1849 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
you have some swampy ground. Upon uplands it is the 
poorest of all the grasses. It vegetates late, is a great 
intruder , will take hold and spread over the farm, and 
is of the least value of any. 
Have nothing to do with timothy, unless you wish to 
sell hay as an article of commerce. For this, it is the 
best, but for hay, to be fed on the farm, it is worthless, 
and for grazing it has not a tithe of the value of or¬ 
chard grass. 
The remarks of the Louisville Journal in relation to 
Mr. Sanders’ letter, are as follows:-— 
We are pleased to be able to lay the above letter be¬ 
fore our readers. It may be read with instruction by 
old as well as young farmers. Mr. Sanders’ practice 
of sowing grass alone and early in the spring is un¬ 
doubtedly the correct one. We think it more bungling 
to sow with small grain, or to sow at any other season. 
It is the only method to insure a good stand and to in¬ 
sure a good swath the first season. We think, howev¬ 
er, that there is a great advantage in breaking up the 
ground late in autumn or in the early winter. This 
makes sure of getting the ground prepared for an early 
sowing, and besides it is the established opinion that 
the soil is ameliorated by the action of the air and the 
frosts of winter. This is especially true if trench plow¬ 
ing is adopted 5 and in this case, there certainly can be 
little loss from the action of the wind and running wa¬ 
ter—not so much as if the ground were not plowed at 
all. The grass seed should be sowed very early, imme¬ 
diately after the last harrowing, and just before an ex¬ 
pected rain. Two or three harrowings are not too 
much, and the harrow should always immediately pre¬ 
cede the sower, that no wild grass or weeds shall ger¬ 
minate before the sown grass. If sown under the best 
conditions, orchard grass and clover will take entire pos¬ 
session, and keep it, to the exclusion of all weeds. An ex¬ 
cellent method to insure this exclusion, is to soak the 
grass seeds for twenty-four hours, in which case ashes 
or lime may be mixed through the seed, after they are 
drained. This will prevent their sticking together. But 
soaking is not necessarry if the seed can be sown just 
before a rain, and just after the harrow. But care must 
be taken that the seeds be not covered deep, or the 
weeds will still get the start, and many of the grass 
seeds will never germinate. Therefore, the surface of 
the earth should be very smooth when the seed are 
sown, and the harrow should by ho means be used to 
cover the seed. Brush, as recommended by Mr. San¬ 
ders, may be used, but it is much better to draw over 
the soil a smooth surface of boards like a large door, 
with the battens uppermost. The horse can be attach¬ 
ed to this platform by means of a rope, passing through 
one corner, and the driver should stand upon the plat¬ 
form. In this way, the soil is smoothed and finely pul¬ 
verised, and the seeds are but lightly imbedded, and 
they spring up before the weeds, and prevent the ger¬ 
mination of the weeds. 
Oxen vs. Horses. 
Edward Stabler, Esq., of Montgomery county, 
Maryland, writes to the editor of the Plow, Loom and 
Anvil , that in 1822 or ’23 he commenced the substitu¬ 
tion of oxen for horses on his farm. He began in mid¬ 
summer to break up a field for wheat. For a day or 
two the oxen suffered greatly with the heat, in the mid¬ 
dle of the day, but by rising early, and resting two or 
three hours at noon, and feeding on dry food, he was 
able to plow nearly as much with a yoke of oxen as 
with a pair of horses, and the work was quite as well 
done. The horses consumed about one bushel of grain 
per day and the oxen none. He found the result, after 
a thorough trial, so much in favor of oxen, that he has 
ever since continued their use. For many years there 
317 
sssfsm^ai^ 
was not a furrow plowed on his farm except by oxen. 
He observes that oxen, if properly broken, quite as 
readily, if not more so, take to and keep the furrow, as 
horses. His rule is to keep two yoke of oxen on the 
farm to one pair of horses. He well remarks, that—* 
“ to judge of the capabilities of the ox, by the badly- 
used, houseless, over-tasked, and half-fed animals we 
sometimes see in the yoke, is doing him great injustice. 
Treat the horse in the same unfeeling manner, and 
where would be his high mettle and noble spirit? He 
would speedily arrive at a premature old age, valueless 
to his owner, and a cast-off to feed the carrion crows. 
That the ox can better stand this harsh usage, is cer¬ 
tainly no valid or sufficient reason that he should be 
subjected to it. Use him with equal care and humani¬ 
ty, and he will just as certainly, and with more profit, 
repay it to his ovrner.” 
Points of tlie Horse. 
A point of great importance in the fore-leg of a. 
horse, is the proper setting on of the arm, which should 
be strong, muscular and long. By the length of this 
part in the hare, added to the obliquity of the shoulder, 
she can extend her fore-parts farther than any other 
animal of her size; in fact, she strikes nearly as far as 
the greyhound that pursues her, by the help of this le¬ 
ver. The proper position of the arm of the horse, 
however, is the result of an oblique shoulder. When 
issuing from an upright shoulder, the elbow-joint, the 
centre of motion here, will be inclined inward; the 
horse will be what is termed u pinned in his elbows,” 
which causes his legs to fall powerless behind his body. 
A full and swelling fore-arm is one of the most valua¬ 
ble points in a horse, for whatever purposes he may be 
required. 
If sportsmen were to see the knee of a horse dissec¬ 
ted, they would pay more attention to the form and 
substance of it than they generally do. It is a very 
complicated joint, but so beautifully constructed that it 
is seldom subject to internal injury. Its width and 
breadth, however, are great recommendations, as ad¬ 
mitting space for the attachment of muscles, and for 
the accumulation of ligamentous expansions and bands, 
greatly conducive to strength. The shank or cannon 
bone, can scarcely be too short. It should be flat, with 
the back sinews strong, detached, and well braced. 
This constitutes what is called a u wiry leg.” Round 
legs are almost sure to fail. 
As to the size of a horse, it may be remarked that 
no very large animal has strength in proportion to its 
size. That the horse has not, the pony affords proof, 
if any other were wanting. There have been many in¬ 
stances of horses, little more than fourteen hands high, 
being equal to the speed of hounds over the strongest 
counties in England. For example, Mr. Wra. Coke’s 
u pony,” as he was called, many years celebrated in 
Leicestershire.— Abridged from an Essay on the horse . 
Cultivation of Orchards—Temperance. 
Eds. Cultivator —Among the various kinds of bu¬ 
siness which are followed for a living, 'hose in which 
the morals of the community are most guarded, are the 
most important. That men can be honest and moral in 
every branch of honorable business is true; but that 
some kinds of business present stronger temptations for 
over-reaching than others, is also true. I think the bu¬ 
siness of farming offers fewer inducements for immoral 
and dishonest acts, than any other followed. That 
there are farmers who are vicious in their habits and 
dishonest in their acts, is admitted. Generally, howev¬ 
er, good order and sobriety are maintained by the agri¬ 
cultural population of our country. 
Since the grea* temperance reformation came up, th© 
