SOWING GRASS SEED.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2148, 13 January 1881, Page 4

SOWING GRASS SEED.

, [From the “ Prairie Farmer.”] The production of domestic animals a d depend so largely upon our grasses, nfihjit the necessity of their cultivation is universally recognised. There are several con- , which give to this branch of h uibandey more importance of late year* than pi xnviousl j attached to it in the Western gh (see. The wild and nutritious grasses, wbi '<& occupied the land in its virgin state, have ' (gradually disappeared. Like the Indian and buffalo, these grasses do not toko kindly ' *o -civilization, but recede upon the advent «of the .white man and hin methods in agricall 'awe. They are no longer spontaneous,■ for the dhonged conditions whiob a settled populatic .produce are inimical to their growth, h, W°° 'tame groeaes become a neceafity. The rapid ’ linarsaeoof dairying in the Northwestern Sta ‘dfli and the increased attention given to live i within the post few year* m many local 'd'Ofl. invest this subject with additional impo Stance,.both as regards meadow ond pasture. \ is room for much improvement in tl * .cultivation of the gracsos, and a better acqu. Stance with the habits and. requirements of di. Went kinds ; ond we may profitobly invostigat ♦ the varieties cultivated, and the methods em, toyed in older countries whose experience maj - *orvoa uaeful purpose, la England, over Wurty distinct specie* are employed for difi 'went soil* and putpose*. In this country’ the number sown scarcely exceeds half * dozen. The advantages of the larger Bomber ore, that mixed grasies are found to . S|nimals more prod tab ly than one kind, a that a greater weight can bo produced pt * aer ®- Some kinds are of temporary duratio c, while other* are permanent 5 the period of maturity differs, so that when mixed, some are always in the best condition for posture, and some for meadow, and soma prosper best in one kind of soil and some in another. Th *•»» and other considerations which might mentioned, show the advantage of cultiva ting si

grantor variety than in usually found in the pastures and meadows of the United States. Thitn greater variety can he grown success fully in the North-West with proper treatment, has been fully demonstrated in our neighboring state of Wisconsin, under the supervision of our friend W. J. Burdick. Although very much has been said by th» advocates of fall seeding to prove that that period possesses advantages over any other, the fbct remaino that spring seeding is preferred and practised by far the greatest number of farmers throughout the country, and, as wo believe, with them rests the weight of the argument. A wide difference of opinion also diets in regard to the quantity of lead per acre. Extreme opinions obtain on either "hand ; but tho proper quantity to sow la governed largely by dream-; stances. Thin seeding, when the seed is fresh, may succeed well on rich and deeply pulverised soil, while with poor seed on light, thin land, failure and disappointment would be the result. _ Safety in any case lies in a sufficient quantity of seed to ensure a catch, else weeds will be likely to usurp vacant places and injure tho grass. Early seeding is important in obtaining a good catch. Fall preparation of the land enables the farmer to sow early and obtain a good crop of hay. None but fresh, bright seed should be sown whatever may be the kind or mixture. Much of the failure that attends this branch of farming is the result of using immature, foul and comparatively worthless seed, a largo portion of which fails to germinate while the land is overrun with noxious growths. Clean culture is a pre requisite of good farming, and the use of foul seed generally results in requiring, at the farmers’ bands, a vast amount of additional labor year after year in efforts to exterminate the pests thus introduced. However good the appearance of seed may be, it may be expected that all of it will not germinate because of a lack of vitality, and besides this some that is goodwill not come, on account of being covered too deeply, hence the utility of sowing a. sufficient quantity to insure a catch. As a rule, the depth at which the most seeds of different grasses germinate is half an inch. Circumstances, however, of season and soil exert more or less influence in this matter.