NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



387 



jaust the soil so much that it will >ieltl but lil- 

 le more than to defray the expense ot'cultiva- 

 It is therefore an inquiry af great impor- 

 ince, a correct answer to which, it is (he in- 

 fest of every farmer to ohtain, what system 

 tiiill be adopted to gain the oliject in view ? 

 then shall we plough land of this and that dc- 

 iripfion ? what crop shall we raise first? what 

 ught to succeed; and how 'long may plough- 

 ><r be continued; and when should land hv. 

 ieded with grass or clover, that the whole sys- 

 m taken together may yield the greatest nell 

 ■oceeds ; These are important questions, nol 

 \\y to every farmer individually, but so far a^ 

 e public are interested in the prosperity ot 

 dividuale, to community at large. And I think 

 probable there are but few farmers who are 

 it ready to give answers; although perhaps, 

 ey would differ widely in material points, and 

 1 equally diverse in the result, if accurate ex- 

 !rimer.ts were made on their several sys- 



I make no pretensions to superior knowledge 

 Ithe art of husbandry, over'my brother farmers, 

 It the system that I prefer, I will offer, and 

 liefly attempt to vindicate. 1 would, however, 

 1st take a view of the present practice of most 

 f us, in order to contrast that with what 1 should 

 «isider to be the most beoeticial, if generally 

 iroduced. 



I think it probable there is not much diversi- 

 t of opinion as to the treatment of land newly 

 c ared of timber. It is generally conceded 

 t t the tirst crop ought to be wheat together 

 V h clover or timothy seed ; and thus seeded, 

 pmitted to lie in pasture o" in meadow, owing 

 |i:ircumstances, until the roots are well rotted 



J the reception of the plough. 

 Che management of greensward, and the 

 Ration adopted within the circle of my ac- 

 intance, generally is, tirst, summer fallow- 

 for wheat ; second, spring ploughing for 

 II n; third, oats, flax or peas; fourth, whent 

 in ; fifth, rye ; sixth, corn again ; and so on, 

 il the land is quite exhausted, and very 

 : it is then seeded with clover, and per- 

 itlted to lie in pasture several years, to regain 

 it strength and fertility, and become prepar- 

 ^^ for another rotation. I would observe, 

 never, to our credit, that soqie begin to 

 vjy a little from this, as it respects the lime 

 aims continuing the process, before seeding, 

 .'he system and rotation which is recom- 

 -oidedbythe first agriculturists of the state, 

 ( inning with green sward, and which 1 think, 

 \i - economy, is entitled to our confidence 

 n attention, is, first, late fall ploughing, for 



1 or potatoes ; second, spring ploughing, 

 > peas, flax, and other spring crops; third, 



1 ploughing, for wheat, at which time, or the 

 1 ceding spring, seed with clover, to lie 

 1 c years to pasture or moiving, for another 

 5 lion. By contrasting the systems with care 

 I attention, it may easily be determined to 



the preference belongs. 



;- first begins with green sward, by sum- 



1 [lowing for wheat. For this process, at 



a^on of the year in which this work is 



ally performed, requires two yoke of ox- 



I sometimes, if it be very dry, three yoke 



cfissary ; and for a team of that descrip- 



■ ^ a driver is indispensable. 



' Ai the latter system, the commencement 



«i the sward is late fall ploughing. One 



yoke of oxen, this season of the year, will ge- 

 nerally jdough green sward »vilh as much ease 

 as two will in June, and perform as much in a 

 day. There is therefore a saving in this sys- 

 tem in the first process, to wit, breaking up, of 

 one yoke of oxen, at least, and a driver, iier 

 acre, as one acre per day, and do the work well, 

 would be a good day's work. 



Again ; to summer lallow green sward, and snch 

 sward as most of our pastures and meadows con- 

 lain, to wit, spear-grass, two ploughings and of- 

 ten three, besides breaking up, and much har- 

 rowing, are necessary, to render the ground 

 mellow and fit for the seed. The harrowing 

 necessary on this, would be more than suflicient 

 to fit the fall ploughing completely lor corn. 

 Here again is a saving of a man, a yoke of oxen 

 and plough, two days per acre, in fitting for 

 the first crop ; which, at ^1 50 per day, amounts 

 to three dollars. This sum added to the saving 

 in breaking up of a yoke of oxen and driver at 

 75 cts. per day, makes g3 75 per acre saved, 

 if the amount of produce is equal to that of 

 summer fallowing — a sum equal to the rent of 

 good land. 



But this is hut a small item in the amount 

 saved by this system. To summer fallow, the 

 land of course must be without a crop one season. 

 It is ascertained by chemical experiments, (and 

 every man of nice observation must know it to 

 be a fact,) that while vegetable substances are 

 rotting or decomposing, much of the fertilizing 

 properties evaporate and are lost, unless they 

 be taken up by the roots of plants growing with- 

 in reach. If the decomposition takes place on 

 the surface of the earth, but a small portion of 

 the virtues of the substance as manure are 

 saved. 



