F A R ivl E R S ' REGISTER. 



365 



fore ihe corn ia not injured by ihem." Robert 

 Coll, of Pittsfield, whose liirmini^, as well aa that 

 of Mr. Bennet, has been honored with the pre- 

 niiuiTis ol'the Massachusetts Agricultural Society, 

 says '' thai he is satisfied Iroiii experience, years 

 since, thai the ploughing of green sward or stub- 

 ble ill tlje autumn, is a loss in the following crop 

 of at least ten per cent. Sward lands, that are 

 ploughed in the fall become compact during the 

 winter; the finer parts washed between the fur- 

 row slice, excluding the air, and preventing the 

 suiplus water Irora draining off, consequeniiy the 

 turf lies heavy and dormant, with but little bene- 

 fit to the crop. On the other hand, il' ploughed 

 in the spring, the soil is light and receives the har- 

 row kindly ; and the furrow slice does not become 

 so compact as to prevent the circulation of the 

 air, and allows the excess of water to take its pro- 

 per course ; and the sward, when the crop comes 

 off, will be in a more forward state of decomposi- 

 tion than if ploughed the lall before." 



These various opinions, coming from practical 

 men of much intelligence and long experience, 

 deserve attention. It would not answer to delay 

 the sowing of wheat until the middle of May, as 

 there would be great risk in our climate ol its suf- 

 fering from mildew. II wheat is to be sowed on 

 green sward, it should be ploughed much earlier. 

 But this would not in that case afford the protec- 

 tion against the wire-worm to which Mr. Piiinney 

 refers. I must dissent li-om the inference, (at 

 least, I hold my judgment in suspense until 1 

 liave farther light,) that this late spring ploughing 

 is to be deferred on account ofthe superabundance 

 of vegetable matter then to be turned under. 

 Theory and experiment in this matter conflict 

 with each other. I have been always inclined to 

 the belief, which generally prevails, and which 

 Mr. Phinney maintains, that the higher the state 

 of luxuriance in which vegetable matter is turned 

 in by the plough, the more the land will be en- 

 riched by it. But the experience of one of the 

 best farmers in the state has satisfied me, especi- 

 ally as it had been confirmed by another ecjually 

 intelligent farmer, and wholly unbiassed by the 

 judgment of any other person, that the land is more 

 benefited by the turning in of the clover after it is 

 dried, than when in a state of greeness and full of 

 sap. The opinion is, that if green it creates an 

 acidity in the soil prejudicial to the succeeding crop. 

 1 do not know whether this theory be sound or 

 not ; but I have seen an experiment tried with a 

 view to this point, in two adjoining lols of ground 

 in the same field ; and the result was conclusive 

 in favor of turning in the crop when dried. Mr. 

 Colt's opinion in favor of spring ploughing or 

 against lall ploughing, bears on the same point. 

 The conclusion, which seems to follow from these 

 premises, is against sowing wheat upon green 

 sward, on account of the wire worm. In such 

 case, corn or oats then should be taken as a first 

 crop ; and corn may be taken, as Mr. Phinney ad- 

 vises, on a late ploughed sward, aa the disadvan- 

 tage, if there be any, in the comparison between 

 turning in the herbage, in a green instead of a 

 dried state, may be more than compensated by 

 the protection which it ftirnishes against the worm; 

 but if wheat is to be sowed, on green sward 

 or stubble, on account of the results of Mr. Coil's 

 experience, whether his notions be well or ill found- 

 ed, it is to be advised to plough In the spring ; but 



then as early as possible ; because, as 1 am satis- 

 fied, of the expediency under all circumstances of 

 sowing spring wheal as early as possible. In this 

 case, the chances of the worm must be encoun- 

 tered, unless the mixture of salt with the compost, 

 as mentioned above, may afford a security against 

 him. 



GATHERINGS FROM GRAVEYARDS, &C. 



By G. A. Walker, Surgeon. 

 Co., 1839. 



jLongman and 



From the Mcdico-Chirurgical Review. 



The object of the present work is, to open the 

 eyes ofihe public to the dangerous and disgusting 

 results arising from the present practice of inter- 

 ments in the heart of cities, and in the midst ol" a 

 dense population; and to endeavor to procure 

 "the entire removal of the dead from the immediate 

 proximity ofthe living." Il cannot be denied that 

 the present manner of burial has become a serious 

 evil, and one well worthy of the attention of the 

 government ; but we are afraid that the custom, 

 which originally arose from the credulous belief of 

 the common people in the powers of the church 

 over souls alier death, inducing them to seek a 

 grave in the immediate neighborhood of some 

 place of worship as a protection against the enemy 

 of mankind, is now too deeply rooted in the humaa 

 mind to be easily eradicated. 



Setting aside, however, the deleterious efTeolsto 

 the human Irame from the pestilerous vapors 

 continually exhaling from such enormous masses 

 of putrefying remains, which must exercise a most 

 baneful eflect, especially on those living in the 

 more immediate vicinity of these pest-holes, — we 

 think that, if the public attention were to be once 

 flilly directed to the di^^gusting and monstrous 

 practices continually resorted to with regard to the 

 ashes ofthe dead, in order to make room for fresh 

 supplies, they would be inclined to prefer a sepul- 

 ture removed from the town, and in which they 

 might rest in peace, to the present revolting prac- 

 tice of huddling up as many human bodies as can 

 possibly be crammed into one narrow space in 

 order that the proprietorsof these places may reap 

 as great a harvest as possible. Let us take, lor 

 example, one case detailed by our author: he is 

 speaking ofthe burying-ground underneath Enon 

 Chapel : — 



" This space measures in length 59 feet 3 inches 

 or thereabouts, and in width about 28teet8 inches 

 so that its superficial contents do not exceed 1,700 

 square feet. Now, allowing lor an adult body 

 only twelve feet, and for the young, upon an ave- 

 rage, six feet, and supposing an equal number of 

 each to be there deposited, the medium space 

 occupied by each would be nine feet : if, then, 

 every inch of ground were occupied, not more than 

 189 (say 200 in round numbers) would be placed 

 upon the surface; and admitting (an extravagant 

 admission most certainly) that it were possible 

 to place six tiers of coffins upon each other, the 

 whole space could not contain more that 1,200; 

 and yet it is stated with confidence, and by credible 

 authority, thai from 10,000 to 12,000 bodies have 

 been deposited in this very space within the last 

 sixteen years !" 237. 



It is not long since an extreme sensation was 



