THE HAY-CROP. 129 



often make the difference of one crop the first year. The 

 grass is pushed forward early in the spring, gets a start of 

 the weeds, so that two instead of one crop can be cut the first 

 season. For the sake of having the hay of the very best 

 quality for producing rich milk and butter, all the better por- 

 tions of the mowing are sown with such grasses as can be 

 made to produce two or three crops in a year. 



VARIETIES or GRASS-SEED. 



On the reclaimed meadow-land orchard-grass is grown as a 

 principal crop, always giving three cuttings in a season. 

 Herdsgrass is X3nt a little higher up, and if top-dressed yields 

 two good crops, while on the dry hills that are not good grass- 

 lands, except in very favorable seasons, the redtop is sown, 

 which never can be cut the second time. The different kinds 

 are grown separately in a measure, so that haying may not 

 come all at once, as the different kinds do not come to matu- 

 rity at the same time by about fifteen to thirty days. 



TIME OF SOWING. 



I sow grass-seed both in spring and fall just as soon as a 

 field is ready. At both seasons I like to have it in early, — 

 the earlier the better. Sow winter-rye for fodder every fall, 

 and am very successful with grass-seed at the same time. 

 The rye comes ofi" so very early the next spring that the grass 

 has time to make a good growth that can be cut in August. 

 On all fiill-sown fields, clover is put on the following spring. 

 I frequently lose the seed by its swelling before steady warm 

 weather and then shrinking again and dying, unless it can be 

 worked in a little with a harrow. If I lose it I re-sow it even 

 the third time if necessary. I consider clover-seed cheap at 

 any ordinary price to mix with other grasses. It takes but 

 little value to sow an acre, and if it catches and does well it 

 pays largely, while if it fails the loss on account of seed is 

 quite small. Herdsgrass I very much prefer to sow in the 

 fall early enough to get a good hold on the soil before winter 

 sets in. Sometimes the grasshoppers do it great damage by 

 eating off the young blades as fast as they come above ground ; 

 but if we do not sow we must not expect to reap. If herds- 

 grass is sown in spring, it is quite apt to be killed by the hot 

 17 



