CHAPTER XXXV 

 GRASS MIXTURES SEEDS AND SEEDING 



FOR hay meadows it is not the practice to sow grass mixtures 

 in America, though in Europe it is the common custom to sow 

 complicated mixtures. In Europe we hear much about top and 

 bottom grasses, meaning tall grasses, that often do not form a close 

 sod, mixed with shorter, sod-forming grasses that furnish a heavy 

 basal growth of herbage. The bottom grasses are thought not only 

 to increase the yield of forage, but also to provide better pasture and 

 a long-lived meadow. 



In the United States out of about 50,000,000 acres of tame grass 

 meadows, about 33,000,000 acres are timothy and clover, about half 

 sown together and half separately. About 8,000,000 are alfalfa, and 

 about the same acreage of " other tame grasses/' but how much of 

 the latter are mixtures is not stated. 



For pastures and lawns, however, it is more common to sow 

 mixtures, though there are no statistical data on this. 



Meadow Mixtures. The principal reasons for mixing red 

 clover and timothy may be briefly enumerated : 



1. Greater yield of forage. Timothy usually does not come to 

 full yield the first year, while the clover does, resulting in a larger 

 total crop. The clover mostly dies at end of first year, but is bene- 

 ficial to the soil and gives a better second crop of timothy. 



2. The roots of red clover penetrate deeper than timothy roots, 

 so the two plants can grow together without directly competing. 



3. The feeding value of the hay is greater, as clover is much the 

 richer in protein. In the city markets, however, straight timothy 

 brings a higher price, as it usually has a better appearance, is less 

 dusty and is preferred by liverymen. 



One disadvantage in red clover is in ripening about ten days 

 ahead of the timothy. For this reason some prefer the mammoth 

 clover, which ripens approximately with timothy. 



Neither orchard-grass nor redtop mixes well with timothy, as the 

 former ripens too early and redtop too late. 



Alfalfa is also impractical for the mixture, as it is usually cut at 

 least three times and timothy only once. 



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