Hay and Pasture Seeds

Description

This section is from the "Farm And Garden Rule-Book" book, by L. H. Bailey. Amazon: Farm and garden rule-book

Hay and Pasture Seeds

For quantity of seed for cover-crops, see Chap. VIII.

Number and weight of grass seeds, and another estimate of quantity to sow (Fraser).

The following table has been adapted from " The Best Forage Plants," by Stebler and Schroeter, and from it calculations may be made. The actual number of grains in a pound will frequently vary 20 per cent either way; for example, in recleaned fancy seed there are fewer grains to the pound, while in an uncleaned sample free from chaff, but containing many small seeds, the number will be greater. The recleaned seed weighs heavier per bushel. The uncleaned seed may contain a large proportion of chaff, and in such case the number of seeds per pound of material may be very low. The numbers given are per pound of pure seed. The percentage of germination of average samples of seed is frequently but half, and even less than half, of that given in the table. The germination of the rye grasses given in the table is a little higher than ordinarily found in the United States, even with imported seed. Low germinating power may be due to lack of uniformity in ripening the seed; to part of the seed on a plant being mature before the remainder, frequently seen in meadow foxtail; or to poor methods of harvesting, as in Kentucky blue-grass: —

Examples of seed mixtures that would furnish 20,000,000 acre, and the weight of same (Fraser) grass seeds per

	No. of Seeds	Weight of Pure, Viable Seed. Lb.
For hay and fall pasture. Heavy land. Brief duration.
Timothy...............	13,400,000	11.44
Alsike.......	3,300,000	4.66
White Clover..........	3,300,000	4.46
	20,000,000	20.56
For hay and pasture.
Timothy...............	10,000,000	8.54
Kentucky blue-grass...........	2,000,000	0.82
Orchard-grass.............	1,400,000	2.42
Alsike................	3,300,000	4.66
White clover..............	3,300,000	4.46
	20,000,000	20.90
For hay and pasture.
Timothy...............	8,000,000	6.84
Kentucky blue-grass...........	2,400,000	1.00
Orchard-grass.............	2,000,000	3.46
Meadow foxtail............	1,000,000	1.10
Alsike................	3,300,000	4.66
White clover..............	3,300,000	4.46
	20,000,000	21.52

Examples of seed mixtures — Continued

	No. of Seeds	Weight of Pure, Viable Seed Lb.
For hay. Heavy loam.
Red Clover..........	2,790,000	10.00
Alsike......	2,121,000	3.00
Timothy	7,089,000	6.06
Red-top	8,000,000	1.32
	20.000.000	20.38

Testing grass seed (Fraser).

In testing the seed for germination power and purity it is more satisfactory to weigh out a sample of the seed, separate the chaff and inert matter, weigh it, and then proceed to make a germination test of the remainder. For example, if a sample of awnless brome grass contain 10 per cent of dirt and chaff, and 75 per cent of the pure seeds are viable, the actual germination power of the sample is 67.5 per cent, or

75X90 = 67.5. 100

Number of Tree-Seeds in a Pound