ON ROOT CHOPS. 100 



MANURE, COMPOST, ASHES aiicl MUSCLE-BED, liavG beeii the princi- 

 pal applications. Ordinarily, when I plant onions, I apply five 

 or six cords of mannre to the acre. In 1849, finding the crop 

 to fail on this field, yielding short of three hundred bushels to 

 the acre, I thought it needed some other nutriment, and as soon 

 as the crop wa? gathered, I sowed it with oats, using a cultiva- 

 tor to cover them. These grew luxuriantly, and late in the 

 fall, just as the ground was about to freeze, I turned them un- 

 der, using a side-hill plough,* and running the furrows about 

 eight inches deep. The entire crop was buried by the furrow, 

 and so laid until spring ; on examining it then, I found the 

 oats as sound as when turned in, consequently I could not 

 plough the land without disturbing the straw. I went over it 

 several times with a culti'/ator, and then applied a moderate 

 dressing of manure from my hog yard to the surface, say about 

 two and a half cords to the lot, and mingled it with the soil as 

 well as I could, taking care to remove all obstructions to the 

 even distribution of the seed, and then planted with a machine 

 in the usual way. It came up evenly, and grew well through 

 the season, being kept entirely clear of weeds. The appear- 

 ance of the plants through the season was uncommonly good, 

 manifestly deriving much aid and support from the decaying 

 green crop underneath. This is proved by another piece of 

 onions in the same field, cultivated and manured in the usual 

 way, where the crop was not more than two thirds as large as 

 this. I am the more particular in describing this experiment 

 with the oats, because it has succeeded beyond my expecta- 

 tions. I have seen other fields of onions the present season, 

 where they grew to a larger size than these, and have no doubt 

 mine would have been larger, if I had put on more manure, 



* Within a few years, the use of the side-hill plough has come into much fa- 

 vor, among the gardeners In this nelghboroood. It is thought to possess many- 

 advantages ; among these, are the following : 



1. It leaves the land free of ridges and dead furrows; incident to the use of 

 the common plough. 2. It saves travel, at the end of the furrows, 'd. It 

 leaves the land true and even at the ends of the furrows, both as they set in 

 and come out. 4. It requires less draft, as it keeps clean and bright ; and leaves 

 the land in better' condition for cultivation. 5. So much do I esteem these 

 ploughs that I would sooner pay Jiifty dollars for one for my use, than take a 

 common plough for nothing. 



