CHAPTER VI.

CULTURE OF GRASSES AND OTHER PLANTS RECOMMENDED FOR FODDER.

As already stated, the grasses in summer, and hay in winter, form the most natural and important food for milch cows; and whatever other crops come in as additional, these will form the basis of all systems of feeding.

The nutritive qualities of the grasses differ widely; and their value as feed for cows will depend, to a considerable extent, on the management of pastures and mowing-lands.

If the turf of an old pasture is carefully examined, it will be found to contain a large variety of grasses and plants adapted for forage; some of them valuable for one purpose, and some for another. Some of them, though possessing a lower percentage of nutritive constituents than others, are particularly esteemed for an early and luxuriant growth, furnishing a sweet feed in early spring, before other grasses appear; some of them, for starting more rapidly than others, after being eaten off by cattle, and consequently of great value as pasture grasses. Most grasses will be found to be of a social character, and to do best in a large mixture with other varieties.

In forming a mixture for pasture grasses, the peculiarities of each species should, therefore, be regarded: as the time of flowering, the habits of growth, the soil and location on which it grows best, and other characteristics. Among the grasses found on cultivated lands, in this country, the following are considered as among the most valuable for ordinary farm cultivation; some of them adapted to pastures, and others almost exclusively to mowing and the hay crop: Timothy (_Phleum pratense_). Meadow Foxtail (_Alopecurus pratensis_). June, or Kentucky Blue Grass (_Poa pratensis_). Fowl meadow (_Poa serotina_). Rough-stalked Meadow (_Poa trivialis_). Orchard Grass (_Dactylis glomerata_). Perennial Rye Grass (_Lolium perenne_). Italian Rye Grass (_Lolium italicum_). Redtop (_Agrostis vulgaris_). English Bent (_Agrostis alba_). Meadow Fescue (_Festuca pratensis_). Tall Oat Grass (_Arrhenatherum avenaceum_). Sweet-scented Vernal (_Anthoxanthemum odoratum_). Hungarian Grass (_Panicum Germanicum_). Red Clover (_Trifolium pratense_). White or Dutch Clover (_Trifolium repens_), and some others.

Of these, the most valuable, all things considered, is the first, or Timothy (Fig. 56b). It forms a large proportion of what is commonly called English, or in some sections meadow hay, though it originated and was first cultivated in this country. It contains a large percentage of nutritive matter, in comparison with other agricultural grasses. It thrives best on moist, peaty, or loamy soils, of medium tenacity, and is not well suited to very light, sandy lands. On very moist soils its root is almost always fibrous; while on dry and loamy ones it is bulbous. On soils of the former description, which it especially affects, its growth is rapid, and its yield of hay large, sometimes amounting to three and four tons to the acre, depending much, of course, on cultivation. But, though very valuable for hay, it is not adapted to pastures, as it will neither endure severe grazing, nor is its aftermath to be compared with meadow foxtail, and some of the other grasses.

JUNE GRASS (Fig. 57b), better known in some sections as Kentucky Blue grass, is very common in most sections of the country, especially on limestone lands, forming a large part of the turf, wherever it flourishes, and being universally esteemed as a pasture grass. It starts early, but varies much in size and appearance, according to the soil; growing in some places with the utmost luxuriance, and forming the predominant grass; in others, yielding to the other species. If cut at the time of flowering, or a few days after, it makes a good and nutritive hay, though it is surpassed in nutritive qualities by several of the other grasses. It starts slowly after being cut, especially if not cut very early. But its herbage is fine and uniform, and admirably adapted to lawns, growing well in almost all soils, though it does not endure very severe droughts. It withstands, however, the frosts of winter better than most other grasses.

In Kentucky, a section where it attains its highest perfection and luxuriance, ripening its seed about the 10th of June, and in latitudes south of that, it sometimes continues green through the mild winters. It requires three or four years to become well set, after sowing, and it does not attain its highest yield as a pasture grass till the sod is even older than that. It is not, therefore, suited to alternate husbandry, where land usually remains in grass but two or three years before being ploughed up. In Kentucky it is sown any time in winter when the snow is on the ground three or four quarts of seed being used to the acre. In spring the seeds germinate, when the sprouts are exceedingly fine and delicate. Stock is not allowed on it the first year.

