MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



19 



dressing of manure the previous winter or spring, in 

 which case it is hardly necessary to manure again at 

 this stage. Where there is a deficiency of manure, 

 as in some parts of the East, a dressing of phosphate 

 is usually applied to the land and harrowed in just be- 

 fore the wheat is sown, or even with the wheat. 



As elsewhere stated, it is better practice to sow 

 timothy and clover alone in the late summer or earl} 7 

 fall. Oat-stubble is well suited for this purpose, espe- 

 cially in the northern tier of States. In the region of 

 the Ohio River it is possible to grow a catch crop in 

 summer, such as millet or cow-peas, before seeding to 

 grass in the fall. In either case it is a good plan to 

 manure the land, the quantity required depending on 

 the fertility of the soil before breaking up for grass. 

 Plowing done at this season should be fairly deep — say, 

 seven to nine inches. It is highly important to secure 

 a good tilth before sowing the grass-seed. If the soil 

 is "inclined to be stiff, as most clay soils are, the disk- 

 harrow is a very useful implement in putting it in shape 

 for sowing. On loose soils the common drag-harrow is 

 sufficient. In the Middle South, where orchard-grass, 

 redtop, tall meadow oat-grass, and meadow-fescue 

 partially replace timothy, more care is required in pre- 

 paring grass-lands than in most other parts of the 

 country. Here much of the soil has been exhausted 

 by the continuous cultivation of cotton and corn, and 

 barn-yard manure is frequently not available. The 

 pradtice of subsoiling has become very general in this 

 section. 



The usual manner of. subsoiling is to run a 

 " scooter" in the furrow behind the turning-plow. 



