]NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



USHF.O BY Wll.hlAM NICHOLS, HOC.l.KS' BUILUINGS, CONGRESS SlIlELf, (FOUllI H DOUli KROM 8TATE STREKT.) 



n. 



BOSTON, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER IT), 1«23. 



No. 16. 



Farmer's and Gardener's Reinembrancer. 



[b-v the editor.] 



REMARKS ON PLOUGHING. 



[Concluded Irotn pajc 114.] 



lisputcs have arisen among farmers in this 



nlrv and in Europe relative to the best man- 



ol' laying- the furrow slice. Some contend 



turning the furrow slice completely over, 



laying it quite flat ; but others allegpe thai 



most advantageous to place each slice in 



ti a manner that its outer edge may extend 



ttle over the inner edge of the furrow which 



1 drawn next before it. " In several districts 



ilngland it is usual to lay the furrow slice 



e liat, and this is particularly the case where 



re are no ridges ; but in Northumberland, 



in Scotland, a contrary system is adopted. 



founded on this idea, that as two of the prin- 



1 objects in i)loughing are, to expose as 



h as possible to the influence of the atmos- 



re, and to lay the land, so that the harrows 



, in the most eflectual manner, raise mould 



Dver the seed ; these objects are most efiec 



in the fall or summer preceding the sowing or] These ])ractices greatly contribute to the im- 

 planting of the seed, and cross ploughing in the provement of such soils, not only by the dung 

 sprin^ls made use of, preparatory to put. ing and urine thu-. deposited, but by the cunsohda- 

 in the seed, we are inclined to think that the (I'oJi and firmness if tcxlnre which the treading 

 "•feather edged ploughing" as it is som^'times ! of sheep occasions.'"*^' 



called, (in w'hich the furrow slices are not laid } On the whole, although it would not be pos- 

 so flat as to exclude the air from between, and i sible to give general rules not liable to many 

 from the lower part of the furrow slices) is to exceptions, on the slinpo and position of the fur- 



be preierred. " Ploughing previous to wmter 

 seliino- in is of great use to clajs, or stiff lands, 

 exposing the surface to the frost, which mel- 

 lows and reduces it in a manner infinitely supe- 

 rior to what could be accomplished by all the 

 operations of man."* If, then exposing the sur- 

 face of stiff soils to the fiost is of great advan- 

 tage, the more surface there is exposed the 

 greater the advantage; and if the furrow slices 

 are set partly or entirely on their edges there 

 will be, as before intimated, more surface ex- 

 posed than there would be if they were laid per- 

 fectly flat. And if they were turned in such 

 a manner as to form an angle of 45 degrees, the 

 outer edge of one furrow resting on the inner 

 edge of that which immediately preceded it, 

 y accomplished, by ploughing land ol' every I there would be but little chance for the weed 



ription, with a furrow slice about seven 



es deep, and which, if about ten inches and 



If broad, raises the I'urrow slice, with a pro- 



•houlder, forming the angle 45, the point 



h ought to be referred to, when deiermin- 



lelvveen the merits of different specimens 



oiighing. For that purpose, the depth of 



tirroiv, should, in genera!, bear a due pro- 



on to the breadth, that is, about two thirds, 



six inches deep is to nine broad. This is 



general, if not the universal opinion of the 



h farmers."* The angle 45 is strongly re- 



lended in Bayley's Essay on the Construc- 



if the Plough, in his Durham Report and 



H -own's Treatise on Rural Affairs. In the 



am counties of England, however, they 



ally prefer to turn the furrow quite flat, 



rizontal ; and allege as a reason for that 



ce that the weeds, grass, &c. ploughed un 



moot well be smothered or withered un- 



16 roots are turned completely bottom up- 



, and the turf covered so closely as to have 



Timunicalion with the atmosphere. 



^landers land is frequently cultivated by an 



ment called the PAnot, which is highly es- 



d. By this instrument the land is not 



I over, as by the plough, and the weeds 

 I; but the soil is elevated and pressed in- 



II ridges, and thus is better exposed to the 

 ;ial influence of the winter frosts, and be- 

 much sooner dry in spring than when 

 id is turned over perfectly flat. When 



slices are set up edgeways by a plough 

 ecome small thin ridges, are more easily 

 ed by frost, and are in a situation to at- 

 lore of the lertilizing influences of the 

 here than when they are turned over so 

 e in a horizontal position. Perhaps this 



f ploughing land may be advantageous in 

 ird soils, where several ploughings are 

 iiry to prepare for the reception of the 



If land of this description is broken up 



|e »f Agriculture. 



or grass to grow up between the furrows, which 

 may be the case, when the slices are set per- 

 pendicularly, or nearly so, on their edges. There 

 will likewise always be a cavity under the edg- 

 es of the furrow slices, containing stagnant, and 

 sometimes putrescent air, which will enrich the 

 soil. Moreover if ridge-ploughing is at all ad- 

 vantageous, we cannot see why a mode of 

 ploughing, which makes a ridge of every fur- 

 row slice, or at most a ridge by turning the edge 

 of one furrow slice on the edge of its immediate 

 predecessor should not be likewise of advantage. 