The MEADOW FOXTAIL (Fig. 58b) is also an excellent pasture grass. It somewhat resembles Timothy, but is earlier, has a softer spike, and thrives on all soils except the dryest. Its growth is rapid, and it is greatly relished by stock of all kinds. Its stalk and leaves are too few and light for a field crop, and it shrinks too much in curing to be valuable for hay. It flourishes best in a rich, moist, and rather strong soil, sending up a luxuriant aftermath when cut or grazed off, which is much more valuable, both in quantity and nutritive value, than the first crop. In all lands designed for permanent pasture, therefore, it should form a considerable part of a mixture. It will endure almost any amount of forcing, by liquid manures, or irrigation. It requires three or four years, after sowing, to gain a firm footing in the soil. The seed is covered with the soft and woolly husks of the flower, and is consequently light; weighing but five pounds to the bushel, and containing seventy-six thousand seeds to the ounce.

The ORCHARD GRASS, or ROUGH COCKSFOOT (Fig. 59), for pastures, stands preëminent. This is a native of this country, and was introduced into England, from Virginia, in 1764, since which time its cultivation has extended into every country of Europe, where it is universally held in very high estimation. The fact of its being very palatable to stock of all kinds, its rapidity of growth, and the luxuriance of its aftermath, with its power of enduring the cropping of cattle, have given it a very high reputation, especially as a pasture grass. It blossoms earlier than Timothy; when green is equally relished by milch cows; requires to be fed closer, to prevent its forming tufts and growing up to seed, when it becomes hard and wiry, and loses much of its nutritive quality. As it blossoms about the same time, it forms an admirable mixture with red clover, either for permanent pasture or mowing. It resists drought, and is less exhausting to the soil than either rye grass or Timothy. The seed weighs twelve pounds to the bushel, and when sown alone requires about two bushels to the acre.

The ROUGH-STALKED MEADOW GRASS (Fig. 60) is somewhat less common than June grass, but is considered as equally valuable. It grows best on moist, sheltered meadows, where it flowers in June and July. It is easily distinguished from June grass, by having a rough sheath, while the latter has a smooth one, and by having a fibrous root, while the root of June grass is creeping. It possesses very considerable nutritive qualities, and comes to perfection at a desirable time; is exceedingly relished by cattle, horses, and sheep. For suitable soils it should form a portion of a mixture of seeds, producing, in mixture with other grasses which serve to shelter it, a large yield of hay, far above the average of grass usually grown on a similar soil. It should be cut when the seed is formed. Seven pounds of seed to the acre will produce a good sward. The grass loses about seventy per cent. of its weight in drying. The nutritive qualities of its aftermath exceed very considerably those of the crop cut in the flower or in the seed.

FOWL MEADOW GRASS is another indigenous species, of great value for low and marshy grounds, where it flourishes best; and, if cut and properly cured, makes a sweet and nutritious hay, which, from its fineness, is eaten by cows without waste. According to Sinclair, who experimented, with the aid of Sir Humphrey Davy, to ascertain its comparative nutritive properties, it is superior, in this respect, to either meadow foxtail, orchard grass, or tall meadow oat grass; but it is probable that he somewhat overrates it. If allowed to stand till nearly ripe, it falls down, but sends up innumerable flowering stems from the joints, so that it continues green and luxuriant till late in the season. It thrives best in mixture with other grasses, and deserves a prominent place in all mixtures for rich, moist pastures, and low mowing-lands.

RYE GRASS (Fig. 61) has a far higher reputation abroad than in this country, and probably with reason; for it is better adapted to a wet and uncertain climate than to a dry and hot one. It varies exceedingly, depending much on soil and culture; but, when cut in the blossom to make into hay, it possesses very considerable nutritive power. If allowed to get too ripe, it is hard and wiry, and not relished by cows. The change from a juicy and nutritious plant to woody fibre, possessing but little soluble matter, is very rapid. Properly managed, however, it is a tolerably good grass, though not to be compared to Timothy, or orchard grass.

ITALIAN RYE GRASS (Fig. 62) has also been cultivated to considerable extent in this country, but with less satisfactory results than are obtained from it in Europe, where it endures all climates, giving better crops, both in quantity and quality, than the perennial rye grass. It is one of the greatest gluttons of all the grasses, and luxuriates in frequent irrigation with liquid manure, though it is said to stand the drought very well. The soils best adapted to it are rich, moist, and fertile, of medium tenacity; and it is admirably adapted to the purposes of soiling, as it endures repeated cutting, rapidly sending up luxuriant crops. For rich soils near the barn, used for the growth of crops for soiling, therefore, it may be confidently used as a profitable addition to our list of cultivated grasses.

