®I)C Jiinncv's iil0ittl)l|i lH5itor. 



125 



inontly succcssfnl. Tlicy do not fail, however, 

 to make a jmlicioiis use d'hlirnt lioiies, well pul- 

 verized, gjp.suni, liiiic, wood-aslics and coninion 

 salt, as well us slalde nianiiie. Three successive 

 crops of peas (a Scotch variety) were brought to 

 maturity in this county last season, all from tin; 

 seed ti^^t sown. Oin- corn sown in drills tor 

 lecdini', like liay in winter, will yield from li to '.) 

 tons ot j,'ood dry forage ycv acre. IJoauf!, which 

 are a good article to export, are planted hy tna- 

 chines and cultivated hy horse-power. Om- hest 

 dairies inaUc (>80 Ih.s. of cheese per cow a year. 

 The export of large ipiantities of cheese, how- 

 ever, draws largely on the phosphates in the soil. 



Land can easily ho ciulched hy swine and 

 sheep, (tf course, their manure, when kept in 

 pens or yards, should be husbanded with great 

 care. It requires considerable skill to inamifac- 

 ture compost, and prepare the raw niali>rial of 

 one's crop so that the growing plants will hnd at 

 their roots just what they need, without an ex- 

 cess of any clement to be dissolved, and he trans- 

 ported just so (iir as the water runs previous to 

 its evaporation. In making compost lor any par- 

 ticular crop, study first the quantity of each ele- 

 ment in the plants consujned by your domestic 

 animals, for such will bo the ingredient.^ in their 

 solid and liquid excretions. That largo portion 

 of their food which escapes in respiration and 

 through the pores of the skin, the atmnspherc, 

 rains and <levvs will bring back to your growing 

 crops, without any labor on yom- part. Jiiit so 

 much ujatler as escapes by the bowels and kid- 

 neys demainls the most carefid hiisbandy, and 

 the most skilful aiul timely applicatimi to the 

 soil. We think it safe to assume tii.vt there is a 

 deticiency of lime, sulphur, pliDsphorus, potash 

 or soda in all soils that yield hut indifterenl crops. 

 These minerals are tlu^ staples of our compost — 

 stable niaiiure and decaying plants, the trim- 

 mings of the vegetable repast. Hy mixing five 

 bushels of conmion salt with ten of lime in n 

 like amount of muck or mould, an important 

 double decompo;ition takes place in the coinse 

 of a few weeks, hy which the agriculturist has 

 the carbonate of soda am! a soluble salt of lime, 

 called the chloride of calcium. The carliouate 

 of sod') [lossescs great value, IVom the circum- 

 stance that, like potash, it will render silica (Hint 

 sand) soluble, so that it can enter the roots of 

 corn and other crops. To dissolve sand and 

 make it serve tis nutiitious food to plants is a 

 point in practical agriculture of consideralilc 

 moment. The only soluMe silicates are formed 

 by the union of silicic acid (sand), with the ex- 

 tremely sohd)le alkalies, potash aiid soda. Thc.-e 

 minerals, as well as the alkaline earths — liine 

 and fiiagnesia — perform, in the croimmy of na- 

 ture, many imporlaiit chemical services in addi- 

 tion to their value as constituent and indispensa- 

 ble ingred'iMits in the organization of carbon, ni- 

 liogcn ami the elements of water, into the steins, 

 leaves and seeds of culiivnterl plants. How to 

 promote the orijanization of starch, woody fibre, 

 oil, sugar, gluten, Icginnin, .Tnd other vegetable 

 products of great value, will tbrm the subjeci of 

 otiier articles in the future nuiidiers of the 

 SocTHi'.RN Cultivator. It is hoped that the 

 above will fiirnisli a few useful hints lo practical 

 men, although our remarks seem to lack point, 

 because we have not seen either the land or its 

 growing fruits at the rioiith. L. 



Rochester, yV. K, July, 1847. 



Meeting of the N. Y. Farmer's Club. 



HO.V. DIXO.N II. LEWIS ON THE AGRICIJLTURE OF 

 THE SOUTH. 



A regular meeting of the Club was held oii 

 Tuesday — Chairman, Col. Clark, and the attend- 

 ance of members fair, including Hon. Dixon II. 

