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when the grasses are enfeebled by mowing, especially if the mowing is 



followed by dry weather. The most pestiferous of these is broom sedge 

 (Andropogon Virginicus). If left alone it will grow to the height of 

 three feet after the hay has been cut. If permitted to seed, the meadow 

 will show a largely increased number of these plants the following sea- 

 son. Each tussock of this vile grass before it goes to seed should be cut 

 up with a sharp sprouting hoe. If permitted to grow the meadow will be 

 destroyed in a very few years. 



Another troublesomo plant is the fleabane (Erigeron Philadelphicus) 

 known as "white top" in Tennessee. This will thicken on suitable soils 

 very rapidly. There is no remedy for this except running the mower 

 over the meadow before the seeds ripen. 



The trumpet flower (Tecoma radicans) infests meadows on rich 

 bottom lands and it is especially troublesome on strong limestone soils. 

 When cut ofif by the mower it forms hard knots which will arrest the ac- 

 tion of the sickle. This vine should be dug up "root and branch." While 

 white clover and blue grass are both great enemies to the meadow 

 grasses, their presence will have the effect of rapidly converting a 

 meadow into a pasture. 



THE HAY HARVEST— The first grass that ripens for the harvest, 

 in Tennessee is the Italian rye grass. There is only a small quantity of 

 land, however, laid down in this early meadow grass. The red clover 

 crop demands the earliest attention from a majority of farmers. This is 

 cut for hay from the time it blooms in the middle of May until the middle 

 of June. Varieties of soils exert a perceptible influence upon the period 

 of inflorescence. On strong limy soils clover is usually ready for the 

 mower two or three weeks earlier than when grown on cold or heavy clay 

 soils. Timothy and herd's grass follow soon afterwards and the harvest- 

 ing of these usually continues until the middle of July. Millet grown on 

 strong soils is harvested in about sixty days after it is sown. It is not 

 possible to define the precise stage in which grasses should be cut, for 

 this depends upon the uses to be made of the hay and upon the character 

 of stock to be fed. If the object is to produce the greatest quantity of 

 milk, grass should be cut before coming into blossom, for at that stage it 

 contains the greatest amount of succulence and will produce the largest 

 flow of milk. If the richness of the milk is desired rather than quantity, 

 grass should be harvested while in blossom. For work horses, mules and 

 oxen and for fattening cattle the harvesting should be deferred until the 

 seed is in the milky state and the blades of the grass are still green, or 

 at least but slightly spotted. For "roughness" or "distending" forage 

 the hay should be cut when only a portion of the flowers have fallen. At 

 this stage it is filled with starch, gum and sugar. After the seeds become 

 ripe these ingredients are changed into woody and indigestible fibre. 

 The seeds thcnischcs, indeed, after rijiening contain a lart^o amount of 

 very nutritious matter but the value of the hay grasses with ripened seed 

 is greatly lessened and the juicy stalks and blades will be worth no more 

 than wheat straw. With wheat, corn, barley, rye and oats the reverse is 

 true, as the seeds are worth much more than the forage from such crops 

 would be if cut when in flower. 



Prof. Armsby comes to the following conclusions as to the best time 



