238 SUCCESSFUL FARMING 



season. In the southern portion of the timothy belt spring seeding with- 

 out a nurse crop is practiced to a limited extent. Such seeding is success- 

 ful only on land that is free from weeds and annual grasses. Under such 

 conditions a light cutting of hay is secured during the first year. 



Timothy may be seeded on wheat that has been severely winter 

 killed. If seeded early and the wheat is not harvested too early, both 

 wheat and timothy may be cut for seed at one and the same operation. 

 By using a fanning mill with proper sieves the wheat and timothy seed 

 are easily separated after threshing. 



Fertilizers and Manures. — Timothy responds abundantly to light 

 top dressings of manure. The manure should be applied with a manure 

 spreader, and best results will be secured when used at the rate of six 

 to ten loads per acre. It may be applied any time during the autumn or 

 winter. In the absence of manure, a top dressing with a complete fertil- 

 izer early in the spring just as the grass begins to start is very beneficial. 

 In several of the states 350 pounds per acre containing about seven per 

 cent of each of the three constituents have given excellent results. 



Tests at several of the experiment stations relative to the position of 

 the roots of timothy in the soil show that 85 to 90 per cent of the roots are 

 found in the first six inches of soil. In one case 63 per cent occurred in 

 the upper two inches of soil. This is important in connection with the 

 top dressing of timothy and shows that such top dressing is very close 

 to the great bulk of the active roots of the crop. 



Mixing Timothy with Other Grasses and Clovers.— If the hay 

 product is to be fed on the farm, it is advisable to seed clover with timothy. 

 In this practice the amount of timothy seed is reduced to eight or ten 

 pounds per acre, and may be seeded either in the fall or spring, depending 

 on local practice. In the northern part of the timothy region the clover 

 can be safely seeded only in the spring. Six to ten pounds of clover seed 

 per acre will be required, depending on soil conditions and the kind of 

 clover. The first crop of hay will be largely clover, the second chiefly 

 timothy. 



Where meadow land is to be used for hay during the first year or 

 two and afterwards devoted to pasture, it is well to include redtop, blue 

 grass and some other grasses and clovers with it. It is also thought wise 

 on very wet lands or on sour soil to include some redtop with the timothy 

 for hay purposes. 



Harvesting. — Many experiments relative to the time of harvesting 

 show that the best results are secured only when cut between the time 

 of full bloom and the soft dough stage of the seed. Since timothy is 

 shallow rooted and much of its vitality depends on the thickened bulb- 

 like base of the stem, it is desirable not to cut too closely. Close cutting, 

 or pasturing closely with stock after cutting, injures the subsequent 

 crops by exposure of the bulbs 'and by injury from tramping. Only when 

 the aftermath is abundant should pasturing be allowed. In no case is it 



