The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1872-10-25
Meadows and Pastures.

4 Timothy is best to be sown by those
who have ready market for their hay,
as it is always more in demand by horse
! men and stable keepers-consequen
if you intend setting meadow this
year, you must literally give the land
rich manure from the stables or barn.
yard plow it in, harrow well, and roll;
then SOW II pecks clean timothy seed
per acre, harrow it In very lightly with
a light seed harrow, and top-dress with
10 bushels ashes per acre ; lay off water
burrows, and finish by rolling across the
burrows. Next summer, after you have
cut your first cror, if you have reason
to believe that your meadow needs lime,
apply about 40 bushels, slaked with
strong solution of salt and water, and 2
bushels salt. In the succeeding fall,
and every subsequent one, each acre
should have applied to it as top-dress-
ing, 4 bushels bone dust and 10 bushels
leached ashes, narrowed in with heavy
harrow and rolled. Grain may occupy
the land with the grass seed, but if the
latter be sown alene, and sufficiently
thick, the young plants will exclude the
weeds and occupy the soil as proftably
as can be done with the grain but tim
othy is most generally sown with the
grain crop in the fall, and in the spring
clover is also sown early. Seed>sowers
have been introduced for broadcasting
grass seed, but it requires very care
full hand to do it, and the work must be
performed when there IS no wind to in
terfere with the operation, as it cannot
be performed evenly when attempted In
blowing weather.
If you intend your fields for pasture
and hay for your own purposes, and ex-
pect them to remain in grass for series
of years, they must at their setting have
a good foundation to work on; there
fore give them as large o dressing of
nanures as you can well afford. In ad
dition to the organic manures recom>
mended above for urtimothy meadow,
supply the following mixture, for each
acre-to 10 bushels bone dust, moisten-
ed, add 10 bushels of ashes, of salt,
of plaster-thoi oughly mix and leave it
in bulk for a couple of weeks, when
it should be shoveled over, the better
to incorporate the several ingredients
apply broadcast and in it, and roll well.
The land thus prepared, SOW the grass
seeds, and it will he found decidedly best
to-sow a variety, of such as are adapted
to the purpose, VIZ:
Sow first by itself, peck Timothy
seed then the following additional
kinds and quantities should be mixed
with twice their bulk of ashes and sown
together, viz:
/ bushel Orchard grass seed;
Sc Kentucky Blue Grass seed;
" Perennial Rye Grass seed;
/ 90 tall Meadow Oat Grass seed;
and 8 lbs. sweet scented Vernal Grass
seed.
Moisten the Orchard grass seed be-
fore mixing it with the others, and
leave it in bulk from II to "a hours.
The seed to be narrowed in with light
one horse seed harrow; lay off the water
burrows, and roll across them. This
may be considered costly operation,
and so it is; but it will pay you the cost
each year after the second, and it must
be remembered that it is to be perma-
nent, and, If properly cared for after it
is once firmly set, will last life time,
furnishing a luxuriant crop of grass to
cut every year. and pasture your stock
in two weeks after you have harvested
the hay, until after frost. Every
second year, there should be applied
mixture for each acre, of 2 bushels bone
dust, 10 do. ashes, l do. salt, and of
plaster-spread broadcast, harrow it in
well and roll the ground.-Anlerican
Farmer.