SOS 



Biahs'ue between a Father and Son. 



Vol. IV. 



wall, it is proposed in the New Farmer's 

 Calendar, to append an inclining or project- 

 ing rail around, beneath which the pigs may 

 escape on the down lying of the sow." In the 

 Complete Farmer,* we find the following ob- 

 servations: — " Swine should not be kept in 

 close and filthy pens. Though they wallow 

 in the mire, their object is coolness, not Hasti- 

 ness, and they thrive faster and enjoy better 

 health when allowed clean and dry lodgings 

 than when they are not thus accommodated. 

 The late Judge Peters, of Pennsylvania, in 

 an article entitled, ' Notices for a Young 

 Farmer,' &c., observes, ' In airy, roomy, and 

 moderately warm pens, paved and boarded, 

 and often cleaned, they are healthy and thriv- 

 ing. They show a disposition to be cleanly, 

 Jiowever otherwise it is supposed, and always 

 leave their excrementitious matter in a part 

 of the pen distinct from that in which they 

 lie down. ' No animal will thrive unless it 

 be kept clean.' " 



The following Dialogue is from the pen of 

 the author who furnished those published in 

 our previous numbers. We take it from the 

 " Cabinet of Agricultural Knowledge.'''' 



We are happy to announce that the author 

 of those interesting dialogues is about to pub- 

 lish them in book form revised and enlarged. 

 The book will be a valuable one in every 

 farmer's family. 



Dialogue 'between a Fatlier and Son* 

 LUCERNE MANNERS, CUSTOMS, &C. 



Frank. — Father, you said you would tell 

 me more about the Island of Jersey — since 

 then, I have seen an account of the growth 

 and produce of Lucerne — a crop which you 

 say grows there — which is truly astonishing. 

 I find that it yields four crops for hay during 

 the summer, and after that, abundance of 

 leed for cows and sheep. Is it a species of 

 meadow grass or clover "? 



Father. — It is much like a narrow leaved 

 clover, but the blossom is very unlike, being 

 of a beautiful blue colour. The growth and 

 produce is, as you say, truly astonishing ; 

 and having had repeated opportunity to make 

 myself acquainted with the crop in every 

 rsVdge of its growth, from its cultivation, I am 

 able to speak very decidedly to its great su- 

 periority over every other, provided the soil 

 %(i suitable, and the culture well attended to. 

 Tlie crops to which I allude wore so remark- 

 «i:bly productive, and I had such constant 

 ftccess to them, that I was induced every 

 evcqing to enter into a journal, whatever had 

 transpired during the day, worthy of obser- 



* Page 164, 



vation ; but for this circumstance, it would be 

 out of my power, at this distance of time, to n 

 speak so decidedly as to their rapid growth 

 and large yield : I have now, however, an 

 opportunity to quote chapter and verse from 

 this journal, which I will do, for your infor- 

 mation. 



The Rev. Mr. P. having a field of an acre 

 and a quarter, which had been suffered to 

 run to weeds and bushes, determined to clean 

 it, and seed it with Lucerne; he had it there- 

 fore trenched with the spade, to the depth of/ 

 the staple of the land, which was in some 

 places very shallow, the substratum being a 

 hard gravel. By this operation, the richest 

 part, or surface soil, was turned down on the 

 gravel, and the subsoil was brought to the 

 surface, to be enriched by future dressings. 

 The work was done for fifty cents per perch, 

 of twenty-two feet square, and the seed was 

 sown broadcast and harrowed in by hand. On 

 the appearance of the plants, they were not 

 supposed thick enough to form a crop, but by 

 careful management the field has produced 

 immense crops, both of green food and of hay. 

 The journal commences, with 



FIELD NO. I. 



September ISth. Mr. P.'s field of Lucerne, 

 measuring one acre and a quarter, after soil- 

 ing two horses and a cow during the whole 

 of the summer, has already given three crops 

 of hay, on that part of the field which has 

 not been cut for soiling, to the estimated 

 quantity of five tons. The fourth crop now 

 growing, measures two feet in height. 



Sept. 21st. The fourth crop of Lucerne 

 mown this day for hay. 



Sept. 2ith. The hay carried in excellent 

 condition : the weather having been dry and 

 hot, the only preparation requisite was, to 

 turn the crop once only ; this crop is equal to 

 any of the preceding cuttings. 



Sept. 26th. A portion of the field, from 

 whence gravel had been dug, and the part 

 levelled, has always dried up after producing 

 one crop of hay in the summer, the substra- 

 tum being impenetrable : that spot has been 

 this day covered to the depth of five inches, 

 with fresh cartii, preparatory to trenching and 

 re-sowing. 



Oct. iSth. The trenching of the gravelly 

 spot has been delayed, but the shoots- of the 

 Lucerne have penetrated the earth through a 

 space of five inches, and it is now determined 

 to allow it to remain untrenched. 



Nov. 23rd. A fifth crop will not come to 

 sufficient maturity for hay, but there is excel- 

 lent food for horses and cattle. 



April Sth. The gravelly spot is the best 

 and earliest part of the field ; scarcely an 

 inch in space, without a vigorous shoot of 

 Lucerne. 



