FARMERS' REGISTER— TO FARMERS— LARGE OATS. 



653 



is my opinion, that if such a weight Avere to be 

 added to tlie 150 tons moved on this occasion, as 

 would be a maximum load for three locomotive en- 

 gines on a level at 15 miles an hour, tiie Firefly 

 alone (her power being equal to either of the other 

 engines,) would move the whole train from one 

 summit of a curve to another of like altitude, at an 

 equal average velocity, viz. 15 miles per hour. 



If any of your readers, whether witnesses or 

 otherwise of these interesting experiments, can 

 correct any error of oj^'nion or of statement in al- 

 lusion to them, I shall be exceedingly happy to re- 

 cognize and acknowledge it. In the mean time, I 

 think, sir, I may congratulate myself upon hav- 

 ing stamped, by this letter, a value that v, ill be 

 long appreciated on the correspondence (pro and 

 con,) which your Magazine contains on tliis sub- 

 ject ; and I am as happy in feeling that every in- 

 dividual who witnessed the recent experiments 

 was fully satisfied with the importance of the re- 

 sults, as in believing that, in defiance of prejudice 

 and long formed erroneous opinions on this sub- 

 ject, the public will before long acknowledge, ap- 

 preciate, and be benefitted by the " Undulating 

 Principle." I am sir, with great respect, your 

 very obedieiit servant, richaed badxall. 



TO THE FARMERS OF THE WEST. 



From the Genesee Farmer. 

 The history of the agriculture of the river coun- 

 ties, should serve as an admonition to the west — 

 not to be too prodigal of the stores of vegetable food 

 with which nature has enriched their soils. It is 

 the accumulation of centuries. A fraction of tliis 

 time may serve to dissipate and destroy it. How 

 many improvident youth, unconscious of the dire 

 consequences, and deaf to the admonitions of ex- 

 perience, by an over action of their physical povv- 

 ers, have laid the foundation of incurable disease 

 and premature death. Let us not imitate such. 



The natural fertility of the soil uas as great in 

 many districts which border the Hudson, as in the 

 new counties of the west. But by a reckless hus- 

 bandry they were reduced atone time to a sterile 

 and wretched system. Within the recollection of 

 the writer, many of these lands did not yield the 

 third of the crop they do now, under a better sys- 

 tem of management. The truth is, every thing 

 was carried'OtF, and comparatively little returned 

 to the soil. The " suitable" division into " pas- 

 ture, meadow and plough land," which is yet the 

 boast of many of our farmers, was scrupulously 

 pursued, till the finer grasses disappeared, and the 

 meadows yielded only a thin stunted herbage, — and 

 until the plough land became too impoverished to 

 yield a decent crop of grain. Necessity, which is 

 said to be the mother of invention, and the spirit- 

 ed enterprize of a few intelligent individuals, final- 

 ly led to a new era in their husbandry. The in- 

 troduction of gypsum and grass seeds was the be- 

 ginning of improvement. Rotation of crops, — 

 econon\y of inanure, — and better fi\rm implements 

 followed. The farm stock then began to lie im- 

 proved, and sheep husbandry to be increased. Im- 

 provements have been prosecuted till a portion of 

 the farms are now as profitable as the new lands of 

 the west ; and the gootl examples are yearly en- 

 larging the sphere of their influence. The pine 

 lands of Kinderhook were once considered not 

 worth cultivating; and the time is not distant 

 Avhen they were sold at §3 an acre. Good farm- 



ing has enhanced their value to ^40 and .^60 per 

 acre, at which price some farms have been recent- 

 ly sold. Tiic pine lands of Saratoga are expe- 

 riencing a like change, and under a judicious sys- 

 tem of alternate husbandry, economy of manures, 

 and efficient draining, they nmst rapidly advance 

 in productiveness and value. 



Too many of our western farmers seem dispo- 

 sed, by practice, to sacrifice permanent good for 

 present gain — to destroy the goose which lays their 

 golden eggs. Many new lands increase in fertili- 

 ty some years, without manure, from the accele- 

 rated decomposition of vegetable matter which 

 goes on in the soil in consequence of its exposure 

 in tillage to the increased influence of heat and air, 

 the prime agents, in connection with the water 

 which is always present in the soil, of putrefac- 

 tion. The more rapid the [uitreftictive process, the 

 greater the exliauslion of fertility. If we would 

 preserve the high character of our lands for fertili- 

 ty, v/e must {)ursue'the same course which others 

 have successfully adopted to restore fertility to 

 those which have become worn out. We must 

 not take in succession exhausting crops of grain; 

 we must alternafe between the artificial grasses, 

 roots and otlier ameliorating kinds. We must be 

 more saving of our manures, and more judicious 

 in applying them, bef()re they have lost half of their 

 value by fermentation. Our long manures will 

 feed a hoed crop, by their gaseous matters, while 

 they are undergoing the change to fit them for the 

 small grains. Tiie oftener we intervene grasses, 

 the less exhausting the rotation. While we guai'd 

 against the errors, whicii impoverished the old 

 counties, Igt us imitate the practices which have 

 restored them to fertility ; and we shall then be 

 enabled to transmit to our children a truly invalu- 

 able inheritance. B. 



THE LARGE OATS. 



From the Genesee Farmer. 



My unwillingness to tax you with postage, from 

 such a distance, in reply to an inquiry made in 

 your valuable ]mper of July 20, "where the large 

 oats can be obtained that weigh forty eight pounds 

 to the bushel.'" has prevented my offering till now 

 the required information. They may be o!;)tained 

 from either England or Scotland, where their first 

 cost is from six lo seven and even eight shillings 

 sterling the bushel, making the cost in this coun- 

 try, from two to three dollars a bushel. I last 

 spring, obtained a few bushels of such oats by a 

 packet ship from London ; the kernel was round, 

 thin-skinned, and without tail, weighing forty eight 

 pounds per busl.el. They were sown on a light 

 piece of ground the 3d of JMay, and were harvest- 

 ed the 21st of August. The straw was firm, and 

 stood up well, and the yield appeared abundant, 

 but I question if the produce will weigh as much 

 per bushel, as the seed. For this difference there 

 are at least two sutTicient causes — the one is that 

 the soil was too poor ; the other that in consequence 

 of not having English seed enough to sow out the 

 field, it was finished with the common white oat of 

 the country, weighing not more than 32 lbs. the 

 bushel. This last ciixumstance would destroy my 

 confidence in the produce as seed oats, though I 

 still consider them infinitely better than the com- 

 mon oats for that purpose; when thrashed, I shall 

 ascertain their weight per bushel." 



