248 



FARMERS' REG J S T E R 



[No. 4 



less injured by rust whenever I suffered. The 1 7th of April, until the 12th of June, upwards of 



poorer lands in my nei^'hborhood, and the poorer eight weeks, and every thing wore the appearance 



parts of my own plantatina, particuiarly the stiff of a long drought in August and Septemher — 



and clayey lands in my neighborhood, always sul- pastures burnt "up — trees dying, and dust flying; 



tered most whenever v.'e had a rust season, and and the great wonder with "me was, how the oais 



since 1 have improved my land, I have had much and clover lived at ail. And I think it speaks won- 



less rust than before, as was to be expected, as it ders for the system, that we now have so good a 



enabled me to sow much thicker, and thereby pre 

 vent the rust in a great- measure — thick.sowing 

 being one of the very best means of preventing 

 rust. I suffered very much fi'om rust three years 

 in succession — in 1820, 1821 and 1822, (aiidayain 

 somewhat in 1825) — but not more, either of the 

 years, if as much as ray neighbors; and since 

 1825, or since the chief improvement in the land 

 has occurred, I have suffered very little from rusi; 

 and with a good clover lay, extensive manur- 

 nuring, and thick sowing, ! do not dread rust at all, 

 except on a few cold clayey boUoms 



You say in your msmorunda, that our system 

 "imperliic'tly executed, would be a wretched one, 



both for annual profits and for improvement of the I ray land, to make it succeed on our system in any 

 and." What system, badly executed, would not season. 



crop as we have. The corn suffered more than 

 usual with me this spring, because the great 

 drought, and very cold weather, preverjted the 

 corn from growing off kindly, in the spring, ex- 

 cept on the sandy land, and marled land; and, as 

 it could nol grow, the insects were enabled to eat 

 it up. If" '.ve had had either, rain or warm weather, 

 to give the corn a start, it would have soon out- 

 grown the bugs; and the land which has now the 

 worst corn, would have been the best, as the land 

 is better where the corn is worst, though, owing to 

 the quantity of vegeiablo matter turned under, 

 there are more insects there. 1 • only want the 

 marl or lime in addition to the veaetable matter ia 



be? But we contend that our system, well exe- 

 cuted, is both profitable and improving; and though 

 the improvement is slower than in a milder course, 

 yet it is more profitable, on good land, which will 

 yield good clover lays. You say, in your memo- 

 randa, ''that the oats are inferior, and cannot be 

 made a fair crop. The clover is very poor, but 

 neither crop shows as badly as the corn at Shirley, 

 which, in general, is v.orss, compared to the pro- 

 ducing power of the laud, than any well tilled field 

 I ever saw at this time of the _\-ear." You go on 

 to assign the reason, being owing to the unprece- 

 dented drought of eight weeks, and insects, &c., 

 /and then wind up bv saying, that "the loss that 

 will be certainly suffered in this crop will b& a 

 heavy offset against the advantages of the rota- 

 tion, as it stpod beibre the introduction of a corn 

 crop;" but the corn crop is an important part of 

 the system, and one vrhich, by dear-bought expe- 

 rience, I have found to be necessaiy, as a cleans- 

 ing crop. I tried the oar crop as a cleanser, while 



I only commenced this to make a few remarks, 

 and I have prolonged it until both you and your 

 readers will be heartily tired of it, I am aiiuid. 

 . Hill Cauti:r. 



[We are gratified to receive the foregoing correc- 

 tions of our very hasty, and of course very iinperCect 

 observations in the preceding No. Corrections of er- 

 rors, or strictures, have frequently been invited, when- 

 ever we ventured to submit any such results of obser- 

 vations, made in hurried and chajice-directed excur- 

 sions; and if they were given, franklj'- and fully, when- 

 ever needed, we should be the more encouraged to pre- 

 sent such subjects for coiTection; as thereby we should 

 succeed in fiirnistiing matters of instruction and inter- 

 est to our readers, by arawing indirectly from other 

 sources, much better tiian can be dona directly from our 

 own. 

 It certainly was not designed to present any thing in 

 I had the reclaimed swamp land under cultivation, j a more "flattering"'^ or even more favorable point of 

 but found it would not answer, on account of the view thau the appearance of things then seemed to 

 weeds, blue grass, wire grass\ insects, &c. getting warrant. We claim for all such of our "memoranda," 

 ahead, and stated the fi\ct in ome of my communi- the merit of entire freedom from the bestowing (know- 

 cations to you. But that does not make against , jn^jy^) undeserved praise either on men or things— 

 the system, because I deviated from it, and there- ji^^ h, of necessitv, they are hable to be often iiicor- 

 by suflered for ... But the lact is, that 5, have not ^^^^ -^ ^^^^^^^^ ^f^^^^ ^^^.^^ ^^ ^^^^^ 

 sufiered so much as vou suppose, in crop — though 



I have suffered in having additional labor and ^e admit the erroneous deduction made as to the 

 trouble li'om the want of a hoe crop; for I have i^ause of rust, the eiiects of which were known to 

 generally succeeded in making a good crop of corn, have been formerly and repeatedly so injurious at 

 although I have (bund great difficulty in getting Shirley; and the facts which furnisli tfie contradiction, 

 my corn to stand early in the year, owing to in- are both striking and important. It is certainly much 

 sects. I have succeeded at last, and generally in favor of Mr. Carter's practice of applying manure, 

 make good crops; and hereafter, when I shall (^^^atever maybe the theoretical objections,) that it 

 have gone through the rotation, (as now including | ^j^^^U j^^^^g^ ^i^^ g,,^,.;^^ ^^. ^^^^ ^^.j^^^j ^^^^ ^^^-^^^ 



corn,) I expect no more difficulty with insects, 

 than farmers with other rotations; lor I am sure 

 that a hoe crop, once in four years, will be suffi- 

 cient to cleanse the land of both weeds and blue 

 grass — my greatest enemy in the wheat crop for 

 several years past — and insects of all kinds. 



The oats and clover being inferior, (though they 

 have improved vastly since the rains, and now 

 promise to make a fair crop,) is not to be wonder- 

 ed at, for such a drought in thespringis, I believe, 

 unprecedented. We had little or no rain from the 



rust, and other 'smaller disasters. Still, however, we 

 hold to the doctrine of giving manure tu grain only 

 through the medium of grass — and maintain that it 

 should be observed as far as circumstances permit; 

 though circumstances are continually occurring, on the 

 best managed farms, which direct and compel devia- 

 tions of particular practices from what sound theory 

 would require, if nothing else were in question, or at 

 risk. — Ed. Far. Reg.] 