REDTOP (Fig. 63) is a grass familiar to every farmer in the country. It is the Herd’s grass of Pennsylvania, while in New York and New England it is known by a great variety of names, and assumes a great variety of forms, according to the soil in which it grows. It is well adapted to almost every soil, though it seems to prefer a moist loam. It makes a profitable crop for spending, in the form of hay, though its yield is less than that of Timothy. It is well suited to our permanent pastures, where it should be fed close, otherwise it becomes wiry and innutritious, and cattle refuse it. It stands the climate of the country as well as any other grass, and so forms a valuable part of any mixture for pastures and permanent mowing-lands; but it is probably rather overrated by us.

ENGLISH BENT (Fig. 64), known also by a great variety of other names, is also largely cultivated in some sections. It closely resembles redtop, but may be distinguished from it by the roughness of the sheaths when the hand is drawn from above downwards. It possesses much the same qualities as redtop.

MEADOW FESCUE (Fig. 65) is one of the most common of the fescue grasses, and is said to be the Randall grass of Virginia. It is an excellent pasture grass, forming a very considerable portion of the turf of old pastures and fields; and is more extensively propagated and diffused by the fact that it ripens its seeds before most other grasses are cut, and sheds them to spring up and cover the ground. Its long and tender leaves are much relished by cattle. It is rarely sown in this country, notwithstanding its great and acknowledged value as a pasture grass. If sown at all, it should be in mixture with other grasses, as orchard grass, rye grass, or June grass. It is of much greater value at the time of flowering than when the seed is ripe.

The TALL OAT GRASS (Fig. 66) is the Ray grass of France. It furnishes a luxuriant supply of foliage, is valuable either for hay or for pasture, and has been especially recommended for soiling purposes, on account of its early and luxuriant growth. It is often found on the borders of fields and hedges, woods and pastures, and is sometimes very plenty in mowing-lands. After being sown it shoots up a very thick aftermath, and on this account, partly, is regarded as nearly equal for excellence to the common foxtail.

It grows spontaneously on deep, sandy soils, when once naturalized. It has been cultivated to a considerable extent in this country, and is esteemed by those who know it mainly for its early, rapid, and late growth, making it very well calculated as a permanent pasture grass. It will succeed on tenacious clover soils.

The SWEET-SCENTED VERNAL GRASS (Fig. 67) is one of the earliest in spring and one of the latest in autumn; and this habit of growth is one of its chief excellences, as it is neither a nutritious grass nor very palatable to stock of any kind, nor does it yield a very good crop. It is very common all over New England and the Middle States, coming into old worn-out fields and moist pastures spontaneously, and along every roadside. It derives its name from its sweetness of smell when partially wilted, or crushed in the hand, and it is this chiefly that gives the delicious fragrance to all new-mown hay. It is almost the only grass that possesses a strongly-marked aromatic odor, which is imparted to other grasses with which it is cured. Its seed weighs eight pounds to the bushel. In mixtures for permanent pastures it may be of some value.

HUNGARIAN GRASS, or Millet (Fig. 68), is an annual forage plant, introduced into France in 1815, and more recently into this country. It germinates readily and withstands the drought remarkably, remaining green when other grasses are parched and dried up. It has numerous succulent leaves, which furnish an abundance of sweet fodder, greatly relished by stock of all kinds. It attains its greatest luxuriance on soils of medium consistency and richness, but does very well on light and dry plains.

RED CLOVER (Fig. 69) is an artificial grass of the leguminous family, and one of the most valuable of cultivated plants for feeding to dairy cows. It flourishes best on tenacious soils and stiff loams. Its growth is rapid, and a few months after sowing are sufficient to supply an abundant sweet and nutritious food. In the climate of New England clover should be sown in the spring of the year, while most of the natural grasses do far better sown in the fall. It is often sown with perfect success on the late snows of March or April, and soon finds its way down into the soil and takes a vigorous root. It is valuable not only as a forage plant, but as shading the ground, and thereby increasing its fertility.

The introduction of clover among the cultivated plants of the farm has done more, perhaps, for modern agriculture than that of any other single plant. It has now come to be considered indispensable in all good dairy districts.

