38 



Oats Stubble — Questions. 



Vol. II. 



Solomon says that there " is a time for all 

 things." Now admitting the wise man's 

 proverb to be true, you can find sufficient 

 time, it" attended to in proper season, to do 

 every thing tliat is urgent,~time for the to- 

 tal extermmation of all noxious and hurtful 

 plants — time to place your work in such a 

 position as to have the upper hand of it con- 

 stantly. If to your own disadvantage you pur- 

 sue the wrong path, you may depend upon it, 

 as I heard an experienced farmer say, that 

 "Ae that letteth his work drive him is a 

 slaved A Clover Ridge Farmer. 



Peinberton, N. J., August iQ, \%M. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 



Oat Stubble. 



How often do you plough your oat stubble? 

 With some it is the custom to plough once, 

 with some twice, and others three times. 

 The object of this short essay is, to inquire 

 which of the three methods is the most bene- 

 ficial to the farming interest; and the only 

 true method of arriving at that conclusion, 

 is from the observation of facts. Those per- 

 sons with whom it is the custom to plough 

 their oat stubble but once, may be set down 

 as an indolent setof men, having little regard 

 for the improvement of either mind, body or 

 estate. The writer of this has observed, in 

 some of the finest land of Pennsylvania, 

 where this method has been pursued, a mise- 

 rable deterioration of crops : and notwith- 

 standing being sufficiently manured, yet it 

 produced a very inferior crop of wheat ; and 

 as for timothy and clover, they scarcely de- 

 served the name of a crop, being entirely super- 

 seded by a worthless natural grass and weeds, 

 with which the ground had become entirely 

 overspread. By ploughing oat stubble but 

 once, the soil does not become sufficiently pul- 

 verized and intermixed ; the roots of natural 

 grass and weeds are suffered to remain too 

 much inan undisturbed condition, and carry on 

 all their process of vegetation, until they en- 

 tirely occupy the soil, to the exclusion of that 

 which would be more beneficial to the farmer. 



Ploughing oat stubble but twice for wheat, 

 (or that which is to be manured,) has its ob- 

 jections also. In the first place, if the ma- 

 nure is hauled and spread before it is ploughed, 

 those deleterious substances, (weeds, grass, 

 briers, &c-) are so long permitted to gain 

 strength, and become so permanently attached 

 to the soil, that the two subsequent ploughings 

 will not be sufficient to eradicate them ; and 

 secondly, if the ground is ploughed before the 

 manure is hauled out, the tracts beaten by the 

 team, will plough up in coarse clods in a very 

 unfit state for receiving the seed, and which 

 no after tillage will sufficiently pulverize. 



Now the inquiry comes, what will be the 

 best method ? Let the stubble be ploughed 



as soon as possible after the crop is taken oft". 

 This will immediate! V check the growth of 

 grass, weeds, &.c. Then let the harrow be 

 passed over to pulverize the surface, after 

 which the manure may be hauled out, spread 

 and ploughed in immediately, to prevent loss 

 by evaporation. Pass the harrow over again. 

 Before seeding, let the ground be ploughed 

 again, when it will be found to be completely 

 pulverized and intermixed, and grass and 

 weeds totally destroyed. Where this method 

 has been adopted, it has been found to be su- 

 perior to all others. 



It must be, and is admitted by all practical 

 agriculturists, that the better the soil is pul- 

 verized, the better condition it is in for pro- 

 ducing a plentiful crop. Hence, by this 

 method, there is not only a more certain war- 

 rant for a good crop of wheat, but grass has 

 been found invariably to succeed better than 

 in either of the other methods. After the 

 crop of wheat is harvested, the grass in the 

 stubble aff'ords excellent pasture for cows, be- 

 ing free from weeds, which frequently gives 

 butter an unpleasant flavor. 



If those who have never made trial of this 

 system were once induced to adopt it, I am 

 certain they would be convinced of the truth 

 of the positions here asserted, and find them- 

 selves not only amply, but doubly rewarded 

 for all additional labor. A. 



Chester county, Aug. 20, 1837. 



From the Genesee Farmer. 

 (Questions respecting tlie economy ofcwt" 

 ting vip Corn^topping corustaUcs should 

 not be practisedt 



It has, we think, been sufficiently ascer- 

 tained, that when corn is injured by an early 

 frost, cutting it up contributes nothing to its 

 relief, and nothing to its subsequent improve- 

 ment. It is, we think, better in such cases, 

 not to molest it, for unless the frost be a very 

 deadly one, the corn will still derive nutri- 

 ment from the stalks and leaves. There is 

 another question related to this which we 

 think merits the attention of agriculturists. 

 The question is this : Is it, in general, good 

 practice to cut up corn at all, or to cut up 

 the stalks while the ears are attached to them 1 

 We are not for war, and if we were disposed 

 to answer this question in the negative, we 

 should scarcely dare do it, knowing as we do, 

 that this would bring us into conflict with 

 almost universal opinion. We will, however, 

 suggest certain considerations, and leave the 

 question to be adjudicated and settled by our 

 readers. 



1. Cutting up corn at any time before the 

 leaves are fully dead, does undoubtedly injure 

 the crop in some degree, afl^ecting it probably 

 both as to quantity and quality. 



