368 MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



seedbed. For permanent pasture on poorly drained land the follow- 

 ing mixture is recommended : 



5 pounds Kentucky Bluegrass =Poe pratense 



2 pounds Redtop =Agrostis vulgaris 



1 pound Orchard grass =Dactylis glomerata 



3 pounds Timothy =Phleum pratense 

 1^2 pounds Meadow fescue =:(Festuca pratensis) 

 2 l / 2 pounds Alsike clover z=Trifolium hybridum 



Here again we have 15 pounds per acre of a seed mixture fur- 

 nishing over 22,000,000 seeds certainly a sufficiently heavy seeding 

 for all practical purposes. For permanent pasture on poor soil, 

 dry, gravelly, or broken, we suggest the following: 



3 pounds Redtop =Agrostis vulgaris 



2 pounds Orchard grass z=Dactylis glomerata 



4 pounds Sheeps fescue =zFestuca ovina 



3 pounds Timothy =Phleum pratense 



4 pounds Italian rye grass =Lolium Italicum 

 2 pounds White clover =Trifolium repens 



It will be noticed that this mixture contains a greater number of 

 pounds to be sown per acre than either of the preceding. The 

 number of viable seeds per acre, taking a good average per cent of 

 germination for each sort, will be practically 23,000,000 or 530 

 per square foot of surface. 



Meadows and Hay Land.. For meadows there are fewer sorts 

 of grass used than for pastures. The old but incorrect idea that 

 timothy is the best and most valuable grass for hay is still pre- 

 valent in too many sections of Illinois. Throughout the cornbelt, 

 however, the clovers and alfalfa are more in evidence. On the 

 poorer soils of the state, redtop is the staple grass for hay. It has 

 been aptly put by one of the most successful and progressive far- 

 mers of this state that the common practice of soil depletion of 

 Illinois progresses along the following lines: "Corn until the land 

 refuses to produce profitable crops ; then corn and oats, or corn and 

 wheat, until the same limit is reached. After this condition pre- 

 vails, clover is brought into use and another period of profitable 

 cropping ensues until the soil refuses to respond readily, when 

 timothy is substituted, and a series of years of timothy hay pro- 

 duction follows. Presently, however, the timothy fails to yield a 



