LOW PBODVOTION OF EAT 15 



5. Careless and imperfect methods of seeding. 



In regions where grain farming is practiced, and 

 the, grain sold, little attention is given to the hay- 

 crop; it is not a money crop in the same sense as 

 corn, oats or wheat. If enough hay is procured to 

 meet the needs of the working stock, no special 

 efforts are made to secure thick and uniform 

 stands, and thus the possibilities of the land are 

 not realized, and the value of the crop, as a soil 

 renovator, is not obtained. The small quantity of 

 manure that is made is used on corn or wheat, and 

 the grass or clover is seeded with the wheat, rye 

 or oats. By these methods the added fertility in 

 the manure has been largely used by the preceding 

 crop of corn, or by the wheat or other grain crops, 

 and only in exceptional cases, especially in the 

 East and South, is a good catch secured, and, con- 

 sequently, the yield is not large and it is often of 

 poor quality. When dairying or stock- growing is 

 combined with grain-farming, more attention is 

 naturally given to hay, although even then the 

 corn crop, which is regarded as the forage crop 

 par excellence, is usually given first consideration. 



Hay standards 



The ' grass most generally grown for hay is 

 timothy, which is a most excellent plant for the 

 purpose, particularly from the standpoint of sala- 



