MANAGEMENT OF MEADOWS AND PASTURES. ]H 



deal more than others ; some is light and loose. On the loose 

 kind I would use the roller; on the more compact kinds of soil, I 

 would not, provided there is any prospect of rain coming on soon 

 after. 



Question. Iu case you desire to change the grass on a meadow 

 to timothy, will the Nishwitz harrow cut up the old turf sufficient- 

 ly to give a catch of the new grass ? 



Mr. Gould. It will. You will need to put in a variety of 

 manures ; that is the great secret. Feed your meadows well. I 

 endeavored to explain that point. I said that every kind of grass 

 requires a different kind of specific food, and just in proportion as 

 you combine the variety of food in the soil is the number of plants 

 that will grow in a square foot. Put on manure of all kinds, and 

 you will prepare the land for the production of all kinds of grasses. 

 Question. On low meadow with a muck bottom where the 

 mo^s is three or four inches deep, will that same process answer ? 

 Mr. Gould. Yes, sir, provided you sow the seeds adapted to 

 your soil, and otherwise do as I have described. 



Mr. . The greatest difficulty is to get rid of the moss. 



Mr. Gould. The Nishwitz harrow will do it if you will use it 

 in dry weather. I think that implement is the greatest contribu- 

 tion to the farmer that I have ever known. The miserable old- 

 fashioned tooth harrow is the most wretched tool ever placed 

 upon a farm. A good many farmers have an idea that the old 

 tooth-harrow pulverized the soil ; it does pulverize it a little on 

 top, but you know how it is with your road makers. If they 

 make a new road and want to settle it, what do they do ? They 

 do not take a roller ; they take the old-fashioned tooth-harrow. 

 So it is with your race-courses. If you will inquire of your horse- 

 men, you will find that race-courses are always laid down with 

 an old-fashioned harrow. That is the way they pack them. 

 Now, the Nishwitz harrow instead of packing it, will make the 

 soil loose, so that the air can penetrate into it. A new harrow 

 has been lately invented by Mr. John J. Thomas, which for one 

 purpose is the best that is made. There is no other implement 

 which will smooth the surface like John J. Thomas' harrow. It is 

 admirably adapted to land where you propose to use a mowing 

 machine ; and it is one of the best things ever invented for the 

 corn crop. By going over just as soon as the blade makes its 

 appearance above the ground, it will effectually destroy all weeds, 

 and the corn will grow astonishingly. Even after the corn gets 



