52 



N E VV E N G I. A N D FAR M !•: R , 



AVG. 18. 1-^ II. 



MR FRENCH'S FARM, nRAlNTREE. 

 Every reader of our cnliinins is familiar with tlic 

 namo of B. V. French, Esq., of Braintrco. 'I'liis 

 genlli-man is one of ihe most attentive friends of 

 both Horticulture and Asriculture. On Tuesdny 

 of Inst week, we enjoyed his hospitality and view, 

 ed his farm. Mr F. havinsr devoted many years to 

 mercantile pursuits in the city, procured a farm in 

 his native town, and is now investing- in the soil of 

 Braintree a portion of the profits of his former 

 trafficinfrs. 



Should one ask us whether this rrentleman makes 

 farmini.' profitable, wc mijht reply, that v e asked 

 him whether ho conld sell his place for ns much as 

 his stone walls have cost him? He doubted wheth- 

 er he could ; and we doubt too. But notwithstaud- 

 injT our presumption that ho does not find the farm 

 a source of income, we are fully ready to iiive him 

 much praise ns un itnprovorof the soil and an ag- 

 riculturist. 



The soil of tliat part of Braintrco in which Mr 

 F. resides, is clayey and rocky. After the many 

 larpe rocks are taken out, both soil and subsoil ap- 

 pear to be clay, well mi.xed with small stones : we 

 may call it clayey crave!. It is heavy and hard to 

 work, retentive and strong'. Great expense is re- | 

 quired for clrarinir and plowinir it. On one side 

 of the farm, Mr French has six contiguous fields of 

 from two to four acres each regularly and conve- 

 niently laid out, surrounded by most substantial 

 walls. This land, all of it, three or four years 

 since was in its natural state. Now the most of 

 it is well and smoothly laid down to grass, with 

 not a bush or stone to be seen. We are not aware 

 that th^re was any thing peculiar in the process of 

 subduing ; but one exp<>dient for draining deserves 

 niontinn, and in many places it can be profilably 

 imitated. The land has a gentle slope— and un- 

 der the wall is a trench three fet't deep, filled with 

 small stones, which pfTords a passage for the super- 

 fluous waters. The fertility of these retentive 

 lands is doubtless much increased by this kind of 

 drain. 



The tilled land upon the farm is very free from 

 weeds, and the crops are luxuriant. We have not 

 seen better promise of corn in any field this 

 season, and the potatoes and ruta baga are the best 

 we have mot with. All bear the marks of gene- 

 rous manuring and g.iod care. The farm, except- 

 ing the six now fields above named, is richly stock- 

 ed with trees of the best varieties of apples and 

 pears. Many of them are at their best age, while 

 many more are beginning to bear. Those too ex- 

 hibit the marks of faithful attention and care. — In 

 the poultry yard we found the peaches and plums ; 

 here the borer and the curculio will find it difficult 

 to run Ihe gauntlet. — In the hog yards we found 

 about twenty pure Berk.shircs ; and whatever may 

 be the merits of them when aubji-cted to the knife, 

 we certainly never before saw an equal number of 

 swine at any one pl.ce, of as great beauty as these 

 possess. Well supplied with soa-weed and muck, 

 they were busily porforuiing the labor required of 

 them. — In the barn, which has bcini recently re- 

 paired, we found the arrangements for the cattle 

 uncommonly airy and comfortable; — beneath the 

 necks of the cattle, instead of a timber in which to 

 fix the poles for the tie-up chains, we found a plank 

 trough, about six inches s(|uare, and at each crib a 

 hole was left uncovered, of sufiicienl size for the 

 admission of the nose of the cow ; this ia the wa- 

 tering trough. Tlie idea of having water where 

 the cows can drink at their pleasure, is one that 



deserves attention. Th'-re can be little doubt that 

 cows in milk will be mui;h benefited by this ar- 

 rangement. — In the pasture we found eight cows, 

 generally bearing the marks of good milker.^, and 

 all showing that they are well kept The milk is 

 sold at the house. — The toed houses were the pla- 

 ces most remarkable about ihe premises, and which 

 surpns'sed all that we liave seen elsewhere. They 

 contain samples of nearly every kind of agricultu- 

 ral implement. All are in their places and in 

 good condition. Order and neatness pervade the 

 whole ostablishmeiil. 



Ilorliciilture and floriculture are sufficiently at- 

 tended to, for producing all the desirable fruits and 

 flowers. 



One who frees the hard and bushy soil from its 

 obstructions to the plow, and wlio makes tons and 

 scores of tons of hay grow where rocks and bushes 

 held full posse.ssidii, erects a monument to his own 

 enterprise; renders himself a public benefactor, 

 and may well take pleasure in the conquests he 

 has made. 



