178 On Guinea Grass. 



they could eat of it, during the whole summer. On 

 the 25th of September he wrote me, that he had cut 

 itfoiir times. From 20 roots he obtained at xh^ fourth 

 cutting 250 pounds of green grass, and in two weeks, 

 he would cut it the ffth time. The weather being 

 very unfavourable, he did not succeed in curing the 

 hay, by weighing which, he intended to ascertain the 

 loss in drying. '* 



I did not begin to cut that which I had planted in 

 Natchez, until the i6th of July, I then weighed the 

 produce of one seed, in the presence of a number of 

 gentlemen, at Mr. Robinson's hotel. One hundred 

 and sixty four stalks, from six to seven feet high, 

 growing from one root weighed together 30 pounds. At 

 Mr. Winn's tavern, on the 10th of September a second 

 cutting, from one seed, weighed 2>S pounds. The 

 number of stalks was 184, some of which measured 10 

 feet 11 inches in length. Some parts of the lot in 

 Natchez is very poor soil, and the grass on those 

 places did not grow higher than six or seven feet. 

 But on a good soil, in a favourable season, in this cli- 

 mate, I am persuaded it is a very moderate estimate to 

 allow to every square yard 10 pounds at a cutting, 

 when we cut only three times in the season. This 

 would give 30 pounds to every square yard, or 147,000 

 pounds of green grass to the acre. But this produc- 

 tion seems so enormous, that I should not have ven- 

 tured on such a calculation had I not the respectable 

 authority of Mr. Edwards to support me. He asserts 



* (See certificate of Mr, Oglesby.) 



