SECRETARY'S REPORT. 85 



With regard to the mode of destroyhig buslics, I can give 

 you a fact that came under my own observation. A pasture 

 was grown over with elders and white birches, which were 

 cut close to the ground, raked up and burnt, and then plaster 

 was sown on the ground. There was hardly any grass to be 

 seen at that time, but a good crop of grass immediately came 

 in ; and after a second cutting of the bushes, tlicre was no 

 more cutting to be done. I think it is true, that if you can 

 make grass grow you will destroy the brush,, and if you cut the 

 brush low, and often, if necessary, I think you will find that 

 with the aid of plaster, or some other fertilizer, you will remove 

 the bushes, and produce a good grass crop. 



Mr. Anderson. — I will say, that I think no labor bestowed on 

 my farm pays so well as this knocking to pieces and pulverizing 

 as fine as possible the droppings of the cattle. Pastures that 

 were very uneven when I began this operation have been made 

 smooth as mowing land, by spreading these droppings. Another 

 thing that I have attended to a great deal, is the removal of 

 stone. Our pastures are stony. On some of them, it would 

 seem as though the surface was covered with stone. When I 

 began to pull up these stone, one of my neighbors came along 

 and said : " You are injuring your land ; your labor is worse 

 than useless. Those stone warm the land, and stony land will 

 produce more feed." Well, I paid but little attention to it, 

 because, as far as my experience went, the grass around stones 

 was not more luxuriant than it was at a distance, but generally 

 the reverse. Then land that is covered with stones will not stand 

 drought so well as land that is free from them. Stone, from 

 the very nature of the substance, absorbs caloric, and heats the 

 soil. I had always observed that stony land dried first ; and 

 before I commenced this operation, our pastures suffered from 

 drought more than neighboring pastures. After removing 

 these stone, and encouraging the grass to extend to a deeper 

 depth, these pastures suffered less than any of the same 

 character. 



The Chairman. — Mr. Anderson has certainly advanced some 

 ideas that are valuable. Whether they are applicable to the 

 whole Commonwealth is a question. I should like to hear from 

 some gentlemen who have had experience in this matter. His 

 statement that he can raise more grass upon his pastures with- 



