Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1859-09-10

acres, the draining ana reclaming OF which |
have felt much interested in, and have hereto
fore quite fully described in the New England
Fdimer. AS fast us it becomes desirable to
plow and reseed this land again, we intend to
stock it down with the fowl meadow grass, be-
lieveing that to be the most valuable of all
grasses for such kind OF low moist land.
The fowl meadow grass is not liable 10 injury
from the flooding of the land by frcshcts. That
is great merit, for these lowest portions of our
river lands are subject to overflow, and after
winter or spring freshet, the water not unfre-
quently remains on the land a week or fortnight
at a time; and sometimes before one flood has
entirely subsided, another succeeds and keeps
the land wet for three or four weeks infer
| that the flooding is an advantage, rather than
otherwise, from the fact that wherever this grass
has come in, of itself, it has invariably done so
on those portions of the meadow that are over
| flowed. The fowl meadow grass will last in the
land for an indefinite period. The self seeded
patches of it, about in our meadow, have flour
ished there for long time, in spite of wind
and tide, yielding as full and good crops now
as at any former period.
! 1t is universally the impression among our far
mers, that fowl meadow grass should not be cut
till the seed ripens; that too early cutting has
tendency to enfeeble the roots; and that it per
petuatcs its hold on the soil by annually she'd
ding its seed thereon. | am not able TO speak
from positive experience on this points and
would like exact information from any reader
who knows the habits of the grass in this re-
spect This much | have observed, that the
quality of the hay is not at all injured hv let
ting the grass stand till the seed is ripe. The
bottom foliage seems to thcken up all the more
by delaying the cutting till into August and it
holds perfectly fresh and green till after the
heads are ripe. In fact, | have noticed occa.
slonal little patches, on the sides of the bitches
or in corners Of the field, which happened to es-
cape the scythe at haying time, that held per
fectly bright and green at the bottom till late
in the autumn, or until eaten off by the cattle
ranging in the fall feed | have today been
down into the meadow and gathered a handful
of the grass, to see the stage OF forwardncss of
the heads, and find the seed sheds a little now.
From the first to the middle of August, Judge
would he suitable time to cut fowl meadow, as
it usually grows in this intervale.
August and the fore part of September is a
good time to SOW seed. The land should be
plowed deep, with pillow suitable for four or
more cattle, as to have earth enough above
the inverted sod out of which to raise deep
mellow surface-tilth, free from sods and old
grasses. \ moderate dressing of rotton compost
would be well, spread on the surface and har-
rowed in. But if the land is rich and mellow,
and well drained, it may do without the manure.
After narrowing well, SOW the seed lihcrally-
six to eight pecks per acre-and work it in with
a bush or light roller, which will give it suifi-
cient covering. Where land has been recently
drained and is for the first time taken up from
a wild, wet state. and is encumbered with has
socks, bogs, and other coarse matters, which
need subjecton, it might be well to till it for
year or two in hoed crops, perhaps manuring it
somewhat for the same; and when thus brought
to a suitable iineness of tlth, it might be stock
ed down in the spring with fowl meadow grass,
but emitting the sowing of grain crop with it,
as the grain would choke the grass too much,
and prevent its thriving, thus adding nothing
to the ultimate product or profit of the land.
| SO far as have uhoervel, the ruwl meadow
grass does not grow in an undrained bog. II
wants moist land such as a lowlarl meadow, or
a swamp or swale. well drained. so as to relieve
the surface of all stagnant or standing water
/ The name Of this grass is a little unfortunate,
| inasmuch as most persons on hearing or think
ing about the name without attending to the
spelling OF it, get the idea that it is sort of
| foUi grass of a sour, swalcy character. Moth.
ing however, could he further from the truth,
as it makes the very finest and sweetest of hav.
| The Rev. Doct Jared Elliot in an essay writ
ten in the year l75l, gives some interesting
facts respecting the origin habits and qualities
of this grass. In Vol. 1, old Neir EHglam
Farmer, find the following extract from his
essay. There are two sorts of grass, (says the
. DOctor) which natives of the country,
which | would recommend, one is Hcyti- GraSS,
(kuown in Pennsylvania 10y the name Of TIM
othy- GrdsS,) the other is Fort Ncador, some
times celled Dick- GroSs, and sometimes .S,cumj,-
| lI'Ue GraSS. 1t is said that Hcoi- GraSs, WAS
first found in a swamp in Piscataqua Wow
| Portsmouth, New Hampshire bv one Ueri
who propagated the same That Foc'- Nedior-
| Grass was brought into piece of meadow in
Dedham, (near Boston) by ducks and other
wild water fowl and therefore called by such an
odd name 1t i, supposed to be brought into
the meadows at Hartford by the annual floods,
and called there Swdmp- Wire truss. OF these
two sorts of Natural Grass, the FowlMeadow
is much the best; it grows tall and thick, makes
a more soft and plable hay than Ht.d-GraSS:
it yields good burden, three loads TO the acre.
1t must be sown in low moist land. Our drained
land, when it is of sufficient age, is land very
agreeable to this sort of grass This grass has
another good quality, which renders it very val
liable in country where help is much wanting;
it will not spoil or suffer, although it stand be-
| yond the common time of moving. Clover will
be lost in great measure. if it be not cut in
the proper season. Spire-Grass commonly call
ed English Grass, if it stand too long, will be
little better than rye-straw but this Fowl
Meadow may be moved at any time from July
to October"
for one should be gratified if correspondents
of the Farmer familiar with the fowl meadow
grass, would give us the details of their expert
ence with it, and call the attention of our far
mers to its cultivation The draining and re-
claiming of bog meadows, swamps, and other
wet and swaley places, and converting them into
handsome, productive moving fields of the cul-
tivated grasses is now becoming considerably
practiced in New England. | am persuaded
that much benefit might be realized to our ag-
riculture, by inducing the farmers to stock their
reclaimed wet lands with the fowl meadow grass.
BraHleboro', dug. s. 1859.