134 FARM DEVELOPMENT 



crops of hay from wild grasses are produced. Kentucky 

 blue grass seeds should never be sown on lands designed 

 for permanent meadow, because this grass grows too 

 short for hay; though, owing to its underground root 

 stalks, it can, in north temperate regions, crowd out 

 most of the better meadow grasses, except In very moist 

 soils. The seeds of tame grasses or clover should be 

 sown at the North as soon in spring as the land is dry 

 enough to allow the seeds to germinate. The seed bed is 

 best if made fine and smooth, since this will aid in secur- 

 ing at once a good sod and an even surface for mowing. In 

 many instances it is beneficial to tear up the meadow or 

 pasture sod on peaty lands with the disk harrow, so as 

 to relieve the sodbound condition. While this destroys 

 a portion of the plants, those remaining have more room 

 and respond to the cultivation. This cultivation should 

 usually be done as early in spring as is practicable, or in 

 some cases late in the fall. 



Manuring peaty soils. Extensive experiments at the 

 Moor Experiment Station at Bremen, Germany, show 

 that peaty lands are benefited by complete fertilizers con- 

 taining nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid. But it 

 was also found that stable manures are superior to com- 

 mercial fertilizers for these soils. Peaty lands have an 

 overabundance of old inert humus, but often lack the 

 mineral ingredients, available nitrogen and the easily 

 fermenting vegetable matter of recently applied manures. 

 No doubt, the stable manure, in addition to supplying 

 mineral plant food and nitrogen, brings to the soil many 

 useful bacteria, and possibly a better pabulum of food, 

 for these minute friends than otherwise exists in the peat. 



Breaking prairie sod. The time which vast ex- 

 perience has proven best for breaking prairie land 

 is in the late spring or early summer. During 

 the summer and autumn, the perennial plant stores up 

 in its rootSj crown and stems food with which to start 



