100 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



OCT. 4, ZSt17. 



CFrorn tlie Gt-nesee Farmer.) 

 SUMMER FALI.O'WS. 



EFFECT OF FREf(UENT PLOUGHIi"«G. 



The effect wliieli frequent ploiigliiiig lins onlanfl 

 inteiitled for suniiiicr fallows, or on wliicli wheat 

 is to be sown, lias in some degree attracted !he 

 attention of farmers, but fiirther nbservation, and 

 a comparison of llie results, are still desirable in 

 order to a pcrfeot nnderstandiiTs; of the matter. 

 If the crop of wheat will I>e no better for five or 

 six plonghings, it is certainly desirable to save the 

 labor; and if it should ayipear that the crop, and 

 the soil, loo, is injured by too luuch ploughing, 

 and that ploughing thoroughly once is better than 

 to move the ground 'deeply with the plough as 

 many as four or five times, then farmers should 

 understand the matter, and husband their lime and 

 labor accordingly. Our remarks will principally 

 relate to lands in good tilth, and which is plough- 

 ed for the benefit of the crop alone ; lands infested 

 with noxious weeds, such as thistle and Johns- 

 wort, may be ploughed as often as these weeds 

 show themselves in tlie season, .and this is the 

 most efTective method of destroying them ; but 

 we have serious doubts whether land so ploughed 

 would produce as good wheat as if j)loughed not 

 more than once or twice. 



IMuch of the soil of west New York is compos- 

 ed on the surface of what may be called calcare- 

 ous loam, based more or less on earth containing 

 large quantities of clay, the latter frqeuently run- 

 ning into clay slate, or, where the lime predomi- 

 nates, into limestone. The soils that abound in 

 clay and lime, furnish the best wheat lands of the 

 state, anil the surface after ploughing soon as- 

 sumes the dark hue, indicative of soils impregnat- 

 ed with the salts furnished by vegetable decom- 

 position. In this surface soil is found the favorite 

 food of plants, and the question arises, whether 

 frequently turning the soil deeply, so as to pre- 

 vent the combination at the surface so apparently 

 necessary to the growth of the plant, would not 

 be a positive injury rather Ihsii a b3nefit.' Deep 

 ploughing is necessary to loosen the earth, and 

 render it permeable, to a proper depth, for the 

 roots of the [dants put upon it; it is only when 

 new soil from a considerable depth is so frequent- 

 ly brought to the surface that the ameliorating ef- 

 fects of the sun, air, and fermenting gases, have no 

 time to exercise their influence, that the surface 

 becomes unfit for the jiurpose of vegetation. 



It has been rcrjiarked by one of the most sci- 

 entific and able fjrniers of the present day, Judge 

 Buel, "that unfermentcd vegetable and animal 

 matters, including greensward, green crops and 

 long inanure, after being buried by the plough, 

 should never be exposed to the sun and winds by 

 cross ploughing, until they have become fierfectly 

 rotten. The gaseous matters which ilung gives 

 off while undergoing fermentation, always rise, 

 because they are lighter than the atmospheric air. 

 They enrich the soil and afford food for plants, 

 because they have already formed the necessary 

 parts of plants. Hene<!, if fermentation takes place 

 on the surface, these gaseous matters are scattered 

 and lost ; if in the soil, the earths and moisture 

 retain them there, and the plants feed upon them." 

 This union of the fertilizing gases takes place at 

 tb? surface of the earth, and if this fertile stratum 

 is too frequently displaced, the surface will in a 

 considerable degree be rendered barren. 



Mr I hoiiias J. Raudi)l[di, in an able paper pub- 

 lished in the Tarmer's Register, says, in speaking 



of the propriety of frequent i)loughing for fallows 

 — " when good land, (particularly clover land,) 

 with li distinctly marked surface of dark soil, is 

 fallowed for wheat, sown with the harrow upon 

 one ploughing, and permitted to lie a year or two 

 in clover, after the crop of wheat, the dark soil 

 that was turned under is again formed upon the 

 surface, occupying the position in which the clay 

 was left by the previous ploughing, and the clay, 

 that which was occupied by the inverted soil. * 



* * 1 suppose this change is accomplished 

 by the gasses evolved in the decomposition of the 

 vegetable matter turned under by the plough. If 

 the weather is warm, and the vegetation green, 

 succulent, and abundant, the decomposition is 

 rapid, and the quantity of gas disengaged is great. 

 Of these, the carbonic is deemed the great stimu- 

 lant of vegetable life ; and being heavier than the 

 atmospheric, air, but lighter than the soil, it rises 

 to the surface, insinuating itself into the intersti- 

 ces of the clay brought up by the plough, saturates 

 it, and accomplishes the first process of its con- 

 version into soil. Hence the cause of a well known 

 fact, that fallows made in June, or July, become 

 many shades darker on the surface, although ex- 

 posed to tlie scorching rays of a summer's sun, 

 than those made in September and October, when 

 the days are shorter, vegetation drier and less 

 succulent, the nights longer and cooler, and every 

 circumstance less favorable to a rapid decompo- 

 sitiiui." 



