472 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



am satisfied squash is valuable for feeding; also carrots, perhaps better than 

 turnips, though they do not yield so heavily. I vs^ould recommend not to neg- 

 lect corn, and to raise a variety of crops. 



In Euroj^e and Asia they use barley and chopped straw for horses. 



Mr. Marshall. — I tried barley here for two years, but it was a partial failure ; 

 nor do oats do well here. 



Mr. A. P. Gray. — My objection to Mr. Lardie's suggestions is the great care 

 squashes require. They take time and trouble far more than roots, and on that 

 ground I favor roots. Some go in for bulk, — whatever will grow most of feed 

 to be used with dry feed. I have had good success with carrots, even as to 

 quantity. I would raise clover, not only for food, but for the land; also plenty 

 of corn fodder. Sowed along from May to July, as we have time, it will pro- 

 duce wonderfully. I have kept stock well on corn fodder and roots. I prefer 

 sweet corn if pure seed could be had. This is almost impossible, and I now 

 raise the large dent. There is no trouble in getting cattle to eat it if cut in 

 the proper time and well cared for. I feed it with no loss worth mentioning, 

 and have more fodder than from the smaller varieties. If you design to use 

 for fodder, cut it up when in bloom, shock it up well and it will keep. 



Mr. Par melee. — Saw at A. K. Montague's several varieties: which does he 

 prefer ? 



Mr. B. Montague. — He plants at different times, and the difference in ap- 

 pearance is owing to that fact : that planted last is the largest. 



Mr. Parmelee. — At what time does Mr. Gray sow carrots? It was said at a 

 meeting at Old Mission not long since, that carrots sown as late as the last of 

 June yielded at the rate of 900 bushels to the acre. 



Mr. Gray. — I sow early in May, but if the ground is rich they may be sown 

 later. 



Mr. George Lardie, Sr. — I sow carrots about the loth of May, and always 

 get good crops. 



Mr. B. Montague. — Tiiis is a very important question, and should be 

 thoroughly discussed. Of course we should raise all the grasses we can, es- 

 pecially red clover, as this is the most profitable of ail of them for forage. If 

 well cured it is good hay. Cattle prefer it and so do horses, even to timothy; 

 but if mouldy and musty it is really injurious. The staple grain is corn, of 

 course. I consider it next to hay ; in fact, corn fodder can be so cured as to 

 be equal to hay ; besides, a much larger quantity of it can be raised on an 

 acre, — three or four times as much. It is as easy to raise four tons of corn 

 fodder as a ton and a half of clover, and the feeding quality is about equal if 

 cut and saved properly. Mr. Gray is right, — corn fodder should be cut in the 

 blossom before the grain hardens, but it must be secured in a sweet state. If 

 sown too thickly it does not properly mature its best qualities. In the dairy 

 districts of New York corn fodder is the usual feed given to milch cows when 

 grass becomes dry. ,When cows are thus fed they keep up the usual flow of 

 milk. I think on the whole, having raised corn for twenty years, it is the 

 best crop. Here our pastures are limited; and if you have a piece of fodder 

 put in in May, it will be fit to feed when other green food is scarce. In regard to 

 roots, my experience is carrots for horses, enough to feed twice a week, or bet- 

 ter still, a few every morning. For cattle the cheapest root is the Swede. On 

 one acre of ground in Jefferson county. New York, 1,505 bushels have been 

 grown at a cost of about two cents and seven mills to the bushel. Our soil is 

 much the same, and we can raise as large a quantity. Four hundred pounds 



