Fertilizers for Timothy 5{J7 



hay increased the grain nearly as much as when applied to the old 

 sod and also gave a larger net profit. The root residues from the 

 sod have a very considerable value. 



organic forms of ISriTROGEISr DESIRABLE 



There is some indication that nitrogenous fertilizer in organic 

 form is congenial to the timothy plant. Whether there is a spe- 

 cific preference for organic nitrogen does not appear to have been 

 studied. That the timothy plant will use organic nitrogen com- 

 pounds is suggested by the effect of legiimes growing with timothy 

 on its composition and yield. At the Cornell station,* it has been 

 found that legumes, in general, largely benefit the nonlegume with 

 which they grow by supplying available nitrogen. Timothy grown 

 with alfalfa had from Ys to nearly 3 per cent more protein 

 than when grown alone. When grown with red clover, it had 7 

 jr. per cent more protein. When oats were grown with field peas 

 there was not only an improvement in composition, but the yield 

 was increased by about one^third over the oats alongside, without 

 association with peas. Although no figures are at hand, observa- 

 tions suggest the same relation of timotliy to clover. 



These data, together with the fact now well established that 

 plants do use their nitrogenous, as well as nonnitrogenous, food 

 in the form of rather complexly organized organic compounds, 

 suggest the importance of keeping the soil as largely stocked as 

 possible with fresh, actively decaying organic material, whether 

 it be from organic fertilizers, stock manure, or leguminous stubble. 



Dr. I. P. Robertsf suggests from his wide range of observation 

 the importance of keeping clover plants among the timothy to feed 

 the latter on the decay of the clover plant. Certainly, in so far 

 as possible, the maintenance of a moderate stand of leguminous 

 plants with the timothy, especially at the start, is to be recom- 

 mended for the largest total yield of hay. The net returns from 

 the quadruple application of nitrogen as nitrate of soda, given in 

 Table II, shows that while the total yield increased, the profit 



decreased over a double application. Of course, the exact amount 



( 



* Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bui. 294. T. L. Lyon and J. A. Bizzell. A heretofore unnoted bene- 

 fit fr m the growth of legumes. 



t Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bui. 280, (1910). Pastures in New York. 



