SEED AND SEEDING 345 



timothy seed is 45 pounds per bushel, and it should show a germina- 

 tion in five or six days of at least 98 per cent. In good storage, 

 timothy will retain its vitality for five years, but generally seed 

 more than two to three years old is not considered reliable. 



Rate of Seeding. The amount of seed used per acre varies from 

 eight to thirty pounds, while eight pounds per acre will give a good 

 stand if all conditions are favorable, yet in general practice very 

 unfavorable climatic or soil conditions are likely to occur, and 

 farmers have generally found by experience that it is safer to sow 

 fifteen to twenty pounds to be sure of a good stand. Fifteen pounds 

 of seed per acre will give about 350 seeds per square foot. It is 

 generally considered that 100 plants per square foot are necessary 

 for a good stand. 



Methods of Seeding. Perhaps nine-tenths of the timothy sown 

 in the northeastern United States is sown in the fall with winter 

 wheat. It is the general practice to have a grass seeder attachment 

 to the grain drill, which scatters the seed just ahead of the drill. 

 The seed may also be sown after drilling the wheat, but this is not 

 considered good practice, since the seed will then usually lodge 

 in the drill rows and come up with the wheat instead of between the 

 wheat rows. It is generally considered good practice to roll the land 

 after sowing timothy seed in order to firm the soil and bring 

 moisture to the surface. 



In many regions where the summers are hot and dry, it has not 

 been found good practice to sow timothy with wheat, as the more 

 vigorous wheat will rob the timothy of moisture, and after harvest 

 the young plants, suddenly exposed to the hot sun, will be destroyed. 

 In such places it is the common practice to sow timothy alone in the 

 fall. If sown about the first part of August, it will make an excellent 

 fall growth, and almost a full crop of grass the next season. This 

 method is also sometimes practised in the South where timothy sum- 

 mer kills. However, before it summer kills a light cutting of grass 

 can easily be secured. 



Where fall wheat is not grown, the timothy is most commonly 

 spring sown with either oats or barley. Little difficulty is experi- 

 enced in securing a good stand in this way, but the plants are not as 



