MEADOWS AND PASTURES 27 



they are best sown in early fall. Yet in the North all 

 these plants may be successfully sown in late summer 

 if the soil is in good condition. I^ate fall sowing is 

 seldom advisable, for it is unsafe to let a meadow of 

 any except the hardiest grasses go into winter without 

 a good covering on it. In the colder regions of the 

 Prairie States it is well to plow the land in fall, then 

 prepare it, and sow the seed in early spring. In the 

 Pacific Northwest, on upland prairies east of the Cas- 

 cade Mountains, it is best to plow in spring and sow 

 the seed at once. The reasons for this are given in the 

 chapter on timothy. In the irrigated distridls of this 

 sedlion fall sowing is advisable, while west of the Cas- 

 cades the same rules apply as in Ohio, Pennsylvania, 

 and adjacent States. At high altitudes in the Rockies 

 spring sowing is safest because of the cold winters. 



MANNER OP SOWING 



Very light, chaffy seeds, such as those of brome- 

 grass, especially the imported seed, and awned seeds, 

 such as those of tall meadow oat-grass, do not feed 

 through seeding-machines satisfadlorily, and should, 

 therefore, be sown by hand. Hand-sowing should al- 

 ways be done when the air is as still as possible. It is 

 well-nigh impossible to distribute the seed evenly when 

 the wind is blowing. Unless the sower is decidedly 

 expert, it is best to sow half of the seed at a time, 

 making the second sowing crosswise to the first. This 

 insures a more even stand. 



For such seeds as will feed through it, such as tim- 

 othy, redtop (recleaned), clovers, etc., in general, for 

 small, round, clean seeds, the wheelbarrow-seeder is 



