16 
Seeding down and retaining Lands in Grass* 
dance, and where that is not to be had, the ex¬ 
pense of hauling wood over a smooth and 
nearly level country would not be a serious 
obstacle. It is also thought that peat will be 
found abundant. 
At present, however, there is an abundance 
of unoccupied land so convenient to timber as 
to be easily fenced in the common way, with 
Virginia or worm fence, and the oak timber of 
this region is very durable. 
I have heretofore published several articles 
of advice to western emigrants, which I have 
much reason to believe have been well received 
by the public, and I have received many earnest 
solicitations to make further remarks upon the 
same subject. But my present letter has be¬ 
come too long to do it now, but if my health is 
spared, I hope to have the will and ability to 
do so hereafter. 
In the mean time, permit me to say that 
although I am a new correspondent to your 
new paper, yet I hope you may so meet with 
public favor as to be able to write yourselves 
down to the public as I do now, 
Your old friend, 
Solon Robinson. 
Lake C. II, la., Dec. 10, 1841. 
Seeding down and retaining lands in Grass. 
There is perhaps no individual item of cul¬ 
tivation more important to the general farmer, 
and none so indispensable to the stock farmer,! 
as the produce of the various grasses. In ourj 
American husbandry, where the saving of labor j 
is a cardinal virtue in the farm, it is of great! 
importance to maintain 'permanent pastures and 
meadows. This, as we have ofttimes in our 
experience observed, is easily and cheaply at¬ 
tained. Not on all soils to be sure, for there are 
those so sterile and loose, so dry and rigid that 
but two or three crops can be cut or fed, until 
it is necessary to plough and crop the land, to 
fit it for a new seeding of grass, and so onward 
in successive courses of cultivation. But there 
are soils, and those comprising the great mass 
of our western New York farms, which are 
tenacious of the grasses, and with proper care, 
will probably produce them in endless succes¬ 
sion for centuries—at least they have thus far 
since the settlement of our country. On these, 
perhaps no crop is more profitable, or requires 
less time and labor. It is therefore desirable to 
perpetuate it without disturbance, and add if 
possible to its value and productiveness. 
In laying lands down to grass, the season, 
and the manner must depend on the crop which 
is to precede the grass, and the condition of the 
soil. If the seeding crop be winter wheat, or 
rye, the grass seed should be sown on the last 
snows in March following the grain seeding; 
or if no snows occur, during the breaking 
up of the frosts in early spring, it should be 
sown while the seed can effect a lodgement in 
the open crevices of the soil. The objections 
to sowing the grass seed with the winter grain 
are that it will grow so rapidly through the 
autumn as to injure the spreading of the young 
grain before the setting in of winter, and choke 
its full and vigorous growth in the spring and 
summer. If the grain be sown in the spring, 
barley and spring wheat are preferable; but 
oats will answer to seed with, requiring, as we 
think, a trifle more of seed than when sown 
with the other grains. If the land be stony, 
or stumpy, great care should be taken to get it 
as smooth as possible, for the convenience of 
mowing. 
Quantity of seed per acre .—This will de¬ 
pend somewhat on the quality of the soil. As 
timothy (Phleum Pratense) and red clover 
(Trifolium Pratense) are the principal, and, 
I may add, the best grasses cultivated in our 
country on the uplands—the proportions may 
be varied as the soil predominates towards wet 
or dry. On moist soils, at least two-thirds to 
three-fourths of timothy should prevail—on the 
drier, the proportion of clover should be greater, 
perhaps one-half to two-thirds. From eight to 
twelve quarts of mixed seed should be sown to 
the acre, and if used with the spring crop, well 
harrowed, bushed, or rolled in. During the 
first year, no heavy stock should feed upon it, 
as the ground will not have acquired sufficient 
compactness to resist the cutting of the young 
turf by their feet, nor should animals ever be 
permitted to poach them in spring and fall in 
soft weather. This is very injurious. During 
severe winter frosts, and snows, and in the grass 
growing seasons, farm stock may range mowing 
grounds with impunity, but at all other times 
they should be kept away. 
After management .—If the soil be a clay, or 
teri'acious loam, provided it be properly treated, 
we know of no good reason why either meadows 
or pastures should ever be broken up. These 
we consider the best and most natural grass 
lands to be formed. Gravelly and sandy loams 
occasionally are tenacious of grasses, and will 
ofttimes hold them with good top dressing, 
either in meadow or pasturage for centuries— 
but in dry hungry soils, they often run out, as 
the term is, in two, three, or four years, and 
demand renewal, with fresh cultivation, and the 
application of active manures. We have seen 
numerous mowing and pasture grounds in lands 
free from stone, which have never been plough¬ 
ed. The first crop of oats or wheat after clear¬ 
ing, had been simply dragged in with grass 
seed, the grain crop cut, and the grass eyes: 
