154 AMERICAN HUSBANDRY. 



soil, and a soil moist, not wet, as amble husbandry. 

 The food of the grass, as well as of the grain crop, 

 must come mainly from the soil; and if this food is 

 scanty, the crop will in like manner be scanty. 

 And, again, the more nutritious grasses will not 

 grow on soils habitually \\vt. 



" The products of natural meadows," says Arm- 

 strong, " have been carefully and skilfully analyzed 

 in Germany, in Italy, in England, and in France ; 

 and the result shows that wet meadows contain the 

 smaller number of the different species of plants, 

 but the greater number of those which are either 

 useless or injurious ; and, on the other hand, that 

 moist meadows contain the greater number of the 

 former, and the smaller number of the latter. The 

 following simple table exhibits at a glance the pres- 

 ent state of knowledge on this important part of our 

 subject : 



No. of Pilots. Uraeful. Vtelcm or bad. 



In wet meadows ... 30 4 ' 26 



In dry ... 38 8 30 



In moist "... 42 17 25 



" The agricultural labours suggested by these 

 fact.* are of two kinds : the eradicating of useless, 

 pernicious plants, and the continuance and mul'ipli- 

 cation of those which are good. The first of these 

 objects is promoted by mowing the meadows before 

 the seeds of noxious plants ripen, by pasturing them, 

 oni e in three years, with sheep, horses, and cattle 

 in succession ; by harrowing them in the spring and 

 fall ; by destroying by hand perennial weeds ; and, 

 lastly-, by sufficiently draining those that are wet. 



" Many pernicious plants are annuals, and are kill- 

 ed by the first of these operations. A similar effect 

 is produced by the second ; the harrow or scarifier 

 will destroy mosses or other weeds whose roots 

 are fibrous and superficial ; the hand-hoe will extir- 

 pate such tap-rooted plants as resist the harrow and 

 are refused by cattle ; and Iraining will expel all 

 worthless aquatics." 



