THE EARTH'S BOUNTY 



plished before the sun has grown strong 

 enough to thaw the ground. (It does not 

 matter if there is a little snow on the ground.) 

 Then, when the sun does come out, the seed 

 sinks at once into the softening surface, and 

 following frosts and thaws will cover the seed 

 just right. 



When the rye or wheat is harvested in June, 

 however, the timothy and clover have an equal 

 growth, and the stubble of the removed crop is 

 quickly covered by them. If the land is good, 

 a fair cutting of hay can be made in July. 

 At the end of August, or 1st of September, 

 according to the season, the field is again cut, 

 but the herbage is left, as it falls, for mulch. 

 Should the season be wet, a field cut in Au- 

 gust will bear another clipping in September, 

 but must not be done after the 15th, for the 

 plants must have time to make some growth 

 before frost. 



This system of mulching the clover-field 

 with its own clippings is also borrowed from 



Mr. Terry. The mulch protects the crop from 



70 



