311. Description. ВЂ” Timothy bears a slender, spike-

like panicle from one to twelve inches in length on a

slender culm one to six feet in height. From three to

eight leaves branch off from the upright stem. As the

roots are not strongly stoloniferous, the plant does not

Grasses 289

sod heavily. An enlarged stem known as a conn forms

a base for the dozen or so culms. As many as two hun-

dred stems have grown on one plant.

A patch of timothy shows purple when in bloom ; green

when headed completely; and whitish when the seed is

ripe. During early growth, however, only the leaves

show. These bend in graceful curves from a central

stem. Seed of timothy is small — not over one-fourth

millimeter in diameter — with a thin, transparent,

adnate hull. Since germination power is high, good

stands are easily obtained. The seed loses less in via-

bility through age than does that of other grasses. Eighty

per cent of two-year-old seed may be expected to grow.

312. Adaptation. — Cool, moist climates and clay or

clay loam soils offer the most favorable opportunities

for maximiun yields. Severe drouth kills it almost im-

mediately; hot weather, even in humid sections, lessens

its vigor; cold is favorable to some extent as indicated

by the fact that the plant is native in Europe as far north

as the seventieth parallel. Favorable conditions exist

in many high valleys in the West, especially where streams

supply abundant irrigation water. In spite of its fond-

ness for moisture the plant suffers from water-logging.

In fact, timothy and red clover are mixed to a great extent

because the same conditions favor both. In the United

States the production of timothy ranks as follows ac-

cording to states: (1) New York, (2) Iowa, (3) Ohio, (4)

Missouri, (5) Illinois, (6) Pennsylvania, (7) Wisconsin,

(8) Michigan, (9) Indiana, and (10) Minnesota with

Ottawa and Ontario in Canada heavy producers. Red

clover ranks nearly the same as timothy according to

states. Every state produces some timothy.

313. Culture. — Fine, moist, firm seed-beds are essen-

tial in procuring #uccessful stands of timothy — of any

290 The Principles of Agronomy

crop having very small seed. Well-decayed organic

matter increases both moisture and fertility. Fall-

plowing permits frost to mellow the surface; winter

storms dampen and firm the seed-beds for spring planting.

About half the crop of the United States is sown in

the fall with winter wheat for a nurse crop. In this case

a grass seed attachment drops the seed just in front of,

or just behind, the shoes of the drill. A light harrowing

covers the seed, though Piper ^ thinks deeper planting

would be better. The seeds must touch moist soil in

order to germinate, and shoidd be planted from a half

inch to one inch in depth depending on the season and

soil. Seed may also be planted in the fall without a nurse

crop, and in spring with, or without, a nurse crop.

Broadcasting both by hand and by means of the wheel-

barrow seeder is much practiced. Irrespective of the

method used in planting, the farmer shoidd sow about

fifteen pounds of seed to the acre.

In some sections, corn or potato land is prepared by a

thorough harrowing without previous plowing. In most

sections, however, fall-plowing, spring-harrowing, and

drill-sowing give the most satisfactory stands. Fre-

quent irrigations pay on lands that have good drainage.

Heavy applications of farmyard manure to the stub-

ble pay. Where commercial fertilizers are used, nitrog-

enous manures make most prpfitable returns. Clover

mixtures serve this purpose.

Timothy ought to be cut as soon as the blossoms fall,

but it does not deteriorate rapidly until the seed reaches

the soft dough stage. This enables the farmer to utilize

a later harvesting season than for any other forage crop.

The hay cures readily, being in many cases hauled on the

same day that it is cut. In humid sections, tedders, side-

* Piper, Forage Plants, p. 130.

Grasses

291

delivery rakes, and loaders are widely used ; in the West,

it is handled largely as alfalfa. Derricks are used to

build stacks and tracks to fill bams. The first crop bears

most seed. Grain binders commonly harvest the seed

crop, which is threshed in an ordinary separator with

special sieves.

314. Use and value. — The most important use of

timothy is for hay, since the pastures yield but little feed

and the sod weakens under tramping. As a silage or a

soiling crop it is little used. Though the standard hay

crop of America, its intrinsic feed value is less than that

of the clovers or alfalfa on account of its lacking the high

Table 3. Acreage and Yields of Forage Crops in the

United States. (From Piper.)

