THE PERENNIAL GRASSES 



199 



venience of harvesting and the permanency of the stand. 

 Results of the experiments indicate that the highest yield 

 of hay of the best quality is obtained when the grass is 

 cut between the time when it is in full bloom and the 

 stage at which the seeds are just formed. While the later 

 cuttings are more easily cured in the field, due to the fact 



Fig. 70. — Cutting timothy hay. 



that they contain much less water than the earlier cuttings, 

 the hay is not of as good quality as the earlier cuttings. 

 Late cutting is favorable for the storing up of nutrients 

 in the tuber at the base of the culm, and therefore more 

 favorable for a permanent stand. Timothy is not a good 

 pasture grass. The sod does not stand tramping well, 

 and close grazing materially lowers the yield of succeeding 

 crops. Sometimes timothy is grown for seed rather than 



