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TliE ILLIT^OIS F^mSIEH. 



315 



TIMOTHY GRASS. 



THE BEST TIME FOK CUTTING. 



This grass {PJdeu77i pratense,) so uni- 

 versally known and highly valued by 

 American agriculturists, was originally 

 introduced into the country by Timothy 

 Hanson, of Maryland, from whom it de- 

 rives its name. It is known as catstail 

 in England, hordsgrass in New England 

 States. It is also a favorite grass in 

 Sweden, where it is extensively cultiva- 

 ted. It is a perennial, bulbous-rooted 

 plant; the leaves are bro.ider than those 

 of most other grasses, and rough, with 

 long sheaths. In the early stages of its 

 growth, it resembles a diminutive plant 

 of Indian corn; stalk long and jointed, 

 surmounted when mature by a long, 

 hairy spikelet, containing the seed. 



The first year after sowing the seed, 

 the young plants consist of single bulbs, 

 scattered ever the surface of the ground 

 at considerable intervals, and rarely 

 blossoming. In the spring of the sec- 

 ond year, the plant throws out a 

 number of new bulbs in a similar man- 

 ner to the potatoe onion. These blos- 

 som and produce seed, but very unequal- 

 ly. Each succeeding plant throws out 

 others the following spring, till after 

 three or four years the original single 

 bulb is surrounded by a large circular 

 stool of plants several inches in diame- 

 ter. "We counted seventy- six bulbs in 

 one stool, supposed to be three years 

 from the seed. The plants at this age 

 are in their prime, and produce the 

 heaviest crops of hay. Two years after 

 the plant has thrown out the new bulbs, 

 and given them a fair start, it shrinks 

 up and dies, the bulb still remaining in 

 the stool, but becoming hard and horny. 

 If, during the early stages of its growth 

 in the spring, while the new bulbs are 

 forming, the plant is cut or eaten close 

 by animals, the bulb either dies or car- 

 ries on a struggling existence through 

 the summer; the young bulbs are not 

 properly developed, and the vital powers 

 of the whole stool of plants become so 

 exhausted that the dry weather of au- 

 tumn or the frosts of winter soon kill 

 them. 



As a meadow grass to cut for hay, 

 timothy is unsurpassed by any other 

 grass now cultivated. It possesses a 

 large amount of nutritious matter, in 

 comparison with other natural grasses. 

 It has been a general practice among 

 farmers to grow timothy along with clo- 

 ver; but the practice is now being dis- 

 continued, except where the large or 

 late varity of clover can be obtained. 



Considerable discussion has been go- 

 ing on of late, among agrictilturists, as 

 to the proper time for cutting timothy 

 for hay. Most farmers prefer to cut it 

 when it is full blown, and say that it is 



sweeter and contains more nourishment 

 at this time. Others again, believe that 

 if the mowing is performed before the 

 seed is fully developed, the plant will 

 run out, from a failure to re-seed the 

 ground. Dr. Kirtland, of Cleveland, 

 Ohio, states that an intelligent farmer of 

 his neighborhood, Mr. Richard McCra- 

 ry, after many careful observations on 

 the growth of timothy, had arrived at 

 the following propositions, which he il- 

 lustrates with specimens : 



1. Timothy grass is a perennial plant, 

 which renews itself by an annual forma- 

 tion of bulbs, or, perhaps, more cor- 

 rectly speaking, tubers, in which all the 

 vitality of the plant is concentrated du- 

 ring winter. These form, in whatever 

 locality the plant is found, without ref- 

 erence to the dryness or moisture. From 

 these proceed the stalks which support 

 the leaves aud head, and from the same 

 source spread out the numerous fibres 

 forming the true roots. 



2. To insure a perfect development 

 of these tubers, a certain amount of nu- 

 trition must be assimulated in the leaves, 

 and returned to the base of the plant 

 through the stalk. 



3. As soon as this process of nutri- 

 tion is completed, it becomes manifest 

 by the appearance of a state of desicca- 

 tion, or dryness, always commencing 

 above either the first or second joint of 

 the stem, near the crown of the tuber. 