WHITE CLOVER (Fig. 70), often called Honeysuckle, is also widely diffused over this country, to which it is undoubtedly indigenous. As a mixture in all pasture grasses it holds a very high rank, as it is exceedingly sweet and nutritious, and relished by stock of all kinds. It grows most luxuriantly in moist grounds and moist seasons, but easily accommodates itself to a great variety of circumstances.

With respect to the mixtures of grass-seeds most profitable for the dairy farmer, no universal rule can be given, as they depend very much upon the nature of the soil and the locality. The most important point to be observed, and one in which we, as a body, are perhaps most deficient, is to use a large number of species, with smaller quantities of each than those most commonly used. This is nature’s rule; for, in examining the turf of a rich old pasture, we shall find a large number of different species growing together, while, if we examine the turf of a field sown with only one or two different species, we find a far less number of plants to the square foot, even after the sod is fairly set. No improvement in grass culture is more important, it seems to me. I have suggested, in another place, a large number of mixtures adapted to the different varieties of soil and circumstance, together with the reasons for the mixture in many instances. (See _A Practical Treatise on Grasses and Forage Plants_, comprising their Natural History, Comparative Nutritive Value, Methods of Cultivating, Cutting, and Curing, and the Management of Grass Lands, &c. 236 pp. 8vo., with illustrations.) As an instance of what I should consider an improvement on our ordinary mixtures for _permanent pastures_, I would suggest the following as likely to give satisfactory results, dependent, of course, to a considerable extent, on the nature and preparation of the soil:

Meadow Foxtail, flowering in May and June, 2 pounds Orchard Grass, flowering in May and June, 6 “ Sweet-scented Vernal, flowering in April and May, 1 “ Meadow Fescue, flowering in May and June, 2 “ Redtop, flowering in June and July, 2 “ June Grass, flowering in May and June, 4 “ Italian Rye Grass, flowering in June, 4 “ Perennial Rye Grass, flowering in June, 6 “ Timothy, flowering in June and July, 3 “ Rough-stalked Meadow Grass, flowering in June and July, 2 “ Perennial Clover, flowering in June, 3 “ White Clover, flowering in May to September, 5-40 “

For mowing-lands the mixture would, of course, be somewhat changed. The meadow foxtail and sweet-scented vernal would be left out entirely, and some six or eight pounds added to the Timothy and red clover. The proper time to lay down lands to grass in the latitude of New England is August or September, and no grain crop should be sown with the seed.

Stiff or clayey pastures should never be over-stocked, but when fed pretty close the grasses are far sweeter and more nutritious than when they are allowed to grow up rank and coarse; and if, by a want of sufficient feeding, they get the start of the stock, and grow into rank tufts, they should be cut and removed, when a fresh grass will start up, similar to the aftermath of mowing-lands, which will be greedily eaten. Grasses for curing into hay should be cut either at the time of flowering or just before, especially if designed for milch cows. They are then more succulent and juicy, and, if properly cured, form the sweetest food.

Grass cut in the blossom will make more milk than if allowed to stand later. Cut a little before the blossoming, it will make more than when in the blossom; and the cows prefer it, which is by no means an unimportant consideration, since their tastes should always be consulted. Grass cut somewhat green, and properly cured, is next to fresh, green grass in palatable and nutritive qualities. And so a sensible practical farmer writes me: “The time of cutting grass depends very much upon the use you wish to make of it. If for working oxen and horses, I would let it stand till a little out of the blossom; but if to feed out to new milch cows in the winter, I would prefer to cut it very green. It is then worth for the making of milk in the winter almost double that cut later.” Every farmer knows the milk-producing properties of rowen, which is generally cut before it blossoms.

No operation on the farm is of greater importance to the dairyman than the cutting of his grass and the manner of curing hay, and in this respect the practice over the country generally is susceptible of very great improvement. The chief object is to preserve the sweetness and succulence of grass in its natural state, so far as it is possible; and this object cannot be gained by exposing it too long to the scorching suns and the drenching rains to which we are liable in this climate. We generally try to make our hay too much.

