Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1877-03-21


the opening lecture in this issue.
Get out your scrap-book.
We give below extracts from the valua-
bic paper on Grasses and their cultiva-
ton by f. R. Shedd, Esq, of West Wind
sor, and read at the meeting OF the Board
Of Agriculture at Woodstock. Though
little early for practical application, it will
keep and if our readers paste such parts of
it as fit their particular case in u scrap
book, it will be available in May or Sep
TENDER of this or some future year:
suppose we shall all agree that if we
make any money in farming, in these times,
we make it upon the grass crop, as with
our present facilities, the amount of labor
required to produce given results is much
less than with any other crop produced.
This being conceded, the best method of
increasing and producing it becomes i'm
portant. 1t has seemed necessary and will
probably so continue to devote a portion
of our lard to the production of grain.
| While the common practice has been to
manure and plant upon the inverted sod
and seed the next season with some of the
small grains, yet this course, especially in
our seasons of drouth and upon dry lands
has been so frequently attended with total
or partial failure, that many farmers now
sow no grass seed with their spring grain,
but as soon AS the crop is harvested turn
the stubble under and sow grass seed alone.
By this course they uniformly secure
good stand of grass and a superior crop of
hay the next season, This may introduce
the question of fall or spring seeding, but
II moments reflection will convince us that
by seeding in the fall we follow the course
of nature, which makes no mistakes, as
the grass if not cut would mature its seed
in August, and would Mt that time, or near
y 50, do its own resecding. At all events
this course has proved very satisfactory
wherever adopted. Finding that it was
requiring too great an outlay of labor to
cultivate all the land which needed re-
seeding, by way of experiment, two years
since, immcpiately after haying one and
onc-half acre of green sward which had
not been plowed for several years, pro-
ducing only small amount of June grass,
was broken up and MANFRED after blowing
with about two-thirds the usual amount
for planting, This was thoroughly har-
rowed and pulverized and seeded with
something less than half bushel of herds
grass seed per acre without grain. The
result exceeded my most sanguine eXpecta-
tons as the crop was ready to cut the past
season, at the usual time of haying, and
yielding, by estimation, fully three tons of
hay per acre.
Our Scotch brothers across the waters
investigate these matters a little more
closely than we have been in the habit of
doing and to one of their tables | am in
debted for the number of seeds contained
in any given mixture. By this computa-
ton, and believe it 10 be very accurate
and thorough, in one ounce of red top
there are 425,000 seeds. In six pounds
there are 40,000,0OO. In one pound of
Timothy there are over 100000 and in
eleven and one-fourth pounds, or one peck.
there are over 100000 seeds, and in four
pounds of clover there are over 100000
seeds From this we may see that if we
use six pounds of red top, one peck herds
grass and four pounds of clover, we shall
have something over 54,000,00O of seeds
per acre. 1t is evident, therefore, that
there must be an enormous waste some.
where, as no such number of plants are
ever produced from our seeding, and it is
important to ascertain where this leak is,
whether from poor seed OF too deep or too
shallow covering.
From the same source, and after the
most minute and patient experiments the
following was found to be the depth at
which the greatest number of seeds er-
mnatc-that at which only one-half ger
inmate, and that at which none do 50. To
begin with Timothy the depth at which
the greatest number of seeds terminate
was one-fourth inch and less. At which
only half terminate, three-fourths to one
inch. At which none, two inches. Clo-
yer, the greatest number at one-half inch
and less half at one and one-fourth to one
and one-half inches. Red top and or.
chard grass vary slightly but not materi-
ally from these proportions, and we may
perhaps judge something from this as to
how much of this waste is occasiencd by
our methods of covering. While the va
rifles named will perhaps always continue
to be the standard grasses for Vermont,
still there are other varieties which it
seems desirable should be tested to the cx
tent of few acres at least on every farm.
The most valuable of these, in my expert
cnce, has proved itselfto be orchard grass.
or as some term it, American Cocks
foot" While my success in obtaining
seed which will terminate has been so
poor as TO cause me to almost DESPAIR of
obtaining good stand of grass; vet its
many good qualities make it rank among
the favoYites.
Another great improvement in our grass
crop can be effected by drainage. While
its benefits are so well understood it seems
a useless iteration to call attention to it;
yet there are on most farms wet tracks of
land producing small quantities of poor
hay, which by draining and top dressing
would produce double the quantity and Of
greatly improved quality. We very
well understand that heat cannot pass
downward in water, and draining, there.
fore, not only deepens but warns the soil
and with comparative little outlay, except
the labor, that which is now PERHAPS the
poorest land upon the farm can be made
the most profitable and productive, as the
soil of such tracts when relieved of their
surplus water is the richest in those maize
rails needed for the growth of plants of
any we have. Something over thirty years
ago my father came in possession of n
farm through which u small stream of wa
ter wound its way. Upon one side of this
was meadow of six acres sosituated that
at trilling expense it could be flowed at
Will. The channel being too deep for any
natural overflow the water was turned on
or off as desired, by means of troughs and
dispersed over the land by means Of small
trenches. This land was treated in thfs
manner for twenty years, never plowed or
enriched in any way, sometimes two CROPS
cut from portions of it, fed in the fall but
with ever increasing crops, and the amount
OF bay it produced was marvel to the
country round about. BY this means all
the manure produced upon the farm could
be used upon the upland and the whole
farm, though small, became IL SYNONYM
for richness and fertility. This is
mentioned simply as an illustration of The
great benefit 10 be derived from irricatinp
grass lands wherever practicable, and #
there is farm in Vermont possessed Of a
stream that can be thus used its owner hns
at his door n gold mine, better far than
Calitornla's, as to possess it he has only IN
reach forth his hand. On all moist lo,,d,