148 



^\)t Javmcv'e iUciiitl)li) lUsitor. 



all Ihe tree? of llie fielH sliiill rlnp llieir hands ;" 

 tliMt " iiisiead of" ihe thrnii s^liall c-oiiih (i|i ilie tir- 

 ticc, mill iiirileiid of tlif liiier (-liall I'oiiie ii|> (In- 

 lii\ illi-tiep ; iiliil it !-liiill lio to tlie l-mil lor ii 

 ii.iiMi', ai.rl tor all pveilaMin'! >ij.'ii llial mIhiII not 

 III' nit oH;" He, tlie Maker ami Prcsci ver ol'all, 

 lla^• .■.limm tliat liis «av.« aii<l liis llioii<;lils arc not 

 the «ays and the thoii'ihts ol' ua_\ ward, eniiiji 

 inaii. 



The earth ran never he worn out, or Iokc its 

 cMliai'ity for |irodu<"tion ; fiiralier man has nhnsefl 

 it liy extrarlhi;; all ilie lenile ((iialiiies lyiiij; near 

 its surface, as ue Fee in thonsands ol' acres of 

 sterile fields, .Nature, ohcdient lo that law ol 

 creation hIiicIi ie|daces ai'd equalizes every 

 tliinj;, irnnieiliately tsels at work to hriii;; the 

 f.'iiiiind hack lo ils oriviiial |iiisiiion. Wonderful 

 and past fiiidiii;.' out is sin; in all her works! 



Lefi to iheniselves, the ahaiiiloiicd fields, from 

 which the enlire siirfiice feriiliij has heen ex- 

 liaiisled liy successive cioiiiiiiifis iiiider the hand 

 of man, soon set ahoiit the re|iaralioii, which, in 

 Ihe course of tinges and seasons less than the 

 common ape of niau will hriuf; it hack. Nature 

 .soon snii'ilies the seeds fiir that kind of veL»eia- 

 hles and trees which will hesi flomi^h upon the 

 woru-oiit soil; and it i ivilizeil man orhiasi sli:ill 

 not iiiter|)ost.' lo crop off ihe pippin or the twi^f, 

 the roots of lliese creep down and sei k lor the 

 siirliice aliment necessary lo their file and i;rowlli. 

 'I'liesR lools perliirni the work of the chemist up- 

 on ihe rocks •■iiid pchhh s, all llii! mineral pani- 

 cles, necessary for the future tiniltiiliie^s of the 

 soil ahove. If the IVuiiful principle necessary fiir 

 the ve;.'etahli.' yiowtli rnosi naliiral to the prodnc- 

 tioii of that soil he all extr.'icled, deeper and <leep- 

 er down are the new roots taiiiiht hy nature lo 

 seek their f:rowtli, converliiifr a sniisoil, rich in 

 proiiuctinn, after it shall have iinderuone the due 

 pi-oct ss, into that potent a;.'eiicy w liich yives the 

 iietler action to the worn out vpf,'etHhle iiioidd 

 nhove. Yes, it is a main purpo.'-e, in the wonder- 

 ful waysol Providence, to convert the hushes 

 and trees, the thorns and liiiers, which so much 

 .•iiiuoy man — which on some tlirms weaiirii' uul, 

 are marked as the evidence of careless indo- 

 lence of their nw iiers — to hecunie the ai:eiits tiir 

 restoriiif.' to the prouiid that li-riilily which man 

 has attempted to }.'rasp tiom ii too soon. 



To reclaim and restore worn out lauds, it 

 should lie a main olijict of the farmer to take' 

 that course which will liest proiiioie llie chemi- 

 cal ai'ency of vef;etalion upon mineral snhslan- 

 ces of the soil. 'I'here is no part of the firoimd 

 hairen. The sand and coarse firivel, iudicatinj! 

 sterility, and avoided as poor laud h) the tiirmer, 

 are necessarily as much a part of the heller pro- 

 dlicim.' soil, as clay, or any oilier coiislilueiit ol 

 the .soil ; the silex, or sand, is known lo he Ihe 

 main aKeni in prodiiciinr all ve;;et.ihle crops. 

 'Ihe heller soil is saiil to he clear sand in at hast 

 seventy live of a himdred parts. All our land 

 wilhoul exception may he made prodnciive: the 

 poorest land may he made pi'oducii\e at tiir le.ss 

 expense snid lahor than is fitnerally supposed. 

 Willi human efi'orts rifiliily .-ippliill, Naiiiie her- 

 self perfiirms the greater part of the work. 



