VOL. LXVH
INDIANAPOLIS, JUNE 15, 1912
NO. 24
Care of Pasture and Meadow
Top-Dressing With Fertilizers Insures the Hay Crop
By R. C. Bishop, Assistant Agronomist,
Middle West  Soil  Improvement
Committee.
Over 25,000,000 head of horses and
mules in the United States, most of
which are heavy consumers of hay,
and 70,000,000 cattle    many    of which
are fed on    hay,    put    	
hays among' the most
important crops of our
country. In 1910,
about 46,000,000 acres
in the United States
were given to it. The
raising of hay however, in many cases
has been a partial, if
not an entire failure,
due to lack of attention
(.[ soil and soil conditions and of crop requirement.
Methods of hay production are fast undergoing transformation. In former years
the hay crops were
cut, and stacked in the
Held, and in the fall
and winter this hay
was removed. It was
a common practice to
pasture meadows both
in the fall and spring,
and little thought was
given to "top dressing"
<" fertilizing in any
way. Today the great
"alue of manure and
fertilizers is being
recognized by many
hay producers, and
meadows are pastured
very little by the most
successful farmers. Ma-
nure ia carefully saved
ana scattered upon tho
fields   with great    re-   	
Wits. The inadequacy of the manure
suPPly, however, has brought fertilizes into extended and highly profitable
Use- Naturally the high price of land
and hay demands a better method of
Producing and storing hay. A large percentage of the hay raised now is put un-
ler cover of either barn, hay shed or
■anvas.
Hay Given a Disadvantage.
■Many   farmers   who   are   not   exper-
^''ieed  in  hay  production,   or  who   do
give the matter serious and lnte'.ll-
we.nt bought, sow their fields to grass,
en they    wish  to  "rest    them  up."
s  is   often   resorted   to,   only   after
0 'and has begun failing in Its pro-
er0C '°n' Tt ls Been at once that the hay
P is thus given a disadvantage. Tim-
(,thy   iq   *sk
and most  common   hay  grass,
alon 'S usuaIIy sown In «">> spring
fc, . g w'th clover on wheat ground,
s»ed i,nearly alwayB ""akew « suitable
with Occasionally   it   is     sown
stum°atB' '" e,ther case the P'nnts are
'he th*1 an<J  often  severely  Injured  by
nl<*k growth of wheat or oat straw.
The general result from such practice
is necessarily a low yield. Thus we
see that the soil of many hay fields is
more or less depleted of its fertility.
We also see that most hay crops are at
a disadvantage In being sown with
oats and wheat. Clover sown with
timothy tends to maintain the nitrogen
supply; but neither clover nor timothy
helps to any extent in replenishing the
potash and phosphorus.
Important Plant Food Elements.
Poor crops    are    generally    due    to
"Top dressing" with barn manure in
the spring give good results. It helps
warm up the ground and supplies
much readily available plant food in
the form of nitrogenous material, which
soaks into the ground and thrifty
green grass results. It will be observed
at once, however, that manure is
not often obtainable in quantities sufficient for dressing entire hay fields,
and that when it is, better use is made
of it by applying it to corn and wheat
ground.
Fertilizer, however, can be used with
greater satisfaction and ease in application and with great profit. It should
be sown broadcast. In this way, all
the plants    will  be reached,     and the
the preparation of ground for wheat,
and broadcast a fertilizer suited to his
particular soil needs. The amount of
fertilizer used should be governed by
the supply of manure for top dressing
and observed results on crops. In
most cases such treatment insures a
good crop of hay first season, and with
a similar treatment of fertilizer the
following spring, heavy yields can be
expected.
Excellent Pasture  on  the  Farm  of  Orion   E.  Hadley,  near  Danville.
"poor soils." There are ten essential
elements of plant food, and of these ten,
only three are likely to be deficient, nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash.
Of these three nitrogen is drawn on
most heavily by meadow crops. Potash and phosphorus are important In
that they have the peculiar property
of rendering nitrogen more available
and active to plants. Potash assists
in straw building and tn giving
strength to the same, and phosphorus
ls important in that It is drawn on
heavily in the seed developing season.
Plants feed through their roots by
a process of absorption of food material which is dissolved in water and
plant juices. Thus we see that they
can make no use of material which
will not dissolve In water or sap—
and that the value of plant food depends on  Its availability,  or  solubility.
Meadows  Respond  to Fertilizers.
The root system of most meadow
crops is very extensive and delicate,
and at the same time responsive to
manure,     fertilizer     and     cultivation.
fertilizer being readily soluble or available, plants respond almost immediately.
The necessity for such treatment is
apparent. Hay crop after hay crop is
removed from fields and little or no
plant food is returned in manure, for
it is the common practice among farmers to apply the larger part, if not all,
the barn manure to other crops. Roots
of the ordinary meadow grasses add
little to the fertility of the soil. Only
the legumes—plants like clover, alfalfa, cowpeas and soybeans, can be depended on to build up soil materially
or rapidly. Such grasses as timothy
do not take nitrogen from the air as
do the leguminous plants. We, therefore, see the need of helping the soils
of meadow lands with fertilizers. Such
aid should begin with a heavy treatment of fertilizer before the seed Is
sown. If Ihe hay producer Is to get a
good stand and have a strong vigorous
growth from which he can expect satisfactory profits, he should prepare
his land and especially for seeding of
hay with the same care he goes about
Results or Fertilizing Test.
The Experiment Station at Cornell
University conducted some interesting
tests on meadows by using various
combinations of plant food elements.
Ten plats were selected and the yields
      from   each   plat   were
recorded for a period
of three years. The
first plat was used as
a check, it having no
fertilizer treatment,
whatever. Its average
yield for the three
years was 3,600 pounds
per acre. The next
plat received an application of 320 lbs.
of acid phosphate, and
made an increase in
yield over the check
plat of about 600 lbs.
per year. Plat number three received the
same amount of acid
phosphate and in addition 80 pounds of
muriate of potash. In
this case the yield was
increased over 1,000
pounds per acre per
lbs. per acre per year
over the yield of the
plat was treated with
160 pounds of nitrate
of soda and 80 pounds
of muriate of potash,
and the Increase in
the yield over that of
the check plat was
over a ton per acre
per year.
The fifth plat was
used as another check
and received no treatment.      Its   yield,   av-
        eraged   for the    three
years, 3,050 ibs. per acre. The next plat
received a complete fertilizer containing per acre 640 pounds, acid phosphate; 80 pounds, muriate of potash;
320 pounds, nitrate of soda. The average yearly yield in this case was
0923 pounds per acre an average Increase over the check of a little short
of two tons.
The seventh and nineth plats received
the same complete fertilizer, consisting of 320, acid phosphate; 80
pounds, muriate of potash, and 320
pounds, nitrate of soda per acre. Between these two plats was a check
plat. The average yearly yield per
acre of this plat was 2110 pounds,
while that of the two adjoining fertilized plats was 7,103 and 6,223 pounds
respectively. Upon the last plat was
applied ten tons of manure which
made the average yield per acre for
the three years of 5,093 pounds.
The wheat in this county is heading out thin and promises not more
than two thirds a crop. Oats is a full
stand; meadows are extra rank.