No. 4.] SALT MARSH HAY. 51 



Question. How much does it average to the acre? 



Mr. Evans. Just about one ton. The census for Massa- 

 chusetts shows .96 ton to the acre. I believe that it is of 

 more value than the professor has shown. I believe that 

 good results can be obtained by feeding a good quality of salt 

 hay almost exclusively, but I do not think it would be 

 advisable to do that. It may be a waste of feed, but I think 

 it can be done, and the cattle will go out in good condition ; 

 but with a combination of ensilage and grain, I believe it is by 

 all odds the cheapest food that we can give our cattle, and I 

 believe it is as well relished by the cattle as any coarse fod- 

 ders that can be named. It is practically all eaten up, which 

 we cannot always say of straw ; and I have the utmost con- 

 fidence in saying that it has done more for the agriculture of 

 the coast sections of this Commonwealth than any other crop. 



Question. Are these marshes owned in large sections by 

 the farmers in this immediate vicinity ? 



Mr. Evans. They are mostly in small holdings, and are 

 owned by the farmers living at a convenient distance. A 

 man living back twenty or fifty miles would find himself at 

 a great disadvantage as compared with a man living within 

 three miles or five miles, because he would be too far away 

 to o-o to his work in the morninoj and return at ni^ht. 



Question. I would like to ask Mr. Evans on about what 

 proportion of these marshes machinery can be used. 



Mr. Evans. I find in my section that two men will just 

 about do the trimming out while I mow the best of the land. 

 Three men, a machine and horse, will cut from eight to 

 ten acres a day, and I live three miles away from the marsh. 



Question. Are those marshes all so you can go on with 

 a horse ? 



Mr. Evans. Yes, but some marshes are worse than 

 others ; some are full of creeks and ponds, and some are 

 large tracts. My own marsh is situated on the fui-ther shore 

 of a river, where I have to boat my horse across. The river 

 is perhaps fifty or seventy-five feet wide. 



Secretary Sessions. You have some contrivance for 

 keeping your horse from miring, have you not ? 



Mr. Evans. Yes. Our marshes are so soft that I can 

 take an ordinary hand rake and run the handle down into the 



