408 GRASSES AND HOW TO GROW THEM. 



Among the best annuals grown for hay are crimson 

 clover, usually grown alone, winter oats, winter barley 

 or winter rye, grown alone or in combination with the 

 sand vetch, cow pea and soy bean ; on the best class of 

 soils, millets of the Foxtail and Barnyard varieties. 

 These grain crops are more important relatively in fur- 

 nishing hay to southern farmers, than grain crops are 

 to farmers in the jSTorth, owing to the greater abjandance 

 of other hay crops in the ISTorth. Crimson clover is 

 grown as described above (see p. 406), but may be sown 

 later and cut earlier; of the small winter cereals men- 

 tioned, oats is by far the most valuable for hay. Rye 

 is more hardy and yields well but is lacking in palatabil- 

 ity. It may be wise, however, in some instances, to 

 sow it with the sand vetch in order to sustain the lat- 

 ter. These small cereal grains should be sown in the 

 autumn, as soon as the fall rains come, using not less 

 than 2 bushels of seed to the acre, when sown alone, and 

 in many instances they will also furnish grazing for tlici 

 winter and later will grow up into hay ; when winter 

 oats are sown with the sand vetch, use 1 bushel of the 

 seed of each per acre and, in some cases, less of the seed 

 of the vetches; when winter rye is used instead of oats, 

 so\\' -J bushel of rye and l-J- bushels of the vetch ; enough 

 rye only is wanted to sustain the vetch. Cow peas are 

 sown subsequently to the corn planting season and are 

 usually sown with the grain drill. When sown for hay 

 all the tiilies or every other tuli;' is open, or only as 

 many open as will suffice to mnlce room for properly 

 cultivating the crop. The amoimt of seed varies from 

 2 bushels per acre to 2 pecks, according to the soil, the 



