1835.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



313 



cms mode of making a new meadow, where the 

 land is not very foul. Let the land be cleared by 

 grubbing it well, and taking oil' all the timber by 

 the first of August, then rake up the leaves, 

 chips, &c. and bum them; after which harrow the 

 ground repe'atedly, until the weeds and grass are 

 completely destroyed, and the soil on the surface 

 well pulverised, then sow turnip seed and harrow 

 it again, after which sow timothy seed thickly, 

 and brush the land over with a light brush. The 

 bottom will thus be smooth, the turnips and timo- 

 thy will both do better than if the land had been 

 ploughed, and ihe latter particularly, will be far 

 better set, and endure much longer. By break- 

 ing up the land, the roots, will be broken, and 

 much labor rendered necessary to remove them, 

 so as to prevent obstructions to the scythe, while 

 the grass, instead of being benefited, will be 

 greatly injured by the ploughing. Take care to 

 sow the grass seed thick, sowing one-half the seed 

 in lands in one direction, and the other half in 

 lands crossing the first, so that the seed may be 

 as evenly distributed as possible. By this means, 

 the first crop of hay will be found to be as good 

 and as clean, as any succeeding one. it is a very 

 common, but a most injudicious practice, to break 

 up the land with the plough, by which the grass 

 is not only injured, but in spite of all the care 

 which can be taken, snags, or pieces of the roots, 

 will be left standing up, well calculated to break 

 scythes and to obstruct the mowing. A false 

 economy also, is too often resorted to, of sowing 

 too little seed, depending on the ground to seed 

 itself from the first crop: the consequence is, that 

 the weeds spring up in such abundance, as to ren- 

 der the first crop of grass of little or no val ue, and 

 the land is moreover rendered so foul, that in a 

 short time, it will be necessary to plough up the 

 meadow, whereas, by a liberal application of 

 seed in *rhe first instance, the first crop of hay 

 would have been clean and valuable, and much of 

 the filth smothered by the grass. This mode of 

 seeding highland meadow here recommended, has 

 been repeatedly tried by the editor with uniform 

 success. Whether it would answer as well on 

 the more sandy soil of the western part of East 

 Tennessee, unless in favorable seasons, is doubt- 

 fill; but if the turnips be dispensed with, and the 

 timothy seed be sown late in the fall, or in the 

 winter, he has no doubt it would prove equally' 

 beneficial in those soils. If old land is to be con- 

 verted into meadow, alter ploughing and well har- 

 rowing the ground, the seed should be sown lib- 

 erally as before stated, and the roller run over the 

 land once or twice immediately after sowing, and 

 again in the succeeding winter or spring, white 

 the ground is tolerably dry. When the meadow 

 begins to fail, let the seed become perfectly ripe 

 before mowing, immediately after, harrow well with 

 a large harrow, and if practicable, apply a dressing 

 of manure. The meadow will thus be renovated, 

 and again yield fine crops of clean hay. It must 

 not however be forgotten, that timothy is an ex- 

 hausting crop, and that therefore, to render a mea- 

 dow of this grass permanently productive, it must 

 be aided by occasional applications of manure. If 

 the land be wet, a mixture of the seed of the 

 herds grass or red top, will be very advantageous. 

 If the land be very soft, or even miry, the herds 

 grass alone should be sown, and it will form a 



Vol. Ill— 10 



most valuable and durable meadow. We must 

 caution our readers however, it' they wish to pre- 

 serve good meadows, to avoid excessive grazing 

 on them, and particularly, not to permit stock to 

 run on them while the ground is soft. This de- 

 structive practice so common amongst us, is more 

 injurious to our meadows than all other causes 

 combined. It is one of the many instances of 

 false economy to be met with in our agricultural 

 practices, by which pounds are sacrificed to save 

 pence. A meadow should by no means be pas- 

 tured in the winter or spring. 



From the Code of Agriculture of the 5th Edition, 1832. 

 OX THE MEANS OF PREVENTING THE RAVA- 

 GES of 1. slugs; 2. grubs; 3. the wire- 

 worm; AND 4. THE WHEAT FLY, (OR 

 TIPULA TRITICI,) ON OUR CROPS OF 

 WHEAT. 



Among the various difficulties with which a 

 farmer has to contend, in raising his crops, the ra- 

 vages committed by a variety of the more diminu- 

 tive tribes of animals, are much more important, 

 and carried to a far greater extent, than is gener- 

 ally apprehended. These vermin are of several 

 sorts; but the principal are, 1. Slugs;— 2. Grubs, or 

 large maggots;— 3. The wire-worm;— and 4. The 

 wheat-fly. The three former devour the plant 

 when young; the latter attack the ear when it is 

 coming to maturity.* 



It is proposed to give a short account of the va- 

 rious measures hitherto adopted, for preventing 

 rhe injuries to which our crops of wheat are liable 

 from these destructive animals, accompanied by 

 any recent suggestions for that purpose. 



1. Slugs. — These are properly "naked snails." 

 They abound in spring, but only appear early in 

 the morning, and late in the evening, more espe- 

 cially when the weather is warm. In the day 

 time, they destroy the roots, and in the night, the 

 blades, and other parts of the young wheat which 

 they find above ground. They deposite their eggs 

 in ihe earth. Powdered salt, saltpetre, and quick- 

 lime, are destructive to slugs; but lime-water is 

 the most effectual, the least drop of it killing them. 

 For that purpose, some diligent farmers collect 

 by means of pea-haulm, under which they shelter 

 themselves, and they are then destroyed by a wa- 

 tering pot, by means of which, lime-water is 

 sprinkled over them, when the haulm is removed. 

 Sulphuric acid, even diluted, would probably an- 

 swer the same purpose. Rolling the ground at 

 night, or treading the surface with sheep, &c. are 

 useful practices for the destruction of this species 

 of vermin. 



2. Grubs. — These are worms or maggots pro- 

 duced from the eggs of beetles, which ultimately 

 are Iran sformed into winged insects of the same 

 species as their parent. They are likewise called 

 "the rook worm," rooks being so fond of them. 



* Fields of wheat sometimes appear blighted early in 

 the spring, by a small insect of the grub or caterpillar 

 kind, lodged in the centre, or very heart of the stem, 

 just above the root, but the plants afterwards recover, 

 and shoot afresh. The insect is called the musca pu- 

 milionis by Linnaeus, from its effects on rye, on which 

 it chiefly feeds in Sweden, rendering the plants it attacks 

 dwarfs. A.nnals of Agriculture*, vol. xvi. p. 170; Trans. 

 Linn. Soc. vol. ii. p. 7<>. 



