ably no rule can be laid down which will be equally 

 applicable to each individual case. 



There is no time of year which will invariably turn 

 out to be the best for sowing. But I believe the opin- 

 ion of the best farmers seems to be that, on the whole, 

 there is less risk of failure if sown in early Fall or early 

 Spring, and with no other crop. Too much care cannot 

 be taken to secure a good " catch," because the future 

 prosperity of the crop depends largely on a thorough 

 stocking of the ground with plants. It is a "penny 

 wise and pound foolish " policy to run the risk of injur- 

 ing the young grass for the purpose of obtaining a little 

 larger income the first season. 



If land is moist and thoroughly stocked, it may be 

 kept in good condition for several years by a judicious 

 top dressing. But my own experience is that top dress- 

 ing cannot be applied to high lands with so good a re- 

 sult. Manage as we may, in from three to five years 

 the crop grows less, the wild grass begins to creep in, 

 and in from five to eight years the land needs turning 

 over and re-seeding. 



Having started with the idea that grass must be the 

 principal crop, a regular system of culture should be 

 adopted. A portion of the " bound out " land should be 

 ploughed up every year, and as near as may be a like 

 part of the land annually laid down with grass ; and we 

 ought to proportion the quantity ploughed each season 

 «o that the whole tillage land can be cultivated by the 

 time the grass becomes so much bound out as to need 

 re-seeding. And here let me suggest that many of us 

 would obtain a larger product at a less expense, if the 

 labor and manure were concentrated on a smaller space 

 of ground. I do not believe with some that what is 