As to the best modes of curing clover, my own experience and observation accord with that of several practical farmers, who write me as follows: “My method of curing clover is this: What is mown in the morning I leave in the swath, to be turned over early in the afternoon. At about four o’clock, or while it is still warm, I put it into small cocks with a fork, and, if the weather is favorable, it may be housed on the fourth or fifth day, the cocks being turned over on the morning of the day it is to be carted. By so doing all the heads and leaves are saved, and these are worth more than the stems. This has been my method for the last ten years. For new milch cows in the winter I think there is nothing better. It will make them give as great a flow of milk as any hay, unless it be good rowen.” Another says: “When the weather bids fair to be good, I mow it after the dew is off, and cock it up after being wilted, using the fork instead of rolling with the rake, and let it remain several days, when it is fit to put into the barn.” And another: “I mow my clover in the forenoon, and towards night of the same day I take forks and pitch it into cocks and let it stand till it cures. The day I cart it, I turn the cocks over, so as to air the lower part. I then put it into the mow with all the leaves and heads on, and it is as nice and green as green tea. I think it worth for milch cows and sheep as much per ton as English hay.” And still another: “I have found no better hay for farm stock than good clover, cut in season. For milch cows it is much better than Timothy. The rowen crop is better than any other for calves.”

INDIAN CORN makes an exceedingly valuable fodder, both as a means of carrying a herd of milch cows through our severe droughts of summer, and as an article for soiling cows kept in the stall. No dairy farmer will neglect to sow an extent in proportion to the number of cows he keeps. The most common practice is to sow in drills from two and a half to three feet apart, on land well tilled and thoroughly manured, making the drills from six to ten inches wide with the plough, manuring in the furrow, dropping the corn about two inches apart, and covering with the hoe. In this mode of culture the cultivator may be used between the rows when the corn is from six to twelve inches high, and unless the ground is very weedy no other after culture is generally needed. The first sowing usually takes place about the 20th of May, and this is succeeded by other sowings at intervals of a week or ten days, till July, in order to have a succession of green fodder. But, if it is designed to cut it up to cure for winter use, an early sowing is generally preferred, in order to be able to cure it in warm weather, in August or early in September. Sown in this way, about three or four bushels of corn are required for an acre, since, if sown thickly, the fodder is better, the stalks smaller, and the waste less.

The chief difficulty in curing corn cultivated for this purpose, and after the methods spoken of, arises mainly from the fact that it comes at a season when the weather is often colder, the days shorter, and the dews heavier, than when the curing of hay takes place. Nor is the curing of corn cut up green so easy and simple as that of drying the stalks of Indian corn cut above the ear, as in our common practice of topping. The plant is then riper, less juicy, and cures more readily.

The method sometimes adopted is to cut and tie into small bundles, after it is somewhat wilted, and stook upon the ground, where it is allowed to stand, subject to all the changes of the weather, with only the protection of the stook itself. The stooks consist of bunches of stalks first bound in small bundles, and are made sufficiently large to prevent the wind from blowing them over. The arms are thrown around the tops to bring them together as closely as possible, when the tops are broken over or twisted together, or otherwise fastened, in order to make the stook “shed the rain” as well as possible. In this condition they stand out till sufficiently dried to put into the barn. Corn fodder is very excellent for young dairy stock.

COMMON MILLET (_Panicum miliaceum_) is another very valuable crop for fodder in soiling, or to cure for winter use, but especially to feed out during our usual periods of drought. Many varieties of millet are cultivated in this country, the ground being prepared and treated as for oats. If designed to cut for green fodder, half a bushel of seed to the acre should be used; if to ripen seed, twelve quarts, sown broad-cast, about the last of May or early in June. A moist loam or muck is the best adapted to millet; but I have seen very great crops grown on dry upland. It is very palatable and nutritious for milch cows, both green and when properly cured. The curing should be very much like clover, care being taken not to over-dry it. For fodder, either green or cured, it is cut before ripening. In this state all cattle eat it as readily as green corn, and a less extent will feed them. Millet is worthy of a widely-extended cultivation, particularly on dairy farms. Indian millet (_Sorghum vulgare_) is another cultivated variety.

RYE, as a fodder plant, is chiefly valuable for its early growth in spring. It is usually sown in September or October, from the middle to the end of September being, perhaps, the most desirable time, on land previously cultivated and in good condition. If designed to ripen only, a bushel of seed is required to the acre, evenly sown; but, if intended for early fodder in spring, two or two and a half bushels per acre of seed should be used. On warm land the rye can be cut green the last of April or first of May; and care should be taken to cut early, as, if allowed to advance too far towards maturity, the stalk becomes hard and unpalatable to cows.

