1860. 



NEW ENGLAKD FARMER. 



193 



five pounds of seed in a bushel, and 76,000 seeds 

 in an ounce. 



GREEN ME 

 SPEAR 



VDOW GRASS, JUXE GRASS, COSfMOX 

 GRASS, KENTUCKY BLUE GRASS. 



This is an early grass, very common on the soils 

 of New England in pastures and fields, constitut- 

 ing a considerable portion of the turf. It varies 

 very much in size and appearance, according to 

 the soil on Avhich it grows. In Kentucky it is 

 universally known as Blue grass, and elsewhere 

 frequently called Kentucky Blue grass, and still 

 more frequently, June grass. It conies into the 

 soil in some parts of the country when left to it- 

 self, and grows luxuriantly on soils best suited to 

 it, and is relished by all cattle. Its creeping root 

 is said by some to impoverish the soil. Wherever 

 it is intended for hay it is cut at the time of flow- 

 ering, as if the seed is allowed to ripen, more than 

 a fourth part of the crop is lost. In its earliness, 

 it is equalled by some of the other grasses, and in 

 its nutritive constituents by several. After being 

 cut in summer it starts up slowly. It grows well 

 in rather a di-y soil, but will grow on a variety of 



soils, from the dryest knolls to a wet meadow. It 

 does not Avithstand our severe droughts as well as 

 some other grasses. 



TIMOTHY, OR HERDS-GRASS. 



As a crop to cut for hay it is probably unsur- 

 passed by any other grass now cultivated. Al- 

 though somewhat coarse and hard, especially if 

 allowed to ripen its seed, yet if cut in the blos- 

 som, or directly after, it is greatly relished by all 

 kinds of stock, and especially so by horses, while 

 it possesses a large percentage of nutritive mat- 

 ter in comparison with other agricultural grasses. 

 It is often sown with clover, but the best practi- 

 cal formers are beginning to discontinue this 

 practice, on account of the different times of blos- 

 soming of the two crops. Timothy being invari- 

 ably later than clover, the former must be cut too 

 green, before blossoming, Avhen the loss is great 

 hy shrinkage, and when the nutritive matter is 

 considerably less than at a little later period, or 

 the clover must stand too long, when there is an 

 equally serious loss of nutritious matter in that. 

 It thrives best on moist, peaty or loamy soils of 

 medium tenacity, and is not suited to sandy or 

 light gravelly lands ; for though on such soils, by 

 great care, it can be made to grow and produce 

 fair crops, some other grasses are better suited 

 to them, and more profitable. It grows very 

 readily and yields very large crops on favorable 

 soils. I have knoMU instances where its yield 

 was four tons to the acre of the best quality of 

 liay, the Timothy constituting the bulk of the 

 grass. It is cultivated with ease, and yields a 

 large quantity of seed to the acre, varying from 

 ten to thu'ty bushels on rich soils. 



For the Nete England Farmer. 

 PIPE FOR CONDUCTING "WATER. 



Mr. Editor : — In the Farmer of January 28th, 

 "A Reader" asks some questions with regard to 

 the best pipe for conveying hard water from a well 

 twenty feet deep to a pump about one Imndred 

 feet distant on a level. He also states that were 

 the water soft he should put in lead pipe. 



As I have seen no proper reply to this commu- 

 nication in your columns, I will venture a few 

 words, hoping they may be of use to your corres- 

 pondent, and prevent him or others being led 

 afrtray by his suppositions with regard to the dan- 

 gerous effects of soft water on lead. 



"A Reader" is mistaken in supposing that soft 

 water is not injured by lead pipe through which it 

 passes. The fact is quite the contrary. If rain 

 water be kept in lead cisterns, or those lined with 

 that metal, a white hydratcd oxide of lead is 

 formed at the surface of the water, where both air 

 and water have access to the metal. This oxide is 

 rapidly formed, it is soluble in the water, and ex- 

 ceedingly poisonous. The same effect takes place 

 in a lead pipe conveying soft water, as there is 

 ahvays more or less air in the pipe. 



But if the water contain even a small quantity 

 of carbonic acid, the oxide above mentioned will 

 be converted, as soon as formed, into carbonate of 

 lead, which is insoluble in water, and combines 

 with some other of the constituents of hard water 

 to form a coating in the inside of the pipe, which 



