416 



THE FAKMEKIS' REGISTER. 



ON OAT HAY. 



By William Steuart, esq. of Glenormislon, Pee- 

 blesshire. 



From the London Quarterly Journal of Agriculture. 

 Havinff a field of about 14 acres which had 

 been partially I'urrow-drained in 1839, and from 

 which a crop ot cats had been taken, to prepare 

 lor ^reen crop, finding there were about 4 acres 

 which required com|jlete draining, and that it 

 would be the betier of extra working, I determin- 

 ed u[)on sowing it with oala to make hay ol ; this 

 I did on the llih March, sowing 26 bushels on 

 the 4 acies wiihoui any dung. So soon as the 

 flower was a week out ol' the shot blade, 27th 

 July, I began mowing. The field was cut down 

 by 30th ; was ninde into hay and put into ticks 

 by 7th August; and was tiien caned into the 

 barn-yard, alter standing a lew days in rick, and 

 put into tramp-ricks ot 3 or 4 carls each, lor the 

 convenience of leading into the hay-lolt. The 

 produce ol' the above 4 acres was 692 stones of 

 22 lbs. 'J'he horses prelierred this Ibdder to every 

 other kind of hay ; and 1 have now before me 

 my farm-steward's letter of 8ih instant, says, 

 "The horses getting common oat Ibdder are in 

 fairish condition, but those getting oat-hay, eating 

 tlie same quantity ol' oats, and doing the same 

 work, are as lat as they can be." Tiie oat hay 

 field, after being sufficiently drained and cleaned 

 was sown out with wheat, getting a dunging of 

 20 square yards of dung per acre. 



Annexed is a staterfJent of the expense of the 

 oat-hay experiment. 

 Cost ot 26 bushels oat seed at 20s. 



per boll, £4 6 8 



Harrowing, water-furrowing, and 



rolling, 116 



Mowers from 27th July to SOlh July, 110 

 People working to 7th August in- 

 clusive, - - - - - 18 6 

 Leading, stacking, &c., - - - 13 6 



£8 15 8 

 692 stones oat-hay, at 6d. per stone, 17 6 



Leaving a clear profit of 

 independent of the manure. 



£8 12 4 



ORCHARDS. 



From the Memoirs of the Philadelphia Agricultural Society. 



Burlington, February 5th, 1808. 

 Dear sir, — The opinion that clover possesses 

 some properly injurious to the growth of apple 

 trees, had been suggested to me by several men 

 of observation and practical information previous 

 to the receipt of your letter of last spring. Some 

 of my own exj)eriments in the planting of or- 

 chards had not succeeded to the extent of my ex- 

 pectations, and their failure was ascribed to the 

 cultivation of clover. 1 was well convinced ol 

 the beneficial effects which had been derived to 

 the agriculture of our country from the introduc- 

 tion of clover, and being desirous of availing my- 

 self of its ameliorating properties m the impiove- 

 ment of my farm, 1 was alarmed by an apprehen- 



sion of its interlerence with a favorite scheme 1 

 had in contemplation ; that of enriching my neigh- 

 borhood and improvujg my own profierty, by^he 

 introduction of the finest table and liquor Iruits of 

 Europe and America, into an extensive orchard 

 establishment on my lands in the vicinity of thia 

 town. I therefore determined to ascertain the 

 truth of the opinion by a series ol' experiments. 

 These I have executed with care; and the result 

 has perltictly convinced me, that young orchards 

 thrive in proportion to the goodness ol the soil, 

 and the degree of culiivation bestowed on them ; 

 that the injury they euslain Irum grass or grain 

 depends on the extent to which the particular 

 growth or naiure ol that grass or grain may pre- 

 vent the communication ol moisture and nourish- 

 ment to the roots of the trees from (he earth or 

 atmosphere: that so lar as clover produces this 

 effect, it is injurious ; but that it has nothing in its 

 nature peculiarly deleterious. On the contrary, 

 its long tap roots penetrating and dividing the soil 

 increases very much its capacity to nourish the 

 roots of the trees ; and did it not afford an inviting 

 Ibod to field mice and moles, it would be found 

 less pernicious to orchards than any permanent 

 grass, or any species of grain which shall be per- 

 mitted to arrive at ItjII maturity on the ground, 

 buckwheat alone excepted. The point of most 

 importance in the planting of young trees is to 

 preserve the roots so near the surlace ol' the earth, 

 that by keeping the soil around them in a loose 

 and mellow slate, Iree Irom weeds, grain or grass, 

 they may feel the salutary influence of ihe sun, 

 air, and rain ; the last ol which in our dry climate 

 is particularly essential to their success, lor seve- 

 ral years alter planting ; lor this reason all kinds 

 of fallow crops, such as potatoes, vin. s, and In- 

 dian corn, particularly the last, are peculiarly 

 adapted to the first and second years' cultivation 

 of orchards. An opinion prevails among our 

 farmers that rye is a more pernicious crop for 

 orchards than any other grain ; for this 1 can see 

 no sound reason. I am induced, from my own 

 observation, to believe, that all grains are inju- 

 rious, in proportion to their proximity to the tree, 

 their power of exhausting the moisture, and from 

 their color or even surliace producing a great pro- 

 portion of intense reflected heat. I am so fully 

 convinced of this truth that I have the last sum- 

 mer caused a circle of three to six leet diameter, 

 to be dug at two several times round every tree in 

 my orchards, not under the plough, whether 

 among wheat, rye, oais or grass ; and although 

 this operation when extended to several thousand 

 trees, which at present compose my orchards, ne- 

 cessarily is productive of much expense and trou- 

 ble, 1 am repaid fourfold in the increased vigor of 

 my trees, and still more in their preservation from 

 our summer droughts. Although i pretend to_ 

 the merit of no new discovery in the cultivation of 

 orchards, I may claim that of sparing no pains 

 or expense in planting, pruning, and cultivating 

 them. That you may be able to juilge of my 

 mode of treating them, and the foundation Ibr the 

 opinions 1 have ventured to oflt;r, I have taken 

 the liberty of extracting from nty books the notes 

 of several of my experiments, which i can ven- 

 ture to assert were made with care and recorded 

 with accuracy. I have Ibr many years derived a 

 great degree of pleasure from the pursuit of this 

 subject ; it is in its nature calculated to afford 



