438 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Sept. 



EXTRACTS AKD REPLIES. 



DRAINING — TR.AJNSPL.iNTING — WALL-BUILDING — 

 OLD PASTURES — WHEAT CROP. 



Mr. Editor : — For a few years in my "teens" I 

 "worked out" on a farm, after which I followed shoe- 

 making for a living ; this proving a detriment to my 

 health, I studied, and have practiced, in the winter, 

 for several years, as a profession, the science of 

 Phrenology. I have had a desire for agriculture for 

 several years, and two years since bought a farm of 

 over 100 acres, and in summer, after a six months 

 tour — from October, each year, lecturing on the 

 above science — I do the most of the work on my 

 cleared land (60 acres) with my OAvn hands, and 

 love it well. I am healthy and happy. I should 

 like to ask about a thousand questions through the 

 Farm£r, and perhaps shall, in the course of a year. 



1st. I have a "swale," or swampy piece, of 7 or 8 

 acres, that bears upon an average about two tons 

 per acre of hay, when cleared — and some of it has 

 been mowed for forty years — but it is quite wet. 

 Would it be best to underdrain it, or cut a deep, 

 open ditch, or just cut a shallow channel to give 

 course to the surplus water ? (a.) Some such ground 

 in last summer's drought dried up so that the grass 

 was killed for quite a distance from such a deep 

 ditch. Query : Does not such kind of ground re- 

 quire much water to make it productive ? 



2d. Is the fall a proper time to set out native 

 seedling apple trees, of five years growth from the 

 seed.'' {h.) Will such trees, set out in the fall, and 

 others of the same kind, set out in the following 

 spring, bear alternate years, as some assert ? I 

 doubt the correctness of the theory. 



3d. Is it the better plan to level the ground 

 where stone wall is to be laid, or should the ground 

 remain unbroken ? Some say that if the sm'face is 

 disturbed, it will heave more than if left unbro- 

 ken, (c.) 



4th. Is the best way to improve the feed in old 

 hilly pastm-es, to harrow them in the fall thorough- 

 ly, and sow timothy and clover on them at the 

 time ? {d.) 



Lastly, should ground broken up in the fall be 

 plowed again in the spring, for a wheat crop ? (e.) 



Answers to the above, through the Farmer, would 

 much oblige your subscriber. 



Glover, Vt., 1855. Benjamin Brunning. 



Remarks. — (a.) Good meadow lands may be in- 

 jured by draining too much. The quality of the 

 land itself must determme how low the water must 

 be reduced below the surface. On compact, heavy 

 meadows, the water may be drawn lower than on 

 those that are light and porous. Some meadows 

 of the latter class are so exceedingly light that when 

 the water is drained from them for the depth of 

 18 or 20 inches, they will burn, on taking fire, lilve 

 stacks of peat, and be rendered nearly worthless. 



Examine with care those parts of the meadow, 

 along the edge of the upland, where good grasses 

 grow luxuriantly, and see by digging what the state 

 of moisture is there at various seasons of the year, 

 as this may afibrd suggestions which will be of ser- 

 vice to your operations. 



(b.) Yes. Set them soon after the leaves have 

 fallen, and throw the earth about their stems 8 to 



12 inches high. We do not believe in the alternate 

 year theory. 



(c.) If you mean to have a stone wall remain 

 where you place it, and stand the test of frost and 

 time, dig a trench three feet wide and two deep, 

 and fill it with small stones, if you have them in 

 abundance. li' not, the depth may be less. A wall 

 well-built on such a fomidation, will stand a hun- 

 dred years. 



(d.) Pastures may be gi'eatly improved in the 

 manner you suggest ; but whether that is the hest 

 way, or not, we are not able to say. Pastures often 

 fail for want of seed, even when the soil is in pretty 

 good condition. 



(e.) If the land intended for wheat is sward, it 

 would not be best to disturb it in the spring, be- 

 cause it would be very expensive to break and pul- 

 verize the sods which were turned under the pie- 

 \ious autumn. Plow with a light, one-horse plow, 

 or work with a cultivator as deep as you can, with- 

 out reversing the sods. 



rye — weeds. 



Friend Brown : — I wish to inquire through the 

 JVew England Farmer what is the best time for 

 sowing rye, and what mamu-es are best adapted for 

 it ? I have hme, plaster and compost. Will rye 

 do well, two or thi-ee crops in succession, on the 

 stime ground ? 



What will, if anything, kill a weed known here 

 by the name of Jacob's Ladder? I have tried 

 every thing I can thinlv of, but to no efl'ect. Any 

 light on the subject will oblige many young far- 

 mers, and I presume old ones, too. w. R. s. 



Petersburg, Aug. 6, 1855. 



Remarks. — To ensure a good crop of rye, it 

 should be got in as early as the middle of August ; 

 it will then have time to make strong roots, and 

 will resist the effects of winter much better than 

 when the roots are j'oung, tender and feeble. The 

 kind of manure best adapted to the crop, depends 

 in a great measure ujjon the kind of soil upon which 

 the crop is placed. On the light, sandy soils upon 

 which rye is usually grown, a good compost of mea- 

 dow muck and barn manure woidd probably be 

 better than lime, plaster, or any of the common 

 stimulants, such as guano and superphosphate. If 

 the meadow muck had been mixed with lime, 

 thrown into a heap, and remained a year, it would 

 be still better for it. 



Nothing short of never-tiring perseverance will 

 destroy some of the weeds which infest the farm. 

 Several yiears since a patch of chiccory made its ap- 

 pearance in one of our mowing fields, and was 

 promptly dug up with a spade, but soon appeared 

 again. That process was repeated six or eight 

 times, but still it grew. It was then cut off just 

 below the surface, and a handful of salt applied to 

 the bleeding wound, but this did not kill them. 

 Tliis summer they were allowed to grow until the 

 seed bolls began to form and then they were 



