TIMOTHY 



83 



front of the drill hoes, so that it is covered by them ; 

 others allow the grass-seed to fall behind the hoes, 

 leaving it to be covered by rain. It is generally recog- 

 nized that the latter is not the best method of securing 

 a stand of timothy, but from Illinois eastward it is fairly 

 certain to result in a good catch. In years of light 

 rainfall it sometimes happens that there is not enough 

 moisture for both grain and grass, and the grass suf- 

 fers. Sometimes also, when the grain is cut, a spell 

 of hot, dry weather kills the tender grass, wdiich has 

 previously been shaded by the grain. This is particu- 

 larly the case if the grain is allowed to stand until it is 

 dead ripe, as at harvest-time the season of dry, hot 

 weather is close at hand. 



Even where wheat is not a very satisfactory crop, 

 as on the rich, black prairie soils of northeastern Illi- 

 nois, some farmers sow a little wheat, in order, as they 

 say, to have a good place to sow timothy. On this soil 

 timothy is not as popular as it once was, partly because 

 wheat is less grown than formerly, and partly because 

 the development of beef-raising has created a greater 

 demand for pure clover hay and lessened the useful- 

 ness of timothy on the farm. Doubtless, also, the 

 abundance of hay in the Middle West more than sup- 

 plies the city demand, and a smaller proportion of the 

 hay growers grow hay for the markets than is the case 

 farther east. Since most of them use the hay on their 

 own farms, and as they usually have a larger number 

 of cattle than horses to feed, they grow more clover 

 and less timothy than the farmers of sections farther 

 east, where hay is largely grown for horses in the 

 cities. 



