280 FIELD CROPS 



plants, some of the general principles which apply to the 

 establishment of a meadow can best be stated here. 



The land should be well prepared. Whether the grass 

 seed is sown by itself or with a nurse crop, good preparation is 

 essential to success. The seeds of all the grasses are small 

 and many of them may fail to germinate in a poorly-pre- 

 pared seed bed, where they may not be covered at all or may 

 be covered too deeply. A firm, moist, mellow seed bed 

 with a fine, well-prepared surface, supplies the best condi- 

 tions for germination and early growth. A smooth surface 

 is also of material value when the crop is harvested, because 

 haying machinery of all kinds works more easily and effec- 

 tively on smooth ground than on rough. A well-prepared 

 seed bed requires less seed than a poorly-prepared one, for 

 more of the seed will germinate. 



The land should be fertile. It is useless to attempt to 

 produce a profitable crop of hay on poor land. Most soils 

 contain enough fertility to produce good hay crops if the 

 proper selection of grasses is made, but usually the addition 

 of manure will materially increase the yield. The time when 

 the manure may be applied to best advantage depends on the 

 time of seeding and whether the grass seed is sown with .or 

 without a nurse crop. When a nurse crop is used which is 

 likely to lodge from manuring, it is better to apply the 

 manure to some previous crop, or to delay its application 

 till after the nurse crop is removed. On the other hand, if 

 the meadow grasses are sown alone, a light dressing of 

 manure may be plowed under with good results when the 

 land is being prepared for seeding. It may also be applied 

 as a top dressing after the grass seed has been sown, or any 

 time later when it will not interfere with the growing crop. 



347. Sowing in Mixtures. A mixture of grasses is fre- 

 quently better than any one kind alone. There are excep- 



