hard to keep in subjection. Liberal use of fertilizers will so strengthen the grasses and clovers that these weeds cannot become very prominent.

Horsetail (Equisetum arvense) sometimes becomes very abundant in mowings, usually in soils that are rather sandy in texture, but have at the same time a fair capacity for holding water. Mowings that are badly infested should be broken up and reseeded, with thorough cultivation before seeding, as its presence in mowings is sometimes a source of danger to horses fed with the hay, it exerting a distinctly injurious effect when consumed in quantity, and sometimes causing death.

HOW TO SUPPLEMENT A SHORT HAY CROP.

BY PROF. CHARLES S. PHELPS, SUPERINTENDENT GRASSLANDS FARMS, CHAPINVILLE, CONN.

Hay is so important a fodder in wintering all kinds of stock that the indications of a probable shortage in the crop are always looked upon with considerable apprehension. The indications as to the probable yield are not very strong, however, until the time is past in which some of the best substitutes can be planted. For example, spring-sown oats and peas make a most valuable hay, but this crop should not be sown later than May 15 in Massachusetts. Nevertheless, there are quite a number of substitutes for the first crop of hay, which may be planted in June or July, which will make valuable forage. But, before considering special crops as substitutes for hay, it will be well to consider methods of handling the first crop so as to provide for a heavy second growth.

It will generally be noticed, on fields where there is any clover, that in dry seasons the proportion of clover is greater than in wet seasons. This is probably due to the fact that clovers will withstand the effects of drouth better than our common grasses. Fields with much clover on them should be cut early, so as to get the most possible good from the clover, and let the grasses growing with it be of secondary importance. This early cutting will encourage a vigorous second growth of both the clover and the grasses. A large crop of rowen may often be thus obtained. In order to assure a strong second growth, it is wise to apply some quick-acting fertilizer soon after the first crop is removed. The writer has found that 150 pounds of nitrate of soda per

acre will give profitable returns in the second crop of hay. Most manufactured fertilizers which contain a large proportion of quick-acting forms of nitrogen should give good results when used in this way. Fine and well-rotted stable manure, while not as active as most chemical fertilizers, will often pay in the increase of rowen, when spread on the grass lands shortly after the first crop is removed.

Another method of obtaining a good second crop where it is desirable to keep the field in permanent mowing and the soil is badly "run down," so that very light yields are obtained, is to cut early and plow and seed at once to clover and mixed grasses, using at least 15 pounds of clover seed per acre. Where the seeding is done early in July, a good crop of clover should be obtained late in September or early in October, and a strong growth of grass and clover will follow for the next year.

In selecting crops for growing late in the summer and during the fall an effort should be made to grow those that will be substitutes for hay or for corn silage during the fall and early winter. Green fodders for late fall feeding are valuable, in place of the scanty pasturage common at this time; or, after the ground is frozen, field-cured corn fodder is nearly equal to silage or good hay. Dried corn fodder will generally be much better eaten and relished in the late fall or early winter than if kept till late in the winter, while the corn silage or hay will retain its full value through the winter.

CORN.

Of the annual forage crops adapted as substitutes for common hay, perhaps corn fodder is one of the best. Corn is a crop suited for growth on nearly all soils, and, with the many varieties to select from, kinds can be found that may be planted as late as July 10 that will give a fair growth of fodder. For late planting some of the large-sized sweet corns are the best. Frequently a good crop of sweet corn for the market may be had if the crop is planted early in July, while the fodder and smaller cars will be available as forage. This may be fed green, or, if damage from frost is expected, it may be dried and fed in place of hay.

HUNGARIAN GRASS AND THE MILLETS.

Of the annual crops adapted for hay, probably the Hungarian grass and the various kinds of millets are the best. The Hungarian grass makes a lighter and finer growth than the millets, and is to be preferred for hay; while the millets are better if green fodder is wanted. Hungarian grass tends to send up its blossom heads at an earlier stage of growth when sown late, and a shorter and lighter growth will usually be obtained if the seeding is deferred until after July 1. This can be overcome, in part, by having a wellfertilized or well-manured soil, with plenty of quick-acting nitrogen. Hungarian grass should always be cut early, even before all the heads are fully formed, as it rapidly becomes tough and woody after it passes the early blossoming stage. Of the millets, the Japanese and the golden millets are probably the best. These may be grown for hay, but make a rather coarse fodder. They should be grown on rich soil, and be seeded at the rate of not less than 1/2 bushel per acre. When grown thickly and cut before the heads are fully formed, the millets will make a fairly good grade of hay. Most dairymen, however, find them more valuable for green fodder than for hay. Even when used for green fodder, thick seeding and early cutting are desirable, in order to avoid the stems becoming woody, so that stock does not eat the fodder readily.

SOY BEANS.

Soy bean fodder is a crop which has been strongly recommended for growing in New England, and it is worthy of careful trial. The writer has had fifteen years' experience with this crop in Connecticut, and has seldom had a failure. In years when corn can be grown to maturity, this crop will usually ripen its seed. If wanted for its seed, it should, of course, be sown early, not later than June 15; but for feeding green or for silage it may be sown as late as July 10. As this is a bean-like plant, it should be sown in drills and cultivated, and never be sown broadcast unless wanted for green manuring. One bushel of seed per acre has been. found to be a good rate of seeding when growing the crop

for fodder. The seed may be planted in any of the common corn planters, or drills may be opened with a marker, and the seed be sown by hand and be covered with a plow or a wing-toothed cultivator. The crop may be harvested for silage, or be fed green. When used for silage it should be placed in the silo in layers with corn. Two loads of corn to one load of the soy beans makes a good mixture. Soy bean silage, when preserved alone and fed separately, has been known to cause a disagreeable flavor in milk and butter; but when the mixture of two-thirds corn and one-third soy beans has been fed in the form of silage, no bad results have been noticed. Soy bean fodder may be fed green for three to four weeks in September, providing frost does not injure it. No bad flavors are known to occur in milk or butter from

the crop when fed in the green state. When used as a green fodder, the feeding should commence as soon as the crop begins to blossom, for the stems of the plants become woody soon after seed develops.

Poor success will often be had with this crop until the soil becomes inoculated with the special bacteria which produce the nodules on the roots of soy beans. This inoculation may be accomplished by treating the seed with the pure cultures now offered for sale by reliable dealers; by getting soil from an old soy bean field, where the nodules have been abundant on the roots of the crop; or by getting the dried nodules from the roots of a crop, and saving them over until another year. This last method may be carried out by pulling a part of the crop where the nodules are plentiful, and when the fodder is well dried, shaking the dirt and nodules adhering to the roots onto bran sacks, and then saving this material over winter for use in treating the seed for another crop. By mixing this dry material with the seed just before it is planted, the crop will become inoculated quite early in its growth, and more completely so than where soil inoculation is practised. The most common method, however, is to dig about 1,000 pounds of surface soil from an old soy bean field, and use it broadcast on the new field, harrowing it in before planting the seed,