TOO MUCH LAND —TO BREEDERS OF SHORT-IIORN CATTLE. 
of plants. Iii the hothouse, more soluble or nutri¬ 
tive matter, and also more vegetable or woody fibre, 
were afforded by this grass than was afforded by the 
plants of it, cultivated out of doors in the grass gar¬ 
den.” * * 
“ Tn the East Indies, the Doob grass grows luxuri¬ 
antly, and is highly valued as food for horses, &c.; 
in this climate, however, it scarcely begins to vege¬ 
tate till the month of June, and the above details show 
that its produce and nutritive powers here are not 
sufficiently great to hold out any hope that its valua¬ 
ble properties in the East Indies can be made availa¬ 
ble in the climate and soil of Britain. Sir William 
Jones gives a figure of the Doob grass, in his works, 
vol. 2, p. 58. The essential specific characters of 
the grass, as exhibited by Sir W. Jones, and those 
which our figure present, are precisely the same.” 
Elliott, in his Botany of South Carolina and Geor¬ 
gia, places the Bermuda grass as a Digitaria dacty- 
Ion, and refers to the synonyms of Panicum dacty- 
lon (shown by Lambert to be the Doob grass), and 
Cynodon dactylon (proved by Sinclair to be identical 
with it). See his Botany, vol. 1, p. 133. 
Pursh, in his Flora America, describes the Cynoden 
dactylon, Panicum dactylon, Digitaria dactylon, as 
synonymous. . 
Generic character. Calyx, two valves, expanding, 
lanceolate; corolla larger, two valves; exterior valve 
larger and egg-shaped. Nectar, truncate. Spike (of 
flower), digitate; flowers, solitary. 
Specific character. Spikes, digitate, spread out, 
hairy at their base, flowers solitary, stems creeping. 
This description in every respect corresponds with 
the living plant. 
Linnaeus, in his Systema Vegetabilium, describes 
the Panicum dactylon to possess the same specific 
character as applied by Pursh to the Cynoden dacty¬ 
lon ; in fact, Pursh uses his language. 
In class and order, the Bermuda grass is Triandria 
Digynia. Its two purple, feathery stigmas, give it 
the beautiful appearance noticed by Sir William Jones. 
The proof of the identity of the Doob and Bermuda 
grass, is therefore supported by our learned botanist, 
Mr. Elliott, who makes the latter the Digitaria dac¬ 
tylon, Cynoden dactylon, or Panicum dactylon; by 
Sinclair , who identifies the Cynoden dactylon with 
the Doob grass ; and by Lambert, who also proves it 
to be the Panicum dactylon; and still further by 
Pursh, who shows the Cynoden dactylon, Panicum 
dactylon, and Digitaria dactylon, to be one and the 
same plant. There is a very close correspondence 
between the figures given by Sir William Jones and 
Sinclair. That of the latter is even more like the 
Bermuda grass than that of the former. The parts 
of fructification differ only in this, that the two rows 
of flowers on the spikes are less distinctly marked on 
the plants than in the plates. In the specimens 
which I have examined, the flowers are rather imbri¬ 
cated than arranged in distinct rows, as stated in Sin¬ 
clair’s description, and represented in his figure. 
I offer no apology for this dry string of authorities, 
as I am aware that, to a mind like yours, anything 
which tends to illustrate what is useful, cannot be 
otherwise than interesting, and that the confirmation 
of a sagacious conjecture cannot but be gratifying. 
With great respect, I am, dear sir, your most ob’t 
serv’t, J. H. Couper. 
Sand Hills, Wayne Co., 15 th June , 1826. 
TOO MUCH LAND! TOO MUCH LAND ! 1 
1 cannot travel in any direction but I am constrain¬ 
ed to make the above exclamation. There is scarcely 
a farm that I visit, but I see more to be done than the 
occupant has time or ability to do. The thing I am 
about to complain of now, may appear to some very 
trifling; but to me it is a great eyesore, to say the 
best of it. It is well known, however, that in a flat 
country, with a clay subsoil, water will find its rest¬ 
ing-places where it is left to stand, and freeze over in 
the winter to make a sliding or skating place for 
boys, or to be evaporated by the sun in summer, 
making a barren spot in the midst of a fertile meadow 
or fruitful field, through the season. Now there is 
scarcely an acre of land to be found, not swampy (for 
of this I am not writing), but may be drained of its 
surface water by a single furrow leading into a ra¬ 
vine, either natural or artificial, taking the furrow or 
sod which is turned over, if in a meadow, to the 
manure or compost heap, throwing plenty of hay 
chaff into the furrow which immediately sods over, 
and you will scarcely perceive it at a little distance, 
although you may have occasion, in some cases, to 
run two or more furrows, and even to use the spade 
a little occasionally. The great excuse I know is, 
we have no time for these trifles. Then throw a few 
acres of your tillage land into mowing or pasture, 
cultivate less land and do it better, and you will find 
more money in your purse, besides having a beautiful 
landscape to look upon. Octogenarian. 
•The following communication was sent us by pri¬ 
vate hand at the time of its date; but for some reason 
or other, of which we are not informed, was detained 
in Albany nearly one month before being mailed. 
Had it been promptly forwarded, it would have ap¬ 
peared in our February No. The public may depend 
upon the Herd Book being published as proposed, a 
number of gentlemen in this State having determined 
with Mr. Allen upon its issue, even if it only records 
the pedigrees of their own cattle; and those who delay 
sending in their pedigrees now, will not have an opi- 
portunity of doing so again for years, which will un¬ 
questionably be a cause of deep regret to them. 
TO BREEDERS OF SHORT-HORN CATTLE. 
In the month of May last 1 proposed, through the 
columns of the American Agriculturist, and other 
papers, to publish an American Herd Book, provided 
a sufficient demand for a work of that kind should be 
made in the manner there indicated. At the time I 
wrote the proposition, I had little confidence that it 
would be met with any general zeal or approbation* 
even by the breeders of Short-Horns throughout the 
country: and in this I have not been disappointed. 
It is apparent that a lethargy pervades among too many 
of our once spirited cattle breeders, on the vitally im¬ 
portant subject of preserving in an enduring form the 
genealogies of their individual herds; a course which, 
if persisted in, will ultimately lead, not only to their 
destruction, but to a large pecuniary loss to themselves, 
and awaken, when too late, deep and lasting regrets. 
But the zeal of our American breeders is not alto¬ 
gether lost. A considerable number of enterprising 
and spirited gentlemen have manifested strongly their 
desire that the work shall proceed; and with charac¬ 
teristic liberality proposed such a patronage as shall 
procure its publication 
