No. 4.] NEW ENGLAND PASTURES. 21 



Professor Rane. Tlio gypsy and brown-tail moth arc cer- 

 tainly a great menace in the eastern part of the State. So 

 far as white pine is concerned, we need not worry so much. 

 The brown-tails will not touch them at all, and in a clear 

 stand of white pine the little gypsy moth caterpillars will die 

 before they get strong enough to feed on the needles. It is in 

 mixed stands that these insects do the greatest damage, and 

 they are certainly serious enough there. With such a stand 

 I should advise cutting it as soon as infested, and using the 

 money to set out a clear stand of white pine and to keep that 

 free from deciduous trees, thus protecting it from infestation. 



Mr. H. O. Daniels. We have few pastures in Connecticut, 

 and these we like to get into tillable land as rapidly as we can. 

 I am now plowing some of my pasture with dynamite, and 

 hope to grow alfalfa on it after we get it fitted. I do not 

 want the young men to get the idea that they can get more by 

 sitting still than they can by hustling, — that is not good doc- 

 trine. Let them look into these old pastures, rip out the 

 rocks, and cut the bushes and burn them. We are just begin- 

 ning to realize the possibilities of agriculture, and in a few 

 years they will be better known ; to-day the opportunities in 

 that line are the best in our history. 



Question. What are the possibilities of the continuous use 

 of commercial fertilizers on pastures, without stable manure ; 

 and what do you think of putting the land in clover for a 

 time ? 



Mr. Cotton. I think where the pasture is badly run down, 

 much can be accomplished by using a green manure crop ; and 

 I would rather depend on that plan than on the continuous use 

 of commercial fertilizers. They are more of a stimulant than 

 a plant food, in my judgment. 



Mr. Wm. E. Patrick. T have been troubled about my 

 pastures, for, while people say that I have good pastures, I 

 can see, when going over them, that they are not as good as 

 they used to be. These dry seasons have played havoc with 

 them. T would like to ask whether it would pay to sow a 

 grass mixture over these pastures that cannot be plowed 

 or harrowed as they stand ? Also, T have not been stocked 

 very heavy this year, and some grasses have gone to seed; 



