1838] 



F A It M E U S ' REGISTER 



30d 



MOWING. 



Thisisniioof the most importnnt operations in 

 farniin£»; a jrreat deal of this work is to be done 

 in a short time, and in a warm season, and it is of 

 the fireatcst imporiance to liixhtcn the labor as far 

 as possible. We have seen some very slout hardy 

 men toil and sweat all day, and do but a small 

 day's work, while other men of much less 

 stren<rth would cut more srrass, and yet not exert 

 themselves to fatinrue. From this it is evident, 

 that some mowers exert twice the strenijih that 

 others do in perlbrminj; the same work, and those 

 who use the least strenrjlh usually do their work 

 the best, though they may not render the field so 

 smooth, by cutting otT the tops of knolls, stumps, 

 stones, and other impediments that intrude them- 

 selves among the thick grass. 



There are several reasons why there is so great 

 a difference in expense of labor ; there is a dif- 

 ference in sneads and scythes as to their hanging 

 well, and there is so great a difl^erence in scythes 

 as to their cuttmg with ease and holding their edge, 

 that some are better worth five dollars than others 

 are worth one cent. Some men keep their scythes 

 in prime order, and in mowing they lay their 

 strength out to the best advantage; they use a 

 gentle motion that will not fatigue ; ihey are less 

 liable to strike stones, &c. than those who make 

 greater exertions, and when they do strike them, 

 less injury is done. 



The best scythes should be chosen, as the dif- 

 ference in price between a very good one and one 

 that is good for nothing, is a mere trifle ; indeed 

 the expense of a good scythe is less than its value 

 above a poor one for only one day's use. A scythe 

 should hang light and easy, so that in mowing no 

 exertions will be necessary excepting to swing 

 the scythe and hold it steady. We have seen 

 some scythes and sneads, or things that had these 

 names, so rigiied that the strength of one man was 

 necessary to hold them in a proper position, while 

 that of another was needed to swing them ; of 

 course, by having a good scythe, well hung, one- 

 half of the labor will be saved. 



With good rigging and a good scyihe kept 

 sharp, a gentle swing of the scythe will be suffi- 

 cient to do as much as is performed by those who 

 get along by main strength instead of wise man- 

 agement. The motion of the scythe on even 

 ground should be horizontal, by pointing in and 

 pointing out, as the saying is, cutting the grass 

 square at each side of the swath. Some mowers 

 who labor hard, waste halfol their strength, and do 

 bad work, strike it over the tops of the grass, 

 cutting it off" lower and lower as the scythe ap- 

 proaches the middle of the swath, then rising as 

 it goes to the other side; so that the middle of the 

 swath (or only about one-third of the width is cut 

 sufficiently low. This is called the sfjuare lop, 

 audit often brings the scythe in collision wiih 

 obstructions in the middle of the swath, while 

 one fourth or more of the grass is left on each 

 side. At a mowing match, an old gentleman 

 was showing his sleight at taking the square lop, 

 when his scythe, by some unaccommodating sub- 

 stance in the grass, was made into the shape of a 

 rainbow. 



Those men who labor to great disadvantage in 

 mowing should get some that are well skilled in 

 the business to select and hang their scythe, and 



give them lessons in their work. We think this 

 would be good economy. — 



Willi a little trouble they could improve so as 

 to perform more labor and save tenor twelve dol- 

 lars' worth of strength in one season ; this item 

 saved annually will be very important to one who 

 wishes "to make a stout old man." — Ymikee 

 Farmer. 



From Loudon's Garilcners' Magazine (for June.) 

 jauffuet's new manure. 



Since our remarks on this subject were publish- 

 ed, we have received an opinion of it from one of 

 the most scientific agriculturists in France ; been 

 made accquainted with all the particulars of the 

 secret; conversed with M. Lozivy, the agent for 

 granting licenses for La Manche; and seen a 

 quantity of the manure prepared by him on Lord 

 Spencer' sestate,at Durnslbrd Lodge, near Wands- 

 worth ; in short, we have satisfied ourselves as to 

 what the invention is, and what it is worth in this 

 country. The following is fiom our Paris cor- 

 respondent : — 



"1 have not yet decided upon the question of 

 the engrais Javffrct, although 1 have long been a 

 subscriber. The following is, however, the opi- 

 nion I have formed of it : — This compost is not 

 equal to farm-yard manure, particularly as to du- 

 ration; so that in the neighborhood of large cities^ 

 or in countries where an advanced state of culti- 

 vation furnishes the land with all the manure ne- 

 cessary, this practice would not be useful, or, at 

 least, only in a slight degree. But in districts 

 where agriculture is backward, where, for want 

 of dung, only a halfj a third, or even a fifth part 

 of the manure is applied that the land requires,, 

 and where there are immense tracts of heath and 

 sandy plains, that is to say, land covered with ma- 

 terials for the compost; in such districts, the prac- 

 tice of JaufTret is calculated, 1 think, to be of very 

 great service. The characteristic feature and 

 principal merit of this invention is, to convert in 

 a few weeks, by means of a fermenting liquid, 

 masses of these vegetable substances into real 

 manure, or, more properly speaking, into perfect 

 vegetable mould, which may be used immediate- 

 ly. It will come dear, I think, dearer than ani- 

 mal manure, near large cities; but probably less 

 dear than the old composts, which required to be 

 turned three or four limes, and to lie six months, 

 a year, or more; while in this case the object is 

 effected in nineteen or twenty days, In France, 

 where we have still almost entire provinces cover- 

 ed with heath and rushes, the Jauffret compost 

 must be very useful. It will be useful also, I 

 think, in the cantons, where the vine is cultivated. 

 In England, where airriculture is much more ad- 

 vanced than in France, and the production of ma- 

 nure incomparably greater, it would certainly be 

 of much less importance, except, perhaps, for 

 some particular localities. Being a subscriber, I 

 have the pamphlet which describes the composi- 

 tion of the compost. The receipt is so complicat- 

 ed as to be almost ridiculous, although it has been 

 much simplified in a second edition, and it will, no 

 doubt, be much more so in time. — V. Paris, 

 ^prilG, 1838. 

 JauffreVs manure in England. — A gentleman 



