1861. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



567 



True, the presence of lime, especially in the sub- 

 stratum, is an indispensable condition to success, 

 yet we might as well assert that Indian corn can 

 be profitably grown on any soil by the assistance 

 of manure. 



It is a very long-lived grass, in proof of which 

 we quote the following illustration from the pages 

 of Von Thaer : "On a piece of garden ground, 

 formerly used as a lucerne field, and afterward 

 turned up twice with the spade — and laid down 

 to grass, I have seen isolated lucerne plants grow 

 up which must have been at least thirty years old. 

 A lucerne field may often be kept up fifteen years ; 

 seven or eight years is the time usually reckoned. 

 Some cultivators suffer their lucerne to grow for 

 four or five years only, not so much from fear of 

 its perishing or diminishing, as for the sake of 

 turning the soil to greater account by more rapid 

 alternation." 



We have, seen it stated that some Massachu- 

 setts farmer has cultivated this grass for many 

 years on a piece of pine plain land, and finds it 

 not only a vigorous grower, but a grass which 

 makes an excellent food for stock, either green 

 or dry. 



If the plant is so long-lived, as is stated by 

 Von Thaer, the cost of preparing the ground is no 

 greater than that of preparing it for the Timothy 

 crop, as that ought to be repeated as often as 

 once in seven or eight years. It is best to sow 

 it in drills just as early as the ground is fit to re- 

 ceive the seed in the spring, and if well tended, it 

 may be cut three or four times during the season, 

 affording an abundant and highly nutritious crop 

 each time. It flourishes in Maine, where the 

 ground is continually covered with snow through 

 the winter ; but there may be risk in cultivating 

 in the eastern part of Massachusetts, on account 

 of the earth being bare sometimes for weeks to- 

 gether, when it is very cold. It is a crop well 

 worthy of experiment, especially by those who 

 produce milk for market. 



ARB BEES DOMESTIC ANIMALS P 



A singular point of law was recently submitted 

 to the Imperial Court of Limoges, namely, wheth- 

 er bees are to be ranged in the class of what the 

 law calls "domestic animals," or are to be con- 

 sidered as "wild and ferocious." A laborer named 

 Sauvenet, of Chenerailles, proceeded on the 8th 

 of October, 1859, to extract the honey from a 

 bee-hive in the garden of his employer, a tax- 

 gatherer, named Beraud. This irritated the bees, 

 and they flew wildly about. At that moment a 

 farmer named Legrand, of PeripoUes, accompa- 

 nied by his son, a boy of thirteen, came u p the 

 road in a gig, and the bees stung them and the 

 horse severely. The animal in terror began 

 prancing furiously, and the farmer and his son 

 jumped out of the vehicle ; the boy then ran along 

 the road trying to avoid the bees, but the horse 



having started off", knocked him down, and so in- 

 jured him that he died in a few hours. Legrand 

 afterward brought an action before the Civil Tri- 

 bunal of Aubusson against Beraud and Sauve- 

 net, to obtain from them 3000 francs as indemni- 

 ty for the death of his son, which he said must be 

 considered as caused by the bees. But the Tri- 

 bunal held that bees are "ferocious animals" 

 which no one can be expected to control, and 

 that therefore the action could not be maintained. 

 An appeal was presented to the Imperial Court at 

 Limoges, and after long arguments a contrary de- 

 cision was come to, the court laying down that 

 bees are "domestic animals," and that the owner 

 of them is responsible for any injury they com- 

 mit ; it therefore ordered that 200 francs should 

 be paid to the plaintiff. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 IMPHOVTNa PASTUKE LANDS. 

 Bead before the Concord Farmers' Club, 

 BY JACOB B. FAKMER. 



The subject is one, like all other agricultural 

 topics, that must be met according to circumstan- 

 ces. Every one knows that our bodily wants are 

 varied by location, temperature, and a thousand 

 incidents that cannot be foreseen. So with the 

 improvement of pasture lands, and all other agri- 

 cultural operations. 



Cold, wet lands may be greatly improved by 

 thorough drainage ; drainage is not the less im- 

 portant because we wish the land for pasturage. 

 Much of our hill lands are too wet to produce 

 good, sweet feed ; water grasses and rushes of 

 all kinds are a sure omen of too much surface 

 water ; cows that run on such pastures are sure 

 to give milk of an ordinary quality, consequently, 

 butter produced from such milk will be inferior. 



You probably wish to know what is to be done 

 with such lands. Were I skilled in this point, I 

 certainly could not give directions without seeing 

 or knowing the land. There is, however, one 

 general rule that will apply to all wet lands, 

 where grass or gi-ain is the product sought ; that 

 is, thorough drainage ; keep the water at least 

 eighteen inches below the surface, and my word 

 for it, you will not be troubled with "brown shag," 

 knot grass, or any of the rushes. 



I have seen low lands greatly improved by 

 plowing twice a year for thi'ee years in succes- 

 sion, without taking ofFa crop, but this, however, 

 was where the land was too far from home to cart 

 manure. I think as great improvement could have 

 been made in less time, had there been oats, clo- 

 vei-, millet, or some other crop plo«jed under 

 whilst green. 



There is another class of lands, although high ' 

 and dry, yet covered with stones, brush and bri- ' 

 ars, that looks forbidding to the plowman. I have 

 known such lands to be trebled in value in three , 

 years, by stocking heavily with sheep, which ' 

 course I think highly of. There are, however, ^ 

 two or three objections, or obstructions in the 

 way of this mode of improvement, in ^liddlesex 

 County. One objection is the high price of fen- 

 cing stuff, or the want of a breed of sheep that 

 will not jump or ramble, which, by-the-by, I have 

 heard are to be found in Essex County. Another 

 is, that faithful, but almost always useless animal, 



