\ \. >1>. 4 3 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER 



Ul 



oy i»ny of llip birtU cilloil grouic or heath hon» ; 

 simll, nilhin tlio rfs|)cctivc tiiiica afurpsRiil, icll, 

 buy, i>r have in hi« pnssoMion, any of the said 

 '(]«, kilU-il nr taken as aturosaid, ho shall rorl'eit 



every sdcIi |iartritl|;e, <|n3il or woodcock, tin' 

 n of two dollars, ond for every aiich anipo, lark 

 robin, one dollur, and (or every such groiise or 

 ith hen the »un\ often dollars, to bo recovered 



complnint bel'oro any juslico of tlio pence. 

 ".Src/i'oii 2. Ifany pcraon elinll shoot at or kill 

 r of the birds mentioned in the preceding sec- 

 1, or any olhtr birJs upon lands not oicned or oc 

 ixeil by hiinstlf, and without license from the 

 ner or occupant thereof, at any time between the 



I day of March and the fourth day of July, he 



II forfeit and pay to the occupant or owner of 

 h land^, the sum of TR5 dollars, in addition 

 ho actual damages sustained, to be recovered 

 such owner or occupant in an action of trespass." 



THE AMKIIICAN AGRICULTURIST." 

 ■Ve have received the first two numbers of a pe- 

 lical with the above title. Messrs. A. H. Allen 



R. L. Allen, New York, aro its editors. The 

 cimeos- give promise of a valuable work. It 

 les monthly, in pamphlet form, ."^'.J pages — terms, 



dollar per annum, in advance, 

 ^rom its second No. we take the following : 



PLASTER OF PARIS. 

 lENTs. — We have heard many complaints a- 

 ig our farmers who use this iinp<^rtant 8tim<j- 

 , and particularly from those who have but re- 

 .ly con:mcnccd it3 application, thnt it failed in 

 lerous instances ■ last year in developing its 

 \i\ benefits. They doubt the jfoodness of the 

 ?Ie, or its adiptation to their 8'>ils. 

 *ur solution to their complaints and inquiries 



at it requires rains to dissolve or decompose 

 plaster, without »vhich its application to crops 

 iiitlcss. The spring and summer of 1841 were 

 sually dry ihrouffliout a great p.irt of the North- 

 States. For two or three months, we had lit- 

 r no rains, and the {,'rass and early grain crops 

 • uncommonly short. This we apprehend is 

 jrincipul cause of the failure. We advise our 

 iiiltural friends, however, to repeat their regu- 

 oiirse, and soon the present season may give a 



account of the hst years application. At all 

 te, our confidence is in no way impaired in 

 irtuo of ibis stlmulnnt. 



Yours, truly, F. 



9 the application of sulphate of lime, more fa- 

 rly known as ScUnile, Gypsum, or Plaster of 

 s, is extensively and most beneficially made in 

 country as a manure, perhaps we cannot occu- 



10 Bllention of our readers more advantageous. 

 an by throwing together some/acts connected 

 it Of theories we have many ; but as they 



not yet attained that certainty which we 

 1 essential to any subject claiming the alten- 

 of practical farmers, the rule we have adopted 

 i:r present limits will not allow our communi- 

 g them. The materials of gypsum are lime, 



n lically combined with sulphuric acid, common- 

 own as oil of vitriol, or vitriolic acid, which is 



n -)f the strongest mineral acids, and consists of 

 lur and oxygen, with the addition of a little 

 r. This combination is essential to be under- 

 1 by such as are making experiments on its 

 and will serve to throw niuch light on Ijie rea- 

 for the different results obtained. 



And, 1. It gencrilly has little or no elfect on 

 strong clay land*, unless applied in large quunli- 

 tii'!<, lay 15 or 'iO bushels to the acre, when it has 

 been known to change the chnrnclrr of a nlifl'clay 

 III a single season, to a louse, friable, inelluw niid 

 rich soil. 



2. It is used with great cIToct on dry, sandy, 

 (not a barren sand,) or loamy soils. 



.'t. One to two bushels per aero is considered a 

 sulficient quantity to apply at onco, though as high 

 as six, have been sown with matkcd advantage. 



4. Its effects last through two seasons, and fre- 

 quently much longer. 



5. It should be sown generally ii April or May, 

 (and always applied when the ground is dry,) thus 

 affording an opportunity for dissolving it by the 

 rains. Its application to crops as late as June, 

 has frciiuently been attended with decided ndvnii- 

 tagcs, though the large quantity of water required 

 for dissolving it, being about ."JOO parts of water, 

 at a temperature of 00'', to one of gypsum, renders 

 the advantage much more conspicuous when sown 

 earlier. 



(3. The clTccts are much more striking when ap- 

 plied with manure, and sometimes with lime. 



7. It is a stimulant, as well as manure, and has 

 a tendency to exhaust the humus or geine already 

 in the ground, which renders it necessary to add 

 manures occasionally, when the crops arc carried 

 off the ground ; when they are consumed on it, 

 the soil is constantly improving without the addi- 

 tion of manure., 



8. It is in some instances a specijic food of vege- 

 tables, by this means g.-enlly increasing ttie-quan- 

 tity of some plants, as clover, sainioin, and other 

 of the broad leaf grasses ; peas, corn, roots, &c. ; 

 while some of the narrow leaf grasses, and wheat, 

 barley, oats, &e. arc scarcely benefited bv it. 



y. In opposition to the suggestion of our corres- 

 pondent, we have well attested e.xperiments of its 

 immediate beneficial effeet on crops suflierin<r from 

 drought, belore any rains had come to its aid ; it 

 having been in some slight degree dissolved by 

 copious dews. 



