14 



The Late Frost. — Society of Land Improvers. 



YoL. X. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 The I^ate Frost. 



To THE Editor. — In the Cabinet for the 

 present month, page 375, we find some ac- 

 count of the disastrous frost which occurred 

 on the 31st of May last, and the writer inti- 

 mates a desire to be informed of the result 

 in other portions of the county. In compli- 

 ance with the intimation of your Chester 

 county correspondent, I send you the result 

 of my observations as regards the effect of 

 this untimely visitation in this neighbour- 

 hood. They agree in almost every respect 

 with those mentioned in the statement above 

 referred to. 



I was in Philadelphia when it occurred, 

 and leaving the city a few days after by the 

 Downingtown rail-road, I did not, by the 

 rapidity of conveyance, have an opportunity 

 of examining the effects of the frost on the 

 passage. My impression was, that but little 

 injury was experienced in the vicinity of the 

 city. 



On arriving at home, about fifty miles 

 N. W. from Philadelphia, and about four 

 miles from Churchrtown, the Conestoga 

 creek running through the farm, I was 

 struck witii the appearance of the corn, 

 vWhich was almost entirely cut down to the 

 ground. The leaves wilted and the verdure 

 entirely changed to a brownish hue; a great 

 part appeared as if scalded, ciany of the 

 hills being so much frozen that the plants 

 never recovered^ After some days the young 

 corn appeared to show symptoms of vitality. 

 The upper ends of the plants being quite 

 dead, coiled their leaves about the young 

 and tender part, and retarded the growth of 

 the same, which I endeavoured to relieve by 

 Clipping the ends of the adhering leaves, 

 and I think it had a good effect. The corn 

 has since grown pretty well, but owing to 

 the Gold and dry season previous to the frost, 

 and that being of so killing a nature, the 

 crop will not be so full and jlarge as in ordi- 

 nary seasons. 



With regard to the wheat crop, it fared 

 much worse than the corn. The frost struck 

 it with such intensity, that of about 80 acres 

 of most promising grain on this farm, which 

 miglit have yielded about 2000 bushels, we 

 shall thresh scarcely 200 bushels of good 

 wheat. Part of this wheat was Mediterra- 

 nean, and part the Red-bearded. The Me- 

 diterranean was not so much affected by the 

 frost, as the other kind, being sowed some- 

 what earlier, and the field being somewhat 

 more elevated. Along the flat and level 

 ground the grain was entirely killed. Where 

 a shade tree occurred, there was a visible 

 protection from the effects of the frost, and 



where the ground rose to any thing like an 

 elevated ridge, the grain was not much in- 

 jured. Along the water courses, and flat 

 damp places, the wheat has suffered most. 

 On hilly, gravelly, and sandstone lands, nei- 

 ther corn nor wheat has been much injured 

 by the frost. The limestone vailies in grain 

 as well as grass, have suffered most severely. 

 Owing to the adverse season, the crop of 

 hay will be very short in this part of Lan- 

 caster county. 



The tender vegetables and delicate plants 

 of the garden were almost all destroyed by 

 this unseasonable frost. Early potatoes, 

 which might have been in maturity about 

 the middl6 of June, after the frost struck 

 them never grew; and the small potatoes 

 gathered, were about the size of marbles. 

 It is fortunate for the country that the effects 

 of this disastrous frost have riot been gene- 

 ral. A great part of this county had excel- 

 lent crops of wheat, which will make up for 

 the deficiency in others. I understand some 

 of the farmers who had housed their frost 

 bitten grain, or rather straw, have been 

 obliged to take it out of their barns, as it 

 began to heat and ferment. B. 



Spring-grove Farm, July 21st, 1845. 



Society of Land Improvers. 



The subject of the allotment and im- 

 provement of waste lands, is one which has 

 at various times deservedly claimed a share 

 of public attention. Numerous reports have 

 been published descriptive of the beneficial 

 results which have followed the application 

 of the system indifferent localities; in some, 

 the success has been complete — in others 

 the experiment has partially failed, owing 

 to the incompetence of the parties on whom 

 the management devolved, or to the unwil- 

 lingness of the labourers to undergo the 

 requisite exertion. Ireland is a country 

 possessing, as is generally allowed, peculiar 

 claims upon active philanthropy; and among 

 the schemes suggested or undertaken for her 

 improvement, none have met with so favour- 

 able a reception, as that tor the reclamation 

 of tlie neglected and uncultivated portions 

 of her soil, conducted by an institution called 

 the Irish Waste Land Improvement Society. 



This Society, it appears, with the Earl of 

 Devon at its head, was formed in 1836, and 

 being incorporated by act of Parliament, it 

 obtained^the possession of many thousands of 

 acres of waste land — mountain, and peat 

 moss or bog — on leases of 99 years, at a 

 very low rent, averaging about l.s. \{)d. per 

 statute acre. The plan of the company was 

 not to speculate in farming themselves, but 

 re-let the whole in farms of 15 to 25 acres, 



