fencing. Upon this point, Thaer* very justly remarks—“the division of pasture land into separate portions, whether these portions are close together or situated at considerable distances from each other, and the practice of successively turning the different kinds of cattle on to these divisions and then leaving the herbage to recover itself, is a system which possesses decided advantages over the practice of suffering the cattle to wander over the whole extent of the pasture ground. Cattle which are always confined in small spaces, do not spoil so great a portion of the herbage with their feet, as if they had more space to graze over. The grass is consequently uniformly eaten off from the whole of the ground and then left to recover itself. But when the cattle are allowed to roam over a large extent of pasturage, some parts remain untouched, and then the grass grows old and hard, while from others the herbage is cropped so close that it can scarcely shoot up again. Cattle are more quiet in confined pastures, and quietness is highly advantageous to them.

In using pasture ground, it is moreover necessary not to crowd it with a greater number of cattle than it can properly and advantageously support. When too great a number of cattle are turned upon the pasture, vegetation is checked; the plants have not time to attain their full growth; the cattle bite off the tops of them and then tear them up by the roots. On the other hand, it is equally injurious to a pasture for too small a number of cattle to be turned on it to graze. The effect of this is not only to diminish the utility of the pasture and the return that it yields, but tends to impoverish it. Under such circumstances the herbage shoots up in great luxuriance, and many plants appear, which the cattle will not eat after they have attained any hight. These plants become strong and multiply, while the finer kinds of herbage, those best adapted for pasturage, disappear."

The plan of stocking partially exhausted lands with sheep, with a view to assist in their renovation, was alluded to in an article on that subject in my report for 1857, and I venture now to repeat a single paragraph in connection with the present remarks upon pastures. The peculiar advantages which they afford for this purpose are thus stated: The sheep of all domestic animals is the least dainty

*Principles of Agriculture.

in its tastes and the easiest fed, eating freely it is said of a hundred different species of plants which are refused by the horse and the ox. They are thus of great utility in cleansing foul lands by the extirpation of troublesome bushes and briars and noxious weeds. Nothing comes amiss to sheep; they feed upon all such with avidity and fairly destroy them. Their digestion of what they eat is so complete and thorough that no weed seeds after passing this ordeal retain any germinating power. Besides this, it is the animal which derives the greatest benefit from the food which it consumes and at the same time gives the most active and enriching manure to fertilize the land, and this when at pasture, it scatters not only copiously, but with remarkable evenness, over the land, thus aiding the introduction of choice and delicate grasses, while horses and neat cattle on the contrary, drop their excrements in large deposits, which tend to the destruction of the more delicate sorts of feed and the growth of such as is rank and coarse."

In Massachusetts much attention has been given to this method of improving pastures. I saw it recently stated that in Lynn some land was bought and enclosed about eight years ago, "a hundred acres of which would not afford a cow a living." Only as many sheep were first pastured upon it as it could carry, and the number increased by degrees so that the third year three hundred sheep were well kept upon two hundred acres. Mr. Sanford Howard who visited it then said it presented a striking contrast to its previous appearance. "On the parts most closely fed, the wild roses, whortleberries and blackberry bushes and wood wax were almost entirely killed, and there was a very good sward of blue grass, redtop and white clover." The editor of the New England Farmer writing lately from Hingham, says: "Some of the finest examples are afforded here of the effects of feeding sheep upon pastures that have become exhausted of nutritious grasses and grown up to briars, bushes, brakes and moss. I have seen pastures to-day that had become almost worthless, but now green and smiling as a lawn, with every inch among the rocks covered with the richest pasture grasses, and not a blackberry vine, wild rose bush, mullen or other worthless plant in sight. The sward does not seem compact and sound, but loose and porous, and filled with the most healthy and vigorous roots. The sheep grazing upon these pastures afford ample evidence of the

richness and luxuriance of the grasses upon which they feed. These examples, with similar ones that I have met in other places widely remote, would seem to shed light upon the perplexing question so often asked, How shall I reclaim my old pasture?' All over New England there are thousands of acres producing little or nothing, that might be renovated by the introduction of sheep upon them, while the profits from the sheep themselves I believe would be larger than from the same amount of money invested in cows. I have been told of an instance where a hundred acre pasture fed scantily only twelve sheep and six cows the first year, but on the second summer fed well twenty sheep and twelve cows, and continued to increase in fertility until more than double this number were well fed upon it."

Appended, are extracts from the statements of cultivators in various parts of the State, giving their opinions on grass culture and hay harvesting, in reply to a circular of inquiry sent out last spring. To have inserted all which has been received, would involve much of repetition and make the report more voluminous than is deemed desirable. Care has been taken to report all opinions at variance with the methods of practice advocated in the preceeding pages.

BY E. B. RANDALL, LIMINGTON.

