1839] 



FARMERS' RE G I S T E R 



416 



er prolli.sely, on a shallow fallow,, where the sur- 

 I'rtoe is rich, aiiJ the. under siraliiiii |)oor; hut in lliis 

 case ihe suckers will presenll}' be a nuisance, (or I he 

 soil 'vill not continue suffirieait to I'eed lioih [)lanls 

 and suckers. IT such irround be fallou-ed decj;, no 

 sucker will appear, alihouiih thinly planted. 



Lodged grain. — No srain will lod>:e whilst 

 healthy. Diseased seed, diseased jrionnd, diseased 

 atnios|)here, in.sects and dui^j;, will make jirain 

 unhealthy. Both very thick, aad very thin f^row- 

 in<;, irrain will stand erect: in the firsl case, any 

 disease beinir equally divided amoiiirst the nume- 

 rous [)lants, the ell'ect is slioht; in the second, llie 

 air and sun can penetrate in such abundance, thai 

 any poisonous matter is extracted or evajjorated. 

 If on lantl already in <xood heart, a jruodly porhon 

 of l(3rinenled manure be turned in to the depth ol 

 a three or four-horse li;illow, we miyht expect a 

 heallhy and abundiuit crop of wheat; and 1 know 

 of no reason why the produce in Vir^-inia would 

 Jiol, could not, be equal to that of France, or else- 

 where. 1 believe it to be useful to spread manure I 

 on the surface of a shallow fi^llow and thin soil. I 

 Every person of observation will remember tlnit 

 on ordinary and shallow tilled jxrounds, wheat and | 

 other crops start viirorousiy, and stole profusely; 

 but when the surface has become somewhat ex- 

 exhausied, and nature has pushed the roots down- 

 ward, there is a sudden lailure, the «ireater portion 

 of those sloles will peri.>h, and consequently disease 

 is i2;enerated. 



I have now standing 60 heads of wheat, ron- 

 fahiing about 2000 irrains, which are the produce 

 ol one grain; this I intend to sow on <rround pire- 

 pared according to the above ideas; and il the 

 produce hereafter should be one-tvveniielh part of 

 the present, that would be one-hundred Ibid; and 

 why not? 



Grasses. — I send the heads of a grass which 1 

 call the smooth cock's-footj and another which 1 

 suppose to be the American rye-grass — please let 

 nie know what they are? 



Sour grasses, and sour weeds, are more nume- 

 rous this year than I have ever known iheni — 

 sumach, lern, cheat or chess, sorrels, &c. &c. 



I/aij. — I never have food sufficient to winter the 

 caille, which 1 graze through summer. I have 

 a bank about one mile long, vvhicli is clothed with 

 shrubbery, consisting of poplars, ash, mulberry, 

 linn, sassafras, locust, walnut, &c., of which 

 I liave siiong mind to make hay. My ideas is to 

 break off' the tips of the limbs by hand, and cure 

 and stack as usual for grass; but if you Mr. Edi- 

 tor, or any other person, would suggest a cheafier 

 or better plan, I would thank you. 



Prices current. — If the editor would state the 

 prices of beefi cows, &c. &c., he would nmcli 

 oblige some of his western subscribers. 



fFriting. — Many persons do not; promul<rate 

 information which would prove valuable, because 

 they have no time; many will not write because 

 they fear criticism, and some f-ar contradiction. 

 Now, I have at all times, about as litile tinte to 

 write as the next man; as to criticism, it would be 

 sport lor tne ; and as to contradiction, nothing 

 could better please me; because to prove eiilier 

 truth or falsehood, something valuable is apt to 

 be elicited. But I am sorry to believe there are 

 some amongst us who have other, and worse rcii- 

 Bon lor not attempting to enlighten the communi- 

 ty, to wit, a desire to be the big man — not the de- 



sire to be the greatest amongst the great, lint that 

 selfish and mean disposition to kec|) others in ob- 

 scurity and iirnoiance, ihat he, who is little, may 

 a|pear big. lie who lives alone lor his own good, 

 IS a brute; :uid like a brute, will lie go down to the 

 grave, to be thought of no more. 



Seeds. — I think it a shame (or old Virginia to 

 send to the Yankees lor their garden seeds. Our 

 mountains are equal to any place in the world, lor 

 the production oi large and healifiy vegetables; 

 and if I lliought 1 could profit, I would try u seed 

 garden. 



Jmprovemenl of land. — I iiave made thorough 

 trials of iaiprovement by turning under sorry and 

 ordinary crops of oats, and can recommend it as a 

 cheap and expeditious method. 'J'urn them in 

 when merely half ripe, by which means sudden 

 putrefaction is secured; which putreliiclion will be 

 food for I he second crop of oats. 



In closin;:-, I will ren)ark that I am a subscriber 

 to your pa|)er, that I was raised to firming, that 

 I have reatl nearly every publication on (iirming, 

 that n)y locks are getting gray, and yet I am lack- 

 ing — lacking — lacking. 



Alihouirh I am neither ashamed of my name, 

 nor writing, yet request you will not mealion my 

 address. 



As evidence of my sincerity in asking ques- 

 tions, I pay postage. Mountaikker. 



[We are pleased to have the observant, practi- 

 cal, and working farmer, that we believe the 

 writer above to be, in our pages, even without a 

 name. He will be always and still more welcome, 

 and still more useful, over his own real signature. 

 We have neither erased nor altered, nor supplied 

 a word. 



From our correspondent's proposal to cure leaves 

 lor winter forage, it is presumed that he has read 

 and [jrofiied by Professor Symonds' account of the 

 practice in Italy, in one of our recent numbers. If 

 not. it is recommended lahis notice. Let him, by 

 all means try the experiment, and report the result 

 to the Farmers' Register. 



We would, with pleasure, extend the prices 

 current on the covers of the monthly numbers, 

 not only to beef, live-stock. &c., but to many other 

 articles of agricultural products; but the demand 

 of the small town in which we publish, is too lim- 

 ited to show market prices — and to endeavor to 

 obtain them from abroad might lead to deception, 

 more frequently than furnish correct inlbrmation. 



The heads of grasses, in the state received, 

 could not be identified. One seems to be the 

 "feather-grass," of which we know not the bo- 

 tanical name, nor the graile of comparative va- 

 lue.— Ed. F. R.1 



THE CHIJXCH BUG IN SURKY. 



For tlie Fanners' Krsister. 

 Surry county, July 1st, 1839. 

 Perhaps it may not be uninteresting to some of 

 your readers, to learn i!ie sad, and lamentable 

 news, that the chinch-bug is now spreading rapid- 



