34 THE FORAGE AND FIBER CROPS IN AMERICA 



fertilizer and the hay, it results that local conditions will more 

 largely influence the use of fertilizers, and especially com- 

 mercial fertilizers, upon the perennial forage grasses than upon 

 any other of our staple crops. 



The cumulative effect of adding commercial fertilizers year 

 after year to perennial forage grasses is probably greater than 

 with annual crops of any kind. This is probably not due 

 alone or even principally to the cumulative effect of the plant 

 food in the soil, but to the more vigorous plants which are 

 carried over from year to year. One of the effects, doubtless, 

 is to increase the duration of the plant and thus prevent the 

 entrance of other less desirable and less productive plants. 



32. Application of Commercial Fertilizers. Commercial fer- 

 tilizers, when applied to pastures or meadows, should be applied 

 in the spring as soon as the grass starts to grow. Experiments 

 indicate that one such application is as effective as the same 

 quantity of fertilizer divided between two or more applications 

 throughout the season. The fertilizer may be sown by hand, 

 although there are distributers for broadcasting fertilizers. 

 The Cornell Station advises for application to timothy meadows 

 on Dunkirk clay loam, when in proper rotation, 200 pounds of 

 nitrate of soda, 100 pounds of 15 per cent, acid phosphate, and 

 50 pounds of muriate of potash per acre. This is equal to the 

 application of 250 pounds of a 15-6-10 mixed fertilizer per 

 acre. The Rhode Island Station in a six-course rotation 

 maize on grass sod, potatoes, winter rye, each one year; red 

 clover and grass (timothy and redtop), three years recom- 

 mends an annual application of the following fertilizers as a 

 top-dressing to the grass: nitrate of soda 350, muriate of pot- 

 ash 200, acid phosphate 500 pounds. 1 



33. Methods of Improving Pastures. Pastures may be im- 

 proved in four different ways : 



1 Rhode Island Sta. Bui. No. 99 (1904), p. 107. 



