40 IMPROVEMENT OF WET MEADOWS. 



manure to the acre. This compost contained two 

 cords of night manure, 4 cords of yellow loam, and 

 4 cords of gravel, and was spread evenly over the 

 ground in the Spring, as soon as the frost was out. 

 The following Summer I cut on an average, 3 tons 

 to the acre, of good, merchantable English Hay. 

 The following year the 7 acres produced 2 1-2 tons 

 to the acre, and the third year 2 tons to the acre. 

 The Winter after the third cutting, I top dressed the 

 same land with the like compost, ten cords to the 

 acre. The next year the grass was equally good as 

 the first year's mowing, but decreased in quantity the 

 two following years, in the same ratio as at the first 

 manuring. 



Two years after my experiment upon the seven 

 acres, I went over about 3 acres of the same mea- 

 dow, while frozen, and cut off all the hassocs, so as 

 to leave the ground smooth, and hauled off the has- 

 socs. In the Winter I carried on to the land, ten 

 cords to the acre, of manure from the slaughter 

 house yard, where I kept 8 or 10 hogs. Early in 

 the Spring, this manure was well spread upon the 

 land, and I then sowed to the acre the like kind and 

 the same quantity of grass seed as I did on the seven 

 acres. The following summer I mowed the three 

 acres twice. On one acre which I measured, and 

 about as good as any of the three, I cut the first time 

 three tons of hay, which I sold at ^25 the ton, the 

 second cutting 11-2 ton, which sold at ^'17. The 

 whole quantity of hay upon one acre that year, a- 

 mounted to ^100 50. The second year I had an 

 equally good crop on this land as the first, but I did 

 not cut the second crop. The third year the crop 

 decreased, as the crop of the third year upon the seven 

 acres. The Winter after the third Summer I car- 

 ried upon this land ten cords to the acre of the like 

 compost as upon the seven acres.-. The next Sum- 

 mer the crop was equally good as the first crop upon 



