TO KILL COUCH-GRASS. 217 



living for a number of years on the western slope of the 

 Ancles. Said he, "It never rains there, but the crops are 

 produced by irrigation." "Well," said I, "if I only had the 

 mountain-streams that come down from the Andes to run 

 over my farm, perhaps I might do it." That suggestion, 

 thrown out by my friend, is worthy of consideration ; wher- 

 ever we can possibly collect a reservoir of water in the proper 

 season of the year, let it be meadow-land or let it be sand, 

 distribute it over that land. It is the cheapest fertilizer ; it 

 is something that can be applied everywhere, and it will do 

 an infinite amount of good. 



One word about this summer-fallowing, for I believe in 

 that. Some of us over in Barre have had to do that, in 

 order to eradicate witch-grass, a troublesome grass which we 

 do not like. We find it pays to turn up grass-land in June, 

 and fallow it. The land is not exhausted ; it is brought up to 

 that condition which our friend, Mr. Lewis, illustrated so 

 clearly, where all the infinitely small roots will take hold and 

 feed fast. 



One word about seeding. We sometimes get discouraged, 

 because, when we sow our grass-seed in the spring with our 

 grain the drought kills it, so we do this : Late in the fall, 

 just before the ground freezes up, or early in the spring, on 

 the last snows that come, we throw on abundance of grass- 

 seed, and let it alone. It grows and does nicely. I have 

 tried it in many cases with good results. Then, again, here 

 is a piece of land where the grass is apparently killed out, 

 in our pastures or in our mowings ; sow on grass-seed and let 

 it alone ; it will grow and do well. On our hillsides, where 

 we cannot plough, throw on white-clover or any kind of seed 

 you please in the spring, and it makes a beautiful grass-plot. 

 You will notice, as you go over your ploughed land, that it is 

 all honey-combed, heaped up in little ridges which the frost 

 has left there. Beautiful places they are for grass-seed ; 

 throw it on early in the spring and level it down, and I will 

 warrant you that it will grow in ordinary seasons. 



Mr. Phinney, of Barnstable. I do not know that I shall 

 be able to throw much light on this subject. In some sec- 

 tions, the gentleman from Herkimer tells us, sand serves to 

 produce grass, and in confirmation of that, I will say, that it 



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