1855. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



183 



vigorous wood of the previous year's growth, rnayj 

 be set with an almost certain assurance of suc- 

 cess. These should be cut off near the surface, 

 and inserted in the lines or beds to the depth of 

 six or seven inches, and the soil well compressed 

 about them ; the surface should then be covered 

 with old, well-rotted chip-manure, hay, leaves or 

 straw, so as to keep the ground at all times moist. 

 It will be well to scatter a little lime or ashes on 

 the surface before mulching. 



The plants must be kept well weeded, and be 

 watered the first year, if the season be dry. By 

 removing all the leaf buds except some few — say 

 four or five of the topmost ones, and checking 

 the tendency to lateral growth, very prettily 

 formed and symmetrical trees may be obtained ; 

 but this operation must be annually repeated till 

 the plants or bushes have assumed the requisite 

 height and shape, which will generally be in 

 about three years from the time of setting. But 

 more fruit will probably be obtained from the 

 clump of bushes. Gooseberries may be cultivated 

 in the tree form, and perhaps with advantage. 

 Under the old way, the gooseberry is often in- 

 jured, or desti'oyed by mildew. The tree method 

 is said to obviate this evil, and secure elegant and 

 healthy bushes and fruit. The subject is worthy 

 of attention. 



NINTH LEGISLATIVE AGRICULTU- 

 RAL MEETING. 



Reported for the New England Farmer, 

 BY WILLIAM W. HILL. 



The ninth meeting of the course was held in 

 the Representatives' Hall, at the State House, on 

 Tuesday evening, 13th inst. The subject for con- 

 sideration was — The Rotation of Crops. 



R. Morris Copeland, of Lexington, presided, 

 and opened the discussion in an interesting man- 

 ner. The suliject of a rotation of crops, he said, 

 must appropriately follow that of manures, 

 which luul been discussed at the two previous 

 meetings, for the principle of rotation is the 

 principle of manures. It is often asked, why 

 should we wish for a rotation of crops 1 And it 

 has been affirmed over and over again that none 

 was needed, because in England wheat had 

 been raised for a long series of years upon the 

 same land. But tlie reason of tliis is found in 

 the fact that tlie English farmers have cultivated 

 their land highly, and he doubted whether West- 

 ern fatmers would be willing to spade their land 

 instead of plowing it, in order to obtain a large 

 crop. Why one crop succeeds better after an- 

 other has not been determined. It has been ex- 

 plained that one crop first takes all the constitu- 

 ent qualities frum the land which it needs, and 

 yet leaves somctliing untouched which is required 

 for the succeeding crop ; but this is incorrect, as 



turnips, which follow corn (which require a 

 large supply of the phosphate,) witl\ excellent 

 success, absorb more pliosphoric acid than corn. 

 The speaker also showed that the "excremento- 

 ry" theory, also, was fallacious. In consider- 

 ing the rotation of crops, the farmer ought first 

 to ascertain what kind of crops he wants to grow. 

 If he wishes to raise cattle, he can only increase 

 his herds either by rotation of crops or by extra 

 manuring. Now four pounds of turnips are 

 equal to one pound of hay, and it has been said 

 that ten pounds of hay will make a pound of 

 beef. Therefore, as we can get twenty tons of 

 turnips where we can two of hay, the profit in 

 raising turnips is very apparent. If a market 

 gardener in the neighborhood of Boston wishes to 

 grow celery on the sailie land for twenty years 

 in succession, he does it, and with wonderful suc- 

 cess. Therefore, before deciding upon a rotation 

 of crops, the farmer siiould decide whether his 

 market demands it, or whether it is better to buy 

 manure. In a section where the chief aim ia 

 stock growing, and manure is not abundant, a 

 good system is to take a piece of pasture land, 

 put on a lair amount of manure, plant with 

 corn, and seventy-five bushels may be obtained ; 

 follow it with turnips, applying a small amount 

 of barn-yard manure, and about six hundred 

 bushels of turnips >vill be the result, which, it 

 has been seen, are better than two or three tons 

 of hay. Sow down in the fall to clover and 

 grass, and a very large yield is secured, and the 

 land will continue to yield for two or three years 

 without manure, and, at the end of that time, it 

 is jjut into pasture again ; a most succulent feed 

 will be obtained, which will hold on through the 

 season, and the pasture can be used for two years, 

 remaining so veri*lant that a half a dozen cattle 

 can be fed where one usually is. Another ad- 

 vantage Avill be, that the range of the animals 

 will be less, and their droppings be more concen- 

 trated, which will greatly tend to maintain the 

 fertility of the land. Instead of putting on top- 

 dressing, go through this system of rotation of 

 crops. Another rotation would be to take stub- 

 l)le land, and, instead of beginning with corn, 

 use turnips, putting on a dressing of manure, 

 and then follow with wheat or any kind of 

 grain ; after which, put in clover, and then turn 

 to pasture. By a sub-division of one hundred 

 acres, corn, wheat, potatoes and pasture might 

 be embraced in a small surface. But after all, 

 whether we pursue rotation of crops or liigh farm- 

 ing, the truest method of farming is tliat which 

 gives back to the soil what the plant has taken 

 away, at the same time increasing its value as 

 much as possible. 



Mr. Fay, of Essex, was called on for remarks, 

 and said that it was not with grain crops we 



