98 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Feb. 



may be copied — checks, notes, autographs or let- 

 ters. The only safoguard to the public in respect 

 to bank bills, s^eenis to lie in the fact that bright 

 red, blue or green colors, cannot be imitated by 

 the photograpliic process, and that bills which 

 are partially printed in these colors, are conse- 

 quently secure from the possibility of counter- 

 feiting. Bills counterfeited by the photographic 

 motliod, may always be detected by wetting them 

 with a solution of corsosive sublimate or of hy- 

 driodate of potassium — tlie liquid immediately 

 turning the photographic picture white. This 

 test, however, would prove but a poor safeguard 

 to the public generally. 



Reported for the New England Farmer. 



LEGISLATIVE AGRICULTURAL 

 MEETINGS. 



The second meeting of the series was held at 

 the State House, on Tuesday evening, 23d inst. 

 There was a good attendance. The meeting was 

 called to order by Mr. Knowles, of Eastham, and 

 Mr. E. W. Bull, of Concord, was invited to oc- 

 cupy the chair. 



Mr. Bull opened the discussion by some re- 

 marks upon the cultivation of the small grains. 

 Massachusetts, he said, pays annually $10,000,- 

 000 for flour. Yet if her soil was properly culti- 

 vated, she «ould sustain a population equal to 

 twice the present ; and, in view of the present 

 high price of bi-eadstuffs, the cultivation of the 

 cereal grains is of more than usual importance. 

 Rye, perhaps, is the grain which is, on the whole, 

 best adapted to our sandy soils and dry seasons. 

 He had tried guano in raising it, on a piece of 

 dry, sandy land, which had not been manured 

 for ten years probably, being in grass all the 

 while, of which hardly enough was cut to pay 

 for the trouble. The land was plowed in Sep- 

 tember to a good depth, and two hundred weight 

 of guano to the acre harrowed in on the furrow, 

 after which five pecks of seed to the acre were 

 sown, which produced a good stand of plants, 

 the season being favoi'able. The amount of seed 

 waa too much, however, for when harvest-time 

 came, the grass-seed sown with it was smothered. 

 In the spring, 50 lbs. additional of guano was 

 80wed on one-half of the acre, while on the other 

 half none was apj^lied. The difference in the 

 yield of the two half acres, was only one bushel 

 in favor of the extra manuring, from which he 

 concluded that manuring beyond 200 lbs. to the 

 acre with guano for rye, was not profitable. 

 One-half of the rye was cut the first week in 

 July, and was found to be much whiter and 

 better than the rest, which was cut a week later. 

 In England, it is the practice of farmers to cut 

 their rye as soon as the stem is yellow under the 

 ear, and by so doing the flour is much whiter. 

 His experience confirmed the utility of the prac- 

 tice. 



The subject of cereal grains was adopted for 

 the evening. 



!Mr. Knowles, of Eastham, said that formerly 

 rye was not considered to be worth more than 

 half as much as it now commands in the market. 

 At present prices, he considered it as profitable as 

 any crop our fathers could raise. As to raising 

 wheat, but little has been done on the Cape ex- 

 cept at Orleans, where it has not been attended 

 with much success, owing, perhaps, to inexperi- 

 ence. Either rye or barley, however, is profita- 

 ble. The trouble with rye has been in sowing it 

 broadcast, and not harrowing in deep enough. 

 He thought it would leave the land in as good 

 condition as any crop. 



Mr. Jenkins, of Andover, said, in relation to 

 raising grain alone, he did not know how it 

 could be made profitable in the eastern part of 

 Massachusetts ; but thought that, in connection 

 with English grass, it could be made remunera- 

 tive. It is a mistake to attempt to raise grain 

 and grass together on dry, sandy land. Most 

 farmers in this part of the State have some very 

 wet as well as very dry soils on their farms, and 

 their policy should be to gravel the wet land and 

 manure it well, for the raising of grass, con- 

 stantly reserving the dry land for grain, which 

 will not need so much manure. 



Mr. Freeman, of Orleans, did not think wheat 

 could be raised profitably on the Cape, even if the 

 land was manured highly, and he believed that 

 was the general opinion there. Although wheat 

 was once raised successfully there, it cannot be 

 done now. There was some property existing in 

 the soil then which it does not possess now. He 

 had seen corn taken ofi" of land and wheat put on, 

 but it would not grow — while grass, following 

 corn in the same way, flourished vigorously, 

 showing that there was something wanting for 

 the wheat. There was no difierence in this re- 

 sult between winter and spring wheat. 



The Chairman remarked that Mr. Brown, of 

 Concord, who had raised fine crops of wheat, had 

 made use of lime to the extent of 15 bushels to 

 the acre, sown teoadcast, ar^d perhaps to this 

 manure his good crops were attributable. 



Mr. Howard, of the Boston Cultivator, said it 

 was formerly supposed that a good deal of lime 

 was necessary to secure a good crop of wheat ; 

 but Mr. Emmons, the State .geologist of New 

 York, after analj^zing the soils of all parts of the 

 State, found that the lands of the best wheat- 

 growing counties contained the least lime. In 

 Seneca county, at present the greatest wheat 

 county in the State, only one-half per cent, of the 

 ingredients of the soil is lime. He mentioned 

 this to show that the utility of lime for raising 

 wheat was doubtful. 



Mr. Bradbury, of Newton, said that in the 



