THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



67 



from any application of ilie fboJ consumed by the 

 cow, for ihe sume leiii^tli of lime ; and mortiover, 

 thm liie iiicreiise of crop, beyond what i!ie liind 

 niighl have produced, vviilioiit the ni mure, if ofa 

 suiiable i<iud, wou'd be more liiau sullirieut, to sus- 

 tain llie coiv ano'iier year. Il is adfniiied by all, 

 tital any ordinary land may be improved by re- 

 turninij to il, as m mure, the whole ol iis crop. 

 Here the land receives more than it has given oil, 

 doubtless from the aslmosphere, the veiretation 

 havinii diawn thence part ol it.<! sustenance. Is it 

 not e(|ually probable, that in the economy of na- 

 ture, animals beinir in a liigher irrade of creation, 

 may also be permiited to return to mother-earth 

 more than they draw I'rom her ? Tiiey certainly, 

 very materially modify the raw material, by ani- 

 ni ilizing it, to use a modern term.* Tlie liict, I 

 bfiieve, does i^ot bear contradiction, that lor suc- 

 cess in the production of certain crops, wlieat lor 

 instance, animal manure is absolutely necessary. 

 May not the scarcity of this, be one reason lor the 

 general failure of our wheat crops of late years'? 

 1 have known a very industrious and successful 

 planter, recently dead, who, preferring to give 

 back to his land its product, duriiiij ns year of rest, 

 determined to keep no catde, except a milch cow 

 and a yoke of oxen. lid had a!so to determine, 

 in a very lew years, to aim at making no wheat, 

 except lor family use, in a lot or two near his sta- 

 ble. He has repeatedly told me, that his land, 

 though very good, would not yield wheat. I 

 judge it was from the want of animal manure. 

 Our limits would be transcended, were we to go 

 into an investigation of the best modes of makmg, 

 preserving, and using manure. The object at this 

 time is, to urge the n<»cessity of keeping on every 

 farm, a sufficient stock ol cattle lor its production. 

 This cannot be done to advan'age, without making 

 very great chaiiires in the arrangements and man- 

 agement of our farms, as regards their comfort 

 and support. These changes cannot, with [iro- 

 priety, be made very suddenly. All general 

 chani/es, to be safe, must be gradual. Very few 

 of the experimenters have, as yet, learned to 

 make good wine in this country. When, if ever, 

 we shall generally cultivate silk successfully, is 

 j'et to be learned. But the necessity for caution 

 in any enterprise, is no argument against its prac- 

 ticability, 'j'he question which constantly meets 

 us must be answered — is there necessity fijr a 

 change? Is the old way good enough? Let our 

 empoverished fields, our lean kine, our shabby 

 eheep and hungry hogs ansvver. An increase of 

 manure would remedy many evils. Of this, I 

 have said enough. As to other inducements, con- 

 sisting in a plenty of milk, butter, meat and leather, 

 I am sure I need say nothing, if I can only tell 

 how they can be obtained. 



* This question merits full and mature investigation. 

 It is not doubted, that vegetables return more than they 

 take from the earth. Could it be demonstrated that 

 animals do the same, what a display of the wisdom, 

 power and goodness of the Creator would be afforded ? 

 The atmosphere would then appear as the grand la- 

 baratory, in which is prepared the food of all living 

 things ; and he, who has made the world out of nothing, 

 is here seen, by a mysterious perpetuity of changes, 

 affording to all tlfings sustenance, in a supply limited 

 only by the skill and assiduity of man, in adapting the 

 means to the end. The votary of asrriculture, while 

 drawing his support from the earth, has presented to 

 him innumerable lessons of the soundest theology, and 

 incentives to the purest piety. 



In the first place, we must have more meadows, 

 and we must consume their products on our farma. 

 If we have no meadow lands, we must cultivalO 

 on iiigh land some kind of crop, wiih a view to 

 the belter sustenance of our slock. IJesides tlio 

 artificial grasses, the root crops and pumpkins and 

 other vines [)romipe to aid us much m this matter. 

 'I*lie turnip, whi('h in the moist climate of Great 

 Britain, has dune so much for agricultin-e, will 

 rarely succeed here. Our climate is too liable to 

 drought in the fall season for this root ; but I can 

 most confidently recommend the beef. I have been 

 cultivating this crop lor slock, on a small scale, lor 

 some seven or eight years, and have never expe- 

 rienced a lailure. My best crops have, however, 

 been invariably produced in the driest years. I 

 believe that six or eight times as much food for 

 cows, sheep, or hogs, may be produced from the 

 same quantity of land in this crop, as in any other 

 that I have ever tried. Tlie kind which 1 greatly 

 prefer, is the white Silesian sugar beet ; it witii- 

 stands cold much better than the mangel wurtz'^l, 

 and, 1 believe, is more nutritious. ! received a 

 few seed in thelall of 1836, Irom my friend Mr. Ruf- 

 fin, of Petersburg, and have scattered them largely 

 since; vviih what benefit to my friends I cannot 

 tell, but to myself, I consider them almost indis- 

 pensable. I believe that no man, who would pro- 

 vide a plenty of beets or pumpkins to feed his milch 

 cows lor one winter, could be satisfied without 

 them afterwards. The recommendations of the 

 beet as f )od lor stock, in our agricultural journal.?, 

 are so strong and so res[)ectab!e, as to render a 

 refusal to try them, by those who love economy 

 and comfort, quite inexcusable. Tlieir product is 

 prodigious on the richest land, and they are well 

 worth cultivating on that of medium quality. If 

 the introduction of turnip husbandry into Eng- 

 land, is considered there the greatest era in their 

 agricultural history, we may well be thankfiil, that 

 a root, much richer and more productive, is found 

 so well adapted to our arid country. There are 

 two things specially to be attended to in its cul- 

 ture. The soil should have a clay substratum, 

 and the land should receive a thorough winter or 

 fall plougliing, to destroy insects. I lost every 

 young beet on three-fourths of ihe land planted 

 last spring, from neglecting to plough in the fall. 

 1 made out a fine crop, however, from transplant- 

 ing. 



It can hardly be necessary, in this pociefy, (o 

 make any remarks on the importance of attending 

 to the breed of cattle. I know it is very common 

 for people to ridicule the idea of its importance, 

 and to indulge in the idle slang, "that the feed 

 makes the breed." But these very people will 

 sometimes send twenty miles for a pupity of a 

 good breed when they want a good dog. With- 

 out ihe feed, I know that no breed can be good ; 

 but some breeds will be a great deal better on the 

 same feed than others. 



Cattle should not only be well fed, but well 

 sheltered, to promote their own thrift and comfort, 

 and their master's profit. 



On the subject of sheep, I have but little to say. 

 They pay well for a little attention. They should 

 be penned every night, for the Bake of their ma- 

 nure, and to protect them from dogs and other ma- 

 rauders. The number kept on a farm, should 

 about equal that of the persons in tiie family. On 

 an average of children and adulte, one sheep will 



