359 



with the cultivator or hoe and harrow, and late in November, 

 or just before the severe frosts set in, sow with herdsgrass and 

 red-top seed, half a bushel of the former and a bushel of the 

 latter, to the acre; the field is then rolled, which completes the 

 process. If the plough does not turn the sward entirely over, 

 it will be necessary to follow with the bog-hoe, to level the un- 

 even places. By keeping the sod undisturbed during the culti- 

 vation, a more firm and compact surface is formed, upon which 

 oxen or horses may walk, generally without danger of miring. 

 If the ground be intended for grass without the intervention 

 of a hoed crop, the turf is turned over as before stated, in Au- 

 gust or September, or as early in the season as the surface be- 

 comes dry enough to admit the oxen or horses upon it, then 

 follow with the hoe and roller, and make such parts smooth 

 as may be left uneven by the plough, and late in November 

 cart and spread on not less than twenty cart-loads of compost 

 to the acre, made of equal parts of loam or vegetable mould 

 and stable dung, then sow the grass seed and bush and roll 

 down. 



" If, after all requisite draining, the land still remains so wet 

 and miry as to render the use of the plough impracticable, the 

 bog-hoe must be resorted to, and the whole turned over by 

 hand, the top-dressing carried on in the winter and the grass 

 seed sowed in the spring, and if done before the frost is all out, 

 ' it may be bushed and rolled down, otherwise it must be raked 

 in by hand. The cost of turning over with the hoe will not 

 exceed $20 per acre at the usual prices of labor. 



" This mode of culture completely subdues the natural 

 grasses and wild herbage, and gives a compact rich surface of 

 vegetable mould, which will give an abundance of crop of the 

 best hay for four or five years without the aid of more manure. 

 If the sod be disturbed and attempted to be pulverised in the 

 course of the cultivation, the surface when laid to grass will be 

 loose and spongy, an extra top-dressing of compost will be re- 

 quired, and after all, the surface will never become so compact, 

 nor the produce by any means so great. 



