Vol. VII.— No. 6. 



AND HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



43 



er. Tlie obsprvatioiis, thougli intciiilod for the 



Southern States, will, we believe, apply with little [ cultivated it lor nearly forty years, thinks it decid 

 variation, in New England. The experience ot 1 ediy superior to timothy, and ^ives it the prefer- 

 John Prince, Esq. of Roxhury, and of other New cnee to all others. Notwithstanding the we' 



whom you no doubt know by character, who Jias| tions from Judge Peters and others, published in 

 ' ' .... . the early volumes of the American Farmer. 



England agriculturists, is favourable to orchard 

 grass, and seems to sanction the encomiums, which 

 it has received in the southern section of the 

 Union : — 



Richmond, Va. August, 1828. 

 Dear Sir — Yours of the 8th. ull. has been re- 



cnce to all others. Notwithstandin 

 known prejudice of agriculturalists against all in- 

 novations upon long estabUslied practice, and 

 iheir almost uuconipierable repugnance to every 

 thing like improvement, we find that the reputa- 

 tion of tii is grass audits cultivation, wherever it 

 has lieen introduced into a neighborhood, is most 



ceived, and I take pleasure in complying with your ; rapidly extending ; indeed, so great has been iiie 

 request in giving you my " views in relation to the request for the seed, that for several years past 

 most valuable grasses cultivated in this neighbor- ' the supply has been inadequate to meet the de- 

 hood, witli my opinion as to those best adapted to mand. 



your soil and climate, and t!ic probability of your 

 success in an attempt to grow them. 



As to the probability of its succeeding in your 

 section of country, the soil of which you describe, 



For the last eight or ten years both my.self and as consisting " principally of a fine black mould or 

 my neighbors, many of whom are amongst the loam, with a large proportion of sand to the depth 

 most scientific, practical and observant farmers in of five or six inches," I can only state, that 1 have 

 our state, have bestowed much attention and been never tried the orchard grass on such a soil, nor is 

 at some exj)ense in the selection and cultivation there any of so light a descrijuiou in my neighbor- 

 of those grasses generally esteemed the most val- hood ; but it is now cultivated on the eastern 

 uable, and after a full and fair experiment of all shore of this state, the soil of which I should sup- 

 such within our reach, we have been led to the pose very much to resemble 3ours ; it is also cul- 

 couclusioii that the orchard grass (Dadylis glom- | tivated by a friend of mine on James Iliver, V a. 

 trala) combines more valuable properties and pos- j whose soil and sub-soil answers precisely to the 

 sesess superior advantages to any other. It is a- 1 description given of yoiu's ; he finds it to thrive 

 bout ten years since the orchard grass was intro- ! well and thmks it a most valuable grass. From a 

 duced into my neighborhood, and the experience fact of its resisting the parching droughts of our 



In conclusion, I would barely remark that if 

 your state should (as from certain indications she 

 now seems disposed) turn her attention to grazing 

 stock and rearing sheep, I am convinced that in 

 the orchard grass she would find that she had ac- 

 quired a most important desideratum, and tliat it 

 richly merits the reputation it possesses wherever 

 it has been tried. It is hardly necessary for me 

 to aild that if you should at any time hereafter 

 wish any further information upon the subject, 

 that it will give ine pleasure to furnish any which 

 I may possess. I am with respect. 



Your obed't serv't, 



Hon. 



South Carolina. 



of every year increases our opinion of its value. 

 For your information I will now state some of 

 the valuable properties which induce us to give it 

 the preference to the other. The orchard grass 



TO SAVE ORCHARD GRASS SEED. 



When the head has a whitish cast, and when 

 shook, the seed drops, cut it with the sickle or 

 cradle, lifting the grips out of the cradle ; handle 

 grips or swarlhs as little as pos,sible ; therefore, 

 neither bind them or shock them, but let them be 

 gently gathered and carried into the barn floor in 

 a sheet, by hand, (u- in a cart on sljeets spread in 

 the bottom of the cart ; beat it out by grips, by 

 striking the grips against any instrument ; for in- 

 stance, a narrow plank, fastened either perpendic- 

 ularly or horizontally, or by any other contriv- 

 ance ; four strokes, generally, will take out all the 

 seed without the chaff; riddle it ; the seed will 



suiumers, which for the last 6 or 8 years have 



almost invariably destroyed our clover and other 



grasses, 1 can hardly have a doubt of its proving 



a most important acquisition to your southern go through, the stalks, &.c. will remain in the rid- 

 grows rapidly and upon soils too much exhausted 'country ; and the circumstance of its bearing .so file to be thrown away; lay down the beaten 

 to bring clover, it resists the hoof and the tooth well the severity of our winters induces ine to be- firips in a pile till you clean up the floor, with the 



and bears the frosts of our winters and drought 

 of our summers better than any other ; from this 

 circumstance it affords the earhest and latest pas- 

 turage : it is amongst the most nutritious food for 

 fattening cattle and for milch cows ; for sheep 

 pasture it is unequalled, as even in our climate it 

 affords an abundant bite throughout the winter ; 

 indeed I have for several years past supported my 

 flock of sheep upon it exclusively, never givinjr 



lieve that in your climate it would remain in full butts even ; bind them in sheaves, to be cut and 

 verdure throughout the year. I have cut from it mixed with chop, bran, shorts, &c. for feed to 

 two^^rops of hay in the same season, and with ' stock. By this process, the hay is not lost, which 

 you it will certainly bear more. would be the case by threshing, insteud of hoat- 