 Lewis, Alexander Vatteniare, Esq., and nthi'rs. 

 f;. Hon. Dixon H. Lewis was called upon for some 

 observations on Southern Afrricniture. In answer- 

 ing the call, the honorable gentleman remarked 

 that he had [ilanted corn for twenty years, his 

 crop averaging fifty lo seventy bushels per acre — 

 though of late years it has been from thirty to 

 forty-live — the reduction occurring, as he thought, 

 in consequence of his overseer permitting shal- 

 low ploughing, rumiiug over the ground to the 

 deptii of not more than five inches, hy which the 

 land soon l)ecame, in a measure, exhausted. To 

 remedy this, Mr. L. sent on to N. York for Prou- 

 ty's ploughs, which, when put into operation on 



his plantation, he stated, were 'driven into the 



ground with the full strength of three horses, 

 siidiing th(^ instrmnciit from nine to twelve and 

 sixteen inches in the; earth, so that the sidisoil 

 was cut up — im important point ; and in estimat- 

 ing the propoition of subsoil cut l)y these ploughs 

 on his land, .Mr. L. mentioned that twelve inches 

 ploughed depth would generally admit of Sfl'fU 

 inches oj'frc.sh soil being cut efleclually. His plant- 

 ation consists of cane-land — black limestone — 

 but the best soil he ever had was that thrown out 

 from ditches. 



In recurring, by request, to the question of 

 filougliiiiif, i\lr. Lewis said that by a long course 

 of cultivation land becomes exhausted, and that, 

 therclbre, deep ploughing is re(|uisite to bring up 

 the subsoil in order to aftord to the growinti plants 

 the greatest po.ssible amount of nutriment — Corn 

 is much cultivated, and with so great fiicilily that, 

 it rarely brings more than 50 cents per bushel — 

 generaily about 25 or 30; he would be very well 

 content to raise nothing but corn at the medium 

 price of 40 cents a bushel in crib, with a good 

 market. 



Cotton, Mr. L. did not consider so profitable a 

 culture as corn, unless the Ibrmer couunanded a 

 unitbrm /ii"g-/i prire. The seed of cotton weighs 

 rather more than tliree-fourlhs of the plant, and eve- 

 ly 1200 lbs. gives 3(J0 of the picke<l cotton.— 

 Plovghinc; aflucts cotton in so much as this — that 

 if drains the land, makes it warmer, and throws 

 it into a good condition for the spring. He did 

 not believe that soft land would do at all for cot- 

 ton— the tap-root "of the plant running a grc;it 

 way into the ground [he lunl himself traced it 

 two (i'et,aud had been informed of greater depths] 

 it requires and makes an eflbrt to find a tet;acious 

 soil, (as clay.) to hold firmly— and if not succeed- 

 ing, it rots (ill": therefore, he sets down very rich 

 land as badj'or cotton. 



In regard to the manuring of lands, Mr. L. had, 

 he remarked, in a great measme adopted the the- 

 ory of Pc:tzlioldt, "ivhose "Lectures" he had read 

 with great salisfacliiui. Peizlioldt holds that cer- 

 tain insolu'ilc salts are held by some plants ami 

 substances, which go tov»-ard the proiluclinu of 

 those plants, ami that those excelling in quality 

 or (pianlily also excel in the salts. Jlr. L. believ- 

 ed, also, that by means of a machine, the shell 

 can be separated from the pulp of tlie cotton- 

 seed, and that from the latter a good vegetable 

 oil can he obtained with little trouble and of great 

 nscfniiiess — hut then he wanted to be assured 

 belnre he made the expciiment, that he would 

 iu>t thus be lobbing the soil of what it needed. 

 Hence the necessity of an analysis not only of the 

 stalk, but of the ho"ll, fibre and seed ofilic cotton 

 pl.-mt — an analysis which shall bring out such re- 

 sults as shall lessiui the cost of mamnes, by less- 

 ening the liidk ol' the material required for the 

 production of the phuit. PctzhoUU holds thai 

 the bulk of any article usrd as a fertilizer does 

 no/ contain the principle of ihe growth of the 

 plant ; and ih.it the process of inciuer.atiou is the 

 very best mode in which to get at the "sum and 

 substance" of the matter. 



Suhsequeutly, ihc Club agreed on ordering a 

 complete an.-dvsis, by the best chemists, of the 

 cotton plant, in accordance with the suggestion 

 —if j\lr. Lewis would do them the favor to send 

 fioui his plantation a perfect specimen, including 

 stalk', fibre, boll and seed. For this purpose Mr. 

 L. signified his cheerful readiness to cmnply with 

 the request- and there will be attained, some 

 time, a Ihorongh knowledge of this plant so truly 

 useful and almost indispensable— and the plant- 

 ers of the South can ascertain, to a certainty, 

 whether or not it can be applied to a still greater 

 number of purposes— and whether the extraction 

 of an oil from it will be beneficial or prejudicial 

 to the interests of the cidiivator. Let us have a 

 speedy and thorough analysis and repoi t. 



make upon his fruit trees or any other operation 

 of farming. 



