FARMERS' REGISTER 



3»7 



making a circular incieion in the bark of the 



limbs, called by gardeners, " rinrfing." In cor- 

 rectiDg the ovc^rgrowlh and plethoric habit oC 

 Iruit trees, I would suggest the propriety of propa- 

 ^atinif another tree upon them, as lor instance the 

 mislletoe. This plant is neither propagated in the 

 earth or water, but upon trees and plan's only. 

 The an.-ients considered it a super-plant peculiar 

 to tile oak, but it will grow on many kinds of trees. 

 About the first of January, when the seeds are 

 ripe, they may be made to stick upon the bark of 

 the apple, pear, plum, peach, &c. The viscid 

 juice which surrounds the seed will bind it last, 

 and 1 suspect it would be useful in correcting the 

 too great vigor of fruit trees, and cause iheni to 

 bear, by taking ofi' the superfluous juices or super- 

 abundant fluids which are destructive to prolificacy 

 in plants as well as animals. 



The "rust" is a disease found amonff many 

 plants thinly sown in moist rich earth. This dis- 

 ease is produced by an over portion of sap and 

 other watery fiuids, which distend and burst the 

 tender ends of the vessels ; and the fluids so extra- 

 vasated become indurated or encrusted on the stem 

 or stalk, having the appearance of iron rusf. 



From what hns been said on vegetable patho- 

 logy, it is probable plants are subject to many 

 diseases which belong to man and other animals, 

 viz., pyrexia or febrile diseases, intermitting, re- 

 mitting, continued and inflammatory levers, erysi- 

 pelas, pestis, hsemorrhage, and many diseases of 

 the cachectic and locales classes; all of which 

 are to be treated upon general medical principles. 



As I am ignorant of the great variety of dis- 

 eases to which plants are liable, I cannot in the 

 present place extend my observations any further. 



-Agriculture not reduced to a science, the neces- 

 sity of reading, ^'c. — I cannot conclude this vesre- 

 lable outline, imperfect as it is, without connect- 

 ing it with agriculiuie ; for the vegetable king- 

 dom would not probably have found a place 

 among the catalogue of the sciences, but lor hus- 

 bandrj'. 



"And the Lord God took the man, and put 

 him into the garden of Eden, to dress it, and to 

 keep it." (Gen. chap, ii., 15th verse.) 



•'And Abel was a keeper of the sheep, but 

 Cain was a tiller of the ground." (Gen., chap, iv., 

 2d verse.) 



It would seem, from the above quotation", that 

 agriculture had its origin at a very early period, 

 and yet it is not reduced to a science! Man has 

 been busily engaged in tilling the earth for the 

 last six thousand years, his thirst for knoxyledge 

 has been great, he has had the experience of all 

 who lived before him ; and still has much to learn. 

 Indeed, he has been taugiit but one lesson through 

 lili", viz., "Paul may plant and Apollos water, but 

 the increase comes from God," He alone can 

 give the necessary agents in order to produce the 

 evolution and growth of planij;. 



Those who wish to become skilled in medicine, 

 law, or theology, must pursue a course of hard 

 study f(jr many years ; but this period will not 

 give us a knowledge of agriculture ; /or it requires 

 unceasing and unwearied attention through life; 

 hence the necessity of agricultural reading. A 

 lew hours' daily study, will make us good lawyer?, 

 priests, physicians, mechanics, stalesinen " and 

 IJirmers, and without daijy reading, our republican 

 institutions, both civil and religions, will be over- 



thrown, and we shall find ourselves surrounded 

 with pover:y and ignorance. 



The soil and subsoil. — The soil is, properly 

 speaking, nothing more than the surface of the 

 earth in which plants grow ; it is of various 

 depths, having a dark color Irom the decomposi- 

 tion of vegetable and animal matters. This de- 

 composed organic mass is generally called soil or 

 mould, which distinguishes it Irom the subsoil. 

 Soils vary very much in lertility and texture, and 

 are called rich or poor, stiff or light, &c. The 

 fertility of soils is known by a greater or less pro- 

 portion of mould which enters into their composi- 

 tion. Forest soils, or virgin soils, arc lor the most 

 part unmixed with earthy matters, and more or 

 less peaty ; on the other hand, cultivated soils are 

 blended with earths. Fertile soils are called 

 loams, as light loams, peat loams, dry loams, wet 

 loams, &c. 



Subsoils are distinguished from soils by the ab- 

 sence of mould, they are divided into two classes, 

 viz., earthy and rocky, as clay subsoils, lime sub- 

 soils, sand subsoils, rocky subsoils, and so on. 

 Rocky and earthy subsoils are either retentive or 

 porous ; retentive subsoils are close and impervious 

 to water, formed of stone or clay. Porous sub- 

 soils are loose and open in their texture and water 

 a'adily fillers through. 



Shallow soils on retentive subsoils are easily in- 

 undated with rains, or become arid from drought. 

 Such soils on porous subsoils drain off water too 

 ii-eely, and become easily exhausted by heat. 

 Deep soils then, on either retentive or porous sub- 

 soils, are to be preftjrred, and the best subsoils arc 

 those which are neither too retentive or too po- 

 rous ; a medium between the two is desirable. 



Favorable and unfavorable indications of soils 

 and subsoils. — The depth of the soil and texture 

 of the subsoil claim the attention of the agricul- 

 turist. A soil from 6 to 12 inches deep, resting 

 upon a limestone subsoil, is one of ihe best indica- 

 tions. Such soils aie found in valley of Virginia, 

 and some of the western states. 



In eastern Virginia, the medium deptii of soil 

 does not exceed six inches, the subsoil clay antl 

 silicious sand ; these soils are very good and sus- 

 ceptible of a high stale of improvement ; but, lo 

 the geologist, the indications are unlijvorable ; for 

 the greater the depth of soil, the more favorable 

 the indication. 



Shallow soils, on silicious subsoils, are not to be 

 relied on, and such indicationci are considered un- 

 productive. 



Shallow soils, resting on a feldspar subsoil, pro- 

 duce well and can never become exhausted ; for 

 the lime contained in the feldspar supports and 

 feeds the soil. Hence it is that gray soils are, 

 when worn, easily reclaimed ; for they generally 

 rest on sandstone or feldspar foundations. Soils 

 resting on white clay, or pipe cla}', are unproduc- 

 tive. White earths, white plants, and white ani- 

 ncials, are distinctive marks of weakness. A^e, 

 which is the parent of weakness, awes a white 

 color not only to ihe earths, by bleaching and de- 

 stroying all extraneous matters, but robs the ve- 

 getable kingdom of its characteristic green, and 

 gives to the animal kingdom a white skin with 

 white hairs. 



Rains that run off with the soil, leaving ex- 

 posed to the rays of the sun the subsoil, must be 

 fon'^idcred an unfavorable indication. 



