112 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



"Where there is less than fifteen loads to the acre, it is not 

 easy to spread it reasonably well, even from heaps ; but, where 

 there is quite a quantity, I do not find any difficulty. Then 

 we go over the ground with a harrow each way : the effect 

 of that is to make the ground even. Now, this disk harrow 

 does not leave the surface of the land in a suitable condition 

 to receive grass-seed : therefore we put on what we call a 

 Scotch harrow, — a square harrow, with a joint in the middle ; 

 but any harrow will answer the same purpose, only that is 

 made with steel teeth, small and fine, and leaves the ground 

 not quite so fine as the Thomas smoothing-harrow, but suffi- 

 ciently fine. Then I sow my seed. Now, gentlemen, I know 

 something of what I am talking about ; for I want to tell 

 you, that, for more than forty years, there has not been a 

 peck of grass-seed sown on my farm that I have not sown 

 with my own hands. I sow the seed, and give directions, 

 and do some of the other work. I am getting a little lazy, 

 and don't do as much work as I used to ; but I know how 

 the >vork should be done to suit myself, and I try to have it 

 done that way. I am particular, when that piece of ground 

 is seeded, that it shall be level. I am very particular that 

 no piece of land that I seed down shall have depressions in 

 it to hold water, tliat will freeze in the winter, and kill the 

 grass. My land is naturally quite level ; and within the last 

 two years, although the soil is not very gravelly, I have worn 

 out a good iron scraper in simply grading up low places, and 

 now I have got land that you can go over after a heavy rain 

 and not see a puddle, and still there is none of it steep enough 

 to wash. I use a swivel-plough always on the grassland that 

 I am going to seed. If you have a piece of land that you are 

 going to plough and jjlant a year or two, it is not so impor- 

 tant to use a swivel-plough, because you can turn it the other 

 way, and fill up the dead furrows afterwards ; but you can 

 use a swivel-plough to a great deal better advantage on your 

 grassland. 



I sow a peck and a half of herd's-grass and one bushel of 

 red-top to the acre. I have sown half a bushel of herd's-grass, 

 and various quantities ; but I have returned to my rule as 

 being the best for my purposes. I do not sa}^ gentlemen, 

 that it is the best for yours. I have sown a half-bushel of 

 herd's-grass to the acre, and have had my grass thicker than I 



