THE GENESEE FARMER. 



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houses, aud occiisioiially pickets arouiul tlieir gardens. 



At length tlie po^t and mil fence was introduced. 

 This was considered a great saving of timber, and 

 was made by cutti;ig and splitting ouk posts, six and 

 a half feet long, and making tive holes with a post- 

 axe, aud setting each post about two feet in the 

 ground, leaving about four and a half feet above. 

 The rails were split flatwise, shar[)ened, and driven 

 together ia each post This kind of fence did well 

 for a few years, aud took up but a small space of 

 ground; but it was much exposed to the wind, and 

 the posts soon retted <ilf at the surface of the ground, 

 and it ha& been out of use for quite a number of years. 



At the present time there is a large amount of 

 board fence made. White oak posts are used. Ce- 

 dar and chestnut are brought from a distance, and 

 used sometimes. All kinds of boards are used — pine, 

 hemlock, oak, beach, basswood and maple. 



I have made a great deal of fence, of posts, boards 

 and stones, as fidlows : I cut my posts six feet Icng, 

 split them when the timber is good, and saw them 

 when I. cannot split. I set my posts seven feet apart, 

 build up a wall from eighteen to tweutj--four inches 

 high, and put on three boards, from five to nine inches 

 wide, about five or seven inches apart. I then bank 

 up with dirt to the bottom of the lower board, and 

 seed it well v,'ith any kind of grass seed. This makes 

 a very goo<3 fence, takes up but little ground, and is 

 not easily blown down. 



In buikiing fences now, I wholly dispense with 

 etoues, aaii tuiike my bank with dirt, and raise it a 

 height to suit luy boards. I usually put on three 

 boards, about six inches wide. The banking should 

 be well done, and carefully seeded. I consider this 

 the cheapest ftruce that can be built with timber. 

 The posts shou!<l Ije cut six feet long, and split small, 

 when the timber runs free. When the timber is on 

 the ground, three men can put up thirty rods, and 

 bank it, la two days. Nathaniel Smith. 



la I ■! 



SUBSOIL PLOWING. 



Messrs. Editors: — The farmer who thinks of sub- 

 soiling, should study well the nature of his soil. Mr. 

 A., who owns a farm with a surface soil about six 

 or eight inches lieep, underlaid with a" hard, com- 

 pact clay subsoil, impenetrable alike to the roots of 

 plants or the refre hing shower, find?, upon subsoiling 

 a part of hie fields, that upon the portion thus treated 

 his crops not only staud the drouth better, but are 

 not affected by water standing upon the surface. He 

 proclaims this to his neighbors, or heralds it through 

 the columns of the Agricultural Press; and Mr. B., 

 ■who owns a farm with a deep gravelly or sandy soil, 

 without considering that nature has already sub- 

 soiled his land, immediately orders a plow from Bos- 

 ton, or some other distant place, at a treat expense, 

 and, after trying a portion of his fields, and finding 

 no perceptible difference? in the crop upon that which 

 is subsoiied and that which is not, he proclaims the 

 subsoil plow a humbug, — when a few moments' re- 

 flection would have taught him that Nature had al- 

 ready done more for his land than his neighbor could 

 do for hie by years of subsoiling. 



A shallow surface soil, with a hard, compact sub- 

 soil, will derive much benefit from subsoil plowing. 

 "VVe cannot plow such lands deeply, without throwing 

 the subsoil to the surface, which injures the land, es- 

 peeiallj for spdag crops, Bat by using the subsoil 



plow, the earth is mellowed to a greater depth, and 

 the subsoil remains in the bottom of the furrow, 

 giving the roots an opportunity to penetrate more 

 deeply into the earth in search of moisture, — conse- 

 quently the crop will not suffer so much from drouth; 

 and in a few years this soil will become enriched from 

 the gases absorbed from the atmosphere, decayed 

 roots, <S:c., and the surface water in filtering through 

 it will be robbed of its ammonia, when it can be 

 turned to the surface with much benefit. 



The subsoil plow here spoken of is the real sub- 

 soil plow, not the so-called Michigan subsoil plow. 

 The genuine subsoil plow is used by following in the 

 furrow of the common plow, loosening the earth to 

 a greater depth, and leaving the subsoil in the bot- 

 tom of the furrow, while the Michigan plow throws 

 the subsoil to the surface. C. 0. Wilson. 



JVewfatie, JViagara Co., JV. Y. 



FARMING A SCIENCE. 



Messrs. Editors: — Why need we compare the 

 tidy, skillful, neat and industrious farmer, with the 

 loose, thoughtless, slack and careless one, who takes 

 no pride whatever in keeping up his fences, and keep- 

 ing their corners free from rubbish, in having things 

 snug about the barn, (his wife, of course, manages 

 the house,) and, in short, wholly void of forethought 

 in all his operations ? Surely, there is no com- 

 parison between these two farmers ; they difier as 

 widely as the untaught Indian and the man who 

 works on principles based upon science and practi- 

 cal observation. • 



It is an easy matter to distinguish these two farm- 

 ers apart, and in passing their farms the contrast 

 comes very forcibly upon us. On the one hand, we 

 see a neat and elegant cottage, with its green blinds, 

 shaded walks, good fence, with a garden near the 

 house, and in immediate proximity to the kitchen. 

 On the other hand, a lone, dilapidated, wood-colored 

 house, standing alone, exposed to the severity of the 

 cold winter winds and the scorching rays of the sum- 

 mer's sun, unprotected by a few friendly shade trees; 

 all this for the want of a little more -care and econo- 

 my — a lack of industry, a want of forethought, an 

 uncultivated and unrefined intellect, gross and un- 

 natural tastes — which are a detriment to all success- 

 ful farming operations, remedied only by a theoreti- 

 cal, practical, and straight-forward course, with a de- 

 termination to secure his crop by a good fence, and 

 tend it by the hand of industry, when Nature will 

 not fail to reward his labors by an abundant harvest. 



W. N. C. 



. m I ■ 



Cultivation of Turnips. — The flat turnip is much 

 esteemed for table use. The time for sowing is du- 

 ring the present month. Large crops have been 

 raised on newly-cleared land, which was too rooty to 

 be plowed, by raking and burning it over, and then 

 harrowing it before sowing the seed. Where the 

 ground can be cultivated properly, it should be 

 freshly broken and harrowed before sewing. Sow 

 in cloudy, damp weather — before a moderate rain, if 

 possible. A top dressing of ashes, sown broadcast, 

 will be very beneficial to the plants. If troubled by 

 the fly, sow some flour of brimstone on the jilants 

 while wet with dew. Keep the weeds down, and the 

 ground loose with a hoe, if you want an extra yield. 



Laceyville, Ohio. J. G. Sahpsox. 



