228 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



Mr. Chamberlain. As the speaker has just alluded to his 

 succession of crops upon the piece of land which he attempted 

 to bring up to its full capacity of production, I would like to 

 ask him what is the comparative value of the crops that he 

 cultivated there ? I would like to know the comparative value 

 of the rye — whether he used it in a dry state or a green state 

 — and also of the other crops which followed that rye. It is 

 a very important question with us what we shall cultivate for 

 fodder, and if the gentleman will inform us of his valuation 

 of Hungarian grass and millet, if he has had any experience 

 or personal knowledge in regard to that matter, I should be 

 very happy to hear it. 



Mr. Cheever. In reply 1 will say that my land is rather 

 light, and much of it is not well adapted to grass. It does 

 not bear two or three crops of grass a year without any 

 fertilizer. I can raise crops of much greater value, as well as 

 very much larger in quantity, by devoting the land to rye, 

 oats, barley, millet, and corn, to be grown as forage crops, to 

 be cut and fed green, than I can by devoting my land to grass. 

 Comparing a ton of the best English hay with a ton of any- 

 thing else, I think the advantage will be in favor of the hay; 

 but a ton or a little more to the acre is all the best farmers 

 average over their farms, while by growing two crops a year, 

 one of rye and the other of corn, or one of rye and the other 

 of oats, and growing the second year any of the large, I'ank- 

 growing crops, a farmer can certainly get much more value 

 than from grass alone. Rye has come to be grown by milk 

 farmers and by dairy farmers to a large extent, much more 

 than a few years since, and whoever tries it once I think tries 

 it twice. Sometimes the mistake is made of allowing it to stand 

 too long, it gets too tough, and cattle do not like it. For an 

 early crop it is valuable ; it grows when nothing else will grow, 

 and occupies the land at a time when it would otherwise be 

 idle. The growing of barley is also increasing with us consid- 

 erably. Sown in midsummer or any time during warm 

 weather, it makes a late crop that stands the frost and affords 

 good feed when your corn fodder and millet will be killed by 



