matter may also receive an application of manure. If this is not available, an application of nitrate of soda at the rate of 100 pounds to the acre helps to establish the seedlings rapidly.
Seeding should be done as early as possible in April or May, and the best results are obtained when no nurse crop is used. A fine filth should be prepared by harrowing. The field may then be rolled with a cultipacker and the seed sown evenly over the surface with a suitable wheelbarrow seeder. The ideal depth of cover for the seeds is about 1/4 inch, so the field should be lightly harrowed with a flexible grass harrow or worked with a plank drag or weeder. Covering seed too deeply often causes failure. It is important to control weeds by mowing when necessary between May and July. By this time the growth should be sufficient to permit occasional grazing during the remainder of the season. This treatment encourages the development of a dense sward of wild white clover. If seeding cannot be done before the end of May, it is advisable to postpone it until late
FIGURE 35. A DENSE LEAFY SWARDÄTHE OBJECT OF
PASTURE IMPROVEMENT
The ideal at which to aim is a dense leafy sward about 4 inches
in height and consisting of wild white clover and pasture strains
of the most valuable grasses. Under good grazing management such
a pasture should enable a grazing animal to consume the maximum
amount of herbage during each day of the grazing season. The
sward shown was produced at Cornell University with the aid of
the Cornell pasture mixture
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