14 
BULLETIN 1450, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
The plats of one series were sown on the timothy-breeding field 
station at New London, Ohio, in September, 1911; the other plats 
were sown on the station at its new location at North Ridgeville, 
Ohio, in September, 1915. No fertilizers were applied on either 
series after they were sown. Typical square-yard areas were selected 
in each of four plats at New London and in each of three plats at 
North Ridgeville. The corners of these areas were marked so that 
records could be obtained from the same area in different seasons. 
Records were obtained at New London in the second, third, and 
fourth years when the plats produced hay crops ; at North Ridgeville 
the records were obtained in the first and second seasons when hay 
crops were harvested. 
The data obtained at New London are presented in the first part of 
Table 7 (records from the areas not fertilized) ; the data obtained 
at North Ridgeville are presented in Table 5. 
Table 5. — Average number and percentage of fertile and sterile timothy shoots 
and total number of shoots per square yard in three square-yard areas m tivo 
successive seasons as North Ridgeville, Ohio 
Items of comparison 
Fertile 
shoots 
Sterile 
shoots 
Total 
Number in 1916 
530 
307 
58 
43 
381 
414 
42 
57 
911 
Numberinl917 .. .. ... . 
721 
Percentage in 1916. . _ .. .. _. 
Percentage in 1917 _ .. 
From the results obtained in these experiments, together with ob- 
servations which have been made in other timothy meadows, the 
following conclusions have been derived: 
As meadows become older there is a general tendency for the number 
and also the percentage of fertile shoots per unit of area to become smaller 
from year to year. Varying seasonal conditions sometimes cause exceptions 
to this general rule. 
The number of sterile shoots per unit of area does not change so much 
as does the number of fertile shoots from year to year. The proportion of 
sterile shoots, however, is generally much larger in old than in new meadows, 
on account of the marked decrease in the number of fertile shoots. 
The total number of shoots, including both types, per unit of area tends to 
become somewhat less each year as meadows become older. 
Available space for development. — An experiment was performed 
in 1916 in order to find out what the effect would be on the propor- 
tions of fertile and sterile shoots if a part of the plants gro wing- 
in a meadow were removed so that the remaining ones would have 
more space in which to develop. 
Two typical square-yard areas were selected in each of three broad- 
cast plats of ordinary timothy, which were sown in September, 1915. 
On different elates from May 4 to May 13, 1916, a part of the plants 
were removed from one of the two square-yard areas in each plat; 
in the other area the plants were left to grow without being thinned 
(Table 6). 
On July 10, 1916, the timothy was harvested and a record was ob- 
tained of the number of fertile shoots and of sterile shoots in each 
area. 
