FALL SEEDING OF GRASS LANDS. 59 



bors who sowed their seed in August, had a small crop of sor- 

 rel, and that is all they had, on highly cultivated land for grass. 

 I mowed two heavy crops on my three acres which I sowed in 

 the spring. I attributed their failure to the fact that the ground 

 was so dry, and the drouth held on so late that their seed did 

 not germinate. 



Mr. Knowlton, of Upton. I have had considerable expe- 

 rience in fall seeding. I very much prefer seeding in August, 

 but when the land is so dry that I cannot seed in August, I 

 defer seeding until the last of November, so late that the seed 

 will not germinate that fall. I have tried it three years, and I 

 have had splendid crops in every instance. I tried rye in the 

 same way, and had good crops of rye. I would not recommend 

 this practice when the ground is in good condition to seed in 

 August, for I believe that is the best time to seed, when the 

 season is favorable. But my experience has been very unprof- 

 itable in sowing grass-seed on dry ground, or in hot weather; 

 the drouth has killed my seed. I have some land- now that I 

 have got to turn over on that account. The grass crop is my 

 crop ; I am going to abandon the hoed crops ; and m success 

 has been good in seeding even as late as the last of November. 

 I have not had a failure, either in rye or in grass. The weeds 

 trouble me more in the spring with the late seeding than if I 

 sowed in August. I put on my harrow, sow my seed, put on 

 my bush harrow and the roller, and my grass gets up so that it 

 overpowers the weeds, and I have no trouble in the spring, 

 but when I sow late, I do have some trouble with the weeds. 



Mr. Boise, of Blandford. Mr. Knowlton says he has given 

 up the hoed crops. We in the western part of the State can- 

 not compete in raising corn. Grass is our crop. Then the 

 question comes, How shall we revive our lands where the grass 

 roots have been killed, without ploughing? My own prac- 

 tice has been, — and I have been .very successful, — to top-dress, 

 put on the harrow in the fall, and tear up the turf. Then I 

 went on and sowed herdsgrass late in the fall, and in the 

 spring, in the late snows, I sowed clover. My neighbors thought 

 I was spoiling my land, and that I should not get any grass ; 

 but I have, in four years, more than trebled the capacity of my 

 farm for the keeping of stock. It was all run down when I 

 took it. 



