NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



PUBLISHED BY GEO. C. BARRETT, NO. 52, NORTH MARKET STREET, (at the A..kk i i i oral Warehouse.)— T. G. FESSENDEN, EDITOR. 



VOL. XII. 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, MAY 7, 1834. 



NO. 43. 



COMMUNICATIONS. 



For the New-England Farmer. 

 RECRUITING GRASS LAND, <fcc. 



Mr. Fessenden — Sir, For a few years past, I 

 have been trying, with some variation, ilie method 



of Elias Pliii y, Esq. of laying clown land to 



grass, by sowing upon tlie inverted sward, as re- 

 commended in his communication, published in 

 the N. E. Fanner, vol. viii, page 42 — an article 

 which is worthy a yearly republication until Fann- 

 ers shall more generally avail themselves of the 

 benefit that may be derived from it. 



My first experiment was commenced in 1830, 

 on about one acre of ground, a sandy alluvion, 

 rather heavy, which had been in grass for perhaps 

 fifty years, and had formerly given two crops 

 yearly, by means of frequent top-dressings of ma- 

 nure. 



After having been neglected for some years, in 

 1829 it came into my possession and gave one 

 crop of about three-fourths of a ton of pretty good 

 stock hay. The ground was not suitable for Eng- 

 lish grain on account id' the neighborhood of bar- 

 berry bushes and perhaps other causes of blight, 

 and I wished to keep it in mowing with as little 

 interruption as would consist with profitable man- 

 agement. In order to do this, the question to settle 

 was, whether a top-dressing of manure should be 

 applied sufficient to wake up the old sward ; or 

 the usual rotation, including not less than twu 

 hoed crops and two dressings of manure, should 

 be adopted ; or the method proposed by Mr. Phin- 

 ney. With a little variation I took the latter as 

 being more expeditions than the rotation system, 

 and more economical than the first mentioned. 



In May 1830, the sward was well turned over 

 with a furrow of from four to six inches deep, va- 

 rying with the thickness of the sod and depth of 

 soil. It was then rolled down smooth, a light 

 dressing of manure spread on and harrowed in, 

 and potatoes were planted in hills. Care was 

 taken not to disturb the sod during the process of 

 cultivation. 



In September the crop was gathered. A most 

 abundant growth of tops was obtained, and a fair 

 crop of potatoes, injured however by dry weather. 

 After digging the potatoes, the tops ami weeds 

 were collected and carted to the pig-yard for ma- 

 nure, and the ground immediately ploughed, with 

 a light plough and one horse, so as not to disturb 

 the sod ; after which it was harrowed and sown 

 with herds-grass and clover seed, and again har- 

 rowed and rolled. The grass seed was sown with- 

 out any grain, came up well and grew finely until 

 winter. 



In the spring of 1831, I found the clover much 

 killed, owing probably to its being sown so late. 

 The herds-grass and what clover remained came 

 on well and gave two crops, estimated at about 

 one ton each, of very good hay. From the grass 

 being so young the quality of the first crop was 

 very similar to that of the second crop or rowel). 

 In 1832 the first crop made hay of the first quality, 

 and was estimated by a man of good judgment, 

 who assisted in cutting it, to be three tons. The 

 second cutting gave about three fourths of a ton. 

 In 1833 it was cut but once ; the crop was not as 



hiavv-as the first crop of 1832, but was very good. 

 V large part of it was lodged, for some weeks he- 

 fore cutting. Estimated at from two to two and a 

 half tons. 



1 think these results go far to prove the value of 

 Mr. Phinney's method. With one ploughing and 

 a light dressing of manure, I have had a fair crop 

 of potatoes, and grass, making by estimation about 

 eight tons of hay, from one acre of ground, in four 

 years. Tins is undoubtedly a greater nett profit 

 than was derived from [he same ground, in any 

 preceding ten years, and the land is now in better 

 condition than it was in 1S29, and the old sward 

 which is quietly decomposing beneath the surface, 

 will probably without further expense continue to 

 send up good crops for some years. When turned 

 up it will of itself form a mould sufficiently rich to 

 give a good crop of corn or potatoes with little 

 manure, and insure grass seed to take well again. 



It will be perceived that the weight of the bay 

 was estimated. As it was for " home consump- 

 tion," I thought it not worth the while to be at the 

 expense of driving it half a mile and weighing in 

 order to ascertain the exact quantity, but consider- 

 ed an approximation to the truth in that respect 

 sufficient for the purpose in view. If we did not 

 very much over-estimate the quantity, I think it 

 evidently a more economical application of labor 

 and manure than the usual one of frequent plough- 

 ing, ami as frequent exposure of the vegetable mat- 

 ter iu the soil to the drying and dissipating influ- 

 ences of the sun and wind. I believe the effect of 

 frequent ploughing is not as well observed by our 

 farmers as it should be. So far as my observation 

 goes, it is injurious ; and I have but little doubt that 

 our best soils might be exhausted and reduced to 

 perfect barrenness, without a single cropping — only 

 by frequent ploughing for several successive years. 

