GRASS AND HAY 181 



grading the hay down, although by so doing he may lower the grade 

 and price just enough to take away the profits, or even cause a loss 

 to the man who handles the hay. The reason so much grassy and 

 weedy hay is sent to market every year is because most meadows are 

 kept for hay too long. There are many meadows in the eastern part 

 of the great hay section that are cut from six to twelve years. Dur- 

 ing this time the yield has become very low and weeds and fine 

 grasses have entered to lower the quality. With such a mixture it 

 is impossible to produce choice marketable hay, no matter how early 

 it is cut or how efficient are the methods of curing. 



How long a meadow should remain in hay is a question that 

 can easily be determined by studying conditions, such as decreasing 

 yield, appearance of volunteer grasses, weeds, etc. The length of 

 time a field should remain down in hay will depend on the fertility 

 of the soil, the treatment it has in the way of reseeding, and the ap- 

 plication of barnyard manure or commercial fertilizers. A newly 

 seeded timothy meadow on good soil should yield on an average from 

 2 1 /2 to 3 tons or more of hay the first year. After about the third 

 year the yield begins to fall off until it will remain constant between 

 three-fourths and 1^2 tons per acre. This shows why it is so im- 

 portant to know when a meadow should be plowed up and a new 

 meadow started, so that larger or paying yields may be obtained. 



The Agricultural Department has made a special study of crop 

 rotations for hay and grain farms and is willing at all times to place 

 information in the hands of those who wish to better their con- 

 ditions in regard to hay growing. In planting a cropping system it 

 is seldom advisable to keep the meadow in hay longer than three or 

 four years at the outside. As soon as the yield begins to lessen, the 

 meadow should be plowed up and put into some other crop and a 

 new meadow seeded on land which is free from weeds and other 

 grasses. 



Late cutting and the presence of weeds and weedy grasses are 

 the greatest causes of low-grade hay. It is very seldom that timothy 

 hay grades low simply on account of being damaged by rain. Choice 

 hay must have a bright, natural color, according to the rules of the 

 National Hay Association. Chemical analysis shows that when tim- 

 othy is cut at full bloom it contains the greatest amount of total 

 nutrients. If cut at the beginning of the blooming period it con- 

 tains the greatest amount of digestible protein. No matter how suc- 

 cessful are the efforts to get farmers to use better methods, the time 

 is not likely to come when the market will become stagnant and dull 

 on account of an overabundance of choice hay. 



Low-Grade Hay on the Market. How to dispose of low-grade 

 hay is a vital problem with everyone who handles this class of hay, 

 and every dealer has more or less of it, usually more low-grade hay 

 than any other kind. The shippers, receivers, and dealers can help 

 very much in solving this perplexing problem. The country buyer 

 and shipper, especially, can help very materially and should use 

 every fair means in his power to lessen the trouble caused by low- 

 grade hay. The first step in the right direction is for the producer 



