562 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



{[No. 9 



Up to ilie mark to whicli the lands are capa- 

 ble of being enriched by vegetable n)anures aloiiCj 

 (and of ihi^ fixing which limit 1 have i'ully treat- 

 ed elsewhere,) there c;in he no means oi' manuring 

 poor lands so cheap as ihe non-grazing plan ; nor 

 can any he so generally eliective and beneficial 

 over a great extent of a previously impoverished 

 country. But besides the limitation im[)osed, by 

 the nature of" the soil, to continued improvement 

 by these means alone, (and l)y any putrescent 

 manures alone,) there are great inconveniences 

 attending the ''inclosing system," and which I 

 can well apj)reci;ite, having pursued that system 

 since 1814; rigorously lor the first twelve years, and 

 partially allerwards. 



The discussion of" the comparative enriching va- 

 lues of" vegetables when turned in green, or ma- 

 tured and dry, we pass by for the present, 'i'he 

 nutritive value of the growth when dry, whether 

 greater or less, would be satisfactory; and the 

 plan of ploughing in during winter, iiisiead of in 

 summer or early autumn, when to prepare lor corn, 

 or any other spring crop, is further recommended 

 by several considerations of economy and fitness. 

 But the great objection to that plan, is, that the 

 seeds of all weeds are matured, and planted when 

 ploughed in; that shrubs and bushes are encour- 

 aged to grow by protection from cattle, and in- 

 creased ten-fold in number and size by the long 

 rest of two and a half years; and that the growth 

 and long undisturbed stale of the vegetable cover 

 seems to nourish, breed, and protect insects and 

 other vermin, vvhich prey upon the pviun crops 

 when the land comes under tillage. And even il' 

 clover can be maile in some measure to lal<e the 

 place of, and to exclude, natural weeds, the evil of 

 noxious weeds is but partially diminishe(i,aiul that 

 of insecis probably much increased. And the long- 

 er the system is continued, and the more the land 

 is thereby filled with vegetable matter, and en- 

 riched, the greater do the evils mentioned become; 

 and the more do they increase ilie farmers' labors 

 and risks, and Irequenlly cause losses of product 

 ecjual to all the gain from the new lerlilily pro- 

 duced. In every round of the rotation, it is found 

 that the field thus improved is more foul with iis 

 growth, and more troublesome to prepare for cul- 

 tivation; and that the grain crops are more infest- 

 ed by the weeds of which all the' seeds have been 

 so long continually protected and annually sown; 

 and the cultivated crops, in every singe, from de- 

 positing their seeds to gathering the product, are 

 the more and more preyed upon by ihe myriads 

 of insecis of various kinds thus nourished and 

 sheltered. Every follower of this rule has found 

 great and still growing disadvantages of these 

 kinds; and the most succcsslul "inclosing" im- 

 prover can scarcely tail to have Ibul fields, foul pro- 

 ducts, and his labors increased, and his increase of 

 product of"ten diminished, by hosts of vegetable and 

 animal plagues. Onder such circumstmces, neat 

 management and perfect operations are impossible; 

 and the cultivator will necessarily be a slovenly 

 farmer, even if he bean improver of his land, and 

 of his income. 



When a soil was naturally well constituted, or 

 has been made so by calcareous manures, so as to 

 produce goodclover,then iheabove-mcntioned evils 

 of the system might be mitigated in one or more 

 ways. If the clover should be cleanly mowed, for 

 greeti-food, or early for hay, then the cheat, spelt, 



cockle, and numerons oihei annual weeds, would 

 be cut of! before their forming seeds, and their re- 

 produciion be in some measure checked. And if 

 then [)ioughed in for wheat, in Augusi or Septem- 

 (a departure however l"rom Taylor's system,) more 

 weeds might be destroyed, and the food and win- 

 ter protection of cut-worms and other insects ta- 

 ken awa}', and their depredalioi.s on the next crop 

 thereby prevented, or restrained. But these devia- 

 tions hum Taylor's rotation, even if af'i)roved and 

 desired, could be availed of but in small measure, 

 compared to the extent ol" all the arable laml. 



The excess ol the advantage over the disadvan- 

 tages of Taylor's ••inclosing system" is greater in 

 proijorlion to tiie poverty of the land, and the 

 scantiness of its vegetable cover; and the disadvan- 

 tages increase, and preponderate, in proportion to 

 the subsequeni increase of fertility. I therefore 

 not only advocate its adoption, but its being strict- 

 ly maintained, on all poor and greatly exhausted 

 lands; bnl would as much recommend its being 

 substituted by other niodes ol'manuiing, and other 

 treatment, when the land is already, or after being 

 made, moderately rich. The great reconmiendatiuri 

 of manuring by ''iuclosinji" on poor lauds, is the 

 cheajness of the mode of improvement, wliicli 

 there truly costs nothing to ai'[)ly, and avail of ful- 

 ly. But on rich land, the loss oi" the value of the 

 grass would be important, and the nourishing of 

 rut)bi.-h vegetable growth, and noxious vermin, 

 u'ould more than counterbalance tlie increase of 

 iertilit\\ 



The evils of" this system, as well as its benefits, 

 I know by long experience. But of the substi- 

 tutes which will be treated of in the following re- 

 marks, I have no practical experience, know of 

 not one accurate experiment, and have only rea- 

 son, and theoretical views, from which to receive 

 impressions. 



The main object of leaving vegetables to grow 

 and llien to decay on, or to be ploughed into the 

 land, is to manure and fertilize. But this should 

 not be all the object. A secondary, and yet very 

 important one should be, to prepare the land the 

 better lor subsequent tillage, tmd also to prevent 

 or destroy the grou'th of noxious plants and ani- 

 mals. Every particular kind of vegetable serves 

 as food to nourish, and to encourage the increase 

 of some particular kinds of insects; and the longer 

 the growth remains undisturbed, the more the 

 feeding insects are increased. Let their supply be 

 totally cut off, when needed Ibr food, by being 

 ploughed under and killed, and the worms and 

 wingless insects which were there i'td, even though 

 they be in countless myriads, must perish, and 

 themselves help to manure the ground, instead of 

 being kept to devour its fixture fruits. To efltict 

 any such olject, the ploughing in of the cover 

 must be in warm weather, and not when cold has 

 rendered insect life dormant. 



If the vegetable cover be jiloughed in so late, or 

 so imperlecil}', as not to destroy depredating in- 

 sects, because of" their not then requiring food, or 

 because the food is not enough destroyed, then 

 their numbers are not materially diminished, nor 

 their future depredations checked. And further, 

 if the next planted crop be suitable fijr their Ibod, 

 as that which first nourished them, then the suc- 

 ceeding crop, in its young and tender state, can 

 scarcely fail to receive great injury. This is stri- 

 kingly exemplified in the damages sustained by 



