1856. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



211 



from countries whose climate and soil corresponds 

 to our own as nearly as possible. 



Mr. Emerson, of Boston, didnot think large cat- 

 tle desirable, but he preferred smaller ones as being 

 more hardy and more easily kept. 



Adjourned to next Tuesday evening, when the 

 subject will be "Horses and Farm Stock." Mr. 

 Howard, of the Cultivator, will give an address on 

 the first branch of the subject. 



For the New England Farmer. 



WORTHLESS GRASS. 



Mr. Editor: — In the JVew England Farmer 

 for February, is a communication from R. B. H., 

 in which is noticed a species of worthless grass, 

 that has taken possession of much of the pasture 

 land in the vicinity of Mount Monadnock, in New 

 Hampshire, to the exclusion of other grasses, and is 

 a serious evil. He mentions that the same difficul- 

 ty is experienced in Massachusetts, especially in 

 portions of Franklin, Hampshire, and Worcester 

 counties. 



In this county, Hampshire, there are thousands 

 of acres of rough, hill-side land, and many acres 

 more, smooth and level, with a light soil, that pro- 

 duce little grass, except a species that is nearly val- 

 ueless. This mean grass was not uncommon in 

 some towns thirty years ago, and has been gradu- 

 ally extending. It is the Danihonia spicata of the 

 botanists, and in some books is called wild oats. 

 The product is small, and of little value as grass or 

 hay. In the spring, the brown leaves are all cui'led. 

 In this town, the heads or panicles are disclosed 

 between the 10th and 20th of June, and are soon 

 after in flower. I suppose this to be the same kind 

 of a;rass as that about Monadnock, noticed bv R. B. 

 H. 



According to my observation, the Danthonia does 

 not commonly take possession of the land, until the 

 soil is exhausted, and has become too poor to bear 

 anything more valuable. If this be so, nothing will 

 remove the evil but enriching the land. Many of 

 these hill-side pastures cannot be cultivated ; where 

 land covered with Danthonia has been plowed, and 

 sowed or planted, without manure, it has generally 

 produced a light crop that hardly paid for the la- 

 bor, and has not been improved. There may be 

 some exceptions. 



Our farmers have no manure to spare for these 

 lean pastures, and they are not likely to become 

 more productive than they now are. Many graz- 

 ing farmers do not keep more than one-third or 

 one-half as many domestic animals as they did thir- 

 ty or forty years ago. Thousands of farmers in 

 Massachusetts could not live from their farms, if 

 they did not sell wood and timber. The forests are 

 fast disappearing in every direction. s. J. 



JVorthampton, Feb., 1856. 



Farmers' Girls. — The beautiful piece of o?%t- 

 nal poetry communicated by "P. A. P.," from Lit- 

 tle Compton, R. I., was written for the N. Y. Trib- 

 une by Helen M. Ladd, and may be found on page 

 259, of the Monthly Farmer, for 1854. 



NEW BOOKS. 



The Cr.\nberrt.— C. M. S.axton & Co.,N. Y., 

 have published a beautiful Httle work of 120 pages, 

 entitled ".-4 Complete Manual for the Cultivation of 

 the Cranberry, with a description of the best varie- 

 ties." By B. Eastwood, It is illustrated by a very 

 tasteful title-page and several engra^ings of the vari- 

 eties of the cranberry, of sod and cutting planting, 

 and the diseases of the vine. The book is printed 

 on large, elegant type and fine paper, and would 

 really be an ornament to the parlor table. Price 

 60 cts. For sale by F. S. Saxton, 81 Washing- 

 ton Street, in Boston, and by the publishers, in New 

 York. 



The American Grape Grower's Guide. — This 

 is another of Saxton & Co.'s useful and elegant 

 works, by William Chorlton, author of "The 

 Cold Grapery," &c. It is illustrated with numer- 

 ous engravings, and gives plain directions on 

 "Houses and Conveniences, Artificial Heat and Ap- 

 paratus, Borders or Prepared Beds, Planting and 

 Management the first year, Management for the 

 second year, and Permanent Treatment, the Forc- 

 ing House, Pot Culture, Retarding House, List of 

 Varieties, Pruning and Training, Propagation and 

 Raising of New Kinds, Diseases, Insects, and how 

 to destroy them, and the Vineyard and Out-Door 

 Culture." Here you have the whole story by one 

 who knows ivhat to tell and how to tell it. Price 50 

 cts. For sale as above. 



The Strawberry Culture. — A Complete Man- 

 ual for the Cultivation of the Strawberry ; with a 

 description of the best varieties. Also, notices of 

 the Raspberry, Blackberry, Cranberry, Currant, 

 Gooseberry and Grape ; with directions for their 

 cultivation, and the selection of the best varieties. 

 Third Edition Revised. By R. G. Pardee. With 

 an Appendix, containing the Experiments of some 

 of the most successful cultivators in the country. 

 This book is handsomely illustrated, and printed in 

 the same beautiful style as that on the Cranberry. 

 The above-named books are handsomely bound, so 

 that they are as attractive outside as they are in. 

 The price of each is low, and the mformation — 

 flowing as it does from such reliable sources — of so 

 much importance, that every person who intends to 

 cultivate any of the plants treated of, ought to pos- 

 sess a copy. Everybody wants a grape ^^ne, those 

 who have land and those who have not. We ex- 

 pect soon to see them growing in the sitting-room, 

 brought from the border through the window* 

 trailed in graceful draperies about the room, and 

 loaded with delicious and fragrant fruit. Are there 

 any doubters ? Let them read these books. 



Davy's Devon Herd Book. — American Edition, 

 Edited by Sanford Howard, Esq., Editor of the 

 Boston Cultivator. This book ought to have been 

 noticed months ago, but got laid away with other 