. It is likewise well known, that well-rotted 

 manure loses its virtues constantly and rapidly, 

 while exposed to rains and the intense heat of 

 a summer's sun. We may therefore count, in 

 addition to the savings of this latter system 

 already mentioned, the nett proceeds of the 

 first crop obtained. We have good reasons for 

 believing that the rich gases of the decompos- 

 ing sod, which evaporate and are lost on the 

 bare fallow, would be abundantly suflicient to 

 grow and bring to perfection an excellent crop 

 of corn, or other spring grain ; and that land 

 thus treated, would be in as good condition for 

 the production of the next succeeding crop, as 

 it would have been had it been cultivated as a 

 bare summer fallow ; for in the latter system the 

 sod (which, when decomposed, is a highly I'er- 

 tilizing manure) is beneath the surface, and 

 there continued till the crop is perfected: the 

 decomposition is gr.-jdual, and in the course of the 

 season, complete ; the earth above it becomes 

 saturated with its fertilizing properties, while the 

 crop is grown and perfected by that which would 

 have been lost, had the sod been thrown up while 

 decomposing, and exposed to the rains and sun. 

 (To be continued.^ 



A'erv process for tanning Leather. — We have 

 examined a sample of leather tanned in a new 

 mode, by Capt. Ch.irles Mur.roe, of Northboro', 

 in this county, which is pronounced, by compe- 

 tent judges, to be of the first quality. The sam- 

 ple iscalf skins, and_ was tanned in ten days. By 

 the same process heavy upper leather is tho- 

 roughly tanned in from 25 to 30 days, and dry 

 hide sole leather in 90 days. We understand 



th»t-Phinehas & Jo-eph Davis, of Northboro', 

 who are well known to be extensively engaged 

 in tanning, having adopted this mode, and are 

 perfectly satisfied of its superiority. By if, 

 the expense is somewhat reduced, and the capi- 

 tal employed, may be turned much oftener than 

 in the old way. Sole leather may be tanned 

 three times, upper leather six limes, and calf 

 skins nine times in a year, in regular business, 

 with no danger of failure or injury to the lea- 

 ther. The liquor for tanning is used cold. 



We would recommend this improvement to 

 the attention of tanners generally, not doubting, 

 from the recommendations we have seen, of 

 its great practical utility. Capt. Munroe is 

 proprietor of the patent right for this Stale 

 [Aiass. Spy. 



From the Massachusetts Yeoman. 

 The reader will find on the first page, an article by 

 Dr. Fiske, of this town, relative to the " Knglish 

 breed of hogs,"'* vpherein he controverls'thp opmion 

 of the writer of an article, heretofore published, on 

 the same subject ; and maintains the superiority of 

 that breed. The following communication from the 

 same gentleman, furnishes additional proof of the 

 correctness of his opinion. 



Mr. Denny, — Since my communication for the 

 New England Farmer, Col. Ward has furnished 

 me with other facts, favourable to the " En- 

 glish breed of hogs." Two of the pigs, men- 

 tioned in the lot which obtained the premium 

 at our last Cattle Show, were slaughtered at 

 eleven months and one day old. One weighed 

 411 lbs. the other 384 lbs. Mr. Fiice, a joint 

 owner, who had the particular care of them, is 

 confident that he obtained this weight with less 

 expense than it cost him to make 3lX) lbs. from 

 the " oid-.fashioned kind." 



If any-^further evidence was necessary lo es- 

 tablish their credit, it need only to be mention- 

 ed, that the Hon. Judge Lincoln, an excellent 

 judge in all matters, is rearing several litters 

 from my stock, and has recently purchased one 

 from my pen, to transmit the breed. 



O. FISKE. 

 JuneiS, 1824. 

 '■ * The article alluded to was published in the New 

 England Farmer, vol. ii. page 369. 



IVestern Sah. — We learn from the Troy Senti- 

 nel, that a boat has arrived in Troy, from Salina, 

 with 900 bushels of Salt. The cargo was pur- 

 chased by Messrs. Silliman and Grant, one of our 

 most active and enterprising mercantile houses, 

 and they have contracted lor large quantities 

 more. The salt is made by Mr. Byington, who 

 has pans enough in use, we understand, to 

 turn out 2000 bushels a month, and he is mak- 

 ing very large additions to them. The salt is 

 of a most beautiful clear white complexion ; the 

 chrystals are large enough to rank as coarse salt, 

 and are uncommonly pure. We have no doubt 

 that this salt will preserve meat as effectually 

 as Rock salt, or any other whatever, taking an 

 equal quantify of each. — Bvffaloe Jovrnal. 



Rapid Weaving. — Messrs. Richardson &Wbit- 

 aker, of Providence, R. I. at their manufactur- 

 ing establishment in Attleborough, under the su- 

 perintendance ofMr. Zeba Bliss, wove on 20 

 Power Looms, week ending June 12lh, 6656 2-4 

 yards No. 14, 3, 4, brown Shirtings, — Taunton 

 Reporter. . . 



