616 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



[No. 10 



vines between. The top of these new ridges, in 

 which the vines were partially decayed, were 

 chopped down, and trenches opened on them about 

 2 or 3 inches deep. In these, the wheat was thin- 

 ly drilled, and lightly covered with an iron-tooth 

 garden rake. It was hand-hoed 3 times and 

 hand-wed twice, but was considerably injured both 

 by the frost and the fly. Another injury was done 

 by 5 fruit trees ot a medium size which grew 

 among ihe wheat. The drills were unnecessarily 

 far apart, being 2| feet, but I gave them this dis- 

 tance, that the wheat might grow exactly over 



My experiment with the Guinea grass is still 

 continued. I have now more than an acre of it, 

 all of which we have cut four, and some of it six 

 times, at an average height, I will venture to say, 

 of more than two ieet, although I have not mea- 

 sured it this season, each time, as T did last. I 

 ought to add that we have again suffered severely 

 Irom drought. The only possible objection that I 

 can yet see to this valuable exotic is, the supposed 

 necessity for cultivating it. I say supposed, because 

 I am inclined to believe, from my short experience, 

 that if you plant the roots close enough, in the 



the buried potato vines. Next, year, however, if first instance, and work them once or twice, you 



Ave live, I shall have it in my power to report to 

 you the result of a much fairer experiment, made 

 with this same variety: for I have drilled f-ths of 

 an acre, with a hand-drill, made for the purpose, in 

 some well marled land, previously capable of produ 



may well trust it to produce broad-cast afterward^ 

 for it will certainly spread so as entirely to fill up 

 the intervals between the rows, if they be not 

 more than IS or 20 inches apart. This, I under- 

 stand, is the practice in the West Indies, where, 



cing fifty or sixty bushels of corn to the acre. ifter the first planting and a slight culture, the 



remainder of this wheat 1 have sown over a frac- [ plants are safely dusted to their own natural pow- 

 tion less than three acres of Ian,! of medium ers of increase. 1 have been the more minute on 

 quality, cultivated this year in corn. The process this subject, because the whole of our tide water 

 was to cut off and remove the corn, then to plough country is deeply interested in the subject of what 

 up the land, and next to sow the wheat, which ; are called — "the artificial grasses." No man who 

 was put in by cross-harrowing with an iron-tooth lives in it, but must often have had his "bowels of 

 harrow. One acre of this piece had the drag-log i compassion" strongly moved in behalf of such of; 

 first passed over it, the same way with the plough- : our skeleton cattle as survive the continued starva- 



ing, previous to the sowing of the grain and har- 

 rowing it in. Ot' tins simple contrivance for 

 crushing the clods, which will always be left af er 

 the best ploughing, I will take this occasion to say. 

 that it promises to answer the purpose, fir better 

 than any roller or heavy harrow that I have ever 

 seen or heard of. I was induced to try it by two 

 very strong recommendations in the Farmers' Re- 

 gister: in the first of which it is said to be the in- 

 vention of Mr. Thomas B. Gay, of Goochland, 

 in this state. Like all first trials of a new thing, 

 made with too little care, mine proved somewhat 



tion of a winter and spring, spent in masticating 

 with worn out. grinders, corn-stalks, containing 

 perhaps, an ounce of nutriment to the long hun- 

 dred weight — or else in chewing upon, nothing! 

 the ci'd of hopeless despondency, and all this too, 

 in must cases, after a summer and lull mosl indus- 

 triously occupied in foraging, at the rate of twen- 

 ty miles a day, for the wherewithal, not of that 

 little known article — grass, but of weeds, to stay 

 the almost ceaseless corrodings of hunger, until the 

 following day of renewed, but illy compensated, 

 toil and suifering again makes a demand upon 



troublesome: for, after fixing my drag-log for two : their muscular strength, as well as their catering 

 horses, I had to make it. lighter twice, and even ! talents, fully equal to all they can command. My 

 then, as the log was green, it was a heavy draught. ! o'ood friends — one and all — these things ought no 

 The direction is, to take a straight loo-, of any kind [ longer to exist to our shame; let all of us there- 

 of wood most convenient, 6 or 7 feet long and i fore, to whom the facts apply, hasten to wipe off 

 about 18 or20 inches in diameter, (22 or 24 woul 1 , the disgrace for such it certainly is, since nothing 

 probably be still better,) at both ends, then to split ! is wanting to remove it, but that which all ran 

 it and hollow out one of the halves, until you get ; command. Shall I be asked what that is? The 



it sufficiently light. After this, fix two strong bars 

 across the log, and mortice them into another piece 

 of the same size, parallel to the log, and nearly of 

 the same length, to which ihe horses, mules or ox- 

 en are attached, as to the cross bar of a roller. The 



answer is under every man's nose, — within reach 

 of every man's eyes who can see. Keep no more 

 stock of any kind ihan you can profitably feed, and 

 always lake care to provide the necessary food for 

 them. In this simple precept consists the whole se- 



superiority of this very simple and cheap contri- ! cret, (if there be any,) in regard to the propriety 

 Vance, (for the merest coblercanmake it,) over any of keeping any stock whatever, since the sole ob- 



le 

 ;pt that will not conduce to its attainment: Tis 

 tried. It is certainly true that the same team will also palpably clear that all which are kept in the 

 draw a roller of the same weight with more ease: I condition of "praise God bare bones" must inevi- 

 but even, supposing that the drag-log required an ' tably conduce to its failure. How many of us may 



implement yet used for pulverising ploughed land, ■ ject being profit, 'tis manifest that none ought to be 

 none can easily conceive who have not seen it kept that will not conduce to its attainment! ,r fis 



additional horse — say 3 instead of 2 — the latter 

 would do the work so much more effectually, as 

 greatly to overbalance the difference. But let any 

 member try it before we meet again, (it may easi- 

 ly be done,) and most confident I am that his re- 



have been, or may now be, guilty of this violation 

 of good husbandry, it is not Jbr me to say; but ac- 

 knowledging myself to have been one of the offen- 

 ders, I may perhaps be excused for the attempt to 

 draw others in with me, by way of securing com- 



port will furnish additional testimony in favor of pany in my misdemeanors. We are all grega- 

 the drag-log. As a smoother, and preparer of the j nous animals, and this strong propensity to involve 

 surface for grass seed, afterwards to be put in by a ! others as participators of our own guilt in every 

 fine, light harrow, it is incomparably superior to | thing wherein numbers are concerned, isan irrefu- 

 the roller, unless the land be entirely too stiff and , table proof of it. This must be my excuse in the 

 hard to admit of being minutely pulverised by any ! present case, should any of my hearers believe] 

 thing. " I 



