424 



NEW ENGLAND FARTHER. 



Sept. 



the forest are built up, atom by atom, from the 

 atmosphere. 



On a single oak, seven millions of leaves 

 have been counted. Now if each square inch 

 contains 120,000 pores, and each leaf four 

 square inches of surface, it may not be diffi- 

 cult to show in figures the number of pores on 

 the leaves of the oak, but who can grasp the 

 idea, or form in his mind any adequate con- 

 ception of such a number ? But this is but 

 one of the trees in the forests that spread over 

 the surface of the earth at this moment, and 

 which have sprung from it since the creation. 

 And every blade of grass and grain and every 

 shrub and weed is equally busy during its 

 growing season, in drawing its substance from 

 the fleetinj; wind. 



MANAGEMENT OP MANURE. 

 There may be nothing new in the manage- 

 ment of manure described in the following 

 paragraph, which is part of an article in the 

 New. York Tribune, detailing a visit to the 

 farm of S. M. & D. Wells, of Wethersfield, 

 Conn., but how many there are who don't 

 happen to have a supply of dried peat or muck 

 on hand when they need it. This is the sea- 

 son to lay it by in store : — 



The Wells Brothers' manufacture and manage- 

 ment of manure is the important subject. They 

 have a spacious stable; containing forty stalls, the 

 ground surface of which is cemented. A supply 

 of dried peat or muck is kept on hand, and a wheel- 

 barrow fall is {laced daily in the gutter behind 

 each i"ow of eight cows. This absorbs all odors 

 and moisture, and is easily shoveled out the fol- 

 lowing morning, through a small door, into an en- 

 closed shed, which also has a cemented bottom. 

 Thus nothing is lost by leaching or other waste, 

 and cleanliness is secured. The manure thus ob- 

 tained is of excellent quality, and the brothers have 

 proved by experiment that the addition of muck 

 not only doubles or triples the quantity, but really 

 makes a Ijctter fertilizer than pure stable manure. 

 That wliich is not demanded for the onion l)eds 

 and other ploughed ground is used as top dressing 

 for the meadows. This is considered the best way 

 of applying it. It is put on with a liberal hand, 

 and the result is easily perceived. Last spring a 

 portion of one field was top-dressed, and it will cut 

 two or three tons to the acre — the other part was 

 not top-dressed, and will produce less than halt 

 that amount. The brothers do not approve of 

 fancy manures, as a general thing. They are con- 

 vinced that no fertilizer pays in the end, the etfect 

 of which cannot be perceived for three or four 

 years aiUrward. They once applied Peruvian 

 Guano, and received a crop of 60 bushels of shelled 

 corn to the acre; the next year they planted pota- 

 toes in the same field, without further manure, and 

 did not get enough to pay for digging, though the 

 sea£oa was favorable for their growth. 



— Lima beans often rot in the ground. An al- 

 most sure remedy is to grease them. 



For the Kew England Farmer, 

 PRESERVATION OF FORESTS. 



So much has been said and written in re- 

 gard to the importance of preserving the 

 woodlands, that it almost seems a virtue to 

 talk of the beauty and usefulness of forests. 



Your correspondent "H." in the Farmer 

 of July 4th, says, "forests perform a three- 

 fold purpose ; first as a means of renovating 

 the soil ; second their value for timber and 

 fuel; and third their influence on our climate." 



It seems to me that the«earth is designed for 

 a habitation for men ; and not specially for 

 wild beasts, birds of prey, noxious reptiles 

 and insects. While it merely allords such 

 creatures a home, it is just starvation and 

 death to the human family. In this view, the 

 forest is our enemy, to be overcome before we 

 can live surrounded by those reliable supplies 

 of food and comforts essential to civilized life. 

 When we consider the labor and hardship of 

 the pioneer's life, is it not strange that any 

 one should think by uttering the warning cry, 

 "Woodman, spare that tree !" that he is mani- 

 festing a refined taste, and a praiseworthy and 

 far-seeing interest for the welfare of his fel- 

 low beings ? If the fact is admitted that this 

 earth was designed for man's habitation, and 

 that his mission is to subdue and replenish it, 

 is it not his duty to clear away the forests ? 

 Can we return to the wigwams and tomahawks 

 of the past, and live in the woods ? "But the 

 soil becomes exhausted," it is said. Not by 

 cultivation, but by mismanagement, I reply. 

 "The climate changes." And so it does, but 

 for the better, I am prepared to respond, and 

 will cite the history of new and old countries 

 in proof of my assertions. 



Look for a moment at the claim of reno- 

 vating the soil by growing forests upon it. Is 

 it not utterly impracticable ? The whole crop 

 is removed on clearing ; nothing being allowed 

 to rot or decay upon the ground or incorpor- 

 ated with the soil, and usually fire burns up 

 most of the leaves and vegetable mould that 

 has accumulated ; so that, in reality, besides 

 stumps, that impede cultivation, you have only 

 the value of a few loads of vegetable mould, 

 and a few bushels of ashes left as the result of 

 this system of impr«vement. It is besides an 

 exceedingly slow process, as it requires many 

 years to practice such a rotation. It is more- 

 over a costly way, because the land is worth 

 money, and money at the interest it now com- 

 mands will double in from eight to twelve 

 years. Calling it ten years, and land say at 

 twenty dollars per acre, planted now to trees 

 and cleared in 42 years, m which time "II." 

 has seen saw logs grow, it should be worth 

 three hundred and twenty dollars per acre ; 

 and then we lose the annual income, which if 

 cultivated would average twenty dollars per 

 acre, or to allow liberally for labor expended, 

 call the loss of income only $10 per year, and 

 we have $420 to add to the $320. So your 



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