Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-01-14
AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION
BY DR.. ANDREW NJ SOULE

| A method of planting commonly fol-
lowed is to cut the grass with ma
| ture seeds and scatter it over the
new land on which it is desired to
establish it. If one wishes to SOW
carpet grass in the open forest or
on cut-over areas of land, a great
majority Of the trees should be dead
ened and the land to be seeded burn
ed over in the winter. This practice
is advocated so as to remove all the
straw, broom sedge, wire grass and
other bunch grasses from the land.
Breaking the land is not necessary.
Whenever the native grasses start
up, pasturing should begin. This
| is to hold them in check. AS soon
as the weather permits, sow the
carpet grass at the rate Of not less
than five pounds per acre. Close
! grazing will effectively control the
native bunch grasses, and the carpet
grass will then develop. OF course
the heavy grazing Of carpet grass,
when in the early stages of growth
and development, is to be avoided.
One must remember that this grass
requires some considerable time in
which to establish itself. 1t is good
practice also to sow Japan clover
!! with carpet grass, as this helps to
give bottom and variety to the pas.
ture. There are number of weeds
which interfere with the develop
ment of carpet grass pastures and
prevent their successful establish
ment. The most troublesome of
these are bitter weed and fennel
These are both familiar to most
farmers. When they develop on a
pasture area, it should be moved at
least once within a year. To this
end, 1t is desirable that carpet grass
be planted only on land that is free
from stumps. In so far as the car
rying capacity Of carpet grass is
concerned, it appears to approximate
blue grass in this respect. A good
stand will apparently furnish grazing
for one cattle beast for about five
months. 1t is best, however, to as
sign about two acres to each animal
to be carried throughout the entire
grazing season. This grass, in op-
position to many other varieties,
must be grazed closely Trampling
by stock maintained on the land
helps to compact the soil, and this
~N~' ~ - viz OlI eau VI lIlS grass. C1OSG
grazing holds in check the tall grow
ing plants which might otherwise
be injured by shading. A field of
this grass which is not grazed until
October will grow quite tall. The
top growth thus attained will then
protect the bottom leaves sufficiently
to keep them green for a much
longer period of the winter than
would nthnrNuicn hn
1t is not desirable to seed carpet
grass and Bermuda together. On
clay lands, the Bermuda soon occu.
pies the soil. On sandy lands, car
pet grass soon asserts it's dominance.
Dallis grass does very we'll when
sown along with carpet grass. Black
Medic can also be sown with carpet
grass to advantage. White clover
Will do We'll in certain sections. Ital-
ian rye grass can also be sown in
the fall. OF all the legumes suitable
TO grow with this crop, lespedeza
will be found the most desirable on
account Of it's permanence.
1t has been difficult to obtain
, seed of this crop in the past. The
demand has been naturally far in ex-
cess or the supply. There is no rea-
son why an abundance of seed
should not be harvested now that a
general interest in the cultivation
OF this crop has been aroused. Plans
are being made to insure a large
SEED output. Possibly the best place
from which to secure seed will be
from the lower Mississippi Valley.
q 1Ya6 ~,
admirably adapted to the cultivation
Oh carpet grass, and the production
or seed may be followed with both
success and satisfaction by farmers
who formerly cultivated cotton on
these lands. The boil weevil has
proven so destructive in this section.
I however, that cotton cultivation has
been greatly minim.zed in recent
years.
While considerable grazing NAV
be obtained from carpet grass and
fair crop of seed harvested, the
chances are that a much larger
amount of seed will be secured if
only moderate grazing is permitted
This grass begins to mature seed
in June, but continues to fruit
throughout the growing season. AS
result, the best time to harvest the
crop for seed is in early September
If the operation of harvesting is de-
| ferred much beyond this date, a
good part of the seed will be lost
| through SCATTERING. The seed of
this grass is small and fine. 1t re.
sembles timothy seed a good deal
in appearance, but is not so heavy
| 1t is best to cut with a mower and
allow the straw to thoroughly dry
before attempting to separate the
seed therefrom. Any kind of thresh-
err may be used to remove the seed
Too heavy a blast of air must not
be used, however, or much of the
seed will be blown out with the
straw. The seed may be cleaned in
any good tanning mill which is pro-
vided with sleeves having a mesh of
one-twentieth of an inch. Clean seed
of this crop weighs about eighteen