508 ■ Geasses and Leguminous Crops in New York 



of nitrogen or any other element that will give most profitable 

 returns can be determined only by trial in the particular field. 



FEETILIZEES ON THE NUESE CEOP 



The use of commercial fertilizers and manure on the nurse 

 crops for grass must be practiced with great caution. As a general 

 principle, it may be stated that applications that bring the nurse 

 crop up to a medium stand are likely to be beneficial to the grass 

 seeding ; but aj)plications beyond that, or where the growth of the 

 nurse crop is already good, are likely to benefit the nurse crop at 

 the expense of the grass seeding. A moderate application of fer- 

 tilizer with the grain at seeding time, especially in fall, is likely 

 to help in maintaining the stand of plants against the exigencies 

 of winter. 



LIME NEEDED BY TIMOTHY 



On many soils, lime has a beneficial effect on timothy. At both 

 the Coraell and Ohio stations, lime showed marked benefit to 

 timothy on soils requiring liming for legumes, but timothy is 

 rather less sensitive to a shortage of lime than is red clover or 

 alfalfa. No data are at hand showing any distinction between 

 the caustic or carbonate forms of lime for timothy. The amount 

 to be applied must, of course, be related to the soil. It should be 

 applied in advance, preferably to a tilled crop, to insure its deep 

 and thorough incorporation into the soil. 



IMPORTANCE OF THOROUGHLY FITTING THE SOIL 



As a final word the importance of having the soil in good physi- 

 cal condition, well stocked with organic matter and well supplied 

 with available plant food to a considerable depth, cannot be too 

 strongly emphasized. While top-dressing gives marked benefit, 

 the incorporation of the fertilizer with the soil is still better ; the 

 system of farming must dictate the practice in this matter. Thor- 

 ough fitting is possible where the grass mixture is seeded alone. 



Thorough tillage of the soil also contributes its mite. In a 

 very literal sense, " Tillage is manure," and it is especially the 

 sanitary agent that puts the soil in a fresh, healthy condition 

 through thorough aeration. The Clark method, which has been 

 effective to obtain enormous yields of grass in which timothy was 



