SECRETARY'S REPORT. 187 



the opinion, that the Heath machine, entered by D. C. Henderson, is 

 entitled to the premium of one thousand dollars, if that premium is 

 awarded the present year. 



HEIGHT OF CUTTING GRASS. 



"With respect to the height from the ground at which it is 

 best to cut grass, the practice and the opinions of farmers differ 

 widely, for while the answers from about half of the towns say 

 that farmers generally cut as close as possible, the replies from 

 others vary from four inches to one-half an inch. Thus, forty- 

 four towns return, " as close as possible ;" fourteen towns, 

 '" close, or very close ;" sixteen towns, " from two and a half to 

 three inches high ;" ten towns, " two inches high ;" twenty- 

 three towns, " from one to two inches ;" one town, " four 

 inches," while some say, " it might be cut too close," or " close 

 cutting is injurious," or " most people cut too low," and many 

 say, " close as convenient." 



It would be difficult to deduce any general rule from the 

 replies to the question, " At what height from the ground do 

 you prefer to have your grass cut, and why ?" A farmer of 

 experience in Hampshire county says : " I should prefer to 

 have my grass cut high enough to protect the roots from the 

 hot sun. I have seen Timothy grass nearly killed by cutting 

 dose in a dry, hot tinie.''^ 



An intelligent, practical farmer in Middlesex county says : 

 " I prefer to shave pretty close, within an inch of the ground 

 when smooth enough. I still remember some proverbial sayings 

 of my teacher to this effect : ' An inch at the bottom is worth 

 two at the top,' ' You are leaving your wages behind you,' <fec. 

 Possibly in very hot, dry weather, on a dry soil, some plants 

 might be injured by a too close shaving, but I should not 

 apprehend any harm, even then, and as a general rule I prefer 

 to have grass cut as close as it conveniently can be." One of 

 the most experienced, practical farmers of Plymouth county 

 says : " Upland mowing grounds I do not like to have cut close, 

 having an idea that the hot sun and dry weather which often 

 follow the mowing season will have an unfavorable influence 

 on the roots of the grass. Low and wet meadows I like to have 

 mown close as possible. There, the heat of the sun is bene- 



