122 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



is however eome economy in ihis, for an interme- 

 diate crop of oats may ho. taken froni the same 

 land. But the spring sowing, especially it the 

 summer should be hot and dry, 1 have more than 

 once Ibund a precarious dependence. The fall 

 Bowing is upon the whole rather to be relieci on. 



Herds-grass, called red top at the north, is 

 slower in its growth. It r^'quires a longer time 

 than timothy m taking a firm hold on the land, 

 but when once well set is more hardy, and will 

 ultimately dislodge it. It may also be sown in 

 lower and wetter land, and will maintain a longf^r 

 struggle with blue grass, broom straw, and other 

 pests. My practice has ihcrelbre been to sow a 

 mixture ot these two grasses, say two-thirds in 

 measure of timothy to one-third of herds-grass. 

 The result is, that at first the timothy, being most 

 rapid in growth, is the prevailing crop; in the se- 

 cond year, the two crops are about equally ba- 

 lanced ; but in the third year, the herdis-grass 

 greatly prevails. Until I saw the analysis alluded 

 to above, 1 was in the habit of considering herds- 

 grass as valuable or even more so than tinioihy. 

 You may imagine my surprise, then, when I saw 

 my favoriie placed seventh in order. This shows 

 how little dependence is to be placed on mere ap- 

 pearances, and how necessary science isi to correct 

 our false impressions. 



Another grass, to which Dr. Darlington gives 

 a high rank, placing it third in order, is called the 

 orchard grass. This grass is principally valuable 

 on two accounts. First, it grows well on high and 

 even light lands, i once saw a fine crop ol it on 

 a gravelly hill-side, and the proprietor told me 

 that it was ten days in advance ol his lucerne, so 

 that it furnished the earliest green Ibod lor his cat- 

 tle. And, second, it is certainly the very best 

 grass to intermix with clover, both coming to ma- 

 turity and both requiring harvesting about the 

 Barae time ; whereas clover is three or lour weeks 

 in advance of timothy or herds-grass. 



There is still another grass, which in a treatise 

 of this kind ought not to be entirely overlooked, 

 called the Peruvian or highland meadow oai. It 

 grows to a great height, the seed are very abun- 

 dant, and the product a very prolific one ; but the 

 hay is coarse, and generally not much relished by 

 stock. Of this and a great many other grasses I 

 ehall say nothing more, because, alihougli valua- 

 ble on many accounts, they are so interior to tliose 

 enumerated above, that I cannot advise iheir cul- 

 tivation. 1 have now dwell long, perhaps too 

 long, on the first branch ol' my sulgect. 1 need 

 scarcely inlbrm the reader that I am very much 

 oppofled to long 6|)et'chea or lonu; Bermonu, and 

 equally opp«iped to long ct-aays. I3ul really 1 can- 

 not see any thing in the above which ougiii to be 

 retrenched. 1 proceed iherelbre to consider, 



Secondly, The peculiar culture which expe-' 

 rience shows ia best adapted to success in ihe 

 grass crop. And here the first thing which claims 

 our attention is the most sifitable situation. In 

 general, low and moist lands, such as swamps 

 and marshes, and the sides of streams ol water, 

 alter being well drained, are selected Ibr timothy, 

 and especially Ibr herds-grass. There is no doubt 

 ihat, with a lavorable season, these crops are very 

 abundant in such situations. But there is another 

 which is still more favorable, and that is, where a 

 stream of water may be conducted along a elope, 

 from which frequent little rills may be drawn oft) 



so as to irrigate Ihe whole. In such a situation 

 we may almost bid defiance to the season, 1' is 

 a lact, well known to every observer, thai these 

 crops grow more in the month of June than in all 

 the year besides. It is also well known, that at 

 the time of heading they require a good deal of 

 rain. If, therefore, June happen to be a dry 

 month, the crop •must necessarily be curtailed. 

 Hence the great advantage of irrigation. 



But, besides these low situations, 1 have known 

 heavy crops of these grasses to be taken from 

 high lands. If, in lact, the land be tolerably level, 

 rich, well prepared, abounding so much with clay 

 as to Ibrm a loam, I would not hesitate to sow 

 timothy, herds-grass, clover, orchard grass, or the 

 Peruvian oats, any where. I have been culiivai- 

 ing the most of these grasses for the last fourteen 

 years. I have had them in every variety of situ- 

 ation, and, with the exception of one year only, I 

 have never failed in having a tolerable crop. 



The next thing to be considered is the necessa- 

 ry preparation of the land. And here (il I may 

 be allowed the expression) no crop so peremp- 

 torily insists on good treatment as the grass crop. 

 Without good land and good preparation, the la- 

 bor, and time, and seed are all thrown away. 

 With good management the reward is liberal ; 

 but without it there is no reward, but in lieu a 

 positive loss. If therelbre the situation be high, 

 and consequently requires no draining, all you 

 have to do is, by frequent ploughings and harrow- 

 ings, to reduce the land to the finest tilth. Nor 

 let any one feel that he has fully done this, until 

 his whole preparation is made to resemble a 

 square in his garden, well spaded and nicely raked 

 over. If Ihe situation be low, and the water in- 

 clined to stagnate, the first and most important 

 thing is to drain it ; Ibr of all enemies to the arti- 

 ficial grasses stagnant waters are the most perni- 

 cious. In a general treatise, like this, it is impos- 

 sible to lay down any set ol rules that may be ap- 

 propriate to every particular case. To do this, 

 one must first view the spot and mark its locality. 

 But, as a general rule, there must be an open 

 ditch, proportioned in its depth and width to the 

 quantity of water to be passed off. And although 

 there is great symmetry and beauty in a straight 

 ditch, still I would, if necessary, sacrifice these 

 10 practical utility. I would therelbre conduct the 

 ditch along the lowest places, though in doing so 

 it should be somewhat crooked. Into this open 

 and main diich, all the water should be conducted 

 by drains, or other small diichee, until the whole 

 is drawn ofi'. And here, lor reasons which, I take 

 it, are obvious to every one, 1 would strongly re- 

 commend ^l7\(^er-^lrains, in all instances where 

 suitable materials can be commanded. I have in 

 my time made many miles of under-drains, but 

 having no stones or oiher durable materials, in 

 three or four years my drains became slopped up, 

 and thcreiore useless. At present, therefore, 1 

 am compelled to re.<ort to surlace draining, a pro- 

 cess with which I am by no means pleased ; Ibr, 

 besides being a slovenly all'air, it is attended with 

 the loss of much valuable land. Draining, how- 

 ever, must be done, and in effecting it every one 

 must be left to his own convenience and tasie. 



The water being now removed, the next thing 

 is to plough and harrow until the whole is tho- 

 roughly pulverized. How often these implements 

 ought to be used will depend on circumstances. 



