BULRUSHES FOR FODDER.
[To THE EDITOR or TEE " Bracmroa."] do not know whether people in this country are aware of the value of bulrushes as a substitute for hay when the summer has been too dry to yield abundant fodder of this kind. .The swampy districts in some parts of Germany have always given a crop of this nature, and I see that the Prussian Minister of Agriculture is now advocating its use on a more extensive scale, so perhaps a few words on the sub- ject of how to proceed may not be out of place in the interests of our own agriculturists.
The rushes (Arundo ph.ragmites) should be cut betimes— that is, before they flower (so that for this year these hints may come too late, for the first crop should have been cut about the beginning of July); they then usually yield two more crops. When cut at the right time they are green and tender, and much liked by both horses and cattle, for they contain a largo percentage of sugar. At the same time care must be taken in seeing that the rushes are in sound condition —that is, not attacked by blight or mildew, which would be injurious to animals about to calve ; but when the rushes are healthy the crop they give will be found in every way a most valuable substitute for the usual kinds of fodder.—I am, Sir,
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