FAKMEES' IXSTITUTES. 291 



oms; as, '"Tlio more abnudaut the food supplied to boasts, the better the qual- 

 ity and the larger the quantity of manure which is produced ; " "Beasts fed on 

 good, nutritious food, give a much more valuable manure than Avhen fed upon 

 indifferent kinds of food;" "The manure of 3'oung animals is less valuable 

 than that from mature animals, as the young require both organic and inor- 

 ganic food in larger quantities than fall-grown beasts which have only to keep 

 up their weight and condition by the food they eat ; " and that the best animal 

 manures for general purposes consist of both solid and liquid excrements com- 

 bined. 



EFFECT OF SPECIAL MANUEES. 



One objection often made to keeping land iiermanently in grass is that weeds 

 come in and crowd out the grasses. This is onlv true in neglected fields, as is 

 shown by the following : 



In a report of Lawes and CTill:)ert, the most celebrated English experimenters, 

 they arrive at this general result : " lliat those manures whicli much increased 

 the 2)roduce of hay, at the same time very mucli increased its proiiortion of gram- 

 inaceous herbage,'' often changing the relative quantity from 70 per cent to 9? 

 per cent. By the above they mean that the true grasses crowd out the weeds 

 when the land is highly manured. There are a few weeds that are not dimin- 

 ished by manuring, but the most of them are diminished. Lawes and Gilbert 

 made some very interesting experiments with different manures on permanent 

 meadow land. 



IRRIGATION. 



In addition to the above, I wish to briefly refer to another remarkable point. 

 At great labor and expense they tried similar pieces of meadows with difl'erent 

 fertilizers. The change in relative proportion of plants in the meadow was very 

 striking. 



By irrigation, in England, it has been found that some grasses increase, others 

 decrease; that "large and innutritions herbs in pastures are destroyed by irri- 

 gation, their place being supplied by the best grasses." Docks and a few others 

 are an exception to tiiis rule. 



AVHEN TO CUT GRASS. 



One great cause of deterioration of meadow land the English have fnlly 

 learned: that is, "' by allowing grass to get too old before cutting." This not 

 only makes the hay of poorer quality, but it weakens the plants. This fact 

 cannot Ijc too strongly impressed upon farmers everywhere. This principle is 

 Avell understood and practiced by the gardener. He knows that his plants Avill 

 grow larger and last longer if he pinches the flower-buds off, or if he prevents 

 them from going to seed. We can prolong the life of nearly every herl) by pre- 

 venting it from seeding. Wheat may be made to last another year beyond its 

 usual time if the flower stalks are kept cut back. Nothing is more trying to 

 clover than to permit it to go to seed. The earlier hay is cut, the better for the 

 strength and longevity of the plants. Among our farmers there is still a differ- 

 ence of opinion as to the best time to cut grass for hay. Most of them believe 

 it is best to mow when the plants are in blossom, but nnxny of them wait longer. 

 I have just given a well-established rule, that for the good of the plant, cut 

 before the flowers appear. In the American Agriculturist for 1875, page 213, 

 Prof. W. 0. Atwater gives the latest conclusions of the chemist on the proper 



