658 



F A R M \<: R S • R E GIST E R 



[No. 9 



produce the same effect on the acre as rye, the 

 leaves must be double its -iceight; and, that tliey 

 are not, you may decide, should you have over 

 seen the rye in flower, comnared with one hundred 

 cart loads of leaves sirewed over an acre. The 

 one may contain more hulk, but tiie IbrmT is iiea- 

 vier, and will afford more manuie to the soil, inde- 

 pendent ol'the pea sluhhle, the nutritious qualities 

 ofwhich have been too lonL' known to be denied. 



However, I need not inform you liow much (jjreen 

 vejretable maiter is valued as a manure; ihe books 

 are full ol'ils praise, and none presents a srreiiier 

 number ol" prools ol' its effects than Chap'al's. 

 Whoever uses this manure should not Ibrijet that 

 green vegetable matter should he turned under 

 while in flower, or before it goes to seed. 



Chaptai says, page 94— "In order lully to under- 

 stand this doctrine, which appears to me of c'l't^'at 

 importance to agriculture, it is necessary to consi- 

 der the successive clianges which take place in 

 annual plants during their growth; first, tliey pro- 

 duce green leaves, which by cominir in contact 

 with the air, receive from it the prmciplesol which 

 I have spoken; subsequently the stalks increase in 

 size and number, and are covered with numerous 

 leaves, which absorb Trom the atmosphere a de- 

 gree ofnourishment suited to the increasing wants 

 of the plants; the strength, (ullness, and depth of 

 hue ofthe leaves ami the stalks, particularly olthe 

 latter, increase in proportion to the richness of the 

 soil. 



"This state continues till after the period of 

 flowering, when a change, worthy of note, takes 

 place; the roots dry up, the stalks wither, and 

 change their colors; and when fructiffcation is at 

 length completed, both roots and stalks have be- 

 come mere skeletons, which answer but little pur- 

 pose either for nourishing animals, or maniu'inij 

 earth, Durintr this period of" vegetation, what be- 

 comes of the juices that were so abundant in the 

 roots and stalks ? They have been consumed by (he 

 formation of the seeds.''' 



To illustrate this, he gives the cxperiiTienf of IM. 

 Matthieu de Dombasle. Tliis <rent|pinan on the 

 26ih June, 1820, at their time offlowering, within 

 a small space, selected forty wheat plants of equal 

 size and strength, each havinii three stalks bearuiir 

 heads; he pulled twenty of them, with all their 

 roots, and left the rest to complete their fi-uctifica- 

 tion. Having carefully freed from earth tfie roots 

 of those he had taken up, he cut the stalks two in- 

 ches above the base, and dried separately the 

 roots, and the sialks surmounted by their heads." 

 The roots and the portion ofthe stalks 

 remaining with them, weighed, 

 grains, - - - . _ 657 



The stalks, heads, and leaves, " 191fi.5 



Total, 2603.5 



On the 2Sth August, the time of harvest, he 



plucked up the twenty plants which had been left 



ibr seed, separating the roots, and cutting the stalks 



as ofthe first; of these, the 



weight was as follows : 



grains 



Roots, 419.53 



Straw, husks and 



beards, 1318.75 



Grain, 1025.69 



Total, 



2763.97 



"During these two months, the 

 roots and the portions ofstalks 

 adhering to them, had lost 236.52 



The stalks, heads and leaves 



had lost - - - - 624.67 



Total loss, 862.19 



"liut as the seed weighed 1025.69 grains, the 

 whole had incieased in weight 160.47 grains, troy. 

 From this e.xjjeriment we may conclude, that the 

 juices contained in plants, at the time of liowering, 

 contributes to the formation of the grain in the 

 proportion of ylff ^!ji and that the excess of the 

 weight of the grain which is yjf.^ ^4, arises fi-om the 

 nourishment which the plant absorbs from the air 

 or soil, during the two months of fructification." 



From this experiment, we at once see the im- 

 portance of turning under green crops while in 

 flower, or before they go to seed. The effects of 

 this process are then, 1st. Green matter returns 

 to the soil nearly double that of stubble. 2d. By 

 ploughinij it under in flower, we have less grass 

 to contend with the nest spring. 3d. By e.\po- 

 sing their roots to the sun or the coming frosts, 

 many parasiiic vegetat>les are destroyed, and de- 

 composing, add something to the productiveness 

 of the soil. 4ih. By the destruction of roots and 

 pitrasitic vegetables, less manure is taken from the 

 soil durinir tlie winter. 5th. Tliis malterdecora- 

 poses, and is absorbed by the earih lor early crops. 

 6!h. Tlie earth has not only received its first re- 

 quired ploiigliiniT, but is beneficially exposed to 

 the winter iVosis. 



Your's, truly, C. R. C. 



THE TKA-TREE, 



From the iVIagazinc of Horticulture. 

 Whilst waitinix for the return of R'l. Guillemin, 

 whom the government [of France] has sent to Bra- 

 zil to procure seeils and |)lanfs of the tea-tree, we 

 have only to express our wishes for his suixess. 

 News was received in January from this gentle- 

 man. He states, that he observeii in the garden 

 at Rio Janeiro 12,000 |)lants in full bearing, and 

 he was on the point of setting out for the province 

 of St. Paul, where the number is still more consi- 

 derable. He mentions that it succeeds exceeding- 

 ly well in that country, and that half the tea con- 

 sumed there proceeds from Brazil itself. He paid 

 particular attention to the mode of preparing the 

 leaves, and can now prepare them himself. Every 

 thino" leads us t'"> sufipose that the exertions of this 

 srentleman will be crowned with success. 



ON THE CULTIVATION OF MIGNONETTE FOR 

 WINTER AND SPUING BLOOMING. 



From tlic Magazine of Horticulture. 

 Probably no plant is more universally esteemed, 

 and generally cultivated, than the mignonette. 

 With the French and English gardeners it has 

 been a favorite for a long time: in this country, 

 however, it has not, until within a few years, been 

 an object of common growth, nor is it at the pre- 

 sent period so well known as it should be, except 

 in the immediate vicinity of our large cities. 



