DAIRY AND SEED IMPROVEMENT MEETINGS. 255 



same time, the most costly nutriment to buy. Clover hay fed 

 with ensilage balances up well as a ration. The clover furnishes 

 the protein which the corn silage lacks, while the corn furnishes 

 carbohydrates and fat. 



Timothy is the leading grass for hay in the countr}-. Sown 

 with red clover, a large crop of valuable hay will be produced 

 the second year, and also the third, although it is better to 

 turn it under and plant to corn again when possible, thus keep- 

 ing a four year rotation. 



The extensive use of timothy is due to the certainty of get- 

 ting a catch, the large yields of hay produced, the cheapness of 

 seed, the ease of curing the hay, and the fact that dairy cows, 

 as well as all classes of animals, will eat it without waste. 

 Timothy is lower in protein than most of the grasses, but is 

 about equal in other food materials. 



In the south, cowpeas are a valuable crop for feeding cattle 

 and for soil improvement, but the fact that they will not mature 

 farther north than Kansas, Kentucky, and Maryland limits their 

 use to the southern states. 



The crop system outlined should keep the soil mellow and 

 rich in plant food, and not only maintain the fertility of the 

 soil, but increase is productiveness. Along with the increase 

 in crops there should be a corresponding increase in the value 

 of the farm, and an increase in the amount of stock kept on 

 the place. 



On farms where a corresponding rotation has been used, 

 there are as many dairy cows kept as there are acres of tillable 

 land. 



One example of the value of such a rotation is shown in the 

 case of Hon. C. L. Jones, of Penobscot county, Maine, in 1908. 

 He was keeping forty head of cattle, four horses, and twenty 

 sheep on forty acres of tillage land. His rotation consisted of 

 one year of corn, one of small grain, one of clover hay, and 

 part of the land was run for mixed hay the second year. The 

 manure was applied either as a top dressing or on the land to 

 be used for corn. 



Another illustration is that of Mr. D. H. Noyes, of Grafton 

 county. New Hampshire, in the same year. His farm com- 

 prised eighteen acres of tillage land and one hundred and fifty 

 of rough pasture. He practiced a four year rotation, consist- 



