TIMOTHY 83 
front of the drill hoes, so that it is covered by them ; 
others allow the grass-seed to fall behind the hoes, 
leaving it to be covered by rain. It is generally recog- 
nized that the latter is not the best method of securing 
a stand of timothy, but from Illinois eastward it is fairly 
certain to result in a good catch. In years of light 
rainfall it sometimes happens that there is not enough 
moisture for both grain and grass, and the grass suf- 
fers. Sometimes also, when the grain is cut, a spell 
of hot, dry weather kills the tender grass, which has 
previously been shaded by the grain. This is particu- 
larly the case if the grain is allowed to stand until it is 
dead ripe, as at harvest-time the season of dry, hot 
weather is close at hand. 
Even where wheat is not a very satisfactory crop, 
as on the rich, black prairie soils of northeastern IIli- 
nois, some farmers sow a little wheat, in order, as they 
say, to have a good place to sow timothy. On this soil 
timothy is not as popular as it once was, partly because 
wheat is less grown than formerly, and partly because 
the development of beef-raising has created a greater 
demand for pure clover hay and lessened the useful- 
ness of timothy on the farm. Doubtless, also, the 
abundance of hay in the Middle West more than sup- 
plies the city demand, and a smaller proportion of the 
hay growers grow hay for the markets than is the case 
farther east. Since most of them use the hay on their 
own farms, and as they usually have a larger number 
of cattle than horses to feed, they grow more clover 
and less timothy than the farmers of sections farther 
east, where hay is largely grown for horses in the 
cities. 
