Ill 



MEADOWS AND PASTURES (Continued) 

 TIME TO SOW 



y\ GOOD seed-bed is more important than the par- 

 ■**• ticular date of sowing. It is xinwise to sow 

 Im^^ grass-seed on soil that is too dry to give the 

 grass a quick start. Ground that is at all 

 weedy should never be sown in late spring, or weeds 

 will choke out the grass. Over most parts of the 

 Eastern United States grass-seed may be sown either 

 in early fall or in very early spring. Fall sowing 

 should be early enough to give the grass a good start 

 before winter. In sections subjedl to late summer 

 drouth it should be so timed as to escape the dry, hot 

 weather. Spring sowing should be early enough to 

 give the grass a start ahead of weeds. In middle 

 latitudes most grasses and clovers may be safely sown 

 on a light snow in late winter. When the snow melts 

 the seed will be sufficiently covered by the shifting of 

 soil due to the water formed from the melting snow. 

 Perhaps the safest general rule, to be used with judg- 

 ment, is to sow in early fall if the season is favor- 

 able. If not, then sow in early spring. Some kinds 

 of seeds produce plants that are especially tender when 

 young. This is more generally true of alfalfa and 

 clover than of the grasses. North of the Ohio River 

 it is safer to sow these in spring, while farther south 

 26 



