146 



THE FARiMER\S MONTHLY VISITOR. 



Bkillfully and judiciously as the talented and la- 

 mented Buel, the great priucijil-B of science to 

 the culture of Uie soil ? I have niyselt visited 

 and examined his farm, and c;in bear testimony 

 to the truth of his description ot it. But he had 

 advantages that few comparatively can enjoy. 

 Situated witliin three miles of the city ot Albany, 

 he could have a full supply of the best of manure 

 at a trifling cost of transportation, wliich no man 

 could apply more judiciously than he. Then his 

 vicinity to the city made a good market for many 

 products, which would have been of no value to 

 one at a greater distance. 



But, gentlemen, how is agriculture to be im- 

 proved, and the benefits diffused generally over 

 the country ? 1 answer, first by co/ivmcmg men 

 thai the method pwstiel by many of ourfurmtrs is 

 bad, and by setting before them, both by m^ans of 

 reading and examjjles^ltlve best mode of renovating 

 their exhausted lands. 



Here comes up the prejudice against " Book- 

 farming." But this is fiist wearing away, as the 

 recent increase of agricultural publications clear- 

 ly demonstrates. Farmers are learning the value 

 of the many suggestions contained in well con- 

 ducted agricultural papers, and much more gen- 

 erally than formerly tliey subscribe for tlieiii.— 

 One" dollar laid out in this way will probably 

 benefit each farmer who reads it attentively five 

 dollars at least. Of course judgment and dis- 

 crimination are necessary in adapting the infor- 

 mation to our own case. The soil, the cliinate, 

 the manure, &c. may each and all have an influ- 

 ence in producing different results at different 

 trials ; but the skillful cultivator will be at no loss 

 in detecting the cause of difference, and will lay 

 his plans accordingly. 



Another means of bringing the improvements 

 of the age to the immediate notice of farmers, is 

 Agricultural Associations. To these and to the 

 efforts of the enterprising and enlightened men 

 connected with them is the country indebted for 

 almost all the progress that has been made. At 

 the meetings of these associations principles may 

 be discussed and settled. The facts collected by 

 the members, and the result of experiments made 

 by each, become the common property of all ; 

 and thus the necessity ot each individual going 

 through the process himself is obviated. The 

 superior kinds of animals and vegetables here 

 exhibited bring these improvonients immediately 

 before the eye of the public. A spirit of einiihi- 

 tion is enkindled, and each individual i)erhaps 

 goes forth to repeat the experiment, \vith the va- 

 riations suggested by what he has licard in rela- 

 tion to the subject at the meeting, or by his own 

 reflections. Thus one thought suggests another, 

 and one advance is but the precurser of a suc- 

 ceeding one ; and improvement cannot fail of be- 

 ing the result. Thus the streamlets tiiat flow 

 from the springs of individual minds unite to 

 ' form the broader and deeper current, that .spreads 

 fertility and plenty along its course. 



Providence has "wisely provided that we should 

 be dependent on each other, not only ibr daily 

 comfort but for knowledge. In this resjiect it is 

 most true that "no man liveth to liimsclf." No 

 one has so much knowledge that another cannot 

 instruct him on some points ; and not unfrcquent- 

 ly the illiterate and simple can instruct the learn- 

 ed and wise. 



It M very desirable to improve our breeds of 

 stock— horses, cattle, sheep, and swine. How is this 

 to be done ? The first step is to convince farm- 

 ers that some improvement is iicJciI. This may 

 be done in part by agricultural )injiors, but it must 

 be principally effected by mean? nl' ciiillr shows. 

 There the best kinds are e.Nliiliiti'd to tlie in- 

 spection of the community, and lie must be dull 

 of perception indeed, who duu;- not see a differ- 

 ence between these and the common kinds. — 

 And having seen, and being convinced of the im- 

 portance of rearing only the best kinds, and of 

 treating them well, he must be a poor tiirmer in- 

 deed if he do not return home resolved to iiiuke 

 an effort to accomplish so desirable an object. 

 This can only be done by a selection of the best 

 animals for breeding, and by a judicious crossing 

 to prevent the evils attendant on bn cding in and 

 in. This has brought the several brords of Eng- 

 lish catllc, sheep and swine to their ]lre^ynt stale 

 of perfection. And what has been done there 

 can be (iccomplished here in due time. I have 

 no doubt that in fifty ycnrs, breeds of cattle might 

 In this way be produced from our native stock. 



that would vie with the best imported specimens. 

