1857. 



NEW ENGLAND FAKMER. 



43 



but because there is a real deficiency which experi- 

 ence testifies to. 



But an aT)plication of lime may be useful, when 

 it is not necessary. In the writer's experience he 

 finds that his soil contains quite lime enough for the 

 purpose of /e«rfwg" all plants. But the action of 

 lime goes beyond the mere supply of that which 

 goes into the plant consumption. It has a power- 

 ful agency in decomposition, and in preparing oth- 

 er material for use. And the question here aris- 

 es, — how far it may be useful for this purpose, and 

 what expense would be justified in procuring it? 

 He has thus far found it unnecessary for this ])ur- 

 pose, on his land, and not likely to justify any ex- 

 pense. He finds the "sorrel" perfectly under the 

 control of adive, thoiwgh euJtwation, or to speak 

 more correctly, he finds a deep, thorough and cleans- 

 ing cultivation produces that condition of soil, 

 which fits it for the growth of clover, wheat, <tc., 

 to which the "sorrel," under such circumstances, al- 

 ways gives way. For him, therefore, and for such 

 soils as his, lime is not necessary as the food of 

 plants, because the natural supply is sufficient, and 

 its agency in decomposition, &c., would not pay the 

 cost of the application. He finds a more economi- 

 cal agpncy in the use of the plow and the action of 

 the atmosphere. 



But it by no means follows, that what is true for 

 some soils and some circumstances is true for all ; 

 a sufficiency of lime for the supi)ly of the plant 

 food must be present, cither naturally or by appli- 

 cation, in all productive soils ; and the projiriety of 

 the application for other purposes must depend up- 

 on circumstances, of which every man must judge 

 for himself. There are regions of country where 

 the eft'ect is so striking, that no one can hesitate to 

 use it at almost any cost. In other sections the 

 good efiect is less apparent, yet a le?s price may 

 amply justify its use. In other sections, again, 

 while it may not be without good effect in prepar- 

 ing the food of plants, yet if this same action is 

 brought about by ordinary methods of tillage, and 

 the influence of the atmosphere, his labor and ex- 

 j>ense are lost. In this, as in every question of prac- 

 tice, let the farmer learn to exercise soimd discre- 

 tion, untrammelled by fashionable theories. Let 

 each man, while he makes himself acquainted with 

 the best opinions of others, make careful note and 

 observation of the circumstances under which he is 

 operating, and guide his own action by his own 

 judgment. 



To Preserve Vegetables through the "Win- 

 ter. — Potatoes. — If it is desired to have potatoes 

 in the spring as fresh and mealy as in October, they 

 must be preserved by making a layer of potatoes, 

 then of dirt, filling all the crevices, and so alter- 

 nately until you have secured them all. If you will 

 try this for once, you will ever after adopt it as the 

 best method of keeping potatoes fresh and good. 

 The idea of tumbling potatoes into a cellar where 

 the mercury ranges from 45 to GO^, and expect to 

 have them fresh and good, is not a correct one. — 

 Potatoes grow in the dirt and are best preserved in 

 it. But carrots, parsnips, turnips and rutabagas 

 are also much better kept by packing them in dirt. 

 The dirt for potatoes and other roots and tubers 

 should be about as moist as is needed to grow them 

 to advantage, and if sandy in its composition, so 

 much the better. — Michigan Farmer. 



A HINT FROM UNDER THE WALL. 



On passing a large field early in April, we no- 

 ticed two or three men plowing sward ground. 

 Large old apple trees were scattered over the field, 

 and as the weather was too warm to keep the team 

 constantly in motion, while it was cooling and re- 

 covering breath, the men employed themselves in 

 pruning the dead limbs and suckers from the trees, 

 and conveying them to the wall, threw them 

 against it on the side next to the road! The 

 white birches, alders, blackberry canes, and other 

 shrubs that had grown in rank luxuriance, and en- 

 trenched upon the "rights of the road," had also 

 been cut down by the highway surveyor of the dis- 

 trict, and thrown there too. This collection, to- 

 gether with the smaller weeds, furze, &c., which had 

 been collecting for years, formed a combustible 

 mass which would undoubtedly afford the boys some 

 fun to burn. 



The field in due time was plowed — the soil look- 

 ed thin, cold and hungry, and as though it needed ma- 

 nure, and half a pound of potash per rod, to warm 

 it into active life. Towards the close of April, pass- 

 ing the field again, we found the wall black with 

 smoke ; the old apple tree limbs and birches, briars, 

 alders and weeds were gone — the flames had not 

 only licked these up clean, but the dead leaves and 

 thin sod were also consumed, leaving their ashes 

 an inch deep among the stones which skirted the 

 now blackened and barren wall. We frequently 

 saw the newly-plowed field during the summer and 

 autumnal months, and the crop it produced was in 

 keeping with the appearances of the soil in spring. 



But w! at of under the icall9 Ah! there was a 

 magnificent hint ! If all the appliances of art had 

 urged the growth it could scarcely have been great- 

 er. The brakes and ferns would have done credit 

 to the forcing house ; the blackberry and raspber- 

 ry canes found support on the top of the wall, and 

 ! looked tauntingly over into the hungry field below, 

 while the young birches were crowding each other 

 for more room ! It was really a "quickset hedge" 

 into which one would be reluctantly thrown. 



But it had its compensations, — for when age and 

 frost had touched the leaves of the other plants, 

 and they had trembled and fallen to the ground, 

 the modest and beautiful aster, that gem of the 

 woods which Bryant has immortalized in his "Death 

 of the Flowers," was reveakd, with its delicate 

 blue and purple and white flowers, to gladden the 

 eye of the traveller, and compensate him somewhat 

 for his unpleasant reflections upon the mal-practice 

 in farming which he is obliged to see. 



The plowmen in the latter part of October might 

 have indulged in the following dialogue — we hope 

 they did. {Leaning on the ivall,) "I say. Josh, 

 didn't we burn this over last spring, — or was it the 

 spring before ?'' 



