FIFTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART VI. 481 



makes fine hay from rich land. In a great many seasons the farmer can 

 reap two crops of hay from the red clover, one in June and another in the 

 fall, or if the season has not been too wet he may reap a valuable seed crop. 



Now, in seeding land for hay I would always sow timothy with Alsike, 

 Mammoth or red clover just as the case may be, being governed always by 

 the kind of land to be seeded. 



I believe that in most seasons there should be sown three quarts of clover 

 and five quarts of timothy to the acre, but in a dry season it might be well 

 to sow four quarts of clover and eight quarts of timothy on an acre. How- 

 ever, I have never failed to get a stand from proportion of three to five 

 quarts. 



The time and the way the seed is put in the ground may have a great deal 

 to do with the kind of a stand secured I think the seed should be sown as 

 early as possible in the spring, so the seed will have plenty of moisture to 

 germinate. By being sown early it will have a chance to get well rooted 

 before the hot weather sets in and will be less affected by the heat. The 

 seed should be well put in the ground especially if the season is very dry, 

 but if there is plenty of moisture in the ground, the nurse crop might be 

 worked in first, then before harrowing sow the grass seed, after which har- 

 row ground twice. A good way if one could do so would be to sow timothy 

 in the fall with rye or fall wheat. Then in the spring just after the frost has 

 gone out of the ground sow the clover and if the rye or wheat was drilled 

 harrow with a smothing harrow. Harrowing might be beneficial to the 

 small grain as it would be equal to a cultivation. 



Barley or wheat makes a better nurse crop for spring seeding than oats, 

 as it is Hot so apt to lodge and smother out the grass. The earlier the grain 

 can be cut the better the clover will stand the hot weather, so barley would 

 really be better than either wheat or oats unless it was a very early variety of 

 oats. 



The time clover is put up for hay has a great deal to do with the quality. 

 The proper time for cutting clover to make first class hay is when one-third 

 of the heads have turned brown. At this time clover contains from seventy 

 to eighty per cent of water. When cut and ready to go into the barn it 

 should not contain more than twenty-five to thirty per cent of water. Any- 

 thing over forty per cent is dangerous and might form spontaneous combus- 

 tion. Therefore the problem is to get rid of this extra moisture, which is 

 thirty or forty per cent of its weight. If we have the right kind of weather 

 it is not a difficult job, but if the weather is brittle and the atmosphere is 

 ladened with moisture it is not an easy job, even under the most favorable 

 conditions, for if clover is allowed to lie in a heavy swath it is but a few 

 hours until the leaves on top turn brown or black, while the stalk is full of 

 sap and the under leaves are quite green. The best thing to do then, if the 

 clover is at all heavy on the ground, is to stir it with a tedder or side deliv- 

 ery hayrake, in order that the air may pass through the clover easily and 

 pump the moisture from the stalk out through the leaves. Then just as soon 

 as there can be no moisture twisted out of the stalk get the hay into some 

 barn or hayshed. For every load put under shelter is saved, and if stacked 

 out is likely to spoil. 



Timothy should be cut when in second bloom or rather, just going out of 

 bloom . As at this time it has more nutriment than at any other time. If cut 



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