194 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



great advantage attending this rotation is, that it 

 wholly eaves the expense and trouble of sowing 

 clover seed ampng the growing wheat. It also 

 afl'ords two grain crops in every three years. 

 This, in England, would be considered as too 

 exhausting. But I am persuaded our rich lands 

 of the west, which have not been much reduced 

 by bad husbandry, will bear this course of crop- 

 ping without deteriorating the soil, especially if 

 an upper dressing of manure is applied, preceding 

 each corn crop, that is to say every third year. 



In clay soils ihe corn crop should occur less fre- 

 quently. The rotation, in a shift of four fields, 

 might be clover, clover, corn, wheat. Or, where 

 the soil is naiurally thin, or has been much re- 

 duced by bad husbandry, the rotation might be 

 three crops of clover and one of corn, and one of 

 wheat. Clover should, in these courses, be the 

 preparatory crop for corn, and ploughed in as 

 herein before directed, and a top-dre?sing of ma- 

 nure be applied, to the extent the farm will af- 

 ford. In clay soils the wheat crop should be 

 assisted by a dressing of plaster ol' Paris, (sul- 

 phate of lime,) from a peck to a bushel per 

 acre. If the smaller quantity only is applied, it 

 may bestirred in the wheat, having been previ- 

 ously moistened for that purpose, when about to 

 sow. [f the larger quantity is used, (and it is 

 best to do so, if to be had,) it should be sowed 

 broad cast, at the time of sowing the clover seed, 

 in February. The corn crop will also be much 

 improved by applying half a table spoonful to 

 each hill of corn, either at the time ol planting or 

 as soon as the corn comes up.* 



For farmers who do not desire to raise wheat, 

 the following rotation will be found convenient 

 and profitable. Upon rich lands, which have not 

 been much reduced by bad husbandry, corn, corn, 

 rye, rye, the two latter to be fed off on ihe ground. 

 In this course, the second crop of corn will be 

 followed by rye, sowed in the fall, pastured the 

 next winter and spring, till the 15ih of April, and 

 then suffered to go to seed. When ripe it should 

 be fed ofT to hog» and other stock on the ground. 

 About September, or so soon as the fall rains 

 cause the remains of the rye on the ground to 

 Bprouf, the stock should he taken off. There will 

 be sufficient rye left to seed the ground, and so 

 soon as it shall have attained a sufficient growth, 

 it may affain be pastured through the following 

 winter and sprinij, till the middle of April, when 

 it should, a second time, be sufiered to go to seed 

 and be fed off as before, until the proper period 

 for removing the stock. It may again be pastured 

 during the following winter. But care should 

 be taken not to leave slock on after the frost gets 

 out of the ground, as this would cause the soil to 

 break up cloddy and render it less productive. By 

 the time the ground becomes dry enough for 

 piouehing, there will be a thick coat ofyouno' rye, 

 which, if well turned under, will afford a'^light 

 dressing of manure for the succeeding crop of 

 corn. 



This rotation will require but two fields, and 

 will be very convenient to hemp growers and 

 graziers, who do not wish to cultivate wheat 

 crops. In consequence of the rye being fed off 

 upon the ground, the Ibregoing rotation will rather 



• See a long note on the benefit of plaster of Paris, 

 iu the general essay on agri«ulture. 



improve than exhaust the soil. But to restore, 

 speedily, that which has been exhausted, tfiere 

 should be two crops of clover, succeeding the rye 

 crop ; or a third crop of rye may be raised to 

 advantage, by ploughing the ground after the 

 second crop is fed off, from the first to the middle 

 of September. Rye will not do well the third 

 year without ploughing the ground, in conse- 

 quence of white clover and other grasses spread- 

 ing over the ground, but a single ploughing may 

 suffice lor two additional crops of rye. 



Where the practice of grazing extensively pre- 

 vails, large portions of the grazier's farm are kept 

 in blue grass, and pastured for a number of years 

 in succession. These pasture grounds, often 

 having been kept a long period in grass, are oc- 

 casionally ploughed up, and planted in corn. This 

 is certainly a fine preparation for that crop; and 

 if the period, during which the land is kept in 

 grass, in proportion to the time it has been in 

 corn, be considerable, it is well adapted to the im- 

 provem'ent of land. But if proper care be not 

 taken in ploughing a stifif blue grass eod, there 

 will be great difficulty, in cultivating the corn 

 crop. If, however, the proper method is adopted 

 tfiese ilifficulties may be avoided. There are two 

 modes of converting blue grass sod into arable 

 ground, which may be» practised to advantage. 

 One is to put a strong team to a large plough, 

 suitable (or turning over a stfff sod. The plough 

 should have a cutler attached to it, for the pur- 

 pose of cutting the turf, and thus enable the 

 plough to turn it over to the depth of five or six 

 inches, and lay it so smoothly as to have the grass 

 side flat, and the mould alone exposed. The 

 harrow should follow in the same direction with 

 the plough, and by running several times over 

 the groiind the interstices will be filled up and 

 the turf so completely buried that the grass can- 

 not readily grow. If this operation be performed 

 in the fall or early in the winter, the sod will be 

 so completely rotted, by the time it is necessary 

 to commence ploughing for corn in the spring, as 

 to admit of its being stirred advantageously. But 

 if the sod be turned over in the spring, then it 

 will be proper, by repeated harrowing, to form a 

 sufficient depth of mould to admit of laying off 

 the ground lor corn without turning up the sod. 

 By using light ploughs and small harrows, to run 

 between the corn, or the corn cultivator, the crop 

 may be cultivated without turning up the sod, and 

 with very little labor. By the following year the 

 sod will be completely decomposed, and will leave 

 the ground mellow and in fine condition for a 

 crop. 



If the operation of turning the sod be well per- 

 formed, this mode of cultivating corn will be at- 

 tended with great advantages. The sod beneath 

 will keep the ground light, and the yield, if the 

 season be favorable, will be very large. If, how- 

 ever, the land do not lie favorable for turning 

 sod, (if for instance, the ground is s9 situated that 

 the sod must, in part, be thrown up hill,) it may 

 be difficult to turn it over so as to bury the green 

 sward. In that case it will be very troublesome 

 to cultivate. 



The other method of managing blue grass sod 

 is more effectual in obviating the difficulties aris- 

 ing from the unfavorableness of the ground lot 

 turning sod, and ought to be preferred by all farm- 