Crop

Timothy (alone) ....

Red clover (alone) . . .

Timothy. and clover

(mixed) ^ . . . .

Timothy (total) ....

Red clover (total) . . .

Alfalfa

Cereals for hay ....

Other tame grasses . .

Sorghums

Millet

Cowpeas

Canada peas

Kentucky blue-grass . .

Brome-grass

All other tame grasses

Wild grasses

Acre-

yields

1.22

1.29

1.22

1.29

2.52

1.24

.99

1.05

1.38

1.00

1.00

1.00

1.00

1.00

1.07

Acres

14,675,000

19,536,000

24,457,584

12,274,454

4,704,146

4,324,878

4,218,957

2,078,242

1,117,769

1,100,000

250,000

100,000

1,000,000

600,000

17,186,522

Tons

30,359,698

15,532,602

11,859,292

5,367,292

4,166,772

3,118,863

1,546,533

1,100,000

250,000

800,000

100,000

600,000

18,383,574

Per Cent

31.2

15.9

12.2

5.5

4.3

3.2

1.6

1.1

.3

.8

.1

.6

18.9

^ Taken as half clover and half timothy when grown in mixture.

292 The Principles of Agronomy

protein content of legumes. Common grasses vary little

in food value or digestibility. Palatability, ease of cur-

ing, prolific seed production, healthfulness, and yield-

ing power determine what grass is most profitable to grow.

Timothy excels other grasses in these qualities. Market

demands influence price; the prejudice of farmers and

stockmen also plays a part, often not an insignificant

one. Timothy has an advantage also in that it is the

standard market hay, and that many stockmen prefer

it to clover and alfalfa, in spite of the fact that it surpasses

them only for feeding driving horses.

316. Enemies. — Bill-bugs and joint-worms cause some

insect injury; a rust and a smut infest the plant. The

greatest harm, however, comes from leaving meadows

sown too long without rotation. This causes the stand

to be so thin as to reduce yields materially.

REDTOP {Agrostis alba)

316. Description. — Redtop is so called from the dis-

tinctly reddish appearance of a field of it in bloom. It

is more long-lived than timothy, its stems are more slender

but tougher, its leaves finer, its sod more compact but

more shallow, and its panicle much more spreading. The

seeds are small, light, triangular in shape, and generally

grayish-brown in color. The compact sod is a result of

numerous rootstocks, and of decimibent stems sending

out roots from the nodes.

317. Adaptation. — As redtop withstands water-log-

ging to a marked degree, it replaces timothy on very

wet land, sometimes growing in sloughs or bottom-lands

in which water stands part of the year. It resists as

much cold as timothy and more heat. It grows in all

parts of the United States and as far north as Alaska.

Grasses 293

It has an extremely wide adaptability in regard to soils,

provided they are wet. Strange to say, when once es-

tablished it resists considerable drouth.

318. Culture. — Pastures nearly always contain red-

top in mixtures, but seldom does it fonn fields grown by

itself. Since seed varies much in viability, from two to

fifty pounds are planted, from two to ten pounds being

common in mixtures. Much of it on wet land is started

by broadcasting the seed, often without any cultivation,

whatever. For hay, it is handled as timothy. In irri-

gated pastures, it occupies the wettest places.

319. Value and use. — As feed, it is much less palat-

able than timothy or blue-grass, but because of being

able to endure water-logging and tramping it is valuable.

It grows well on soils too wet or too acid for blue-grass

and timothy, and grows wild on many of the boggy range

lands, where it supplements the native grasses. In lawns

it fonns a fairly smooth sod, but becomes coarse unless

kept well cut.

On the market it is considered an adulterant of timo-

thy, the price of which it lessens. As the yield is fair,

no particular objection can be made to it.

KENTUCKY BLUE-GRASS (Poa proteusis)

320. Description. — Kentucky blue-grass is marked

by its smooth, firm sod, fine stems, and blue-colored

leaves, which end without a distinct point. The panicle

is loose and turns whitish at maturity. There are sev-

eral blue-grasses, but the only other common one is

Canada blue-grass (Poa compressa), which may be told

by its sparsity of leaves, tough stem, and compressed

panicle. It yields less than Kentucky blue-grass, being

considered a weed on that account.

