290 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



June 



scquently he tliat best succeeds in preparing man- 

 ures, is most likely to be the most successful far- 

 mer. 



In farming, like all other pursuits, there are al- 

 ways thoso M'lio are seeking some shorter road to 

 the point of destination. For this jiurpose, manj' 

 kinds of condensed fertilizers have recently been 

 introduced — and often with results most striking. 

 We have heard of many such by the application 

 oi guano. But whether this can be brought with- 

 in the command of farmers of small means, we are 

 not distinctly advised. That it frequently oper- 

 ates well, on the crop of the present season, there 

 can be no doul>t ; but whether it will 7iccd to be, 

 or bear to be repeated year after year, remains to De 

 demonstrated. So with many of the chemical 

 combinations of substances now in tlie market. 

 Many of these contain the power of giving a vigor- 

 ous start to growing plants, but what will be 

 their lasting operation upon the soil, remains to 

 be seen. The effects of a liberal dressing of well 

 prepare:! manure from the stable or barn-yard, 

 arc seen for years, and can be calculated on for 

 a certainty. If such be the fast, in relation to 

 the improved fertilizers, it is important to be 

 known. That it is not, I am not prepared to 

 say ; — that it is, 1 have not seen anywhere dis- 

 tinctly shown. On this point instruction is much 

 needed. 



GREEN CROPS FOR BARK USE IN 

 SUMMER. 



It is the great number of cattle that a British 

 farmer keeps on his farm, which by furnishing so 

 much good manure, enables him to raise such good 

 crops. The turnip crop, occupying one-fourth his 

 farm, furnishes him the»grand means of keeping 

 so large a stock during the winter months ; and 

 the practice of soiling his horses and cattle, ena- 

 bles him to keep more animals than he otherwise 

 could during summer. 



By soiling, is meant the system of feeding cattle 

 in sheds and stables on green food grown for the 

 purpose, instead of allowing them to graze the 

 fields at pleasure. That more food can in this way 

 be obtained per acre, few will question. That we 

 can adopt soiling, except in some few cases near 

 1 irge cities, admits of some doubt. One of the 

 great objections to the practice is the greater 

 amount of labor required in mowing and carrying 

 to the barn the green food, than in letting the cat- 

 tle cut it themselves. Another objection is that 

 our climate is not so well adapted for the produc 

 tion of succulent summer food as the cool moist 

 climate of the IJritish isles. Yet, as we have of- 

 ten said , Ave obtain heavier crops of red clover 

 than do British farmers, and red clover is there 

 considered one of the l)est crops for soilingpurpos- 

 es ; and could it be grown with as mucli certainty 

 and in such quantity as in Western New York, it 

 would be much more extensively used. 



We believe it would pay every farmer to take 

 an acre or two of clover, as contiguous to the barn 

 as possible, and manure it highly in the fall or 

 spring. It would be found of great advantage to 

 cut and feed to the horses in the stable at noon, 

 and for an hour or so before turning them into the 

 field in the evening. A few acres so manured and 

 cut early, would afterwards yield a splendid crop 

 of clover seed ; or it might be mown twice, as 

 green food for the horses and cattle. 



Indian corn is perhaps the best food that wc can 

 grow for green food in summer. It stands drought 

 better than any other crop ; and if the soil be rich, 

 an immense amount of nutritious food can be ob- 

 tained per acre — certainly more than from any 

 other summer crop. Fur this crop the soil should 

 be either naturally very rich or be well manured. 

 Let it be prepared as you would your other corn 

 land. The deeper it is plowed, and the mellower 

 it is made, the better. i^tiwr^jwAe/s of seed should 

 be sown broadcast per acre, as soon after corn 

 planting as possible. If the soil is moist and in 

 good, line order, soak the seed corn for twenty- 

 four hours previous to sowing. In this way it 

 will be up in two or three days, and will get the 

 start of the weeds; and if the corn is sown thick, 

 and grows well, it will smother them all, and leave 

 the land in good condition for the following wheat 

 crop. Perhaps, however, it would be best to sow 

 the corn in rows twelve or fifteen inches apart, 

 and hoe it once or twice ; the corn would grow 

 more rapidlj', and the soil would be cleaner. 



Lucerne answers Avell for soiling purposes, but 

 its cultivation is attended with considerable labor 

 in keeping the soil free from weeds. It is a peren- 

 nial plant, and does not reach its full growth till 

 the third year. On a ricli, sandy loam, well under- 

 drained, plowed, and subsoiled, immense crops of 

 lucerne can be grown. Guano is a splendid manure 

 for this crop, and possesses the advantage of being 

 free from weeds. Lucerne is sown early in spring, 

 in rows from one to two feet apart; eight or ten 

 pounds of seed per acre. It must be frequently 

 hoed and kept free irom weeds, and should be cut 

 but once the first year ; in after years it will afford 

 three or four crops in a season. 



Remarks. — This article, from the Genesee Far- 

 mer, calls attention to a subject of considerable 

 importance to us at this season of the year. In 

 most parts of New England the drought has been 

 severe for three seasons in succession, and the cattle 

 have suffered much for want of grass. Many of 

 the pastures are too rocky to be worked and the 

 feed on them, therefore cannot be increased much 

 by any means that we are at present aware of, 

 l)eyond what they have heretofore afforded. The 

 deficiency must be made up in some other way, 

 and we know of none so eisy and cheap as the 

 cultivation of the southern flat corn. AYe would 

 recommeud that it be sown in drills, rather than 

 broadcast, and cultivated, in all respects, in the 

 same manner as our usual corn crops are treated. 

 The butter-maker and the milk-seller who have re- 

 lied on their scant pastures, will find their profits 

 handsomely increased by feeding out this crop. 



Hints to the Farmer. — Keep your enclosures 

 in good repair. If a post or a stake rots supply 

 its place with another before it fall and introduces 

 your own or your neighbor's cattle into your corn 

 or wheat field. Stone walls are the most valuable 

 of all enclosures, where one has the materials for 

 erecting them, or where they can be obtained with- 

 in any reasonable distance, walls are cheaper than 

 any other fence that can be constructed. A farm, 

 surrounded with good walls, may be regarded as 



