6 MAINE AGRICULTURAL EjXPERIMElNT STATION. I906. 



without a covering during the winter. No fertihzer was appUed 

 in 1903. 



The spring- of 1904 was uiu-ually wet and backward so that 

 the first harrowing in 1904 was necessarily delayed until June 

 3. It was at this time harrowed in two directions with the 

 double action cutaway harrow, and then made level with the 

 Clark smoothing harrow. It was harrowed five times after this 

 before it was seeded. 



August 16, there was applied at the rate of 800 pounds per 

 acre a fertilizer made from 500 pounds fine bone tankage, 100 

 pounds nitrate of soda, 300 pounds acid phosphate and 150 

 pounds of muriate of potash. The 800 pounds of this mixture 

 carried about 27 pounds nitrogen, 75 pounds available phos- 

 phoric acid, 115 pounds total phosphoric acid and 75 pounds 

 potash. The field was then again harrowed, with the double 

 action harrow and made true with the smoothing harrow, and 

 seeded with timothy and red top at the rate of 14 quarts of each 

 per acre. The seed was harrowed in with the Clark smoothing 

 harrow (without the leveling board) and then rolled. There 

 w^as an excellent catch and when the snow came the last of 

 November the field was in good shape for the winter. 



The following spring (1905) there was applied 300 pounds 

 per acre of a fertilizer carrying about 20 pounds of nitrogen, 8 

 pounds available phosphoric acid, 22 pounds total phosphoric 

 acid and 50 pounds potash. 



As soon as the grass made much growth it was apparent that 

 the piece was overseeded and the grass plants were badly crowd- 

 ing each other. As the result the grass was much finer than 

 timothy and red-top usually are. There was such a tangle of 

 fine grasses at the bottom that it could not be cut clean with the 

 mowing machine. 



The field was mown the second week in July, at which time 

 the timothy was a little past full bloom. The somewhat less 

 than two acres yielded 6}i tons of field cured hay. The second 

 growth was not sufBcient to warrant cutting. In our experience 

 it is not practicable in the short season of growth to obtain two 

 cuttings of the ordinary grasses. Clover can usually be 

 depended upon to give two cuttings, but unless the first crop is 

 cut too early for the best hay, timothy will give only one cutting 

 a season in central and northern Maine. 



