610 FARMERS' REGISTER— GATHERING FODDER— GREEN WHEAT. 



which was raised on the 13 second rows, from 

 whicii the fodder only was pulled, and tops left 

 standing — and weighed a few ounces less than the 

 corn and fodder, with the addition of the fodder 

 stripped from the tops, raised on the 13 first rows, 

 from which the fodder was pulled and tops cut. 

 I remember the conclusions to which my lather 

 and myself came were, that the whole produce in 

 in each case, was so nearly of equfil value, as to 

 make scarcely an object worth consideration, even 

 in a large crop, and that the whole labor of gath- 

 ering and curing the fodder and tops (a considera- 

 ble item in a farmer's account by the by) was en- 

 tirely lost. 



Another experiment which I made about the 

 same time, (of which I have not as perfect recol- 

 lection) was to strip the Ibdder irom a number of 

 rows of corn, quite from bottom to top, taking off 

 all the blades at the usual time of pulling blade 

 fodder [from below the ears.] My recollection of 

 this experiment is, that ihis last is the most unpro- 

 fitable management of any that I have mentioned 

 in this communication — not being practically ac- 

 quainted with any other modes of managing the 

 corn crop with a view to saving the fodder. 



I will suggest to your readers, the propriety of 

 extending the experiments so as to test the relative 

 profit of cuttingdovvn the corn, fodder and all, just 

 before the fodder would die and dry up on the 

 stalks; or rather at the time of pulling fodder. 

 Those who have secured corn and fodder in this 

 way, generally approve the practice, but I have 

 not seen that any person has made a fair experi- 

 ment by actual weight and measure, which is the 

 only way to avoid delusion. 



It now occurs to me, that I once made an ex- 

 periment on wheat, that bears some analogy to 

 this practice. In a large field, two adjoining 

 squares were accurately laid off to the same size, 

 where the wheat on both squares was supposed to 

 be equally good. One square was reaped with a 

 sickle, about three days before ripe, the time is 

 not certainly remembered, when the grain had 

 just attained the dough state, and dryed and secured 

 separately. The other square was left to get full 

 rij)e, when it was reaped as the first, in the morn- 

 ing whilst moist with dew, to avoid shattering— I 

 do not think a single head was lost in either square. 

 When both were perfectly dry, they were each 

 very carefully thrashed, cleaned, and weighed 

 separately. The parcel which had stood to gel 

 fully ripe, weighed so much more as perfectly to 

 astonish me. Tlie result was stated to my father, 

 who said he had tried the same experiment several 

 times with wheat, and once with barley, and it 

 had always turned out much in the same way — 

 but on carePally picking up all the heads of wheat 

 that were left on the ground, upon an adjoining 

 square which had been well mown and got in as 

 common, we supposed that rather more good 

 wheat would generally be housed by cutting when 

 fully in the dough state, than by suiTering it to 

 get fully ripe, when it would inevital)ly shatter 

 and scatter more than in the dough state. 



CHARLES WOODSON. 



[The fortgoing experiment on corn and fodder, is 

 precisely of the kind that is wanting to decide this 

 and many other controverted points in agricultural 

 practice — and which, when sufficiently varied and re- 



peated, will serve better to remove doubts, and estab- 

 lish valuable truths, than an hundred times as much 

 space occupied by general reasoning, and deductions 

 from untried, and therefore doubtful premises. This 

 experiment is only deficient in one respect — the long 

 time which has passed since the facts were observed 

 and recorded. But though this lapse of time lessens 

 the force of the result, by periidtting doubts to rise of 

 something liaving been forgotten, such doubts are in 

 some measure counteracted by the internal evidence 

 of accurate and particular observation, which the man- 

 ner of Mr. Woodson's statements carries with them. 

 But even if this experiment had been recently made, 

 and was free from every objection on the score of ac- 

 curacy, it would need confirmation (as in all other 

 cases) by other experiments made for the sazne object, 

 and by different persons, and under various circum- 

 stances. It is to be hoped, that even if none of our 

 agricultural societies will promote the institution of 

 regular courses of experiments on doubtful points, 

 that enough individual farmers will make experiments 

 on the effects and cost of gathering fodder during the 

 next season, as to settle this most important question. 

 If the absolute loss of labor in this usual and long pre- 

 vailing practice of Virginia is as great as we have 

 supposed, and even half as great as may be inferred 

 from the result of the experiment above, the amount 

 of the whole annual loss and tax so paid, if saved, 

 would be enough to defray the cost of constructing all of 

 the canals and railways now in progress in the state, and 

 the expenses of the General Assembly to boot. 



The experiment on reaping wheat green, (or in the 

 dough state) though less accurately observed, and re- 

 ported in still more general terms, agrees in the main 

 with our own opinions founded on the practice of 

 reaping green for about twelve years. We have never 

 made any one accurate experiment on this matter — 

 and should not have supposed the difference to be near 

 so great as is stated in general terms above: but the con- 

 clusion reached and acted upon, was the same as that 

 which seems to be supported by Mr. Woodson's ex- 

 periment, viz. that however great may be the loss 

 from the shrinkage ol'the grain when reaped green, there 

 is much greater loss, on the average, from waste by 

 permitting wheat to stand until ripe.] 



GENERAL RESULTS OF THE LAW OF ENCLO- 

 SURES IN VIRGINIA. 



In every country, and in every age, there have been 

 found existing some preferences given by government 

 to the employment of particular kinds of capital, or of 

 industry, at the expense of others: and however un- 

 wise, or unjust, may have been these legal preferences, 

 they have, at least, rarely failed to produce their first 

 and immediate object of an increased production of 

 the commodities thus favored, or greatly increased pro- 

 fits to those persons engaged in the business — and more 

 generally, both these ends have been more or less ob- 

 tained. But if after a full trial of such legal preference 

 to any particular branch of f)rodaction, for many years, 

 it should appear that both the amount of the produc- 

 tion and its net profits had actually decreased, then (it 

 might be supposed that) the condemnation of the legal 

 policy might be safely left to the persons intended by 



