SECRETARY'S REPORT.' 93 



docs not come within the loeriod that Mr. Perkins names. 

 When I was a young man, engaged in clearing land, I remember 

 very well, that where trees were cut in June or July, they 

 would sprout luxuriantly, because I had the painful labor of 

 going over and beating them off, before burning the brush. 



Mr. Smith. — One case is brought particularly to my mind. 

 Some few years ago, I purchased a piece of land of six acres, 

 covered with an alder swamp, very thick, and some of them 

 large enough to use for wood. I cleared that piece of ground 

 in the latter part of December, and I never was so little troubled 

 with sprouting as on that piece of land. That was an exceed- 

 ingly cold time ; but whether this result was owing to the action 

 of the frost on the roots, or to the time it was cut, or what, I 

 never was satisfied. I cut them as low as I could. 



Mr. Stebbins. — There are pasture lands in this vicinity for 

 which neither plaster nor ashes will do anything. What shall 

 we do with them ? Tliey have been plonghed to death. The 

 policy of the old farmers here was, when they cleared a piece of 

 timber land, to burn it over, plough it, and rye it ; and some of 

 our pastures have been ryed and ryed until there is hardly a 

 shadow of soil left. Tlicre is no vegetation on them, and no 

 amount of ashes or plaster that you can put upon them will 

 make vegetation there. There is another difficulty with our 

 pastures — some of our farmers are in the habit of stocking too 

 high. But there is another class who have run into the opposite 

 extreme. I have seen the feed on some of these pastures knee- 

 high all the season through, and in connection with tlie grass 

 there has sprung up, within the last few years, a little knotty 

 bush, almost as small as grass. There was none of that until 

 within the last four or five years. I attribute that wholly to 

 the grass not being fed down. The cattle won't touch that, 

 either early in the spring or late in the fall. Pasture lands 

 want to be fed off close all through the season. 



Mr. Taft. — The gentleman [Mr. Stebbins] wants to know 

 what he shall do with land that neither plaster nor ashes will 

 help. We have, in the south part of Worcester County, quite a 

 portion of territory that we call the " pine plains." That territory, 

 I am told, was planted with corn by the Indians, and since then 

 it has been ryed to death ; and we have come to the conclusion 

 that the best we can do with it is to let it run up to wood. 



