FARMERS' REGISTER— FALLOWS— ROCKBRIDGE FARMING. 



4c 



dance necessiiry to Indian corn, would endanger 

 tlie young trees. 



It is so much (he practice in the United States 

 to let trees take their chance for growing, afler 

 tliey have been ])lanted, or sprung up from see:!'* 

 or stones, that these particular directions may be 

 disregarded. But let a comparative experiment 

 be made with mull)erry trees permitted to grow al 

 will, and others treated as here directed, and tlie 

 difference in their beauty and growth will be ob- 

 vious. The advantage, in tiiese respects, will be 

 decidedly in favor of trees which have been at- 

 tended to. 



Without deciding upon the superiority of the 

 various modes of propagating mull erry tiees, it is 

 tliought proper to mention the great advantage of 

 the mode of budding. In the year 1S26, Mr. 

 Millington, of Missouri, "budded tiie white mul- 

 berry on stocks of native trees ; and such as were 

 done before July, were forced out immesliately 

 by cutting off the stocks above the buds. Some 

 of these buds made limbs more than two feet long 

 by the 27th October. The buds put in after the 

 middle of July, he did not intend to force out un- 

 til the following spring. He thinks budding more 

 expeditious and surer than engrafting, and when it 

 tails, does not injure the stock so much as this 

 mode. Native stocks, to engraft or bud on, can 

 be procured with ease; and the trees thus raised 

 would not be lial)]e to disease in their roots, like 

 foreign trees: and these engrafted or budded trees 

 would grow much faster, and furnish leaves much 

 sooner, and of a larger size, and better qualitv. 

 This will not be doubted by those who have ob- 

 served how much faster an engrafted tree grows, 

 and how much larger its leaves are than those of 

 a seedling tree."* 



Experience has fully shown that the leaves of 

 the native mulberry tree produce good and strong- 

 silk, although not so fine as that from the white 

 mulberry. Those, therefore, who have only the 

 native tree, may begin tiieir operations with it; 

 and they will acquire a knowledge of the business 

 of rearing silk-worms, while the foreign species 

 is CTOwinsr. 



Oy MAXURIXG FALLOWS FOR WHEAT. 



From the Genesee Farmer. 



We are always gratified to obtain the views of 

 practical farmers on any parts of their lousiness, 

 especially where the contributor differs from the 

 common practice around him, — for whether he be 

 right or wrong, if he makes careful experiments, 

 he is on the high road to knowledge ; and may eli- 

 cit something valual)le from others. It is there- 

 fore with pleasure that we lay before our readers, 

 some extracts from our corresj)ondence. 



" The result of a series of experiments for more 

 than ten years, have satisfied me that a very great 

 error prevails among farmers with regard to the 

 spreading of barn-yard manure preparatory to 

 seeding in the fall with wheat. Many haul it out 

 and leave it lying in heaps for v.eeks, and only 

 spread it immediately before the plough. Tlie 

 best plan is to haul, spread, and plough under in 

 the sameday ; but this course is impracticalde, un- 

 less the farmer has more teams and hands than 

 would be profitably employed the rest of the year. 



*Silk Manual, p. 1 14. 



The next best course is to haul, and spread off the 

 wagon, or directly after it; and not to suffe*' tbe 

 manure (o lie in small heaps over night. Thecus- 

 tom is, to take out all the manure before any is 

 spread. On (he contrary, I have pursued my pla;; 

 (or years, and have not seen any difference in the 

 crop, whether the manure had iieen spread three 

 weeks, or only one day before it was ploughed 

 under. 



" After manure is disturbed, and (lien lUrown in- 

 to heaps, fresh fermcn(ation takes place, which I 

 presume is not the case wlien it is thinly spread 

 over the ground. I am an unlielicver in (he deic- 

 (rine lha{ (he nu(ritive parts of manure, constitu- 

 ting the food of plants, is exhaled. Some say that 

 after barn-yaid manure has laid in heaps for some 

 time, and become dry, it loses its strength. This 

 has been my experience; but never has this loss 

 happened (o manure thinly spread over the field as 

 it was hauled from the yard : in other words, fer- 

 mentation is injurious, but simple exhalation is 

 not. 



"Some may think that spreading manure off a 

 wagon is more tedious than to throw it down in 

 heaps, and then spread it. We mostly spread it 

 directly off the wagon. A man and boy hauled 

 out and s[)read in this manner eighteen two-horse 

 loads, between ten o'clock in the morning and sun- 

 set, which, it must be admitted, was good speed. 

 If the time occupied in throwing it down in heaps, 

 be added to (he (ime necessary for spreading i{ af- 

 terwards, a balance will be found in favor of m}' 

 method. This is not idle theory, but the result of 

 experiments on a large scale." 



ROTATION SUITABLE TO ROCKBRlDGi: COUN- 

 TY. 



Ilerd^s Grass — Lime and Calcaremis Tufa — Lo- 

 cust 'J'imbsr — lUeade's Improved Stock, Sfc. 



Rockbridge, Dec. 3rd, 1833. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. 



Finding but few of your correspondents are 

 fi«om this side of the ridge, and being anxious to 

 contribute my mite towards rendering (he Register 

 interestingand useful in every part of ihe state, I am 

 induced to ofier you a few crude and desultory re- 

 marks, of which you may make what use you 

 please. 



I have some objections to the four-shift system 

 of Mr. Carter, and others, among the best of jour 

 farmers. Mr. Carter's valuable essay, by the bye, 

 I doubtnot, Avill tend much to renovating the whole 

 tide-wafer country ; and I would not grudge (he 

 amount rf my subscription for the gratification its 

 perusal alone has given me. My objections ex- 

 tended to our hilly and broken coimtry only. It 

 is here a difficult matter to find one hundred acres 

 in a body, sufficiently level for the cultivation of 

 corn; and it would therefore be injudicious to cur- 

 tail our farms to (bur fields. Besides, our soil is 

 much be((er adap(ed to grass, than (hat of the low- 

 er country ; and good policy requires we should 

 turn our a((cn(ion more (o s(ock. For (hese rea- 

 sons, I would prefer seven fiehls — selecfing four of 

 (he most level (o keep under JMr. Car(er's ro(a(ion, 

 and (he remaining (hree to be laid down in grass — 

 say clover, timothy, or orchard grass — (o all which 

 our lands are remarkably well adap(ed. We are 

 happily exempt from the annoyance of the onion, 

 and our clover is rarely encroached upon by any 



