I wished to establish twenty acres of timothy and as much alfalfa, to
furnish the hay supply for the farm. With one hundred tons of alfalfa
and sixty of timothy, which I could reasonably expect, I could get on
splendidly.
From the first I have practised feeding my hay crop for immediate
returns. The land receives five hundred pounds of fertilizer per acre
when it is sown, a like amount again in the spring, and, as soon as a
crop is cut, three hundred pounds an acre more. This usually gives a
second crop of timothy about September 1, if the season is at all
favorable. The alfalfa is cut at least three times, and for each cutting
it receives three hundred pounds of plant food per acre. In the course
of a year I spend from $10 to $12 an acre for my grass land. In return I
get from each acre of timothy, in two cuttings, about three and a half
tons; worth, at an average selling price, $12 a ton. The alfalfa yields
nearly five tons per acre, and has a feeding value of $10 a ton. I have
sold timothy hay a few times, but I feel half ashamed to say so, for it
is against my view of justice to the land.
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