94 



SUCCESSFUL FARMING 



as should also the duration of the grasses and the length of time required 

 to come to perfection. Consideration should also be given to time of 

 maturity as related to favorable or unfavorable weather. Abundant 

 sunshine and freedom from rains facilitate making hay of good quality. 

 Where two or more grasses are grown, those should be selected that will 

 mature at approximately the same date. 

 , Seed and Seeding. — There is no crop in which more seed is wasted 

 than the grasses. Of the seed sown a relatively small percentage develops 

 plants, and probably there is no crop in which failure to secure a satis- 

 factory stand of plants is more common. This is due to a number of 

 factors, among which may be mentioned the poor preparation of the 

 seed-bed, the faulty covering of the seed and the adverse conditions that 

 frequently follow seeding, thus causing a large percentage of the small 

 ■plants to perish. The poor quality of the seed used is also a factor and 

 one that can be largely avoided by the purchase of only first-class seed. 

 As a rule, first-class seeds, although costing more than poor ones, are the 

 cheapest. The following table gives the rate of seeding, the cost of seed 

 per pound and the calculated cost per acre: 



Cost of Seed peb Acre, Using Average Amount.* 



Plant. 



Timothy 



Orchard grass 



Redtop 



Brome grass 



Kentucky blue grass 

 Italian rye grass .... 

 Perennial rye grass. . 



Tall oat grass 



Tall fescue 



Meadow fescue 



Red clover 



Alsike clover 



Alfalfa 



Sweet clover 



Cost of 



Seed per 



Acre. 



$0,975 

 3.00 

 1.00 

 2.00 

 3.50 

 1.50 

 1.50 

 4.20 

 3.60 

 2.20 

 2.04 

 1.60 

 3.00 

 4.00 



Since failure to secure a satisfactory stand of grass is so common, 

 farmers are advised not only to use every precaution in the preparation 

 of seed-bed and time and manner of seeding, but also to use an abundance 

 of good seed. As land values increase and the price of product becomes 

 higher, the necessity for these precautions becomes greater. The extra 

 expense for liberal seeding will pay abundantly in the vast majority of 

 cases. The ideal seed-bed is moist and finely pulverized. The slant- 

 toothed harrow is the best implement for making the final preparation. 



* The prices given were New York wholesale prices in January, 1914, as given in "Forage Plants 

 and Their Culture," by Piper. Rate of seeding for red, alsike and sweet clover changed. " 



