifrom the West is superior to the i'm
ported and can usually be obtained
at c, reasonable price. Roots ana
CUTTINGS, however, are used more
commonly. Detailed instructions for
planting these are given in the bulle
tin already mentioned.
The cost it is said need not Dc
moro than S. an acre for the labor
and the grass will cover the gcoun
in few weeks Thereafter the
meadow or pasture need not be uls-
Itarbed as long as it gives a satls-
factory yield. In the case OF mead
lows however, since they are intend
led to be permanent, it pays to leVeI
oc all bumps and fill UP hollows. As
. mach preparation is required t'
make a good meadow as to make 9
good crop of corn.
Bermuda grass does not mix vel
with other grasses, but there are GER
tain legumes which add greatly tc
Its pasture value. Among the best OF
these are lespedeeza, bur clover
black medic and melilotus. Each OF
these has it's advantages, but saf
rule is to plant lespedeza and al
least one of the others in every Ber
muda grass pasture. Melilotus il
uort t;onIorly ,,caf,,l IN ;p,nrnv;pm ~.
e,ndition and productivity of thin
barren soils which are at the same
> time rich in lime.
Bermuda grass itself will grow
iwcl on almost any soil that is fer
tile and not too wet Vt does bet.
tsr, however on soils that are heavy
1t can withstand alkali, but needs
humus and nitrogen Warm weather
dnhing the growing season is alsc
necessary and the winter must moi
be too cold. Southeastern Virginia
is approximately the northern limit
of its profitable growth ON the AT
= lantic coast.
= Probably the most profitable us,
!, for Bermuda grass is as pasture. A.
has been said, the feeding value o
the hay is approximately that 0
u timothy. but in many localities tn,
/. grass does not grow high enough t,
Fay for the cutting. When put OF
o the market, the price depenGc t