OATS are also sometimes used for soiling, or for feeding green, to eke out a scanty supply of pasture feed; And for this purpose they are valuable. They should be sown on well-tilled and well-manured land, about four bushels to the acre, towards the last of April or first of May. If the whole crop is to be used as green fodder, five bushels of seed will not be too much on strong, good soil. They will be sufficiently grown to cut by the first of July, or in some sections earlier, depending on location.

The CHINESE SUGAR-CANE also may deserve attention as a fodder plant. Experiments hitherto made seem to show that when properly cultivated, and cut at the right time, it is a palatable and nutritious plant, while many of the failures have been the result of too early cutting. For a fodder crop the drill culture is preferable, both on account of the larger yield obtained and to prevent it from becoming too hard and stalky.

THE POTATO (_Solanum tuberosum_) is the first of the root crops to be mentioned. This produces a large quantity of milk, though the quality is inferior. The market value of this root is, at the present time, too great to allow of feeding extensively with it, even in milk-dairies, where it is most valuable as food for cows; still, there are locations where it may be judicious to cultivate this root for dairy feed, and in all circumstances there is a certain portion of the crop of unmarketable size, which will be of value fed to milch cows or swine. It should be planted in April or May, but in many sections in June, on good mellow soil, first thoroughly ploughed and harrowed, then furrowed three feet apart, and manured in the furrows with a mixture of ashes, plaster of Paris, and salt. The seed may be dropped in the furrows, one foot apart, after the drill system, or in hills, two and a half or three feet apart, to be covered with the plough by simply turning the furrows back, after which the whole should be rolled with the field roller, where it can be done.

If the land is not already in good heart from continued cultivation, a few loads of barn-yard manure may be spread, and ploughed under by the first ploughing. Used in this way, it is far less liable to cause the rot than when put in the hill. If a sufficient quantity of wood-ashes is not at hand, sifted coal-ashes will answer the purpose, and are said to be valuable as a preventive of the rot. In this way one man, two boys, and a horse, can plant from three to four acres a day on mellow land. I have planted two acres a day on the sod, the manure being first spread on the grass, a furrow made by a yoke of oxen and one man, another following after and dropping, a foot apart, along the outer edge of the furrow on the grass. By quick work, one hand can nearly keep up with the plough in dropping. When arrived at the end of the piece, a back furrow is turned up to the potatoes, and a good ploughman will cover nearly all without difficulty. On the return-furrow the man or boy who dropped follows after, covering up any that may be left or displaced, and smoothing off the top of the back-furrows where necessary. Potatoes thus planted came out as fine as I ever saw any.

The cost of cultivation in this mode, it must be evident, is but trifling compared with the slower method of hand-planting. The plan will require a skilful ploughman, a quick, active lad, and a good yoke of oxen, and the extent of the work will depend somewhat on the state of the turf. The nutritive equivalent in potatoes for one hundred pounds of good hay is 3.19 pounds; that is, it will take 319 pounds of potatoes to afford the same amount of nourishment as one pound of hay. The great value of roots is as a change or condiment, calculated to keep the animal in a healthy condition.

THE CARROT (_Daucus carota_) is somewhat extensively fed, and is a valuable root for milch cows. This, like the potato, has been cultivated and improved from a wild plant. Carrots require a deep, warm, mellow soil, thoroughly cultivated, but clean and free from weed-seed. The difference between a very good profit and a loss on the crop depends much on the use of land and manures perfectly free from foul seeds of any kind. Ashes, guano, sea-weed, ground bone, and other similar substances, or thoroughly-rotted and fermented compost, will answer the purpose.

After ploughing deep, and harrowing carefully, the seed should be sown with a seed-sower, in drills about eighteen inches apart, at the rate of four pounds to the acre, about the middle or twentieth of May. The difference between sowing the fifteenth of May and the tenth of June in New England is said to be nearly one third in the crop on an average of years. In weeding, a little wheel-hoe is invaluable, as with it a large part of the labor of cultivation is saved. A skilful hand can run this hoe within half an inch of the young plants without injury, and go over a large space in the course of a day, if the land was properly prepared in the first place.

