) i U 



198 THE SOILS AND CROPS OF THE FARM. 



due to the great lack of vitality of the smaller seeds. 

 Many of the smaller seeds sold are incapable of 

 growing under the most favorable conditions. 



Harvesting. — The proper time to harvest hay is 

 manifestly when the largest quantity of the best qual- 

 ity can be secured, provided the expense is not thereby 

 increased. The quantity may be sacrificed to improve 

 quality. Quality may be sacrificed to increase the 

 yield or to decrease expense in harvesting. The ex- 

 pense and risk of securing timothy may be greater if 

 it is cut early, as it requires more handling and longer 

 exposure in curing than if cut late. 



If hay is to be marketed it is important to distin- 

 guish between food value and market value. A ton 

 of early cut hay may contain more nutrients than a 

 ton of late cut hay. As a food iox milch cows the 

 former would doubtless be better than the latter. • Yet 

 the later cut timothy hay may have the higher market 

 value. 



.Growth signifies an increase of weight. A crop of 

 grass increases in weight of dry substance until it is 

 ripe. There may be a greater loss in weight in the 

 matured plant from the loss of seed, in the case of 

 timothy, or in the loss of leaves and finer parts in 

 the case of clover, than if cut earlier. When ripe the 

 hay is practically straw. 



A summary of experiments made in this country 

 shows that there ife an appreciable increase of yield 

 of the true grasses from the period of full bloom until 

 seeds are formed. There is an increase of all the food 

 nutrients, but the increase is most marked in the 

 crade fibre, starch, sugar and allied substances. With 

 timothy, orchard grass and meadow fescue an increase 



