20 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



certain height they seem to be warped to a certain extent. 

 Nevertheless, I have seen a plantation of Scotch pine that 

 made trees of very fair size. The conditions are different on 

 Cape Cod than in other parts of the State ; but we find there 

 large white pine stumps, showing that white pine once grew 

 there. I think one reason that so little white pine is seen in 

 that section is because it is so valuable that the owners are cut- 

 ting it off as fast as it gets of salable size. Then, too, the fires, 

 which are so prevalent down there, kill out the white pines by 

 running over the ground, whereas they do not hurt the pitch 

 pine so nnich. The poplar springs up very readily after fire, 

 and might be valuable on the Cape. We have instances where 

 it has grown twenty-three inches in eighteen years ; and one 

 cabinet maker tells me that it is as valuable as white pine. 



Prof. W. D. lIuKD. This pasture question is a funda- 

 mental problem, of special imiwrtance in the dairy busi- 

 ness. These are two kinds of pastures : those of the west, 

 to which what Mr. Cotton has said fully applies ; and those 

 of New England, which are usually rather rough, rocky and 

 bushy, and I have been unable to work out his suggestions on 

 these lands. The mixture he advocated for seeding seems to 

 me excellent for hay land; but timothy and red and alsike 

 clovers are not, in my experience, adapted to our rough New 

 England pastures. Kentucky blue grass, redtop and meadow 

 grass are primarily pasture grasses. I want to ask whether 

 he has had any experience with Russian brome grass, and 

 whether that is not a grass that should do very well on these 

 rough hillsides ? 



Mr. CoTTOx. I do not know about the Russian brome 

 grass, but have doubts whether it would grow well here. We 

 have experiments going on now in Maine and Vermont, from 

 which we hope to work out the best pasture mixture for New 

 England. The mixture I have given to-day is based on gen- 

 eral knowledge, and may very well need modification for cer- 

 tain regions. 



Mr. Geo. W. Trut>t.. I would like to ask Professor 

 Rane whether he would advise the setting out of old pastures 

 to forests, with the gypsy and brown-tail moths so prevalent, 

 to say nothing of other pests and forest fires ? 



