268 FIELD CROPS 



turing new seeding is not often advisable, though it is a very 

 common practice. If a rank, heavy growth is made in the 

 fall, it may be pastured to some extent without injury, but 

 the quantity of forage produced is usually small, and the 

 hay crop of the succeeding year is often reduced materially 

 by fall pasturing. Enough top growth should be left to give 

 ample protection to the roots during the winter. The fall 

 growth of leaves also furnishes a supply of food material to 

 the roots, which is stored over winter and used in the early 

 growth of the plants the following spring. If the meadow is 

 closely pastured in the fall, this supply of plant food is less- 

 ened, with a corresponding reduction in growth the next year. 



If the stand of grass is thin in the spring following seeding, 

 it can sometimes be thickened and the yield of hay increased 

 by scattering grass seed over the field and covering it with 

 the smoothing harrow. If the field is to be kept in meadow 

 for two years, a top-dressing of manure or of commercial 

 fertilizer in the fall or winter will materially increase the 

 yield the following season. If commercial fertilizer of a 

 readily available nature is used, it should be put on in the 

 spring rather than in the fall, or much of it will be lost by 

 leaching during the winter. Disking or harrowing grass lands 

 is sometimes advocated to induce a more vigorous growth, 

 but this treatment is unnecessary on meadows that are 

 maintained for only one or two years. 



344. Use of the Aftermath. "Aftermath" is the term 

 usually applied to the growth made by a meadow after the 

 main crop of hay has been removed. This aftermath is 

 utilized in various ways, for the production of hay, pasture, 

 seed, and green manure. The quantity of hay produced by 

 the aftermath is usually much smaller than the main crop. 

 The aftermath is more generally utilized as pasture than for 

 the production of hay, because the regular pastures often 

 fail in the late summer, and the extra pasturage is needed. 

 If the meadow is to be used for the production of hay the 



