No. 6. 



Cultivation of the Soil — Sowing Grass Seed. 



179 



manure had been turned in, it had tlie eifect 

 — by means of its antiseptic property, of re- 

 tarding the too sudden decomposition of its 

 component parts, by which a considerable 

 portion of its strength was preserved for the 

 support of the wheat crop, the turnip crop 

 having- consumed the grosser particles* of the 

 manure, which would have gone to encourage 

 a premature autumnal growth in the wheat, 

 to the manifest injury of the crop, rendering 

 it more liable to be affected by the unkindly 

 changes of the atmosphere during its future 

 progress of growth — I mean, in the way 

 which 3'our correspondent " Vir" points out, 

 if I could only express myself — and as it be- 

 gins to be pretty well understood that lime 

 does not act until it becomes soluble — in other 

 words, it is the lime-water which operates 

 upon the crops — I think it clear, that the best 

 way to apply lime, is to spread it upon the 

 surface of the land, so that the rain, when it 

 descends to the roots of the plants, may carry 

 with it lime in solution, just in that particu- 

 lar state which is best adapted to the purpose 

 for which it is destined. Now that, in the 

 language of a ploughman, is about as plain as 

 I can make my meaning. And with this 

 view of the subject, I have covered the sur- 

 face of the earth in my daughter's flower-pots 

 with mild or slaked lime, and I conceit that 

 every time they are watered, a portion of the 

 soluble matter or lime-water is conveyed to 

 their roots in the only state in which it can 

 be taken up by them ; and judging by their 

 appearance, I guess I am pretty near right. 



' I remember, many years ago, a person who 

 owned a piece of rough land on the side of a 

 hill, determining to build a house upon the 

 spot ; he therefore carried a load of lime and 

 dropped it there, intending it for mortar; but, 

 owing to some cause, he did not put his in- 

 tention into execution, and there the lime lay, 

 unspread for many years; during this time I 

 had almost daily opportunity of witnessing 

 the etiect produced by the washing of the 

 heap during heavy rains ; a long, narrow strip 

 of evergreen grass extended for above fifty 

 yards from the heap of lime down the side of 

 the hill, the herbage of which was very dif- 

 ferent from that of the lands adjoining, white 

 clover predominating ; the sheep kept on the 

 hill were almost always feeding this spot, in 

 consequence of the sweetness of the grass, 

 and, on examination, it was found thickly co- 

 vered with their dung; thus the lime in solu- 

 tion was continually passing over a bed of 

 the richest manure, extending the boundaries 



* " Whatever devastatioTi may be committed by the 

 fungus tribe to trees or plants, "by far the greatest ex- 

 lent of injury from what is placed to the account of 

 canker, miidew, &c., if correctly investigated, will 

 prove to originate iu the unwholesome supply or impu- 

 rity of food." 



of this delightful little patch, which could be 

 distinguished by its colour, miles distant. 

 Now, none of this lime was ever turned un- 

 der the sod, so that all the benefit had been 

 communicated by water flowing from the 

 lime, and which, for years after, was found to 

 be as highly saturated with the lime as it had 

 been the day when it was first deposited on 

 the land. 



But I must stop, for I find that my plough- 

 irons are so much worn, that it is difficult to 

 keep my instrument in the ground, without 

 raising the handles so high as to bring its 

 mould-plate into a position unsuitable to turn 

 the furrow to its proper situation, so I bid you 

 farewell for the present. 



Jacob Chandler. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 SoAving Grass Seed. 



THICK AND EVEN, NOT THIN AND IRREQnLAR, IS THE 

 TRUE INTEREST. 



One of the most frequent errors in agricul- 

 tural operations, is sowing grass seeds too 

 thin and unevenly ; great is the loss in either 

 case, while nothing is easier than to remedy 

 both. In the spring of 1838, clover-seed was 

 very scarce and dear; some sowed none, and 

 others scattered it as thin as possible over the 

 ground, and the effects of this proceeding 

 have been visited with great severity on the 

 delinquents. There has been a deficiency of 

 hay and pasture, a thin, bare sod to plough 

 down; the manure heap has shrunk in its di- 

 mensions for want of provender, and the sub- 

 sequent crops have been proportionably 

 starved and diminished. This season clover- 

 seed is very abundant, cheap and of good 

 quality, and it might be well for the provi- 

 dent to lay in a store against a season of 

 scarcity and high prices, and this may rea- 

 dily be accomplished by putting it in a tight, 

 dry cask, through the bung-hole, and bunging 

 it up and keeping it in a dry place, where it 

 is believed it will remain good for several 

 years to come. Clover should be one of the 

 grasses sown, but other seeds should always 

 accompany it, as there is a larger crop where 

 several kinds of grasses are grown together, 

 sometimes the season being favourable to one 

 and not to another. Many farmers begin to 

 think it more profitable to raise orchard grass 

 than timothy, where selling of hay is not in- 

 tended, as it furnishes more pasture, both 

 early and late, and is equally good, if not bet- 

 ter, for home use as hay. Timothy bears a 

 higher price in the market than other kinds 

 of hay, and the reason probably is, that horses 

 eat less of it in a given space of time, as it is 

 a good deal of work to chew it ; hence, tav- 

 ern-keepers uniformly prefer it, being for 

 them more economical. P. D. 



