288 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



previously suggested are readily at home. Alfalfa is prov- 

 ing its adaptability to nearly all sections and climates, 

 and is in many respects the most promising grass crop 

 of America. 



It hardly ever pays to pasture meadows, except slightly, 

 the first season, and then only when the soil is dry. It is 

 also poor policy to pasture any kind of grass land early in 

 the spring when the soil is wet. The tramping of animals 

 crushes and destroys the crowns of the plants. After the 

 first year, the sward becomes thicker and tougher, and the 

 injury is slight. 



The state of maturity at which grass should be har- 

 vested to make hay of the best quality varies somewhat 

 with the different grasses and with the use which is to 

 be made of the hay. Generally speaking, it is a good 

 rule to cut grass for hay just as it is beginning to bloom 

 or just after the bloom has fallen. All grasses become 

 less palatable to stock as they mature and form seed. If 

 grass be allowed to go to seed, most of the nutrition 

 in the stalk is used to form the seed. Hence a good 

 deal of food is lost by waiting to cut hay until the seeds 

 are formed. 



Pasture lands and meadow lands are often greatly 

 improved by replowing and harrowing in order to break 

 up the turf that forms and to admit air more freely into 

 the soil. The plant roots that are destroyed by the 

 plowing or harrowing make quickly available plant food by 

 their decay, and the physical improvement of the soil leads 

 to a thicker and better stand. In the older sections of 

 the country, commercial fertilizer can be used to advantage 

 in producing hay and pasturage. If, however, clover has 



