NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



151 



the form of soluble salts, alkalies, and alkaline 

 earths, &c. The earthy matter may have been ta- 

 ken from the soil, but the vegetable or organic 

 matter cannot have been derived from that source, 

 for the very plain reason, that the soil now con- 

 tains far more vegetable matter than thirty years 

 before. Hence, the conclusion, to which I have 

 before arrived, seems irresistible, that vegetables 

 derive most of their sustenance from the air 

 Hence, to increase the fertility of the soil, we must 

 frequently expose it to the atmosphere, and that 

 in such a manner as to allow the air to permeate 

 as low as the roots of plants are expected to pen- 

 etrate. 



The object of fallowing then is two-fold. First, 

 to turn under and expose to decay whatever is 

 grown upon the surface ; and this should be done 

 at the time when the amount of vegetable matter 

 is greatest ; and second, to expose to atmospheric 

 action that portion of the soil from which it has 

 for a time been excluded. 



In answer to the question, how often should land 

 be plowed, I should say, much more frequently 

 than our farmers are in the habit of plowing. The 

 practice of mowing land from five to seven years, 

 as many farmers do, is a ruinous one. It is in per- 

 fect keeping with the policy of the teamster, who 

 drives his team on short feed, till they are reduced 

 to skeletons and utterly incapacitated to draw any 

 thing but an empty wagon, and then commences 

 nursing and giving them extra feed that he may re- 

 store them to their wonted strength and vigor. 

 Far better to keep the team in good condition 

 in working order. And so of the land. Let it be 

 mown, at most, two years, and in the fall of the 

 second, or spring of the third, turnunder as much 

 grass as can be^covered, and there will be no need 

 of twenty cords of manure to the acre to secure a 

 crop of corn and keep the land in heart. 



If my position is tenable, namely, that plants 

 derive a large portion of their nutriment from the 

 atmosphere, worn-out lands may be reclaimed by 

 flowing. I think it will be found generally, that 

 in lands exhausted by continuous skinning, there 

 is a lack of organic, rather than inorganic 'matter. 

 Or perhaps more correctly, that the deficiency in 

 the former is greater, in proportion as it enters 

 more largely into the composition of plants, than 

 the latter. 



Take, for example, an old field, which has been 

 exhausted by continuous cropping with rye. It 

 will be found by analysis, that there is a deficien- 

 cy of potash, lime and phosphorus, also an almost 

 entire destitution of vegetable matter. The earthy 

 or inorganic substances must be supplied by the 

 cultivator. To the vegetable matter the soil will 

 help itself, only give it a chance. Plow thorough- 

 ly about the first of June, seed lightly with buck- 

 wheat, and harrow in some five bushels of ashes to 

 the acre. Plow again when the buckwheat is in 

 bloom, and sow a little clover seed, say four lbs. 

 to the acre, rolled in gypsum. Let it remain one 

 year, and repeat the last process, increasing the 

 quantity of clover and using phosphate of lime in- 

 stead of the sulphate. In this manner, lands which 

 are all but worthless, may, with comparatively lit- 

 tle expense, be rendered productive. 



This is not mere theorizing; I give the result of 

 observation. One of the most practical farmers in 

 the State has tested the efficacy of this process on 

 various soils and with most satisfactory results. 



Thousands of acres, in this commonwealth, not 

 now yielding enough to pay for fencing, might, by 

 this simple process and trifling outlay, in the 

 course of five years, be restored to their original 

 fertility. 



A CONVENIENT HOT-BED. 



Early vegetables are not only palatable, but 

 healthy. They come at a time when the system 

 does not require so much stimulant as animal food 

 imparts, and compose that which is suitable for the 

 season. A person having the merest patch of land 

 may have a hot-bed and start some of the choice 

 vegetables for early use, such as peppergrass, let- 

 tuces, tomatoes, early cabbage, celery, &c. 



We have had the above cut engraved to give the 

 idea of a cheap and convenient hot-bed ; one that 

 will require but little room if you have but small 

 space, or that may be enlarged or multiplied at 

 will. They should be made low, as the wind is 

 much less likely to blow off the sashes. The read- 

 er is referred to our last year's volume, page 123, 

 for a plan of a hot-bed still more cheap and simple, 

 and which is accompanied with directions for pre- 

 paring the soil and planting seeds. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 LATE KEEPING APPLES. 



BY 0. V. HILLS. 



Gentlemen : — There are but few first-rate vari- 

 eties of apples under cultivation which will con- 

 tinue sound and retain their flavor till late in 

 spring, or even to midsummer, like the Roxbury 

 Russet and some others. It is very desirable that 

 new kinds of this class of fruit should be obtained, 

 as good late apples wdl command an extra price, 

 the supply at present not being equal to the de- 

 mand. The Northern Spy is an excellent late va- 

 riety, and should it prove to be adapted to this 

 region, will be a valuable acquisition to the list. 

 It originated in the State of New York, and it is 

 well known that kinds which are first-rate_ there, 

 are, some of them, at least, not worth cultivating 

 here in New England. It would, therefore, be 

 well to wait till this kind is proved as to bearing, 

 adaptation to climate, soil and other respects, be- 

 fore entering largely into its cultivation. I saw 

 the Northern Spy in fine condition the last of May, 

 the past season ; they were taken from a barrel for 

 which a man had just paid six dollars, had not 

 lost their flavor, and were perfectly sound. 



