152 maine; agricultural experiment station. 1904. 



crop of 12 to 15 tons of silage corn will have used up the nitro- 

 gen of the commercial fertilizers ; part of the nitrogen of the 

 manure and considerable phosphoric acid and potash will be left 

 available for the next season's crop. 



Third year. Seeding to grass with oats. The land is to be 

 plowed the preceding fall. If it can be spared, topdress with 

 about 3 cords of farm manure and use formula No. 7, page 145. 

 If farm manure is not available, use formula No. 8, page 146. 

 The farm manure, if used, is applied and worked in as for corn 

 the preceding year. For grass, the land must be thoroughly 

 worked, the surface kept true and a good seed bed prepared. 

 Upon the heavy clay loam land at the University the following 

 mixture has proven successful for spring seeding: Oats, 5 

 pecks; timothy 10 pounds; red top 7 pounds; alsike clover 6 

 pounds. In most seasons the grass will do better if the oats are 

 cut green (in milk) for fodder or hay. Oat hay at best is a poor 

 kind of hay, although if cock cured it makes a hay that will be 

 cleanly eaten. It may be, even at the expense of the grass, best 

 to allow the oats to ripen. Keep teams off the field as far as 

 possible and do not turn stock into it nor cut it, even though the 

 clover does look tempting. 



Fourth year. Top dress early in the spring with 200 pounds 

 of acid phosphate and 100 pounds of muriate of potash. As the 

 application of nitrate of soda has a tendency to run out clover, 

 in a five-year rotation it will be better to top dress with minerals 

 only. If it is desired to maintain the field for hay for several 

 years, formula No. 11, page 147 can be advantageously used. 

 Unless there is an unusually early aftermath, do not cut a second 

 crop or feed if the field is to be used for hay the next year. 



Fifth year. Top dress as the preceding year and pasture or 

 cut for hay. 



If the preceding program is carried out with ordinary seasons, 

 good crops should be obtained and the land should be in 

 better fertility at the end than at the beginning, five years before. 



