03 



NEW ENGLAND P^ARMER. 



by wool-growers generally, their council would in 

 Uie end oppefate very mucli to their own disadvan- 

 tage. I am of the opinion that the pure merino 

 will give us the most valuable fleece and are the 

 most profitable where the main object is the grow- 

 mg of wool. I have kept a flock of merinos with 

 but little variation from 400 for twenty years, and 

 with the exception of a few years when there was 

 iiAich wool sold as low as 32 and 26 cents per pound, 

 1 have never failed to realize a profit from them. 

 The income of my flock for the past year, including 

 tJie sale of wool and surplus sheep, was $3,17 per 

 head. I did not sell any of my young stock the 

 !a.?t year except wether lambs; the majority of those 

 sold were my oldest and most objectionable ewes, 

 and if I had sold lambs in the place of these the 

 above income could not have amounted to less than 

 S3, 50 per head. I will send you samples of wool 

 from my sheep, that you may judge of their char- 

 acter as to fineness. Eben'r Bridge. 

 Pamfrrf, Vt., Jan. 20fh, 1851. 



Remarks. — Accompanying this article, we have 

 .1 card of specimens of Mr. Bridge's wool; they are 

 vrry fine, and of even texture. Any one who wishes 

 can examine them at our office. While some have 

 become discouraged, and others have wrote dis- 

 couragingly in regard to raising fine wool in New 

 ICngland, we are pleased to learn that Mr. Bridge 

 finds the business so promising. We hope that his 

 successful example will encourage others. — Ed. 



For tkc yieiv England Farmer. 

 GRASSES FOR LAWNS. 



[Continued J'rom Pa.L^e ^9.] 



Mr. Cole: — When the soil is naturally uncon- 

 genial to the growth of the finer grasses, it is ahso- 

 lute folly to attempt forming a close and compact 

 lawn, until it he fir.st improved by artificial means. 

 Loam, moderately fertile, is the best kind of soil on 

 which to form a permanent lawn, and nearly all the 

 finer grasses flourish on this soil, unless it be 

 too wet, in which case drainage is necessa- 

 ry. If the soil be naturally light, a dressing of 

 .stiff' clay will be beneficial; if naturally heavy and 

 .stiff, it sliould be well dressed with material calcu- 

 lated to reduce its texture, and modify its natural 

 conditions. 



The greatest difficulty I have met with, however, 

 in sowing down lawns, is in obtaining the requisite 

 variety of suitnblc grass seeds. And as it is almost 

 impossible to form an artificial lawn, of good elas- 

 tic turf, with one or two varieties of grass, the 

 only resource is to sod it over with turf from a 

 good sward, which is not only expensive, but often 

 difficult fo obtain of good quality; for a sward which 

 may appear thick and close when grown on its 

 naturaJ bed, will frequently change its character 

 wiien laid down on rich soil, and subjected to the 

 scythe. Again, a sward which is allowed to grow 

 naturally, and ripen its seeds, will change its char- 

 acter, if lifted and laid down in a garden, and kept 

 cbniinually mown before the plants form their flow- 

 er-stalks. If the proper seeds can be procured, it 

 is much better to sow down lawns, than to sod 

 them with turf, even if the original cost were the 

 same. 



Much diversity of opinion prevails regarding the 



proper quantity of seeds to sow per acre, and from 

 my observations I think many err more frequently 

 by sowing loo little, than too much. In fact, the 

 ijuantity is generally a matter of mere guesswork, 

 and .some will sow with the greatest confidence one 

 bushel per acre, while others with equal confidence 

 will sow five. Now, if my experience be worth any- 

 thing at all, it goes to prove that the latter is nearer 

 the mark than the former, and however wasteful 

 this may appear to some, a rigid investigation of 

 facts will prove this pretty near the truth. 



An ordinary sward of the fine grasses will con- 

 tain more than one thousand plants to the square 

 foot, even when full grown, and some .swards near- 

 ly twice that number. But supposing we calcu- 

 late only 1000 plants to the square foot, or about 7 

 to the square inch, it would take nearly four bush- 

 els of seeds to the acre of the finer grasses to 

 supply this number of grass plants. Supposing 

 therefore that all the seeds that were sown vege- 

 tated and formed plants, this quantity would not be 

 too much to form a sward ; but not more than one 

 lialf, or more frequently — one fourth of the seed 

 sown vegetates ; and therefore instead of seven, 

 there is only two or three plants to the inch ; and 

 instead of one thousand, only three or four hundred 

 to the square foot, which is never again supplied 

 except by indigenous herbage, which generally des- 

 troy the sward, instead of mending it. 



Injury is more likely to result from thin seeding 

 in tiiis country than in England ; for if the sward 

 be very thin, the surface of the ground is more 

 liable to crack in dry weather, and also to be sooner 

 burnt up than if thickly covered with plants. It is 

 therefore more advisable to seed plentifully, than 

 s])arsely. Even if a large portion of tlie young 

 plants should be destroyed for want of room, they 

 improve the sward, both by excluding the drought, 

 and atTording nourishment to the rest by their 

 decay. 



I would recommend the following mixture for 

 sowing down permanent lawns, which may be ob- 

 tained at trifling expense. 



Agiio.stis purpurea, (red-top,) - - - - 16 quart*. 



Aiilluixaiitliuin ordoratum, (sweet vernal grass,) 2 do. 



Aveiia (lave.scens, (oat gras.s,) - - - . 4 do. 



restucu dnrinscula, (hard fescue grass,) - - 8 do. 



Feritiica Oviiia, (sheep's fescue,) . . - ic do. 



Fcstuca leuuifolia, (line-leaved fescue,) - - 16 do. 



Solium perenne tenue, (line-leaved rye grass,) 4 do. 



I'oa nemoralis, (wood meadow grass,) - - 8 do. 



" " scmpervireiis, (evergreen,) - 8 do. 



Poa nervata, (nerved meadow grass,) - - 8 do. 



" pralease, (smooth-stalked meadow grass,) 4 do. 



Trilbliuiii repens, (white clover,) ... 4 lbs. 



minus liliforme, (small green clover,) 4 lbs. 



To this mixture may be added 16 quarts of the 

 Cynoourus cristatus, (crested dog"s tail grass) 

 forming in all nearly three and a half bushels, 

 which will he quite little enough for one acre, even 

 supposing the seed to be of first rate quality, and 

 this quantity should rather be increased than dimin- 

 ished, for it is vain to look for a good lawn unless 

 the plants come up sufficiently thick to cover the 

 whole ground regularly, when they are two or 

 three inches high. 



Before sowing the seed the surface of the ground 

 should be made smooth and firin. None of tho 

 seeds should be covered more than from a quarter 

 to iialf an inch deep, and the sm.all and tighter 

 kinds of seed, as the Agrostis, should not bo 

 buried at all, but merely pressed with the roller. 

 In most cases more than one half of the seed is 

 destroyed by being covered too deep, for it is well 