 Still it may be advisalile to avail ourselves ol 

 these imported breeds when It can be done with- 

 out too great an outlay of capital for the reason- 

 able returns therefiom. 



The kinds of stock should be selected with refer- 

 ence to our means for keeping. It is vain to ex- 

 pect an extraordinary animal, even if it be a Dur- 

 ham Short Horn, if in summer and winter, we 

 subject it to short keeping. If we are under the 

 necessity of putting it on short allowance, some 

 of our hardy native breeds or the Ayreshire, would 

 be preferable to the Short-Horns. Few seem to 

 be aware of the difference between a superior 

 animal and one that is ''about middling," as the 

 phrase is. One may not repay the cost of rear- 

 ing and keeping wliile the other is the source of 

 a handsome income. 



We still have specimens of the two kinds of 

 cattle seen by Pharaoh in his dream, some are 

 " well favored and fat-fleshed, " and others 

 " very ill favored and lean-fleshed ;" and al- 

 though they may not literally " eat up the fat 

 kine," they do eat up the forage of their own 

 without any adequale return, and still are "as ill 

 favored as before." If it cost twenty dollars ])er 

 annum to keep a cow, and the whole income 

 from her be hut twenty dollars, the owner is as 

 much the pgorerfor keeping as the labor of mak- 

 ing the butter and cheese is worth. But if the 

 income be thirty or forty dollars (as it will be 

 from a first rate cow,) we realize a large per cen- 

 tage of profit. 



And in regard to su-ine, if with some breeds four 

 hundred weight of pork can be made with the 

 same.«ost that three hundred weight can of anoth- 

 er breed, it is surely worth the attention of farm- 

 ers to select the best The Berkshire is proba- 

 bly the best breed to be obtained at present. 



The proper se'ection of seeds is of much conse- 

 quence to the farmer. Much greater attention is 

 paid to this subject now than formerly. Very lit- 

 tle attention to the subject will enable the farm- 

 er to improve liis seeds. A slight examination 

 of his fields of wheat, rye, barley or oats will 

 show him a difference in the appearance of the 

 heads. Some will be fuller, some longer, and 

 some earlier th.nn the rest By selecting the kind 

 he jirefers, tlic fanner may in a year or two prop 

 agate that kind and that only. Indian corn, in 

 particular, may be thus inl))ro^■ed in one year. 

 When it first begins to lipen let the earliest 

 ears'be selected and an early variety may be pro- 

 duced ; and so of any other points desired. 



The farmer should be furnished tcith the best too's 

 and implements for cari-ying on the various o])era- 

 tions of agriculture. These have been much im- 

 proved within the last twenty years. There is 

 still room for further improvement ; and our farm- 

 ers have not all adopted the best kinds now in the 

 market. But public attention is turned towards 

 this subject, and I anticipate great improvement 

 in Farming Tools in the next twenty years. How 

 great a difterence there is in the ploughs now us- 

 ed and those made a few years ago ! Then no 

 one thought of plongliing grass land without two 

 or three stout yoke of oxen for a team ; now it 

 is done with ease will) one pair. Forks, both lor 

 manure a:id for hay, are very different articles 

 from those in general use formerly. They are 

 not only much lighter and convenient, but are 

 made of much belter material and can con.se- 

 quently be kept much sliarper, so that they will 

 enter the sulsstance to be moved with much 

 greater fiu'ility. Who does not remember the 

 unsigljtly ai'i! iii^ouveuient things called scythe 

 ''iKitlis a fi'V, years since ? We look in vain <br 

 them now, exct pt jjerhaps a venerable specimen 

 in the lumber room, to show by contrast the el- 

 egance and convi-nieuce of those of modern 

 manufacture. TJicse implements and many oth- 

 ers are in pretty general use. Some others are 

 not. Among these are the horse rake, the drill 

 harrow, the straw-cutter and others. The advan- 

 ages of these, «here they can be used with fa- 

 cility, are ob\)ous and great. 



