158 



FARMERS' REGISTER— SASSAFRAS BUSHES. 



important, more especially for the corn crop. I 

 have used it very liberally on some parts of my 

 land, and I have not found eight hunth-ed bushels 

 to the acre too much for my stifi'est land ; but I 

 have used about four hundred bushels generally to 

 the acre. On small portions of my fields which 

 are light with considerable sand, two hundred and 

 fifty bushels have been used, and found to be equal 

 to six hundred on stiff lands. I scatter it when- 

 ever I can do so, on the surface, after the land is 

 fallowed, having ascertained that the first corn 

 crop is but little benefitted by the application of 

 the marl before the land is plouglied. I may not 

 be able to give the true reason, but the fact is clear- 

 ly established as well as the other, that when the 

 marl is scattered on the surface of the land after it 

 is fallowed, the first ciop is as much benefitted as 

 the second. I suppose, that when applied before 

 the land is fallowed, the marl, in fallowing stiff 

 land with a sward on it, is deposited in rows below 

 the furrow slice, by the operation of the plough ; 

 and is not, during the whole season, brought up 

 and mixed with the soil. It is different, when 

 the land is light, since the furrow slice does not 

 adhere as in stiff land, and the marl is mixed with 

 the soil to a considerable extent in the fallowing, 

 and pretty well mixed afterv.ards during the cul- 

 tivation of the corn. 



I have found it necessary to lay off the land in 

 depositing the marl, that the same quantit)' nearly 

 may be used on each acre, and the best method 

 that I have been able to devise, is to make a chop 

 where the marl is to be deposited from the cart. — 

 Many of my acquaintances run furrows each way 

 at the distance of eight or ten yards, and drop a 

 heap nearly in the middle. INIy foreman takes 

 poles 10-^ feet in length, which he sets up in a row. 

 He then steps off seven yards along the row thus 

 indicated by the poles, and makes a chop ; and so 

 he proceeds along the row, making a chop at the 

 end of each seven yards, and moving the sticks or 

 poles as he comes to them. Thus the plough is 

 ^dispensed with, and the places are marked out 

 with considerable accuracy ; although the distance 

 but one way is measured, yet after a little expe- 

 rience, the chops even the other way are made 

 with sufficient accuracy, and much time is saved. 

 I adopt twenty one feet, because it is the distance 

 best suited to scattering with ease and despatch ; 

 and because, as you perceive, each bushel of marl 

 for the square of twenty one feet, will give as near- 

 ly as may be, one hundred bushels to the acre. If 

 then the load be ascertained, there is but little dif- 

 ficulty in putting out the marl so as to give the 

 quantity desired to each acre. The marl being 

 carried out before the land is fallowed, the interval 

 between each row of heaps may be ploughed be- 

 fore the marl is scattered, and thus the carting- 

 over fallowed land is avoided, and the marl is scat- 

 tered over the land ploughed, save the rows of 

 marl heaps ; and when they are ploughed up, an 

 additional quantity might be given to them, and if 

 not, only a small part of the land will be marled 

 before it is ploughed. 



It is of great importance that vegetable matter 

 should be given to the marled land; but as a gen- 

 tleman in my neighborhood, of much experience 

 on this subject, has often remarked to me, " any 

 trash will be of high advantage, when the same 

 would produce no good if used without the marl." 



I observed before, that corn Avas by far the most 



certain crop with me, and as is believed, for all our 

 lands below the falls and off the rivers ; and pro- 

 bablj^, the most certain also on the rivers. Hence I 

 am persuaded, that it ought more to be relied on 

 than it is by the farmers, for their sale crop. Some 

 disaster blasts the hopes of the farmer Irom his 

 wheat crop almost every year ; whereas, the corn 

 crop does not often fail. And it is a mistake to 

 suppose that the labor and expense of the corn crop 

 exceeds that of the wheat crop much, if at all. Be- 

 ing convinced of this from the closest observation, 

 so far as my own experience goes; and this opinion 

 being confirmed by the superior success of the far- 

 mei-s in the corn districts over those of the Avheat 

 districts, as far as my observations extend, I have 

 determined to make my corn crop my principal 

 object ; and to that end, I shall raise oats lor feed- 

 ing, to save the corn, which will enable me to put 

 in my wheat crop with more ease, and during the 

 period in the fall best suited for it. 



I know that but little credit is due to the theo- 

 ries and views of those who are not successful in 

 farming; and that I may remove this oiijection to 

 my notions of the management of a farm, I add 

 that my fields now produce at least twice as much 

 as formerly, and that my field of corn last year, 

 (every hill of which was manured for the crop, 

 and only about three fifths of it marled,) averaged 

 me a little above thirty bushels to the acre. 



JAMES SEMPLE. 



For tlie Farmers' Register. 

 QUERIES RESPECTIKG SASSAFRAS BUSHES. 



1. Can any reader of the Farmers' Register di- 

 rect how to eradicate the growth of sassafras in 

 cultivated land.^ 



2. Can any medical reader say what are the pro- 

 perties of the mucilage which the leaves of sassafras 

 contain in such abundance, and whether, if ex- 

 tracted, it might be put to any valuable use.'' 



For twenty years I have been trying to destroy 

 this growth on a part of my farm, and to such lit- 

 tle purpose, that 1 verily believe there are now as 

 many plants growing as at first. It has not only 

 been subjected to all the assaults from ploughs and 

 hoes, incidental to good tillage of corn and wheat, but 

 for several successive years, I had the plants grub- 

 bed up in August, Avhether the land on which they 

 grew was at rest, or under a crop. The land so 

 infested is sandy, and was Ibrmerly very poor, and 

 is now only of middling productiveness : but it 

 docs not appear that any i^nprovement, or injury to 

 the soil, materially affects this abominable plant. 

 Except for the trouble of grubbing wlrich it 

 causes, I do not know that it is injurious to the cul- 

 tivation and product of corn : but the young shoots 

 greatly hurt the growth of wheat, and make the 

 reaping as wasteful as it is troublesome. 



If this should be read by any farmer who is so 

 lucky as not to be acquainted with sassafras bush- 

 es, he will wonder why grubbing up by the roots 

 does not effectually destroy each plant so treated. 

 But the truth is, that the root can only be cut be- 

 low the surface of the earth, and never is (and 

 perhaps cannot be) completely taken up. So deep 

 as the grubbing of small shrubs usually goes, 

 (say six inches,) the smallest, as well as the larger 

 sassafras bushes have only one perpendicular main 

 root, Avhich does not diminish in size as low as it 

 is seen. When cut off by the grubbing hoe be- 

 low the usual track of the plough, several young 



