518 



F A R JM E R S ' REGISTER. 



grass at the role of one hall' bushel of limotliy 

 sied in ihfi chadaiul one lialf'hushrl of blue gra?s 

 seed to the acre, ndds f^'reatly to llie chnnccs ol 

 procurinir a good siand upon open ground, Irom 

 the fact 7liat the timothy sprinL's up soon and 

 ciffords a slielierto the young blue grass^, protect- 

 ing it froni ihe intense heat ol'ihe sun. The blue 

 grass will take the tiuioihy in the course of two 

 years. Neiiher the linioihy or blue grass seed 

 require ploughed ground ; bui botli do belter on an 

 unploughed surliu-e. Wet seasons are favorable 

 lo irrass sown on open grour '.. 



I would recommend sowing in January or Fe- 

 Viruary — because there is at that season always 

 moisture enouiih in the ground to germinate the 

 seed. I would advise having the ground clear of 

 leaves at all hazards, that the seed may come in 

 contact with the surliice of tlie soil. Some liirmers 

 scatter shattered corn over the irround alter sowing 

 blue grass, and turn their swine in, which in 

 searching after tlie corn, cflectually lram[)le the 

 seed in. "This is doubtless an advisable plan. For 

 the same reason, 1 leave liie green brush of the 

 cleared timber on the ground, and turn my cattle 

 in. It is hiixhiy important to lake the cattle ofi', 

 so soon as vegetation begins. 



Dr. Douglass doe.«! not say whether or not he 

 look the requisite pains to have the seed trampled 

 in. Rut as he states that they were " (breitzn 

 seed," I am very much inclined to tliink with him 

 that his .Hiilure is to be attributed to t!ie u.-e of old 

 and injured seed. It is certainly the b.^st plan, 

 when practicable, to buy of a neighbor Unown to 

 he a gentleman, or when once getting a start, lo 

 make your own seed. 



Very rcspeclful'v, 



Evan Youkg. 



3Iaxtry couvAij, -/luf^- <3, 1S40. 



BLUE GRASS. — ITS CULTURE. 



Finm t!iL' Snutliern Cultivator. 



BJr. Editor: — Perhaps I should have waited 

 for some liinuer of more learning and experience 

 to ansvver Dr. Dmiirlass' inquiries on the all im- 

 porlant subject of sowing blue grass — but as I 

 have had some considerable practice. I shall pro- 

 ceed lo give him the benefit of it. TliouLrh at the 

 same time, if any other farmers should offer theirs 

 you may lay mine aside if you think proper, with- 

 out any injury to my feelinfjs. 



On my first attempt at blue srass, 1 sowed the 

 last day of Septrmber. in woodland on the ground 

 in its natural state, only removing ihe greiiter pan 

 ol'the logs and under brush. The leaves had just 

 begun to fall, which put my seed completely on the 

 soil. I then turned all the stork that I could rai>e 

 upon it, and kept them upon it some six weeks; 

 after which 1 let very little slock upon it till afler 

 harvest the next year. I then grazed it ofl' close. 

 Even then my grass made but hiile show; but 

 the nexts|)rin<r I kept the stock off from Christmas 

 until the seed ripened. I then turned on all my 

 stock, grazed it off close, and it being very dry, 

 that was not hard to do. In the course of five or 

 six weeks there came a rain, and I took off the 

 slock an(i in a li^w days my blue grass assumed 

 ihe appearaiica of an oats' patch in lite spring. I 



let it go to seed the second year for the purpose of 

 saving seed. 



Last year I sowed an old lot with blue grasa 

 and rye. It set in very dry. Tliougii a great 

 deal of the seed sf)rouied, and some of it came up, 

 I thought it was entirely lost ; and I pastured it all 

 the winter and spring. To my great surpiise, this 

 fall, I find at least a sufficient stand. By letting it 

 go to seed one year, there will be plenty. 



I also sowed some of my own raising last winter 

 in woodland, rough, antl a great many leaves on 

 the grom;d. I put Ihe seed down in January; 

 then turned in all my hogs and scattered over the 

 Ground shattered corn, which made my ho2S root 

 it in nicely. This lot also made a good stand of 

 grass. 



One of my neighbors sowed in March last year; 

 he cleared the ground nii'ely of leaves and liiter, 

 and I think he got a more regular set at first than 

 mine did, owing to the leaves, as I have discovered 

 that in spots where the ground was entirely naked 

 the seed vegetated much sooner. 



At my first sowing there was a spot of seven 

 acres off of which I did not cut the saplings the 

 first year, and I found no grass there. The next 

 winter, I took them off, and there is now a good 

 set without more sowing. So my experience 

 leaches that if you put seed on tlie ground of a 

 good quality, you will have some grass under anj' 

 circumstances. 



Rut care should be taken not to pasture much 

 until it goes to seed once ; even then, it is worth a 

 ffreat de d luore to let it get up well in the s[iring. 

 From what I have staled, it may be inferreil that 

 I look upon good seed ns being a most important 

 matter. In truMi, I (or one am disposed to believe 

 ihat Dr. Doii<?;lass had bad seed. — As he has been 

 utifortunate, I will try next jear to s:tve seed, and 

 if he will send, I will try to let him have some that 

 I will insure to come up. 



Jamks Jonks. 



Maury county, /Jug. 7, 1840. 



a xkw and effectual method to kyanise 



TIMRER. 



From tlie Observer. 



Within the last two or three weeks the JVIan- 



chosterand Cirminghau) Railway Company have 



commenced Kyanising their wood sleepers in a 



much more quick and eflectual manner than by 



the old mode of simply dcposiiina the tiiuber 



immersed in the prepared liquid. The company 



have had made a large iron cylindrical vessel, 



\ weighing about len tons, and which is about thirty 



j lijot louir, and six or seven feet diameter, made 



I from wrought iron plalcs, five-eigliths thick, and 



: double riveted, which vessel is capable of resisting 



I a pressure of 250 lbs. on the inch. The vessel 



I being filled as compactly as possible with wood 



I sleepers, twelve inches broad and seven inches 



i thick, the liquid is then forced in with one of 



I Bramah's Jiydraulic piiinps, and worked by six 



I men to a pressure of 170 lbs. on the inch. By this 



! means the timber is com|)Ietely saturated ihrough- 



lout in about len hours, which operaiion, on the 



' old f-ystcm, took soiriC months lo ifUct. 