The American farmer should always plan to economize labor. That is the great item of expense on the farm. I do not mean that he should try to shirk or avoid work, but that he should make the least amount of work accomplish the largest and most profitable results. Labor-saving machinery on the farm is applied not to reduce the number of hours’ labor, or to make the owner a man of leisure,--who is, generally, the unhappiest man in the world,--but to enable him to accomplish the greatest results in the same time that he would be compelled to labor to obtain smaller ones.

Carrots will continue to grow and increase in size late into the fall. When ready to dig, plough around as near to the outside rows as possible, turning the furrow away from the row. Then take out the carrots, pulling off the tops, and throw the carrots and tops into separate heaps on the ploughed furrows. In this way a man and two boys can harvest and put into the cellar over a hundred bushels a day.

The TURNIP (_Brassica rapa_) and the Swedish turnip or ruta baga (_Brassica campestris_) are also largely cultivated as a field crop to feed to stock; and for this purpose numberless varieties are used, furnishing a great amount of succulent and nutritious food, late into winter, and, if well kept, late into spring. The chief objection to the turnip is that it taints the milk. This may be remedied, to a considerable extent, if not wholly, by the use of salt, or salt hay, and by feeding at the time of milking, or immediately after, or by steaming before feeding, or putting a small quantity of the solution of nitre into the pail, and milking upon it.

Turnips may be sown any time in June, in rich land, well mellowed by cultivation. Very large crops are often obtained sown as late as the middle of July, or first of August, on an inverted sod. The Michigan or double-mould-board plough leaves the land light, and in admirable condition to harrow, and drill in turnips. A successful root-grower last year cut two tons of hay to the acre, on the 23d of June, and after it was removed from the land spread eight cords of rotten kelp to the acre, and ploughed in; after which about three cords of fine old compost manure were used to the acre, which was sown, with ruta baga seed, in drills, three feet apart, plants thinned to eight or ten inches in the drill. No after cultivation was required. On the 15th of November he harvested three hundred and seventy bushels of splendid roots to the acre, carefully measured off.

The nutritive equivalent of Swedish turnips as compared with good meadow hay is 676, taking hay as a standard at 100; that is, it would require 6.76 lbs. of turnips to furnish the same nutriment as one pound of good hay; but, fed in connection with other food, as hay, for instance, perhaps five pounds of turnips would be about equal to one pound of hay.

The English or round turnip is usually sown broadcast after some other crop, and large and valuable returns are often obtained. The Swede is sown in drills. Both these varieties are used for the production of milk.

The chief objection to the turnip crop is that it leaves many kinds of soil unfit for a succession of some other crops, like Indian corn, for instance. In some sections no amount of manuring appears to make corn do well after turnips or ruta bagas.

The MANGOLD WURZEL, a variety of the _Beta vulgaris_, is often cultivated with great success in this country, and fed to cows with advantage, furnishing a succulent and nutritive food in winter and spring. The crop is somewhat uncertain. When it does well an enormous yield is often obtained; but it often proves a failure, and is not, on the whole, quite as reliable as the ruta baga, though a more valuable crop when the yield is good. It is cultivated like the common beet, in moist, rich soils, three pounds of seed to the acre. The leaves may be stripped off, towards fall, and fed out, without injury to the growth of the root. Both mangolds and turnips should be cut with a root-cutter, before being fed out.

The PARSNIP (_Pastinaca sativa_) is a very sweet and nutritive article of fodder, and adds richness and flavor to the milk. It is worthy of extended culture in all parts of this country where dairy husbandry is pursued. It is a biennial, easily raised on deep, rich, well-cultivated and well-manured soils, often yielding enormous crops, and possessing the advantage of withstanding the severest winters. As an article of spring feeding, therefore, it is exceedingly valuable. Sown in April or May, it attains a large growth before winter. Then, if desirable, a part of the crop may be harvested for winter use, and the remainder left in the ground till the frost is out, in March or April, when they can be dug as wanted, and are exceedingly relished by milch cows, and stock of all kinds. They make an admirable feed at the time of milking, and produce the richest cream, and the yellowest and finest-flavored butter, of any root with which I am acquainted. The good dairy farmers on the island of Jersey often feed to their cows from thirty to thirty-five pounds of parsnips a day, in addition to hay or grass.