One mile out of Concoiil stieit, on the old 

 l.ondondcri-y lurnpike, i have frrowii a liehl ot 

 five acres of Indian corn, as •;ood as any field I 

 have examined ihi: present y.ir : ihe corn has 

 not yet all heen i.'alliereil ; Iml on ihis field (.f cx- 

 ei'llent Koimd <'oin, 1 ihink I will have very near 

 if not ipiile three hmiilixd shelled laishels. The 

 lot of ten acres came to my possession live years 

 iiyo. in exchaiiife for anoilier olilijiaiinn not i\orili 

 lo me oiu? hundred dollars : it was worn-out pine 

 plain, partly produeinc :i slinted iirowlh of sor- 

 rel, and partly covered with hard pine and white 

 hircli senilis, p'armers who helter underslood 

 their husiness than I claimed lo imdersland it, 

 told nie that an upper eil;;(? of this lot ;.'rowinf.' 

 while pines mi;;lii possilily raise somelhinj; onre 

 in a while when the didiiiilil was not sevi re ; liiil 

 that corn and ;;rass xyouhl never ;;row w here the 

 diiiiinnlive hard pines iniliivued a llowiny; coarse 

 sand helow, approacliiiif; to };ravel, throntih w Inch 

 nt once ihe Mrenj.'lh of every panicle of manure 

 leaeheil. (Jii the l()iir acres of sorrel, fiiowiii!.' 

 two previtHis crops of lye, I spread ten loails ol 

 niamne to ihe acre — plonjiliin;; iiliont tiinr iiiidi- 

 es ileeper llian it had heen hefore ploiifihed, dis- 

 refiaidii'}: the appearance upon the snilace of 

 till' ■.'iiivelly sand— harrowed the ground, and al- 

 terwardu spread upon the siirlitco lis near lis 



miplit he II peck of leai-lied ashes on every square 

 mil. 'tile )iriiniiil ^^»s a^ain hiinowed and com 

 l.lanlcd early in May whilem) mleividu land v\a.-- 

 vet iiiidi r v.aier Irom the spiiii;.' tVi-.^hel : on ihe 

 iiih da J ol June, lliiee >eais a^o, Ihis coin,ahea- 

 ih fii lor Ihe first hoein;;, was cut down cniiiel_\ 

 hy l^o^t even with tlii^ ground— ^olne of it frozen 

 so deep as never ai;ain to appear. 'I'o };el some- 

 ihiii;: tioin the f.'iiiuiid alter this, wu set ahooi 

 plaiiiiii}' white heans, one hill in the inlermedi- 

 aie space one vv ay heiween every other hill ol 

 corn. The l.irj;er ponioii ol the corn soon 

 -prouted anew — llie heans came npaiid f;rew too. 

 At the close of the Mar, there v\as a flood crop 

 of heans, and the corn was liper and lielier and 

 more in quantity than the crop that year upon 

 my lie.-t manured and hesi prepared iniervale. 

 The same slimmer v.e clcaicil otl the pine and 

 hircli senilis lioni the remaining' six tides, hniiii 

 off all not lai';;e enoii<;li to he cariiid away in 

 wood, anil with a lar^ie team of fi\e yokes ol ox- 

 en and one ol !iads;ei's ^real ploughs, w iih sharp- 

 ened conlier ami share, I'lit ihmn^li all small 

 roots and other ohstacles down lulh lo the depth 

 of twelve inches, turnilif! up a lliriow ei;jh- 

 teen inci.eci widi , and showinj.' ilie (;ravel-leeili 

 of the sand, the supposed dreaded nnih-r-la\ 

 lhroui:li which luckless ex|)ciiiiieiJlers have lost 

 so much money in the liest of niaiinie leached. 

