492 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



1)0 left until all lumps and clods aro reduced to ]iowder. This extra work pays. The 

 seed Trill all jj;crmiuato ; tlio straw will l)c stiii" aud harder. It will stand drought better 

 1 hau when the work is left half done. 



Mr. Pattoo regards the conditions and soil of New llampsliirc as 

 excellent for tbe production of spring-wlieat. As to varieties, lie prefers 

 the China Tea to all others. This wheat has a long, bearded head, a 

 large, plump kernel, a clean, stiff stra'>y, and is not liable to lodge or 

 rust. The Ooldeu Drop, Arnautka, Carr, (a local name,) and Black Sea 

 ho also regards as good varieties. He gives the following mode of pre- 

 paring his seed- wheat: 



I procure refuse salt at the store for half price, make a hrine as strong .as salt will 

 make it, reduce it so the wheat will not swim, put half a hushel of wheat into a tub, 

 pour on brine enough to cover the wheat several inches, give it a good stirring, and all 

 the foul seeds, if any, will rise and can be skimmed off. Strain the brine into another 

 tub for further use. For every bushel of washed wheat stir in five pounds of clover 

 seed and six quarts of timothy ; dry off the whole with equal parts of lime and plaster, 

 nsing enough so that it can bo easily sown. This is a sure iireventivo of smut, and 

 gives life and vigor to the young plant. 



At the j\ranchcster meeting a lengthy debate occurred on the subject 

 of forage-plants and root-crops. Mr. N. II. Brown advocated the raising 

 of turnips, and said they had two advantages over other forage-plants : 

 they could be sowed late, and it required but very little labor to grow them. 

 He liked mangolds, but all could not raise them. Ho raised the common 

 English turnip, and believed them to be the best. When hay and other 

 forage-plants are light they will be found a great help. He prepares his 

 ground well, turning over sod-land if necessary, or takes that which has 

 produced an early crop, i^uts on superphosphates, sows broadcast, and 

 generally harvests 300 bushels or more per acre. In the fall he feeds 

 tops and all, but when he harvests cuts off the tops; feeds after milking 

 his cows, so as not to taint the milk ; stores in barn-cellar, so as not to 

 scent the house or make it unhealthy; takes cool places and piles up 

 only a few together. Cattle are very fond of them, especially when 

 chopped and sprinkled with meal. The cost of their production is put 

 down at about 10 cents per bushel, but taking into view the value of 

 the plowing and the benefit of tbe phosphates that remain over, the cost 

 is cut down one-half. 



Mr. John L. Kelley coincided with the speaker, but Mr. Warren 

 Brown differed widely in his opinion as to the importance and value of 

 the crop. Many of his neighbors had devoted considerable attention 

 to the raising of turnips, but, after experiments running through two or 

 three years, had found them uujirofitable, and had given up their 

 further cultivation. He regarded the crop as expensive in the way of 

 manure, requiring much work in raising and harvesting, and trouble in 

 leediug out, and even doubted its benefit to stock. He also doubted 

 if the land was left in a good condition for succeeding crops. 



At the meeting at Fremont Mr. George F. Beede read an elaborate 

 paper on the subject of the restoration of the hay crop. He regards 

 this as a question of paramount importance to the people of New Hamp- 

 shire. The failure of the grass crop, he believes, is not so much due to 

 drought as to exhaustion of the soil bj- continued cropping, and a lack 

 of that liberal fertilization rendered necessary by a long and exhaustive 

 drain upon the land. He does not believe the soil is exhausted in a 

 literal sense ; it still contains the elements and properties of fertility, 

 and only requires energy and skill to render those dormant elements 

 available for plant food. The grasses will not do well on land that has 

 been long cropped with corn, grain, and vegetables. ^Vith the same 

 amount of manure and labor lie is satisfied that twice the amount of 



