266 



FARMERS' REGISTER—GREEN CROPS AS MANURE. 



lated to harden the heart, and to contract all its 

 feehngs into the narrowest seliisiiness. Looking 

 then at all its consequences, it may well be ques- 

 tioned, whether we are not responsible for the de- 

 solation we have produced, Vv'bcther we have the 

 moral right to strip the soil of the niagnficer.t 

 forests Avhich have waved over it iur centuries, and 

 to leave it covered in their stead, ^.vith broomstraw, 

 dock and nmllen, and redd.encd with galls and 

 channelled with giillies. 



A, B. 



[The writer of the foregoing coniraunicatioii, has ex- 

 posed to view, though hastily and sliglitly, one of the 

 main causes of unprofitable tillage in Lower Virginia. 

 It is to be regretted that he did not extend his rciuarks, 

 and exhibit more of the consequences, which (may 

 Bot only be inferred from his undeniable positions, 

 but) are matters of general experience. It is un- 

 doubtedly true that we generally employ more of hu- 

 man labor in tilling our farms than sound views of 

 profit would direct — in some cases (and not very rare 

 cases) the net bire of the slaves, or the interest on the 

 money they could be sold for, would amount to double 

 the net product of the crops they make. No man in 

 bis proper senses would employ labor in tliis wasteful 

 manner, if he bad to procure it by hire or hy. purchase 

 — but bis owning the slaves in no degree eilects the 

 estimate, or lessens the loss be thus incurs. The truth 

 is, that the extent of our employment of slave labor is 

 very seldom directed by calculations of profit or loss, 

 or regulated by tlie demands of the farm. We gener- 

 ally hold the slaves that have been derived from inheri- 

 tance or other sources, until the deatlr of the owner 

 requires their distribution, or his necessities compel 

 the sale of a portion of them, to maintain the balance 

 — and almost never by a proper consideration of how 

 many laborers and of what kinds, the proper cultivation 

 and judicious management of a farm require. Accord- 

 ing to chance, to the necessities, and to the feelings of 

 the farmer, and not according to any sound or mature 

 estimate of the stock wanted for his farm, the amount 

 of his slave labor is regulated — and wherever the pro- 

 portion is very different from what a proper estimate 

 woukl direct, there can be no doubt that tlie farming 

 operations so conducted must be subject to certain and 

 heavy loss.] 



ON TUniVING IN GREEN CKOPS FOR MANURE. 



From the Traiisaclions of Uie Essex (Mass.) Agricultural Soci- 

 et>- for 1834. 



The Committee on Turning in Green Crops for 

 Manure, report: 



That there are many different sorts of vegetahle 

 substances, when dcpri\cd of then- living property, 

 by undergoing the process of decon)position, that 

 soon become proper for the nutrition and support 

 of" new plants and fit lor bemg a])plied as manure. 

 — Tlieir reduction to this state is greatly promoted 

 by their being exposed to the liill influence of the 

 air, moisture, and a suitable degree of heat. And 

 it may be remarked that in vegetable productions 

 the changes are less rapid than those of the ani- 

 rnal kind, and probably much more \aried accord- 

 ing to the various states and textures of the par- 

 ticular subetaiices, and it is obvious from numerous 



facts and circumstances that the more luxuriant 

 and juicy vegetables are much more readily de- 

 composed than such as are dry. Hence it is, that 

 fresh vegetable substances are much more quickly- 

 converted to that state of decay which is suitable 

 for supplying vegetable nourishment, than straw^ 

 or haj' and other dry materials oi the same nature. 

 And among substances of the latter description, 

 buck-wheat has been recommended by Engbsk 

 and American farmers as the most economical and 

 convenient for this purpose. And the truth of 

 tlicse recommendations has been well illustrated 

 by an experiment recently made of it as a manure 

 by Daniel P. King, Es(p on his farm in Danvers. 

 Mr. King in a written comnumication made to 

 your committee of the last year, dated September 

 1832, says, "I have this season commenced the 

 experiment of ploughing in a green crop lor ma- 

 nure, the details of which, I beg leave to commu- 

 nicate. I have been encouraged to make the at- 

 tempt by favorable results in turning in Roman 

 wormwood and otherweeds, after harvesting cropa 

 of rye, and i have been, besides, actuated by a 

 desire of answering, so far as I might be able, the 

 wishes of your Society, wdiich has, for several 

 years, oflered a liberal premium lor the "most 

 satislactory experiment of turning in green crops 

 as a manure," and which has never within my 

 knowledge been claimed. 



Buckwheat has been recommended by foreign 

 as well as American farmers, as the most econom- 

 ical and convenient plant for this purpose. The 

 cost of seed is trilling, it thrives on sterile ground, 

 requires but a short season for its growth, produces 

 a heavy crop, which, when buried, readily decom- 

 poses. 



July 10th. One acre of level ground, the soil 

 of which is a sandy loam, ahnost exhausted, for it 

 had been in grass five yeans, ^^ithout dressing, and 

 from which a crop of less than five hundred weight 

 of hay had just been taken, was ploughed, and 

 the s^vard well turned under. The next day one 

 bushel and a half of buckwheat. Polygonum Tar- 

 iaricunij was sown on the ground, broad cast, and 

 well harrowed and rolled. I used no manure, as I 

 understand the object of the experiment to be to 

 ascertain whether, under some circumstances, a 

 green dressing may not be substituted for other 

 fertilizing substances. The season, although cold,, 

 has not been very unfavorable for the growth of 

 plants of this description. In less than a month 

 from the time of sowing, the buckwheat began to 

 bloom; it was particularly exuberant, wherever by 

 accident, a small quantity of manure was dropped, 

 which has satisfied me and others who have seen 

 the crop, that a moderate dressing would have 

 greatly increased the product. Till the sward had 

 begr.n to decompose, and thus afibrdcd more food 

 lor the plants, the prospect was not very promising: 

 three quarters of the growth was in the second 

 month. 



Sept. 6th. The buckwheat white Avith its flow- 

 ers, and still growing, but getting into the milk, 

 and to anticipate tlie ripening of the seeds was 

 rolled and ploughed in; a revolving cutter was used 

 to prevent clogging, and the old sward was so 

 well rotted that there was little difficulty in the 

 operation of ploughing, and the crop wasthorough- 

 I3' buried." 



Mr. King in a subsequent communication to 

 jour committee, dated August 23, 1833, says, 'Hn 