 Wilhoul olher preparalion than llie harrow, rye 

 was sown early tii Septemher upon the newly 

 cleared land. Spring rye the next season was 

 sown on the oilier four iii-res where the corn 

 f;rew the previous year. A very heavy crop ol 

 rye was raised — at least twenty hiishi Is lo the 

 acre on the new uroiiiid ; hirjie eiion^li for an 

 equal crop ^revv the spiiii};r)e; hut early rust 

 made the last crop less fiy one half I'lie ashed 

 old part was left to fjrow ji crop of clover — llie 

 new part was sown with rye a second time. — 

 J5olli crops were seriously .-itTi cted hy the severe 

 droiifiht ill the early part of IS-J.")— the rye was 

 ahoui ten hnshels, llie clover less than one ton lo 

 Ihe acre. Had nut sickness linsiraO'd m\ desiiiu 

 of sowiiif: five hundred pounds ol plasler on the 

 ten acres in Ihe nioiiih of June — a mineral nia- 

 iinre on this land preservin;; the humidity Irom 

 the dew, alone sntileienl lo proieci li:;hl land a full 

 foiiniiihi in any dry season — 1 do imi douhl thai 

 the •rrow ill of the i j e and straw and clover would 

 have heen doiihled. To me this was parlialls 

 proved hy the priiduclion of eiyht tons of (dover 

 iiay on the four acres ihis season, w iili no manniv 

 .savinf; a lif;lit rpi inklin;.' of plaster in Jhiie since 

 Ihe iiiaiiuriii'; lime _\ears heliire, cd' ten loads 

 slahle mannre to the acre plonj;!.' d under, ai d 

 ihe peck it leaid.ed ashes to llie loil iipoii llie si.r- 

 face. The new ;;ninnd was plou;:lii d laie in the hill 

 last year wilh lifihl ploiiiihs and lij;lil teams iiili- 

 iiini; even deeper than the fust phiiij.liiiii; — liiiii- 

 iiii: up a new la} er upon the sui lace ot' the leaidi- 

 in;; sand ami ;;ravil, ciiinii;li lo scale away all 

 such as have never vcuiurcd to strike more iliaii 

 SIX inches helinv the sin fai'< in woin out laiiil." 

 lliat lia\e firow n soinelhii'ij tor a hnndred yeais, 

 lier-aiise they luive heen kt'pt lor all llie heuelii... 

 of the hasty nciion of manure carelidly laid ai 

 the mills of the seed so near ihe lop of the 

 f;rouiid that llie vi.;;ilnhle mould niitlil Imld on 

 lo it as a retainer! Noiliiiiu liiiiher v\as iltiiie lo 

 ihe lot iiiilil aliout the SOlli <il May, of the pres- 

 ent jear: we had spent the exerlions of diir 

 teams in preparing' and plaiiiinL' nine acres pota- 

 toes ill Ihe intervale, upon vhiili we had carted 

 ahnnt iwo hnnihcd loads of compost, made ol 

 weak straw manure tiom the cow -yard with inoch 

 the larger portion lilack muck ilileriiiini.lcd wilh 

 a dozen cask.s-of lime slacked upon the hivers ol 

 muck;' and lop of all in the wiuier, such of llie 

 lemnaiil ashes, lime and salt from the ruins ol 

 (Jihiiore & Clapp's store, as the honest Irishmen 

 ill my einploj on-Ill could hey: llie pinileye ol 

 hiniiii' at eifjlit cents the hnslnd, diiiiiiy my ah- 

 seiice last vviiili r. As soon as they were seen 

 taU'mp it iivvay, others siepped ill at once, and one 

 man who has reclaimed many acres ol w<irn out 

 hiiid ill my nei;;hliorliood harpaiiied for and took 

 all that remained. Tl is composl heap, ill aid 

 of the sidisoil ploiiiihin^' of llie hist liill ai 

 early plantiiif;-, has produced me lull eleven liiiii- 

 dred hnshels of the liest potatoes I have ever \ei 

 seen raised upon ihe C'olicoril iiilervale, ol which 

 ill llie lirsl week's di;i}.'inf; we scut ahont li»< 

 hnndied hnshels to Ihisloii. 



Aboiii the ^(Jlli of May wu hegaii llie prepara- 



ration of corn land. It was away from our ina- 

 niiie yard lieurly a mile and a halt, and we had 

 no lime lelt to call much of that to Ihe spot. — 

 ."Seveuieen coidi- ol leaume Irom ihe slahle lav 

 ii| (111 the ^roniid, which cosi lis in the pnicliase, 

 lilly one dollars: this would make Us only ahont 

 I i^lit comn.oii can hud) loads lo Ihe acre. It 

 was not eiioii;:li as the only appllcTTion to poor, 

 leaehy, wurn-oiit pine plain land. We did our 

 hesi every time the team went down Iw addiiif; a 

 carl-load of loiMinre tiom the yard l;.ken lioin the 

 pile undercover ih.it had heen throw n out ol the 

 cow slahle, ami took heside.- the {iionnd purchas- 

 ed (d' ci tenant iipoii our own premises where he 

 had kept hoys, iiicreusi d hy ihe vvicifs and Miaw 

 he had ted to tin m. Some di 7.i n loads ul lhi.s 

 cow and hoy m.'inure were aililed lo Ihe slahlu, 

 mannre Irom the l'la>nix: toLeiher it was a 

 small amoniil lo he spiead over and nioi.yhi d in- 

 to so larye ii piece ol land. Seeiny in Ihe pajeis 

 a favorahle result in Gorham, Maine, lasl year 

 rmiii ihe application ol ahoiii a lalile spooiilid of 

 the Ichalioe i>r Atiicaii Gnano lo each hill. ] lie- 

 ihooyhi m\ self of sending l" D<»ioii, and at once 

 ordeieil hy the railroad ihrei hairelsof Guano. 

