208 



XEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



May 



ity of soils will justify this great disparity in 

 the amount of seed to be used. 



In seed wheat, the tables vary forty quarts ; 

 the lowest being three peeks, and the highest, 

 eiglit pecks per acre. Barley, one and one- 

 half to two and one-half bushel. Oats, two to 

 four bushel. Rye, one to two bushel. Beets 



way of laying lands to grass in the spring 

 without a grain crop. The weeds are so much 

 more hardy, and so rapid in their growth, that 

 they occupy the ground before the grass gets 

 strong, and thus they are kept under through- 

 out the season, 



A generous seeding is, therefore, the safest 



in drills, four to six pounds. Indian corn for j course always. Most of our lands are weedy, 



soiling Ijroadcast, three to four bushel. Peas 

 in drills, one to two and one-half bushel. 

 Carrots, from two to five pounds ; the smallest 

 amount would probably be sufficient if in drills. 

 In returns made to the Secretary of the 

 Board of Agriculture, something more than 

 one-third of the whole recommend one bushel 



though under a pretty high state of cultiva- 

 tion, so far as richness is concerned. Thin 

 seeding may answer on soil free from weeds, 

 but on a thin soil, infested with weeds, the 

 seeding should be thick to bring the plants 

 very near each other. 



In the Country Oenileman, just come to 



f redtop, weighing twelve pounds ; one peck hand, we find the followmg testnnony of Mr 



of timothy, weighing eleven pounds, and five 

 pounds of red clover for an acre. There is a 

 pretty general agreement in the cpiantity of 

 timothy and clover, with the amount just men- 

 tioned. Some of the returns, however, are as 

 low as one-half a bushel of redtop, and as 

 liish as half a bushel of timothy 



AVm. Newton, of Henrietta, N. Y. He sAys : 

 "To test the question of thick and thin seeding, 

 a small part of the held was sown at the rate of two 

 bushels per acre. On this piece the oats were two 

 or three davs later than on the rest of the held, and 

 showed signs of rust, but were not luatoriallj' in- 

 jured liy it. The result of my observations is that 

 oats that are thickly sown arc nuieh less liable to 

 be injured by rust; that they ripen earlier, and 

 that the straw is brighter and of better quality. 



^ than when onlv a small quantity ot seed is used. 



One of the points by which we should be | rj-jjig iia})ilitv to rust is one great objection to very 



govented in sowing, is the weight a.d fineness f^^;J^^^^^S^:f^^SlS^ 

 ^f +Ua ocofl da ft nninid of onc kind mav con- ,,c„.,n,r cr.«-n wTint sTitticiiiit : that more miffht be 



of the seed, as a pound of one kind may con 

 tain three or four times the number of indi- 

 vidual seeds that another kind does. The 

 more single seeds there are in a pound or 

 bushel, the more there will be to each square 

 foot of the field. 



Another point is the quality of the soil upon 

 which the seeds are sown. If it is rich, a less 

 number will be required, because the plants 

 coming from them will be more vigorous, and 

 require more room than they will on a poor 



soil. 



A third reason for sowing more or less seed 



, is in the mechanical condition of the soil. If 



, a field has been ploughed when too wet, so 

 that the leveling and harrowing did not break 

 up the lumps, and give a fine, mellow tilth, 



. that field will require more seed than one that 

 is in good condition in this respect, because a 



. considerable portion of the seed will not come 

 up. Some of it will be left upon the surface, 



, and dried up by sun and wind ; but a much 

 larger ])ortion buried too deejily under the 



, lumps and rot there. 



If the land is weedy, tJiick seeding is indis- 

 pensable. One or the othe* must prevail. If 

 weeds take the precedence, there will be little 



usually sown is not suttieieiit; that more might be 

 used to advantage. * * The largest crops of oats 

 I have ever seen raised, were sown at the rate of 

 three and one-half bushels per acre." 



MASSACHUSETTS POULTBY ASSOCI- 

 ATION. 



At a meeting held at the Parker House, Boston, 

 on the •2'2d of March, by a number of gentlemen 

 interested in the breeding and management of 

 Poultry, it was voted to form an organization to 

 be known as the "Massachusetts Poultry Associa- 

 tion," and the following ofticers were elected for 

 the ensuing year : — 



President, Philander Williams, Taunton. 



Vice Presidents, William J. Undirwood, Belmont; 

 Atherton F. Brown, Boston; Klbridge C. Comey, 

 Quincy; Moses Kllis, Framinghum; Henry F. Felch, 

 Katick; Edminid Rodman, Sew Bedford; G. Morgan 

 Smith, SuiUh Hadley; Georife B. Durfee, Fallliiver ; 

 C. Carroll Loring, South Boston ; Jolni B Jloore, Cou- 



Con'esijondiny Secretary, J. M. Cady, Boston. 



Recording Secretary, W. B. Atkinson, Xewburport. 



Auditor, Edwin N. Rice, Clinton. 



Treasurer, Nathaniel Foster, Jr., Belmont. 



Erecutive Committee, John P. Buzzell, Clinton; 

 Jacob Graves, Reading; Mark I'itman, Salem; Wm. 

 H. Brackett, Boston; Col. Geo. A. Meacham, Bomer- 

 ville; Geo. F. Champney, Taunton; Joseph K. Pierce, 

 Holliston; Chas. E. Tutlle, Boston; JuUua K. Ban- 

 nister, Boston ; Chas. L. Copeland, Milton. 



—The liural New Yorker .says the most efficient 

 remedy for the onion grub is irrigation. If it is 

 practicable to flood the garden aflected by the 



,>tt«o I— V. ^-^ , grubs it will almost totally annihilate them. After 



< of. aujthing else. This Is the difllculty In the u coi)ious shower of raiu they often disappear. 



