1355. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



35 



the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, and 

 the more perfectly we comprehend the laws of 

 this union, and the phenomena to which it gives 

 rise, the better shall we be prepared to avail our- 

 selves of the riches and emoluments which na- 

 ture so prodigally holds forth as an encourage- 

 ment to enlighten toil. 



We should ever bear in mind the important 

 fact that manures are endued with different de- 

 grees of energy, partly from their innate richness, 

 and partly from the facility and promptness, with 

 which they part with their fecundating particles 

 to the soil, and to the roots of plants. These are 

 given off only in solution, or in a3rified bodies, 

 (gas,) the first taking the name of liquid manure, 

 which penetrates the soil and is absorbed by it to 

 feed the roots of the crop, and the other as air, 

 which, if not absorbed and fixed by some sub- 

 stance for which it possesses a strong affinity, will 

 pass into the' atmosphere and be lost. It will 

 hence be seen that the art of manuring consists 

 not so much in the liberality of your benefac- 

 tions to the soil, as in the competency of the 

 measures we adopt to prevent the escape of the 

 soluble and gaseous products of the matters ap- 

 plied. 



It has been estimated by a late writer, that 

 more than one-half of all the active nutrimental 

 matter formed by the consumption and decay ot 

 organic substances, is wholly lost in consequence 

 of tho imperfect habits of our farmers in applying 

 them. This is, indeed, an important considera- 

 tion, and no one who contemplates it pliilosophi- 

 cally, will find cause to question the verity of the 

 remark above quoted. 



For the jYeiv England Farmer. 



GEAIN CROPS. 



KEPORTED TO THE CONCORD FARMEUs' CLUB, BY 

 JACOB B. FARMER. 



For many years past, it has generally been 

 thought tliat wheat could not be raised in New 

 England ; Lut this I believe to be an error. For 

 the past two years I have tried tho experiment, 

 and have succeeded better than I expected to, 

 raising twenty-eight bushels of fine wheat on 

 about one and a half acres. This is a greater 

 number of bushels than I have ever known to 

 grow of rye, on the same ground, in any one 

 year for the last forty years, it having been sown 

 many times witliia that term. The soil is a very 

 light, sandy loam, well adapted to the growth of 

 rye. All the manure for the wlieat consisted of 

 two loads of meadow mud, two casks of lime, 

 two casks of plaster and five or six bushels of 

 hen manure, well mixed and sowed broadcast, 

 and cultivated in Avith tiio wheat. I think it will 

 not be amiss to state here that there was a part 

 of the ground that had none of this compost on 

 it, and it had nest to no wheat on it too. 1 am 

 satisfied, from the experiments tliat I made, that 

 the ground on which it was sown was deficient of 

 lime and plaster to a great extent ; if these be the 



principal ingredients that are wanting, they are 

 both cheap and easy to be obtained. At any 

 rate, the crop is Avorthy of more attention than 

 has hitherto been given it. The variety is what 

 is termed " the blue stem winter wheat." 



Rye is a crop that, as a general rule, has been 

 treated very shabbily ; l)ut, as the straw has got 

 to be so valual)le now, it is considered worthy of 

 better treatment. I believe there can be but 

 little dependence placed on any soil (unless it 

 contains considerable sand,) for a crop of rye, ex- 

 cept what is usually termed burnt land. Now, 

 whether the application of ashes to the soil would 

 render the crop as certain on all lands as the 

 l)urning of brusli does on new land, or approxi- 

 mate near to it, is a question I cannot answer, 

 but it may be worthy an experiment. 



In regard to oats, I differ in two points from 

 many people. The first is the quantity of seed to 

 be sown per acre. I hold that two bushels per 

 acre is enough for any land where there is grass- 

 seed sown ; if there is more than tliat quantity 

 sown, the young grass is killed in about tbe same 

 proportion to the extra quantity of seed sown, 

 (without a corresponding increase of grain,) by 

 the oats lodging, shading, and exhausting the 

 soil of moisture. If the season is such that the 

 young grass survives until harvest, and it is then 

 any way warm and dry, it will then perish like 

 dew before the sun. The other point on which I 

 differ is the time of harvesting. JNIy rule is to 

 harvest when the oats have turned yellow about 

 half way down the head ; at that time they will 

 not shell by cradling ; the oats are brighter, and 

 the straw is worth nearly dou'^le for stock ; this 

 rule will hold good, to a certain extent, both with 

 wheat and rye. ^ 



As for barley, I never could raise a remunem- 

 ting crop ; whether from the want of knowledge 

 in cultivation, or adaptation of the crop to the 

 soil, is more than 1 can say. 



On all these crops I would recommend, in all 

 cases, more manure and better cultivation, and 

 with these the cultivator will find a largely in- 

 creased profit. 



Concord, Nov., 1854. 



Accident. — Between five and six o'clock Mon- 

 day evening, a man who gave the name of Wil- 

 son, was found upon the track of the Boston and 

 Worcester Railroad, near Auburn Dale, in a 

 wounded condition, his nose being badly mangled, 

 and the back part of his head severely cut. As 

 the five o'clock Worcester train from Boston 

 passed the "W^est Newton crossing, a man was 

 seen upon the top of the cars, and it is supposed 

 that this was Wilson, and that lie was knocked 

 off by the bridge near Auburn Dale. He was 

 taken into the house of Mr. Scribner and his 

 wounds dressed. It is thought that he will re- 

 cover. — Traveller. 



5^ We learn from the Concord Patriot that 

 the sum of ."^11,000 has been subscribed in that 

 city towards tho erection of a Unitarian church, 

 in place of the structure recently consumed by 

 fire. 



