TIMOTHY. 57 



adapted to the growth of timothy. This is true of the 

 hist named class of soils, regardless of their composition 

 or mechanical condition. Good crops of timothy cannot 

 be grown on a hnngrv soil, any more than good crops 

 of wheat. Sandy soils low in humus are usually of this 

 character, and are, moreover, leechy ; hence, on these the 

 crop is usually characterized by lack of vigor in its 

 growth. The naturally hungry character of many of the 

 upland soils of the south is largely responsible for the 

 lack of adaptation in these to the groAvth of timothy. 



Place in the Rotation. — Timothy should be sown on 

 clean soil. It should, therefore, follow such crops as 

 have been given clean cultivation during the period of 

 growtk These w^ill include corn, sorghum, the non- 

 saccharine sorghums, all kinds of field roots, potatoes, 

 in some instances rape ; also cow peas and soy beans. It 

 may also be sown with much advantage on lands that 

 have been properly summer falloAved. It is, of course, 

 frequently sown on land that is not clean, and it may 

 grow with some vigor under such conditions, but the hay 

 produced will not be of lu-ime quality because of tlie 

 weeds that are mixed with it. 



Timothy may be followed by almost any kind of a 

 crop, since, when sown alone it does not form a stiff sod ; 

 hence, the crops which immediately follow timothy are 

 usually able to gather sufficient food from the soil. But 

 the aim should be to follow timothj^ with some small 

 cereal grain crop which has much power to gather food 

 in the soil, since, under some conditions, overturned 

 sod does not decay quickly enough to enable certain 

 crops to gather food therefrom with sufficient quickness 



