The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-07-22

it can be seeded in wheat or oats af-
ter the corn is cut and shocked, with
out blowing by using a disc or spring
tooth harrow. l invariably cut my
corn and put it in shocks twelve rows
! square. When dry I have it shredded,
and my stock>d do as well on it as if
fed with the best hay.
GRASS AND GLOVER.
"The various grasses and clover
have been my leading crops for many
years past, and / have given a good
deal of study as to the kind best
adapted to our section and the best
method of seeding. I tried broadcast
seeding in the spring on my wheat
and oat crops with variable results.
Sometimes I would get a good stand
that looked very promising before the
grain crop was cut, but the hot sun
killed out a good deal of it. So far
as clover seed was concerned, that
could be very well seeded with Ca
hoon's seed sower, but the light, chat
fy seeds, such as orchard grass and
others, had to be sown by hand, and
it was difficult to SOW it so as to cover
the ground evenly. This led me to try
an experiment with my grain drill,
which proved successful, and for five
years past 1 have sown all of my grass
and clover seed with the drill.
Sowing grass seed with my grain
crops having proved a failure in at
least three seasons out of five, I dis
continued that practice and pursued
the following system with much bet
ter success, and, in fact, have not me
with a single failure in getting a good
stand of grass since I adopted it. In
the first place, I go to work and thor
oughly prepare the land, following it
as soon as practicable after the wheat
and oat crops are harvested; then, at
intervals of fifteen to twenty days, /
go over the land with my disc and
spring-tooth harrows, using my roller
if the land is the least bit cloddy, I'M
til / have it in a fine and mellow con-
ditiOn for seeding-say, from the mid
die of August until September 18th.
Having the land well prepared, / then
prepare my grass seeds, which we're
as follows ON the grass field / showed
you, and of which / send you a pho
tographic sketch, viz: Orchard grass
seeds, one-half bushel; tall meadow
oat-grass, one peck; Italian rye-grass,
one peck-or two bushels in all-per
acre. These seeds I mixed with $50
pounds bone meal per acre, and sowed
them with my grain drill, as I would
fertilizer alone. The seeds being very
light, they must occasionally be stir
red up in the fertilizer box of the
drill, or they will not pass out with
the fertilizer. In addition to the seeds
named, l sowed four quarts clover
seed per acre through the grass seed
sower attached to the drill. The grass
field alluded to, which you saw, and on
which the above seeds we're sown the
last of August, 1899, shows what can
lie done under this system, and its
advantage over the common practice
of sowing grass and clover seeds with
a nurse crop. I cut the grass on this
field about June 1, 1900. 1t started
off growing finely in the fall after it
was sown, and kept green all winter
and many persons who saw it during
the winter and spring mistook it for
wheat, or oats, as it was in drill rows.
ALFALFA.
Il have had some experience in
growing alfalfa, and find that it does
well in our climate. l first seeded
about half an acre as an experiment,
and cut it for fifteen years from three
to five times each summer. The first
cutting wa usually made about the
Doth of April, and the last October
1st. I used it as a soiling crop, and it
turned off a large amount of feed for
my work horses during the entire
summer.
II V just finished seeding at this
writing September 25th) five acres
in alfalfa, using "A pounds of seed
per acre, and sowing it with my drill
through the gr~ass-seeder attachment,
one-half each way. The land was pre-
pared in the manner above described
and was in excellent condition. I