Jasper County Democrat, Volume 13, Number 90, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 February 1911 — Farm and Garden [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Farm and Garden

MEADOW FESCUE. Increase In Use of Plant Good For Pastures In Many Regions. For several years past meadow fescue has been an important crop in northeastern Kansas, according to the United States department of agriculture. The acreage devoted to this grass has, however, been extremely variable. The fluctuating tendency is k due chiefly to changes in the price of seed. The meadow fescue seed crop has in some years reached a total valuation of over $150,000 in a very limited section of. the state. The demaud for meadow fescue seed is quite limited: hence an undue expansion in jno duction has caused in several years a •decided fall in price. The merits of the grass are sucic however, that it is believed that a better knowledge of its usefulness will result in Its being employed much more extensively, especially for permanent pastures throughout the timothy region. Meadow fescue is also locally known as English blue grass notwithstanding the fact that iu England it is called meadow fes. u • The name English blue grass should be discarded for the established name r»c- low fescue’ as the use of both leads.-to confusion. Meadow fescee'jsown alone furnishes scant pasturage during the hot snturner months, and its lack of root stocks prevents its. taking first rank as a pasture grass iu any region where Ken tuckv blue grass does well. Its value at present is fully appreciated only in the eastern parts of Nebraska and Kansas. 1 1 is quite probable that in

[From bulletin of United States department of agriculture.] many regions au increase in the use of meadow fescue would have a very beneficial effect on the pastures. The ability of meadow fescue to sur vive in wet places w-lien trampled by stock keeps such places productive in pastures where timothy, red clover and Kentucky blue grass fail. and. besides bring strongly perennial, meadow fescue has the additional advantage of coming quickly and surely from seed, producing in a short time a firm sod and considerable pasturage. In the east meadow fescue has shown itself to be almost as well adapted as orchard grass to the clay soils, and, though not quite as productive, it is rather more palatable than the latter. As the value of tame pastures over native pastures is better realized and as the English idea of mixtures is more firmly established with the American farmer meadow fespde will take a more important place at least as a pasture grass. The soil best adaptril to the production of meadow fescue is a heavy black loam. This grass has been noted growing in the most decided “gumbo” spots, and iu these places when moisture was sufficient no amount of trampling seemed to destroy it- It is pot adapted to a light sandy soil, and the best yield of hay. arid seed is always secured from heavy soils rich in organic matter. Farmers interested in this pasture plant can obtain further information from their state experiment stations or departments, of agriculture or from the agricultural department at Washington.

PANICLE OF MEADOW FESCUE.