But while we name our host of the day as one 

 whose example does good to the cause of agricul- 

 ture, we cannot forget that hundreds are ready to 

 say this man of amplo means cannot be copied by 

 the poor man; if common farmers tread in his steps, 

 they will soon be ruined. This may be true ; and 

 yet common farmers may be benefited by hi.^ do- 

 ings. Our thoughts upon this point sometimes 

 run. thus: — Gnxlkmni faruurs are often sneered 

 al by the worlicrs ufion the soil. These men of thf 



plo 



Mirc; :iud finds much of his pleasure in trying:.J 

 new ilinii,'s, and in adopting modes which he knows :)!| 

 as well as you do, will not be profitable in n pe- . 

 cuniary point of view. Let him gratify his taste ; 

 and whin his modes of doing things give you a 

 valuable hint, make use of it gladly and thankful- 

 ly ; but wherein ho imkes farming a too costly 

 operation, avoid copying his processes. |; 



PRESERVATION OF THE FERTILITY OF i 



SOILS. [ 



To the Editor of ihe Farmer's Register ; « 



Nothing can be more important to the interest | 

 of agriculture, than a correct understanding of the I 

 means by which the natural fertility of soils may t 

 be preserved, and such as have been deteriorated f 

 by injudicious husbandry may be renovated. Vou » 

 have rendered a very important service to the most > 

 useful of all sciences, by your Essay on Calcaro- I 

 ous Manures. I propose in this letter, to moke • 

 some desultory remarks upon the same subject ; 

 and shall be much g-atificd if 1 shall bo able to 

 throw the smallest light upon a question of so 

 much interest 



Sir 11. Davy, in his Agricultural Chemistry, says, 

 " the earths, and even the earthy carbonates hava 

 a ccrtiin degree of chemical attraction for many 

 of Ihe principles of vegetable and animal substan- 

 ces." That, '-in most of the black and brown 

 rich venetable moulds, the earths seem to ho in 

 combination with a peculiar extractive mntler. af. 



forded during decomposition of vegetablis. In 

 striped froik .suppose thai they are the masters of j (||p extract quoted by you at page 30, he seems to 



the art of husbandry, and that the fine broadcloti 

 coat covers the hack of only theorisers and ignora- 

 muses in agriculture. All this is perfectly natu- 



place the chemical energy of alumina and i-arbou 

 atp of lime, in preserving putrescent maniirrs, up- ' 

 on an equality. I concur with you, that the pow- • 



ral, and the supposition is partly, at least, correct i p^s of attracting and retaining these manures, pos- i 

 The hard working man, who has for years been a Lessed by these two earths, differ greatly in force. • 

 busy tiller of the soil, understands well the proces- I jaiiinjT for granted that carbonate of lime has a 



scs of tillage which are common in his neighbor- 

 hood, and generally knows how to plan so as to | 

 make both ends of his accounts meet But he 

 generally goes in a beaten track ; he learns noth- 

 ing which others have not long known, and he im- 

 parts no information to th>; agricultural community. 

 He may be a worthy man and a good farmer. But 

 he is less likely to make valuable discoveries in 

 agriculture and horticulture, than is the man of 

 property and taste, — the gentleman farmer — who 

 often incurs expenses which the farm does not re- 

 pay — who often tries experiments — who derives 

 pleasure not less from learning liow a new theory 

 will work in practice, than from a profitable crop. 

 This class of men arc public benefactors; their 

 successes and their failures are watched by the 

 neighbors, so that farmers of limited means got at 

 the results of experiments without being obliged 

 to incur the expenses necessary for making them. 

 Now what we ask of the common farmer is, that 

 he do not ridicule Ihe pentlcmnn farmer. He may 

 be well satisfied that the theoriscr, the schemer, 

 the experimenter, is expending many a dollar for 

 which he will never get back nine-peiu;e ; he may 

 be convinced that it would not do for him or for 

 his poor neighbors to farm in the same way ; but 

 it does not follow from this that the man of prop- 

 erly may not be gratifying a laudable desire to 

 gain and to impart new and valuable knowledge of 

 ihe Kcienco and art of agriculture ; it does not fol- 

 low that he should be ridiculed, and that his jud,'- 

 ment as a I'arner should be hold in contempt, lli.s 

 purposes and yours may be different ; you arc farm- 

 ing to gel a living or make money ; he farms for 



i«l 



a very powerful chemical energy in aitractiiiL' and 

 retaining those elementary I'rinciples wbich art 

 the appropriate food for plants, and that the olhei, 

 earths and earthy carbonates po.^sess this powei * 

 only in a slight degree it will readily appear whj ;' 

 soils destitute of lime, in any state of combination "* 

 "cannot be improved durably or profitably by pm Jl 

 trescenl manures, without previously making lhen( 

 calcareous.' 



In a state of nature, soils are enriched inainljj Si 

 by the dccoinposilion of vegetable mailers on thi n 

 surface of the earth. If these Hereto undergo I Wf 

 rapid decomposition, a considerable proportion ol ti 

 the elements, constituting the appropriate food a| ^ 

 plants, would escape in the form of gas, and cool 'P 

 se(piently be entirely lost. And hence, if th 

 growing vegetable had derived its nutriment alto 

 gether from the soil, it would restore much les. 

 ihan it had extracted for its nourishment; ai»^if; 

 would exhaust instead of increasing its ferlilit' 

 Hut in general, the decomposition of vegetab IJ 

 matter, on the surface of the earth, ia so very slo 

 and gradual, that but little loss occurs from thi [ni 

 process. And as vegetables derive much of thei") 

 nutriment from their atmosphere, the quantity 

 vegetable food restored to the earth, by their t! 

 compositiim, commonly greally exceeds that whiei Kid 

 ha.s been drawn from the earth for their susleuano^Iil 

 In a state of nature the entire \egclnble growth 

 lell upon the noil. When this dies, and falls up< *f( 

 the earth, it becomes subject to the effects of del <ti 

 and rain. These, before decomposition can tail tut 

 place, draw off from the vegetable matter an el 

 tract, which is thus carried down into the soil, ai 



' I fti 



