FARMERS' Rl^GISTER— COMPARATIVE PROFITS OF THE DAIRY. 313 



commoded by grass or weeds of any description. 

 Indeed it seems almost as easily affected by these 

 circimistances as Indian corn. On lands in fine 

 tilth and unobstructed by other vegetation, the 

 product ot^ these bunches AVerc from seven to nine 

 pounds green hay. Nothing can exceed the ra- 

 pidity with which it vegetates. It grew eight 

 inches in six days afler the first cuttings, and in 

 twenty days the blades generally measured two 

 and a half feet. From various experiments, I 

 consider that one pound of green hay to the square 

 foot is the ordinary ])roduct. In one instance six- 

 teen pounds were obtained from a closely matted 

 area of as many square feet. Upon a soil equal 

 perhaps to the production of two and a half bar- 

 rels of corn to the acre. 



No satisfactory experiments were made to test 

 the weight of the cured hay. At least they were 

 confined to a few bunches only. I consider how- 

 ever two-thirds an ample allowance for all loss 

 in the process of curing. I have avoided making 

 any calculation from the facts given above, be- 

 cause I still feel a degree of incredulity about the 

 matter, which nothing but time and extended ex- 

 periment can effectually remove. Those who have 

 more Itiith in figures may be easily convinced that 

 ninety ton of green grass to the acre is a moderate 

 allowance. 



I must not omit to state an experiment I made 

 in planting. Two acres of land were selected si- 

 milar to that upon which I found it growmg with 

 luxuriance. It was laid off by Mr; Meares' di- 

 rection, and planted by slightly covering small 

 portions of the root. The result was very unhap- 

 py: a great portion never after saw the light — 

 and what did come up was smothered by the 

 weeds. There were however a few bunches 

 planted with the tops above ground: these were 

 once worked, and are now flourishing. Were I 

 to repeat the experiment I should make use of 

 larger sets, and leave their tops exposed. The 

 land should be regularly cultivated until the ex- 

 tension of the roots forbid the introduction of the 

 hoe or plough. This I am Avell convinced is the 

 only way of cultivating it to advantage. 



The process of curing gama hay is simple. 

 Two days exposure to the sun is sufficient. It 

 may then be thrown into shocks with safety. In 

 this situation it will withstand weather which 

 would destroy clover hay. This I know from ob- 

 •servation, and it is owing to the structure of the 

 blade which by a little care in arranging renders 

 the interior of the stack or shock impervious to rain. 



I have used several hundred weight of this hay 

 during the summer, and have generally found it 

 preferred to clover or herd's grass. But whether 

 it could be substituted with profit for these long es- 

 tablished grasses, I am unable to decide. Thia 

 much however may be said in favor of clover and 

 red-top, that where lands are cheap and continu- 

 ally deteriorating as they are in Eastern Virginia, 

 they constitute the cheapest means of" restoring 

 them to fertility, and at the same time afford an 

 abundant supply of provender. It is of little con- 

 sequence under such circumstances, whether our 

 hay is reaj^ed from one or five acres: the addition- 

 al labor is the only difference, and that is scarcely 

 worth calculating. As far as improvement is con- 

 cerned, the fine turf and rich herbage of clover 

 and herd's grass arc in my humble opinion, of in- 

 VoL. II.— 25 



calculable more importance to the interests of ag- 

 riculture than gama grass and its hundred tons to 

 the acre. 



It may be said that the cultivation of all of these 

 grasses at the same time is not incompatible. We 

 doubt it. The introduction of gama grass would 

 eventually banish the others, by giving fresh im- 

 petus to the ruinous system hitherto followed in 

 many parts of Virginia, of extending the surface 

 of cultivation without anj' regard to improvement. 

 On the other hand, clover and red-top insure a 

 compulsory reformation of this S3"s1em, by confin- 

 ing our operations to a smaller space, and giving 

 more leisure for enriching these contracted scenes, 

 whilst the rest of the farm is gradually undergoing 

 the enriching effects of luxunant herbage. 



HENRY E. SCOTT. 



THE PROFITS OF THE DAIRY COMPARED M'lTH 

 THAT OF FATTENING ANIMALS. 



From the Genesee Farmer. 

 " It has been stated on the authority of the. 

 Board of x\griculture, and upon incontrovertible 

 data, which any farmer or cow feeder may ascer- 

 tain for his own satisfaction, that the quantity of 

 herbage that will add 112 lbs. to the weight of an 

 ox, will, when bestowed on a dairy cow, of^ ordinary 

 good breed, and in lair condition to yield milk, ena- 

 ble her to yield about 2700 imperial pints of milk. 

 And, as it is well known that, even in Scotland, 

 where milk often contains more cream than that of 

 cows ied on richer pasture: yet, in general, 17 pints 

 of milk will yield an imperial pound of butter; and 

 the buttermilk will sell at Id. the three pints; and, 

 as 120 pints of that milk will yield from 16 lbs. to 

 17 lbs. averdupois, of full milk or Dunlop cheese, 

 it is easy to ascertain whether the 112 lbs. of heei] 

 or these quantities of butter and buttermilk, or of 

 cheese, will realize the greatest sum. The 2700 

 pints of milk will yield nearly 385 lbs. or 27-| 

 stones imperial of fidl milk cheese; and, if made 

 into butter, they will give nearly 157^ lbs. besides 

 the buttermilk, which would about amount to half 

 the quantity of milk churned. The average price 

 of beef^ for seven years past, has not exceeded 6s. 

 per English stone; and the 112 lbs. of course 

 amounts to £2 8s., while 27^ stones of cheese, at 

 5s, per stone, the average price paid by the mer- 

 chant to the farmer, during the last seven years, 

 amounts to £G 17s. 6d.; and the average price of 

 157 lbs. butter, at Sd. per lb. for the same period, 

 amounts to £5 5s., and the buttermilk to £1 17s. 

 6d. more, or both to £7 2s. 6d.; so that the aver- 

 age price of the cheese exceeds that of the beef 

 to" the amount of £4 9s. 6d.; and the butter and 

 buttermilk give £4 14s. 6d. more than the beef 

 jiroduced from the same quantity of food to the 

 cattle." 



The above extract is from the Quarteriy Journal 

 of Agriculture lor March, and was promised some 

 weeks ago. Let us apply its leading facts to our 

 market. '^ We will assume, that the price of beef 

 in our lar<ze towns is upon an average .^5 per cwt., 

 of butter 16 cents per lb., and of full milk cheese 

 7 cents. The result would be this: 



112 lbs. of beef, at 5 cents, $5 60 



380 lbs. of cheese, at 7 cents, 26 60 



157 lbs. of butter, at 16 cents, 24 12 



These facts, at all events, are worthy the con- 

 sideration of cattle farmers. 



