202 FARM CROPS 



profitable to try to mature the sect.. If seed is to 

 be grown, however, the mammoth variety should 

 be selected, as this is a later and hardier variety 

 than the medium red. Only one crop of the mam- 

 moth can be grown in a season, and if seed is 

 sought, it should be pastured or mowed early in 

 the season to delay its maturity until later in the 

 summer, when it will have a larger yield. 



If it can be avoided, it is not advisable to pasture 

 the clover field, although it makes excellent feed. 

 The tramping of the stock has a tendency to make 

 the soil more compact and heavy. When it is pas- 

 tured, the roots do not penetrate the soil so deeply, 

 and consequently is not quite beneficial as a soil 

 improver. Everything being considered, it is about 

 as well to let the second crop go back to the soil 

 if it is not harvested for hay, when it can go back 

 in the form of barnyard manure. 



In the fall, before the weeds have gone to seed, 

 it should be cut with a mowing machine, not very 

 close to the ground, however. This serves as a 

 mulch to protect the soil through the winter, and at 

 the same time adds rich humus. The growth the 

 following year will be greater and probably enough 

 to offset the loss from its going back to the soil. 



RED TOP. — An upright perennial frequently 

 mixed with timothy and other grasses for hay. In 

 New England, New York and Pennsylvania red top 

 is an old standby. In the South and West it is not 

 so well known. In some instances red top is used 

 as the only grass in the crop. Some markets 

 consider red top a weed and' the hay suffers 

 accordingly so far as price goes. Red top is 

 more nutritious than timothy, and any prejudice 

 against it is unwarranted. The crop does splen- 



