6 LEAFLET 171, U. S. DEPAKTMEXT OF AGKICTJLTURE 



Timothy for Silage 



The use of timothy for silage is of very recent origin and as yet is 

 very limited. In order that it may make feed of a high quality, 

 timothy silage, unlike corn silage, must have mixed with it either a 

 small proportion of some acid or, preferably, some form of sugar, 

 usually molasses. If the silage is made under proper conditions, from 

 1 to 2 percent of molasses is sufficient. The best quality of silage 

 may be obtained if the timothy contains from 30 to 40 percent of dry 

 matter when it is placed in the silo. 



The Effect of Timothy in Rotations 



AYhen an unfertilized timothy sod is plowed, the following crops are 

 considerably smaller than when a leguminous crop is plowed under. 

 This decreased yield following timothy is now known to be due largely 

 to the deficiency of available nitrates in soil that has produced a grass 

 crop. The bacteria and other soil organisms that cause the decay of 

 roots, stubble, or other plant parts, and transform them into humus, 

 require for their own growth activities such a large part of the avail- 

 able nitrogen that an insufficient amount remains for the growth of the 

 succeeding crop. If a nitrogen-carrying fertilizer is applied to land 

 that has produced timothy, the yields of the cereal crops produced in 

 the timothy rotation and in the clover rotation become more nearly 

 alike. 



Erosion 



There is much less erosion on soil producing timothy or other grass 

 than on soil producing grain or cultivated crops, and in crops following 

 timothy the tendency to erosion is greatly reduced by reason of the 

 very numerous fibrous roots of the timothy plant that have been 

 added to the soil. 



U. S. GOVERNMENT POINTING OFFICE: 193 = 



For sale by the Superintendent of Document*. Washington, D. C. - - - - Price 5 cent; 



