484 
AMERIOART AGRICULTURIST. 
[November, 
Permanent Meadows, Seeding, Etc. 
BY COL. F. D. CURTIS. 
The grass crop is a most important one, 
though comparatively little pains is taken 
with it. It is generally put in as secondary 
to the grain crop, the land being prepared 
with reference to the latter. On this account 
much of the seed is lost, as the ground is 
usually rough and full of clods, which unfit 
it for the more delicate grass seeds. The 
system of manuring usually practised is not 
adapted to give the grass seed a vigorous 
start, a very important point, and without 
which very often a seeding fails. Unless the 
roots of both clover and timothy, and espe¬ 
cially the latter, have a good hold in the soil, 
they are liable to dry up after the grain crop 
is removed, and if they survive this expos¬ 
ure, they are quite likely to be thrown out 
by the winter’s freezing, or damaged during 
the ensuing season. 
Rye and wheat being more open in their 
growth, and thereby admitting more light 
and moisture, are better adapted for seeding 
than any other grain. Barley is the next 
best grain to seed with, because of its sim¬ 
ilarity in growth to rye and wheat. Large 
areas are seeded with oats, which make such 
a dense growth that, if the grass seed grows 
at all, it is exceedingly weak in both stem 
and root. When the oats are removed, the 
scorching rays of the sun cause the surface 
of the earth to dry out rapidly. 
The aggregate loss to farmers in seeding 
amounts to a large sum. If farmers would 
accept the conclusion that a good grass catch 
is just as important, if not more so, than a 
crop of oats, different results might be ex¬ 
pected. Let the grass crop be made the pri¬ 
mary one, and there would be a new basis 
which would change results. The land 
should also be prepared to meet the condi¬ 
tions of the grass seed. It must be made 
mellow on the surface, so that the delicate 
rootlets can readily penetrate into the soil. 
The manure should also be spread on the 
surface, and well mixed with the earth. It 
should be rotted so that this can be done 
thoroughly; or if in a green state, it should 
be free from coarse material, which is unfit¬ 
ted for fine seeds. Clear dung is specially 
suited to grass seeds, as it will retain mois¬ 
ture well, and has a lasting effect in the soil. 
I once seeded a portion of a field with clover 
where a liberal dressing of clear sheep ma¬ 
nure was harrowed in, which strengthened 
the growth of the clover to such an extent, 
that it afforded a bountiful crop for years. 
At one time, not having manure enough to 
cover a field all over when it was sown with 
wheat, the unmanured portion was left until 
the early part of winter, and clear cow dung 
was drawn out and scattered on the snow 
over the wheat. The field was a side hill, 
but nevertheless the manure found its way 
to the roots of the t wheat and grass, and a 
fine crop was harvested. This experiment 
disposed of the notion that manure on the 
surface of a side hill goes to waste, and also 
demonstrated the beneficial effects of surface 
manuring. This year, being the second crop¬ 
ping of clover and timothy on this land, it 
has produced four large loads to the acre, 
and bids fair to yield heavy succeeding crops. 
Too little grass seed is usually sown. A 
large amount is wasted by the rough and un¬ 
suitable manner in which the ground is pre¬ 
pared. This is one of the greatest drawbacks 
to success in seeding. The ground should be 
pulverized to a fine tilth, and, if necessary, 
the clods should be gathered up and removed 
from the land. There is an implement made 
especially to gather these clods into heaps, 
when they can be carted away to the barn¬ 
yard or compost heap. A roller is a great 
friend to grass seed, and performs a neces¬ 
sary work to firm or press the ground into 
close contact with the seeds, making the 
plants less liable to be thrown out by freezing. 
A Substantial Farm Gate. 
-<j>- 
Mr. John J. Springer, Rush Co., Ind., de¬ 
scribes his farm gate as follows : ‘ ‘ The sill 
a, figure 1, is an 8 by 8 piece of timber. 18 
Fig. 2.— METHOD OF 
HR AC TNG A GATE. 
Fig. 1. —A WELL BUILT FARM GATE. 
feet long, with mortises for the posts and 
braces. The posts, b, c, are G by 6 inches, and 
6 feet long. The latch post has a “drop” 
cut in it for the latch. The sill rests upon 
two cross sills six feet long, placed a little to 
one side of the bot¬ 
tom of the posts. 
