144 RURAL -NEW YORK 



to cause the large yield of these crops. As a cash 

 crop, they are bulky and therefore expensive to ship 

 long distances. New York City and other large cities 

 adjacent to this territory require large quantities of 

 forage and the sale of the crop has been one of the 

 most profitable enterprises on the mixed-crops farm. 

 This fact is shown by farm management figures. 

 Consequently, many farmers make a business of sell- 

 ing hay and if it were not for the limiting factor of 

 soil fertility as commonly handled, many more would 

 follow the same practice. Then, too, there are large 

 areas where the soil, climate and labor conditions 

 make hay the most satisfactory crop, even if only 

 small yields are secured. 



Timothy and clover constitute nearly three-fourths 

 of the hay area, timothy occupying the second larg- 

 est area, somewhat less than one-fourth of the total, 

 or 1,07'8,358 acres. Timothy grows best on clay 

 loams and clay soils in the Great Lakes plain, the St. 

 Lawrence and Champlain valleys and through the 

 Hudson Valley. 



In 1909 clover alone occupied 87,267 acres or onlv 

 8 per cent of that of timothy. Clover has declined 

 on soils of all southern and eastern sections of the 

 State. Clover succeeds best on a loam to heavy loam 

 soil, moderately supplied with lime, with good drain- 

 age, such as in the counties of Genesee, Livingston, 

 Oneida, Seneca and southern Cayuga, Onondaga, cen- 

 tral Madison and northern Schoharie. The yield 

 averages a little over a ton to the acre. 



Alfalfa was introduced as early as 1790 under the 