Sufficient attention is not paid to the malting and 

 application of manure. The abundance and skill- 

 ful a))plication of this is the great lever which is 

 to uin\f the agricultural world. It is the food of 

 planls, indispensable to their healthy and vigor- 

 ous growth. It is tlie renovator of exhausted 

 soils — the salt that prescnes the fertility of those 

 that arc not exliausted. It is therefore pre-emi- 

 ncntlv worthv the attention of farmers. The 



means of increasing it are much greater than ia 

 commonly imagined. .Almost every laiiii has its 

 |)eculiar facilities in this respect, of which the 

 skillful and industrious husbandman will not 

 neglect to avail himself The common mode 

 permits a large proportion of the sirength of ma- 

 nure to be wasted. A free use of litter, and plac- 

 ing a few loads of swamp mud, hemlock turf, or 

 even saw dust, to absorb the liquid part instead of 

 allowing it to run off in the usual way, will great- 

 ly increase the means of fertility. A little atten- 

 tion to the hog yard, in paiticular, will richly re- 

 pay all the requisite time and expense. 



Manure should all be used in the spring. If 

 suffered to lie over summer, much of its fertiliz- 

 ing power is lost by evaporation. The gasses 

 that afford nutriment to the various vegetables 

 we wish to grow, escape into the atmosphere and 

 are irrecoverably lost These gasses are servica- 

 ble to the soil beyond the mere strength they im- 

 part to it for the present crop. They tend to 

 meliorate its natural texture, rendering it more 

 suitable for the growth of succeeding seasons. 

 Is it said that we want old manure for corn in the 

 hill ? I answer, if the soil be sufficiently warm, 

 it is not necessary to manure in the hill, ifa liber- 

 al allowance is spread. If the land he such as 

 requires manure in the hill, a sufficient quantity 

 should be made in the hog-jard and in the barn- 

 yard through the summer. 



Under-draining is an improvement in farming 

 scarcely commenced here. In many locations 

 there is no doubt if would be highly beneficial. 

 Wherever, fiom the retentive nature of the suli- 

 soil and the existence of springs the upper soil 

 is saturated with water, this is the only means of 

 reclaiming it. The superabundance of moisture 

 renders abortive all attempts at tillage; and if we 

 keep the land in grass, the quality is such as ma- 

 terially diminishes its value. By thoroughly un- 

 derdraining it, such land is frequently rendered 

 the most valuable of any, both for tillage and for 

 meadow. The expense, where there are plenty 

 of small stones, is not very great. Let a trench 

 be dug three or three and a half feet in depth and 

 two feet wide, and merely filled to within a foot 

 of the surface with small stones, and covered 

 with sods, moss, or some such substance to jne- 

 vent the dirt from getting among the stones, and 

 it will afford a sufficient channel in ordinary cas- 

 es to carry off the supcrflous water, and will last 

 many years. This method affords a convenient 

 recepatcle for those unsightly heaps of small 

 stones which disfigure many farms in the country. 

 By the expenditure of a few dollars in this way 

 a field which bore nothing but a scanty su])ply of 

 aquatic grass, may be made, iierhaps, the best on 

 the farm. Where there is a sufficient slope, the 

 object may be partially eflected by surface draiu.s, 

 which consist in throwing the land into ridges of 

 from sixteen to forty feet in width, according to 

 the wetness of the soil, and clearing out the mid- 

 dle furrows. This may be done at a ^ery trifling 

 expense, and in some instances it is nearly as ef- 

 ficacious as under-draining. It however disfigures 

 the land, and wastes a considerable quantity, 

 while under-draining does i either. 



Having sufficiently manured the land, and giv- 

 en it th» requisite degree of moisture, it is essen- 

 tial that we ])ermit no weeds to steal the nour- 

 ishment which is needed for the crop alone. — 

 Clean til las; e is rendered every year more and 

 more difficult, by neglect. Those interlopes, the 

 weeds, are a very sure crop. No hiighf, or mil- 

 dew, or insect conies near them ; and many times 

 it seems from the abundance as if they were 

 sown while men slept. But with hoed cro])s it 

 will never do to let them grow logether till the 

 harvest; if we do our harvest will mock our 

 wants, and put our liusbandry to shame. Vege- 

 tables cannot live without nutriment any more 

 than animals, and it is the same thing, whether 

 we starve them by withholding manure, or suffer 

 the weeds to filch from them what was intended 

 Ibr their support. " Eternal vigilance " may be 

 necessary to extirpate them wholly ; but the end 

 will justify and repay the means. 



It is well known that each kind of plant re- 

 quires food of a specific character; and that con- 

 sequently a series of crops of the same kind in 

 succession will exhaust llie soil of the .specific 

 food required for that kind. Nature teaches us 

 this principle, by the fact that rarely does the 

 same class of forest trees succeed as the one re- 

 moved : thus the birch frequently follows a growth 



