378 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



[June 24, 



computation. 



husbandmen of Penns^'lvania, and the individual 

 who here entered the lists in this fearful conflict 

 with prejudice, must be allowed to have possess- 

 ed no inconsiderable share of moral courage, 

 united with comprehensive patriotism and be- 



"""Thrmerit of introducing gypsum to the no- j continent, 'the Theatre of {'j:' ^"Pe^l'"'^"'^ ' IJi'' 

 farmers of the Unitld States, belongs,! he should succeed in establishing the principle 



The history of human concerns j clover seed on ihirty-five acres of green wheat, 

 will "furnish few such instances as the one we an account of the success of which he sent to 

 are now contemplating. That an individual j this society in 1787. n the same communica- 

 should b.-^o-in a system intended to revive anex-jtion he submits the following views lor ihe im- 

 hausied soil, by the application of a manure provement o( farming, "breaking up 

 which at the time was not known to exist on this 



tice of the 



with various othei important suggestions, to my 

 venerable friend, who has so long, so disinter- 

 estedly, and so ably presided over this institu- 

 tion ; — a gentleman whose distinguished servi- 

 ces need not my voice to enlarge the plenteous 

 reward of gratitude and respect which crown 

 the evening of his useful day. Me well knows 

 that 1 wouKI not offend him by adulation ; but as 

 an inducement to every mind desirous to put 

 forth its energies in the good work in which he 

 has ever taken the deepest interest, 1 feel bound 

 to exhibit the surprising results which well 

 directed and untiring efforts may accomplish. 

 Like the early patron of husbandry and rural 

 affairs in England, our Filzherbert found leisure 

 amidst the duties of a profession which gave 

 him eminence at the bar, and subsequently dis- 

 tinction on the bench, to make and to give to 

 the public his judicious experiments in agricul- 

 ture. 



In the year 1770, he first became acquainted 

 with gypsum. A small quantity of which was 

 then sent from Germany to a merchant of this 

 city, with some information of its value as a 

 manure, then but recently and accidentally dis- 

 covered. It was said concerning it, that a la- 

 bourer who had been employed in mixing stucco 

 mortar, passed and repassed from his work to 

 his cottage, across a sterile field. The succeed- 

 ing season his |)alh threw up a luxuriant crop 

 of grass, which he altribtited to the plaisterthat 

 fell from his clothes, and wa? thus induced to 

 make an experiment near his dwelling, with the 

 remainder of llie article in his possession. The 

 effects astonished every beholder, and the cot- 

 tager received a reward from bis landlord for 

 divulging the secret. Our president, aware of 

 these facts, began his experiments with a single 

 bushel of gypsum, obtained from a make 

 stucco ornaments in Philadelphia, and afterwards 

 pursued and extended (hem in proportion to his 

 means. Not long afier, about twenty tons of 

 this valuable material came as ballast in a ship 

 from London to this port, without the least 

 knowledge of its worth by the captain who 

 brought it, which slock formed the foundation 

 of the vast improvements to our husbandry, sub- 

 sequently resulting from its general use. Having 

 altogather satisticd himself of the fertilizing ef- 

 fects of plaislcr of Fans, hu^i^p. Peters dissemi- 

 nated the knowledge he had acquired through 

 many parts of Pennsylvania, and the then neigh- 

 bouring provinces; but his success in persuad- 

 ing his countrymen to credit his assertions, and 

 in inducing others to make trial of the sulphate 

 of lime, was at first limited and very discourag- 

 ing. He nevertheless continued his labours, and 

 by publishing and otherwise enforcing the facts 

 he possessed on this subject, had the happiness 

 to witness the triumph of his doctrines, over Ihe 

 fomliined forces ot' ignorance, prejudice, and 

 ridicule. What have been the consequence* 

 flowing from the use of this fertilizing princi- 

 ple, and how much it l.as contributed to the solid 

 wealth of Pennsylvania, and of many other 

 States in this union, is far beyond the reach of 



farming. "Breaking up land is 

 perfectly understood by all our farmers, i may 

 say to an extreme degree, which ought to be 

 counteracted by obtaining the art of laying 

 down land with artificial grass seed, otherwise 

 the arable land in the old counties of Pennsyl- 

 vania will in a very few years become of little 

 value. Laying down lands properly being an 

 oliject of importance on the great scale ef agri- 

 culture, it is incumbent upon you to impress the 



only 

 tnnsofit should beannually brought, and spre.-.d I be un.lerslood, but practised, by all farmers, 

 over hundreds of thousands of acres in Pennsyl- ; rirb or poor, let their soil bo clay, loara, or any 

 vinia restorino- the land, and bringing forth | mixture whatever. 1 he earth, like the animal 

 abundance are^the astonishing results, and the body, is capable of supporting a certain degree 

 hi-'h reward which this constant friend to the of labour, and like it, requires proportionable 

 inrerests and prosperity of our husbandmen, lias nutriment, rest, and cleanliness; but withhold 

 lived to' know and to enjoy. Whilst our presi , from the land those necessary reliefs and like 

