TIMOTHY. 45 



Timothy is essentially a plant of temperate climates and is 

 affected more by conditions of moisture than by temperature. It is 

 very resistant to cold and bears a heavy cover of snow of long duration. 

 Although the root system is rather shallow, it stands drought fairly 

 well; the yields, however, are light under too dry conditions. 



Varieties: Timothy includes innumerable types, markedly dif- 

 ferent from each other and of widely different agricultural value. 

 In places where wild Timothy, or Timothy escaped from cultivation, 

 has established itself, hundreds of types can be found side by side 

 under exactly the same conditions. Giant plants, extremely leafy 

 and consequently of great economic value, may be found cheek by 

 jowl with small, dwarf types with but few leaves and spikes only 

 half an inch long. Open tufts with ascending or almost decumbent 

 stems may be seen in company with dense and bunchy tufts. 

 Pale green, bluish green and bluish red plants may be found growing 

 side by side. Early types, with the basal leaves brown and dead, 

 may occur alongside of late maturing plants with an abundance of 

 green leaves. 



Habits of growth: Timothy is rather slow-growing and as a 

 rule medium to late in maturing. It is in flower early in July in 

 the southwest peninsula of the province of Ontario and from the 

 middle to the end of July in Manitoba and northeastern Quebec. 

 The seed is ripe about a month after flowering. If sown with cereals 

 in the spring, it gives a satisfactory hay crop the following year. 



Agricultural value: Timothy is used in Canada almost to the 

 exclusion of other grasses, largely because clean seed of strong vitality 

 is generally available at a low price. The expense per acre of seeding 

 is less than with any other grass. 



If fed alone, it is of low nutritive value for growing animals or 

 for milk production, because it is deficient in flesh-forming constit- 

 uents; it is therefore not a profitable fodder by itself for those pur- 

 poses. A liberal mixture of clover improves it. It is favoured for 

 work horses that have heavy grain rations as well, and, on account 

 of its digestibility, it is the standard hay for livery horses required 

 to work immediately after feeding. 



Except on rich, moist lands, it does not by itself develop into 

 a thick stand of plants, and for uplands it is better sown with other 

 grasses or with Red Clover. When a fodder crop is required for only 

 two years in a short rotation, it may be sown alone or with Alsike 



