288 . FIELD CROPS 



by scattering grass seed over the field and covering it with 

 the smoothing harrow. If the field is to be kept in meadow 

 for two years, a top-dressing of manure or of commercial 

 fertilizer in the fall or winter will materially increase the 

 yield the following season. If commercial fertilizer of a 

 readily available nature is used, it should be put on in the 

 spring rather than in the fall, or much of it will be lost by 

 leaching during the winter. Disking or harrowing grass lands 

 is sometimes advocated to induce a more vigorous growth, 

 but this treatment is unnecessary on meadows that are 

 maintained for only one or two years. 



358. Use of the Aftermath. "Aftermath" is the term 

 usually applied to the growth made by a meadow after the 

 main crop of hay has been removed. This aftermath is 

 utilized in various ways, for the production of hay, pasture, 

 seed, and green manure. The quantity of hay produced by 

 the aftermath is usually much smaller than the main crop. 

 The aftermath is more generally utilized as pasture than for 

 the production of hay, because the regular pastures often 

 fail in the late summer, and the extra pasturage is needed. 

 If the meadow is to be used for the production of hay the 

 following year, the aftermath should not be pastured too 

 closely. The second crop of clover is often cut for seed, 

 because conditions are more generally favorable for seed 

 production then than earlier in the season. If the meadow 

 is to be broken up and put into some other crop the follow- 

 ing year, the aftermath may often be used to best advantage 

 by turning it under in the fall to add vegetable matter to the 

 soil. Pasturing the meadow in the fall and then turning 

 under the sod makes a double use of the fall growth, for 

 much of the fertility is returned to the land in the manure, 

 but the quantity of vegetable matter is slightly reduced. 