The gate posts are 
braced to those 
cross sills as shown 
in figure 2. This 
3 makes a stout and 
handy gate, that 
will not sag. The 
latch handle is so 
arranged that the gate may be opened by 
a person on horseback. The spring for the 
latch may be made of hickory or locust. 
Saving Seed Pays. 
-- 
There is money in it. We have proved the 
value of home-grown seeds for many years. 
Pedigree pays as well in seeds as it does in 
cattle, or in man. The only way to have a 
good pedigree, is to raise the seed yourself, or 
secure it from some neighbor or seedsman, 
who has a reputation to lose. If you are a 
careful cultivator and have cultivated a par¬ 
ticular kind of field-corn for a dozen years or 
more, selecting the best ears from the most 
fruitful stalks, while they stood in the field, 
and kept the corn improving from year to 
year, you have corn with a pedigree, and it 
can hardly fail to give a better crop next 
year than any seed corn you can buy, far or 
near. Farmers are too apt to be careless in 
this matter, and wait until planting time 
before they secure their seed They then go 
to the nearest country store and take what 
they can get, not infrequently old seed papers 
mixed up with new. You will notice that 
packages of seed sold in such stores are seldom 
dated, so that the purchaser has no clew to 
their age, until he tests them in the field or 
garden, and finds them a fraud. The best 
season of planting most seeds is short, and 
great loss comes of using old seed, either by 
total failure of crop, or the increased labor of 
replanting. Ordinarily, a thrifty farmer can 
raise nearly all the seeds of the crops grown 
upon his farm and garden, cheaper than he 
can buy them, and of much better quality. 
This will be worth a good deal to him, not 
only in saving the outlay f or seeds, but in the 
increased productiveness of the crops planted, 
and in the habits of close observation which 
it will secure for all other farm operations. 
In seed-growing, as in all other operations 
relating to cultivation, common sense must 
be used. Whoever grows four or six kinds of 
squashes or of melons in the same patch, 
should know that the seeds from these will 
be badly mixed. If used, the product may 
be of value, but the chances are that such 
seeds will bring a crop of mongrels not worth 
growing. In advising the rais¬ 
ing of seeds, we also advise the 
use of proper caution. Those 
who closely observe, will see 
where they can avoid the ad¬ 
mixture and secure a supply of 
seeds tme to their kind. Grow¬ 
ing seed that you are willing to 
plant yourself, and on which 
the profit of the year must de¬ 
pend, is an eye-opener, good for 
all cultivators. Therefore we 
exhort for the hundredth time, 
with all long-suffering and patience, grow 
your own seed and gather it in due season, 
label it with date, and store it for next 
spring’s use. Failing in this, send to some 
reliable seedsman for a full assortment of 
whatever is lacking, and have it where you 
can put your hand on it by Jan. 1, 1883. It 
will pay large interest on the investment. C. 
The Unnecessary Waste. 
It is our custom to go twice or thrice a 
week through the streets in which the pro¬ 
duce commission merchants mostly congre¬ 
gate. We do this that we may keep “ the 
run of the market,” and while we do not 
regularly report our visits, many hints are 
gathered which are ultimately useful to our 
readers. It is evident that many novices 
are sending their crops of vegetables and 
fruits to market. These unfortunates have 
not yet learned that to produce crops is one 
thing; to sell them is quite another thing, 
and a most important one, so far as their 
success is concerned. It makes one’s heart 
sick to go through the markets and see the 
vast amount of stuff exposed that, instead of 
bringing the shipper any returns, cannot 
possibly pay its freight. Of course, these 
shippers will blame their commission man, 
and change to another, to meet with like re¬ 
sults. Leaving out of question the crates of 
over-ripe cucumbers, partly decayed peas and 
string beans of the earlier season, which at 
their first arrival were only fit for the gar¬ 
bage dump. We notice a few things that 
were recently seen. The impression seems to 
be common with those who in more Southern 
localities send produce to market, that any¬ 
thing will sell in New York. While some few 
very early products may bring a high price, 
even when carelessly sent, there is no place 
where the appearance and condition of pro¬ 
duce so much affects its sale as in New York. 
Unless one conforms to the customs in put¬ 
ting up and packing his produce, he had bet¬ 
ter keep it at home and feed it to the pigs. 
Lima Beans, for example, are sold in the 
