;m6 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



the success of the grass, was more important, 

 than the weight of the Millet crop, I sowed 

 but two pocks of Millet seeds per acre, 

 half the quantity which I am accustomed to use, 

 where I desire a heavy crop of fodder. In de- 

 spite of the injuries caused by the want of 

 snow, during the winter, I have never had be- 

 fore so fair a prospect of thickly set sward. 1 

 should not adopt this practice generally since 

 Millet must be sown so late, as to expose ten- 

 der grasses, to the evils of drought in July and 

 August, before they can be suflSciently strong to 

 survive them. 



Millet should never be grown upon land 

 which is not in good condition and very fine 

 tillh. The seeds should be lightly covered by 

 a harrow with wooden teeth, and after rolled. 

 Of thirty acres upon which my last crop was 

 grown, I tried various experiments. The field 

 which was the most lightly harrowed was the 

 most productive, i am led to believe however 

 necessary the harrow is in all cases, to proper- 

 ly cover seeds, 3'et in few it is used with suffi 

 cient care, or in a fit shape. Excepting winter 

 grains I know no seeds which are not 1 think 

 usually too deeply buried. 



JOHN HARE POWEL. 



Powehon, Phil. Co. April, 10, 1824. 

 For directions and remarks relative to the culture of 

 Millet, see New England Farmer, vol. i. page 59. Al- 

 so page 277 of the same volume, which contairls Col 

 Powers statement alluded to above. Mr. Coxe's re- 

 marks on page 299. And, in the 2d volume of our pa 

 per, pages 308 and 307 are " an Extract of a letter from 

 the Hon. Bushrod Washington relative to the culture 

 of Millfct," and " Extract of a letter from John Hare 

 Powel, Esq. to Jonathan Roberts, President of the Penn- 

 sylvania Agricultural Society." We should be glad to re- 

 ceive some account of the cuIture,appli4;ation, Sic. of this 

 plant, as well on the farm of the Hon. Mr. Quincy, al 

 luded to above, as on the estates of other New England 

 < iiltirators, and shall ever be liappy to publish all the 

 mlormation on the subject which we can obtain. 



On the value of, .-^nd different modes of preparing, 

 Burnt Earth for Manure. 



[From Essays on Practical Husbandry, by Edward Bur- 

 roughs, Esq. Essay Second. On Manures and their 

 application.] 



This substance being but little known as a 

 manure, and being highly Taluable on most 

 soils, merits the particular attention of the cul- 

 'ivator ; it has also this particular recommcDda- 

 tron, that there are but few farms on which it 

 •■annot be prepared, and can be obtained at a 

 cheaper rate than most other manures. 



By the term " burned earth," is to be under- 

 s^tood, any species of soil that is capable of be- 

 ing torrefied or dried up by excessive heat pre- 

 serving at the same time, its original staple af- 

 ter thai operation. Clays of all sorts, and 

 ^.irong loams, will answer well for this purpose : 

 hal moors and sandy soils, being deficient in te- 

 nacity, will not torrefy to -advantage as I shall, 

 in Its proper place, explain, it is necessary to 

 observe, that this mode of preparing earth as a 

 manure, is upon a principle very different from 

 that of reducing il to ashes ; and though the 

 f fleet produced on the land on which it is ap- 

 p. led may be apparently the same, yet the 

 rorrehed substance is by far a more permanent 

 mjinure. 



The chemical diftarenqe in Jhe preparation 



is this : — In reducing the soil to ashes, much of! This was applied, in the month of April, on;: 

 • ../•,•._•_ ,. _ i!-^:^_.-j __j :,. field tliat had produced barley (he year beforcH 



and the soil of wliich was nearly similar to ih-.t 

 subsoil applied on it.— The result was, that 1 

 most excellent crop of barley was obtained I 

 this dressing, even better than on another pal 

 of the same field which had been limed in a su. 

 ficient quantity, and treated in the same manner 

 Subsoil may also be torrefied in kilns maded 

 sods, or mud and straw, as follows ; viz. — On.j 

 headland or waste piece of land, off which soih 



its fertilizing properties are dissipated, and it: 

 vegetable matter destroyed ■ but, when torrefi- 

 ed, those properties are preserved, and its 

 vegetable matter only reduced to a state more 

 valuable as the food of plants. There are two 

 sorts of burned earth : 1st, That which is 

 produced from the subsoil; and 2dly, That 

 which is produced from the surface, or upper 

 soil. I treat of them severally in order to show 

 how they are to be appropriately applied, and 



I, i 

 3 



to point out the best mode of preparing them can be had sufficiently old to build walls, erecl 

 under different circumstances. four parallel (0 each other, and forming a squari 



First. — Subsoil calculated for this purpose 

 may be said to be of two kinds, viz. adhesive 

 clay and calcareous earth; the former seldom 

 possesses any fertilizing properties in its natu- 

 ral state ; but the latter is generally a valuable 

 substance, even in this state. As alternatives to 

 the soil they may be a good application ifappro 



of eight feet in the clear; let these be \vel 

 joined at (he angles by crossing the sod.=, am 

 raised about four feet high at the commence 

 ment, and twenty inches thick. Through thf 

 centre of the four walls, and on a level with th« 

 surface, cut flues, so that they will all meet it 

 the centre of the kiln, about five or six inches 



priately applied, and may produce fertility ac-ideep, and four wide, which are to be coverei 

