314 GRASSES AND LEGUMES 



alfalfa, will grow only on soils well supplied with lime, at least suf- 

 ficient lime so they could not be classed as acid soils in any degree. 

 Other plants, as alsike clover and redtop, while favored by at least 

 sufficient lime to give a neutral soil, are yet so tolerant of acid soils 

 that they will grow fairly well under such conditions. 



The problem has not been thoroughly worked out, but the plants 

 may be roughly classed as follows : 



Tolerant to acid soils: Eedtop, alsike clover, orchard-grass, 

 Canada blue-grass, rye-grass. 



Moderate lime requirement: Timothy, white clover, meadow 

 fescue, smooth brome-grass, sheep fescue, Kentucky blue-grass. 



High lime requirement : Red clover, sweet clover, alfalfa. 



Life Period of Forage Plants. There is no exact way of stat- 

 ing the approximate length of life of a grass. Most of the common 

 grasses under very favorable conditions are long lived, but life is 

 correspondingly decreased as environment is less favorable. For 

 example, some farmers expect a timothy meadow to last only five or 

 six years, yet manuring will double the period of life. In other 

 regions timothy is expected to live ten to twenty years, and there are 

 good timothy meadows on rich, well-watered soils that are known to 

 be fifty years old, and still producing good hay crops. 



Length of time for reaching full development or maximum yield 

 will vary, but assuming average conditions we may give the follow- 

 ing approximate data : 



Average Time Required for Development of Grasses and Legumes 



Full development, Approximate life 



Name years of good sod 



Red clover 1 Bi-annual 



Sweet clover 1 Bi-annual 



Alsike clover 1 2-5 years 



Rye-grass 1 2 years 



Timothy 1-2 5-10 years 



Meadow fescue 1-2 3-5 years 



Orchard-grass 2 5-10 years 



Redtop 2 Fairly permanent 



Brome-grass 2 Permanent 



Sheep fescue 2 3-5 years 



White clover 2-5 Fairly permanent 



Alfalfa 3-4 10-20 years 



Kentucky blue-grass . 3-4 Permanent 



Canada blue-grass 3-4 Permanent 



