No. 2. On Iniprovins; the Quality and Quantify of Alanur?.. 



57 



row, to be kept on a straij^ht line with the 

 line of draught. It will readily be perceived 

 that the force necessary to draw it, when so 

 placed, will be greater than if drawn in the 

 usual way, by applying' the draught to the 

 centre. This is decidedly one of the most 

 valuable improvements in the construction of 

 the plough, that has been made in modern 

 times, and for which the public are indebted 

 to the ingenuity and skill of Messrs. Prouty 

 &L Mears. A greater ease of draught is not 

 the only advantage resulting from this im- 

 provement. Another and perhaps greater 

 benefit is its perfect adaptation to the eni de- 

 signed, by leaving the ground in the best 

 possible condition. The acute angle, which 

 is made in the land side of the furro'.v slice, 

 by the peculiar construction of this plough, 

 enables the ploughman to lay the flirrows to- 

 gether, like feather-edged boards. This, in 

 greensward, is very desirable, as the grass is 

 thereby prevented from springing up between 

 the furrow slices much more effectually, than 

 when the furrows are cut at right angles. 

 The grass is completely shut in, and will not 

 rise to injure the crop, or increase the labor 

 of cultivation. Not only in greensward, but' 

 in old ground, the superior manner in which 

 t!i8 work is done by this plough is very per- 

 ceptible. There is no tendency to crowd the 

 ground into ridges ; the soil is taken up, as it 

 were, and turned over, and left loose, and in 

 the best state to derive vegetable aliment 

 from the air, and to enable the roots of plants 

 to penetrate, and strike down in search of 

 food. 



Another advantage attending the peculiar 

 construction of Messrs. Prouty & Mears' 

 plough, is its durability. When the resist- 

 ance is all upon one side of the beam, there 

 must be a constant tendency of the plough to 

 the left, or land side ; the friction is there- 

 by increased in this part, and the wear, of 

 course, is greater : but when the beam is 

 placed more over the centre of the plough, 

 and the resistance which it has to encounter, 

 is upon both sides of the beam, its movement 

 is more regular, and the friction equal in all 

 parts. These are some of tiie peculiar pro- 

 perties of this plough, which give it a decided 

 preference to any other now in use. On con- 

 ferring with some of my neighbors, relative 

 to the work of Prouty & Mears' plough, it is 

 believed, that in ploughing a field of ten 

 acres, the amount of labor saved, added to the 

 amount gained in consequence of the im- 

 proved tilth, when compared with the work 

 of any other plough, is fully equal to the price 

 paid for it. E. P. 



Ijexinglo'n, March, 1833. 



Thou shalt govern many, if reason govern 

 thee. 



On iitti»rovin;; tlie Q.waiity and iucreasiu^ 

 tfic ttiiautity of Manure. 



TO THE FARMERS OF NE'V JERSEY. 



On account of your position, soil, resources, 

 markets, &.C., I have addressed this paper to 

 your notice ; still the objects it has in view, 

 are of a character interesting to genei'al ag- 

 riculture. The process here introduced to your 

 notice, is founded on elementary chemical 

 principles, and valuable in proportion to the 

 worth of your garden and farm productions, 

 and the facilities of procuring the materials 

 to be opei'ated on. 



The agriculture of New Jersey is favored 

 as regards markets ; having on the eastern 

 boundary its share of the consumption of two 

 hundred thousand people who inhabit New 

 York, and on the west side one hundred and 

 fifty thousand who live in Philadelphia.* 

 Within your state the resources for manure are 

 limited, while the crops of vegetables, early 

 garden stuffs, and the ordinary productions of 

 the farm, on your warm, open, and m many 

 places sandy soil, require rather active ma- 

 nure and those frequently applied. 



On this occasion it is our purpose to point 

 out to you. what may be done, and hovv you 

 can advantageously bring into your service 

 materials that are most useful in agriculture, 

 but heretofore rejected, on account of your 

 not being acquainted with an economical 

 mode of bringing them into operation, and on 

 account of their cost : by their combined ac- 

 tion on each other it is intended to render 

 useful matter that has heretofore been allow- 

 ed to go to waste, and so to reduce the ex- 

 pense that the profits of your business will 

 be greatly increased. 



Permit me to call your attention to the 

 study of the elements of science ; a know- 

 ledge of mathematics has become essential to 

 every mechanic, who has any thing to do 

 with power : if this science and chemistry 

 were better understood by those to whom the 

 management of steam engines are entrusted, 

 you would rarely hear of those terrible explo- 

 sions that destroy so many of your fellow 

 creatures. In the absence of scientific know- 

 ledge, v\'e would be less comfortably lodged, 

 clad and fed. The dyer, spinner, sugar refi- 

 ner, &c. &c., would each in his way produce 

 articles mucli inferior to what you are in the 

 habit of using every da}', and from habit their 

 goodness escapes the notice of yourselves and 

 your families : in fact, among the tradesmen 

 of Birmingham, Glasgow or Manchester, 

 there are at this time more well informed 

 chemists than would be found in all Europe 

 at the commencement of the American Revo- 

 lution ; and chemistry is as mucli connected 



* The population of these cities is underrated. — New 

 York contains 300,000 inhabitants. — Ed. 



