192 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



[No. 3 



supposed cases of rights being touched by attempts to 

 aid or improve agriculture by law. This very body, 

 last winter, refused, (on principle, forsooth,) to vote 

 even the pittance required to establish a Board of Ag- 

 riculture — upoii the ground of "let us alone" — a true 

 and valuable doctrine indeed, but which is often quoted 

 but to be grossly misapplied. And it'it had been pro- 

 posed to this body to enact a legal and efficient per- 

 mission to the owners, to drain, and malce heathful and 

 fruitful, the extensive swamps of Virginia, or to compel 

 the laying dry of pestiferous and useless mill ponds — 

 though with every reasonable expectation of benefit to 

 each of the individual owners, as well as to the com- 

 munity in g-eneral — the legislature would have evinced 

 their usual holy horror at such attempts to "invade the 

 rights of property," and probably neither measure 

 could have commanded the support of thirty votes. 



SEASOM AXD CROPS. 



Since our last month's report, we have heard but 

 little of the wheat crop, and nothing favorable of it, 

 from correspondents. But judging from our own 

 limited observation, and from verbal reports of the 

 neighboring country, the considerable improvement of 

 appearance and prospect which was then stated, has 

 continued to advance to a remarkable extent. "Where 

 the Hessian fly has not been very destructive, the 

 other previous disasters may not prevent such crops 

 approaching an average product. But all dangers have 

 not yet been passed. 'J he harvest is late in commenc- 

 ing, and generally, hereabout, is yet to begin; and since 

 the earliest commencement, (say June I2th,) there have 

 been frequent and heavy rains. The weather has been 

 remarkably cool for the time of year, generally, and 



particularly so for some weeks just passed, until the 

 25th — and now, on the 26th, the air is so hot, as well 

 as damp, that all wheat not matured is yet in danger of 

 rust — which would ifave been experienced already, 

 and generally, if the weather had been ordinarily 

 warm, during all the late rains. The early crops 

 of wheat of course are safe from rust, and have been 

 already mostly reaped. They also, however, must 

 have suffered Irom the rains greatly affecting harvest 

 labors, and endangering the security of the npe grain. 

 The quality of the grain, so far, is excellent. 



The present weather, which is so unfavorable to 

 wheat, is very fine for the Corn — and almost the first 

 very good weather which it has had during its growth. 

 Oats also, though almost in a hopeless condition until 

 after the beginning of June, have been, so greatly fa- 

 vored since, as now to promise good returns. 



27th. — Last night, another heavy rain — and the air 

 still very sultry. 



A letter from Fairfax, dated June 25th, just received, 

 gives this confirmation of the general late commence- 

 ment of the present harvest. "I have generally com- 

 menced the harvest of eSrly wheat from the 12th to the 

 14th of this month; this harvest will not be ready be- 

 fore July." — The harvest at Coggin's Point farm, of 

 mountain purple straw wheat, on marled land, was 

 commenced as early as the 16th; though of many crops in 

 the same county the reaping has not yet been begun. 



A letter from Goochland, just received, states that 

 the wheat on good lands, has so much improved lately, 

 that "the product will not fall much short of an aver- 

 age." A gentleman from Halifax county, makes a 

 similar, or even more favorable report, of the wheat on 

 good lands in that county. 



Table of Coutents of F'arwiers^ Megisterj ./^o. S, 



Page. 



f: 



ORIGINAL COAIMUNICATIONS. 



fSalt marshes and mahiria - - . 142 



Kemarks on marsh effiuvia - - 142 



Trenching on hillsides - - . 143 



.Desultory observations on the Police of 

 Hcult.h in Virginia, comprising — 



No. 1. Action of calcareous earths 

 in preserving putrescent mat- 

 ters - - - . 154 

 No. 2. The police of filth in towns, 

 and its bearing on comfort, 

 decency and health - - 16O 

 French method of preparing pou- 



drette and urate lor manure - 164 



No. 3. Facts and opinions on the 

 subject of town filth from 

 French authorities - - 166 



No. 4. The waste and destruction of 

 town-made stable manure, and 

 of other such materials - 168 



Importance of grass crops — unsuccessful 



experiments - - . . 171 



The use of hand-rakes in cultivating corn — 



listing corn land, &.c. - - - 173 



Horizontal ploughing — hill-side trenches — 



hand-rakes — use of Gypsurn, Sec. - I8O 



Important fact in regard to keeping apples 



soimd for a long time - - - igi 



Memoranda of hasty visits to the country — 



Crops and farming at Shirley, Sic. - 184 | 



Some of the common and general errors 



which serve to depress agriculture 

 Preventive of the blight in pear trees 

 Sapling (or large) red clover 

 Extracts from private correspendence 

 Monthly commercial report 

 Virginia Legislature— Stay-law — aid to 



agriculture . - - . 



Season and crops ... 



SELECTIONS. 



Account of the electro-magnetic machine 

 or motive power . - . 



Remarks on silk culture and manufactures 

 Burnt clay as manure — its preparation and 

 application .... 



The law prescribing general regulations for 

 manufacturing and mining companies - 

 German railroads - - - - 



Observations in several voyages and travels 

 in America .... 

 On the manufacture of beet sugar in France, 

 and the introduction in the United States 

 American Flora - - - - 



New Zealand Flax (phormium lenax) 

 "Carrying coals to Newcastle" 

 On procuring supplies of water for cities by 

 boring . . . - 



Account of several borings through the plas- 

 tic clay formation near London - 177 

 Notice of a new manure used in France - 

 Bone dust - - - . . 

 J Swedish turnips - . - - 



Pas;e. 

 187 



188 

 188 

 189 

 191 



190 

 192 



129 

 131 



134 



144 

 146 



146 



150 

 153 

 173 

 174 



175 



8c 178 

 182 

 183 

 183 



