494 



FARMERS REGISTER. 



[No. 8 



there to remain till the time of planting; look over 

 them occasionally, to see that they are all in good 

 order. 



Tulips are known by the following names: 

 early tulips, which flower about a fortnight belbre 

 all others; bizarres, which have a yellow ground, 

 striped with brown, purple and violet, with inter- 

 mediate shades; violet and rose biblnemens, which 

 have a white ground, striped with violet, purple, 

 black, cherry, rose, and intermediate shades: 

 these are considered the most valuable by the 

 florist; baguets, which are nearly allied to bibloe- 

 mens, but arc much stronger in their growth, and 

 more gross in their colors; double andpurrot tulips 

 are esteemed mostly as border flowers. 

 Yours, 



J. W. RUSSELL. 



Mount sfuburn, Cainbridge, Oct. I2lh, 1835. 



EXPERIMENT OF ASHES AND GYPSUM AS A 

 MANURE FOR CORN. PLAN FOR MANA- 

 GING TOBACCO PLANT BEDS. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. 



I promised (in due time) to send you the result 

 of a small experiment on the application of plas- 

 ter and spent ashes to corn, mixed in the propor- 

 tion of one-third plaster, and applying a single 

 handful to each hill of corn. I have now gather- 

 ed and measured the corn on six acres — which 

 was all I could manure in this way, in consequence 

 of the want of ashes. The result is, forty-nine 

 barrels and a half on the six acres. It is proper 

 to state, that the land was very poor — a part of it 

 had been cow-penned during the previous summer; 

 another part was a complete gall, without soil 

 upon it, and a small part, (less than an acre,) the 

 margin of a branch. I do not believe the six 

 acres, without the plaster and ashes, would have 

 made fifteen barrels, even in this favorable year — 

 the corn adjoining this, on similar land, being an 

 indifferent crop, though it received precisely the 

 same cultivation. Nor have I a doubt that I might 

 have had nearly double the crop on the six acres, 

 if I had doubled the quantity of hills, as the stalks 

 are universally large and luxuriant — larger than I 

 ever saw on high land. Although this result falls 

 far short of the produce in Maryland, under simi- 

 lar treatment, yet I am well pleased with it — hav- 

 ing trebled the crop I had hitherto expected to reap 

 from such land; and I have now no doubt, that 

 where ashes are attainable in sufficient quantities, 

 the crop of corn may be always doubled at least — 

 perhaps in most cases on poor high land, quadru- 

 pled. It may be necessary to state, that my six 

 acres were laid off in horizontal rows, five feet and 

 a half apart, the corn being dropped in the row at 

 intervals of about three — one stalk generally in a 

 hill, occasionally two. It received but two plough- 

 ings and one hoeing — but would have been much 

 benefited by another ploughing, which I would 

 have given it had my other farming operations 

 permitted it. 



I have thus, Mr. Editor, redeemed my promise 

 to give you the result of this first experiment on the 

 use of plaster and ashes combined. I am not 

 chemist enough to know whether the combination 

 of the two, produces a stronger manure than 

 either alone; of this, however, I am certain, that 



no use of plaster on my plantation has ever pro^ 

 duced so great effect as this combined use of plas- 

 ter and ashes. 



Whilst I have the materials for writing before 

 me, I will add a piece of information for'the benefit 

 of your readers who make tobacco, (doubtless 

 known already to many, but which others may 

 profit by—) on the rearing of early and good 

 plants. I have tried the method I shall recom- 

 mend, for three years, with entire success; so have 

 others of my neighborhood. The plan is exceed- 

 ingly simple and easy of practice, viz: to under- 

 lay the plant bed previous to sowing it, with to- 

 bacco stalks, covering them about three inches 

 deep with earth. This may be done by the plough, 

 where the bed is clear of roots and stumps, or else 

 with the hoe, by digging trenches parallel to each 

 other, and nearly touching each other, until the 

 whole bed is gone over, filling up the last trench 

 dug (after pulling therein the stalks) with the dirt 

 that comes out of the next. If a plant bed thus 

 manured fails, every body else in that neighbor- 

 hood will certainly tail too, to raise plants that sea- 

 son. Mr. Old of Powhatan, (whose reputation as 

 a tobacco maker, stands so deservedly high,) tried 

 this plan last spring with the most perfect success. 



H. M. 



Nov. 13th, 1835. 



the farmer's proverbs. 

 To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. 



Most of the ideas contained in the following 

 piece are familiar to old farmers and house-keep- 

 ers. I have adopted this mode of writing to notch 

 them deep on the minds of the juniors. A sen- 

 tence short in construction remains longer in re- 

 collection. I have not prepared my bits for fine 

 scholars, but for plain farmers — not for reading men, 

 but for working men. 



A lean wood-pile makes a fat grave-yard. 



If you feed low, you must work slow. 



Clean out your spring often, if you would see 

 the doctor seldom. 



Small cabins make large grave-yards — much 

 filth, much physic. 



Feed well, and you will breed well. 



Smooth gear makes smooth ploughing — when 

 the collar chafes the skin, the plough won't go in. 

 The horse sweats least when the gear fits best. 



An empty belly makes a sore back. The sad- 

 dle is damned when the fault is in the feed. Good 

 feeding makes the best padding. 



A neat floor is an enemy to flies — but a dirty 

 one is a friend to fleas. 



A foul yard invites sickness — but a neat one 

 chaseth away fevers. 



A neat cook makes a neat kitchen, and a neat 

 kitchen makes a neat table. 



A weak fence makes a strong foe — but firm 

 stakes make firm friendships. Pence in your 

 stock if you would fence out the devil. One bad 

 sow will make many bad quarrels. A sow that 

 has lost her ears should also lose her life — for 

 among the overseers she'll cause a deal of strife. 



Bad shoes in winter make bad coughs. Mend 

 your shoes and break your colds. Every new 

 stitch in an old shoe saves a penny in a new bill. 

 A penny given to a coarse shoemaker is a pound 

 taken from a fine doctor. 





