lSo8. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



173 



loose gravel, there are in New England many 

 thousand acres of clays, clay loams, and general- 

 ly loams very retentive of water. These are not 

 insignificant in extent or in their productions, 

 constituting the most fertile meadows and fields 

 of many farms ; and these require to be relieved 

 of that surplus water which saturates and often 

 submerges them in spring or fall, and which when 

 evaporated in summer, leaves them compact, 

 parched and baked. 



Fully persuaded by the study of this theory, 

 and the results obtained by others, and by my 

 own practical experiments, that all the benefits 

 attained in England, and more, are attainable here 

 by thorough draining our most fertile soils, I am 

 induced to correct some of the errors of fact and 

 reasoning in the paper of "S. F.," as well also to 

 provoke inquiry for the truth, and encourag<! the 

 sure test of practical experiment upon the process. 



The assumption that the humidity of England's 

 climate creates a necessity for drying the land 

 there, which does not exist here, is denied by the 

 rain guage. That instrument shows a much lar- 

 ger fall of rain annually in New England than in 

 old England. The apparent or sensible moisture 

 in the air is less here in midsummer, because of 

 our higher temperature at that season. 



But so far as getting off the water is concerned, 

 we must consider the seasons of its abundance — 

 spring and autumn. At these seasons, no one 

 will contend, we have any deficiency of moisture 

 either in the soil or in the air. In the summer, 

 our hot sun and drying winds cause a rapid evap- 

 oration from the earth's surface. Then, if not 

 moistened by frequent showers, our lands suff'er 

 from drought, and then it is, according to "S. F.," 

 that draining would aggravate that injur j'. Not 

 so — the very reverse is the fact. Thorough drain- 

 ing is the best, almost the only protection to our 

 clayey lands and their crops, against injury by 

 drought. The fact has been well tested by re- 

 peated experiments, including in their range the 

 dry season of 1853, and the reasons for it are 

 found in the operation of familiar natural laws, 

 and as negative as well as affirmative theories are 

 liable to errors and fallacies, practical men will 

 do well to give a fairly conducted experiment to 

 a process which has proved of such immense ben- 

 efit to another countr}% before denying it to ours. 



To the aflSrmative part of "S. F.'s" proposition, 

 the value of irrigation, I heartily assent. It has 

 surprising efi'ects as a fertilizer, and gives new 

 effect to elements of fertility in the soil. The re- 

 corded results of experiments in England and 

 Scotland almost surpass belief, in the increased 

 production of grass ; and its practice in Lombar- 

 dy has long been commended as worthy of imita- 

 tion. But unless there are peculiar local advan- 

 tages, such as an elevated head of water in close 

 vicinity, it requires a costly apparatus, which few 

 can afford, and to be quite efficient, should be 

 preceded by thorough draining and subsoiling. 

 On the other hand, there are few farmers who 

 can afford to let their thin arable lands retentive 

 of surface waters remain undrained. That water 

 wastes their labor, their manure, their solar heat 

 — it tends to poverty. B. F. Nourse. 



by jNIessrs. Beed, Hull & Pierson, and edited by 

 our old friend, Dr. Reed. It purports to be devoted 

 to the interests of the farmer, the Tiorticulturist 

 and mechanic ; — the school-room, the housewife 

 and fireside ; and it has in this first number a 

 dish of which each may partake and find whole- 

 some nutriment. We wish it abundant success. 



The Berkshire Culturist. — This is the ti- 

 tle of a new paper published at Pittsfield, Mass., 



FIFTH LEGISLATIVE AGRICULTURAL 



MEETING. 

 [reported for the n. k. farmer. ] 



The fifth meeting of the Legislative Agricultu- 

 ral Society took place at the State House, in the 

 Representatives' Hall, on Tuesday evening. 



Mr. Asa G. Sheldon, of Wilmington, presid- 

 ed, and on assuming the chair, offered a few re- 

 marks upon the subject for discussion, viz. ; "The 

 preparation and application of manures." It had 

 been said that a bank of manure was the richest 

 bank a farmer could possess, and the speaker 

 had never heard the assertion doubted. He be- 

 lieved it was an admitted fact that all manures 

 should be composted before used. This being 

 admitted, it was important to know the easiest, 

 cheapest and best way in which it could be ac- 

 complished. The best way the speaker was ac- 

 quainted with, was to team the manure upon the 

 ground and backfurrow it in. If the cows lie in 

 the yard, and there is plenty of earth lying around 

 the yard, it has been found to be an excellent 

 method to throw the manure into a pile in the 

 morning and cover it up with earth. The speak- 

 er had never found any manures more valuabl* 

 for various applications than that composted af- 

 ter the foregoing method. About three times as 

 much earth was needed to be thrown on as there 

 is manure. It had been said that guano was a 

 humbug ; but the speaker thought the guano it- 

 self was not so much of a humbug, as were the 

 dealers in it. The first guano the speaker ever 

 purchased, he found on application to be very 

 good, but since then he had received but little 

 benefit from it. 



Mr. W. J. BUCKMINSTER wished to inquire 

 how far it was best to compost manure for field 

 use, and for those who do not raise produce for 

 market. Certain manures were good for certain 

 purposes, which may not be so well adapted for 

 other uses. There was a difficulty in composting 

 barn manures, among farmers, particularly at 

 certain seasons of the year, when they were want- 

 ed for farm purposes, and it was important to 

 know whether it would prove of moi-e advantage 

 to save the manure for composting purposes. 



Mr. Allex, of Tisbury, was in favor of the 

 preparation of fine manures, and thought the 

 manure prepared in cow-yards, after the manner 

 alluded to by the President, to be the most valu- 

 able. 