Both practical experiment and scientific analysis prove this root to be eminently adapted to dairy stock, where the richness of milk or fine-flavored butter is any object. For mere milk-dairies, it is not quite so valuable, probably, as the Swedish turnip. The culture is similar to that of carrots, a rich, mellow, and deep loam being best; while it has a great advantage over the carrot in being more hardy, and rather less liable to injury from insects, and more nutritive. For feeding and fattening stock it is eminently adapted.

To be sure of a crop, fresh seed must be had, as it cannot be depended on more than one year. For this reason, the largest and straightest roots should be allowed to stand for seed, which, as soon as nearly ripe, should be taken off and spread out to dry, and carefully kept for use. For field culture the hollow-crowned parsnip is the best and most profitable; but on thin, shallow soils the turnip-rooted variety should be used. Parsnips may be harvested like carrots, by ploughing along the rows. Let butter or cheese dairymen give this crop a fair and full trial, and watch its effect on the quality of the milk and butter.

The KOHL RABI (_Brassica oleracea_, var. _caulorapa_) is also cultivated to a considerable extent in this country, to feed to stock. It is supposed to be a hybrid between the cabbage and the turnip, and is often called the cabbage-turnip, having the root of the former, with a turnip-like or bulbous stem. The special reason for its more extensive cultivation among us is its wonderful indifference to droughts, in which it seems to flourish best, and to bring forth the most luxuriant crops. It also withstands the frosts remarkably, being a hardy plant. It yields a somewhat richer quality of milk than the ordinary turnip, and the crop is generally admitted to be as abundant and profitable. I have seen very large crops of it produced by the ordinary turnip or cabbage cultivation. As in cabbage culture, it is best to sow the seed in March or April, in a warm and well-enriched seed-bed; from which it is transplanted in May, and set out after the manner of cabbages in garden culture. It bears transplanting better than most other roots. Insects injure it less than the turnip, dry weather favors it, and it keeps well through the winter. For these reasons, it must be regarded as a valuable addition to our list of forage plants adapted to dairy farming. It grows well on stronger soils than the turnip.

LINSEED MEAL is the ground cake of flax-seed, after the oil is pressed out. It is very rich in fat-forming principles, and given to milch cows it increases the quality of butter, and keeps them in condition. Four or five pounds a day are sufficient for cows in milk, and this amount will effect a great saving in the cost of other food, and at the same time make a very rich milk. It is extensively manufactured in this country, and largely exported, but is worthy of more general use here. It must not be fed in too large quantities to milch cows, for it would be liable to give too great a tendency to fat, and thus affect the quantity of milk.

RAPE-CAKE possesses much the same qualities. It is the residuum after pressing the oil from rape-seed.

COTTON-SEED MEAL is an article of comparatively recent introduction. It is obtained by pressing the seed of the cotton-plant, which extracts the oil, when the cake is crushed or ground into meal, which has been found to be a very valuable article for feeding stock. An analysis has been given on a preceding page, which shows it to be equal or superior to linseed meal. Practical experiments are needed to establish it. It is prepared chiefly in Providence, R. I., and is for sale in the market at a very reasonable price.

The MANURES used in this country in the culture of the plants mentioned above are mostly such as are made on the farm, consisting chiefly of barn-yard composts of various kinds, with often a large admixture of peat-mud. There are few farms that do not contain substances which, if properly husbanded, would add very greatly to the amount of manure ordinarily made. The best of the concentrated manures, which it is sometimes necessary to use, for want of time and labor to prepare enough on the farm, is, unquestionably, Peruvian guano. The results of this, when properly applied, are well known and reliable, which can hardly be said of any other artificial manure offered for the farmer’s notice. The chief objection to depending on manures made off the farm is, in the first place, their great expense; and in the second, which is equally important, the fact that, though they may be made valuable, and produce at one time the best results, a want of care in the manufacture, or designed fraud, may make them almost worthless, with the impossibility of detecting the imposition, without a chemical analysis, till it becomes too late, and the crop is lost.

It is, therefore, safest to rely mainly upon the home manufacture of manure. The extra expense of soiling cattle, saving and applying the liquid manure, and thus bringing the land to a higher state of cultivation, when it will be capable of keeping more stock, and of furnishing more manure, would offer a surer road to success than a constant outlay for concentrated fertilizers.

The various articles used for top-dressing grass lands, and the management of grass and pasture lands, have been treated of in detail in the work already alluded to, on the CULTURE OF GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS.