TIME TO CUT GRASS. 51 



He used to be an inveterate whist-player, and was always 

 governed by one rule, viz., when in " doubt, always play a 

 trump." I replied to him, without giving the subject serious 

 thought, by saying, when in doubt, always use Rectified Peru- 

 vian Guano. He took the advice ; and, as his land contained 

 a surplus of potash, he has raised several splendid crops. 

 When stable-manure is used, which is supposed to contain 

 all the elements of plant-food, for any given crop, the ele- 

 ment predominating in the crop 1 should be used or supplied 

 in excess. For instance, if I wish to grow strawberries or 

 potatoes, both of which are potash plants as we say, or both 

 draw a large amount of potash from the soil, I would spread 

 my manure, and then, by using ashes or the muriate of pot- 

 ash, I would supply a large amount of such food as the 

 plant was eager to get. 



This has been my practice, to some extent, for the last ten 

 years, and has rarely ever failed in giving satisfactory results. 

 In regard to the application of stable-manure to hoed crops, 

 my experience has taught me, that it should be kept near 

 the surface. I know that we are told that plant-roots pene- 

 trate the soil at great depth, and, however deep you may put 

 your manure, the roots will be sure to find it. 



That is very true ; but it makes a vast difference to the 

 growth of a plant, whether its roots feed three inches or six 

 inches below the surface : the lower the temperature, and 

 the less the atmospheric influence, the farther below the sur- 

 face you get. Top-dressing grassland, either with solid ma- 

 nure or with special fertilizers, I hold to be both wasteful and 

 extravagant, and is practised only in rare instances where 

 farming is conducted for profit. The application of liquid 

 manure to grassland, where it is not attended with too much 

 expense, may be practised with good results. The lesson, 

 above all others in importance, taught me by experience, 

 relates to the time of cutting grass, and how to cure it. 

 When we consider the enormous money-value placed upon 

 the haj'-crop, and to what extent its intrinsic value is affected 

 by the manner in which it is cured, we feel that the impor- 

 tance of this subject cannot be well overrated. 



It is not the farmer alone who has a deep interest in this 

 matter, but every person in the country who keeps a cow or a 

 horse. And one of the strangest things connected with the 



