1838] 



F A R ISl i?: R S ' R E Ci I ST E R , 



273 



The worst effect which our variahle climate and 

 inien.^e cold has on our airriculturo, whon coin- 

 pared wilh that ol Knirlaiid, is its intiuonce on our 

 wheat crop. Sucli a thint^ as winter IcIINmI wheat 

 is scarcely l<nown in that country ; while in many 

 parts of this, especially where clay predominates, 

 wheat in ail seasons is more or less liable to itiju- 

 ly, and in some years has more than two-thirds 

 perished. The "heaving out ol' the roots of wheat, 

 and clover plants hy the expansion of frost, and 

 which is here the most liital in the sprintr of the 

 year when it thaws the surliice by day and freezes 

 it by niiiht, is somelhiiig which atiriciilturists in 

 that country are rarely called to s^uard against, 

 and which of course never enters into their calcu- 

 laiions in the preparation of their soil. Here it is 

 advisable in all cases to fjuard a<rainst the evil, by 

 such a system of ploughintr and manuring as shall 

 mo.-jt effectually obviate the danger arising from 

 tiiis source. 



In reading or adopting the modes of English 

 farmers in ilie preparation and application of ma- 

 nure, the influence of climate should not be for- 

 gotten. If any thing has been established by ag- 

 ricultural chemistry, it is that all manure loses in 

 value exactly in proportion as the fermentation 

 and decomposition goes on in the open air, by 

 which most of the volatile and finer parts of the 

 manure is lost to plants. In a high temperature, 

 such as our summers possess, yard or stable ma- 

 nure will It^rmenl rapidly, and if left as it gene- 

 rally is, exposed to the rain and sun, its value and 

 elficiency is much lessened. If piled in large 

 masses, as is practised oy some farmers, and then 

 allowed to stand through the summer, a custom 

 followed to some extent in England, it must he 

 remembered that fermentation and decomposition 

 go on here with a rapidity unknown there, a 

 fact depending on the greater heat of our sum- 

 mers, and hence the more necessity of guarding 

 against the loss of the fertilizing gases thus libe- 

 rated. The proper place for the decomposition of 

 manure is beneath the surface of the earth ; but 

 where it is desirable, as it sometimes may be, to 

 keep it over the summer for fall application, the 

 manure should be piled in layers alternating with 

 earth, (and if this is partially combined with lime 

 so much the better,) wliich will absorb the volatile 

 salts and parts thrown off by the decomposition 

 and fermentation which in our climate must take 

 place, and the quantity and quality of the manure 

 will be greatly increased, over what it would be if 

 left to ferment in the yard, or heaped, but unco- 

 vered with earth. 



It appears then, that in things relating to the 

 soil alone, its preparation or amelioration, the ap- 

 plication of animal or mineral manures, or the 

 artificial arrangement of crops, American fiirm- 

 ers may with safety copy the example of British 

 farmers, and derive important advantages from 

 the perusal of English works on agriculture. So 

 they in general may, in all things relating to the 

 preservation of crops from insects or diseases, 

 such as the grub, cut-worm, blight, mildew, 

 wheat-worm, &c., as these are common to both 

 countries, and the balance of experience is alto- 

 gether in favor of Europe. In every thing relat- 

 ing to wheat they are entitled to a hearing above 

 all other men: as in no country is the culture of 

 that valuable grain carried on so successfully; and 

 this iq owing in a great measure to the skill and 



Vol. VI.— 35 



science that has been brought to bear on the pro- 

 duction of that crop. In raising cattle, and the 

 common and improved breeds of middling fine 

 wooled sheep, English farmers are exceeded by 

 none, and on all these topics they may be consid- 

 ered as qualified to instruct us. Fine-wooled 

 sheep, however, notwithstanding the pains taken 

 wilh them have never succeeded in England. 

 The imported Merinoes from Spain and Saxony 

 have deteriorated and wasted away; and their 

 place with the English farmer is supplied by the 

 hardier and heavier Leicester and South Down. 

 The immense quantities of fine wools used in the 

 English factories, arc imported li-om Germany, 

 France, and Spain; and hence in the manage- 

 ment and growth of the fine-wooled breeds of 

 sheep, we have little to learn from them. There 

 is no doubt that the production of fine wool is at 

 the present moment fiir better understood in the 

 northern states than in England, and there are 

 more Saxon and Merino sheep in Vermont and 

 New Hampshire, than in the three kingdoms. 



But it is mainly on those points of agriculture 

 where cheapness of labor, and the influence of 

 climate can be brought to bear, that we find Bri- 

 tish agriculture to cease from being suitable mo- 

 dels for us, and are thrown on our own resources 

 of observation and comparison. Because corn 

 cannot be grown in England is no reason Avhy 

 the farmers of the United States should not plant; 

 and on the other hand, because the whin and the 

 holly make a durable and beautilul fence in Eng- 

 land, it furnishes no conclusive proof that such re- 

 sults would ensue in our country. English fiirm- 

 ers use little or no precaution against the win- 

 ter killing of wheat, or the destruction of roada 

 by frost; but here such precautions are essential- 

 ly necessary, and based on reasons, respecting 

 which the English farmer knows nothing from 

 experience, and therefore must be illy qualified to 

 instruct. 



A comparison of English experience in farming, 

 with our, in some respects, ruder metJiods of pro- 

 ceeding must be always advantageous, as sug- 

 gesting hints for improvement, and enabling us 

 to correct errors into which, for want of such ex- 

 perience, we are prone to fiiH. But to infer that 

 any course would, as a whofe, he successfiil here, 

 simply because it has proved so there, would im- 

 ply an Ignorance of the causes that are operating 

 to produce great difll^rences in the methods of 

 culture there and here, which should not exist; 

 causes which may be traced to the powerful, but 

 too frequently overlooked operations of tempera- 

 ture and climate, and which are therefore ever 

 acting and permanent. 



From the Joirnal of Commerce. 

 CLIMATE AND PRODUCTS OF EAST FLORIDA. 



St. Augustine, April 11th, 1838. 

 Mr. Wm. Viber, 



Sir— Gen. Peter Sken Smith has handed me 

 yours of the 3d of March, making inquiries re- 

 speciincr the climate and productions of East Flo- 

 rida. He states that his various engagements 

 will make it inconvenient tor him to ansv/er you. 

 1 have consented to do if, and the more readily as 

 I can trust to the publicity which you propose to 



