184 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER 



and governed the state. lis power and action 

 even now are fearlblly strong, and are dealing blows 

 of destructive lorce. But ihey are but as the 

 dying struggles of the hoolied shari<, which will 

 soon be quieted by the death of the insatiable 

 monster. 



And now, so far as we now know and expect, 

 we shall take leave of this subject— deeming that 

 we have already rendered all the service in this 

 respect to the agricultural interest, and the coun- 

 try, that is in our power. Nor do we believe 

 that our labor has been vainly exercised to expose 

 and to assail the fraudulent banking system, 

 through this, and still more through other publi- 

 cations. The seeds which have been thus sown 

 have not perished; and however little outward 

 show there now may be of growth, the crop will 

 yet be abundant, and the future harvest certain. 

 Within a few years, at farthest, the fraudulent 

 banking system of Virginia will explode, and 

 the fraudulent princi[)Ie of the system will be 

 universally acknowledged. And, whether such 

 be the result or not, it will be always one of the 

 things of which we shall be most proud, that all 

 our powers, such as they are, have been zealously 

 exerted, though almost unaided and alone, to ex- 

 pose and to contend against this most iniquitous 

 and infamous system. All that we have done, 

 and freely and gratuitously paid, and risked the 

 loss of, for this object — and the meeting and suf- 

 fering of all the falsehood, slander, and every other 

 act of maligant hostility of bank partisans and 

 bank slaves, that have been brought in vain to 

 bear us down, all will be deemed a cheap price 

 paid for any forwarding of the final overthrow of 

 the fraudulent paper system. — Ed. F. R. 



REMARKS IN REPLY TO INQl'IRIES AND 

 STRICTURES 



On an " Essay on the making, the preserving, 

 and the applying of manures.'''' 



For tlie Farmers' Register. 



In the number for March of the Farmers' Re- 

 gister, p. 100, is a neat little modest piece, signed 

 "A Young Farmer," in which the writer of a 

 certain essay on manures is called on to answer 

 certain inquiries. I now avow myself as the au- 

 thor of that essay. For certain reasons, which 

 even now I am not at liberty to disclose, the es- 

 say appeared, contrary to my usual wont, in an 

 anonymous form. I greatly prefer that the pro- 

 ductions of every man should appear with his own 

 name appended thereto. The little that the 

 " Young Farmer" has been pleased to tell about 

 himself, has prepossessed me much in his favor ; 

 and 1 hereby invite him to pay me a visit, when 

 1 will with much pleasure more fully satisfy him 

 on the queries propounded. 



In the mean time, I will say that the above es- 



say is founded, in the main, upon practice, and 

 not upon mere theory. I intended it as a practi- 

 cal illustration of my own mode in making and 

 applying manures. If the pipce has any merit at 

 all, it is this latter feature which has given it its 

 value. Tile only part of the essay which has not 

 been carried into practice, and I think successful 

 practice, by mysell, is that which relates to ma- 

 nuring by confining cattle in moveable pens. For 

 certain reasons, which it would be tedious to ex- 

 plain, I think it to my interest to keep but few cat- 

 tle, only enough to consume the coarser offal of 

 my corn. But were I more remote from market, 

 I should certainly go largely into the cattle busi- 

 ness, restric'ing the number only by the amount 

 of ood I could raise for them ; and this I would 

 do, in a great measure, for the large amount of 

 manure they wotdd enable me to make. Having 

 then a large number of cattle, as soon as their 

 shelters ceased to be necessary 1 would begin to 

 pen them every night, and continue the practice, 

 until the severe weather of winter would make it 

 proper to collect them under their shelters again. 

 How large the^e pens ought to be, and how long 

 the cattle ought to be confined to one spot, must 

 depend, as I state in the essay, on the number of 

 cattle kept. In this way all the manure, both li- 

 quid and solid, would be collected ; nor do I see 

 why it should not he as permanent as when re- 

 moved from the larm-pen. In my own case, I 

 never confine my cattle, except on the farm-pen 

 and in their shelters, and the sole reason is, that I 

 have too few to make it an object to resort to 

 moveable pens. 



As to the inquiry about hogs, I would answer 

 that the close confinement to which I subject mine 

 is the result of necessity, not of choice. The 

 same reasons which influence me (o keep but few 

 cattle, induce me also to confine my hogs. My 

 farm is situated very near a good market, and is 

 so small that 1 can allow no part of it as pasturage, 

 either for cattle or hogs. Every loot of my land 

 is constantly in some crop, either for home con- 

 sumption or to be disposed of at market. Under 

 these circumstances 1 resort to soilins, and in 

 other respects make my stock as comfortable as I 

 can. But it would add much to their thrift, if, in 

 addition to their other care, I could allow them, 

 particularly in warm weather, the indulgence of 

 pasture, shade and running water. But notwith- 

 standing these privations, I hesitate not to say, 

 that under my care " they do thrive through our 

 long, hot and dry summers," so that ihey are a 

 source of considerable profit to me, and I see no 

 reaf-on why they should not be still more profitable 

 to those who are in circumstances to allow them 

 greater advantages. 



The " labor necessary to collect materials for 

 them to Work op into manure" is, when properly 

 fixed for it, not very considerable. The materials 

 are fully explained in the essay. I will now add 

 that they are collected in the winter, when work is 

 not very pressing ; alter showers of rain when 

 the ground is too wet to stir it, and at such other 

 times as we find most convenient. Such oppor- 

 tunities are taken to store away large amounts, 

 antl then the labor of distribution is very trifling. 

 This manure, though "mixed with large propor- 

 tions of mud, dirt and litter," I consider ap very 

 valuable, particularly for corn, the great favorite 

 of the hog. Its value would be much increased, 



