The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-11-13

10 my mixer, you LuTl al lEOsc GUNS
down in the pasture with the dry cattle
but the one with the youngest calf, and
put her every morning in the clover
patch for about two hours, and the same
thing in the afternoon. In q short time
had more milk and butter from the
one cow attended to than / was getting
from the eight neglected ones, and every
visitor I had complimented me on my
milk, &c.
But will close this part of my Inject
with statement from better authority.
Arthur Young, who is considered the
father in Old England, states that he
pastured sixty-four swine of various sizes
on two acres of clover ground, and they
did well.
DR.. Deane, the head ofimproved farming
in New England, says: "I suppose that
one acre of rich land in clover will sup
port twenty or more hogs, large and
small together, throughout the summer,
and bring them well forward in their
growth.
BY all means have clover patch. In
my humble opinion the grass proper
for the South is orchard grass. believe
I am an enthusiast about this grass,
and before I say anything of my own
knowledge about it let me, as the law
yers say, give you some Of the authori-
ties. These could be multiplied indef-
nitely, but will give you one from John
Washington, of Virginia, in the Southern
Planter and Farmer.
After expressing to some length his
surprise at Virginia farmers not raising
more hay, instead of saving fodder, he
comes to speak of orchard grass, and
says: "Take for example an acre Of
land the coming spring that will produce
three to four barrels of corn, plough it
deep, manure it with good manure Of any
kind, seed on it from three quarters to one
bushel of oats, (this quantity will shade
the grass and not crowd,) putting them
in nicely, then seed OH the fresh surface
one bushel of orchard grass and one gal
lon of clover seed; pass over the surface
with light harrow or brush, and roll it
with roller or log Of wood, and let it
alone. If you can afford it, let the
oats fall as an improyer to both land and
grass. After the oats are harvested see
that nothing grazes it until after the crop
of hay has been saved.
"Now for the result. The next spring
or early summer, so soon as the orchard
grass is in blossom mot brown or seeded)
the clover will be ready also. Cut all
for feed, or cure and put away as hay
in place of fodder. You may safely ex-
pect two or three thousand pounds of
hay. Suffer nothing to Craze it under the
first of December, then let your COWS run
on it an hour or two each day in open
weather until the 18th March. This
acre will supply the horses with more hay
and grass in the fall, winter, spring and
summer than any other grass yet intro
duced into Virginia 1t is the only grass
that grows with us all the year round,
except only when the ground is frozen,
1t is not rs exhaustive to land as timo-
thy. 1t will grow on any dry land, not
excepting a sand bank. And here let me
say, the best grasses love dry soil. We
usually seek the bottoms and moist
places to grow timothy. Why? Because
the grass is not we'll suited to our eli
mate. Nor are we the losers thereby so
long as orchard grass and clover arc
accessible.
"The orchard grass will stand the inva-
sion of broom straw. If you will prac-
ticc little patience and not suffer it to
be grazed until it has formed sod, then
you can't hurt it except with hogs or
ploughs. If any farmers are usually
scarce of fodder about the first of June
or little sooner, let them try an acre
lot. 1t will be just in time for your
wants. If you want lot always green
for an idle horse to run in, this will
supply it; or green grass in winter for
your cow, this is the only grass that will
furnish it. Try it on sand bank if you
can't do better. L have never been with
out orchard grass patch since I COM
menced with it in 1870. ! have had an
acre adjoining my yard that has been in
this grass for six years. 1t was used en-
tirely as pasture. The fowls lived al
most entirely upon it, and all the stock
were allowed to run on it, as soon as it
would get good start.
"I ploughcd it up this year for the
purpose of reseeding, but more to
thoroughly manure it, as really believe
ifeverything had been kept offthe orchard
grass would have reasserted itself. I had
another patch of four acres that had been
in this grass for three years. 1t had
been pastured so constantly by hogs, colts
and calves, and often mules that /
thought, as the saying is, 1T had run out
and / concluded that late in the fall l
would SOW orchard grass; that would
manure it heavily with cotton seed, SOW
in oats and then this fall sow again in
grass. The winter was very severe and
most of the oats were killed out, but in
the spring saw something putting in an
appearance that knew was not oats, and
found on examination that I had fine
stand of orchard grass. mention this
incident to show the hardihood of the
plant.
"My choice of time for sowing is Sep
tember. Sow with oats, or best, if you
will do it, SOW it and clover by them
selves. 1 would be glad if you could
have seen some hogs have raised almost
entirely on orchard grass and clover.
They would make believers if there are
any doubling Thomases.
"Our next best artificial grass, / think,
is Lucerne. Some few years ago ] sowed
n few handfuls of Lucerne seed in one
corner of a clover patch, more for curios-
ity than otherwise. soon found if any
kind of stock were turned in the patch to
Craze they would find the Lucerne spot
and seemed to prefer it. So / concluded
to try more of it. Last fall | took an old
garden spot of haitian acre that was liter
ally run away with nut grass and sowed
it in Lucerne. Now all the books said
SOW in drills two feet apart; cultivate un-
til it takes possession of the ground, but
my idea has always been in sowing any
forage crop to get rid OF this cultivation.
So mine was sown broadcast, it and the
dock chicken-weed, &c, and had lively
time in the spring. But by putting in Il
hand every wet day and pulling up the
weeds the I.ucerpe soon rot the mastery.