NO. 4. 



THE 



farmers' 



CABINET. 



51 



face of which has been exhausted by short 

 or creeping roots. 



The roots of plants of tlio same and of an- 

 alep^ous species always lake a like direction, 

 if situated in a soil which allows them a free 

 developement ; and thus they pass through, 

 and are supported by, the same layers of 

 earth. For this reason we seldom find trees 

 prosper that take the place "f others of the 

 same species ; unless a suitable period has 

 been allowed for producing the decomposi- 

 tion of the roots of the first, and thus supply- 

 ing the earth with fresh manure. 



To prove that dilferent kinds of plants do 

 not exhaust the soil in the same manner, it 

 is perhaps sufficient for me to state, that the 

 nutrition of vegetables is not a process al- 

 together mechanical : that plants do not ab- 

 sorb indiscriminately, nor in the same pro- 

 portions, all the juices and salts are pre- 

 sented to them ; but that either vitality, or 

 the conformation of their organs, exerts an 

 infiuence over the nutritive action ; that there 

 IS on the part of plants some taste, some 

 choice regarding their food, as has been suf- 

 ficiently proved by the experiments of Messrs. 

 Davy and de Saussure. It is with plants as 

 it is with animals, there are some elements 

 commtm to all, and some peculiar to each 

 kind : this is placed beyond doubt, by the 

 preference given by some plants to certain 

 salts, over others. 



PaiiNCiPi,E 4. — That^idl plants do not re- 

 store to the soil the same' quantity, nor the same 

 quality of manure. 



The plants that grow upon a soil, exhaust 

 more or less of its nutritive juices, but all 

 return to it some remains, to repair a part of 

 its loss. The grains and the oleaginous 

 seeds may be placed at the head of those 

 which exhaust a soil the most, and repair 

 the least the injury done it. In those coun- 

 tries where plants are plucked up, they re- 

 turn nothinor to the soil that has nourished 

 them. There are some plants to be sure, be- 

 sides those mentioned above, that by form- 

 ing their seed, consume a great part of the 

 manure contained in the soil ; but the roots 

 of many of these soften and divide the soil to 

 a considerable depth ; and the leaves which 

 fall from the stalk during the progress of 

 vegetation, restore to the earth more than is 

 returned by those before mentioned. There 

 are others still, the roots and stalks of which 

 remaining strong and succulent after the pro- 

 duction of their fruits, restore to the soil a 

 portion of the juices they had received from 

 it; of this kind are the leguminous plants. 

 Many plants that are not allowed to pro- 

 duce seed, exhaust the soil but very little ; 

 these are very valuai)le in forming a system 

 of successive crops, as by introducing them 

 into the rotation, ground may be made to 

 yield for many years without the application 

 of fresh manure ; the varieties of trefoil, es- 



pecially clover and sainfoin are of this sort. 



PiuNciPLE 5. — That all plants are not 

 C(jualty favoraljh. to the i^rowth iif ivceds. 



It is said that a plant fouls the soil, when 

 it facilitates or permits the growth of weeds, 

 which exhaust the earth, weary the plant, 

 appropriate to themselves a part of its nour- 

 ishment, and hasten its decay. All plants 

 not provided with an extensive system of 

 large and vigorous leaves, calculated to cov- 

 er the ground, foul the soil. 



The grains from their slender stalks rising 

 into the air, and their long narrow leaves, 

 easily admit into their intervals those weeds 

 that grow upon the surface, which beinu- de- 

 fended tVom heat and winds grow by favor 

 of the grain they injure. 



Herbaceous plants on the contrary, which 

 cover the surface of the soil with their leaves, 

 and raise their stalks to only a moderate 

 height, stifle all that endeavors to grow at 

 their roots, and the earth remains clean. It 

 must be observed, however, that this last is 

 not the case unless the soil be adapted to the 

 plants, and contain a sufficient quantity of 

 manure to support them into a state of healthy 

 and vigorous vegetation ; it is for want of 

 these favorable circumstances that we often 

 see these same plants languishing, and al- 

 lowing the growth of less delicate herbs, 

 which cause them to perish before their time. 

 Vegetables sown and cultivated in furrows, 

 as are the various roots and the greater part 

 of the leguminous plants, allow room for a 

 large number of weeds; but the soil can be 

 easily kept free by a frequent use of the hoe 

 or weeding fork ; and by this means may be 

 preserved rich enough for raising a second 

 crop, especially if the first be not allowed to 

 go to seed. 



The seeds that are committed to the ground 

 often contain those of weeds amongst them, 

 and too much care cannot be taken to avoid 

 this ; it is more frequently the case, howev- 

 er, that these are brought by the winds, de- 

 posited by water, or sown with the manure 

 of the farm-yard. 



The carelessness of those agriculturists 

 who allow thistles and other hurtful plants 

 to remain in their fields, cannot be too much 

 censured ; each year these plants produce 

 new seeds, thus exhausting the land and in- 

 creasing their own numbers, till it becomes 

 almost impossible to free the soil from them. 

 This negligence is carried by some to such 

 an extent, that they will reap the grain all 

 around the thistles, and leave them standing 

 at liberty to complete their growth and fructi- 

 fication. How much better it would be to cut 

 those hurtful plants before they flower, and to 

 add them to the manure of the farm. From 

 the principles which I have just established, 

 we may draw the following conclusions. 



[to be continued.] 



