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very best quallt}' for producing rich milk and butler, all the better 

 portions of tlie mowing are sown with such grasses as can be made 

 to produce two or three crops in a ^^ear. 



Varikties of Grass Seed. 



On tlie reclaimed meadow land orchard grass is grown as a 

 l)rincipal crop, always giving three cuttings in a season. Herds- 

 grass is put a little higher up, and, if top-dressed, yields two good 

 crops, while on the dry hills that are not good grass lands, except 

 in very favorable seasons, the red-top is sown, which never can be 

 cut the second time. The dilferent kinds are grown separately in 

 a measure, so that haying may not come all at once, as the differ- 

 ent kinds do not come to maturity at the same time by about 

 tifteen to thirty da3's. 



TliME OF 8owiN(;. 



1 sow grass seed both in spring and fall, just as soon as a field is 

 ready. At both seasons 1 like to have it in early, the earlier the 

 better. Sow winter rye for fodder every fall, and am very success- 

 ful with grass seed at the same time. The rye comes off so very 

 early the next spring that the grass has time to make a good 

 growth, thfit can be cut in August. On all fall-sown fields, clover 

 is put on the following spring. I frequently lose the seed by its 

 swelling before steady warm weather, and then shrinking again and 

 dying, unless it can be worked in a little with a harrow. If I lose 

 it, I re-sow it even the third time, if necessary. I consider clover- 

 seed cheap at any ordinary price, to mix with other grasses. It 

 takes but little value to sow au acre, and if it catches and does 

 well, it pays largely, while if it fails, the loss on account of seed is 

 (piite small. Herdsgrass, I very much prefer to sow in the fall 

 early enough to get a good hold on the soil before winter sets in. 

 Sometimes the grasshoppers do it great damage by eating off 

 the young blades as fast as they come above ground ; but if we do 

 not sow Ave must not expect to reap. If herdsgrass is sown in 

 spring, it is ({uite apt to l)e killed by the hot summer sun just after 

 taking off the first crop, especially if it has grown fast and is tall 

 aad slender. 



Pkeparation of Land. 



I rather prefer to have the land to be seeded, previousl}- planted 

 with some hoed crop ; but if I have fields that from an}' cause are 

 not producing satisfactory crops, I do not hesitate to re-seed with- 

 out planting If to be sown in spring, I should want the ground 

 well plowed, cultivated and manured the fall before, so that I 

 could get the seed in at the earliest moment that the grouiid could 

 be made fit. In preparing for re-seeding, I am particular to have 

 the furrows turned well over, all one way, by a swivel plow that 

 leaves no dead furrows or ridges, and not less than eight inches 

 deep, so I can have a mellow top soil of at least ibur inches for a 

 seed bed. Always pick up loose stones, and roll down smooth at 



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