408 MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



orchard grass or meadow fescue. For highlands, we would use 

 a mixture of Kentucky bluegrass and white clover; for lowland 

 Kentucky bluegrass, white and alsike clovers and redtop. For 

 meadows we use timothy, either alone or a mixture of timothy and 

 red clover for the higher ground, timothy and alsike clover for the 

 lower ground. 



In establishing bluegrass pastures, it is customary for our farmers 

 to sow a mixture of timothy, redtop, Kentucky bluegrass, and white 

 clover. This gives an opportunity to get at least two crops of hay 

 from the timothy and clover, and by the time the timothy and 

 clover are gone we get a fair sod of Kentucky bluegrass, and get a 

 crop which may then be pastured. Ordinarily the mixture for this 

 purpose would be about 15 pounds of timothy, 8 pounds of red 

 clover, 10 pounds of Kentucky bluegrass and 2 pounds of white 

 clover. This mixture for meadows would be changed somewhat 

 in regard to the soil, using alsike clover and possibly redtop and 

 Canada bluegrass in place of Kentucky bluegrass on low wet ground. 



Since brome grass has become popular many of our farmers are 

 mixing some of it and also more or less redtop in all pasture seeding. 

 In this way they get grasses which are inclined to mature at different 

 times of the year, and so obtain a continuous pasture. 



Medium red clover is the most popular of any of the clovers 

 grown in the state. Alfalfa where it does well is crowding out even 

 the red clover. Thus far we have found very few sections of the state, 

 however, where alfalfa has given very good satisfaction. The area 

 devoted to this plant, however, is rapidly increasing, as we come to 

 better understand the methods of handling it. Besides growing the 

 alfalfa by itself, many of our farmers have adopted the plan of 

 mixing in more or less alfalfa seed in their timothy and clover 

 seedings, .thus getting some alfalfa in all the hay grown on the 

 farm. This not only adds to the palatability of the hay, but 

 assists in establishing the bacteria in the soil. Next to these two 

 alsike clover is perhaps next in popularity and importance. It grows 

 especially well in Wisconsin, and is used to a very large extent as 

 an addition to our meadow mixtures. Next in order would 

 undoubtedly be the mammoth clover. All of these give fairly good 

 satisfaction, though the mammoth clover is slightly too coarse for 

 the best grade of forage. 



Few farmers in Wisconsin have yet resorted to the use of com- 

 mercial fertilizers. We have advocated the use of barnyard manure 



