MIXED MEADOWS 197 
tions, not requiring so large an outlay of labor and 
money. By this method the land from which crops 
are removed early enough, is plowed in July and 
thoroughly and frequently tilled until about the 
middle of August; this frequent tillage destroys 
many weed seeds, ensures a thorough division of 
the soil particles, and conduces to the unlocking 
of plant-food and encouraging the growth and de- 
velopment of soil bacteria. When the main pur- 
pose in the use of either of these mixtures of 
grasses and clovers is to secure hay, and to have 
the land remain in permanent meadow, the use 
of yard manures immediately before seeding is 
not generally desirable, owing to the danger of 
adding weed seed, although the thickness of the 
seeding of grasses and the treatment of the fields 
in respect to top-dressing will overcome this 
danger to some extent. 
When it is found desirable to re-seed, it is not 
necessary that the sod be planted with other crops, 
but it may be at once re-seeded with the grasses, 
provided it is plowed immediately after the first 
cutting has been removed, and thoroughly tilled in 
the months of July and early August. This prac- 
tice will permit a continuous growth of a crop that 
is suitable for green forage, although grown pri- 
marily for pasture and for hay. 
The quantity of seed required will depend to 
some extent on the character of the land and its 
