126 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



blossom. And many farmers will hesitate before putting in 

 the scythe when these grasses are in that condition. They 

 want to wait a little while ; and, if they wait long enough for 

 the red-top and Timotliy to be ready to cut, the orchard-grass 

 has become comparatively worthless ; for it has gone to seed, 

 and become hard and woody, and just about as indigestible 

 as a chestnut rail. I do not believe there is any nutriment 

 to be found in it when in that condition ; and, if you should 

 leave it to the judgment and taste of your cows, they would 

 come to the same conclusion. They know what is good for 

 them much better than we do. 



Now, supposing a man should make up his mind that he 

 will have all the early grasses together, as far as practicable, 

 and all his late grasses together, then he can commence his 

 haying, in some cases, by the middle of June ; and he will not 

 be anxious about the condition of his later fields, because he 

 knows that they will be improving for a few days longer. 

 He is not, therefore, hurried. He has greater command of 

 his labor, and can take it leisurely : whereas, if his grasses 

 come into condition about the same time, he knows, that, 

 before he can get through mowing, some of his grasses will 

 be entirely too ripe to be in their most nutritive and best 

 condition ; so that there are some advantages in making this 

 division, — sowing the early grasses by themselves, and the 

 late grasses by themselves. Orchard-grass is one of the ear- 

 liest varieties. Then we have the June or Kentucky blue- 

 grass, perennial rye-grass, not quite so early as orchard-grass, 

 but considerably earlier than Timothy, the meadow-fescue, 

 and perhaps the tall oat-grass. With these we can sow red 

 and alsike clover advantageously. We ought to devote more 

 attention to clover than we generally do. I know very well 

 that most of our farmers raise it to some extent, perhaps, in 

 some cases, to as great an extent as is advisable ; but, taking 

 the State over, I do not believe we fully appreciate the value 

 of clover, or give sufficient attention to it. Clover is a very 

 peculiar plant. It is a plant which really fertilizes and un- 

 proves the soil, rather than the reverse. You know that if 

 corn, or any of our ordinary crops, is allowed to ripen its 

 seed, it is exhausting to the soil. It takes out a great many 

 of the fertilizing elements from the soil to build up its 

 structure ; and the soil is, of course, exliausted in proportion 



