HOW ROTATIONS HELP OUT 21 



seeding, let it be done some months in advance. 

 Plowed land should then be harrowed several times 

 so as to get it soft and mellow and compact. Where 

 the seed bed has been carefully prepared, little work 

 will be necessary after the seeds are sowed. 



SEEDING AND FEEDING 



A light harrowing is suflScient to cover the broad- 

 casted seed. This part of the work should be done 

 as soon as the seeds are scattered, for if there be 

 moisture in the soil the tiny seeds will soon sprout, 

 and if the harrowing be done after germination has 

 somewhat advanced, the tender grass plants will 

 be injured. I have frequently gone over fields 

 where timothy or clover has been scattered simply 

 on top of the ground, and have seen germinating 

 seeds so completely unprotected that as soon as 

 the hot sun shines on them, they wither and die. 

 Had a slight covering been given the seed, all might 

 have been well. 



It is usually advisable to use commercial fertil- 

 izers on hay and pasture lands. Chemicals can be 

 used to good advantage, if not to the best advan- 

 tage, on the meadow crops. It is too frequently 

 the custom to use all the chemicals on corn and 

 cotton and wheat, and let the grasses take care of 

 themselves. Were the grass areas as well and 

 abundantly fertilized, not only would as much for- 

 age result, but the soil would be put in an admir- 

 able condition for corn and cotton when these 

 later come in the rotation. 



Of course it is to be understood that there is no 

 better fertilizer for grass than stable manure, but 

 where this is not available the commercial fer- 



