96 FORAGE PLANTS AND THEIR CULTURE 



but also for hay, contains the following seeds in the 

 amounts needed to the acre : 



Alfalfa ; 5 pounds 



Alsike clover 2 pounds 



White clover 1 pound 



Trefoil 1 pound 



Orchard-grass . 4 pounds 



Meadow fescue 4 pounds 



Tall oat-grass 3 pounds 



Timothy 2 pounds 



Meadow foxtail 2 pounds 



Total 24 pounds 



84. Treatment of hay meadows. Hay meadows may 

 be distinguished as temporary meadows where the lay 

 is for 1 or 2 years and permanent meadows where the lay 

 is for 3 years or an indefinite longer period. 



The yield on permanent meadows may usually be in- 

 creased (1) by plowing or harrowing; (2) by occasional 

 reseedings ; and (3) by the use of fertilizers. 



85. Scarifying old meadows. The scarifying of an 

 old meadow by harrowing in early spring with a disk or 

 other harrow usually encourages a larger growth of grass. 

 In some sections it must be done with judgment as other- 

 wise the increased growth may be largely weeds. 



In the case of certain grasses with rootstocks like 

 Bermuda- and Johnson-grass the field may be plowed and 

 hai rowed, the effect being a greatly increased crop of 

 grass. The same method can be used with brome-grass, 

 but more care must be used, as brome is more easily 

 destroyed than the other two grasses. 



86. Reseeding old meadows. It is rarely good practice 

 to keep meadows for a long period of years even if fer- 

 tilized annually. In time the proportion of weeds in- 

 creases and often mosses and lichens become abundant. 



