188 AN AMERICAN FARMER IN ENGLAND. 



on, whereas one gallon an acre of clean-winnowed real ray- 

 grass seed is abundantly sufficient on such soil as the vale in 

 general is covered with.&quot; The soil is &quot; a rich, deep loam.&quot; 



Clover (red and Dutch) is more sowed here for hay than 

 with us, though it is much more difficult to make good hay 

 of it in this climate. It is sowed in the spring, as with us, 

 perhaps 20 Ibs. to the acre. We commonly sow 5 to 10 

 Ibs. Arthur Young tried about a dozen experiments to as 

 certain the most profitable quantity of clover seed to sow, and 

 concluded his record of them as follows : 



&quot; The more seed, as far as 20 Ibs. per acre, undoubtedly 

 the better. This is a plain fact, contradicted by no part of 

 the experiments ; and the great inferiority of 5 to 7 Ibs. shows 

 equally clear that such portion of seed is too small for an 

 acre. Where land is well manured, less seed is required ; 12 J 

 Ibs. seems the proper quantity&quot; (on very rich, gravelly soil.) 



A bushel of clover seed weighs 60 to 64 Ibs. 



In ground intended for mowing but one or two years, bi 

 ennial varieties of the rye-grass are sown, w r hich are of strong 

 er growth than the perennial. They are also sowed sometimes 

 with permanent grasses, giving, on a deep, rich soil, a heavier 

 burthen of grass the first year of cutting than these would do. 

 For this purpose, I have thought it might be well to sow the 

 biennial or sub-perennial rye-grass seed with timothy, which 

 does not usually yield a fair crop at its first cutting, and have 

 twice attempted to make trial of the Italian rye-grass, but in 

 both cases the seeds that I had procured failed of germination. 



I shall have occasion hereafter to notice several species 

 of herbage that are much valued in England, that have not 

 be^n generally introduced in the United States.* 



* Fifteen or twenty varieties of grass secjcls are sowed together, and the 

 expense for seed in laying down for pasture is often ten or twelve dollars 

 an a . 1 re. 



