198 FIELD CROP PttonUCTION 



tending that the latter will injure the wheat. Experience 

 and experiments, however, show that instead of injuring 

 the wheat, harrowing often increases the yield a few 

 bushels per acre. Timothy may be seeded alone or with 

 clover in the spring with oats. Oats, however, on account 

 of the dense shade produced by their broad leaves, do not 

 provide as favorable conditions for the growth of timothy 

 and clover as do wheat or rye. Timothy may also be 

 seeded alone, that is, without a nurse crop. When seeded 

 alone, the most favorable time is in late summer or early 

 fall. With a well-prepared seed bed, seeding at this time 

 usually gives an excellent stand, which may be expected 

 to produce a good crop of hay the next year. When 

 seeded with a nurse crop, either in the fall or in the spring, 

 no hay may usually be expected until the next season. 

 When seeded alone, 15 pounds of seed per acre is the usual 

 application. Experiments carried on by several stations 

 indicate that a heavier rate of seeding does not insure an 

 increase in yield of hay. When seeded with clover, 8 or 

 9 pounds of timothy with 7 or 8 pounds of red clover and 

 2 pounds of alsike per acre make a desirable mixture. 



186. Cutting for hay. — The stage of growth at which 

 timothy is cut for hay varies in different localities, and 

 even among different farmers in the same locality. It 

 has been found that the time of cutting influences, to a con- 

 siderable extent, the amount and quality of the hay. At 

 the Missouri Experiment Station timothy was cut at 

 five different stages of growth. The stages at which the 

 cutting was made were : (1) plant in full head ; (2) in full 

 bloom; (3) seeds formed, bloom shed ; (4) seeds in dough 

 stage ; (5) seeds ripe. It was found that the time of 

 cutting influenced the yield, the digestibility, and palata- 

 bility of the hay. It also influenced to some extent the con- 



