ABOUT FRUITS, FLOWERS AND FARMING. 67 



fragrance, or odor of any sort except a faint smell of old 

 wood, or more pungent odor of mold. 



We say, in conclusion, grass should not be left so long 

 that it will be already dry and cured before it is cut ; and, 

 after grass is once down, it is not to be treated like flax, and 

 left to bleach and rot, but should be got in as soon as pos- 

 sible. Farmers whose hay is on the stack or in the mow 

 may laugh at this article ; those whose hay is not stacked or 

 in the barn had better do something besides laugh. 



LAYING DOWN LAND TO GRASS. 



WE shall speak of the kinds and quality of seed, and of 

 the time and manner of putting them in. 



We think our farmers err in not sowing enough kinds of 

 seed together. 



The objects to be secured are very early grass in the 

 spring, a heavy body of hay, a rapid after-growth, and the 

 greatest amount which the soil can yield. No one grass can 

 be found capable of meeting all these ends. Some are very 

 early, but not heavy enough or sufficiently nutritious for the 

 main crop ; others are admirable for hay, but do not start 

 readily again after cutting. By judiciously mixing different 

 sorts of grasses, any one of these objects may be secured 

 and the meadow be admirable both for the scythe and for 

 pasturage. Nor can the soil be made to yield all of which 

 it is capable in any other way ; for a square foot of ground 

 may be able to sustain but a certain number of roots of any 

 one kind of grass, and yet many support, in addition, as 

 much more of another kind, since different species of grass 

 draw their nourishment from different portions of the soil 

 the fibrous-rooted grasses from the surface, and tap-rooted 

 plants from the lower strata of the soil, while broad-leaved 

 vegetation, as clovers, lucerne, etc., draw very much of 



