42 EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 354 



program. On seven farms 26^/2 acres had brush removed and Hme and su- 

 perphosphate appHed in the fall of 1943. Two of these farmers have now 

 increased their improved pasture to the point where no supplementary- 

 hay feeding is necessary during late summer. In one case the whole 

 roughage program needs reorganization, and, although the owner is still 

 buying hay, pasture is nearly adequate when supplemented by a pasturing- 

 off of second crop of hay in several fields. In another instance, the farmer 

 has cleared six acres of pasture and now has adequate pasture for his 

 present herd. Some expansion, which will require getting better produc- 

 tion from some of the pasture area cleared eight years ago, is planned. On 

 still another farm the bush-and-bog harrow was used on four acres of rough 

 pasture and this was reseeded to a pasture mixture. 



Original clearing has demonstrated the feasibility of such procedure, 

 and several of the farms have cleared all suitable pasture. The next step, 

 already taken by some, is further improvement of a number of these cleared 

 areas by plowing, harrowing, and seeding. 



As pasture needs are met, some expansion in herds is possible and then 

 the whole roughage program must be reorganized. Such plans are now in 

 process on seven farms. 



]M. F. x\bell 



Pasture Species 



The testing work in 1943 dealt with strains of uniform nursery ma- 

 terial as well as with certain native selection, and involved 57 strains of 

 timothy, 1 1 of Kentucky Blue grass, eight of smooth brome, seven each of 

 Meadow and Tall Meadow fescue, orchard grass and red fescue, four of 

 bent and three of meadow foxtail. 



Seed was sown in rod rows and harvested twice, once in late June, 

 and again in early September. 



The highest yields were obtained from meadow and tall meadow 

 fescue. This species was followed in turn by Orchard grass, bent grass, 

 smooth brome grass, red fescue, timothy, and, finally, by Kentucky Blue 

 grass. (No yields were available for Meadow foxtail.) Greater differ- 

 ences in total yield appeared among the second cuttings than the first. 



L. J. HiGGiNS, P. T. Blood. F. S. Prince 



The Improvement of Ladino Clover, Red Clover, 

 And Timothy by Selection and Breeding 



A. Ladino Clover 



In the winter and spring of 1943, plants selected from the F2 genera- 

 tion were back crossed to Ladino plants secured from established stands. 

 From these crosses 600 seedlings, representing about 30 families, were pro- 

 duced and set at Greenland. Seedlings were also produced from seed col- 

 lected from caged plants in the summer of 1942. Twenty-five seedlings 

 from each of 16 mother plants were set in our nursery in May and June. 

 Plantings were scored in September and the best breeding stock deter- 

 mined. Twenty-four plants, representing Ladino parentage, Fj, F2, and 

 F3 generations as well as caged progeny, were selected. All of these were 

 brought into the greenhouse for multiplication. Nine of the best will be 