 dent was thus earnestly engaged in bestowing! a starved, over-worked, and neglected slave, it 

 incalculable benefits on our slate and country, 

 he was by no means unmindful of other interest- 



lor which he contended; that he should after- 

 wards set on foot the inquiry, where this won- 

 derful agent could be found, so as to place it 

 within the reach of the American Farmer, at a 

 price which he could afford to give for it ; that 



o-vpsum should be discovered in exhau=tles5 ^ ,. , ., 



mnntities in this hemisphere, that thousands of necessity there 1=, that this art should not 



ing and important improvements in rural econ- 

 omy. His ancient patrimonial estates in the vi- 

 cinity of Philadelphia, then under his immedi- 

 ate direction, furnished practical evidence of 

 ihe sincerity and utility of his doctrines con- 

 cerning agriculture. It' was upon those farms 

 that Ihe first examples were shown of (lie use 

 of lime and gypsum, of the value of several new 

 grasses, of trench and fall ploughing, of deep 

 culture, &c. and there also were cultivated up- 

 on a large scale, many of Ihe roots since gen- 

 erally and profitably adopted. Upon his in- 

 closures were to be seen some of the finest 

 breeds of horses, cattle and sheep, then known 

 in the state. I have heard him say ivith what 

 mortification he beheld, during the revolution- 

 ary war, eleven out of fourteen superior blood- 

 ed colts shot down for their hides, by a parly 

 of British marauders after iu vain attempting to ; may have ;^t'Cipaled 



rescue them from such wanton destruction. j 



His household, too, was a pattern for the 

 ofj Imitation of farmers in the manufacture of linen 



and woolen fabricks, far beyond Ihe demand for 



domestic purposes ; displaying an attention to 



a branch of business, now loo much neglected 



by the generality of our rural fellow citizens, 



at an expense, 1 fear, of habits of simplicity, 



which were proverbial in former days, 



About the time thatgypium was first brought, 



a small quantity of red clover seed also reached 



Pennsylvania, "and was sown in gardens, and 



will he worn out, and instead of making profit 

 to the owner and benefit to the stale, it will 

 impoverish the one, and disgrace Ihe other." 

 He then proceeds to recommend that the legis- 

 lature should allow a bounty on clover seed, and 

 atld", "I leave the society to press this measure, 

 for it is deserving of its notice, and the full coun- 

 tenance of every legislator : 1 will boldlv as*err, 

 il will prove of more benefit to agriculture and 

 sli^'k in the present stale of our counlry, ihan 

 any thing that can be done. Pioilure the price 

 of clover seed, and Instead of bare fields, daily 

 washing away, 3'ou will see them covered nith 

 grass and cattle."' .SenlirnenIs, such as these, 

 were no doubt regarded as visionary and ex- 

 travagant by the great majority of farmers at 

 that time on the active stage ol'life, yet this 

 ()ractical inslrnc'or has lived to witness Ihe ac- 

 curacy of his opinion-, and (he fulfilment of his 

 prediction, to an extent far bcvond w hat he 



(^Further t:Tlracts in our ntxl.^ 

 Fi-om the Albany Daily Advertiser. 



CUTTING OF RYE. 



This object is ofsiich importance that I can- 

 not conscientiously omit my endeavors to im- 

 press it on the minds of ihe community. 



Uye ought to be cut as soon as possible after 

 Ihe milk is out of Ihe berry or kernel: then rake, 

 bind in small sheaves and shock in the follow- 

 ing m:mner : set up four, five or six sheaves 



on pasture lols in the neighbouroood of this city, i together according to their bulk ; then place on 

 In Ihe year 1773, a practical farmer, then | a capsheaf 

 beginning to improve his estate atFlatland Ford, 



n the county of Montgomery, unable to procure, 

 on this side of the Atlantic, a sufficient quantity 

 of this seed for his purpose, obtained from Eng- 

 land a cask of it, which, owing to some injury 

 sustained on the voyage, was found unfit for use. 

 This disappointment was Ihe more to be lamen- 

 ted, because his projected experiment would 

 have been the first in that vicinity, perhaps in 

 the stale with clo*er upon a large scale. This 

 failure, moreover, prevented an increase and 

 distribution of Ihe seed until after the wnr then 

 existing between the American colonies and 

 Ihe mother country. The same gentleman who 

 thus early desired to cultivate that artificial grass, 



In Ibis position, the shocks may stand till per- 

 fectly dry ; then secure Ihem in a barrack or 

 barn, but never mow them on hay. Grain mow- 

 ed on hay will receive more or less must, which 

 is deleterious to animals of every kind. 



Rye cut and secured in this manner, is worth 

 nearly double the price of that cut in Ihe com- 

 mon way ; the straw will make better fodder, 

 than clover, unless the clover be cut when very 

 green, and peculiarly attended in curing; the 

 t>erry of rye will fill to a plump state, and the 

 flour will afford as good bread as we commonly 

 obtain from wheat. 



I have known numbers of persons who were 

 deceived, when eating rye bread made with 



in the spring of 170&, sowed eighty pounds of flour from rye thus managed. 



