ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN’S ASSOCIATION, 15 
After we had leveled the surface of the land, our attention was called 
to obtain the variety of grasses adapted to the various conditions of 
the soils. 
Allow me to introduce specimen grasses, grown on all condi¬ 
tions of soil of the North-West, also by the system of surface-culture, 
I w ill mention a few of the many* varieties of grasses that are suc¬ 
cessfully grown in the North-West. I shall mention all of the 
English names that i can apply to them.: Timothy, red-top, bent-top, 
"white or brown top, orchard, foul meadow, meadow fescue, rough 
meadow, sheep fescue, meadow oat grass, Dalian rye grass, floating 
fo£ tail, sweet-scented vernal grass, Kentucky blue grass, spear 
grass, blue grass, eragrostis, etc. 
Among the family of clover we have the following list: Alsike, 
common June, alfalfa, mammoth Italian, white and crimson. 
All of the grasses that I have mentioned are adapted to the soils 
of the states of Wisconsin and Illinois, if they were introduced and 
cultivated. From this list we select the combination of grass seed 
suitable for all class of soils, as we are seeding lands by the system 
used in England, with a large variety of grass in mixture—this has 
often been explained in previous writings. Since one year ago last 
June I have been located in Craw Fish Valiev, engaged in the work 
of superintending the improvement of grass lands with the latest 
improved machines, of which I will submit the following report: 
My first client, C J. Millard, manager of the Rock Lake creamery, 
located about two miles south of the village of Lake Mills. Cost of 
labor, $1.85 per acre. Land very rough in many parts. Varieties of 
grass and seed used timothy, red-top, F. M. clover, sown in the 
spring. My next client was H. C. Drake, proprietor of the Drake 
cheese factory. The cost of labor was less than the work for Millard. 
The cost of seed the same ; also the same combination—Alsike and 
red clover, sown in the spring. My next was Messrs. Wm. and Geo. 
Everson (patrons of the Rock Lake creamery.) Cost of labor about 
$1.50 per acre; cost of seed the same as Drake’s, also same combina¬ 
tion. I was very busily engaged in this class of work till about the 
first of December, cultivating and seeding several hundred acres of 
grass land. I wish to notice the result of the work, in the yield of 
grass those parcels of land produced, also the value of good draining. 
The young seeding of Mr. Drake’s meadow was very light; caused 
by excessive moisture in the soil, produced by the mill-dam across 
the Craw Fish river, which is causing very serious damage to a large 
