32 



element, but it may serve nearly all the other useful purposes for 

 which green-manuring crops are cultivated It is also a fairly valuable 

 fockler crop, and may be either pastured in fall or in spring or cut and 

 fed. 'i'he quiality which renders it particularly valuable as a fodder 

 crop is its earliness. It can often be cut in this latitude for feeding as 

 early as May 10, which is much earlier than almost any other crop. As 

 is generally well known, however, the nutritive value of rye fodder is 

 low and it is not j^alatable except when young. So soon as it is well 

 headed out cattle find it unpalatable. Rye is especially valuable as a 

 means of nitrogen conservation and in affording covering and pr(jtec- 

 tion in winter, preventing both damage from wind and washing. It i.s 

 suited to light soils It is not deep rooted and so will not bring up solu- 

 ble food from below to any considerable extent It may be sown any 

 time from about the middle of August to the first -of November, the 

 quantity of seed varying according to the soil and season from two to 

 three bushels. 



Oats. — Oats as a catch-crop are comparatively unimportant. Thej- 

 are sometimes sown in July or August to furnish green feed in autumn, 

 but in this part of the State at least thej' are very susceptible to rust 

 and the results have generally proved unsatisfactory. Oats are quite 

 hardy and will continue to grow until the ground freezes. They may 

 therefore serve the purpose of nitrogen conservation. They grow 

 quickly and may therefore be employed as a green-manuring crop, but 

 they have no power to take nitrogen from the air and cannot be consid- 

 ered particularly valuable. They are suited to medium and moderately 

 heavy soils. From two to three bushels of seed to the acre are required. 



Barley. — Barley is not infrequently grown as a catch-crop with satis- 

 factory results. Sown in July or August it generally proves more 

 satisfactory as a green fodder in autumn than oats. We have found it 

 less liable to rust. Barley hay is considered excellent by those who 

 have used it, but on the whole it is to be regarded as inferior in impor- 

 tance to Hungarian grass and the millets as a source of hay. As a 

 green manuring crop its position is about the same as that of oats. It 

 cannot enrich the soil in nitrogen, but growing until the ground freezes 

 it may conserve soil nitrogen. It is suited to moderately light and 

 medium soils, and from two to three bushels of seed per acre are 

 required. 



Huiujarian Grass. — Hungarian grass is probably more often grown 

 as a catch-crop in Massachusetts than any other. When the farmer 

 sees that he is likely to be short of hay he most frequently sows Hun- 

 garian grass, and this kind of millet (for it is a millet) fairly deserves 

 the reputation which it enjoys. It is a very quick grower and is finer, 

 therefore more easily made into palatable hay, than most of the other 

 millets. It may also be used as green feed, though for this purpose it 

 must be considered inferior to the Japanese barn-yard millet. Hun- 

 garian grass is recommended sometimes for green-manuring, but for 

 this purpose it has nothing special to recommend it save its quick 

 growth. It cannot gather nitrogen, it is killed by frost and so is not a 

 nitrogen conserver, and it is not deep rooted. It is suited to light and 