 From this point, the desiccation gradu- 

 ally progresses upward, and the last 

 portion of the stalk that yields up its 

 freshness is that adjoining the head. — 

 Coincident with the beginning of this 

 process, is the full development of the 

 seed, and with its progress they mature. 

 Its earliest appearance is evidence that 

 both the tubers and seeds have received 

 the requisite supplies of nutrition; and 

 that neither the stalks nor the leaves 

 are longer necessaiy to aid them in 

 completing their maturity. 



4. If the stalk be cut from the tuber 

 before this evidence of maturity has 

 appeared, the necessary supplies of nu- 

 trition will be arrested; their proper 

 growth will cease, and an effort will be 

 made to repair the injnry, by sending 

 out small lateral tubers, from which 

 weak and unhealthy stalks will proceed, 

 at the expense of the original tubers. — 

 All will ultimately perish, either by the 

 drouth of autumn, or the cold of win- 

 ter. ■;-■ - _ .■ 



5. The tubers, together with one %r 

 two oi" the lower joints of the stalk, re- 

 main fresh and green during the winter, 

 if left to take their natural course, but, 

 if by any means, this green portion be 

 severed at any time of the year, the re- 

 sult will be the death of the plant. 



From these five propositions, the fol- 

 loAvinjr conclusions are drawn : 



1. 'J'hut timothy grass cannot, under 



any circumstances, be adapted for pas- 

 ture, as the close nipping of horses and 

 sheep is fatal to the tubers, which are 

 also extensively destroyed by swine. 



2. That the proper period for mowing 

 timothy is at any time after the process 

 of desiccation has commenced on the 

 stalk, as noticed in proposition third. — 

 It is not very essential whether it is per- 

 formed a week earlier or later, provided 

 that evidence of maturity has become 

 manifest. v. 



3. All attempts at close shaVlng the 

 sward should be avoided while using the 

 scythe, and in guaging mowing ma- 

 chines, care should be taken to set them 

 to run so high that they will not cut 

 the timothy beloAV the second joint above 

 the tuber. 



Any farmer can satisfy himself as to 

 the correctness of these representations, 

 bv a little observation in his own fields; 

 and as the point is one of importance, 

 it is worthy of careful attention. 



If cut just after coming into bloom, 

 it no doubt makes the most eatable hay 

 for stock, but gives less weight per acre 

 than if cut later, besides the risk of 

 destroying the vitality of the plants for 

 succeeding crops. Early cutting, also, 

 renders it liable to be killed by drouth. 

 If cut when fully ripe, it gives a much 

 larger quantity of hay per acre, but 

 hard and wiry, containing more condens- 

 ed nutriment, and requiring to be cut 

 up fine to enable horses and other stock 

 to eat it properly. If allowed to ripen, 

 its seed is a very exhausting crop to the 

 soil. The best time to cut timothy 

 would probably be as soon as the seeds 

 are fully formed, but before they begin 

 to ripen. But as it is the latest of 

 grasses, and comes to the proper stage 

 for cutting just about the commence- 

 ment of the wheat harvest, many farm- 

 ers have either no patience to wait tily 

 then, or they put off mowing their tim- 

 othy till wdieat is secured — in either ease 

 greatly to their own injury. Now that 

 mowing machines and horse rakes are 

 becrming plentiful and cheap, the work 

 of hay- making can be expeditiously done 

 without interfering with other crops. — 

 Timothy, especially if grown by itself, 

 and cut with a machine when nearly 

 ripe, requires but little more to be done 

 to make it into hay, in this dry climate, 

 than to be raked up in the evening and 

 put into large cocks and carried to the 

 barn next day, or as soon as convenient. 

 If a few pounds of salt are thrown on 

 each load as it is spread in the mow, all 

 the acidity remaining in the hay will be 

 corrected and fermentation prevented. — 

 If clover is mixed with the timothy in a 

 proportion not exceeding one-half, let 

 the former wait till the latter is suffi- 

 ciency mature; if the clover prepon- 

 derates, the crop should be cut as soon 

 as the clover is ready. Timothy has the 



