RENOVATING GRASS LANDS. 255 



mencing on the farther side, I spread it over about half the lot. The result surprised me. 

 The entire field was fully in view from my house, being on a gentle slope pitching towards 

 the house. The great difference between the dark green color of the grass, abundant upon 

 the ashed and salted part, and the color of the weeds and scanty siipply of sickly grass upon 

 the other, was as marked as between pink and scarlet, and when the vegetation upon the 

 undressed part was burned up by the summer drouth, that upon the other retained its color, 

 and grew luxuriantly until the hard frosts came. Upon close inspection, I found few traces 

 of moss, all of which at last disappeared. I was so well pleased with the result, that the next 

 spring I gave the other part the same kind of dressing, and so continued to dress (as far as I 

 had ashes to do it with) every year, until the pasture was completely rejuvenated &quot;as good 

 as new.&quot; 



Due credit must, of course, be given to the ashes one of the best fertilizers for that 

 kind of soil (yellow loam) but to the salt belongs the chief credit of resisting the drouth, 

 exterminating the soil vermin, and &quot; making latent fertility available.&quot; 



Another farmer who has had experience and observation in England, says: &quot;Some 

 farmers say, plough the field, but in England, where old pastures are seldom broken up, 

 I have known extraordinary results from top-dressing with crushed bones, more particularly 

 on the large dairy farms in Cheshire. I am sorry I cannot give you the quantities. A 

 neighbor of mine has harrowed an old, worn-out pasture, dressed with a liberal coating of 

 barilla ashes, from six to seven cords per acre, and sowed white clover and rolled it. It 

 came out a beautiful pasture. The brush harrow and roller applied to all grass land in the 

 spring, will amply repay for the labor.&quot; 



It is a well-known fact, that the permanent clay-soil pastures of Cheshire, in England, 

 have been impoverished to the extent that it became necessary to renovate them with crushed 

 * bones. The application of this fertilizer in a very short time so improved the lands, that it 

 brought up their value, in many cases, more than a hundred per cent. Milk contains con 

 siderable phosphate of lime, and bones, which are mostly of the same material, impart this 

 element to the soil and consequently to the grass it produces. Ashes and salt are also of 

 great value in improving pasture land, the results of which have been stated, the latter being 

 especially adapted to soils in localities that are not supplied, from a nearness to the sea. 

 Liquid manure is highly valuable to grass lands, but should be applied just after a rain, or 

 just before the rain commences, that it may penetrate to the roots and not be lost by evapora 

 tion. It is better to apply a moderate quantity of fertilizer of any kind frequently, than a 

 large quantity at long intervals. When applied at the time of being grazed by cattle, care 

 should be taken to use only those that will not have an injurious effect if eaten. Very fine 

 cattle have sometimes been poisoned in this manner. On lands that are not easily washed, this 

 might be avoided by applying fertilizers late in the fall, or early in the spring, before the 

 pastures are ready for grazing; or just before a heavy rain, would also answer the purpose as 

 well. The rain would soon dissolve and carry the fertilizers down to the roots of the plants 

 and into the soil. 



The following table gives a summary of some of the results obtained by Mr. J. B. Lawes, 

 at his noted Experiment Station, in Rothamstead, England, and extending over a period of 

 twenty years, showing the produce per acre of hay on an average of the first ten years, of the 

 second ten years, and the total period of twenty years. 



