THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



523 



fiower, which, if permitted, weakens the turf more than 

 any amount of cuttings of the young grasses, as usually 

 the roots of the flowering culms will either die at once, 

 or be just those that will be preyed upon in the winter. 

 If, however, repeated cutting is found to weaken too 

 much, both the colour and permanency of the turf may 

 be greatly advantaged by a winter sowing over it of a 

 mixture of guano and soot well pulverized together, in 

 the proportion of one part of guano to five of soot. 

 In this, besides the manurial influence, the soot is es- 

 pecially serviceable in destroying insects and worms, 

 which greatly injure lawns. 



These remarks are equally applicable to lawn which 

 may be required for the manly and thoroughly English 

 game of cricket, as to that for ornament ; but with both 

 we would seriously urge the great advantages of using 

 the improved mowing machines, which have now been 

 brought to such a high pitch of perfection. Lawns are 

 not mown so frequently as they should be, on account 

 of the usually uneven appearance and loss of colour 

 which scythe-mowing imparts, to say nothing of the 

 cost for the time which this takes to do it ordinarily 

 well. Now we last year used on our own lawn a capi- 

 tally made machine by the Messrs. Samuelson, of Ban- 

 bury, which is so nicely made in all its parts, and con- 

 sequently works so smoothly, that we find it admirably 

 performs the following duties, all at one operation — 

 namely. 



Cuts the grass with the utmost precision and regu- 

 larity. 



Collects the clippings, so that sweeping, which usually 

 takes as long as mowing, is not required. 



Rolls it into a perfectly smooth, even, and firm 

 sward. 



These operations, which take place as the machine is 

 pushed over the surface, ate performed simultaneously, 

 and can be better done on a dry than on a wet day, so 

 that there is no need to disturb the family at 4 o'clock 

 in the morning " to catch the dew," as is so necessary 

 with the comparatively lengthy process as performed by 

 the scythe. For large lawns of course a horse-machine 



is employed ; and we can only say, from having watched 

 them in action, we are convinced of their immense 

 saving in time, in money, and in the advantages derived 

 from improved appearance. 



We have now, so far, completed a description of 

 the peculiarities of position of such grasses as 

 are of interest in an agricultural point of view, or 

 such as usually form part of our hay crop in the 

 various kinds of pastures referred to, as well as those 

 which add to our luxury and convenience in various 

 ways, and in so doing we have left out particular men- 

 tion of such species as, in so far as the present argument 

 is concerned, may be considered as merely curious or 

 only of interest to the botanical student. Again, wc 

 have treated those in meadow without reference to 

 any other plants which may be intermixed with 

 them ; of these, however, there are several, most of 

 which are only to be considered of the nature of weeds; 

 while a few really add to the value and bulk of the pas- 

 ture, whether for grazing or for hay : of such are the 

 clovers, as being in themselves highly nutritious ; these 

 will be considered at length in their particular positions 

 in the so-called " artificial " grass crop. But there are 

 some plants other than grasses in pasture, and especially 

 in upland districts, which seem to impart a special me- 

 dicinal, or at least flavouring eff'ect to the green herbage, 

 as to the hay — some probably acting as stimulants, 

 and so assisting in the process of digestion, as Achillea 

 millefolia and A. ptarinica, and the common thyme ; 

 and others doubtless act as astringents, such as the 

 Gentians, of which the G. amarella is very common on 

 upland limestone pastures, the tormentil, and others. 

 We have indeed reason to believe that meadows often 

 present in the plants mixed with the grass decided and 

 very opposite medicinal qualities, as we know some pas- 

 tures in which " scouring " is sure to happen to a greater 

 or less extent to any cattle placed in it ; whilst others 

 possess the opposite qualities, which thus become cura- 

 tive to the former ; but it is not our object t^ enter 

 more fully into the interesting subject just now; but 

 we shall in our next paper consider the weeds in pasture. 



THE KCECHLIN METHOD FOR THE EARLY PRODUCTION OF 



THE BEET- ROOT PLANT. 



[translated from the "journal d'agriculture pratique."] 



Along with great agricultural improvements, such as drain- 

 age, subaoiling, deep tillage, the employment of calcareous 

 dressings, artificial manures, &c., &c., whose influence is felt 

 in a general manner on the fields which have received them^ 

 there exist other improvements, the more special effects of 

 which bear only upon one species of production, but are not 

 of less importance, since, equally with the first, they tend to 

 hasten the true end of agriculture — the increase of the net 

 produce. 



It is iu this class that we may range the method proposed 

 by M. Rodolph Koechlin, a farmer at Hombourg (Haut Rhin), 

 to obtain early beetroot plants, by which to give that plant 

 more time to develop itself. 



The Koechlin method is not, properly speakiug, an inveu- 

 tion, but the application to the beetroot of processes employed 

 long since with other vegetables. 



In 1830, M. Koechlin, who cultivates weeded plants ' (sar- 

 cldes), asked why, of all those which we commonly transplant, 

 the beetroot was the only one that was not raised upon a 

 seed-bed. Whilst the cabbage, celery, lettuce, and a thousand 

 other horticultural or semi- horticultural plants sown under 

 glass at the end of winter, may be transplanted in the first 

 fine days and have the whole season to develop themselves, 



* This is a French term for root and other plants requiring 

 repeated hoeing. 



