188 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



[No. 3. 



or the clover that is sown on them, are suffered 

 to grow and decay without being fed off'. But I 

 believe none but our most fertile lands can be im- 

 proved,. or even kept in heart, by this course of 

 husbandry, and that the less productive lands can 

 only be improved under such management by ma- 

 nuring: and how is manure to be obtained with- 

 out stocks of cattle? It may be urged that straw, 

 corn-stalks, leaves, &c. will furnish as large a sup- 

 ply of manure, if spread on the ground, without 

 having been used as litter or food for cattle. This 

 is contrary to general opinion in England, and the 

 other well cultivated countries in Europe; and I 

 think it will be admitted, that vegetable substances 

 are more speedily brought into a fit condition for 

 manures, by being trampled and led on by cattle, 

 than if left to natural decay. It seems equally 

 clear, that animal manures are much stronger than 

 vegetable. Inclining as I do to these opinions, I 

 am disposed to think, that in avoiding, as far as is 

 practicable, the pasturage of cattle on arable lands 

 that are under cultivation, during the short periods 

 that they are at rest, it would be a good practice 

 to lay off' a part of the cleared land of a planta- 

 tion lor a standing pasture, selecting generally that 

 portion that is least suited for grain crops, and to 

 keep on it as large a stock of cattle as it will main- 

 tain during the season of pasturage, and as can be 

 provided with forage from the plantation for the 

 rest of the year. It is hardly necessary to add, 

 that while the horses and mules are well littered, 

 and well fed in stables, the cattle ought to be treat- 

 ed in the same way, in well sheltered pens, either 

 permanent or moveable, as is thought most con- 

 venient, but so situated that the liquid manure can- 

 not run off' and be lost. 



With regard to the proportion of a plantation 

 to be laid oil' for a standing pasture, each case 

 must depend on its own circumstances ; but I 

 would not venture to recommend as a general 

 practice, any great or sudden change, that would 

 very much reduce the annual vendible products of 

 the plantation. Though the ultimate object of 

 agriculture, like all other pursuits of industry, is 

 profit, which comprehends the improvement, and 

 of course the increase in value of our land, most 

 of us rely on the annual products for our support. 



If this were written for publication, and should 

 be inserted in your Register, I have little doubt 

 that I should subject myself to the imputation of 

 preaching heretical doctrines, in recommending 

 an increased stock of cattle, and the high and 

 most respectable authority of Col. Taylor would 

 be quoted against me. Perhaps in defending my- 

 self, I might rely on the ancient adage " Amicus 

 Plato, 4' c -j" but I think there would be no occasion 

 for it. In the main, I agree with him, that arable 

 land, when at rest in the course of crops, should 

 not be pastured closely, if at all, and only recom- 

 mend, under circumstances, such a stock of cattle 

 to be kept in standing pasture, as will be nearly, 

 or quite sufficient to consume the herbage of the 

 plantation, and improve the quality, as well as in- 

 crease the quantity of manure. 



In the application of manures, I think some of 

 our good farmers, in other respects, have much to 

 learn. I have seen the bulk of the manure, on 

 well cultivated plantations, applied liberally 1o 

 galls, to remove an "eyesore," and to the thinnest 

 soil of a field, to bring it on an equality with the 



more fertile part; though that too wanted manure 

 to raise it to the proper standard of fertility. 



It is a very general opinion, in which I heartily 

 concur, that wheat husbandry cannot be conducted 

 to advantage, unless clover is grown as a prepa- 

 ration for wheat, and a heavy crop of wheat can 

 hardly be expected; except on rich land, unless it 

 is preceded by a good crop of clover. But a small 

 proportion of our land is strong enough to bring 

 good crops of clover without the aid of manure, 

 and I think it would be much better management, 

 when there is not manure enough for a whole field 

 to be seeded with wheat followed by clover, to 

 apply it in sufficient quantities to a part of the 

 field, and that not the worst, than to give a very 

 light dressing to the whole, field, which would only 

 give a light scattering crop of clover. In the for- 

 mer case, a part of the land is at once brought to 

 the proper point of fertility, and the residue in its 

 turn may be treated in the same way. Whether 

 the bulk of the manure should be applied to the 

 corn crop preceding wheat, spread before the 

 wheat furrow, or applied as a top dressing to the 

 wheat, the manure will produce its effect in either 

 way; but from what I have seen and heard, I am 

 satisfied that a top dressing, at or after the time of 

 sowing wheat, will insure a good crop of clover 

 on lands that otherwise would not bring enough to 

 deserve the name ot a crop. 



In different accounts that I have seen of Scotch 

 husbandry, it is stated that the arable lands in that 

 country having been generally much exhausted, 

 a system of husbandry called, I think, the "in and 

 out-field," was introduced. The in-field lots next 

 the farm buildings, were heavily manured, and 

 thrown into a separate rotation of crops. The 

 out-field lands were occasionally cultivated for 

 such crops as they could get with little or no ma- 

 nure. By degrees, with the aid of heavy crops 

 of clover and increased quantities of manure, the 

 farmers were enabled to extend their in-field lands, 

 and now a great part of the arable lands in the 

 low lands of Scotland are cultivated on the in-field 

 system. A practice like this, I am told, has been 

 followed in some parts of the northern states, and 

 with like success. I understand too, that some of 

 our most successful tobacco planters have laid off 

 lots which they cultivate in a rotation of clover, 

 wheat and tobacco, to great advantage. 



I observe that for some time past, a controversy 

 has been going on in your Register, with regard 

 to the proper rotation of crops. This is one of 

 those subjects on which "much may be said on 

 both sides," and very judicious observations have 

 been made by the advocates of opposite opinions. 

 It must be admitted, that this is a subject of im- 

 portance to our husbandry, but whether the three, 

 four, or five-shift system is followed, there may be 

 very bad or very good management with either 

 rotation. On those plantations where wheat is 

 a principal crop, if good crops of clover can be 

 obtained, and a plentiful supply of manure fur- 

 nished, good crops can be made on either system; 

 though according to circumstances, one system 

 may be preferable to another. Our kitchen gar- 

 dens are constantly cultivated in a succession of 

 crops, all more or less exhausting; but with suf- 

 ficient supplies of manure, their fertility is kept up 

 — without them, the soil would soon be worn out. 



I cannot conclude this long letter, already by far ' 

 too heavy a tax on your patience, without again 



