Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1861-09-30


which will be dissolved by the frost and rain,
and which will make an abundance of fresh
and mellow earth for the seed to flourish in
During the winter, let sufficient quantity of
finely pulverized compost be prepared to spread
thin over the entire field. There should be
enough to cover 1t not less than half an inch
thick.
II the soil is Of elayey character, collect
lot OF loan, or sand, or alluvion, or decayed
leaves, or vegetable mold from those places in
certain fields where the soil is so deep that the
grain always fall down, and haul the scrapipgs
from around the piggery, and hennery, and
barn-yard, and mingle them all we'll together;
and if saw mill, or any manufactOry, is near,
where sswdust can be obtained readily, COL
lect several loads of such material; and get
all the sshes-leached and unlesched-and
half ton of gypsum, and let them all be tho
roughly mingled together and shoveled over
several times during the winter. The heap
should be covered with boards to exclude the
rain.
As sood as spring has opened, let the compost
be hauled out and spread evenly over the soil
before it is plowed. If good cultivator can
be obtained, let the soil be we'll cultivated at
least twice, three or four inches deep; or it will
answer to harrow it well, without using culti-
vator.
If the soil is at all disposed to bake and to
be lumpy, it will be better not to plow il than
of subsoil will have been dissolved by the rain
and frost, and the surface of the soil will be
fine and mellow But there can be no objection
to blowing some kinds 0soil before the top
dressing is spread and narrowed in, as there
are nev or any Jumps, if it be plowed at almost
any season of the year. The idea is to keep
the top dressing near the surface of the soil,
for the special benefit of the grass seed, as soon
AZ it begins to vegetate. If the compost is
plowed in, most of it will be buried 80 deep,
that 1t will have but little influence in aiding
and promoting the vegetation of the seed.
After the soil has been leveled properly, with
q harrow, let the grass seed be sown as early
In the spring as is practicable, and not work in
the soil when it Is so vet, that there is danger
that 1t will bake. The earlier in the spring the
soil can be prepared, and seed sOwed, il the soil
Is dry, the more sure it will be to catch we'll
1t Is better, when the soil has been prepared
according to the foregoing directions, not to SOW
any kind OF grain-nothing but the grass seed.
1t will be sufficiently large, before hot weather
comes on, to shade the ground itself; and be-
sides, 1t will grow the same season, in most
places, large enough to yield in autumn, good
burden Of grass.
kINGLING DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF GRASS
SEED
is often attended with good results, for certain
purposes. But, 1t is important, that farmer
should know what he really wants, before he
soWs more than one kind Of seed, when stock
ing down field. Ifhis object is to grow clover
seed, he should SOW nothing but the pure seed
and II hi purpose is to grow hay for market,
perhaps he can select no other kind Of grass
that will be more profitable than clear timothy
L believe there is no other kind Of hay that will
command better price in our city markets,
than good timothy. But, If the object be hay
for home consumption, or if it be pasture, there
Is great advantage in sowing more than one
Kind OF seed. l always have thought-and
still think so-that, although good timothy hay
is good enough for any animal, still when there
Is some clover in it, if it is we'll cured all kinds
Of animals will prefer it to clear timothy, be-
cause they are fond of a variety of food.
When timothy and clover seed are mingled,
or both sowed on the same soil, if hay Is the
object, have always been accustomed to SOW
what We call the large Kind Of clover, (Trifo-
HH1s pTatsHSs,) instead OF the small or early
variety, as the large or late variety will be ft
to cut about as the timothy is in full blossom;
whereas the small or early variety will be dead
ripe before the timothy is in full bloom.
When the object is pasture only, 1 have been
accustomed to SOW one part of field with timo-
thy, and early clover Tor the small variety y
and the other part with timothy and the large
kind, or lateciOver. By thispractice, great
er variety Of pasture would be secured, than by
simply sowing only one kind OF seed
As clear clover does not make as good hay as
If there were some other kind of grass with
1t, and IS timothy is too late to mature at the
same tffies with the early clover, it is q good
practice 70 SOW orchard grass and early clover
together:r These two kinds of grass will be at
to cut about the same time; and they will afford
early pasture about as soon as any other kind
Of seed; and il early grass for moving is de-
sirable, know OF no other two kinds that will
produce as large burden, so early in the
season, as these two kinds just mentioned
Were tog grow much hay for home consump-
ton, 1 would raise orchard grass and early
clover on portion Of my meadows, instead of
having all my grass Of variety that would
mature about one time. This system of man
sgsuent would bring the season of haying at
different intervals, and not all at one time, as
Is usually the case when grass isall Of one kind.
have seen meadows which produced early
clover and orchard grass, 50 early in the sea-
son that two good crops were taken from them
in one summer, and which afterwards afforded
good pasture late in autumn.
My brother, Josiah Todd, Jr., has an orchard
OF some four or i've acres, which was seeded
with orchard grass and early clover several
years ago, which has yielded heavy burden of
grass for several years, and the first and
second years it yielded two good mowings-and
think he has moved it twice every season. I
well remember that one season he fed portion
OF bis cattle, besides his teams, at the barn,
with new mown grass, before most Of his neigh
bors had pasture large enough for their cattle.
He commenced moving it for feed very early,
on one side Of the field; and before half of the
field was moved, the grass where they began to
NOW first was large enough to NOW the second
time. We may take up this subject at some
future time. as its importance demands more
extended notice than We can allow IL here.
AMOUNT OF GRASS SEED PER ACRE.
/ was once accustomed to think that the
thicker grass seed is sowed, the more grass
or hay there will be on an acre am now salts
hed that this was wrong conclusion But,
while some farmers, perhaps, SOW more than is
necessary, the great majority of them do not
SOW enough per acre. There is not much
danger Of getting grass seed too thick, because
IL Is too costly; still 1t Is sometimes sowed 50
thick, that quite one half of it is as if 1t were
thrown away itproduces no grass, simply be-
cause the seed was sowed too thick
There will only about so many spears of grass
grow on square foot, IL it is sowed ever so
thick. Therefore, il we can SOW lust enough
TO have Ii all vegetste and flourish WELL that
amount per acre win be found the most proper
quantity to sow.
There are 6,27S.6 $40 square or superficial
inches In enc acre Of ground; and 'in one
bushel Of timothy seed, according to II.
Briggs, "there are about IL, so, $50 grains"
which would give about six and half seeds on