MARCH 24 
488 
THE RURAL WEW-YORKER. 
Early White Spine and Tailby’s Hybrid. The 
former is well known, and is a great bearer. 
The fruit is of a light green color with a few 
white spines. The latter is of recent introduc¬ 
tion and is a decided acquisition. It is as pro- 
Fig. 07. (See first page.) 
lific as the White Spine, but the fruit is much 
larger and more tender and crisp, c. K. P. 
Queens, L. I. 
EXPERIENCE WITH NEW SEEDS. 
I am so glad to read the success and failure 
of others, I will contribute my mite for their 
perusal as to seeds, etc., on trial. 
Burpee’s Emerald Gem Muskmelon.— 
The earliest, sweetest and best of all. Every 
melon that ripened was sweet and delicious, 
which was not the case with any other kind. 
Essex Hybrid Squash is one of the best; 
very fine-grained, sweet and delicious. No 
one in this section, at least, can make a mis¬ 
take in planting either of the above. 
Eureka Watermelon is the sweetest, 
thin-rind and best. 
Mammoth Silver King Onions grew 
about \y, inch across; then they divided in 
six or eight, with large lops, and never ripened 
or grew much larger. 
Early Orange Squash is very early. 
A good summer squash and fair for winter. 
Red China Squash is very early, very 
prolific, and good for winter, but not for early 
eating. 
Etampes Mammoth Red Pumpkin would, 
I think, prove nice further south: but it is 
too late here. 
New Golden Tankard Yellow-Fleshed 
Mangel appears, from a single trial, to be 
good. It is worthy further trial anyhow. 
Large Yellow Oberndore Mangel.— 
Any one, with land where other kinds root so 
deep as to be bad to harvest, should try this. 
Bennett’s Corners, N. Y. G. h. 
about peas. 
On April 11, ’86, I planted Bliss’s American 
Wonder, Rural New-Yorker, McLean’s Ad¬ 
vancer, Horsford’s Market Garden, and Cham¬ 
pion of England peas. I gathered peas for 
the table from the Rural New-Yorker, June 
7. Bliss’s A. W. were ready about the same 
time. The others succeeded each other nicely 
t’ll the last of June, when the later plantings 
came in. I tried the Alaska for two years, 
but it was no earlier than the R. N.-Y. or 
American Wonder and not so good for table. 
I find McLeaii’s Advancer and Horsford’s. 
Market Garden of good quality and very pro¬ 
lific. I plant everything in long rows and 
cultivate mainly with a two-horse cultivator. 
Crawfordsville, Ind. J. T. H. 
NOTES ON GRASS SEEDING. 
WHAT, WHEN AND HOW TO SOW FOR PASTURE 
AND HAY; PREPARATION OF SEED BED; 
WHEN TO CUT. 
Time for sowing depends on weather, soil 
and farmer's convenience, but usually early 
fall is best for grass, early spring for 
clover; the ground should be rich and well 
cultivated; manure in the fall, fertilizers 
in the spring; seed sown alone surest to 
catch; if grain is sown with it, the thinner 
the better; best amounts of seed for hay 
and pastures vary; drilling and shallow 
sowing best; roll after solving; the nearer 
hay is to dried green grass the better; cut 
for hay as soon as the flower scape is 
formed . 
FROM DR. W. J. BEAL. 
To be surest of a catch sow grass with¬ 
out another crop. If a crop is sown on the 
ground, sow it rather thin; the thinner the 
better for the good of the grass. Sow grass as 
well in the fall as in the spring. It is usually 
well to prefer early fall at the North. Sow 
clover in the spring usually, as the young 
plants do not live well over winter. Have 
the ground rich and finely harrowed, harrow¬ 
ing .just before seeding. A top-dressing of old 
rotted barnyard manure is excellent. Com¬ 
mercial fertilizers are seldom used on Michi¬ 
gan farms, excepting plaster and sometimes 
salt. Sow when the air is still. A good 
machine will sow the seed evener than most 
people can sow by hand. 
Ingham Co., Mich. 
FROM II. A. WHITTEMORE. 
The first requirement to secure a good 
catch of grass seed, if sown in the spring,is to 
have the ground in good heart and tilth. It 
may be abundantly fertile and yet fail of a 
good catch, because not properly plowed, 
harrowed and pulverized, leady to receive 
the seed. So also it may be very well pre¬ 
pared and yet lack fertility to cause a good 
growth. First, if the subsoil is not a stitr clay, 
plow deeply and uniformly. After plowing 
apply at least 10 (20 would be better) two- 
horse loads of manure, and then harrow until 
all is as fine and mellow as “an ash heap;” 
then, if grain is to be sown with a drill, be 
sure to use one with a grass-seed attachment 
behind. Sow not less than 12 quarts of Tim¬ 
othy and four quarts of clover, mixed, to the 
acre, and after sowing, roll with a common 
land roller. If grain is to be sown broadcast, 
Fig. 08. (See first page.) 
so must the grass seed. Great caution should 
be used in sowing broadcast that there should 
be no wind, and a little experience will show 
one about the quantity to throw each time. 
