Vol. 6. 



GENESEE FARMER. 



From, the C'ultirator, 



COLMAN'S EUROPEx\N AGRICULTURE. 



The second part of this work has made its ap- 

 pearance. The great difficulty of procuring the in- 

 formation sought, in an exact and authentic form, 

 amidst the embarrassments and inconveniences which 

 surround a stranger, are mentioned as reasons why 

 this portion of the work has so long been delayed. — 

 Mr. Caiman says he cannot promise his third and 

 fourth numbers at any paiticular time, but assures us 

 that no unreasonable delay shall be permitted. He 

 has yet to visit Ireland, some of the counties of 

 Scotland, the dairy portions of England, and the flax 

 and hop districts. In the spring he intends to visit 

 the continent, and hopes to be able to return to this 

 country in the autumn. 



The first division of the number before us, is 

 devoted to a continuation of remarks on the Allot- 

 ment sif'steni. Under this head, many useful facts are 

 given, showing the large amount of sustenance which 

 tho soil, under proper management, is capable of 

 yiel ling — though, as Mr. C. says, it is probable that 

 the " utmost productive capacity of an acre ol land, 

 in any crop, has not yet been fully determined." 



An instance is mentioned where a man had sup- 

 ported himself, wife and son, from two acres of laud, 

 for which he paid a rent of $45,60 ; and in the 

 course of seven years, saved enough from the pro- 

 duce of his two acres to purchase two acres at ^144 

 to!ftl92per acre. In another case, six acres under 

 spade cultivation, is stated to have given an average 

 of 52 bushels of wheat per acre. Another witness 

 brought before the Parliamentary committee, testi- 

 fied that on the estate of Lord Howard, Barbot Hall, 

 Yorkshire, tv,'ent3'-eight bushels of wheat had been 

 obtained from a quarter of an acre : being at the 

 rate of 112 bushels per acre. Mr. Colman thinks, 

 however, that the accuracy of this statement may be 

 consiJered doubtful."' 



An instance is mentioned where a man in Sussex, 

 John Piper, who occupied four acres, and kept two 

 cows, worked one of the cows in a cart, by which he 

 makes an annual saving of ^2i. Notwithstanding 

 the cow is worked, " she makes eight pounds of but- 

 ter ])er week, besides furnishing some milk for the 

 family." 



Great pains are taken in all classes to save the 

 manure. Nothing is wasted. The animals afe stallfed, 

 and only turned into a yard a few hours a day for ex- 

 ercise. Brick or stone tanks, well cemented, are simk 

 near the cow-stables and pig-sties, for the reception 

 of all the liquid manure. " The contents of these 

 tanks, on becoming full, are pumped into a small cart 

 with a sprinkling box attached to it, like that used for 

 watering streets in cities, and distributed over the 

 crops, always with the greatest advantige, and with 

 effects immediately perceptible." All which Mr. 

 Colman saw, convinced him that there is no necessi- 

 ty of impoverishing the soil, but that under the right 

 management, it will keep itself in condition, and be 

 ever improving. The allotment system, though so 

 evidently beneficial to the poorer classes, is strongly 

 opposed by the farmers in general. In relation to 

 the causes of this opposition, it is all-^ged that the 

 farmers are not willing to lessen the dependence of 

 the laborers on them for support — that the great 

 crops obtained under such nice cultivation, con- 

 trasted with those of the farmer, tend to throw the 

 latter into the shade, or by proving what Ihe land is 

 capable of producing, may induce the landlords to 

 raise their rente. Besides, it is said the farmers are 



unwilling to see the laborers appear in the markets 

 in competition with themselves. Mr. Colman ob- 

 serves, that whether these reasons actually exist or 

 not, " the motives named are but too consistent with 

 the weakness and too oiten unrestrained selfiishness 

 of human nature. Every man certainly has a fair 

 right ' to live,' and the duty of every just man is to 

 ' let him live.' Blessed be the day, if come it over 

 should, when every man willl earn that his own true 

 prosperity is essentially concerned in the prosperity 

 of his neighbor, and that no gratification on earth, 

 to a good mind, is more delicious than that which is 

 reflected from the happiness of another, to which he 

 has himself been instrumental." 



Some of the allotments are managed by men who 

 act in the capacity of school teachers, and the schol- 

 ars, who are boys from eight to fourteen years of 

 age, perform the labor of cultivating the crops — 

 working on the farm a given number of hours each 

 day in return for their instruction. The system 

 works well, both for the boys, and the condition and 

 product of the grounds. Yet Mr. Colman feels 

 constrained to add his " strong conviction that the 

 education of the laboring classes is not viewed with 

 favor by those who move in a higher condition of 

 life." " Every approach, therefore," he continues, "in 

 this direction, is likely to be resisted ; and this feel- 

 ing of superiority pervades, with an almost equal in- 

 tensity, every class in society, above the lowest, 

 from the master of the household to the most men- 

 ial beneath whom there is any lower depth. Edu- 

 cation is the great leveler of all artificial distinctions, 

 and may therefore be well looked upon with jeal- 

 ousy." 



Steeping Seeds. — Considerable has been said, 

 during the past year, of a mode of steeping seeds, 

 introduced by Mr. Campbell, of Scotland. Mr. 

 Colman introduces one or two letters from Mr. 

 Campbell, in reference to this subject. The steeps 

 he employs, are sulphate, nitrate, and muriate of 

 ammonia, nitrates of soda and potass, and combina- 

 tions of these. One experiment given, is in sub- 

 stance, the following. Some earth was dug up six 

 feet below the surface, which was totally destitute 

 of organic matter. It was sown with seeds which 

 had been soaked in these solutions, and produced 

 plants with seven or eight stems each, while plants 

 from the unprepared seeds produced no more than 

 three stems each. They had not reached maturity 

 when this statement was given, and of course, the 

 relative yield of grain could not be told. 



Spade Husbandry. — This mode of cultivation 

 seems to be extending itself in Great Britain, and 

 under the cheapness of hand labor which there pre- 

 vails, is found fully remanerating. The principle is 

 the same as that of subsoil plowing. The best tool 

 for the work, is a three pronged fork, 14 inches 

 deep, and 7J inches wide. This works easier than a 

 spade, and pulverizes the ground better. Though, as 

 Mr. Colman observes, spade husbandry cannot bo 

 generally introduced into the United States with 

 advantage, yet ho says there are some cases in which 

 it might be found profitable, such as on farms where 

 the poor are kept. In England, no farm is over con- 

 nected with a pauper establishment, and some cau- 

 tion is there used, lest those establishments be found 

 too comfortable and attractive. Mr. Colman cites 

 the example of a man in New England, who from 

 only seven acres of land, sells annually $2,500 

 worth of produce. 



Condition or LABORERS.—Mr. Colman says, " it 