 cordingly ; but, by putting them through a pro-jby sods on the top, leaving intervals bet weep 

 cess of torrefaction, however naturally deficient them of less than an inch. These flues are tc 

 in fertilizing properties, they can be converledibe kept free of clay or rubbish, and the roouthi 



into valuable manures. Hence it would appear 

 that the most fertile subsoil would be the most 

 advantageous to torrefy, and this Ihave no doubt, 

 is the case ; but as the process will make any 

 description of soil a valuable manure, the only 

 object is, to procure that which will answer 

 best for this purpose. 



The most simple and the cheapest method of 

 preparing this manure, is, to excavate a place 

 in the pit out of which the subsoil is to be raiset? 

 for this purpose, and in this place to build the 

 kiln. The subsoil will then be convenient to 

 throw on the kiln ; and the culm for assisting 

 in burning of it may also be laid down conveni- 

 ent, as it is wanted. The kilQ is burnt in the 

 following manner, viz. 



An arch of about four or five feet long, three 

 wide and two high, is made with well i>urned 

 brick ; the front of which is close like m oven, 

 and the inside fitted to receive a strrng fire of 

 coals. On the top of the arch sii or eight 

 holes are left, the size of a small hick, to ad- 

 mit the heat passing out, which is 'O communi- 

 cate to the earth laid on. When (tie fire is suf- 

 ficiently strong the door of the kiln is to be well 

 stopped, and the earth thrown rn in some de- 

 gree pulverized, about six or eijht inches thick, 

 so as to cover the fop of the kin, and every di- 

 rection around it to which the heat might com- 

 municate. In this manner it is to he dressed 

 alternately with culm and earth, which are to 

 be laid on accordingly to the heat of the fire, 

 which is on no account (0 be permitted to burn 



3 strong. 



After the kiln is once well lighted, it will 

 burn several hundre.l bushels of earth without 

 any additional fire inside ; and the same kiln 

 will answer for a length of time to renew the 

 process when it may be necessary. 



The substance which I saw put through this 

 process on the lands of Doveridge, was a yel- 

 low clay of a strong nature, and liable to be- 

 come calcined by excessive heat, which Lord 

 VVaterpark found to be the case on the first com- 

 mencing his experiments. However, on reduc- 

 ing the strength of the fire in the kiln, and not 

 giving so heavy a dressing of culm between the 

 layers of clay, the heat was sufficient to pro- 

 duce torrefaction ; and when the clay was cart- 



well open to the air. 



In the centre of the kiln place brushwood, 

 turf, or other combustible matter; also sonn 

 small blocks of wood to strengthen the fire ; and 

 when ail is well kindled throw on some culm and 

 then clay, and so on, as you find the lire suffix 

 cienlly strong to take dressing always observing 

 to keep the heat of the kiln as even and as rat- 

 derate as possible, just of suflicient strength to 

 expel the moisture from the layers of clay fu 

 they are thrown on. Much care should, how- 

 ever, be taken not to cover the fire too soon af | 

 ter being lighted, which would be likely to ei- I 

 tinguish it totally. 



The reason of raising the walls at the com- 

 mencement only four feet is, that the firing 

 may be more readily placed in it ; but, duriiig 

 the burning, they should always be kept eigh- 

 teen inches higher than the centre of the kiln, 

 in order that the wind should not have powef 

 on the surface of the fire. As soon as the kilo 

 is strong kindled, two flues should be stopped, 

 observing always to keep those open which 

 face as much as possible the windward point; 

 should the kiln burn too strong, onj of those 

 will be suflicient to leave open. It will oflen 

 happen that the kilns will burn to a height of 

 eight or nine feet; but is of no advantage to let 

 them burn higher than seven feet, as the incon- 

 venience of dressing them, when so elevated 

 adds too much to the expense. 



When kilns are well managed, one of the 

 size 1 have described would be burned in about 

 six weeks, at the end of which time the walb 

 would be so torrefied as to become of equal va- 

 lue, as manure, with the interior of the kilo; 

 however, it cannot be expected that they will 

 be in a state sufficiently pulverized to put cot 

 the same time for a crop: it would, there- 

 fore, be advisable to have them broken down 

 as soon as the kiln has burned out, and to mix 

 and blend together. About tivo months after 

 this preparation, it will be in good order to put 

 out for a green crop ; but, lor a corn crop, it 

 should be in the highest state of pulverization. 

 Calcerous earth is considered by some scientific 

 farmers, the best substance for burning, on the 

 principle that the calcerous matter which it 

 contains as reduced to lime in the process of 



ed out, it was in a mellovv and pulverized .state. '<o'''"e'^'^ction ; therefore, lime being, in theic 



