42 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



stead, we had the old fashioned foot, made by cut- 

 ting off one hole of a fence post and applying that 

 to gauge the depth. Then there was an ear on 

 the side of the beam to hitch to. 



Now, Mr. Editor, I would suggest that we should 

 as soon as possible, bring about a reform in the 

 construction of farm implements. The plow, the 

 hoe, the sythe, the axe, and many other tools need 

 attention. The mechanic who manufacture these 

 articles, should know how to use them, and to gain 

 a knowledge of what is wanted, can they do any 

 better than to make inquiry of those that are ex- 

 perienced in using farm implements and occasion- 

 ally taking lessons in the practical part of farming ? 

 "With the right implements, and knowing how to 

 use them, I believe that a saving of twenty per 

 cent, may be made in the production of our main 

 crops. A good plow makes a saving in strength, 

 in time, and also in doing the work perfectly. A 

 good hoe saves at least twenty-five per cent. Such 

 scythes as were to be found forty years ago V\'ere 

 superior to a majority of those to be found now; 

 whilst the axe might be so improved as to lessen 

 the labor at least forty per cent. 



I am glad that discussions on agriculture arc be- 

 ing had in all directions, and that the time is has- 

 tening on, when it shall receive the honor due it, 

 and when it shall be as profitable as other call- 

 ings ; when we can raise our grain as cheap, and 

 as I believe we may, a good deal cheaper than to 

 buy it. R. Mansfield. 



JS/'eedkam, 1856. 



FREE ACIDS m SOILS. 



Some months since we gave an article on this 

 subject, in which we pretty strongly expressed our 

 views in relation to it, and which we find the Edi- 

 tor of the American Farmer, published at Balti- 

 more, does not agree with. This paper is one of 

 tiie most crftical and able of the agricultural jour- 



with a growth of "sorrel," now in full bloom. There 

 they stand, the sorrel showing to the line the ground 

 which was broken up the past season, and the white 

 clover and Timothy turf along side, showing as dis- 

 tinctly that the lurking enemy has no power to 

 hurt them. 



Immediately adjoining this is a lot of fifteen acres 

 of clover, which has just been harvested, and which 

 justifies fully the remark of the worthy manager 

 who superintended! it, that he "don't reckon clover 

 ever grows much heavier than that." Take the 

 lot through, it was a specimen of luxuriant growth 

 which we do not recollect to have seen surpassed. 

 Now, as we have said, we know that every foot of 

 this ground, if merely plowed and let alone, would 

 produce "sorrel" luxuriantly. If the "sorrel" in- 

 dicates a "free acid," and the "free acid" is "an in- 

 superable barrier to successful culture," how could 

 such a crop of clover grow ? But mark, the clo- 

 ver is classed in the books as a lime plant ; that is, 

 one of a class of plants to which an abundance of 

 lime is essential. But acid plants and "free acids" 

 show a deficiency of lime; then ivhere did such a 

 crop of clover get its supply of lime ? 



But there were exceptions to the general charac- 

 ter of this crop of clover: on a stony knoll where 

 there was little depth of soil, the clover failed and 

 the sorrel had possession. On the spots upon which 

 the grain was shocked and the clover smothered 

 out, the sorrel appeared. At the foot of a tree, 

 where the plow and the hoe failed of a thorough 

 cultivation, sorrel abounded. On a spot where the 

 water failed to get easily away, and a portion of the 

 clover was winter-killed, there the sorrel grew. 



It grew every where in the absence of the clover, 

 it grew no where v,'hen the clover flourished. — 

 Wherever the clover failed, it M'as readily account- 

 ed for by an accidental cause, entirely independent 

 of the "sorrel" or the "acid," and notwithstanding 

 the universal prevalence of this same condition, the 

 clover failed no where when the other necessary 

 conditions were present, viz : thorough cultivation, 

 and a freedom from accidental obstructions. It is 



