THE i'ARMEKS' KEGISTEK. 



167 



have 1 been disappointed. I have never in any 

 instance failed in disposing ol'my whole crop, and 

 generally at lair remunerating prices. Even ai 

 this lime, when every body is complaining of the 

 scarcity of money, hay commands a more ready 

 and a belter price than almost, any other article. 



Some of my neighbors have expressed to mc 

 the apprehension thai the market would soon be 

 overstocked with this article, and that therelore 

 the price must go down. I entertain no euch ap- 

 prehension. The first effect arising from the in- 

 creased quantity at home will be to arrest the im- 

 portation irom abroad. At present there is still 

 coming a considerable quantity Irom the norih. 

 As long as this ie the case, 1 have no fear that 

 good hay will be a drug upon my hands, indeed, 

 1 am pleased to see ttiai. vigorous eliorls are now 

 making greatly to increase this crop ; and I hope 

 the time is just at hand, when, in addiiion to uur 

 neighborhood supplies, we shall see large quan- 

 tities borne to market on our canal and rail-road. 

 It is quite lime tha Virginia should assert her own 

 proper independence. She has been dependent 

 long enough, and far too long, upon Llie noith ibr 

 her hay, and upon the west lor her pork. 



But the main point remains yet to be touched : 

 what is the value of this crop? 1 answer, that I 

 know no crop which upon the whole requires less 

 labor, is more certain, and at the same lime yields 

 a fairer compensation. 'J'he chinch bug and 

 Hessian fly, which prey upon our corn and wheat, 

 never touch this crop ; nor is it subject to the de- 

 predations of any oiher destructive insect. Give 

 it rich land, well prepared, and a moderate degree 

 of moisture, and this is all that it a^-ks. Ii; there- 

 fore, it be subject to lewer casualiies, and when 

 produced commands a Ikir and ready markei, 1 

 must pronounce it a good crop. But besides 

 these recommendations, there is another, which 

 in my opinion greatly enhances its value, and that 

 is that I regard it as less exhausting than most ol 

 our other crops. I pretend not that this, in com- 

 mon with all oiher crops that are removed from 

 the land, is not an exhauster; but then it ought 

 to be recollected, that other crops, such as corn, 

 wheat, oats, &c., when removed, make no effort 

 10 recruit themselves. They leave the land, wiih 

 the exception of a little s ubble, entirely naked. 

 This is not the case wiih the grasses ; for besides 

 the stubble, they begin imrnedialely to renew 

 themselves, and continue doing so until arrested 

 by severe frosts j so that the aftermath, especially 

 in clover, is often equal to the first crop. This 

 second crop falling, as it does, and ro:ling on the 

 ground, must coniribu e materially towards re- 

 pairing the exhaustion ol the first crop. And 

 this, in my opinion, is ihe true reason why grass 

 exhausts less than other crops. In this view of 

 the subject, I am greatly strengthened by Liebig, 

 and other celebrated writers on the subject of 

 agriculture. They say, and I think with much 

 plausibility, that the very best manure for any 

 particular species of vegetation is that which is 

 derived from itself Leaves, for instance, is the 

 best manure for forest trees, and wheal straw for 

 growing wheat. II this be the case, tlien tiie 

 second grass crop, containing as it does the mate- 

 rials of the first, must be a valuable manure for 

 Itself; and this, I ihink, is a strong argument for 

 banishing cattle and all oiher depredators from 

 our fields. But more of this hereafter. 



As to my mode of cultivating grass, and the 

 peculiar grasses which 1 prefer, there appeared 

 in the last (February) number of the Farmers' 

 Regisier, an essay on grass culture, which, were 

 it i;oi that It coniain.'S signs ol' evuleul hasie, I 

 tshould be disposed to adopt as my ovvn. Indeed 

 I will refer to ii, as unlolding pretty fully my 

 views and prelerences on the subject. 1 think it 

 therelore unne.cessdiy to add anoilier word on this 

 poini. 



But besides grass, which 1 regard as my main 

 crop, 1 also cultivate corn and oats, and of late 

 [ lidve turned my aiteniion considerably to the 

 beet and turuij) crops. All these, however, are 

 |irincipally lor liome consumption. If I have any 

 surjilus, that o! course goes with the grass to 

 maikel. There is one exception to the latter re- 

 ir,Liik, and that is the corn. 1 never sell, directly, 

 an ear of corn ; for by it I sup|)ort another crop, 

 which, till betier advised, I must think a j)rofita- 

 bie one : 1 mean my hog crop. And liere, without 

 entering into the minutia ol detail, I will merely 

 stale, thai according lo the best estimate I can 

 Ibrm, the matter stands thus — when corn sells at 

 GO cents the bushel, and pork at !*;6 the 100 lbs. 

 (wliich i consider us a fair average lor both,) by 

 turning the loinier into ihe latter, 1 gel 90 cents 

 the bushel lor my com. O. course when corn is 

 dearer, or pork is cheaper, my profits are propor- 

 lionably less. But at the usual average jirice, 

 I consider my sell as getting 50 per cent, more 

 lor my corn. 1 ought also to state, that in arriving 

 at this result, 1 iidve to be studiously attentive lo 

 other ciicumstances, such as a thrifty breed of 

 hogs, the care that is taken of them, and the con- 

 stant economy oi their leeding Now when any 

 larmer can make up his mind to he personaUij at- 

 tentive to these things, I hesitate not lo say that 

 he will find his hog crop yielding him a fair pro- 

 fit. It is true thai the last season was a peculiarly 

 discouraging one. i nciver knew pork so cheap, 

 and the probatjiiity is that it will be many years 

 before it is as cheap again. It is to be feared 

 liial many farmers who hud engaged in raising 

 pork will be induced to abandon it. This, let me 

 tell them, is the direct mode to raise the article; 

 so that when they are compelled to buy, they will 

 liave to pay heavily for it. For my own part, 1 

 am not at all discouiaged. I have just effected 

 the spring sale of my shoats and pigs, and the 

 profit has been nearly or quite equal to any former 

 occasion. For a fine young Berkshire boar, just 

 eight months old, I received ^55. 



But 1 am again trespassing on the reader's pa- 

 tience. 1 must, however, before concluding, ob- 

 serve that my usual rotation (if I have any at all) 

 is tivo consecutive years in corn, this Ibllowed 

 with oate, and the three next years in grass. 

 This of course takes up six years, and then com- 

 mences the same routine again. I have no doubt 

 that, at first sight, strong objections will be made to 

 this course, especially as three grain crops are 

 made immediately to succeed each other. But I 

 beg the reader to suspend his condemnation, until 

 I inform him that i have another rotation, and 

 that is a rotation o^manuring, and this I consider 

 of more importance than any rotation of cropping 

 whatever. On this hacknied subject of rotation 

 I have a theory which is perhaps peculiar to my- 

 self, and which, when announced, will probably 

 call fiirih the animadversions of some who are 



