1837] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



291 



alter il, lias ripenoAl, it exhauf3ls the soil cxceodinn;- 

 ly ; but, that il" cut <rreeii, the impoverisiiiii^ ct- 

 i'ects have not been so extensively produced. Now 

 the green crops or ienjuniinous plants, on the con- 

 trary, present an extensive snrliice to the action ol 

 the atmosphere, and, theretijre, can draw mueii ol' 

 their nourishment Irom it, without requirinir to 

 draw so extensively from the soil. A lamiliar 

 proof of this may be liad fi-oni the common cab- 

 baire. Its numerous broad leaves enable it to 

 draw most of all its nourishment from the atmos- 

 phere, and hence it is that cabbages can be pre- 

 serveil lor a long time in a fresh state, if cut and 

 hung up in a damp place. House-leek is another 

 plant which has broad succulent leaves; and who 

 does Rot know that it will grow in the most unla- 

 vorable situations? — If hoisted on a pole, or laid 

 on s slab of marble, it will flourish most luxuri- 

 Eiutly. But this is not all ; some plants have been 

 proved to exist, and thrive, and come to maturity, 

 when nourished by the atmosphere alone — grow- 

 ing in pounded quartz, (a substance resembling 

 flint) and supplied with distilled water, to prevent 

 the presence of the smallest particle of earthy mat- 

 ter! Another important fact is, that all the seed 

 of a grain crop comes forward at the same time. 

 Whenever it has properly ''shot," the plant stops 

 growing — its seeds begin to form, its leaves wither, 

 its roots cease to act in the ground, and, when cut 

 down, it is dry and hard. The green crops, on the 

 contrary, bear blossoms and seed at the same time; 

 the roots are continually pushing Ibrv^^ard in. the 

 ground, and the leaves are green and sappy as be- 

 fore, so that the plant never exerts itself to impov- 

 erish the soil. Every one knows, for example, 

 that beans and peas may be pulled from the lower 

 part of the stalk, while llie top is bearing blossoms 

 and embryo fruit; that one branch of a stalk of 

 clover will be in flower and another in seed; and 

 that the top of a potato stalk will wave in verdure 

 and bloom, when the crabs and leaves have tallen 

 off" the lower part. It may not be out of place to 

 mention here a serious error in which many lar- 

 mers lidl. They allow their rye-grass to remain 

 uncut long after it has come to maturity, alleging 

 tis a reason, that '• unless it is •'dead ripe,'' it will 

 iiever do for seed." They Ibrget that it is culti- 

 vated chiefly lor the hay, and not for the seed ; and 

 that by allowing it to become ripe, they are disap- 

 pointed of their object, as much of the seed is lost 

 In the necessary operation of saving the hay. Be- 

 sides, the quantity or weight of the hay is dimin- 

 ished by the parching and withering it has under- 

 gone ; its quality is deteriorated, as it is rendered 

 5ess palatabl-e and less nutritious to cattle ; and the 

 fertilitj' of the soil is greatly injured. To prevent 

 these consequences, a small spot should be kept to 

 furnish seed, but all the rest should certainly be 

 cut greeri ; the pasture produced as an aftergrowth 

 would of itself be a sufficient remuneration for the 

 loss of seed. A remarkable dilieience between 

 the grain crops and green crops, is, that the for- 

 mer tend to bind the ground and harden it, the lat- 

 ter to open and pulverize it. This is partly to be 

 accounted for from the diflerence of their roots. 

 Those of the one kind being numerous and fibrous, 

 unite the diflerent parts of the soil firmly together, 

 without being large enough to produce such an 

 action as would loosen it; those of the other kind 

 being laruer, and moreof an opening nature, cause 

 an action in the soil, during the process of grow- 



ing, that reduces it to a soft and mouldy slate. 

 Another cause is the diilerence of their fitness to 

 to admit moisture. When dew or rain fiills upon 

 a grain crop, nearly ripe, it glides down its hard, 

 dry, bare stalk, and settles on the ground ; but a« 

 this presents a hard-bound surfitce, it remains there 

 until the greater part of it is carried off again by 

 the heat of' the sun. When it falls on a green 

 crop, it receives a shelter under the broad leaves, 

 and, trickling down the stalk to a soil softened and 

 prepared to receive it, it contributes to moisten it, 

 and render it softer. Of all grain crops, wheat is 

 by far the most severe upon the soil. It is, in the 

 first place, exceedingly binding, and always leaves 

 the ground in a hartl state. Then it occupies the 

 ground so long, that it requires an extraordinary 

 degree of nourishment, fi-om its sowing till its 

 reaping ; the weight of the grain, besides, requires 

 a strong stalk, and much earthy matter to bring it 

 to perfection. Of green crops, again, potatoes are 

 the most loosening. They sink deep into the soil, 

 and by the spreading of their roots m every direc- 

 tion, and the swelling of numerous bulbs, loosen it 

 moat effectually. It is said that a crop of potatoes 

 is more eflectual, in this respect, than a good 

 ploughing would be. One thing, however, is cer- 

 tain, that no matter what may be the color of the 

 soil when the potatoes are planted, when they are 

 turned up, their beneficial effects are apparent; for 

 the soil is unitbrmly of a rich blackish color. If I 

 were ae^ked, which Gf tite various kinds of potatoes 

 is most pulverizing and beneficial to the soil? I 

 shouid answer — notwithstanding the foolish preju- 

 dices which prevail respecting them — the "cups," 

 or " west reds." Besides sinking much deeper 

 into the soil, they are more numerous than other 

 kinds, and, tlierefbre, give it a more thorough 

 tuiiiing up. Now, fi'om these facts, what infer- 

 ence can we draw? That a wheat crop should be 

 preceded by the most loosening and lertilizingcrop 

 that can be had, viz. potatoes. They clean the 

 ground, and, as is evident fi'om the parallel I have 

 drawn, they put it in a state of complete prepara- 

 tion for the wheat. It is absurd, then, to expect 

 that as good crops of wheat will be produced on 

 fallow ground, on which there have been no pota- 

 toes. Another conclusion, which is almost self- 

 evident from the facts I have stated, is, that a 

 green crop should succeed wheat, to compensate 

 for the injury which the ground has sustained. 

 This shov/s how utterly ruinous and unreasonable 

 is the practice of taking several oat crops ofl' the 

 ground, immediately after wheat. Instead of 

 nursing the soil, already too much exhausted, the 

 very vitals are torn fi'om it, and then, forsooth, it is 

 permitted to " rest itselfj" until the omnipotence of 

 idleness has completely restored it ! Turnips are 

 very good for the soil, but certainly not as good as 

 potatoes. They derive, perhaps, more of their 

 nourishment from the atmosphere, but their roots 

 do not penetrate so fiir into the ground to loosen it. 

 They are besides too late of being raised, to ad- 

 mit of being followed by a wheat crop ; but they 

 can be advantageously followed up by barley, 

 which also suits a clean dry soil. Clover, too, is 

 particularly fertilizing to the soil in which it is pro- 

 duced. Its lower leaves becoming withered, fall 

 off, and rot about its roots, and thus produce a va- 

 luable manure — decayed vegetable matter. Its 

 slimy succulent nature keeps t:he ground always in 

 a state of fijrtility, and its numerous dense leaves 



