480 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



TAME GRASSES: BEST METHODS OF PRODUCING AND HAR- 

 VESTING. 



John Krell, Before the Madison County Farmer'' s Institute. 



There are few kinds of tame grasses with which the people of Iowa, or 

 Madison county have to deal. Therefore the grasses which we expect 

 to talk about are timothy and clover. We might speak of the different 

 kinds of clover which are red, mammoth, alsike and alfalfa. 



Alfalfa of course is in its experimental stage and we are not prepared to say 

 very much about it. I believe though, it could be raised in this State if 

 sown on the right kind of ground. The ground should be of a deep rich 

 loam, and of a sandy nature on top. Located so the roots could reach per- 

 manent moisture at not more than ten to fourteen feet in depth; also should 

 be well drained to prevent the water from lying on it in winter or any length 

 of time in the summer. Seed that is sown in this State should be procured 

 from some place where it was not raised by irrigation. The Grim Alfalfa 

 grown in Minnesota probably would be the best to sow in this State. The 

 seed bed should be thoroughly prepared as for garden culture. After which 

 sow the seed in quantity about the same as other clover, but without any 

 nurse crop. It should be mowed two or three times during the first year. 



I would not advise anyone to sow more than an acre or so before they 

 have proved its merit as a success. If once it could be raised in this State 

 it would be a great benefit to the people in the way of feed for stock, as it 

 is one of the staple crops and the wealth of the arid countries in the West. 



Alsike clover is not grown very extensively but it is an excellent grass for 

 wet lands and especially if the land is rich, as it stands the wet better than 

 the red and mammoth and does not grow so rank and coarse on rich ground. 

 Therefore I think on sloughs and wet land the best hay would be produced 

 by sowing about five pounds of Alsike clover and ten pounds timothy, be- 

 ing careful to select good, clean seed. 



Mammoth clover is especially adapted to thin and worn out lands. 

 Hence if sown with timothy on thin land it makes one of the best hay crops 

 we can raise, as it matures about the same time timothy ripens. But mam- 

 mouth clover should not be sown on rich land if wanted for a hay crop, as 

 it grows too rank and coarse. Sometimes the stalks reach three to five feet 

 in length. Then in a wet season it falls down and turns black and slimy, 

 which of course would not be very desirable for hay, as cattle would reject 

 the stems and there would be a great deal of waste. But horses of course 

 would eat the stems up quite clean and often eat that which the cattle would 

 reject. How well it is eaten by stock would probably be due to just how 

 much the stock was fed, as you can starve a brute to eat almost anything. 

 The object, though, is to get stock to oat enough to put on the flesh and good 

 hay creates an appetite. 



We are probably more familiar with the common red clover, than we are 

 with the clover before mentioned, as most farmers have learned its value for 

 building up the land. 



Red clover with timothy forms the major part of the hay crop in Madison 

 county, for it is better adapted to the rich lands than any of the other grasses 

 named, and does not grow so coarse and rank as the Mammoth, hence it 