Ity theorizing we might readily, and perhaps 

 reasonably suppose that pruning fruit trees, 

 when the sap isiiscending rapidly to the branch- 

 es anil limbs of the trees, would be attended 

 with iujinions if not fatal consequences lo the 

 tree, IVoui the discharge of the sap from the 

 slump of the amputated limb. From such con- 

 siderations some late wiiters have recommended 

 Ihe delay of pruning trees unlil the descent of 

 the sap is accomplished, lest they bleed to their 

 injury, ami the stunq* in couseipience turns 

 black and bccomcis gangrenous. 1 have been 

 somewhat impressed with such notions inyselti 

 but experi("nce has taught me not to confide in 

 theories and vain imaginations. — Since the first 

 of May, the present yeiu-, we have had buudreds 

 if not thousnnils of limbs cut from apple and 

 pear trees, and I have exanfmed the slumps 

 from day to <lay, and have not discovered the 

 least discharge <if s.ap from the amputated 

 stunipi;, imaginable, .-mil well satisfied that the 

 operation may he perl()rmed when the sap is as- 

 cending, with impunity, and have no doidjt but 

 trees may be primed at other seasons of the year 

 with success, especially in the Fall, as my own 

 experience will testify. 



Silas Brown. 

 mimingion, July 24, 1847. 



American Battles. — The following are the 

 coinparalivo losses of the battles of the revolu- 

 tion, arranged according to priority : — .Y. 1". Cou- 

 rier. 



Br. loss. Am. los.". 

 Lexington, April 19, 1775, 273 84 



Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775, 1054 453 

 Flalhush, August 1-2, 177(3, 400 200 



White Plains; August 2(1, 1770, 400 400 

 Trenton, December 25, 177G, 1000 9 



Princeuju, Jamiary 5, 1777, 400 100 



Hubhardslown, August 7, 1777, 180 800 

 Bennin-jton, August ]G, 1777, 800 100 

 Brandv'wine, Sept II, 1777, 500 1200 



Stillwater, Sepi 17, 1777, COO 350 



Germautown, October 4, 1777, GOO 1200 

 Saratoga, October 17, 1777, 57.52 stir. 

 Red Hook, October 2.', 1777, .500 32 



Monmouth, June 25, 1778, 400 130 



Rhode Island, Au-ust 27, 1778, 2G0 211 

 Briar Creek, March 30, 1779, 13 400 



Stony Point, July 1,5, 1779, 600 100 



Camden, Aui;ust IG, 1780, 375 GIO 



King'sMouiitaiu, Oct 1,1780, 950 %" 



Cowpens, January 17,1781, 800 72 



Guilford C. H.. March i.5, 1781, .532 400 

 Hobkirk's Hill, April '.J5, 1781, 400 400 

 Kiilaw Springs, Sept. 1781, 1000 550 

 Yorktown, Oct. 19, 1781, 7072 sur. 



Tolal, 



24,853 9,C97 



From the Bcslon Cultivator. 

 Pruiiinar Trees. 

 Messrs. Eoitors, — The best time for pruning 

 fruit trees has been a subject of discn.=sions 

 among orchardists, time out of mind. It is a 

 pretty certain iudieaiiou where there is siiidi di- 

 versity of opinion upon s\ subject, and where all 

 are not confident of being right, that all uia^ be 

 partially riuhl. Exjierience and carclul ohscr- 

 vatinn produce the liest evidence in lavor of the 

 value of any e\[ierinient which the (inuier can 



Preserving Cabbages. — There a several good 

 ways of keeping cabbages during winter hy bu- 

 rying ihem out of doors. The difficulty is, it is 

 hard to get at them dm ing winter, without dam- 

 age to those left. The following plan ap[>ears 

 to avoid this ditficnlty : (^iit the head from the 

 stump, and pack elo.-ely in a cask, taking care to 

 fill up all the vacancies with chaff or bran, nnd 

 keep in a dry cellar. 



Ml II 



Durability oe Man.vue. — A writer in ihe 

 Farmer anti Mechanic states, that he lias no'iced 

 the bottoms of co;d-pils, between G5 and 70 years 

 after the burning, so fertile ihut ihey iuvai iahly 

 bore heavy crops of grass and grain. This ma- 

 nure, it is known, consisis of burnt earth, ashes, 

 charcoal, &c. Common barn inanure becomes 

 nearly or wholly exhausted in a coinparalively 

 short period. 



A GOOD Idea. — The editor of the Massachn- 

 sells I'loughnian proposes that instead of so 

 much useless and wearisome talking about agri- 

 cultural colleges, that those men who have the 

 means, and who feel sulUi iently benevolenl, 

 shall "shell out" for the |iurpose of sending 

 good agricultural papers lo those who are too 

 "poor to take them. He thinks a newspaper as 

 good as a school, and that many agricultural pa- 

 pers which now have hard work lo make the 

 ends of the year meet, would be helped on 

 amazingly. \Ve second the niotign. 



