320 THE FARMER AT HOME. 



large stones, so as not to bo susceptible of tillage, or if susceptible, oc- 

 casioning so much labor, as to render the process inexpedient. Other 

 lands which are habitually cultivated, may be benefited by allowing 

 them ibr a few years, after a long period of devotion to cropping, to 

 be used as pastures. The soil is made better. The roots of the grass 

 which remain furnish a large amount of organic matter, which, to a 

 Boil poor in this constituent, is of great advantage. Land which 

 thus lies several years will be more improved than when it lies but a 

 single year ; but the first year enriches it more than any succeeding 

 year. The result to the land will be nearly the same, whether the 

 grass be mown or eaten off by the stock. If farmers have not land 

 necessarily appropriated to permanent pasturage, a year or two of 

 temporary pasturage, on each of their meadows, might be advisable, 

 prior to the regular course of rotation of crops, 



Besides the benefit which the soil derives from the organic mat- 

 ters left in it during the pasturage, whether temporary or permanent, 

 some of its mineral constituents are, by the action of the air, moisture, 

 and the roots of the grass, brought into a soluble state to be of ad van- 

 tage in the succeeding year. Another advantage of pasturage, es- 

 pecially on stiff clay soil, is that it renders it more loose and friable. 

 On dry, sandy soils, pasturage is beneficial, by causing the moisture 

 to be retained longer, and also the dry organic matters and fine sand 

 upon the surface, which would otherwise be blown away by the winds. 

 Insects too have an agency in improving lands, by no means to be 

 overlooked. They subsist upon the organic matters of the soil, which 

 they bring into a minute state of division and deposit on the surface 

 as they ascend by night through their holes. They furnish also, con- 

 siderable organic matter, which is rich in nitrogen, by the death and 

 decay of their own bodies. Thus these earth worms and insects, in 

 the lapse of a few years, furnish a vast amount of the richest manure 

 without the smallest expense, and as a compensation for the nuisance 

 occasioned by their existence. 



PEACOCK. If empire were obtained by beauty, and not by 

 force, the crested peacock, without dispute, would be the king of 

 birds. There is none of the feathered offspring, upon which nature 

 has heaped her treasures with such boundless profusion. Of a tall 

 stature, majestic step, and elegant proportions, every thing belonging 

 to this bird seems to announce a creature of importance and distinc- 

 tion. It is crowned with a fine moveable crest, of the richest hue, 

 which adorns and heightens, without burdening its head. The plu- 

 mage and tail of this magnificent bird are adorned with colors so rich 

 and various, that no human art can imitate, nor language describe 

 them. When it struts in the sunshine, every moment produces a 

 thousand shades of undulating and evanescent colors, that are con 

 tinually replaced by other shades, always different and always admi 

 rably beautiful. 



