34 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Jan. 



For the New England Farmer. 



FALL PLOWING AND THE CUT-WORM. 



Mr. Editor : — I see, by one of your late pa- 

 pers, that there is some little discussion on the 

 subject of fall plowing, and being in favor of it, I 

 propose to speak of at least one \'ery good reason 

 why it should be practised. I allude to the 

 destruction of insects in general, but to the 

 destruction of the cut-worm in particular. The 

 farm I live on is the one which ray father oc- 

 cupied for more than forty years ; it is of a light, 

 sandy loam mostly, and during his life the cut- 

 worm was very troublesome, sometimes destroying 

 ■whole crops in spite of all his efforts, (and they 

 were not small.) but he never plowed in the fall. 

 Since I came in possession of the farm, and prac- 

 tised fall plowing, I have never lost a crop by the 

 worms, or been troubled, to any extent, if the 

 plowing was done late. 



1 will give one instance, where a small part of 

 a field was left unplowed on account of winter! 

 setting in while I was about it. The land of 

 which I speak was all under the same cultiva- 

 tion ; the part plowed in the fall made 24 rows, 

 10 rods long, and 10 rows from 16 to 10 rods, 

 equal to one row 5l4 rods long ; the part not fall- 

 plowed was 8 rows, from 3 to 6 rods long, equal! 

 to 36 rode of one row. The land was plowed and 

 manured all alike iu the spring, and set with 

 tomatoes at the same time, and on the 36 rods I 

 lost more plants during the season than on all the 

 rest of the 51-i rods. It was my practice to go 

 over the ground every morning, and kill the 

 worms, and reset all missing plants at night, and 

 I kept an account of the whole transaction at the 

 time, but it is several ye^rs since, and I have for- 

 gotten the exact number. I have been particular 

 m making the account of the rows, as 1 have had 

 tomatoes on the same land this year, and make 

 my calculations by the rows the present year. 

 Yours, &c., B. F. Cutter. 



Pclham, N. H., Nov. 27, 1854. 



ORGANIC AND INORGANIC MATTER. 



Farmers frequently remark that they do not 

 comprehend the precise meaning of the terms "Or- 

 ganic" and "Inorganic," as applied in agricul- 

 ture. They are at a loss where to apply the 

 proper distinction which they suppose ought to 

 be observed in judging of the two forms as they 

 occur in nature. 



All living animals and plants, and their carcas- 

 es, when the vitalizing principle of life has left 

 them, are composed of organic or organized mat 

 ter. These are readily distinguishable from inor- 

 ganic matter by a structure visible to the eye, as 

 observable in the fibres of hemp and flax — the po 

 rous structure of wood and flesh, and the more 

 complicated texture of hide and hair. 



Rocks and soils — the waters of lakes and oceans 

 — all things, in short, that do not live, which neith 

 er are nor have been the medium of vitality, are 

 to be included under the general division of inor 

 ganic matter. Plants and animals of whatever 

 description, are composed mainly of the four prin 



cipal elements — carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and hy- 

 drogen. When either amimal or vegetable mat- 

 ter is burned, it loses its texture and disappears, 

 leaving behind only a slight residuum of ash. 



The substances above named, being derived from 

 the atmosphere, are released, and are termed or- 

 ganic elements, or constituents. All the ipulti- 

 farious forms and mutations observable in the an- 

 imal and vegetable kingdoms, are attributable to 

 the chemical combinations, through the opera- 

 tion of the vital principle, of these primary ele- 

 ments. 



Vegetable oil and starch, sugar and animal fat, 

 are,by fire, resolved into their original elements — 

 carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. Tliese, with all 

 substances of a similar nature, or character, are 

 the result of, and derived wholly from organized 

 matter. Wood, burned in the open air, has its 

 organic constituents dissipated ; the inorganic par- 

 ticles only remaining. In the ashes may be de- 

 tected magnesia, lime, silex, potash, oxide of iron, 

 &c. These latter constitute the inorganic parts of 

 the vegetable system, and are derived from the 

 soil. It may be proper here to observe, that there 

 are many organic substances in which no struc- 

 ture is visible. Gum, sugar and starch, are all 

 found in plants, and yet are deficient in pores and 

 fibres ; but being produced by tlie natural opera- 

 tion of living organs, are included, with proprie- 

 ty, under the head of organic matter. 



It would be well for our farmers if they could 

 analyze their crops and soils on which they are 

 produced. Few, however, are competent to do 

 this, and much therefore, remains enigmatical and 

 unexplained. But as time advances, and science 

 diffuses light over the earth, these mysteries will 

 gradually pass away ; and the farmer will then 

 discover that when he gathers in the rich fruits 

 of his industry in the fall, he collects together a 

 portion of what was his soil at seed time. In his 

 wheat he will detect lime, flint, and a portion of 

 clay. His Indian corn, a crop in which he justly 

 glories, contains also the same materials though 

 differently modified in combination, and so do 

 most of the grains he cultivates. All vegetables 

 must have a certain proportion of mineral matter 

 to perfect them ; and it it consequently impor- 

 tant that he should understand how he can best 

 supply them by animal manures, or mineral ap- 

 plications where there is a deficiency of power to 

 supply them in the soil itself. Animal manures 

 contain these mineral ingredients in a soluble 

 state, and consequently in a condition the most 

 perfectly adapted for immediate appropriation. 

 No particle of matter can enter into, or be assimi- 

 lated by the vegetable organism, until its texture 

 has been broken and modified by the solvent ac- 

 tion of water. 



Thus, it will be seen that there is an intimate 

 relationship, and constant interchange between 



