128 FORAGE PLANTS AND THEIR CULTURE 



Wisconsin Experiment Station seed retained its viability 

 well for 5 years, and then rapidly deteriorated. 



The free grains present in timothy seed show a somewhat 

 lower viability than the grains in the hulls, according to 

 tests at both the Wisconsin and Delaware Experiment 

 Stations. 



113. Preparation of seed bed. At the Utah Experi- 

 ment Station three methods of preparing the ground for 

 seeding were compared, the plats being one-eighth acre 

 in size : 



" Plat 37 was harrowed twice with a disk harrow, 

 once with a square-tooth harrow, then dragged with a 

 clod crusher, followed by a square-tooth harrow, after 

 which it was sown and again dragged. 



" Plat 38 was harrowed once with a disk harrow, again 

 with square-tooth harrow, and the seed was dragged in 

 with a clod crusher. 



" Plat 39 was dragged level to receive the seed, passing 

 over the ground but once with the drag or clod crusher, 

 and then the seed was sown and covered by the drag or 

 clod crusher. 



" Plat 37, it will be observed, was given a large amount 

 of tillage. Plat 38 had a moderate amount of tillage. 

 Plat 39 had none at all. The drag was used on Plats 

 38 and 39, in order to place the seed in the same relative 

 condition on the surface as the others, that the question 

 of amount of cultivation might have no disturbing factors 

 in the determination of results. Plat 39, as will be seen, 

 was entirely untilled, the dragging was simply for the pur- 

 pose of leveling the ground before and after covering the 

 seed." 



