316 THE CULTIVATOR. Oct. 
in the State. Let us look at the subject deliberately. 
Twelve men are empannelled to settle a dispute accord¬ 
ing to the laws of the land 5 but the judge has first to 
tell them what the law is, under which they have to act. 
Now, if they bring in a verdict according to his expla¬ 
nation, what have they done to justify all the expense 
of bringing them together, and keeping them there ? 
Not one fact have they ascertained that the witnesses 
would not have established without them; and their 
verdict, the judge with one-twelfth part of the parade, 
would have made up and recorded. On the reverse, if 
they disregard the law, no earthly good is gained,— 
for the losing party is encouraged to appeal to a higher 
tribunal, where wrong-headed jurors never intrude. 
But this statement is only a part of the story. When 
a man is sick, does he send for the blacksmith ? When 
he goes to law, does he employ the carpenter ? Yes, 
as a juror ! and the cases are equally inconsistent. 
Now if the cobbler ought to stick to his last, then law¬ 
yers ought to compose the jury in civil causes. But how 
is it ? The farmer is taken from his field, the mechanic 
from his workshop, and the merchant from his counter— 
men whose minds have been occupied with far other 
studies, and whose perceptions have not been sharpened 
in the school of chicanery. Well, the court opens, and 
most of its time is taken up by counsel,—on one side in 
attempts to impose on the credulity of the jury,—and 
by efforts on the other side to dispel the mists that be¬ 
fog them. Hence comes the minute examinations of 
witnesses, that have no bearing on the main question— 
anything to divert attention from a weak point, to puz¬ 
zle and confound; and hencd the four and five-hour 
speeches, calculated 
—“ to make the worse appear 
The better reason ”— 
but which would not be offered to the judge, were no 
jury within hearing. He, poor man,—the very exem¬ 
plar of u Patience on a Monument,” must bear it as 
best he may, for impartiality is a first rate virtue in a 
judge. Better would it be to dash such sophistry aside, 
and let the light of truth beam at once on the contend¬ 
ing parties. 
Against abolishing this cumbrous system, will be op¬ 
posed the selfishness of some, and on the prejudices of 
many; but I trust that a fair exhibition of its abuses, 
before an enlightened people, will gradually work out a 
remedy. 
We want Courts of Conciliation, where those who 
intend to litigate are bound to hear advice before com¬ 
mencing a suit, though not compelled to take it; and 
in this respect we are not far behind the Danish (and 
perhaps Spanish) colonies in the south. A clear state¬ 
ment of the law as applied to the case, would often 
operate on a contentious spirit, like oil on the troubled 
waters; while on the contrary, in the present state of 
things, an unprincipled lawyer, eager for his fees, often 
excites such a spirit to a high degree; and inflicts a 
deep injury not- only on the individuals immediately con¬ 
cerned, but also on their neighbors and the public at 
large. An Observer. 
Grass Lands in Kentucky. 
Eds- Cultivator —A young friend of mine asked 
my advice in laying down to grass a particular field, 
which he wished to put in rye this fall; I answered his 
letter. He showed my letter to Mr. Weissenger, one 
of the editors of the Louisville Journal. It is intro¬ 
duced by some remarks from Mr. W. He and myself 
are at issue as to fall plowing. I adhere to the opinion 
expressed in my letter to Mr. O. My practical know- 
ledge is not sufficient however, to induce me to main- 
tain it, against the evidence of one more experienced. 
You will oblige me by giving me light on this subject, 
either from yourself, or from those in whom reliance may 
be placed. Lewis Sanders. Grass Hills, Ky., July 
27, 1849. 
The following is the letter of Mr. Sanders, above 
alluded to:— 
Mr. R. J. Ormsby— .©ear Sir .—In laying down land 
to grass, either for pasture or for the scythe, it is very im- 
portant to have it thoroughly and uniformly set, other¬ 
wise full benefit is not derived from the land. If the 
seed comes up in patches, leaving one-fourth to an 
eighth of the ground bare, which is frequently the case, 
a corresponding loss ensues. A field rightly managed 
will graze one-third to one-fourth more stock, and yield 
hay in proportion, than one that is slovenly put in. 
Sowing grass seed late in the summer or fall does 
best, if the succeeding winter is favorable, but the 
great uncertainty has caused me to abandon fall sowing, 
as the roots do not attain sufficient strength to resist 
the frosts of winter. 
My observations and experience lead me to disap¬ 
prove of breaking land in the fall for spring culture. 
The earth should not be left naked at any season, but, 
when so exposed in the summer, nature protects herself 
by a growth of weeds or some sort of herbage as a 
clothing. This she cannot do in winter, but is left na¬ 
ked, exposed to the sun, winds, rains and frost, and al¬ 
ternate thawing and freezing for months. 
The richest, the most fertilizing particles of the soil 
are the lightest, consequently the easiest carried off 
by the rains, melting of snow, and the winds, causing, 
in my opinion, a much greater loss of the food for plants 
than is gained by pulverizing the earth from freezing. 
My advice is to break up your ground late in the win¬ 
ter, or as early in the spring as the frost will allow. 
You ought certainly to trench plow ; that is, a second 
plow, following the first in the same furrow, each to be 
as deep as the team can draw it. I use three horses to 
plow, geared abreast. This is the right preparation 
for corn, or for any spring crop. The ground should 
then be well harrowed, using a heavy harrow—having 
your ground in proper order for the reception of small 
seed, mark it off in checks, that is, each way. Sow 
half the seed in one way, and cross it for the other half, 
getting thereby, a more uniform cast, leaving no bare 
spaces. 
For meadows, for farm purposes, or for permanent 
pastures, I sow orchard grass seed and red clover seed 
only—one and a-half bushels of the former and four 
pints of the latter to the acre, the seed to be sowed se¬ 
parate, but at the same time harrowed in with a 
very light harrow, or carefully brushed in. Towards 
the end of May or early in June, a variety of weeds 
will make their appearance; the whole of the ground 
must then be passed over with the scythe, cutting eve¬ 
rything as smooth as may be, grass and all. 
Keep off every kind of stock till the fall; then it will 
afford fine grazing for calves. 
A compliance with these suggestions will give you 
the best return for your land, either for meadow or per¬ 
manent pasture; but if you prefer sowing on winter 
grain, sow the same sort of seed, increasing the quan¬ 
tity of clover seed fifty per cent. Sow in January or 
February, but not after the 1st of March, if sowed on 
winter grain. 
Or you may sow on oat ground immediately after the 
oats are sown. Sow orchard grass and red clover =as 
on winter grain; if the oats should fall or lodge, cut 
them off close to the ground with the scythe, removing 
them immediately. Sowing seeds on winter grain or on 
oat ground will in most seasons succeed so as to af¬ 
ford some grazing, but ought not to be relied on, if you 
want a full crop of grass for any purpose. 
Avoid red top; let it not come on your land, unless 
