NEW ENGL.ANI> FAISSIER, 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



I'UBI.IS.HEO nv GEORGE C. HAIIUETT, NO. 52 MORTil MARKET STREET, (Agkicui.tural Warehouse.) — T. G. FESSEN'DEN, EDITOR. 



vol.. XIV, 



J^ON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 2, 183-5. 



rrl^ £ 



NO. 8. 



[From Ihc Baltimore Farmer. 1 

 Edward P. Roberts, 



RfSf-cctoil Frieml : — I Imvo received tliy letter 

 of the 13tli inst., eoiitaiiiing 12 queries relative to 

 the culture and suitableness of the most approved 

 species of gnisses, for dairy purposes, intended for 

 the information of a gentleman to the South. And 

 while I comply most clieerfully in replying there- 

 to, I hoj)e 1 shall be excused, at this busy season 

 of the year, for making my answers as conei.se as 

 possible. I am fully sensible that the subjects to 

 which ihou hast called my attention,_aro vitally 

 important, and arc emilled to a more minute and 

 extensive notice than I have leisure now to devote 

 to them, but if a plain account of my opinions and 

 practice will bo of any service to our Soutliern 

 siibscrilier and inquirer, or to others, they are at 

 thy service. 



First Qi(en/. Is clover suited to being grazed by cat- 

 tle, horses, S,-c. — or is it more profitable to cut it and 

 mil the cattle with it ? 



In reply to this query, I may observe that Red 

 clover IS good for grazing catt'e ; hut in order to 

 derive the full bene6t of enriching the land by it, 

 the cattle ought not to graze on it until it is near- 

 ly or quite in bloom, whereby the droppings of the 

 cattle arc in some degree covered by the clover, 

 and the evaporation of the more valuable portions 

 of the manure, thus to a considerable e.xtent, pre- 

 vented. The cattle should be taken off early 

 enough in the fall to leave a good cover, to protect 

 the roots of ihc clover, and prevent their being 

 <lrawn out by the winter frosts. Clover is now 

 generally known to be the best of all grasses for 

 enriching and improving poor land ; it should, 

 therefore, be sown with all the varieties of Spear 

 grasses, viz: — Orchard Gra^s, Timothy. Tall 

 Meadow-Oat, and Herds' grass, if the latter be 

 sown on dry mellow land. 



Although Red clover is not the best grass for 

 grazing cattle, yet it is essential to the grazing, as 

 it fertilizes the land, and thereby promotes the 

 growth of White clover and green grass, ^ort /)ra- 

 Unsis, which are considered as the richest and 

 most acceptable to cattle of all grasses. 



Soiling of catt'e in the stalls has two good pro- 

 perties in it, viz. cattle thus fed furnish more 

 manure, and require less land to jjrovide the ne- 

 cessary sup])lies of provender, but these are not 

 without additional expense, and great risk to the 

 health of the cattle, which is certain to be impair- 

 ed more or less, unless they are permitted to range 

 abroad a part of each day. 



Second Query. Is lucerne better suited to soiling 

 milch cows than the common red clover ; does il yield 

 more green fodder, and is it earlier ? 



Third Qjtery. Is orchard grass calculated to being 

 grazed by cattle —^ does il sustain much loss from the 

 treading down of the cattle while feeding? 



Answer to the 2d and 3d queries. The cheap- 

 est and earliest article for soiling, is, I thiulc, the 



Lucerne is equally early, and as good or better tor 

 soiling; hut its culture is more difficult and ex- 

 pensive. The Rcnl clover soon follows them, and 

 when ready to cut we have no occasion for a bet- 

 ter article to soil with. The Orchard grass and 

 tall meadow oat, afford the most [lasture of any 

 of the Spear grasses I atn acquainted with, and 

 will make good and suitable hay for cattle if sown 

 thick, and cut when in flower, or rather before ; 

 continuing longer in sandy land than most other 

 grasses, and bears the trampling of cattle well. 



1 shall now answer the following of thy ques- 

 tions under the same general head : 



Fourth Qiiery. Is it considered judicious to sow clo- 

 ver seed and orchard grass seed together to graze upon? 



Fifth Query. Is il considered sound economy to sow 

 the above gra.ises together for hay ? In either case> 

 what are the respective proportions of seed of each that 

 shoidd be sown to the acre ? 



Sixth Query. Will the orchard grass mature suji- 

 ciently early to be cut with the clover for hay ? 



Seventh Query. What quantity of orchard grass 

 taken sown alone, should be sown on an acre intended 

 for hay ? 



Eighth Query. Should a larger qtiantUy of orchard 

 grass be sown on an acre intended for grazing than on 

 one inlendcd to be cut for hay? 



N'inth Query. JfUl Herds grass bear grazing? and 

 is there much loss resulting from the hoofs of the cattle ? 



