No. 11. 



PunctuaHUj. — 77/e Ilmsc. — Sngar Beet. 



351 



the stirvinor of the sub-soil by means of the 

 grub-plough, which is now so much recom- 

 mended : as, in this case, the sub-soil is not 

 only loosened, but is absolutely enriched, 

 by exposure during the whole winter to the 

 frosts and snows and rains, while the still 

 deeper and untouched sub-suil must imbibe 

 much benefit by coming in contact with the 

 rich surface-soil, and the decomposition of 

 the herbage that might have been growino- 

 on it at the time of turning it down in the 

 autumn — indeed, I have no doubt the benefit 

 to be derived from such management would, 

 in many cases, be equal to the rent of the 

 land, and obtained, too, at the cost of a single 

 extra ploughing. J. P. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 Punctuality. 



Mr. Editor, — I have received the two last 

 numbers of the Cabinet, in due course of 

 publication ; such a degree of punctuality 

 augurs well for the fulfilment of the engage- 

 ments entered into by the Proprietors and 

 Publishers of that work. We may now, 

 therefore, expect to go on prosperously and 

 profitably ; and I hope to see the " Farmers' 

 Cabinet" the acknowledged agricultural re- 

 cord of the State of Pennsylvania — a state 

 whose central position renders it peculiarly 

 well suited to become the bond of union 

 between the Southern, Eastern, and Western 

 territories of the country ; for while our 

 friends to the north and south have a differ- 

 ence of climate between them of about a 

 month, that of Pennsylvania blends and as- 

 Bimilates with both; thus forming a natural 

 medium or link of communication, fitting us 

 peculiarly for holding friendly intercourse 

 with each, and furnishing a means of inter- 

 change of sentiment, which must become of 

 infinite service to all. With best wishes for 

 the consummation of that hope, 



I am, your Subscriber, J. D. 



The Horse. 



On Eastern plains— his native land — 

 Free, uncontrolled, lie paws the sand ; 

 His mane streams in tiie desert wind, 

 As faints the caravan behind ; 

 And neighing at their hapless fate, 

 Flings out his heels in scornfnl hate ; 

 Nor stops, till at some fountain's side 

 He cools his bright and reeking hide ; 

 And thinks how better off is he ! 

 Thus matchless in his liberty ! 



On meadows green, a fettered slave. 

 He still is proud, saeacious, brave; 

 By him the earth is tilled — the land 

 Yields generous crops at his command. 

 He leads the advance-suard of war ; 

 Brings tidings from all lands afar; 

 Servi'S faithfully till life is past, 

 And drags us to the tomb at last! 



To the Editor of the Fanners' Cabinet. 



Sugar Beet. 



^ir, — It is quite amusing to witness the 

 numerous instructions that are given in al- 

 most every one of our agricultunil works, on 

 the simplest of all our operations, namely, 

 the cultivation of the s\iijar beet. 1 believe 

 that many of my plain friends have been de- 

 terred from growing that invaluable root, 

 from seeing the very long and tiresome de- 

 tails, continued from week to week, and 

 from month to month, in these books, the 

 chief object of which must have been to 

 furnish matter for the printer. Why, can 

 any thing be more plain or less troublesome, 

 than to make a small hole in the earth and 

 drop in a seed 1 and when that seed grows, 

 to select the strongest plant, if more than 

 one vegetates, and keep it clean by hoeing 1 

 And yet, I have now before me one of our 

 periodicals for the past month, in which an 

 article on the subject is concluded — having 

 been continued from a former number ; and 

 all this, after whole books have been written, 

 and pamphlets published, for the space of 

 the four last years, professing to teach what 

 any practical farmer ought to know intuitive- 

 ly. This is after the Italian mode; the^y 

 are the people to make a science out of a 

 moonbeam, and to establish an institution, 

 with its officers in regular gradation — a col- 

 le^e, literally a college, for teaching the art 

 and mystery of catching moles ! We farmers 

 are accused of a want of taste for reading; 

 but really if we were to undertake to read 

 all that has been written on such subjects, 

 I am sure we should do nothing else. I am 

 free to admit, that much benefit is to be de- 

 rived from what is called book knowledge; 

 but many of the hooks that are published do 

 not contain the knowledge that is acceptable 

 to a farmer of many years' experience. I 

 grant, that many of us, old ones, are very far 

 from the right way in which things ought to 

 be fixed ; and in none are we, in my opinion, 

 so deficient, as in a proper rotation of crops; 

 it begins to appear to me that in this point 

 we almost all offend — perhaps I may say 

 quite all — for I believe we all sow wheat 

 after oats, giving our dung to our oat stub- 

 bles as a preparation for it, thus rendering 

 our wheat seed-bed, which ought to be close 

 and compact, light and porous, and fit only to 

 force forward our crop so as to be in just a 

 suitable state before winter to receive a 

 blight, which, for aught we know, might 

 show itself in the spring, in the shape of 

 the Hessian fly, or the black rust, or the 

 mildew, or any other of those numerous dis- 

 eases to which our wheat crops are so liable. 



Now, Mr. Editor, a few good strong ar- 