The usual tLiiie of sowing the orchard grass, ^"ig out the seed. Two men will clean 50 bush- 

 here, is in the sj^tef^wlth oats, or on tlie wiieat els a day. 



or rye sown the preceding fall, or in autumn, at 

 the time of sowing wheat or rye. We generally 

 prefer sowing in the fall, i.ud with you it would 



them a moiithfid of any other food, except when unquestionably be best — as it would enable the 

 a fall of snow rendered it inaccessible to them, grass to take such root, and get such a growth, 

 and I have in the months of February and March that it would not be endangered by the hot sun 

 killed as fine fat mutton off my orchard grass fields of the succeeding summer; if not convenient, it 

 as you could desire to see ; this grass possesses might be sown alone without the coverhig cro)) 



Ji good teamster. — Mr. William Bradford has for 

 three years and three months past, with a six 

 horse team, freighted to Boston, for one Company 

 in this village, (various kinds of country produce,) 

 eighteen to7is, fifteen hundred, two quarters and nint 

 pounds — has freighted merchandize from Boston, 

 one hundred and Jiftif-eight tons, eighteen hundred, 



the remarkable peculiarity, that it does not, like of wheat or rye. In your soil and climate, I " "'' ""f'^f'" /""""'^ '' fp[ "''"^h he has been paid 



the second growth of every other grass, cause that should suppose that it would answer well to sow 

 excessive flow of saliva which is so debilitating to it at anytime during the month of September, 

 horses and other stocks; for land intended for' Octoi.er, or November, although I think the ear- 



permanent pasture, I should prefer it to any other, 

 as I have never had occasion to renew a field 

 which had been once sown with it ; while clover, 

 timothy, and I believe every other grass require to 

 be renewed every few years ; indeed from the fol- 

 lowing fact, I should conclude that it would never 

 (as farmers say) run out. Nearly thirty years a- 

 go a lot near Ellicott's mills was sown with or- 

 chard grass, and for several years fine crops of 

 bay were cut from it ; however, from neglect, the 

 fencing got out of repair, and the lot was turned 

 out into the common exposed to the whole stock 

 of t'le village for a number of years ; the proprie- 

 tor again took the management of the propertv, a 

 few years aio, and without sowins a grain of seed, 

 has annually cut fine and hea\'}' crops of bay from 

 it. For hay it is thought to be at least equal to 

 timothy which has generally been esteemed our 

 best grass. Judge Peter^ of Philadelphia (the 

 president of fte^il^ladelphia Agricultural Society) 



lier ihe better. The crop of grass will be light 

 the first season after it is sown, but you will find 

 it to thicken very much afterwards. Since the 

 general tailure of our clover crops, we consider 

 die orchard grass as more fertilizing and improv- 

 ing to the soil, than any other, from its thick cov- 

 tiring aflording such complete protection from the 

 (i-osts and sun. The quantity usually sown is 

 li-om one to two bushels per acre. I should pre- 

 fer the latter quantity, as the seed is light and 

 chaffy. The period of cutting it here is about the 

 middle of- June, but of course would be earher 

 with you ; the proper time being when the seed 

 is formed and is matured. 



I have thus (although imperfectly I fear) given 

 vou my views in answer to the queries propound- 

 ed in your letter, but for a more full and particu- 

 lar sccount of the valuable properties of the or- 

 ihard grass, than the compass of a letter would 

 [>ermit, I would rf fer you to several communica- 



in cashybitr thousand eight hundred and twenty dot' 

 tars. He has with the same team and during the 

 same time, freighted to and from Boston, for the 

 Strafford Copperas Company and others, 07ie hun- 

 dred and eight tons, seven hundred, two quarters, and 

 two pounds ; making an aggregate of three hundred 

 and forty-nine tons, one hundred and tioo pounds. 

 This has all been done with six horses without 

 changing, with the exception of two horses for the 

 last three months, averaging seventeen trips per 

 year. His time of arrival and departure has been 

 as regular as the United States mail stage. What 

 is very remarkable, during all this time he has not 

 drank a drop of spirits, wine, cider, or strong beer ; 

 nor has he at any time moved his team on the 

 Sabbath.— Montpelier, Ft. paper. 



use — It is said that geese maybe sidvanta- 

 geously fed on turnips, cut in small pieces, similar 

 to dice, but not not so large, and put into a trough 

 of water. 



Learning is an ornament in prosperity, a refuge 

 in adversity, .".ud the best provision in old age. 