Perhaps the most thorough and frequent plongh- 

 ings known among us, are given to those summer 

 fallows where the destruction of the Canada this- 

 tle fcrmsan important object in the culture of the 

 field. Fields have been thus ploughed from six 

 to ten times, and we believe it has been almost 

 uniformly found, that while the certainty of des- 

 troying the thistles incrfased in proportion to the 

 frequency of the i>loiighing,"the chance of a suc- 

 ceeding crop of wheat was diminished in the same 

 degree. The observation and experience of al- 

 most every fanner innstJiave furnished instances 

 where repeated plonghings, caused the failure of 

 a crop, or at least greatly lessened its value. 

 Where so important an end is to be attained as 

 the destruction of the thistle, the loss, partially or 

 wholly, of t!ie succeeding crop, is of little mo- 

 ment ; the end may be pursued without regard to 

 collateral consequences, as rest and manure will 

 at once remedy the evil. A few years since, a 

 gentleman in one of the central counties of this 

 state treated a large field, overrun with thistles, 

 but strong rich land, in the way described above. 

 It was phiiighed early, and as often as any thing 

 green showed itself on the surface ; the number 

 of times we do not now recollect. The time for 

 sowing came, and the field was pronounced in 

 capital order ; no vegetation of any kind to be 

 seen ; the soil finely pulverized, but bearing too 

 ninch the cast of the clayey suhslratiiin ; and the 

 farmer flattered himself that he had not only kill- 

 ed his this'les, but secured a fine crop of wheat. 

 Spring came, and if the thistles came not, so neith- 

 er did the wheat, and to the great surprise of all, 

 his field remained nearly bare at harvest. The 

 soil appeared to be deprived of the principles that 

 promote vegetation, and to have become dead and 

 inert. Others have witnessed similar results. 



We should infei from the foregoing opinions 

 anfl experiments — Firstly, that where necessary 

 to plough deep, in order to give a free range to 

 the roots of plants, it should be performed thor- 



oughly, and not frequently repeated. Secondly — 

 that early fallowing is decidedly preferable to a 

 ploughing that is later, as it gives the surface time 

 to regain from the ascending gases and action of 

 the atmosphere, the fertilizing principles, of which 

 the lower stratum of soil is destitute. Thirdly — 

 that w hen green crops, such as clover, or buck, 

 wheat, are turned under, they should not be dis- 

 turbed until decomposition is complete, and their 

 valuable jiropeities thoroughly incorporated with 

 the soil ; and fourihly — that since nature in all 

 cases, where left to perform her operations undis- 

 turbed, prepares the surface for the reception of 

 seed, farmers should profit by her labors, and not, 

 unless rendered necessary for other purposes, 

 counteract her preparatory measures, by unne- 

 cessarily changing the surface in li-equent plough- 

 ings. 



Measuring Potatoes A fact which came 



under our observation last spring, while buying 

 our seed jjotatoes, has convinced us that it would 

 greatly tend to jiromote the cause of justice be- 

 tween buyer and seller, as well as advance the in- 

 terests of potato growers if they were sold by 

 weig'it. We engaged 3-5 bushels from a dealer, 

 out of a lot of 55 that he had bought. Prior to 

 our sending for them, the dealer told us that he 

 had sold 40 bushels and wished us to take the 

 balance ; upon our remonstrating againt his hav- 

 ing sold a portion of the quantity engaged by us, 

 he laughed and said there was more left than we 

 had engaged, and much to our surjirise, the resi- 

 due measured 37 1-2 bushels, making the 55 

 bought by the dealer actually contain 77 1-2 

 bushels. On expressing our surprise at these facts, 

 he stated that he had bought the potatoes in bags, 

 and that they contained more than the estimate 

 of their contents, which he had, at the request of 

 the consignee, fixed himself. Here was a clear 

 lo.ss in measure to the owner of the potatses, of 

 22 1-2 bushels, whereas had the quantity been 

 ascertained by weight, the judgment of an inter- 

 ested purchaser could have befu dispensed with, 

 and justice to the farmer would have been done. 

 We deem it our duty to lay this statement of facts 

 before our agriculiural readers, because we lion- 

 estly believe that great advantage would arise were 

 the measure of potatoes ascertained hy ivcight, in- 

 stead of the loose manner of measuring in loikets, 

 bags, and half bushels. — Bait, Far. 



We perceive by the N. Y. Journal of Commerce, 

 that the hopes of good crops are realized in most 

 places. Witness the following: 



Frederick, Maryland, Wheat more than aver- 

 age, and very heavy ; $1 per bushel : — Oats, po- 

 tatoes, rye, all abundant. Corn promising u good 

 crop. 



Winchester, Virginia, — tlie same in all re- 

 spects. 



Wheeling, Ohio, Wheat 75 cts Columbus, 



Ohio, Wheat contracted for at 62 1-2 cts. ))cr 

 bushel. 



From Buffalo to Utica, wheat crop excellent. 

 Wheat at Rochester, N. Y. $1 25. 



Nashville, Tennessee, Sept. 9. Flour 2 50 to 

 3 00 per IOC lbs., |)loiity. Ohio superfine $& per 

 bhi. Corn, very promising. I 



Lynchburg, Va., Sept. 14. — Flour $5 50 to $9 

 very dull : wheat 1,05 to 1,10. 



Georgetown, D. C. — Flour 8, to 8,-^0 per bbl. 

 \Vlieat, 1,25 per bushel. 



