( 12) 



hiring will effectually destroy a timothy meadow, if persisted in. 

 The stock will bite off all fojiage, leaving the roots to perish, or if 

 hogs are allowed to run on it, they quickly discover and destroy 

 the succulent bulbs. When about half the blossoms turn brown, 

 and at least the upper part of the spike or head is still purple, a 

 yellowish spot will make its appearance at or near the first joint, 

 and this is the true indication for the harvest to begin, for this spot 

 will soon extend, if allowed to remain, to the spike, and the whole 

 plant will be a stem of wood. The appearance of this spot also 

 tells of the maturity of the bulbs, and they are not so liable to 

 injury from cutting as before. If this joint is left, the tubers will 

 remain green and fresh during the entire winter ; but their destruc- 

 tion is inevitable if it is taken away at any time during the year 

 These remarks do not apply with equal force to timothy when it 

 has a fibrous root, but the two kinds are so intimately mingled there 

 is no practical difference. 



Timothy stands at the head of all grasses in its nutritive quali- 

 ties. A specimen taken from the field, according to the above 

 directions, yielded on analysis: Water, 57.21; flesh- forming prin- 

 ciples, 4.86; fat- forming principles, 1.50; heat- producing principles, 

 22.85; woody fibre, 11.82, and mineral matters, 2.26, in one hun- 

 dred parts. (Way.) A comparison of its relative value as a food 

 will be made further on. But the above nutritious specimen will 

 never be produced, if the plant is allowed to stand too long. On 

 the contrary, as a food .it would become woody and worthless, all 

 its starch, sugar, albuminoids and other nutritive principles having 

 been deposited in the seeds, and the stalk is nothing more than a 

 woody support. 



Cattle fed on this kind, or on hay that has been allowed to get 

 wet and ferment, will quickly lose their flesh and the hair become 

 rough. 



Timothy is exhaustive to the soil, and, being a heavy feeder, re- 

 quires attention. No crop can be raised on ground that will not 

 extract a certain amount of its vitality, but unless something is 

 taken the farmer would receive nothing. Therefore, it is the duty 

 of the farmer to supply by manure the deficiency that occurs ; and 

 this is made the more apparent from the fact that the man who 

 applies the most manure will invariably get the best returns for his 

 labor. On good rich land bottom is best timothy will make two 



