SECRETARY'S REPORT. 215 



avoid the weevil ; and 1 thinli tliis is as good a time to sow grass seed — four- 

 teen or sixteen quarts of timothy, and as many pounds of clover, to the acre." 



John C. Blanchard, Searsport. 



" I consider deep plowing, and a thorough mixing of the dressing with the 

 soil, and draining where necessary, are indispensable preparations for a good 

 crop of grass. The kinds of grain I sow with the grass are : first, peas ; second, 

 wheat ; third, barley ; fourth, oats. I sow my grass seed as early in the spring 

 as possible — for then the seed has the benefit of the spring rains — say from 

 20th of April to middle of May. I sow, on lands highly manured, about ten 

 or twelve quarts to the acre ; on pasture lands, sixteen or eighteen quarts of 

 seed — for light soils, three-fifths clover, two-fifths herds grass ; on clayey lands, 

 one-third clover, two-thirds herds grass ; on low swampy lands, one-fourth 

 clover, one-half herds grass, one-fourth brown top." 



Jesse Davis, Webster. 



" ]\Iy best preparation for grass is to put on a good dressing of manure before 

 plowing. Let the plow run deep — say ten or twelve inches — and, let me add, 

 it will depend upon the depth of plowing as much as upon the manure. 

 Wheat or barley is the best for mixing seed for sowing. Many, however, 

 among us, sow their seed clear, and with good results. Clover and herds grass 

 are the principal seeds sown — on rather wet land, red top does well — twelve 

 pounds clover and one-fourth or a half bushel of herds grass to the acre. Our 

 lands are generally seeded from the 10th of May to the 1st of June." 



G. H. Andrews, Monmouth. 



"The best preparation for grass alone, on an old field that can be well 

 plowed, is : Turn it over ten inches deep, spread and harrow in a suflicient 

 quantity of good compost, with ten or twenty hundred weight of bone-dust 

 per acre, and sow half a bushel of timothy, clover and foul meadow seed, in 

 September or August. Harrow smooth and roll. Or, if grass is not the only 

 crop sought, the rotation of two years pasture, one year roots, one year wheat 

 or barley, with grass seed, and'one or two years hay, not omitting draining, 

 deep plowing and bone-dust. We usually sow in April, if the surface of 

 the ground gets suSiciently dry to harrow, or as early as the ground is in 

 proper condition to work — unless the object be grass alone, then sow in Sep- 

 tember. Timothy and clover are almost the only kinds of seed sown here. 

 Foul meadow and brown top make a valuable addition, and for pasture, 

 orchard grass; but this comes to maturity before other grasses are fit to cut, 

 consequently should not be mixed with them for hay. This last is in flower 



the last of June, and ripens in July." 



W. D. Dana, Perry. 



In reply to the question of the circular regarding the pji'esent 

 yield of English hay per acre, answers from about a hundred towns 

 state it variously at from half a ton to a ton and a half; nearly 