294 The Principles of Agronomy

321. Adaptation. — Apparently no degree of cold

knis this grass, though it loses vigor in hot summers

even when abundant water is supplied. Naturally

adapted to temperate regions, it thrives in this zone

wherever sufficient moisture falls on welWrained soils

that are rich in lime. It can endure neither acidity nor

water-logging. Nearly all of the seed grown in the United

States is produced on a few hundred square miles near

Lexington, Kentucky, which is in the heart of the Blue-

grass Region.

322. Culture. — Because of the low vitality of the

seed, heavy seeding is required for good stands. If

sown alone, forty pounds may be needed. Usually

the farmer sows smaller quantities in mixtures. In many

cases blue-grass, due to persistent spreading by means of

rootstocks, will drive out other crops, leaving nearly a

straight stand. Fine, moist soils, well mixed with humus,

are best. The seed is most often broadcasted and har-

rowed. Better stands may be had on lawns by covering

them with straw, or by shading in another way. Nurse

crops may or may not help in field culture. This de-

pends on soil and climatic conditions.

323. Use and value. — Blue-grass yields little forage

that may be gathered for hay. As a pasture plant, it is

king in America, though meadow-foxtail is most popular

in England. Mixed with white clover,' Kentucky blue-

grass forms the best pastures in this country and also

the best lawns in the North and West. Bermuda-grass,

however, supplants it in the South.

Its popularity for pasture is not without reason.

Though yields are small, it is so aggressive that bare

spots are soon filled. It gains rather than loses under

heavy pasturing, if it gets sufficient moisture. All ani-

mals are fond of the grass when it is green. When dry it

Grasses 295

is much less desirable, however. In palatability, fresh

blue-grass excels all others, with the possible exception

of smooth brome-grass. On account of its aggressiveness,

it is a bad weed in clover and alfalfa fields. The legumes

yield much more heavily> and suffer when blue-grass

creeps in, since it eventually crowds them out, unless

frequent harrowings or occasional rotations follow.

ORCHARD-GRASS (Doctylis glomerato)

324. Description. — Orchard-grass is a deep-rooted,

rather rank-growing, bunchy, yet leafy grass. The shape

of the panicle suggests a cock's foot, by which name it is

known in England. Bunching is due to vigorous roots

devoid of stolons. Tufts sometimes two feet across cause

decidedly rough surface, bare in many places. These

tufts are strongly netted by means of many tough, fibrous

roots. Undoubtedly, the plant roots three or four feet

deep in favorable soil.

326. Adaptation. — Heat injures orchard-grass less

than it does timothy or blue-grass, but cold hurts it much

more seriously. The natural place for its cultivation

is just south of the timothy belt. It is to be regretted

that timothy has gained such a hold that other useful

grasses, such as orchard-grass, oat-grass, and brome-grass,

were not tried in regions too warm or too dry for the

greatest development of timothy. Porous, well-drained,

fertile soils permit orchard-grass to make best growth.

The plant uses considerable moisture to advantage,

though, when necessary, it can, with the help of deep

roots, endure rather severe drouths. As shade does not

injure the crop to a great extent, it does well in orchards.

326. Culture. — Similar care as to preparation of the

land for sowing, and method of scattering the seed,

296. The Principles of Agronomy

should be observed in the case of orchard-grass as in that

of the other grasses. Both spring and fall planting suc-

ceed. Fall planting should take place early enough to

permit some growth before winter ; spring planting gives

best results when the ground has become warm but is

still damp.

When sown alone for hay, from twenty-five to forty

pounds of seed are used. More commonly, from four

to ten pounds are planted in mixtures. Patches grown

for seed require a stand only half as thick as hayfields.

Orchard-grass makes the best hay when cut in early

bloom, as the stems become woody very rapidly, thus

decreasing palatability. Because this grass matures

several days before most other grasses, mixtures are

usually unsatisfactory for hay on account of the varia-

tion in time of cutting. Harrowing and manuring help

to keep up yields and to prevent the growth of excessively

large bunches. Applications of irrigation water up to

thirty or forty inches pay in the West, though smaller

quantities yield more in proportion to the water used.