No. 63.] 203 



along fences, water courses, stone heaps, ravines, and neglectfed 

 places. 



Dock. — Burdock (Arctium lappa,) is not plentiful enough to be 

 considered troublesome, but common dock (Rumex crispus,) is abun- 

 dant among the grass and grain. The last is a very tenacious and 

 hardy plant. It has a long yellow tap root, and is not easily eradi- 

 cated. I have seen it in the spring almost thrown out of the ground 

 by the frost, with nothing but the tip end of the root beneath the 

 surface, and yet recover its vitality and grow. Plowing will not de- 

 stroy it, for if buried, sprouts will rise from it; and even if inverted 

 it will nevertheless continue to grow. The only certain method of 

 clearing grass and grain fields of this weed, is to go through them 

 after a rain and pull up the dock by the roots. The prevalence of 

 this nuisance may be diminished by attention in winter, to pick the 

 seed stalk of the weed from the grain when on the threshing floor, 

 and to remove those found in the hay when foddering cattle. 



Other weeds. — The narrow and the broad leaved plantain are com- 

 mon here, but are not so prevalent as to become injurious.* Wild pars- 

 neps and wild carrots, which have probably originated from seeds 

 grown in gardens, are spreading in some places, and ere long will 

 require much time and labor to root them out. 



The writer's farm was overrun with these weeds, when he pur- 

 chased it in 1839. It is now (1842,) entirely clear of Johnswort, 

 and the others are very much diminished in quantity. 



CROPS, 



Hay. — The principal staple production of Staten-Island is hay, 

 which is both fresh and salt. The salt meadows are extensive in the 

 townships of Northfield, Southfield and Westfield. The hay that is 

 cut upon them is a short native salt grass, overflowed by the tides, 

 and harvested in September. Such meadows are valuable, as they 

 require no plowing nor seeding, and produce an annual crop of hay 

 which, though not so valuable as fresh hay, is nevertheless a aime of 

 wealth that is never exhausted. Farmers find it useful to hav«; a por- 

 tion of salt hay for their stock in winter, both for the salt it contains, 

 and as a salutary change of food. Some persons have been induced 

 to sell their fresh hay, and winter their cattle on salt hay at a less 

 expense, but the animals have come out too poor in the spring to 

 make it profitable, and the practice is abandoned. 



Red Clover and Timothy, (Phleumpratense,) are the two principal 

 artificial grasses grown here, and are sown upon winter grain. Timo- 

 thy seed is sown at the rate of from eight to twelve quarts per acre; but 

 as the open and irregular winters hpre are destructive of young grass 

 and grain, half the quantity allotted to an acre is sown in September 

 or October, and the other half in April, the ensuing spring Clover, 

 if sowed in the autumn, will be destroyed by the frosts, and is there- 

 fore sown after the spring frosts, generally in April, but it may be de- 

 layed until May. The quantity per acre, is from four to six pounds 



* Pl;intago major, broad leaved plantain. Plantago lanceolata, narrow leaved plantain. 



