50 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



value by only one other crop ; namely, corn. Almost all of 

 our hay is made from such plants as timothy, clover, alfalfa, 

 cow-peas, and millet. The pasture grasses are blue-grass, buf- 

 falo grass, red-top, and clovers. Of the thousands of species 

 of grasses only about tAventy-six are cultivated, and only nine 

 are considered as important farm crops. In the order of their 

 importance the meadow grasses are : timothy, Kentucky blue- 

 grass, Bermuda grass, orchard grass, red-top, Kussian brome, 

 meadow fescue, tall meadow oat grass, and meadow foxtail. 

 The total yield of timothy in this country is greater than that 

 of any other hay crop. The hay is palatable, easy to cure 

 and keep, and is standard, on all the world markets. For 

 these reasons timothy continues to be the leading hay crop 

 of the country. These facts, however, do not justify the 

 encouragement of the production of timothy when we have 

 better hay crops available both from the standpoint of ani- 

 mal feeding and soil fertility. Combinations of grasses and 

 perennial legumes are preferable to any single grass for hay 

 making or for pastures. For pastures, those maturing at 

 different periods are grown; for meadows, those maturing 

 at the same time are necessary. 



Seeding for hay and pastures. In the hay-producing 

 regions of the United States a mixture of timothy and red 

 clover is the combination used. From four to six pounds of 

 seed of each are usually sown to the acre in starting a meadow. 

 The first year the hay is a mixture of the two. After the 

 second year the stand is nearly pure timothy. The grass 

 seed is usually sown in the fall either with or without a nurse 

 crop. The clover is usually sown the following spring. Ken- 



