142 FORAGE PLANTS AND THEIE CULTURE 



develops and heads the season after the. bulb is formed, 

 but spring-sown plants may come to bloom the same season. 



After a crop of hay has been cut, the stronger basal 

 shoots will under favorable conditions develop and pro- 

 duce heads. Thus, while the plant is a perennial, each 

 shoot behaves much like an annual. 



128. Life period. Few data seem to have been re- 

 corded as to the length of life of individual timothy plants, 

 and none as to the maximum length. It is known, how- 

 ever, that many plants endure as long as six years and 

 probably much longer. In meadows it is generally agreed 

 that the yields are best in the second and third years, and 

 thereafter gradually decline. 



Stebler in Switzerland planted two areas with a mixture 

 of grass seeds containing 15 per cent timothy, in one case 

 American seed, in the other German. The percentage 

 of timothy plants was determined for each year for the 

 eight years following, with the following results : 



From these results the American strain seems to be 

 less long-lived. This may be due to the fact that in 

 America, timothy is usually allowed to lay but two years, 

 so that short-lived individuals are not eliminated. 



129. Depth of root system. The depth to which 

 timothy roots extend is not great. Ten Eyck at the 

 North Dakota Experiment Station found that they did 

 not reach three feet, 



