1839] 



FARMERS' R E G I S T E R . 



165 



best farms of the country, it is important to know ! 

 if a profitable use can be made of it by any con- 

 venient process. Tiie wood that jTrow:? on it is 

 frenerally sliort, scrubby, and crooked, mostly fit 

 only Ibr the fire, except when it consists of pine, 

 which is by no means ol" superior quality. Crops 

 of <£rain raised ii'om it beinfj meager and unpro- 

 fitable, pasturage seems its most appropriate ap- 

 plication. J3ul there is one serious difficulty that 

 attends that use. The runniug-briei', commonly 

 called the dewberry, grows wiih so mucli rapidity, 

 and in so much prolusion, that the land in the 

 course ol' a year or two of rest, is a most as com- 

 pletely coveied with it as other fields are with 

 grass. 1 know of but one remedy — that is to al- 

 low the farm-hogs to winter on the ground where 

 it grows. They are exceedingly Ibnd of the root, 

 and in pursuit of it, extirpate the brier more efl'ec- 

 tually than any other enemy. It remains to be 

 seen if the grass will bear to have its roots as 

 much turned up without destruction, as may be 

 necessary to remove this pest. 

 . I am not aware that any chemical analysis has 

 been made of this soil, but it is to be classed with 

 those which Sir Humphrey Davy describes as 

 "stiff clays approaching to pipe clays in their na- 

 ture." And which he truly says in dry weather 

 "cake and present only a small surface to the air; 

 and the vegetation on them is generally burnt up 

 almost as readily as on sands." It is important 

 this land should not be confounded with the grey 

 soils, that having a red substratum, but a surface not 

 much unlike, and chiefly to be distinguished by the 

 lofty and healthy timber of the one, compared 

 with the scrubs of the other. The grey lands are 

 the best we have, being as productive in moist 

 seasons as any, and far more so in dry, as was 

 evident through the intense heat and drought o( 

 the last summer, as on previous occasions of a 

 similar character. They strongly reminded me 

 of the following description of the philosophical 

 chemist, previously quoted : 



"The power of soils to absorb water from the 

 air is much connected with fertility. When this 

 power is great, the plant is supplied with moisture 

 in dry seasons, and the effect of evaporation in 

 the day is counteracted by the absorption of aque- 

 ous vapor from the atmosphere by the interior 

 parts of the soil during the day ; and by both the 

 exterior and interior during the night." (Agri- 

 cultural Chemistry, p. 128. Philadelphia, 1821.) 



The green grass, (poa viridis,) of inestimable 

 value on soils adapted to it, does not grow abun- 

 dantly here ; nor do we know the means of propa- 

 galinff it extensively by art. In lime-stone regi- 

 ons of any fertility it abounds, and on the second 

 low groundsel the western rivers, affords fine hay, 

 and pasture, unrivalled by any others. But in 

 Eastern Virgmia I have never seen it cover a 

 large surface in any one place, or grow (all enough, 

 except in very few instances, to make hay worth 

 cutting. It is becoming more abundant, 'tis true, 

 in our improved lands, thereby indicating a dispo- 

 sition to increase with increasing Iertility7and raav 

 hereafter be an important ingredient of our pas- 

 ture fields ; but without the aid of water holding 

 1 calcareous matter in solution, (as is the case in the 

 i valley,) I do not anticipate ruuch benefit from it 

 as a meadow-grass. 1 will close this communica- 

 tion by observing, that the mode of making hay 

 from all the grasses mentioned, except clover, is 



exceedingly simple. The principles are the same; 

 but the application in the latter cases far more 

 easy. If care is taken to dry the grasses with as 

 little loss of their color and juices by evaporation, 

 as may be compatible wili^ attaining a state of 

 dryness, and elasticity under such pressure as can 

 be given by the hand, good hay ma^ be made. 

 It is far more easy than to cure corn-blades; and 

 a hand will save more Ibrage in a good meadow 

 in one day than- he can do by pulling corn-blades 

 through a week. Thomas Massie. 



Nelson County, March \st, 1839. 



From the Maine Farmer. 

 VALUE OF ROOT CROPS. 



The importance of raising roots to be used as 

 lood for cattle, horses and swine, during our long 

 winters, cannot be too often nor too strongly im- 

 pressed upon the farmers of Maine, at least until 

 more of them enter somewhat more largely into 

 the business than they do at present. 



Potatoes are planted by every one as a matter of 

 course. Next to potatoes perhaps the ruta baga 

 crop commands the most attention. The sugar 

 beet is next in order, though of but recent intro- 

 duction. Mangel wiuizels have not generally 

 found so much favor with the farmers of Maine as 

 they ought to ; nor has the carrot — but the' most 

 neglected of all is the parsnip. We do not recol- 

 lect of ever having seen a field of parsnips grow-- 

 !ng in Maine, and yet we verily believe that, all 

 things considered, they are the most profitable of 

 either as an article of food lor stock and swine.. 

 We have heretofore tried some experiments on a. 

 limited scale with them, and, providence permit- 

 ting, we shall go more extensively into it another 

 season. I'hey require a little more care when 

 they first come up, and are smaller than ruta ba- 

 ga, but are not so difficult as the carrot. They 

 seem to be more nourishing than any other root, 

 and chemical analysis warrents this idea. They 

 will keep in the ground during the winter, but 

 must be dug before they vegetate much in the 

 spring. They will not keep so well in the sum- 

 mer as the Ruta Baga. The farmers in the Island 

 of Jersey near England, are said to make their 

 mam dependence upon this roof, and their cattle 

 and swine are thereby rendered very profitable. 

 The only objection that we know of to the carrot 

 is the 'trouble it gives in weeding when it first 

 comes up. Its small leaves so much resemble 

 some of the weeds, that if the ground is very 

 foul, it requires careful management to avoid 

 hoeing it up with them. We have seen the 

 good effects of lliese upon a horse lo which they 

 were given during the winter season. They cer- 

 tainly are preferable to oats, or at any rate were 

 for that horse. The animal was a very fleet one, 

 and belonged to a neighboring physician, who had 

 a great deal for him lo do; and yet he kept in per- 

 fect condition with no other food than good hay, 

 and from a peck to a bushel of carrots per day. 



The mangel wurtzel will yield when put in 

 a ftivorable situation as much per acre, perhaps, 

 as any other root. John Hare Powell, once raised 

 sixteen hundred and thirty-lour bushels tothc acre 

 and 14 rods ; and Messrs. H. & T. Little, of New- 

 bury, raised thirty-three tons, ten hundred and lour- 



