No. 4.] CATTLE FOODS. 43 



little more information from the professor. I live in Nan- 

 tucket. It is an island in the sea, and the soil is generally 

 ^yhat is called sandy loam, and sometimes clover grows there 

 first rate ; but I have found that sometimes for two or three 

 years I would not get a good crop. I did not sow ten 

 pounds to the acre, — I never did. On my land I have 

 considered four pounds of clover, half a peck of timothy 

 and a peck of red top abundant seeding. Tiiere will be two 

 or three years in succession when clover will be an entire 

 failure. Perhaps it will be there in the summer, and in the 

 spring it Avill not be there. I thought it was possible that it 

 might be owing to the poor quality of the seed, and I am 

 working on that idea now, and get my seed from the phu^e 

 where I got it when I was successful. But I have not put 

 on dressing for the grass crop. My business is the raising 

 of vegetables and hay. I have a rotation l)y which I 

 cultivate about three years and then sow down, and keep 

 going round and round, and put in the manure for the 

 vegetable crops. But one thing I have noticed, and that is, 

 that on the best of my land I am most successful with clover. 

 I wish I could get a crop with the small amount of manure 

 that the professor has mentioned. We reckon loads perhaps 

 in a different way. A load with us is twenty-eight cubic 

 feet, without being trod. I have seen very few farms where 

 they have put on from thirty to forty such loads of barn 

 manure to the acre. 



Professor Roberts. Do you know anything about the 

 value of those loads by analysis, — whether twenty-live 

 dollars or live dollars ? 



Mr. McIxTOSH. No ; but it is such manure as we use 

 all through the eastern section of Massachusetts, — largely 

 horse manure. It is whore considerable beddhig is used. 

 I want to get at this clover question, because when clover 

 succeeds with me I get the best crop I can get of anything. 

 ]My land is adapted to red top and clover rather than to 

 timothy. 



Mr. J. H. Hale (of South Glastonlmry, Conn.). My line 

 of farming is not exactly that which has been under dis- 

 cussion here this morning. I know very little about cattle 

 foods. I use in my farming operations a large amount of 



