438 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



produces ihe sharpness or acrimony which is so 

 distinctly perceivable in some sons of mould. It 

 is also advantageous lo scatter it in vvinier over 

 growing r>e, and then harrow it in early in ilie 

 spring, and roil it. The laiter operation is, how- 

 ever, noi advisatile with a iTiouki which is very 

 light and rich in humus ; such mould is better ap- 

 plied when Ihe rye is a lew inches 1"^"^) oiherwib-e 

 ii may be carried away by the wind. 



Il 11 contains a considerattle (|U)n(iiy of veseta- 

 ble remains undecomposed, it is always advisable 

 lo coheci it at lirst inio smaller, and ihen into 

 larger heaps, lor ihe saUe ol'drying it, allowing it lo 

 decompose in that way lor a year or a year and a 

 hall'; and this will be siill heller accomplished il 

 il tie mixed with lime, marl, ashes, or dung, or 

 concocttd into compost. 



LAYING LANDS TO GRASS — THE NEW SYSTEM. 



From the Massactiusetts Plougliman. 



Every farmer orexperience has lound it difficult 

 to give every field a proper share oldressing Irom 

 the barn-yard. One lot. is ploughed, manured, 

 and planted ; a second lot is treaied in the same 

 manner; theli a Ihird, and so on. But as it lias 

 been cusioniary lo plant one lot two yt^ars in suc- 

 cession in Older lo rot the sod ihorouuhly, hall' a 

 dozen years are required lo prepare three lots lor 

 grass. Now before ihe lapse ol this term ihe first 

 lot may need ploughing again, though not one 

 hall olthe good tillage lands of the (arm have had 

 a single visa Irom ihe manure carl. The conse- 

 quence generally is that a large proportion of Ihe 

 tillage land lies unproductive, and the owner says 

 it is not in his power to make farther improve- 

 ment for want of manure. 



Under that old system none of the plough land 

 was turned over except that portion which bid 

 fairest for a good crop of grain, and all those lots 

 which lay low, or between highland and meadow, 

 were suffered to lie unproductive, or to run lo 

 bushes and briers. 



Now the new system which we have been 

 practising for nine years past professes to relieve 

 the farmer from this difficulty. Instead of plant- 

 ing and sowing so many acres as to exhaust all 

 the manure ol the (iarm, we have been urging the 

 propriety of planting less and of keeping more 

 acres in grass. And in (avor of this plan we have 

 been offering to farmers various weighty reasons. 



Il is known to all men of experience in these 

 matters that hoed crops are very expensive, and 

 that they are resorted to in most parts o! New 

 England (or the purpose of filling the land for a 

 more profitable burthen — for grass. Very liew 

 calculate on being remunerated from the proceeds 

 of the corn field or the potato field wiihout taking 

 into the account a whole series of crops, in- 

 cluding not less than three or four cuts ol" grass 

 to wind up ihe series. It is quite common to 

 hear people say they expect no net income from 

 their hoed crops, bui thai their hay harvests will 

 repay all the outlays necessarily made in tilling. 



It is quite clear then that if the hand tilling, or 

 a part of it, can be dispensed with, no loss will 

 ensue to the cultivator. On the other hand if he 

 well considers the subject he will be convinced 

 that "there is much gain, every way." 



If he can renovate his old mowing grounds, or 

 a porliun of ihem, without going through with a 

 ledious proce.-s of tilling, he not only saves labor 

 but he spares his land, he avoids subjecting it to 

 an exnausting croji, and he can thus give every 

 field a dressing in due season, because each one 

 will require but liitie manure. 



Ills quite a common practice to turn a green- 

 sward fii'ld in the spring and plant it with corn or 

 potatoes vvnhout apjtlying any nianure during the 

 first season — a liitle ashes or plaster being put in 

 the hill 10 set the corn growing— and tolerable 

 harvests are often obtained under such culture, 

 reliance being p aced on the rotting green-sward 

 to carry out tiie corn, &c., to matuniy. 



Now instead of letiing corn or potatoes have 

 the exclusive benefii of a rotting green-sward, 

 we may raii.er let the next year's grass have it, 

 lor grass is more profiiatde than grain. Turn 

 greenswaid land one inomh afier haying is over 

 and you secure a rowen crop under the sod, more 

 valuable as manure than ihe grass you turned 

 under in JVlay lor corn; consequently but little 

 manure will be needed in addition to ihis rowen 

 to give the field a good dressing lor grass. 



It is agreed by all observers that there is no 

 comparison between grass and grain as exhaust- 

 ers of Ihe soil ; that il is doubtful wliether grass 

 is an exhauster. If jirass then is the principal 

 burihen ot the field ihere will be no kind of dif- 

 fiiulty in making the field rich ; and every one 

 knows that in a great proportion of New Eng- 

 land grass is more profitable than grain. 



But is it feasible lo keep land in grass without 

 adopting a system of rotation embracing corn, 

 grain, and potatoes'? This is the point to be 

 proved, and the remainder of this ariicle will be 

 devoted to i', premising that we do not recom- 

 mend the entire abandonment of any article which 

 the farmer may want lor his own use. 



Green-sward land may be renovated to better 

 purpose by turning it in August and sowing 

 grass seed on the lurrow than by sowing the seed 

 in the spring in company with spring grain. For • 

 prool ol this we appeal to all who have tried it. 

 We have within lour years persuaded hundreds 

 to adopt the practice of sowing grass seed on the 

 gieen-sward lijrrow ; and we have heard of but 

 just two instances of iiiilure where the rules 

 which we pointed out were observed. These 

 two were in Beverly, where the land was dry and 

 sandy and the seed was thrown on in a very 

 dry time. 



Il is true we have heard farmers say ihey had 

 iried fall seeding and did not like it; on inquiry • 

 we lound they had sowed as late as October — 

 some with manure — some wiihout manure— many 

 had sowed in September after corn or potatoes 

 had been taken off— or in August, on stubble land 

 turned over but not manured. The consequence 

 was they did not well succeed — the winter killed 

 the roots or ihe dry weather scorched root and 

 branch. 



On the other hand we have heard hundreds 

 complain of tfe failure of spring seeding within 

 the last two years. When sown wiih oats, par- 

 ticularly, if the oats did not so spring up as to 

 choke Ihe grass, when the oats were removed the 

 sudden admission of the sun, on plains fairly ex- 

 posed to the rays, has proved very destructive to 

 the young plant. 



