34 



TJic Country Gentleman's Maga.zinc 



ing nature of the hay crop. This, in fact, 

 removes from the soil more than any other of 

 the farm crops— thus, while wheat carries 

 off ID lb. of nitrogen per acre from the soil, 

 the hay crop will take off 14 lb., or nearly 

 one-half as much. The manures used are 

 farm-yard dung and composts, and artificial 

 manures. The time of applying the two 

 former manures is a disputed point in farm- 

 ing, some advocating the mode of applying it 

 early in the autumn, immediately after the 

 second or the last crop has been taken off the 

 land ; others preferring to do it in the early 

 winter, while others again insist upon the 

 advantages obtained by applying it early in 

 the spring. The stones and other substances 

 which would interfere vnih. the process of 

 mowing, and which are taken in the manure, 

 or crop up from the land, must be carefully 

 gathered sometime after the manures have 

 been applied, and rolling must be carefully 

 attended to. The artificial manures employed 

 are pretty numerous, and it is in the choice 

 and use of these that the chief care of the 

 farmer must be exercised. Indiscriminate 

 application will not do; some, indeed, will do 

 so little good as simply to be thrown away, 

 costly as they are, others may do positive 

 harm. 



Advice of a general kind, to meet all 

 cases, cannot be given here ; all the points 

 of soil, its nature and quality, climate, locality, 

 all must be taken into account, and the circum- 

 stances dealt with accordingly, and dealt care- 

 fully; for it is worth while repeating what we 

 have already said, that in some cases to apply 

 certain artificial manures to certain soils is 

 simply to throw away the money spent upon 

 them, and the wages in using them. Indeed, 

 it is the opinion of more than one high 

 authority, that the exhaustive qualities of the 

 hay crop are best met by the use of farm- 

 yard dung and rich composts, to the exclu- 

 sion altogether of artificial manures. The 

 hay chiefly exhausts the mineral constituents 

 of the soil, and these, if attempted to be 

 replaced through the agency of artificial 

 manures, are very costly. Thus, the applica- 

 tion of bones or superphosphate of lime 

 seems in every way better adapted to worn- 



out pastures than to meadow lands. In some 

 cases, indeed even in pasture lands, bones 

 are almost useless — such lands being those 

 rich in lime. Farm-yard manure has this 

 great advantage, that it not only restores the 

 mineral constituents of the soil withdrawn! 

 by the hay crop, but brings on at the same 

 time a considerable quantity of nitrogen. 

 The best artificial manures are Peruvian 

 guano, Phospho guano, nitrate of soda, and 

 sulphate of ammonia. Of these, the two first 

 supply, in addition to the nitrogen, the phos- 

 phates which are so useful in the hay crop 

 — the two latter nitrogen only. As a rule, 

 nitrogenous manures greatly increase the 

 quantity of -grass, although they reduce the 

 quality — the latter point, however, is open 

 to doubt ; phosphatic manures materially im- 

 prove the quality of the grass. It is a settled 

 axiom that what the farmer gets from the soil 

 is just in proportion to what he gives to it. 

 Manure, therefore, should be liberally dis- 

 pensed, and no mistake is more fruitful of 

 mischief than that which is too often made in 

 practice — namely, giving niggardly supplies. 

 The maxim is one which should always be 

 in mind, that the "safest and soundest 

 economy is to obtain the effect at once, 

 and not by niggardly or piecemeal applica- 

 tions." 



As before stated, the best kind of manure to 

 employ for gi-ass lands is farm-yard dung, al- 

 though artificial manures may be and are em- 

 ployed with great advantage. And, in the use of 

 these, it is worth remembering, that if quantity 

 is required, nitrogenous manures, as nitrate of 

 soda or guano, must be employed ; if quality, 

 phosphatic manures, as bones or superphos- 

 phates. But, in employing artificial manures, 

 the nature of the soil must not be overlooked, 

 for if so, it may happen as it often does happen, 

 that the manure and the money it costs may 

 simply be thrown away. 



With regard to the second point, the grasses 

 to be sown, we have little more to add to what 

 we have said, than this, that attention must 

 be paid to the soil, climate, aid locality. 

 Supposing, then, that the best grasses have 

 been selected, that the soil in which they are 

 sown has been carefully pre; ared for their 



