284 FIELD CROPS 



Cheap seed is nearly always low in germination or contains 

 large quantities of foreign seeds. 



351. Time to Sow. In the Northern states, the grasses 

 are usually sown in the spring with the spring grains. In the 

 winter wheat belt, timothy is generally sown in the fall with 

 the wheat and clover is sown very early the following spring. 

 Better results may often be obtained by sowing the 

 timothy and clover together without a nurse crop in August 

 or early in September, after winter wheat has been harvested. 

 The land can be plowed and put in good condition 

 immediately after the wheat is cut, and a good seed bed will 

 then be ready for seeding at the proper time. The objection 

 to this method farther north is that the clover is very likely 

 to kill out during the winter if not sown till late in the season. 

 In the South, fall seeding of grasses is usually to be preferred. 



352. Sowing with or without a Nurse Crop. While the 

 plan of sowing grass seed with a grain crop is a very common 

 one, the results which are obtained do not always justify 

 its use. Instead of being a protection to the young plants, 

 the grain crop is quite often the reverse, taking moisture from 

 the soil when it is most needed. When the grain crop is 

 removed, the young and tender plants which have previously 

 been shaded are exposed to the full effect of the sun and wind 

 and may be killed by a few hot days immediately following 

 the harvesting of the grain. Little or no forage is usually 

 produced by the new meadow the first fall after spring seed- 

 ing and the hay crop produced the following year from August 

 seeding is often fully as good as, if not better than, that pro- 

 duced from seed sown the previous spring with a nurse crop. 

 With alfalfa and some other crops a nurse crop is seldom used. 



353. Manner of Seeding. Grass seed may be sown 

 broadcast by hand, with any of the ordinary broadcast 

 seeders, or with a special attachment to the grain drill. 