Where stable manure cannot be bad, super¬ 
phosphate, ashes or bone may be used to great 
benefit. If I were to sow seed on winter- 
wheat ground,! know of no surer way to get a 
good catch than by sowing when the ground 
is frozen sufficiently to render the surface 
open, so that when it thaws the parts will 
close, covering the seed. Several years ago I 
desired to sow seed upon three acres of winter 
wheat. I set the teeth of a farm drill as near¬ 
ly upright as possible, filled the fertilizer at¬ 
tachment with finely slaked lime, and my 
grass seed attachment with seed, then drove 
so that the teeth ran between the rows of 
wheat. Upon three acres I put 45 bushels of 
slaked lime, and three pecks each of clover 
and Timothy seed, and l have never regretted 
the experiment or expense. 1 then applied 
the roller, and thatleftit perfect. The wheat 
was an uncommon yield for this section, and 
the catch of grass seed was perfection itself. 
I am of the opinion that where a good catch 
of Timothy is desired, especially upon wheat 
ground, there is no better time to sow than 
about September 1. This seems to be Nature’s 
own time, and one seldom fails if the ground 
is well prepared. I prefer sowiug grass seed 
with a drill if the attachment is behind, and 
then rolling after sowing. The cause of so 
much failure is too deep sowing. Nature 
gives us one of the very best examples of per¬ 
fect seeding. Watch the stray head of Timo¬ 
thy shedding its ripe seed, and see the result,a 
perfect niat of sod unequaled by any sown.by 
man. I find barley one of the best spring 
grains to seed after, yet if all things are in 
perfect condition failures are very rare. 
Chautauqua Co., N. Y. 
FROM G. W. THOMPSON. 
I have succeeded in seeding to grass in the 
fall, and I have not. I have failed by sowiug 
in June and been successful by sowing in 
July. I have been unsuccessful in sowing in 
the spring, and I have secured a catch when 
there has been something in the ground to 
catch on to. I have never tried sowing “in the 
moon.” 
“Why would you sow in the spring*” Be¬ 
cause I want to: that’s all. 
“How would you want the ground pre¬ 
pared?” If possible, I would have it plowed 
in the fall. Then, at the earliest moment in 
the spring I would seed to grass and clover, 
expecting that a late cutting—about the time 
of aftermath—together with the superior 
stand, would be equal to, if not better than, a 
crop of oats. It is more work, but t believe 
better results will follow putting in grass 
seed by itself every time. Early beets and 
late potatoes might be raised together, but 
either would do better alone. 
If I used barnyard manure, I would do so 
preferably in the fall. In the spring I would 
use such commercial fertilizer as I think my 
land requires. In all cases apply it on the 
surface and mix it intimately with the soil. 
The kind and quantity of seed would be 
regulated by whether I want hay to sell or 
to use on the place, or whether I was seeding 
for pasture. 
Middlesex Co., N. J. 
FROM J. .1. MITCHELL. 
I would sow in the spring if I could not sow 
in the late summer or early fall. I do not con¬ 
sider spring seeding a good thing. If I did 
sow then I would want the ground harrowed 
down very fine and I would sow some oats 
with the grass seed, which should be one-third 
clover and two-thirds Timothy. I think far¬ 
mers make a grand mistake in not sowing 
mope clover. As regards manure, I would by 
all means use barnyard or horse stable manure 
and harrow it in before sowing the grass seed. 
Tbeu sow and put on the roller and roll the 
ground fiat, and surface drain if necessary. If 
I couldn’t get manure I would use the best 
pure bone I could buy—400 pounds an acre to 
be applied in the same way as manure. This 
will probably give one or two fair crops of hay. 
Then one must top-dress with manure in order 
to hold the seeding in. I would seed just as 
early in the spring as I could work the ground. 
I rather favor sowing oats enough to cut, then 
I get crop enough to give me some returns 
from the land the same year as I cannot Cut 
grass from spring seeding the first season. The 
trouble with spring seeding is that if it gets a 
good start, when the hot suns strike it in Au¬ 
gust and September, it seems to die—at least 
that is my experience. If I had a lot to seed 
I would not try it in the spring; I would sow 
something on it to cut off early, such as Hun¬ 
garian Grass or millet, then get it ready to 
sow the last week in August or the first in Sep¬ 
tember and I would be almost certain to get a 
crop of grass next season. Whatever ground 
one has to seed down in spring or fall should 
get plenty of manure or fertilizer if anything 
in return for the labor is expected. 
Morris Co., N. J. 
FROM DANIEL BATCHELOR. 
A Rural subscriber in Catteraugus Co., 
N. Y., writes to know how to seed for a per- 
Fig. 69. (See first page.) 
mauent pasture. In Western N. Y., he says, 
pastures and meadows are short-lived when 
seeded with Timothy and clover. He has had 
12 years’ experience with Orchard Grass for a 
part of his meadow, and likes it very much, 
finding it is much more durable for meadow 
than Timothy, and he thinks it would be best 
to seed pastures in part to Orchard Grass. 
