632 



KARME-RS' REGlSiT^ER 



[No. 10 



coiUinup tlio crop of oals on it to ihe end of the 

 chu|)ler. If any injury has been d^ne to this (jeki, 

 by the six years ^uccQssiyerrepy ol'vojUc:,! liave 

 been unable to discover ii,'btit on jjle poyirary 

 think the improveiiienl evident. I should ineuiioii 

 liiat the land was' g;"uzatl duiioijr ihri» inlefvnl ql 

 rest, whh'li .was very ii«proj)ecJ ajld iblu it vvp« 

 never (allowed but in ihe spriui^. .Mercalier it 

 shall not be <i:razed, and the -iidlow wiij bt( made 

 in tlie I'all. .IJtalerithig latter .treatment I exjiect 

 great ijnpr6veinent. A friend, T.T. G-., irielljbe 

 same experiment lor four yearsj and the result in- 

 tislied hi>ii that the vulyar opiidon was incotteet. 

 Eul if oais did exhaust equailyAvil'h Wheat, (wl^ich 

 I utterly deny,) led on the plantaiion the (juanUiy 

 of manure would be very much increased, and at 

 the end of five or six years lar<^e'r crojjs of wheat 

 would be made by applying it to that crop ; for as 

 to the notion that wheat straw is necessary to good 

 compost, it is all humbug. 1 had as soon litter my 

 farm pen from a pine thicket as from a stravi? siack. 

 The corn made on the field in 1S3S, under the dis- 

 advantages of bug and season,:Was as good as 

 the field usually brought bclore it was put in oats. 

 As the signs of the times indicate that at a period 

 not very remote eastern Virginia will find it ne- 

 cessary to raise her own meat, 1 hope to use this 

 experiment to the increase of my stock lor market. 

 Yours respectfully, 



John P. Bollikg. 

 Amelia, October I4th, 1839. . 4 \\ v 



ylmelia, Oct'uMr-imh, 1838. 

 I observed this experiment of JMr. Boiling's 

 with some interest, having thought oals jnore in- 

 jurious to land than any otlier crop. But tlie pro- 

 duct of the field in corn and wheat, and ils present 

 appearance, have convinced mo that I was mista- 

 ken. There is no doubt th*t a field not grazed, 

 and fallowed in Se|)tember, might be put in oais 

 lor any number of years, with slow hut conlinued 

 iniproveuient. Wm. Puryuar. 



. y 



From.llojY's Elements of Piaclical Agnciilturc. 



BIANAGEMEAT, OF GRASS LAKDS. 



1. Forao^.e. * 



''•'■'. ' ■ ■ ' ■ * . • 

 The produce of land which is desjgneB for the 



feeding of animals may be consumed iti three 



ways : — It may be eaten upon the ground where it 



grows ; it may be cut down and given tb animals 



while it is yet green, which is termed soiling ; or 



it may be dried in order that it may be i)reservedj 



when ifis termed hay. 



The plants employed lor these purposes 9re the 

 difi'erent Ibrage and herbage plants whicJ) have 

 been enumerated, some of which are chiefly .ap- 

 plicable to herbage, some to gre-en or. dried iyrage, 

 and some to either of the.se purposes, • -,,"<; 



The clovers and simdarleguaanous'plant^flnfe 

 with grasses, may be applied alike to ibra'g.e ftn 

 to herbage. They ibrm, what in common lar^- 

 guage are termed the artificial or cultivated grass- 

 es ; and laud, wiien producing then], is commonly 

 said to be in grass, 



- The seeds of the grasses and leguminous pkuitsi 

 are to be sown in spring, in the inantier belore de- 

 scribed, upon the surlace of ground sown with llic 

 cereal gra:=seiS. VVlien the crop i>f corn had been 



sown in autumn, the eeeds of the clovers and 

 grasses are sown in spring amongst the growing 

 crtfi, .the harrptvs passing over tlie surlact^ with a 

 double'^ turij». , W-hen ' ll'i.e corn jlself is sown in 

 spri)T;(f,'the grass .eeeds are also, so\v'n, just before 

 ll^e lai*l turn p^ the harrows, and then the roller is 

 frequently en^|)lo\cd to complete the prot^ess. The 

 seeds are sqwnijsither by the h^ynd, or by the broad- 

 cast sowing initchine, which regulates betier the 

 Quaniily, an'd ,=ou's them wiili more regularity. 

 Care must be taken that the seeds of the grasses 

 be sdund and of the proper kinds, and that those 

 of'the clovers be fresh and well ripened, which 

 will be shown by the shining a|<pearance of the 

 seeds; and great care must be used that those of 

 either kind be free from the eeeds of weeds. 



Tlie proportion in which the , different kinds of 

 clovers and grasses may be sown together, is chief- 

 ly dependent upon the longer or shorter period lor 

 whicl) the land is to remain in grass. 

 . The seeds of the clovers and grasses may be 

 sown in'autumn as well as in .'spring, vvi:hout any 

 corn crop; and this [)raclice has been recommend- 

 ed, in the case of laying down land to permanent 

 grass, as being caliailaied to afford a quicker nnd 

 better sward : and so indeed it may do ; but tlien 

 it is by the sacrifice of a crop of cori,:, which is too 

 great to be disregarded in the practice of the fiirm. 

 Cases may exist, m which the value of permanent 

 herbage is so great, with relation to that of corn 

 and other crops, that this sacrifice niay be made ; 

 but, in the great majority of cases,, the advantages 

 to be derived from the practice will in, nothing 

 compensate the increased expenditure. There is 

 no difficulty, under good management; of getting 

 the seeds of grasses and clovers to vegetate under 

 the shade of corn in sufiicient qiianiity to stock the 

 ground; and in the Ibrmjngofn meadaw, there- 

 fore, there can seldom be a reason for deviating 

 from the simple and economical practice of sowing 

 the seeds of the herbage and Ibrage plants along 

 with the crop, of corn. 



The seeds, wheri sown, quickly vegetate, the 

 plants springing up under the shelter of the larger 

 crop; and in autumn, when it is reaped, they will 

 be seen to be covering the surlijc.e. 



In autumn, the ground may be slightly pastured 

 with sheep ; but heavy cattle, which would injure 

 the surkice, should not lie put upon it, and sheep 

 only for a short time. Duriuii the period of win- 

 ter, the land should remain untouched. 



In tlie following season, the plants may be con- 

 sumed in either of the tliree ways that have been 

 mentioned: — ' 



Ist, They maybe pastured with live-stock. 



2il, They may be mown two or more times du- 

 ring the Season fbrgreen Ibrage, and the. aftermath 

 pastured. 



3rd,, They may be made into hay, and the af- 

 termath pastured. 



When they are to be employed in the first of 

 thes^ ways, naaiely, for herbage, they may be pas- 

 tured eixjier by^^sheep or the larger cattle. Sheep 

 may be put ufion them in April, while they are 

 yet short; but cattle should not be put upon them 

 till the plants alior J. M'uJi ^''e, which will usually 

 be in Hay. .. . ' 



There is no period in the growth of these plant?, 

 at which they will jtfiprd so early and ricli an her- 

 bage as in this, the second year after they are 

 sown, or when, iu liie language of fiuinere, they 



