196 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan. 



was good for all our purposes. It had an inclosing hull on 

 it to protect it. It did not have so many kernels in a pound 

 as the present seed has, but I have a suspicion that a bushel 

 of that seed was a great deal better than a bushel of the 

 hulled seed that we now get in the market. We have many 

 failures of grass seed. We see it come up, and the next 

 thing it is gone. This is so common that I am suspicious 

 that this seed that we now obtain is very inferior in vitality. 

 I have no experimental facts to settle this question, only I 

 have a suspicion of that kind. I am suffering in the seed- 

 ing of my land in some way that I can account ibr in no 

 other way than that this seed has been heated on the ground 

 in which it m-ew, or it was immature, or the fact of its being 

 hulled takes from it a natural shield and protection and 

 invis^orator that gave it some stamina to start with, and 

 enabled it to stand the drought and other obstacles in its 

 early feeble state. 



Mr. Walker, I do not know where you will get that 

 seed, unless you raise it and thresh it yourself. The only 

 pure seed that I have ever sown is witch-grass seed, and that 

 you probably are not very fiivorably inclined to. We some- 

 times sow witch-grass seed, but that you cannot put on the 

 market. At least I never tried. We get enough of that at 

 home. We get that pure, and it always grows well. 



QuESTiox. Do I understand the gentleman that he seeds 

 with twelve quarts per acre only ? 



Mr. Walker. Perhaps I ought to explain a little. I 

 seed with twelve quarts of timothy-seed per acre. My land 

 is full of witch-grass. I cannot get rid of it if I would, and 

 I do not know as I would if I could. It sells just as well 

 in the market as any other hay. On some lands I mingle 

 red-top once in a while ; but my main dependence, beside 

 timothy, is what comes up, and it is witch-grass seed and 

 perch-grass seed. Now, I do not recommend that for you. 

 If you have no witch-grass seed, I think you had better 

 pray that you may never have it. But if you have it, and 

 cannot get rid of it, then make the best of it. It makes very 

 good hay, and stable keepers will buy it, and give just as 

 much for it as any other. 



Question. Do you use any clover seed? 



