32 MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



Quantity of Seed. The amount of seed used is from 

 4 to 20 pounds per acre. Very thick stands are less pro- 

 ductive than normal stands. Probably a rational seeding 

 for ordinary soils and seasons would be one peck or u 

 pounds to the acre. The clover is added in the spring. 

 There are several methods in vogue to get a catch of 

 clover in wheat that has been sown to timothy. The usual 

 method is to sow about 10 pounds to the acre of clover in 

 March when the land has been honeycombed by frost, de- 

 pending on the frost to cover the seed. Another and bet- 

 ter plan, so far as the clover is concerned, is to wait till 

 the land can be harrowed, say in April, and then to sow 

 the seed and harrow sufficiently to cover it slightly. With 

 care this can be done with no marked injury to the tim- 

 othy and with marked benefit to the wheat. 



Mixtures Produce the Most Hay. Very much more 

 forage can be taken from land seeded to mixtures of 

 grasses and clovers than when any one plant has exclusive 

 possession of the soil. Thus timothy and clover produce 

 more than would timothy alone, and if more than one 

 species of clover is put in it will yield more than if red 

 clover alone is the consort. Alsike clover may be added, 

 a sprinkle of alfalfa, some mammoth red clover and some 

 redtop. Orchard grass and brome grass ripen too early 

 to be sown with timothy. Meadow fescue added in the 

 spring will help somewhat. It is really astonishing the 

 amount of herbage a mixed planting will yield, especially 

 if the land is well enriched and has been deeply-plowed 

 and well-prepared. The different species of plants have 

 somewhat different food requirements and habits of feed- 

 ing. The legumes can utilize the free nitrogen of the 



