EXERCISE OF FAITH. 215 



the next year's crop. Still, I have harvested one crop of 

 clover, of a ton to the acre, from that field. This plan 

 requires a certain amount of faith, which every farmer is not 

 willing to exercise. He is afraid that his grass-seed will be 

 overpowered by the weeds, and I know that that is discour- 

 aging, but nevertheless, if he will put on plenty of manure, 

 he can sow his grass-seed in the spring and reap a good crop 

 the same year; and, under favorable circumstances, two 

 crops. 



lu regard to this summer-fallowing, to which my friend, 

 Mr. Lewis, has referred, I see no necessity for losing a crop 

 of grass on account of ploughing up a meadow. The custom 

 that prevails with us is to plough the meadow after having 

 taken off the grass-crop as soon as we get through haying, 

 say the first of August, and by the first of September cross- 

 plough it, harrow it down a very little, and in the fall plough it 

 again and leave it in a rough state to the action of the frost. 

 The next spring, that land will pulverize like an onion-bed, 

 with one of these patent harrows, and early the next season 

 it will do to seed, and by a liberal application of manure we 

 can secure a good crop, and are net under the necessity of 

 losing a crop in order to restore new roots to the grass. 



Mr. Hawes, of Fairhaven. I remember, a short time ago, 

 I heard a story about two boys, one of whom had told the 

 other rather an improbable tale, and was met with the reply, 

 "It isn't so." "Yes it is, too," said the other ; " it's true, for 

 my mother said it was true. If it wasn't true, if my mother 

 said so, it was true." Now, I find myself very much in that 

 position. In that portion of the State in which I live we do 

 not have much snow to cover the roots of our grasses, and 

 we have to rely either upon purchased fertilizers or fertilizers 

 which we produce ourselves. I am one of those unfortunate 

 fancy-farmers of whom you sometimes hear ; but we fancy- 

 farmers want to know the truth as well as the other kind. 

 We find the truth of the bills when they come in. But those 

 of us who are interested in the land want to know what is the 

 best thing to be used generally. One man will tell us, as our 

 friend from Herkimer tells us, that mud and water make a 

 good fertilizer. Now, will mud and water suit the south- 

 eastern, central and northern portions of Massachusetts, or 