He also sees Red Top well spoken of and 
wants to-know when to sow and if it is better 
to sow grass seed with oats or other grain 
crop. 
It is impossible to make a pasture from 
Timothy and red clover only. My advice 
would be to sow a mixture of grass seeds for 
pasture in proportion per acre as follows : 
Timothy, five pounds ; Orchard Grass, five 
pounds ; Kentucky Blue Grass, five pounds ; 
Meadow Oat Grass, five pounds; Mea¬ 
dow Fescue, four pounds ; Red Top, four 
pounds; Meadow Foxtail, three pounds ; 
Pavey’s Rye Grass, three pounds : Rough- 
stalked Meadow Grass, three pounds, and 
Alsike and white clover, two pounds each. 
Such a seeding on average good soil would 
produce a pasture that would be permanent 
and profitable and one that would not dry 
up in mid-summer, as these grasses are early, 
medium, and late in maturing and some of 
them very deep-rooting. Besides the Timothy 
in such a pasture would be held in the ground 
by the companionship of the] other grasses. 
Mr. Morgan Butler, of New Hartford, has 
such a pasture where many grasses grow to¬ 
gether in social profusion and where plenty of 
Timothy grows notwithstanding thefactthat 
no Timothy seed has been sown there during 
the past 15 years. He sometimes mows his 
field and sometimes uses it as a pasture. 
As to the establishment of a good perma¬ 
nent meadow for a heavy hay crop on arable 
land that has beeu much reduced by long 
cropping, it is also impossible in that con¬ 
dition to get large hay crops from seeding 
with Timothy and clover only. There are, 
however, but few grasses well adapted to grow 
with Timothy and that come on uniformly 
with it in hight and season to the hay har¬ 
vest. The best kinds for meadow on average 
soils are, in variety aud proportion, as fol- 
follows per acre—Timothy, 12 pounds; Italian 
Rye grass, five pounds; Tall Fescue, five 
pounds. Red Top, three pounds; Rough-Stalked 
grass, three pounds; Yellow Oat grass, three 
pounds; Medium red clover, five pounds. Of 
course, these varieties and proportions should 
be different for soils wet, sandy, peaty, hill¬ 
side, etc. I have purposely omitted from 
meadow grass Orchard and Tall Oat Grass, 
as both are too early to grow with Timothy 
for hay. But when Orchard Grass and Oat 
Grass are sown together without any other 
kinds, and at the rate of one bushel each to 
the acre, these two make a tremendous crop, 
which may be cut twice ; n a season for hay or 
constantly for soiling purposes. For grazing 
a mixture of these two grasses would stand 
well, as the Oat Grass stools abundantly aud 
would fill the interspaces between the tufts 
of the Orchard Grass, thus making a good sod. 
As to the time of seeding for grass, much 
depends on the unforeseen, according as the 
weather may be moist of dry after the seed is 
sown, also on the needs and necessities of the 
farmer. But as to the time of cutting for 
hay there can be no question, if we obey the 
dictates of Nature, which plainly show that 
the most delicious morsels for cattle are the 
young grasses of May and June, which are 
devoured with avidity, and on which the ani¬ 
mals thrive, while their milk secretions are 
copious and the milk and butter are sweet 
and aromatic, having a savor and flavor de¬ 
lightful to the senses. This being so, then the 
nearer the hay resembles dried green grass, 
the better it is for economic purposes. Many 
grasses are highly nutritive before inflores¬ 
cence, but deteriorate rapidly in going to 
seed, and when over-ripe are of no more value 
for feeding than wheat straw. The essential 
oils, which impart to grass its aroma and 
much of its flavor, are assimilated, and 
changed in character when- the plant goes to 
seed. Hence, grass for hay should be cut as 
soon as the flower scape is well formed and 
never later than when the floret uppears in 
the axil of the bract. Hay cured from such 
grass would make an infusion or tea that 
would nourish and fatten a calf. 
Oneida Co., N. Y. 
Sljffp J^Msbanilnj. 
Notes’ from the !|tuvnP£ 31V.$.3J. £»rm 
SECRETARY J. S. WOODWARD. 
Lambs Earlier than Ever.. —By some 
streak of good luck or good management, our 
lambs began to come freely in November, and 
up to this date (March 5) we have already 
marketed over 200 at very fair prices, though 
not so very high. Just what the conditions 
were that made the ewes accept the male so 
early it is hard to say; but I think that per¬ 
haps a coldish spell of weather in early July 
may have had’something to do with it, and 
72. JV-Y 
Fig. 70. (See first page.) 
we are making some experiments in that di¬ 
rection, the results of which, though encour¬ 
aging, are not yet sufficiently definite to war¬ 
rant any statements. 
The markets are opening so much earlier 
each year, and so many more lambs are being 
aised at a later period, that it is worth while 
