328 INDIANA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 



The natural grass of the prairie it is no wonder that 

 Mr. Murray prefers, because it is, either green or dry, 

 better for sheep than the best of timothy, and the sheep 

 also prefer it. There are a great many weeds which 

 they are very fond of. His plan of seeding prairies is a 

 good one. 1 The picket fence mentioned, though not a 

 very expensive one, is not necessary. 



The cost of breaking prairie, although it seems low, is 

 nevertheless not so low by 25 cents an acre as it can be 

 done in this county. If I was going to cultivate prairie 

 for sheep, I should sow a good deal of rye for winter 

 pasture, and save a great deal of hay. 



If I was breaking sod in June and July for wheat, I 

 would plow five inches deep and no matter how wide, 

 say 20 or 24 inches, and be careful to lay every furrow 

 flat over; this gives a good quantity of loose earth to 

 harrow in the wheat upon, and by the next spring after 

 the wheat comes off, it will plow up tolerably easy, 

 though not mellow ; it will take two years to rot. 



If I was plowing in August to plant in the spring on 

 the sod with corn, 2 1-2 or 3 inches would do well ; the 

 sod will rot sooner than when plowed deeper. If I was 

 plowing in the spring to sow oats on the sod, I would 

 plow 3 1-2 or 4 inches deep. The furrow slice should 

 always be turned completely bottom up, and lay until 

 rotten enough to harrow to pieces when plowed again, 

 let that be longer or shorter, which will depend a good 

 deal on the time of year it was broken. You must under- 

 stand that a "sod crop of corn" is planted by dropping 

 the seed in the furrow or by cutting holes in the sod to 

 drop the seed in, and that it cannot be cultivated, as the 

 top of the sod is as dry and hard as a side of sole leather. 



On a sheep farm I should not adopt Mr. Murray's four 

 course system. My plan would be to sow rye or oats 



1 Murray suggested first the gradual burning of the wild grass, 

 beginning in June. White and red clover, redtop, timothy, or 

 bluegrass seed were then to be sown, and after a shower, sheep 

 driven over the field to trample in the seed. 



