580 More About Terra Culture. [December, 



Every man lias his own way, and is as tenacious of it as lie is of the 

 articles of his religious creed ; and, as a general rule, the more ab- 

 surd his opinions and practice are, the more tenacious is he. One 

 of our most successful wheat growers, and one who has borne the 

 palm for quantity and quality of product, recently gave us this di- 

 rection : 



" First plow the ground ten inches deep, at least ; then manure, being careful to 

 spread equally, harrow thoroughly, lay out in lands of seven steps, prepare your seed by 

 firet making it thoroughly wet with salt water, then lime with quick-lime as much as 

 will adhere ; (this is recommended by Loudon.) prepare no more than you would sow 

 the same day, sow as usi\al from a bushel and a half to two bushels to the acre, and plow 

 it in about thfee inches deep." 



This may serve as a specimen : to record every freak and fancy 

 would fill a volume — and from this hasty survey we are called upon 

 to decide upon that practice which will result in the greatest amount 

 of produce, with the most economy of time, labor and expense. And 

 what do we find? confusion, worse confounded the further we pro- 

 ceed. In the rehearsal above, every law of vegetable physiology is 

 set at defiance, with a practice strangely diverse and opposite. This 

 is not science. There are laws in the vegetable, as well as in the ani- 

 mal world. These laws are uniform, and will, if known, by our 

 faithfully conforming to them, be attended with no uncertain results. 

 But what do we find in our review ? 



As to quantity, we are authorized by good practice to sow from two 

 or less, to four bushels per acre. As to time, from September to 

 March. As to preparation, one says plow as deep as possible, and 

 harrow as often as you please, or until your soil is rendered com- 

 pletely friable ; another, there is great advantage in having it turned 

 up lumpy, for the benefit of the dissolution which is subsequently 

 to cover the bare roots thrown out by the frost. One says harrow 

 in shallow ; another, load your harrow so that it may be put in at 

 least six inches ; another don't harrow at all. One says plow in 

 deep to keep the growth from spouting out ; another says, plow shal- 

 low ; and as to depth, they all vary from two to six inches ! Now, 

 as we stated, we intend to reserve our opinion in relation to these 

 matters, until we have heard others, who differ from us, express 

 theirs, and then we may adventure ours, assured from the experience 

 of the past, tliat this is the part of wisdom. Hence, we invite free 

 expression of opinions on this subject. 