10. Its application in the neighborhood of salt 

 water, has seldom been attended with benefit, ow- 

 ing undoubtedly to its combining with the saline 

 vapor wafted to it by the sea breezes. 



11. Frequent benefit is derived from its use on 

 vines and other plants infested with insects, for 

 though the diluted acid constituting a portion of it, 

 may be highly beneficial to the vegetable, it is poi- 

 son to the insect. 



12. Wet lands ar not improved by it. 



13. Many soils are already so highly charged 

 with gypsum in their natural ccmdition, as to de- 

 rive no benefit from an additional quantity. There 

 is scarcely any saline substance more generally 

 diffused, it constituting a portion of almost every 

 soil, and is contained to a gre:itcr or less extent, 

 in all river and spring water; and giving to the 

 latter especially, when in considerable quantity, 

 the character of hardness. 



From this cause, (its general and large diffusion,) 

 is unquestionably owing the want of effect on clay 

 lands. These almost invariably contain conside- 

 rable portions of sulphur tnii lime; wa have then 

 but to odd a portion of oxygen to the sulphur, 

 which is abundantly found in the aoil, and water, 

 and atmosphere, and we have the sulphuric ncid, 

 which brought into combination with the lime, 

 gives U8 the gypsum. This enters directly into 

 the substances of some plants, as we have seen 



above: and on others, it acts favorably, by its siib- 

 sequonl dccnmpiisitiun and union with other sub- 

 I Blnni-cs, (ij poinuli ; and cspcciiilly by sci/.ing on 

 jniid fixing the ammonia, brought into contact with 

 j it liy iho dews and rnina from thn nlmonphcrc. 

 ■riie.HP multifarious operotinns of nature in her sc- 

 I crcl laboratory, with all the elem''nls and under 

 all the varied cirrumstancoa in which nhe work*, 

 are not so clearly delected, e» lo dcvclopc her mo- 

 dus operandi v. liii Butticicia certainty to ctitublith 

 well defined and accurate ihi-ories. We ihereforo 

 leave the subject for the proclical farmer to expe- 

 riment upon, with what little light we have thrown 

 together on the suhject above. And with all the 

 theory in the world, trperience as to its value lo 

 certain crops, under certain circumstances, ami on 

 certain soils, would be of more value to the farmer ; 

 and to him we must look fur such cxperiiiieiits as 

 can alone afford any reasonable or correct founda- 

 tion of the theoretic action of this important mine- 

 ral. Wo will add, that another reason for the 

 w.int of effect on clay soils, may bo found in the 

 abundance of the sulphates of ammonii, potash, 

 soda, magnesia, alumina, &.C. which they contain. 

 Our own uso of gypsum has been limited, as the 

 land we have cultivated for a few years post, has 

 been a tenacious clay. On a J-ield containing 20 

 acres, which was occupied with oats, sown on a 

 freshly turned and unmaniircd soil ; oats sown on 

 a well monurcd piece, occupied for ."icveral preced- 

 ing seasons with roots; and a large clover patch; 

 we sowed in the latter part of May last year, about 

 seven acres in different patchc.-;, at the rale of five 

 or six pecks lo the acre. The ground had become 

 quite dry, and we had but slight rains afterwards, 

 and though the whole season was remarkably dry, 

 we had a large crop from each part of the field, 

 (thus showing the superiority of a chiy soil in 

 drought;) yet so far as we could discover, there 

 was no apparent difference in the plastered or un- 

 plastered portions of the field. There may have 

 been some advantage in the weight or nutritive 

 character of the ciop afforded by the plaster, but 

 of this we could not judge, as our experiment did 

 not go far enough to settle this point. R. 



Transplanting Trees Most nut-bearing trees 



may be as much improved by tr.insplanting and 

 grading, as fruit trees are. 'i'ho hickory and ches- 

 nut may thus be made to bear nuts far better fla- 

 vored, and three times as large as they [iroducc in 

 an uncultivated state. In ii good soil, they will 

 soon come to maturity ; and for shade, fuel, and 

 timber, the chesnut, butternut and hickory, are nut 

 inferior to the unproductive horse-chrsnut, bass- 

 wood, elm and maple. Late in autumn, or in 

 spring, is the time for transplanting ; — for which, 

 and for grafting, the same course is to be pursued 

 as with the apple or pear tree — care being taken 

 to place the roots about the same depth in the 

 earth that they naturally grew. 



When the buds just begin to oxpand, or take 

 the leaf form, is considered the most favorable time 

 for grafting niiU ; this takes place about the last 

 of May. — Selected. 



We would strongly recommend the soaking of 

 ruta baga and other turnip seed, 48 hours in tan- 

 ner's oil, before sowing. 'I'he oil so strongly im- 

 pregnates the first leifvcs of the plant, as to keep 

 off the fly, so destructive to it in the early stages 

 of its existence .imcr. .igricul. 



