THE CULTURE OF FLUE-CURED TOBACCO. 7 
a good yield of splendid hay, which may be utilized as a secondary 
source of money income on the tobacco farm, either through direct 
sale or indirectly through live-stock products. 
For the best results with herd’s-grass, the seed should be sowed 
trom the middle to the last of August in the Old Belt and not later 
than September 20 in the New Belt Coastal Plain section. The prepa- 
ration of the seed bed is a matter of prime importance in securing a 
good stand of grass. This is best accomphshed without the turning 
plow, unless it be used some weeks or months before the grass is to 
be seeded. Instead, the field should be gone over with the disk har- 
row in July or August, followed by the smoothing or drag harrow 
just before sowing the seed. What is needed is a fine but shallow seed 
bed (preferably not more than 1 or 2 inches deep) with a firm under 
soil, and this condition can best be secured if the turning plow is not 
used. The place of the grass in the rotation, particularly in the 
Old Belt section, generally will be after wheat or oats, one of which 
has, in turn, probably succeeded the tobacco; that is, the grass will 
be seeded on, wheat or oat stubble after the soil has been fitted during 
July and August, as mentioned. The disk should be started at the 
first opportunity after the grain is removed, so as to prevent the 
weeds from getting so large as to interfere with a satisfactory and 
economical fitting with the disk harrow. | 
Before seeding the grass, from 400 to 800 pounds of 3-8-3 ferti- 
lizer? or its equivalent should be broadcasted per acre. On the 
stiffer soils, if already in a fairly good state of fertility, the smaller 
quantity might suffice, but on the sandier soils, especially if run 
down in fertility, the larger quantity would be likely to give more 
satisfactory results. To insure an even stand of grass, the field 
should be gone over both ways in sowing, using a total of about 15 
pounds of seed to the acre. After seeding, the field should be again 
gone over with the smoothing harrow, to lightly cover the seed, and 
then thoroughly rolled. Early in the spring, when the young grass 
begins to start, top-dress the field with about 200 pounds of nitrate 
of soda per acre, distributed in two applications about two weeks 
apart. The nitrate is best applied just before or during a rain, so 
that it will be dissolved, soak into the ground, and begin to feed the 
grass at once without any danger of injury by burning. After the 
lumps are crushed, the nitrate can be easily distributed directly by 
hand without increasing the bulk by mixing with sand or other 
filler. When making the second application of the nitrate, special 
attention should be given to any spots which, from the appearance 
of the grass, seem to have been missed in going over the field the first 
time. From this procedure a valuable hay crop of 14 to 2 tons or more 
1The formula “ 3-8-3” refers to the percentage of ammonia, phosphoric acid, and 
potash, respectively. 
