PASTURAQB. 853 



not so bulky ; but tested by weight and by spending quality 

 in the Winter, it is much the most valuable." 



" Herds-grass hay grown on moist uplands or reclaimed 

 meadows, and swamps of a mucky soil, or lands not over- 

 charged with silica, is of good quality ; but when grown on 

 sandy and gravelly soils abounding in silex, the stalks are 

 hard, wiry, coated with silicates as with glass, and neither 

 horses nor cattle will eat it as well, or thrive as well on it as 

 on hay made of red-top and clover; and as for milch cows, 

 they winter badly on it, and do not give out the milk as 

 when fed on softer and more succulent hay." 



By managing while clover, according to Mr. Holbrook's 

 plan, it might be made to blossom abundantly in the second 

 crop, and thus lengthen out, to very great advantage, the 

 pasture for the bees. For fear that any of my readers 

 might suspect Mr. Holbrook of looking at the white clover, 

 through a pair of lee-spectacles, I would add that although 

 he has ten acres of it in mowing, he has no bees, and has 

 never particularly interested himself in this branch of rural 

 economy. When we can succeed in directing the attention 

 of such men to bee-culture, we may hope to see as rapid 

 an advance in this as in some other important branches of 

 agriculture. 



Sweet-scented clover, {Mellilotus Leucantha,) affords a 

 rich bee-pasturage. It blossoms the second year from the 

 seed, and grows to a great height, and is always swarming 

 with bees until quite late in the Fall. Attempts have 

 been made to cultivate it for the sake of its value as a hay 

 crop, but it has been found too coarse in its texture, to be 

 very profitable. Where many bees are kept, it might how- 

 ever, be so valuable for them as to justify its extensive culti- 

 vation. During the early part of the season, it might be 

 mowed and fed to the cattle, in a green and lender state, 

 30* 



