24 THE COMPLETE FARMER 



Two able papers, ' On Grasses' have been written by 

 the Hon. John Welles, for the Massachusetts Agricultural 

 Repository. One of these, republished in the New England 

 Farmer, vol. i. page 235, contains the following observa- 

 tions on the loss of weight of certain grasses, by evapora- 

 tion, ' in the process of drying or making, for safe and use- 

 ful preservation.' 



It should be premised that the time of cutting the several 

 grasses, &:c., in the following statement, was the same as is 

 usually practised by husbandmen in this sta*e. 



' Of 100 lbs. of vegetables, cured in 1822, 

 was as follows, viz. : 



100 lbs. of green white clover gave of hay, 



100 " of red do. 



100 " of herd's grass, 



100 " of fresh meadow, 



100 " of salt grass, 



100 " of mixed 2d crop, English rowen, 



100 " of corn stalks, 



100 " of do. cut in the milk with the ear, 



' It is to be observed that thj weight will vary from ripe- 

 ness, and many other causes, such as wetness of season, 

 shade, thickness of growth, &c.' 



In a subsequent number of the Massachusetts Agricul- 

 tural Repository, was pi^lished another elaborate communi- 

 cation from the same pen, from which the following table is 

 extracted. 



Table showing the loss pf weight in drying grasses. 



* The white clover of 1822 was taken in the shade ; that in 1823, 

 from a light warm soil exposed to the sun. 



t The rea clover in 1823 'was ta^cen in the first year of its product, in 

 close g.owth, and for that reason falls short of 1822. 



I The salt grass of 1822 was, I have reason to suppose, a second 

 growth, which accounts for the difference of the two years. 



If enabled, experiments will in these cases be hereafter given, so as to 

 fix the result with sufficient accuracy. 



