1836.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



617 



that the neglect of farming stock is a very rare 

 fault. 



Another experiment which I have made during 

 this summerand fall, — although on a small scale — 

 is with six varieties of turnips obtained from one 

 of Mr. Prince's Agents: viz. Dales' new variety, 

 which the seed venders call Hybrid, the Scotch 

 yellow stone turnip, the Norfolk white, the Tan- 

 kard, the Purple top, and Swan's egg turnip, 

 drilled on the 14th of August in the ground on 

 which the blue-stem wheat had grown. This was 

 the cause of my late sowing, as I waited after the 

 stubble was spaded in, until 1 thought the process 

 of its decay had somewhat advanced. The ground 

 was marled, at the rate of nearly 300 bushels to 

 the acre; this was pulverised as well as the hand- 

 hoe could do it; then spread and lightly chopped 

 in, so as to remain near the surface. The seeds 

 were sown in shallow trenches, (say an inch and 

 a half deep, and 12 inches apart,) by a hand drill, 

 and the plants thinned out, at the usual height, to 

 stand about 5 inches apart. The tops of the 

 plants are now very flourishing notwithstanding 

 the severe drought which we have suffered for 

 some time; but the roots do not appear like attain- 

 ing any great size, which is probably owing as 

 much to the late sowing of the seed, as to the 

 drought itself. Although each variety is distinctly 

 marked, 1 cannot judge from this single trial which 

 should be preferred for the table and which for 

 stock, nor should I perhaps have mentioned the 

 experiment at all, but from its connexion with a 

 fiict in lavor of marl, that 1 deem worthy of your 

 attention. But here, I be^ leave to digress for a 

 moment, to suggest a caution in regard to all expe- 

 riments. This is — to keep a strict watch over 

 ourselves during the whole process; for we are all 

 too apt to form opinions in the outset for or against 

 the result; and so to contrive matters unconscious- 

 ly, as to make that result confirm our preconceived 

 notions. This fact every man must have noticed 

 in himself who ever undertook the unpleasant task 

 of strict self-examination on any subject whatever; 

 and I advert to it on the present occasion, for the 

 purpose of producing the most riirid scrutiny of 

 my own statement of the facts which I shall now 

 submit. 



In preparing the ground for the turnips, a few 

 rows were left without either marl or manure of 

 any kind. A few others were sown on the top of 

 covered trenches which had been three or four 

 inches deep, and filled with a mixture of drawn 

 ashes, well rotted weeds and grass, and a portion 

 of fresh cow dung scraped from the cow-pens. 

 This being covered, was lightly chopped, and the 

 seed drilled immediately over the deposite. In the 

 quality of the spot on which these turnips are 

 growing, there is no difference; but much in their 

 present appearance. Around the trees they have 

 been more injured, in proportion, than the wheat, 

 and will make very little. The unmanured are 

 considerably better than these — but much inferior 

 to the rest; while the marled turnips, unaffected by 

 the trees, are decidedly better in height, color, and 

 general appearance than those immediately con- 

 tiguous, which were manured as I have just de- 

 scribed. As I am a new experimenter with marl, 

 and have been in the habit of deducting a large 

 per centage from all the accounts I have seen in 

 its favor, on the score of hobby-horse ism, (if I may 

 be pardoned for coining such a term,) this testimo- 



Vol. Ill— 78 



ny of mine in support, of its claim to be used lib- 

 erally, will be duly appreciated. I have always 

 had a mortal dread, since I arrived at the age of 

 manhood, of being either accused or suspected of 

 riding hobbies, to which I remember being hugely 

 addicted in my childish days; but this dread may 

 not altogether have saved me; and therefore I 

 deem it prudent on all such occasions, to warn my 

 brother members not to suffer their confidence in 

 my veracity — in which it is no vanity to say, they 

 may entirely confide — to prevent their viewing 

 and considering all my statements with that degree 

 of rigid scrutiny which is absolutely necessary to 

 enable them certainly to determine how far these 

 statements contribute to confirm or disprove the 

 principles or opinions designed to be established 

 or refuted by them. The cardinal vinue oi' impar- 

 tiality is indispensable, both in experimenters and 

 their judges — tor without it, no good whatever 

 can be done to any cause whatever — but particu- 

 larly to that of agriculture, whose improvement 

 entirely depends upon fairly tried, fairly tested, and 

 fairly judged experiments, frequently made, to de- 

 termine every doubtful point of any importance. 



Among my own experiments, since we last met, 

 that, which seems to me at least, of most value, 

 is one to ascertain the comparative productiveness 

 of several varieties of Indian corn. This grain is 

 certainly our chief crop in all the tide water por- 

 tion of Virginia; and it is likely to become more 

 and more so, unless some means can be discovered 

 of preventing the constant ravages of the Hessian 

 fly, and other enemies to the wheat crop. The 

 importance therefore of ascertaining which of all 

 the great variety of corn cultivated among us, will 

 produce the most to the acre, is much enhanced 

 by the present and long continued uncertainty of 

 making wheat. The best modes of culture too, 

 are consequently becoming objects of daily in- 

 creasing interest — at least to those who have made 

 up their minds, in the midst of the prevailing ma- 

 nia for abandoning the graves of our parents, 

 wives, children, brothers, sisters, and friends, to 

 live and die by good old Virginia. In these modes 

 we have certainly made such great improvements, 

 since I could recollect, as to encourage the hope, 

 that we may make still o'reater — simply by taking 

 care not to suspend or discontinue our efforts to im- 

 prove, from vainly imagining, (as many do,) that 

 we have already reached the u ne plus ultra?" 1 of 

 advancement as corn-planters and makers. 



I perfectly remember, that some forty or fifty 

 years ago., scarcely any other implements, but the 

 illy constructed plough of that day and the hand 

 hoe were ever used in the culture of corn — that 

 the distances at which it was planted were scarce- 

 ly ever varied — that cross-ploughing was univer- 

 sal on high land — that the stalks were hilled up 

 like tobacco plants — that unless from twenty-four 

 to thirty-six furrows were run by the plough, be- 

 tween every two rows of corn, the proprietor, or his 

 overseer, or both, were stigmatized as very Jazy 

 fellows. By the way, let us endeavor so to act, . 

 as not to furnish our successors with good cause to 

 apply the epithet to us, who are now endeavoring 

 to instruct them. 



If any man in the by-gone days to which I have 

 referred, had ventured to assert, before Col. John 

 Taylor proved the fact, (Col. John Taylor, who 

 has done more for Virginia agriculture than any 

 man who ever lived in it,) that corn could be made 



