200 NORTHEAST EXPERIMENT FARM. 
clays, and alsike on wet lands. Bromus would be worth 
trying in dry soils but it is difficult to cover and obtain a 
catch, on brush-land, and the seed is expensive. Other 
grasses have no proved value. Bearing in mind the biennial 
nature of red clover and the expense of the seed, the quantity 
sown with timothy for brush pasture should not be large. 
A good general rule would be six quarts timothy, one quart 
red clover, one quart red top per acre, which is 9 lbs. timothy 
and 2 lbs. clover, the weight of red top depending on its free- 
dom from chaff. 
For meadow on cultivated land, red clover and timothy 
should always be sowntogether. Alsike may be substituted 
on low ground. The clover will make almost the whole 
crop the first year, except when injured, when the timothy 
will take its place. The second season which is the third af- 
ter sowing, timothy will make the bulk of the crop. 
The subsequent treatment of the meadow determines the 
character and in a large part, the success of the farming in 
this region. Itis natural for many reasons, to wish to have 
this land in meadow as long as possible. No labor is re- 
quired but the haying, and more time can be spared on other 
work, as clearing. Again, when stumps have not yet been 
removed, plowing is difficult and slow. But against this is 
the fact that timothy will not continue to yield well on any 
soil, for a number of years, as the sod becomes tough and 
prevents the growth of new grass. On lowsoils the decrease 
will not be so rapid, but on light soils, the third year will 
sometimes see a diminution of the yield to a point where it 
would hardly pay to cut it. If meadow land is left in grass, 
the plowed land will be plowed every year for oats or pota- 
toes, and its original stock of humus and fertility sadly 
drained. Allthecrops will suffer. Thetendency will be to get 
everything into grass, and to work away from home as much 
as possible, instead of putting the time and work on the farm, 
and making it produce the living. If it is clearly recognized 
that sod should never be left more than two or, at most, 
three years, stumps will come out sooner, mowers and rakes 
will take the place of scythes, grass seed will always be sown 
with grain, and grain and cornfodder can have the benefit of 
fall plowed sod. The crops will be doubled, the fertility of 