 ]l came lo me — imi tl e h hahoe, hill it e I'ernvi- 

 aii Guano, and wilh it a printed pamphlet disser- 

 lalion l< lliny how caiitull\ it must lie ii.>< d — 

 mixed wilh oilier malerials, tiiriied into liipiid — 

 liahlc all lo tiy of}' in the air if exposed upon llie 

 siiiliiee — liahle to kill the seed or ihe louis of 

 veyeialion if hronyht into conlaci wilh eiilier. — 

 Too nnxvell at llie lime to yo iiilo the field or 

 even lo read llie hook, ihe ii isc liiel was dune he- 

 fiire 1 had discoveied llie neci s.-iiy ol ils more 

 caielid Use and iipplicaiion. lii Iwo winit\ daV9 

 all hands were employed in maikiuy ihe ::i'oniiil, 

 laviiiu out and covi liii" the yiiaiio, and dropping; 

 and I'overiny ihe com. The liish do evei_\iliiii;r 

 well when lln-y once have learned how lo do il — 

 e\'eiN lliini; is poorly douf nniil iliey li.-i\e heen 

 inslmctid. (yoininy lo this couiiii \, tlle^ know 

 inucli more ahont llie ii>e ot' the ^pade .'iiid .-ho- 

 vel, and llie reapeiV sickle, ilian the_\ do ot t'-e 

 hoe, ihe rake, Ihe srvihi' and ihe cradle. My 

 jIKUMi Irislimeii drojipi d out llie yiiaiio, I'oveieil 

 it, and Ihe \oimy ones, mi le and female, follow- 

 ed rapidly wiili ihe corn. Ii was not so carelid- 

 ly droppiil as miyhl he, nor so well as 1 dropped 

 corn when a chihl, heiuy laiiyhi lo lay it in ihe 

 shape of' a larye H wilh the liiili kernel of every 

 hill iliiiiiii'r the middle. One of ilie men came 

 home wilh the declaraiion thai he did nol helieve 

 ihe lolteii mailers lakeii from llie h ellr-liiinse.s 

 al Bosioii and New York woidil do a mickle 

 Lioai yood lo Ihe lai d. lor il schioi li worse llian 

 ihunder — it had seenit il lii> cloihes sO miicli 

 ihal he ilid nol lliink it dale to wear lliem home 



10 his wile and clidder.s. The iicmriil senfnnent 

 ot all llie planters relorniiiy Irom the field was 

 Ihal the Gnano would do harm iilid no yood. — 

 Gelliny rid ot il somi as possihie. ttie iliree liar- 

 lels w llli thein did not hold oiil to yo over ihe 

 w hole yroiind ; al d suh-iipirinU lo hoeing the 

 corn alii rwaiils, lliirly or loiiv hnshels of stron;f 

 iinleachid ashes wi le applied in ihe rows where 

 ihe yiialio hi.d tailed lo he laid. 



The corn eaiin up ipm k, ai d soon was ilis- 

 coveied Ihe liilleiiine in the m o kinds of (iiii- 

 iinics iisi d. Till' slalih' manure taken opoii ihu 

 yroiind in winnr.icd n mpeied In Ihe frost ai 

 once llirew il.-ell ililo itie risini; enrn : w here ihu 

 cow and swine ii>iiniire luiil, soon ihe com hlaihs 

 heyiin lo yrow more aid more \ellow and inoie 

 dimiiiiiliV4t ill cmiliasl with ihe nlhir. 'Ihe jail- 

 alio, sure enollyh, had killed e\i l\ kel liel ot seed 



11 had diicclly loiicln d : man\ cniiri hills in the 

 tielil had met this tale. I lii'yan lo i iiterlain ap- 

 prehensions Ihal i shoold yei ilie laiiyli iipnii me 

 lor throwiny awa) twenty dollars in piiH liasin}» 

 ynaiio: the dliiiioiitive vellow corn I teaied was 

 ihe 1 fi'ecl of ils power iipnli ihe roots, and ihat 

 us I ffeels would soon appear upon the more 

 fionrishiuy as upon the sniidl yellow coin. The 

 shrewd iMiiknieii, enemies lo jiuaiio in ils ear- 

 ly introdiiclion, did not scent out nil my appre- 

 hension- ; yet oiii! of ihem insisted thai ihe corn 

 tvlii'ie he did not put llie yuaiioluot to meniioli 

 Ihe aslie> put there altervvards) looked (piiie as 

 well al the lime of the second and lasl hoeing as 

 the col II where ihe yiiaiio was laid. 



It i-cemed lo me inexplicahle hew a mati-iial 

 of so liiuili slreiiylli as lo kill seed where it 

 Ininhed should have so liiile I tli el oil ihe lirst 

 growth of the corn as to leave it in t^oiiio places 