"Spring, and as early as the land can be worked to advantage, is the best time for seeding down with grass; then the grass has time to get well rooted before dry hot weather, which frequently kills late sowed. Spring sowing is more likely to live through the winter than fall sowing. Clover sowed in the fall is almost certain to winter kill. When land is well worked in the spring it is light, and grass roots will grow with grain roots soon enough to hold it from falling.

I think it best to sow with grain, and choose barley or wheat. By sowing grass seed with grain, they form a sward in a few days, sufficient to keep the land from falling heavy, which is a great benefit to grass in after years, and by sowing grain and grass together we get a crop of grain (or straw) the first year, and grass has the benefit of the straw stubble and the lightness which it has maintained during its growth.

My mode of curing herdsgrass or fine hay, is to mow it in the forenoon and spread it when the dew is off, and rake and cock it in the afternoon, if it gets dry enough; but if not, we turn it up, if

the weather is good; the next day succeeding, the cocks are opened and turned up and stored, when it is as dry as can be handled without crumbling, (a stage that requires particular attention,) for more drying than that is injurious.

We let our clover lay in swath until the upper side is wilted, then turn it over; next day cock it up with forks and hand rakes, and let it stand over night; then re-cock it once a day until dry enough, never spreading the cocks after once made. Clover cut in full bloom and cured without the bloom fading, will retain its leaf and be worth as much per ton as other hay, but it takes a larger pile for a ton than it does of fine hay.

I prefer to cut clover in bloom, and other grass before the seed is full, when it contains the most nutriment; it cuts easier then than it does after that period, which is a saving of labor, and all grasses that I am acquainted with, as their seeds ripen, their leaves. ripen also, and fall or wither away.

Early cutting with good curing, secures good hay well filled with sugar, starch, gum and oil, just what is required to make flesh, fat, &c.; but late cut hay only contains woody fibrous substance, with a little seed, the rest being shaken out before the cattle get it. Early cutting gives the roots a chance to sprout up and send forth a second crop before they are exhausted; but late cutting serves to kill the roots, by taking all the sap from them and leaving them in their weakest state and their stalks open to hold water to kill or sicken all below.

Great loss is sustained by late cutting. Most farmers begin to cut about one week too late. I reckon labor worth one-third more in early haying than in late. Herdsgrass is more apt to rust than it used to be, and the old rule of letting it ripen its seed, endangers it for hay.

I have used top dressing some, in order to test the worth of it, or in other words, to know if it would do any good, for many of the farmers here said it would not; but it will do good and may be made and applied to pay well. If manure cannot be made and applied to the land so as to pay something I am a ruined man."

BY HARRY HAMMOND, SANFORD.

"It is best to seed down grass land in the spring, because the roots get larger and will stand the winter better. Again, you can sow clover with safety, and have better hay by its being mixed

(clover, timothy and redtop.) When it is seeded in fall, nothing but timothy is usually sown.

It is better to sow grass seed with grain. It should be sown after the grain is harrowed in, and then be covered by brushing, as harrowing covers too deep; the grain being of more vigorous growth, protects the grass seeds from the scorching rays of the sun till the grain is taken off, which give seeds all a chance to germinate and become rooted. Wheat give us the best stubble.

I cultivate timothy and clover only. Redtop comes in naturally in sufficient quantities. I cut in the morning, open the swaths soon as the dew is off, let it lie till towards night, then am sure to put in cock before it is dampened any by the dews; next morning, when the ground has become dry and warm I spread it, and about eleven o'clock turn it over, and have it put in the barn by four o'clock while it is warm by the sun.

Clover I treat nearly the same, not dry it quite so much, and sometimes let it stand in cock the second day and get in the third. I consider clover worth some more for cows and young stock than other hay, but not so much for oxen that work.

I prefer to cut grass soon as the blossom begins to fall or change, as cattle will eat it as readily cut at that stage as any other, and it contains more nutriment, is better for fattening than if cut either. earlier or later.

The effect of early cutting is, the hay is not worth so much on account of its not getting to maturity; cattle will eat it with as much avidity as later cut, but it is very apt to give them the scours ; and if late cut, cattle will eat it only by compulsion through fear of starving, having lost the qualities which made it palatable; besides which, late cutting is destructive to the roots and permanence of the grasses, while early cut does not injure their permanence as the seed does not come to maturity.

I use no salt or lime in storing my hay except in cases of extreme necessity, I use a little salt, say two or three quarts to the ton.

Do not use a mowing machine, but think it a profitable investment under proper circumstances.

I use the wire spring tooth horse rake; think that the best unless the ground is perfectly smooth, when perhaps some other rake might be preferred, only by its being easier to manage. I can rake as much with my horse and rake as five men can in the same time with small rakes, and do it as well.

Do not use hay caps, but consider them a very useful article."