 I could mention a case or two that would go far 

 to prove this, were it necessary. 



My next experiment was commenced in 1832 

 on a piece of about eight acres, in the same field 

 with the other. The soil was rather lighter and 

 more sandy, and had formerly been somewhat re- 

 duced by excessive working, but latterly had re- 

 cruited by neglect. In 1831 it gave a crop of about 

 half a ton of hay per acre, worth little more than 

 the expense of getting. 



In May 1832 it was nicely turned over with a 

 furrow three or four inches deep ; intending in no 

 case to go below the top soil. After being rolled, 

 about twenty or twenty-five cart-buck loads of 

 compost manure (made by mixing one load of ma- 

 nure with two loads of meadow muck on good 

 soil, and piling up in layers over winter,) were 

 spread on each acre and harrowed in. It was 

 then planted with corn, and cultivated with the 

 harrow and hoe. No plough was used among it, 

 ami no bills were made. Before it was harrowed 

 for the third hoeing, four quarts each of herds- 

 grass and southern or June clover seed, and eight 

 quarts of red-top seed were mingled and sown to 

 an acre. Care was taken through the whole course 

 not to displace the sods, and to keep the ground 

 even, and at the Inst hoeing to prevent the grass 

 seed being unequally scattered. My object in this 

 experiment was to get in the clover early enough 

 to have it stand the winter, and also to have the 



first tutting of hay a little more substantial than I 

 had found it in the last experiment. The seed 

 was sown just as the corn lagan to tassel out, and 

 when the young plants made their appearance, 

 which was in a few days, the corn had become a 

 suitable and sufficient protection from the scorch- 

 in:; heat id' the sun. The shade soon became so 

 close and thick in most parts of the field that the 

 grass grew very slender and seemed to make little 

 progress until about the first of September, when 

 the corn blades began to curl and admit by degrees 

 sun and air ; after which it grew finely, and by 

 the time the corn was harvested, had covered the 

 ground almost entirely. 



The corn was planted about three feet distant 

 each way, and in some places grew so stout and 

 thick that the pumpkin vines, of which there were 

 a few, left running on the ground and went from 

 hill to hill in the corn, yet the clover was not 

 smothered, as is frequently the case among oats or 

 other small grain that grows large enough to lo'dge. 



In the spring of 1833, after the ground bad be- 

 come dry, it was rolled for the purpose of crushing 

 the corn stubs and levelling for the scythe. The 

 clover came out finely and with the herds-grass 

 and red top made a large growth, "of each nearly 

 equal quantities. The first crop gave twenty two 

 ioads, estimated at three fourths of a ton each, 

 or two tons to the acre, entirely free from old stub- 

 ble and weeds, and worth at least twenty-five per 

 cenl ti/ori that) hay of the first year's cutting usu- 

 ally is. I was offered for it the highest price at 

 which the best hay was selling in the market. 

 The second cutting or rowen, gave an average as 

 estimated, of one ton to the acre. 



I sold a few tons of the first crop at thirteen 

 dollars, and of the second at ten dollars per ton. 

 If our estimate of the quantity was correct, this 

 would give thirty-six dollars per acre as the pro- ' 

 ceeds of one year's crop. The highest price at 

 which the land has ever been sold is, I believe, 

 thirty dollars per acre, and before I commenced 

 these experiments it was reputed so .poor that I 

 could find no one willing to cultivate it on shares, 

 with the privilege of managing it his own way. 



This crop was made to supersede the oat crop, 

 with which grass seed is usually sown, and the ad- 

 vantages of it must be evident to any farmer without 

 much argument. It is perhaps sufficient to say 

 that an oat crop iu addition to its exhausting the 

 land, (which in the opinion of many farmers is no 

 trifle) would cost quite as much as the grass crops, 

 and setting aside its liability to blight, would not 

 be worth half as much. 



There were sundry knolls, head-lands and 

 patches on the piece, which had seldom or never 

 been ploughed, but had been leftto run up to weeds 

 and brush. These places had been the resort and 

 abode of squirrels and woodchucks in numbers 

 sufficient to contend successfully with the former 

 occupant for at least one half of the corn, beans, 

 and clover that grew near them. When the rest 

 of the piece was ploughed, these by the aid of a 

 strong knife or coulter were ploughed also, and 

 gave excellent crops of both corn and grass with- 

 out any different management than was bestowed 

 on the rest of the field, roots and stubs to the con- 

 trary notwithstanding. 



