FIRST STEPS OF PROGRESS. 125 



and many other plants which we cultivate as grasses, were 

 not known there as cultivated plants at that time. Our fore- 

 fathers, the Pilgrims and Puritans, were compelled, by the 

 severity of the climate, to provide for much more abundant 

 winter-supplies than their fathers before them had done. 



Now, the first step of progress which they made was to 

 collect the seeds of grasses on the barn-floor and under the 

 hay-stacks, and sow such collections. They followed that up 

 for some time. The next step which they made was to sow 

 a small quantity of seeds of some of the grasses which they 

 thought most desirable, upon the ground which they had 

 cultivated in their hoed crops. That was practised for many 

 years before they made any farther progress. We have im- 

 proved considerably upon that. But there is another great 

 step of progress which we must now take ; and that is, to 

 select a much larger number of varieties than we have hith- 

 erto been accustomed to select, and to sow them more abun- 

 dantly. St Paul, you know, says that "he that soweth 

 sparingly shall reap also sparingly, and he that soweth boun- 

 tifully shall reap also bountifully," and that seems to be good 

 doctrine. 



Now, what has been our custom in that respect ? With 

 our fathers, the practice was to sow about twelve quarts 

 to the acre. Many farmers now sow a larger quantity of 

 seed, when reckoned by measure. But grass-seeds differ 

 very much in weight. A bushel of one kind will contain a 

 vastly greater number of seeds than a bushel of some other 

 kinds. Now, what I wish to suggest is, to select, in the first 

 place, a much greater number of varieties. That, I think, is 

 one of the great points which we should bear in mind. For 

 mowing-lots, I would select grasses that blossom about the 

 same time. I would sow the early grasses by themselves, 

 and the late grasses by themselves. The common custom 

 has been to sow only clover, Timothy, and red-top. Some- 

 times a farmer has sown with them a little orchard-grass. 

 But orchard-grass blossoms three or four weeks earlier than 

 Timothy, and clover two or three weeks, at least, earlier than 

 Timothy or red-top ; so that when you sow clover, orchard- 

 grass, Timothy, and red-top together, your orchard-grass and 

 clover are ready to cut before the Timothy and red-top will 

 be headed out at all, to say nothing of their being in 



