GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. 231 



nate, and can regulate his sowing accordingly. The seeds of the clovers, if they are new 

 and fresh, will show their germs on the third or fourth day; other seeds will take a little 

 longer, but till they become coated with mould there is hope of their germinating. As soon 

 as the mould appears it is decisive, and the seed that moulds is worthless. 



Some farmers may think it too much trouble to test seeds in this manner. It will 

 always, however, be well to save a sample of the seed sown, and if there is any difficulty in 

 its germinating, it can be tested, and the real difficulty ascertained. Often the seed fails to 

 start on account of its being covered too deep in the soil; in such a case, the fault is in the 

 farmer, and not in the seed. 



Mixture of Grass Seed. In the mixture of seed for mowing lots, it is desirable to 

 have a large variety, as it is a well-established fact in agriculture that a larger crop of hay 

 will be produced from a given amount of land, other things being equal, than where but a 

 single or few varieties are grown. It is also important that the varieties should be the best 

 for the purpose, in order to secure hay of the best quality and quantity, and that they should 

 be such as will be ready for mowing about the same time, which is when they are in blos 

 som, otherwise, if the earlier and later varieties are sown together, the early ripened may 

 become dry, woody, and useless by being over-ripe, before the later varieties are ready to be 

 cut. By this method, also, the fields of earlier grasses can be first mowed, and the hay prop 

 erly cared for, before the later fields are matured, obviating the hurry and anxiety of the 

 farmer respecting the loss or injury of certain crops of hay for lack of opportunity to secure 

 it at the proper time. 



For feeding to horses, at least a half of the time, many farmers prefer timothy which 

 has been grown without the admixture of other varieties of grass; but for cows and sheep, 

 a large variety is greatly to be preferred. 



For permanent pastures, both early and late varieties are desirable in order to secure a con 

 tinuous growth throughout the season, the largest number of varieties, other things being 

 equal, giving the best results. The following tables for mixtures have been obtained from 

 various reliable agricultural authorities. Of course, the quantity of each variety can be 

 varied, or the entire amount increased, as may appear judicious in view of the soil, climate, 

 etc. 



Light seeding will produce a larger and coarser growth of stalks with a tendency to 

 weeds, while heavy seeding will produce finer stalks and nicer hay for cattle and sheep. 

 Perhaps a medium in this, as well as in most other things, thus avoiding either extreme, is 

 the better method and the one to be adopted in the majority of cases. Each mixture is in 

 tended for one acre of land. 



For Mowing Lands. 



Red clover, . . . . . 10 Ibs. 



Orchard grass, . . . . . 6 &quot; 



Timothy, .... . 6 &quot; 



Red-Top, ...... 4 



For Permanent Pastures. 



Orchard grass, . . 6 Ibs. Rye grass, . . 4 Ibs. 



White clover, . . 5 &quot; Red-top, . . 4 &quot; 



Meadow foxtail, . . 3 &quot; Timothy, . . 4 &quot; 



Red clover, . . . 4 &quot; Blue grass, . . 4 &quot; 



Rough-stalked meadow grass, 4 &quot; Meadow fescue, . 4 &quot; 



