126 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



with a frequent use of the hoe, as where this ia 

 !iol done, two years plouiihiii^ only not merely 

 multiplies, but opcusions ii lo eufxross the whole 

 soil. It has a hard woody fihre und is disliked by 

 cattle. It flourishes ino?ily near cow yards, and 

 gardens, and is called Cambridtje, from ils 

 abounding on the salt banks ol' the Cliarles river. 

 One hundred pounds cut July 22ilj in late flower, 

 gave lbriy-ein;lu pounds. 



The grasses above described are those which 

 prevail in our uplands, and are indigenous liere. 

 They are probably, most oi'tliem what Dr. Elliot, 

 in his Field Husbandry, denominates English 

 K[)ear grass, and speaks of as natural to the soil 

 and more hardy. The. term English has been 

 applied to our upland hay, ever since the settle- 

 ment of the country. These, with the red and 

 wiiite clover, and the varieties which nature, in a 

 course ofcuhure, or otherwise, produces, are what 

 give verdure and feriility to the face of the earth. 



Of the cultivated grasses, the first in importance 

 is the herds or timoihy grass, phleum pratense 

 (Linnaeus.) Dr. Elliot eays "it is a native, and 

 early discovered in this country by a man of the 

 name of Heard, in Piscataqua." It is doubtless 

 admirably suited to our soil and climate, and not 

 only flourishes in uplands, but may be sowed to 

 advantage in low grounds, especially when drained 

 or raised with gravel or loom. It ofien attains in 

 height five leet, and has been known to produce 

 over four tons to the acre. It does not yield much 

 till the second and third years. For which reason 

 it is sown witli clover, which being biennial and 

 ofshorter duration, gives it space to succeed, in 

 this vicinity, such is the pielerence given to it, 

 that it sells at about one Iburtli more than any 

 other hay. It lasts, with one or two top-dressings, 

 six to seven years. The answers lo the inquiries 

 of the society as to the quantity of seed sown, are 

 two to six quarts. There should not be less seed 

 than half a bushel to an acre, which later experi- 

 ence establishes most decidedly. One hundred 

 pounds cut July llih, gave thirty-nine. 



Red clover (trifolium pratense) is a most valua- 

 ble grass : when cut green, it affords an excellent 

 nourishment for cattle in the soiling process, as 

 well as lor swine. When made into hay, cattle 

 are exceedingly (ond of it. The flower and leaves 

 are apt to separate from the stem, (or which rea- 

 son great care should be taken that it is not made 

 brittle by too much exposure to ilie sun. It is best 

 cured, as far as may be, in cock, and should be 

 carted after the dew begins to fall. When pro- 

 perly dried, salt is used advantageously, as it may 

 be housed with safety, more green than any other 

 hay. This prevents fermentation and heating, 

 and it is kept in better order. Many in this vicin- 

 ity not only salt their clover, but all other hay. 

 Lord Somerville observes that he "usee half a 

 bushel of salt to a ton, and its benefit surpasses all 

 belief, producing the best possible effect in color, 

 flavor, and general result;" with damaged hay, 

 he says " it is a great restorative." 



The benefit of salt in the culture of the soil be- 

 ing now BO generally acknowledged, and the use 

 of it 60 necessary lor cattle in the interior or re- 

 mote from the sea coast, it is difficult to assign a 

 reason why its use is not more prevalent. To 

 hind highly manured, two to four pounds of seed 

 in this neighborhood is used. Bt)t in the interior 

 eome apply eight pounds, and many more. One 



hundred pounds cut July 6lh, gave twenty-five 

 pounds. 



The white clover (trifolium repens) ia an abid- 

 ing grass, sendinif out roots fi-um every joint, and 

 forming a close mat on the ground, and is very 

 excellent lor pastures. But it is Ibund lo afford so 

 little to tlie scythe as to discourage the culture 

 thereof. One hundred pounds cut June 26th, 

 giive twenty-seven pounds. 



or the grasses which grow in our meadows 

 two only have been tried. The fowl meadow, 

 which Dr. Elliot supposed to have been brought 

 to Dedham by birds, is said to be the Poa iiemo- 

 ralis, or marsh meadow grass of England. 



It is an excellent grass and deserving of cul- 

 ture. It is believed, however, to have extended 

 itself more by its shedding its seed early than by 

 any artificial means. One hundred pounds cut 

 Julv 23, give fifty-three pounds. 



The common grasses of our wet meadows it is 

 believed, are various kinds of carex. This, in all 

 its varieties, is a poor grass, and where the land 

 can be ditched and made to produce a better 

 growth, the means should be taken. It is a bad 

 economy to flood lands with mere water for a long 

 time, to increase a nearly worthless burthen. 

 The effect is to destroy all sweet nuiriiive tender 

 plants. One hundred pounds cut 23d July, gave 

 forty-four pounds. 



The "marine fox-tail grass." which is the pre- 

 vailing grass of our salt marshes, we receive from 

 nature without knowing how to aid in ils increase. 

 One hundred pounds, cut July 18i!», gave sixty 

 pounds. 



The black grass (juncus bulhosus) grows prin- 

 cipally where the water is freshened by streams 

 from the uplands. It is the most valuable salt 

 irrass we have, and but little inferior to upland 

 irrass, we know no means of artificial increase. 

 One fiundred pounds, cut July 18ih; gave thirty- 

 eight pounds. 



We have too far trespassed on the time of the 

 readers to do more than allude to some of those 

 grasses which have been introduced and proved 

 uneuiiable liar our culture. 



The wild oat grass (Avena elalior) with the 

 rye, ray or darnel grass with which it is said to 

 be confounded, are often seen in our pasture.^ and 

 meadows, but animals seldom touch them. They 

 have a strong woody fibre and afford little nutri- 

 ment, though well spoken of south of us as well 

 as in Europe. 



The burnet scarcely shows itself for a year and 

 then disappears. 



The succory has been praised by Mr. Arthur 

 Youn?, that distinguished agriculturist, who sent 

 it to Gen. Washington. It has been introduced 

 here, is disliked by cattle, and has become one of 

 the most troublesome intruders in our fields. 

 These, with the St. Foin and lucerne and many 

 others, have passed away and seem to have ceased 

 with us to excite expectation. Of the orchard 

 grass or cocks-foot (dactylis glomerata) the trials 

 I have witnessed do not enable me to speak so 

 decisively as one of the trustees, Mr. Prince does 

 who approves of it. It may be considered as in a 

 course of experiment. 



My desire, sir, in the preceding, has been to 

 aid in exciting an attention to the beet means of 

 culture for our grass lands. The process of sow- 

 ing grass seeds was far from universal within the 



