508 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Sept. 



and then strain tliem through the seive and they 

 •nil! come thrun^h nearly ehumed butter, x. u. 

 Addison County, \'t., July, 187 !• 



SCARCITY OF FODUKlt — SOWING CLOVER. 



There is more stock in" this town than can be 

 fed, with every means nsed to funiish substitutes 

 for hay. If we are obliged to dispose of only the 

 ■worthless stcjck, there will be little loss. 



How late in tlie season can red clover be sown 

 and have it live through the winter ? Many lields 

 must be re-seeded before they will yield much hay. 

 "We intend to plough and re-seed as fast as we can 

 manure the land. F. F. Fisk. 



Mast Yard, N. //., 1871. 



Remarks. — There is some difference of opinion 

 among good farmei-s with regard to the time of 

 sowing clover seed. This is not singular, as there 

 is a ditference on nearly every item of farm labor. 

 The objection to sowing in .\ugust or September, 

 is, that the new roots do not get sufficient attach- 

 ment in the soil, and strength to withstand the 

 cold of winter. This would depend very much 

 upon two things, — the kind of soil, and the char- 

 acter of the winter. If sown upon land that is 

 drained, or a loam that is porous, or upon a gentle 

 slope where the water would not stand upon the 

 surface, we think clover would establish itself so 

 as to resist the cold of any ordinary winter weather. 

 If quite wet, the roots will not penetrate the soil 

 much, and are likely to l)e thrown out by frost, 

 and the plants perish. 



So on a field that is generally favorable, if there 

 are low places where the water stands, it will 

 freeze over, and in the process of freezing and 

 thawing the clover will be killed out. This is 

 quite often the case, not only with clover, but with 

 winter wheat. WTicre the soil, then, is in either of 

 these conditions, it would be the best way to sow- 

 clover seed about the first of April. In an emer- 

 gency, however, like the present, we should not 

 hesitate to sow clover at any time during the month 

 of August. 



A writer in the Western' Farmer states that, 

 during a practice of sixteen years, he has sown 

 clover seed in mid-winter on the snow, in the 

 spring, in the summer and in the fall, and has had 

 the seed fail of catching in all the seasons, except 

 when sown in the month of August. His practice 

 is to sow in the month of August, and put no crop 

 with the seed, except it is for protection. When 

 sown after a crop of oats, enough oats will come 

 up from the stublile for protection. 



Since it has been a practice to hoe level in corn- 

 fields we have sometimes laid them to gi-ass with 

 excellent results while the corn was standing. 

 There are some advantages in this process. One 

 is that, unless the drought is very severe, the sur- 

 face of the ground in the corn-field will be mofW; 

 and this is indispensable to a quick starting and 

 growth of the seed. 



A second is, that the standing com is a protection 

 to the young grass, which is very tender in its 

 early growth, and is often killed by the hot sun 

 when standing alone. 



A third and important advantage is, that few or 

 no weeds will be in the way, as it is presumed that 

 the com has been kept clean. The grasses, and 

 the clover, having been well rooted in the fall, — in 

 the spring they will take the lead of weeds and 

 foul grasses, and thus kill out a variety of plants 

 that are not wanted. If the land is kept in good 

 condition afterwards, by top-dressing, it will be- 

 come thoroughly stocked with the rich grasses 

 which are desired. 



We agree with you, that most of our grass fields 

 must be re-seeded. The nearly two-year's drought 

 and the uncovered surface of the fields of last 

 winter, have so far destroyed the roots of the 

 timothy and red top, as to make this re-seeding a 

 positive necessity. 



The rains of late July and earlj' August are 

 getting the soil into a favorable condition for lay- 

 ing to grass, so that it will be well to re-stock as 

 much as can be well done. 



CHESS, or cheat. 



Will you please tell me the name of the grass 

 enclosed ? The only place we find it on the farm 

 is where grass seed was sown last year. 



Mast Yard, .Y. //., 1871. F. F. Fisk. 



Remarks. — Mr. Flint, author of a work on 

 "Grasses and Forage Plants," to whom we sub- 

 mitted your specimen says it is chess. Besides be- 

 ing a troul)lcsonie weed, especially in gi-ain fields, 

 it is of little or no value as fodder. Yet a few 

 years ago the seed was sold as Willard's Bromus, 

 at monstrous prices, and was advertised with the 

 commendation of a committee of an agricultural 

 society and with the names of distinguished friends 

 of agriculture. A quantity was sent to the State 

 Farm of Massachusetts, where Mr. Flint discovered 

 its true character. He found by actual experiment 

 that cattle which were fed swale hay and bromus 

 or chess at the same time ate the swale hay first. 



LAMOILLE VALLEY SCENERY — GARDEN STUFF. 



I have been reading Mr. Brown's letter "Among 

 the Farmers and Mountains." I am located in the 

 Lamoille Valley, in fair view of Mt. Mansfield, 

 and if he will vi^it this section on his next trip, I 

 will guide him to any place of interest he may 

 wish. Although he finds us Vermonteis without 

 gardens, I will treat him to potatoes, sweet corn, 

 beans, peas, onions, carrots, beets, cabbage, tur- 

 nip, lettuce, cucumbers, melons and oyster plants, 

 and if his health is poor. I can offer him sage, saf- 

 fron, wormwood, &c., from my garden; yet mine 

 is no better than those of other fanners in this 

 town. 



BEES AND HONEY. 



One thing which farmers neglect is the honey 

 bee. It is really too bad, while nature has fur- 

 nished so many plants and flowers for the secretion 

 of honcv, that' the people so much neglect to care 

 for and encourage honey bees, which alone are 

 treated to collect it for the use of man. The rea- 

 son usually assigned for not keeping them is that 

 they wilTsting. Now this is all wrong, for the 

 bee, if rightly cared for, is just as harmless as any 

 of our domestics, though if misused they will re- 

 sent it even at the risk of their lives. Mr. BrouTi 