 Besides, by these modes of ploughing you form 

 a covered or open drain or hollow place, be- 

 tween the furrows, which by carrying off super- 

 fluous water will render the soil fit for tillage 

 earlier in the spring than would be possible il 

 every furrow slice was laid flat as it was turned 

 upside down. The harrow will also more rea- 

 dily take hold of a soil, where the furrow slices 

 form little ridges or protuberances, and thus a 

 proper mould will be procured for the covering 

 the seed*, or earthing up plants in a growing 

 crop. And if there is danger of the lands lying 

 too loose and hollow, repeated harrowing, and 

 rolling it with a heavy roller after sowing will 

 furnish a remedy. 



Dry sandv soils, such as ought not to be plough- 

 ed in ridge's should be turned over completely, 

 and be laid and kept level as possible. Such 

 soils, if rendered loose, and laid light by cultiva- 

 tion will be robbed of their fertilizing particles 

 as well by rain ashy sunshine. In other words 

 they are liable to suffer by washing, by scorch- 

 ing, and by too much draining. They do not 

 need to be made any lighter, by " feather edg- 

 ed ploughing" or setting the furrow slices edge- 

 ways, being too light under ordinary cultivation, 

 it is therefore " a great advantage to such soils 

 to fold sheep, or to consume the crops of tur- 

 nips upon the ground where they are raised. 



row slice, which should be cut and disposed of 

 according to the views of the cultivator, the 

 nature of the ground, the proposed crop, &e. 

 we are inciined to believe that Sir John Sin- 

 clairs maxim will apply to most of our New- 

 England uplands. That eminent agriculturist 

 Says that "• thf point which ought to be referred 

 to, when determining between the merits of dif- 

 ferent specimens of ploughing is the angle of 

 45 degrees." That is, other things being equal, 

 the nearer the furrow slice comes to forming an 

 angle of 45 degrees with the horizon, the more 

 perfect the specimen of ploughing. But ano- 

 ther maxim of the same writer is equally wor- 

 thy of attention. " Dry soils being deficient in 

 moisture ovght to be tilled flat, as any sort of 

 drainings which the furrows might afford would 

 be prejudicial rather than advantageous. In 

 Kent, dry land is left as level as if it were dug 

 with a spade. The moisture is thus equally 

 diffused and retained under the surface of the 



earth.-' 



* Code of ..Igricwll lire. 



* See Husbandry of Scotland, rol. i. p. 229, and vol. 

 xi. Appendix, p. 26. 



HIAKTNG CIDr.R. . 

 Although we have heretofore, with the aid 

 of our correspondents, given pretty copious dis- 

 sertations on the subject of manufacturing cider, 

 we confess that the following article, copied 

 from the Portsmouth Journal of the 11th ult. 

 has furnished a new idea on this subject which 

 we believe may be useful. 



" Cider. — Your casks must be clean and in 

 every respect well prepared <o receive the li- 

 quor. On the evening of the day you make 

 your cider, place it in your cellar. Take one 

 quarter of a pound of isinglass, (made of hake 

 sounds) and put it in two quarts of cider — place 

 it by the fire, and let it simmer and dissolve. 

 Then put it into your hogshead of cider, -well 

 secured from air, except a small vent hole, and 

 your cider will be perfectly clear and remain 

 sii'eet and good for years. For a barrel, let there 

 be used two ounces." 



The following remarks in Sir Humphrey Da- 

 vy's Lectures on Agricultural Chemistry will 

 explain the reason on which this process may 

 be founded. 



"• Fabroni has shewn that the gluten in must is 

 essential to fermentation ; and that chemist bat 

 made saccharine matter ferment by adding to 

 its solution in water, common vegetable gluten 

 and tartaric acid." The acid is supplied by the 

 fruit, but the gluten may be obtained perhaps 

 to most advantage from the isinglass. Thomas 

 Cooper, M. D. of New Jersey has recommend- 

 ed the use of calves feet Jelly as a substitute for 

 isinglass. If, however, gluten is used either in 

 the shape of isinglass or calves feet jelly, n' 

 should think it might be best to omit the ar 



