386 MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



grasses for New York State named in order for pasture? First, 

 Kentucky bluegrass; second, timothy; third, Canada bluegrass; 

 fourth, redtop. We have hardly arrived at the point where we can 

 give definite instructions regarding mixtures for various soil types. 

 Many letters from farmers regarding this matter come in. If I do 

 not know the soil type I usually give them the following mixture: 

 10 pounds of timothy, 4 pounds of Kentucky bluegrass, 3 pounds of 

 redtop, 3 pounds of orchard grass, 6 pounds of red clover, 4 pounds 

 of alsike clover and 2 pounds of white clover. I do not include in 

 this Canada bluegrass which I place third in value as a pasture 

 grass. The reason is this: Canada bluegrass is thought by many 

 to.be a weed in pastures. However, throughout the sections of 

 New York State where the soil has become impoverished there 

 are large areas of which the principal grass is Canada bluegrass. 

 This statement is true of the hill farms of southern New York, 

 and of the formerly fertile clay or silt valleys of the Genesee Valley 

 regions in Livingston county. If I were to place these in order 

 of abundance of the grasses in general, I should place redtop before 

 Canada bluegrass, but our experience with redtop has been that cattle 

 avoid this wherever they can get any other grass. It seems to 

 be unpalatable. However, if the farmer states that his land is 

 inclined to be acid and poorly drained, I always recommend 3 to 4 

 pounds of redtop in the mentioned mixture. If I know that the 

 field is fertile and will grow meadow fescue I recommend the 

 growing of this in small quantities, say 3 to 4 pounds per acre. 

 I find this grass present in pastures in the fertile sections of New 

 York state. It is considered fine where it will grow. 



I have included clovers in the mixture which I recommend. As to 

 value, they will be arranged in the following order: First, red 

 clover ; second, alsike clover ; third, white clover. This exhausts 

 the list of clovers adapted to our conditions. "I would arrange our 

 grasses for meadows in the following order : First, timothy ; second, 

 redtop; third, Canada bluegrass. Timothy is the universal meadow 

 grass in New York. We may say that it is always included in the 

 new seeding unless clovers alone are sowed. Occasionally a farmer 

 will use redtop. This, however, is not considered in the same class 

 as timothy. It does not make a. marketable hay. In the old meadows 

 which have not been plowed for a number of years, especially 

 on the hill lands of our state, we find a great deal of Canada blue- 

 grass. They consider this a very superior hay grass for horses. 



