74 MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



alsike clover with it. Feed the meadow each year. Mow 

 it but once just as the bloom falls. Pasture lightly 

 if it grows up rank in the fall. If timothy does not 

 thrive on your soil because of poverty or wetness, take 

 redtop. If you wish to combine mowing with pasturage 

 take orchard grass. If you are growing for a short 

 term of years you may mix in rye grasses if you like; 

 they are being steadily discarded in England, once their 

 chief stronghold. Timothy will do the trick easiest 

 for you, as it is easiest sown and established. 



To the man in the Gulf States I would say : You may 

 use timothy and clover also if you have rich soil; sown 

 in the fall they will give you at least one good hay 

 crop but you will find redtop better adapted to your 

 climate and more enduring. Better lime your soil if it 

 needs it and sow alfalfa; it likes hot suns arid the 

 grasses do not. Do not sow Johnson grass if you do 

 not have it aready, but if you have it sow alfalfa with 

 it; cut always before seed forms; it will yield you a lot 

 of good hay nearly better than timothy. 



To the man of Oklahoma, Texas, the dry parts of 

 Kansas, Nebraska and New Mexico, where "dry farm- 

 ing" is being done : Do not depend much on perennial 

 grasses; they do not root deeply enough. You must till 

 your soil each year in order to hold your moisture; 

 you can make hay of wheat, oats, barley, sorghum and 

 corn. Permanent meadows are for lands with ample 

 rainfall. Meadows in permanent grass waste much 

 moisture through evaporation from the surface soil. They 

 can not be tilled without destroying the grasses that you 

 wish to cherish. 



