386 Transactions of the American Institute. 



States, their soil or climate, or both, must be anomalous indeed. It 

 is hardly possible. Who will make his fortune by supplying the 

 southern States with grass and clover ? Slavery has left sad marks 

 of its power for mischief upon the minds and consciences of all classes 

 of its victims, but it is to be hoped it has not so poisoned the air and 

 perverted the soil as to make them obnoxious to one of the greatest 

 and most widely diffused gifts of God. 



Mr. ]Sr. C. Meeker. — Grass grows in warm climates, it is true, but 

 when eaten close it dies out, because no sod is made. Society and 

 grass are not found together in warm climates, and only skill, care, 

 and time will bring grass in after it once is eaten out. 



Yalue of Broom Corn Seed. 



Mr. C. W. Carpenter, Mount Gilead, Ohio. — I do not think broom 

 corn seed is good for stock ; there is a dust with the seed, very pois- 

 onous and irritating to the skin, as all know who have handled it ; 

 horses and cat'tle that feed on it do not thrive ; the hair looks rough ; 

 it irritates the stomach and bowels. A good way, if one has the 

 seed, is to spread it around on the barn floor, and thrash it thoroughly 

 with a flail, then clean all dust from it, mix it with corn and oats, 

 and get it grcund for chop ; bnt the better way is not to have any 

 ,broom corn seed ; cut the brush as soon as the pollen has fallen, or 

 it is out of bloom. A broom made from green broom corn will out- 

 last two made from ripe brush ; and the green, when cured, is woi'th 

 •double the red or ripe brush, and it will weigh one-third more. If 

 housed at this stage, the stalks make excellent fodder ; stock will eat 

 it clean, and such fodder is worth several times what the seed would 

 be ; but the stalks must not be stacked like corn fodder, for they will 

 heat and spoil. Ojie layer of broom corn fodder and one of corn 

 fodder in the stack will do ; feed late in the fall and open spells in 

 winter, for stock cannot eat it well when it is frozen hard. Dwarf 

 broom corn makes the best fodder, and it produces more brush to the 

 acre, and better brush. Pure seed is hard to get. 



Grass for Manure. 



Mr. M. L. Baker, Galveston Island, Texas, asked v\'hether a layer 

 of grass and a layer of manure built up in a pen would make good 

 compost, and whether green or dry grass would be better. 



Mr. Thomas Cavanah. — We make a good deal of manure for our 

 own use, and also sell considerable. All manure heaps of this kind 



