456 



MONTHLY JOUR.NAL OF AGRICULTURE. 



trsraiioa o: its parts, as lo allow the free rraas- 

 tiiisskizi of air. However rich in insredients. 

 these a3c'rc do ntiniiaenl to vegetadon. unti] 

 s-ibjectcTi to the combined aciioii of heat. air. 

 and njoistore — the sneai agents of deconipos:- 

 tion. Unless fneelv supplied wi-ji oxrsen. the 

 reciains o: gT-iTngU and vegetables do not de- 

 c-i_ir. but ifcey naderso piitreiacrion.* " The fre- 

 ;zeitt rezii^x-x. of air bv r ;:-^-^r ard the prepa- 

 re:;;- ^: the ~ 1- cii^re -j:.~ ; -^:.-e:£Ction of the 

 r^-:.;: roi^rJ^T-t? ii.:j - t~j:e prucess of 



ie rrfizi: ~i::r-- existi^r i^ a ;•;:- e'ters into 



Liniei- I_ i ".veil conjponnded soiL water is 

 ;.--r5-r-"-i "7 :"■? ynots bv capillarv altraciion. 



.-.;!■ - = " ' ^m to the smallne^ 



■:: -ivantase of their 



o;tt: - iin. It is equally 



tme- -_i; - .^1.:^ mtisl exist in soln- 



tion- i: is r ziit water to the roots by 



ardr'':£ll7" . . - -- — - compactness of the soil 

 hj tilliif . r r;ii: r^qnent workins, therefore. 

 rh-r r^ -: :";-r:ri':l-r results maybe anticipated : 

 - ' een well observed, that a good 

 --jtmd in dry weather is equal 

 -L ; f: r hovrever strange it may 

 if—./ ? moisnrre. desiccation is 



; re -he iitcrease and preven- 



-;tt ; - ■ -.- ■\^p rigid system is 



est-e::£l-7 ~ The breaking np of 



tbe :li f^" - Toakins the new 



rAse~ on t^ert. ty v.-r.;:a :-e two interchange 

 places. pr>jvide a qiiantity of finely divided earth 

 ir-ich greater than 'R'hai is obtained in the or- 

 diiary mode. 'WTiile the coming up of tbe com 

 Ls thereby facilitated, and the thrifty condition 

 •: : the voung plants secured, the depth at which 

 ±e ^.eeis of grass and weeds are deposited- pre- 

 vents ±err germination, except in small num- 

 bers : hoice labor and time in tbe culture of the 

 crop are saved. In relation to maize, the au- 

 thor of ■■ Arator " sams up tbe advantages of 

 high ridges and deep furro"ws in substance as- 

 foUows : — The roots are never cut in one direc- 

 tion, and this greai depth of tilth thus early ob- 

 tained, by superseding the occasion for deep 

 plowing in the latter peiiod of its growth, saves 

 them in the other. The preservation of the roots, 

 and their deeper pasture, enable tbe com much 

 loDger to resist dry weather. Litter thrown into 

 she deep farrow upon which tbe list \s made, is 

 a reaerroirof manure, far removed from evapora- 

 tion : wTthin reach of the roots, which will fol- 

 fcyw it aOctas the furrow, and calculated to feed 

 the plants when in need of rain. Tbe dead 

 eanii brought up by the plow from the deep 

 fmiow is deposited on each side of it, without 

 hurting the crop on the ridge : ferther. by one 

 deep pltrwing, received by the com after it is 

 planted, being bestowed upon it while it is 

 joong, and its roots diort, aod being run nearly 

 a foot fimn it, die roots of the com in this way 

 escape injory. and tbe effects of drouth on the 

 plant bemg thus kaaened, its product is in- 

 creased- 



It would appear from this condensed expo- 

 sition of his views t><at in tbe opinion of Taylor, 

 one pVjrwing only, and that a deep and early 

 one. tbe growin g crop requires. To clean and 

 piiverize die aoil, the harrow, skimmer, or cul- 

 tivator, akn>e dwald be used. Each might ad- 

 vanta^eoudy be resorted to in any stage of its 

 gro'wth, but in a parched conditioa of tbe earth, 



,_* Liei^ 



■:o:o) 



their reviviscent tendency would then clearly 

 demand it. 



■With regard to Sweet Potatoes, the plow 

 may most profitably be employed at any time. 

 ■When the shoots begin to wither, break up the 

 space between the hills or ridges by running 

 four furrows. Tbe newly turned eanh will be 

 found wet in the morning, while before no 

 moisture had been apparent- In a few days 

 the leaves from being bitc«Ti or yellow ■will as- 

 sume a areenish hue. and new shoots ordinarily 

 mav be expected to ibUow. 



id. Manure. — ^The fertility of the soil is the 

 first object to be attained by tbe farmer. For 

 their dividing properties all fossil manures are 

 hishly esteemed. Deep plowing and lime, un- 

 aided by organic matter, it is well attested, have 

 renovated lands that, in the judgment of the 

 former proprietors, were not worth tbe labor of 

 ctdtivation. In reference to tbe special matter 

 under consideration, a judicious admixture of 

 sofls is of primary importance- Clay applied to 

 sand assists it in retaining manure, and receiving 

 the vaporized water of the atmosphere. To al- 

 low the fibres of plants to shoot freely, clay, sand 

 and lime, acting mechanicaliy by their mixture, 

 are mutual mantires to each other. Burnt clay 

 may beneficially be substituted for sand. 



It has already been observed, that pulverized 

 earth has a strong attraction for armospheric va- 

 por, and that this increases in proportion to the 

 minuteness into which the particles are divided ; 

 but as the power of the most fertile soUs, in this 

 respect, is inferior to that of even the worst or- 

 dinarv manure, it is evident that ■' for the mere 

 purpose of withstanding long-continued dry 

 weather, those plants whose roots have imme- 

 diate access to organic manures, will be much 

 better enabled to absorb the necessary supplies 

 of atmospheric moisture, than those merely 

 vesetatins in the unmanured soU ; " hence, 

 whenever fertilizers are employed in anticipa- 

 tion of drouth, or to mitigate its evils, in either 

 case, the good to flow bxym their application to 

 Com wiUdepend in a high degree upon their 

 abundance, and the materials that compose 

 them. The richer the ingredients and larger 

 the quantity, the more decided will be the bene- 

 fit. Suppose in a propitious season one acre, 

 judiciously manured, to yield 50 bushels and 

 five acres, of the same natural strength, unas- 

 sisted by art, 10 bushels per acre : experiments 

 and practice prove that in a drouth the former 

 win produce generally not fivefold, but seven 

 or eisht times as much as the latter. I may in- 

 deed assert, that the difierence in product will 

 be commensurate with the heat and dryness of 

 the weather. 



■VThether manures should be buried deep or 

 shallow, or lie on the surface, and whether they 

 should be spread in a rotted or uiuDtted state, 

 are questions which tbe occasion does not re- 

 quire me te investigate. The tendency of de- 

 composing animal and vegetable matter is to 

 rise in tbeatmosphere : of fo.ssil manures to .?ink. 

 As it is known that coarse litter is better adapt- 

 ed lo com than any other crop, if employed 

 when putrefaction has commenced, immediately 

 before the period of committing the seed to the 

 zround.or in the fall in the shape of Ion? muck, 

 to allow the frost", rain and wind of winter to 

 prepare it for the putrefactive process, every 

 portion of the decavin? and fermenting fertil- 

 izer wtII be CTadually absorbed by the roots and 

 leares ai the plants. All the facu that have 

 ooioe to my knowledge sustain conclusively tbe 



