1835.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



223 



spoken, as producing such abundant crops of 

 grass and oats, are, it is well known, worthless 

 for wheat, the flour of the little they do produce 

 beinfj of a very inferior quality, and no more re- 

 sembling that of the counties bordering on the 

 lakes, than does the rye flour of the eastern states. 

 I should put but little confidence in the theoretical 

 notions of any man, who could imagine that the 

 farming of a whole country can be made to con- 

 firm to a single system, or pattern. There is an 

 almost infinite variety in the original ingredients 

 of our soils and their proportions, and the mode of 

 treatment, to be judicious, should be as near as 

 possible made to conform to these variations. 

 There are some general principles every where 

 applicable, and there are others which have but 

 few exceptions; of the. latter class I consider to be 

 the doctrine of the utility of rotation in crops. 

 My friends, the practical as well as theoretical 

 UJ ni us, or the < -doubting" lv. M. \V., may be 

 so fortunate as to possess (arms which will admit 

 of an unbroken succession of wheat crops, but f 

 imagine the tanners of Old Onondaga will in ge- 

 neral agree with me, that the simple rotation of 

 wheat and clover has more enhanced the produc- 

 tiveness of their farms, and consequently render- 

 ed them more profitable and valuable, than would 

 successive hut necessarily diminished crops of 

 that valuable grain, and important staple of our 

 country. 



W. G. 



From the Farmer and Gardener. 

 RIBBON GRASS. 



I wish to make a few remarks on some experi- 

 ments that [ am making, though now in their in- 

 fancy, on a species of' grass here named and 

 known as the ribbon grass. This early disclosure 

 of results, as far as they have gone, is rendered 

 the more necessary, inasmuch as 1 have recently 

 seen an extract from a letter of mine in an agri- 

 cultural paper which though not intended for Ihe 

 public eye, found its way to the press. To this 

 course I have not the slightest objection; but on 

 the contrary, will feel especially happy at all times, 

 if what I may say should be of service to my 

 countrymen, of letting whatever I may write be 

 published. The circumstance to which I allude 

 was this. I mentioned in a letter to a friend, that 

 I had seen a patch of ribbon grass, in a very nour- 

 ishing state on a wet, boggy spot of ground, and 

 of my full belief of its being susceptible of being 

 very extensively and profitably cultivated, and of 

 my intention of trying the experiment. As this 

 has been communicated to the public, and as I 

 have had a very favorable account of it from a 

 gentleman in Connecticut, an experienced and 

 practical farmer, and of his determination of en- 

 tering into its culture immediately, I deem it pro- 

 per that I should make known my own experi- 

 ments and opinion of this grass, believing as I 

 do that it will prove a most valuable acquisition to 

 the cultivated grasses, and a great blessing to the 

 people of the south in particular. 



A neighbor of mine, (Capt. John Simpson. 

 living in Greenland,) knowing 1 had made some 

 experiments on grasses, observed to me that he * Mr. Robinson means timothy, that being the name 

 had a patch of ribbon grass on a springy, boggy J by which it is designated to the eastward. — Ed. Far. 

 piece of ground, which it was worth my while to I and Card. 



see. It was his belief, from its luxuriant growth 

 in the bog, and the circumstance of ils expelling 

 all other grasses, taking full possession of the soil, 

 and affording two full crops in the season, and 

 from the fact that all kinds of stock were very 

 fond of it, that it might be cultivated to great ad- 

 vantage. This excited my curiosity, and I soon 

 called on the gentleman to satisfy it, and was sur- 

 prised at the beauty and richness of the grass. It 

 grew on a bog at a small distance from a living 

 spring, where the water descended and spread 

 through the grass all the season. The appear- 

 ance of the neighboring grass in the same situa- 

 tion, was very ordinary, being thin, flat-leafed, 

 short, and nearly worthless — whereas the ribbon 

 grass, in every particular, wore the most beautiful 

 appearance of any grass I had ever beheld. It 

 was then in its vigor, and in full bloom, every leaf 

 being expanded, wide and thick, so that the eye 

 could not penetrate through it. Each leaf has 

 one or more stripes lengthwise, differing, on close 

 scrutiny, from each other, either in the number of 

 stripes, or their form or shade. This grass aver- 

 aged about, four feet in height, and stood perfectly 

 erect. It is possessed of a fine solid stock, having 

 an inviting and luscious appearance as fodder. I 

 took a clean lock of it, and another ol herds grass, 

 and offered them both together to my horse, and 

 found him quite as fond of the ribbon as of the 

 herds grass.* Capt. Simpson states that he has 

 observed that his stock were more fond of it than 

 of his best, hay of other kinds. This patch would 

 amount to about one square rod. 



I engaged the seed, not knowing what it pro- 

 duced, having never particularly observed the 

 grass before; T accordingly applied at the proper 

 time as was supposed, and reaped the heads, but 

 was able to discover but very few seeds, from one 

 to three to the head. Being certain that we were 

 full early, a part was suffered to remain till later 

 in the season — when by a re-examination it was 

 (bund in the same condition. I beat and rubbed 

 out the chaff; but could discover only a few small 

 seeds. I sowed it in good season, with the great- 

 est care, in my garden, hoping that in the chaff', 

 there was more than what I could discover, which 

 would vegetate. I sowed it in drills, to be sure to 

 have it well covered, and that I should not mistake 

 ot her grasses for it. There appeared to come up a 

 few white blades, which I supposed to be young 

 ribbon grass; these few, however, dwindled off 

 one by one, till all disappeared, the ground never 

 having been disturbed since, and I have not one 

 plant To show from these seeds. Hence I conclude 

 it cannot be propagated from the seed. 



Havinga very favorable opinion of the grass, I 

 looked for some way to propagate it, and conclu- 

 ding that it might be multiplied from the root, as 

 hops and many vegetables arc, I accordingly en- 

 gaged one-half of the patch, to take it in the 

 spring. I prepared my ground (40 rods) by plough- 

 in"- in my low ground in the fall, the ground vary- 

 ing from soft to' very soft mud. The spring being 

 wet, the ground uncommonly soft and muddy, I 

 postponed the setting of it out, I think, till June, 

 when I went for my wagon load of turf, the grass 



