11 



cause the seed to germinate when the hot suns of mid-day are likely to 

 destroy the young plants. 



The quantity of seed to be sown is regulated somewhat by the char- 

 acter of the soil. On rich, heavy, deep soils a third of a bushel to the 

 acre will not be too much; on thin light soils, two gallons per acre will 

 be ample. The seed may be sown with a drill and probably it will in- 

 crease the future crop for the land to be afterwards rolled. The sowing 

 may be done by hand, the width of the spaces sown being regulated by 

 stakes. Eight feet is as wide a space as one should attempt to sow. It 

 is best to sow the land with one-half of the seed and then cross-sow it. 

 This will insure a more even distribution of the seed. After sowing a 

 light drag brush or roller, or both, should be run over the land so as to 

 slightly bury the seed and produce rapid germination. The drag brush 

 used for this purpose should be light. 



The best crop to precede timothy is tobacco, or some clean-hoed 

 crop. The next best is a crop of millet or Hungarian grass sown in the 

 summer and harvested in September. This leaves the land clean and 

 free from any noxious vegetation. Many persons, after the removal of 

 the millet, do not rebreak the land but harrow it well and immediately 

 sow the timothy seed. With such preparation they claim they are able 

 to secure a better stand than in any other manner. This result is no 

 doubt largely dependent upon the character of the soil. 



Timothy rarely does well when sown with wheat or rye in the fall, 

 or with oats in the spring. The only reason assigned for thus sowing it 

 is that it saves one preparation of the land, but in trying to economize in 

 this work it often follows that the wheat crop is injured, while the tim- 

 othy crop is put ofif one year and frequently completely fails. It is a 

 most unusual thing to get a good stand of timothy when it is sown with 

 grain; in thus sowing it there is great danger of entirely losing the seed 

 or of having a meadow spotted with many vacant places. 



Many excellent meadows are made by sowing with the timothy seed 

 a gallon of herd's grass seed to the acre with a slight sprinkling of clover 

 seed. One gallon of clover seed for ten acres will be sufficient. The 

 hay thus mixed has more richness or nutriment, has a better flavor, is 

 more relished by stock, and, indeed, is a complete food. At the same 

 time the yield is greatly increased. The amount of clover will not be 

 sufficiently large to impair the keeping qualities of the hay or to make it 

 easily injured by dampness. 



CUTTING AND CURING— The best time for cutting timothy to 

 make the largest quantity of sweet hay is when it has stopped blooming 

 and a few of the blooms begin to fall. The best cutting stage is limited, 

 extending from the time when the first blooms begin to fall to the time 

 when the first dry spot appears above the first joint and half the blos- 

 soms have turned brown. If mowed before the blooms begin to fall the 

 vitality of the plant will be endangered. If mowed after the stalk has 

 become hard, the hay is of but little value for the nourishment of animals. 

 Cut at the right stage, every part of the plant is palatable to stock. The 

 culm or stem, which forms such a large proportion of the whole at this 

 period, is soft and tender and the blades arc green and succulent through- 