Tenth Query. Which of all the artificial grasses 

 within your knowledge woidd you prefer for grazing, 

 and which for soiling ? 



EleviUh Query. Which of the artificial grasses i.s 

 the mosi profitable for hay, regard being had to its nu- 

 triiious quality, facility for curing, and adaptation as 

 food for caltte ? 



1 am in the regular practice of sowing frotn 5 

 to 6 quarts of clover seed to the acre, in March, 

 on land that was sowed in the previous fall with 

 orchard grass, or tall meadow oat. They are in 

 flower about the same time and are well calcula- 

 ted to support the clover, and be mowed together. 

 The requisite quantity of orchard grass seed for an 

 acre, depends much on how well it has been 

 cleaned and prepared for sowing. 1 sow about 2 

 bushels when clean, first preparing it as follows: 

 lay the, seed about 4 inches thick on a floor; make 

 it thoroughly damp by repeatedly watering it well, 

 and care should be taken to turn it frequently. It 

 should remain thus for about 36 hours, which ren- 

 ders the seed heavier, cau.ses it to fall freer from 

 the hand, and enables the sower to distribute it 

 more evenly, it not being from its increased spe- 

 cific gravity so liable to be affected by the wind. 

 Another advantage gained is, it vegetat(-s vvitlf 

 much greater certainty. 



Her(|s grass makes good hay for Milch cows, 

 being soft and nutritious, but the yield is not cpial 

 to other grasses, either for hay or pasture. It 

 may, however, be sown to profit on cold damji 



Tall Meadow Oat grass — avena clatior. The lands, where it thrives better than on dry lane 



and will grow on land \no W('t for any of the other 

 grasses enumerated above. 



I prefer clover and orchanl grass mixed to fend 

 cattle with in hay or pasture : and timothy ami 

 clover for horses. Although the clover ripenx 

 earlier than the timothy, yet if cut when in blooro, 

 they make a better hay than either do separately. 

 Owing to the astringent quality of the timotliy^ 

 horses fed alone on it, constantly, become costive, 

 if not feverish, and -sometimes both ; these being 

 necessary consequences of such a condition of the 

 bowels, when long continued. This injurious and 

 natural tendency of the timothy, is corrected by 

 the clover; its admixture therefore with the latter 

 is absolutely necessary to the ju'eservation of the 

 health of horses. Should some of the clover when 

 mowed with the timothy be so ripe as to crumble 

 on making it into hay, it should not be considered 

 as a loss ; it fails to the ground, where it decom- 

 poses, and it jiart repays the soil for what it has 

 abstracted fioin it, and thus serves to fertilize it 

 and enable it the better to nourish and bring forth 

 its next crop. 



Ticelfth Query. What qucmlity of seed of each of 

 the several grasses should be sown, — when — and how 

 should the ground be prepared, manured, Sfc. ? 



Answer to the 12th query. In order to prepare 

 lands in the best inanner for grass seed, all the na- 

 tive grass and weeds must he completely eradicated 

 by the culture of mellowing crops ; such as Indian 

 corn, Tobacco, Cotton or Potatoes, or by a clean- 

 sing fallow of repeated ploughings and harrowing 

 during the spring and summer; and if not rich 

 enough to produce from five to six barrels, of fiv(r 

 bushels each of corn to the acre, manure the land 

 and plough it in with asha'low furrow just before 

 sowing the seed. If lime or ashes should be 

 used, it will be best to harrow them in. 



I prefer sowing the Spear grass seeds in the 

 latitude of Baltimore from the 1st to the 2.5th of 

 September. However, on stiff ckiy ihey may be 

 soivn later, as also on sandy lands, owing to the 

 injurious effects resulting from their heated sur- 

 face. For every degree south of, and parallel 

 with, Baltimore, and the sea-coast, sow the spear 

 grass seedsahoiit ten days later: and in the sjiring 

 sow clov.r seed ten dajs earlier. 



1 sow about the same quantity of oat-grass seed 

 as of orchard, ami about 5 quarts of timothy seed, 

 and 1-2 a bushel of Herds. It is the neatest Way 

 to .sow the spear grasses by themselves : nor do 

 they require,in my opinion, the protection of grain 

 crops ; but it is, however, sometimes a conve- 

 nience to sow these seeds on wheat, rye and oat 

 fields, and often very judicious in a routine of 

 crops. It is not, nevertheless, always best on gra- 

 zing fiirms, the shattering grain freqirently proving 

 a weed lo the succeeding grass crops, whilst those 

 grain croi)S themselves abstraat much of the nutri- 

 ment which should have been jjermitted to, and 

 otherwise would, have sustained the grass. 

 Rcsjjectfully, thy friend, 



Rob;;st .Sinclair. 



Clairmont, 6th month, 1835. 



