42 MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



/ 



in bloom or very soon afterward. Clovers enrich timothy 

 hay and add much to its thrift and yield. Alfalfa grows 

 well with timothy on dry, rich soils having enough lime. 

 Timothy rapidly exhausts the soil of nitrogen and tim- 

 othy meadows are wonderfully helped by applications of 

 stable manure or fertilizers. When fertilizers are used 

 they should contain a considerable amount of nitrogen. 

 Timothy is a short-lived pasture grass and for best re- 

 sults as meadow should be very lightly pastured in the 

 fall or left untouched. It is a good temporary pasture 

 to afford feed while bluegrass is coming in. 



Redtop (Agrostis alba). It is curious how plants find 

 their best-suited environment ; each one has its place. The 

 place for redtop is on soil rather moist, deficient in lime 

 and somewhat deficient in fertility. Not that redtop will 

 not thrive in rich soil, but it will endure a degree of soil 

 poverty that timothy and Kentucky bluegrass will not 

 endure. When one has a soil that is not quite rich enough 

 nor dry enough for timothy one may hope to get a vig- 

 orous growth of redtop. Indeed it will almost grow in 

 the water. Redtop is a slender grass somewhat of the 

 type of Kentucky bluegrass but taller-growing, with a 

 creeping underground root-stock which makes it spread 

 rather fast and soon form on suitable soil a dense sod. 

 It grows 2' or more high and yields from i to 2 tons of 

 hay per acre. It makes good pasture. It is not so soon 

 established as timothy but increases in thickness for sev- 

 eral years after sowing. Redtop is a variable grass, as- 

 suming new characters in each different situation. In 

 England it is declared to be of little growth. In New 

 England it is considered a good hay and fine grazing. 



