No. 4.] THE HAY CROP. 363 



to the very thorouoh preparatory tillage which the land 

 received. 



Whenever seed is sown in soil which is imperfectly \n-e- 

 pared, a considerable proportion of it must fail to germi- 

 nate, and the result is an imperfect sod. There are frequcnit 

 bare spots, in which weeds will later start ; and, even if 

 this were not the ca'se, it would be found impossible to 

 secure the largest crops of which the land is capable unless 

 the surface is i-ompletely covered with grass. 



The Selection of the Seeds. 

 For the past dozen years Ave have grown in the experi- 

 ment station in Amherst something like 60 or 65 species of 

 grass annually, each occupying a plot of about one square 

 rod. During all this time these species have been under 

 close observation, and records of their yield in some years 

 and of their general condition have been kept. During this 

 time, moreover, a considerable number of difterent mixtures 

 of grass seeds have been tried on the different fields of the 

 colleofe farm. As a result of the observations on all these 

 species and the trials of difterent mixtures above referred to, 

 the conclusion has been reached that in ordinary rotation 

 farming, where the land is left in mowing only some three 

 or four years, to be followed by hoed crops for two or three 

 years, there is no mixture of seeds which will prove more 

 widely adapted to the conditions than the usual mixture of 

 timothy, red-top and clovers. It is the belief of the writer, 

 however, that these seeds should be sown in somewhat 

 larger quantities than are usually advised. The necessity 

 for a close turf, covering every inch of the ground, has been 

 referred to. Such turf is more certainly secured with heavy 

 seeding. It is the belief of the writer, further, that the 

 manunotli red clover should usually be used in this mixture 

 rather than the conmion red clover, as the former matures 

 more nearly at the same time with timothy and red-top. 

 Most of the soils upon the college; farm are retentive of 

 moisture, and on these soils some alsike clover is invari- 

 ably included in the mixture. Alsike is finer than the red 

 and mammoth clovers, and is especially adapted to moist 



