July, 1933] Roughage Production in New Hampshire 13 



than six years had by far the larger area in alfalfa and the larger pro- 

 portion of alfalfa gro\V(M-s, 14.8 per cent, as compared with 9.4 per cent, 

 where the rotation in hay was six years or more. 



Corn does so well after alfalfa that it is usually advisable to plow 

 rather frequently to obtain the most advantages from a legume sod in 

 securing larger yields. Seeding costs for later alfalfa crops are re- 

 duced either because the soil is already inoculated or requires less lime. 



Clover. On those fields and farms where hay is left down but two 

 years, greater dependence should be placed on red clover, using only 

 a sufficient amount of timothy to insure a hay crop. With the longer 

 rotations, more alsike clover can well replace some of the red clover, 

 supplying more legume hay after the first year even on those farms 

 well-manured. The objection to its use is the production of but one 

 crop a year, but where it is used in a mixture with red clover this ob- 

 jection is not serious. The red clover furnishes a second crop of hay 

 the first year and usually an excellent fall feed, while the alsike sup- 

 plies the legume in later years. 



The amount of so-called native hay on the farms included in this 

 study is very small. Its place in the roughage program is confined al- 

 most entirely to those areas too rocky or too wet to be plowed, much of 

 which requires harvest by hand. 



Unless there is an absolute need for the hay any particular year, 

 these areas could well be dropped from the hay production area, and 

 in so far as possible used for pasture. Yields are low, the quality of 

 hay usually poor, and, under present conditions, time and effort can- 

 not well be spent on anything but the highest producing land. 



Annual hay crops: 



In addition to these permanent hay crops, annual forage crops are 

 widely used in the State. Some of these are usually grown as a nurse 

 crop, and others cannot be so used satisfactorily. 



The oat crop has quite largely been changed from a grain to an 

 oat hay and used as a nurse crop for the seeding of permanent hay. In 

 many instances this has furnished a low quality of hay since its pro- 

 tein content is about tliat of timothy. The incorporation of a legume 

 such as peas or vetch with the oats has added to the value and im- 

 proved the quality, partly because of necessary early cutting. Where a 

 smaller area is necessary and in cases of emergency. Hungarian millet 

 and soybeans have given variety and have lengthened the roughage har- 

 vest season materially. This crop has made possible early fall seed- 

 ing of a permanent hay mixture. A labor requirement greater than 

 oats and peas or oats and vetch, because of the necessity for a second 

 plowing or fitting, is partly offset by a greater yield and a better dis- 

 tribution of labor with no greater cash costs. The work can be done 

 with labor, horses, and equipment already available. 



Annual hay when used as a nurse crop furnishes a return from 

 land newly seeded to permanent hay which would otherwise produce 

 no crop that year. Seeding hay with oats-grain gives much the low- 

 est cost for obtaining the permanent seeding. The extra labor of plow- 

 ing and fitting is then chargeable directly against the oats, the only 

 extra charge being the cost of seed. Seeding costs by this method were 



