22 FIELD AND GARDEN PRODUCTS 



pounds of muriate of potash. A single application of ten tons of 

 stable manure produced an apparent increase of 5.3 bushels of oats 

 and 2,595 pounds of hay; twenty tons produced an apparent increase 

 of 11.2 bushels of oats and 4,025 pounds of hay per acre. Where 

 stable manure was applied a material proportion of the hay consisted 

 of red and alsike clover due to seed in the manure. If stable manure 

 can be applied at fifty cents per ton, the net gain from the use of ten 

 tons was $10.55 and from twenty tons $15.14. While a marked in- 

 crease of hay was obtained from the use of fertilizers containing nitro- 

 gen, the small increase in the yield of oats left only a small net gain 

 and in some instances a net loss from two applications. When the ex- 

 periment is studied in detail it appears that the proportion of nitro- 

 gen to phosphoric acid should have been greater in order to get the 

 most profitable returns. When muriate of potash was applied either 

 alone or with nitrate of soda there was a net gain. (Cornell E. S. B. 

 232.) 



Too often the only attention the farmer gives to the timothy 

 field after seeding it is to take off whatever crop of seed or hay there 

 might be and then to allow the stock to run at will over the field 

 during the remainder of the year. As the land is usually very 

 smooth and it is possible to run the mower very low, the field is 

 often literally shaved close to the ground. Of course, such treatment 

 results in a very short-lived meadow, which would not pay, and 

 timothy growing is often abandoned, at least for a time. This was 

 the custom and these the results of thousands of attempts to grow 

 timothy on the prairies of Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas, and Min- 

 nesota. 



Seeding. The methods of seeding down to timothy in practice 

 among farmers and stock raisers vary widely according to the pecu- 

 liarities of the different regions. Experience has long since shown 

 that what will succeed in one way may fail in another. There are, 

 however, certain features of timothy growing to which everyone must 

 give close attention if he would secure the best results. Timothy is 

 a surface feeder, and hence the soil should be prepared in such a way 

 as to concentrate an abundance of plant food near the surface and to 

 allow the roots to penetrate to as great a depth as possible. One of 

 the most common practices is to begin at least a year before seeding 

 to the grass and put the field into some crop which will allow the land 

 to be given a deep, late plowing, and a heavy coating of manure. If 

 the land has been kept clean, it will usually be in good condition 

 for fall sowing, if the season is favorable. If not, it may be further 

 enriched, fall plowed if necessary, and seeded the next spring. It has 

 been found that while the soil should be mellow down to a good 

 depth, yet it should not be too loose, or it dries out too readily, and 

 the timothy will not form a good sod. (Dept. Agr. Y. B. 1896.) 



There is no more favorable time to seed timothy or other 

 grasses than in July, August or early September. To be successful, 

 clean, well compacted and moist seedbeds are essential. Under 

 such conditions no nurse crop is needed. A full crop of hay may be 

 expected the following season. Fifteen pounds of timothy may be 



