6l6 State Board of Agriculture, &c. 



THE GRASS CROP- 



BY C. HORACE HUBBARD, OF SPRINGFIELD. 



(These remarks were given extempore, the following being 

 an abstract.) 



Of all the productions of Vermont farms the grass crop 

 is the most important and valuable, because without it other 

 crops cannot well be produced. A good crop of grass is 

 the basis of success in farming. With abundant crops of 

 grass, all other crops are possible, for there will be a plenti- 

 ful supply of genuine fertilizers. When the soil of farms is 

 so exhausted that the grass is light, all other crops are raised 

 at a disadvantage. Abundant crops cannot be raised from 

 an impoverished soil. The farmer who would make his 

 business remunerative, must maintain a general condition of 

 fertility and productiveness in his fields. There is, appa- 

 rently, a basis of truth for the complaint that- " Yermont 

 farms are running down " ; do not raise as much grain, or 

 carry as much stock as formerly. The fact is a discouraging 

 one to those who own such farms. It is not creditable to 

 the agriculture of the State. How to restore the fertility of 

 those farms, make them blossom again in plenty, and return 

 a quick and generous response to the labor of the husband- 

 man, is a problem worthy of the most serious consideration. 



