OECHARD GEASS. 53 



largely on three factors: The state of maturity at the time of cutting; 

 the amount of aftergrowth, including red clover, contained in it, and 

 the success with which it is cured. If the grass is cut before the seed 

 is sufficiently mature to harvest, the straw will be of more value for 

 feed than when it is cut at the proper stage. The undergrowth which 

 is present probably furnishes as much feed as the straw itself, if not 

 more, especially when it contains clover. 



It is a common practice to cut the grass as high as possible to avoid 

 the weeds and clover, but if it is short there is necessaril}^ a great deal 

 of undergrowth cut with it. If the grass has not received too much 

 rain while in the shock and is stacked properly or put into a barn or 

 shed at the time of thrashing, the straw will be of much more value 

 than if carelessly handled. In general, there is little attention paid to 

 the stacking of the straw, and it is commonly left in piles just as they 

 are made b}^ the machine. When utilized for forage it is fed to horses 

 or cattle, usuallj^ the latter, but is of very little value for sheep. 

 Aside from its value as a feed, straw may be used for seeding meadows, 

 as previously described. It should never be used for this purpose, 

 however, unless thoroughly free from weeds. 



WEEDS IN ORCHARD GRASS SEED FIELDS. 



The weeds which are most troublesome in orchard grass fields, espe- 

 cially in sections where seed is produced, are whitetop {Erigefi'on 

 anmius)^ red sorrel {Ritmex acetosella)^ oxeye daisy {Chrysanthemum 

 leucanthemwn)^ milfoil {Achillea millefolium)^ and the plantains 

 {Plantago lanceolata and P. aristata). Most growers pay much atten- 

 tion to keeping these weeds out of their fields and go to considerable 

 expense for labor to mow them or cut them out with a hoe just before 

 harvest. A method which is now quite commonly used and which is 

 most eft'ective and practicable is to pasture the fields with sheep. This 

 is an excellent practice and it is comparatively easy to distinguish at 

 harvest time between fields that have been pastured in this wa}^ and 

 those that have not b}^ the absence of weeds in the former. Such 

 good results have been obtained by pasturing sheep on the grass to 

 keep down the weeds that farmers are raising more sheep than formerly 

 and are growing cleaner seed. It is a common practice to turn the 

 sheep on in the spring as soon as the grass begins to grow and allow 

 them to remain until the earh^ part of May. As the grass advances 

 toward maturity the sheep eat very little of it, but graze mostly upon 

 the weeds and undergrowth, and especially on the whitetop, which is 

 one of the worst weeds present, if not the worst. They do little dam- 

 age to the field when it is drj^, and in wet weather they are kept off, as 

 they drag down too much of the grass. Although it is the custom to 

 turn the sheep out of the fields in the early part of May, some of the 

 most successful groAvers leave them in until nearly harvest time. It is 



100— VI 



