338 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



But to ihe point. Wiih all due clefprence. per- 

 mit me 10 Slate an olijec(i<in to each of the sysioms 

 oC rotation propospcL To Mr. Carter's, hecau^e 

 ii pceiiis to be br>tlcmecl upon the presumption that 

 the land lias herorne loo rich already, and requires 

 depletion, an effect which, it stnlces me, the liiree 

 fucccssive pfain crops are well calculated to pro- 

 mole. To J\lr. 13iaxton's, because it leaves the 

 land naked and perlecily idle ihroiigh one winter, 

 and of course losinjj ground. 1 have ahva\s 

 thought a sprin£f crop alter corn inadmi?sible lor 

 that reason. Besides that, jjrass sown on oats in 

 the spring of the year is extremely liable to perish 

 nnder the influence of the summer's sun. To 

 Kivanna's, because without the common, or sixth 

 field, it differs but little from the exploded three- 

 field, or make-shift system. It is true he consi- 

 ders this common important to all rotations ; but 

 to his it seems indispensable, for where else are 

 your cattle to find sustenance till Ihe 20ih June, 

 the day set lor ihe least ? Before that day comes 

 they will have feasted the buzzards. And even 

 with the aiti of the common, or "shiort-bite, '' (by 

 the way, if it is a "phort-bite" in the Green Spring 

 country, what can be expected from a cnmnion in 

 "old Flu," or ?ome oihcr places I could name'?J 

 they would exhibit in their " unfed sides" demon- 

 plration stronir against the system ; they would 

 emg, in very doleful tones indeed, the old song, 

 " 'Tvvns on ttie 21st of June, 

 In charming summer weather." 



Give the three-field shift the advantarre of a 

 common, and where is the difference? No other 

 than one field of clover instead of two, covering 

 a somewhat smaller portion of your farm, one- 

 third being less than two-filihs. I am of JMr, C's 

 opinion, that under Rivanna's system the clover 

 has not imparted to Ihe land all its benefit, before 

 it is refiiliowed. It ought to be an object in a judi- 

 cious and economical course of husbandry to ob- 

 tain hay and seed from a clover crop, or at least a 

 part of it. If then one of the two fields is mowed 

 and seed gathered from it, it cannot be grazed at 

 all the same year. Only one field therefore is left 

 for grazinsr, and that between the 20lh June and 

 fallowing time — a very '' short-bite" indeed. It 

 appears to me there should be two clover years in 

 succession — cutting the first if the crop will bear 

 the scythe, and grazing the second — and two 

 grain years only in succpssion, which is a four- 

 field course; and if I am allowed the common in 

 the bargain, this is a valuable auxiliary, to enable 

 the pasture field to set a little ahead in the spring, 

 before the stock is put on. 



The long and short of the matter is, that sys- 

 tems for all thiuijs must be controlled by circum- 

 stances, A system ol mental improvement must 

 be adapted to the capacity of the particular mind, 

 so must be a system of airriculture to Ihe qualities 

 of the soil, general condition, and localities of the 

 particular iarm, Rivatma, lor example, or the 

 author, enjoys the advantage of a very fine mea- 

 dow, and abundant crops of corn, with a plenty of 

 wheat straw, &c. wdiich afford no small help to 

 the " short-bite." By the way, in passing through 

 the front gate, I observed some horses standing 

 with their chins resting on the fence, looking with 

 longing eyes into the adjoining clover field, and 

 seeming to pray for the advent of the 20th June ; 

 and some hogs peering, with optics sharp, through 

 the rails. 



!n conclusion of these very erudite remarks, 

 permit me to say that the present condition of ihis 

 splendid fiirm lurnishes a relLitation of all objec- 

 tion to the management of it. The science of 

 atriiculiuro is here bpautifully illustrated, whilst iis- 

 profiis are largely realized. 



"A Traveller." 



HOT AIR FURNACES, 



Froin the Cultivator. 



I have repeatedly been asked for information 

 respecting hot air furnaces, and as summer is the 

 time for iheir erection, perhaps a short description 

 will not be unacceptable. 



Permit me to speak very briefly of their advan- 

 taL-^es, alluding of course to the mode of construc- 

 tion here described. Fuel is a huge item of ex- 

 pense in every fanuly, and is becoming still more 

 so. We know many farmers who armually con- 

 sume, in warming the different rooms of Iheir 

 houses, as manv as fifty cords of wootl, and some 

 much more. We cannot alter the quantity of heat 

 which a given quantity of fuel throws off in com- 

 buslion, without altering its nature; but we can 

 adopt means to save this heat and apply it to warm- 

 ing our rooms. Experiments have shown that by 

 tlie use of a common brick fire-place, the owner 

 pays nine-tenths of the cost ofthe fuel for the pri- 

 vilege of healing the air above the lop of his chim- 

 ney. The hot-air furnace is the best thing, by lar, 

 ihat we have seen, for saving fuel, A neighbor 

 has kept several rooms of his house warm night 

 and day, through the past winler, by means of one. 

 and liom his pxperiments it is clear that it will not 

 require ten cords of wood for the whole year. 



Another important advantage is kepping up 

 only one fire lor several rooms. As the wcod isi 

 burned large, it saves m.uch labor in cutting, and 

 needs replenishing once only in five or six hours. 

 Another advantage is the house-room saved, none 

 being occupied by stoves or fire-places. Another 

 is the prevention of dirt, the universal accompani- 

 ment of fire-places. It also renders all the rooms 

 warm in the house, by night as well as by day^ 

 imparting to them the peculiar and comliirtable 

 warmth ofthe air of summer. It is sale— children 

 do not burn their fingers, and if rightly constructed, 

 the house is far less liable lo take fire. And by no 

 means a small consideration to the person who 

 loves the culture of flowers, and who cannot afford 

 the expense and care of a green-house, tender 

 plants may be kept in any of the rooms, without 

 the least danger of their being frosted, and with 

 no other attention than that of watering. 



The hot air furnaces commonly erected in ciiies 

 are on an entirely different plan, and, in my opi- 

 nion, greatly inferior. The one here described ia 

 the result of many experiments, and is the best 

 fi^rm of several which have been tried. It was 

 designed by "William R. Smith, oflMacedon. 



A, is a longitudinal section of the stove, for 

 the reception of fuel. It should be large to ad- 

 mit large sticks of wood, so as to lessen the labor 

 of cutting, and to cause the fire to burn long with- 

 out renewing. Three feet in length is not too 

 much. The bottom, instead of being a plate, is 

 a grating, made of cast iron bars, running length- 

 wise with the stove, supported at the ends and in 

 the middle by cross bars. Through this grating 



