THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR. 



73 



strong plough that turns a larga furrow and turns 

 it cleanly twice in the sanje place, and thus mo- 

 ving the ground to the depth of fourteen or six- 

 teen inches, for the advantage of deeply moving 

 the ground is very great indeed. When this has 

 been done in one dh'ection it ought to be done 

 across, and then the ground will have been well 

 and truly moved. ' The ploughing ought to be 

 done with four oxen, and the plough ought to be 

 held by a strong and careful ploughman. 



This is as much as 1 shall, probably, be able to 

 persuade any body to do in the way of preparing 

 the ground. But this is not all that ought to he 

 done ; and it is proper to give directions for the 

 best way of doing this and every thing else. The 

 best way is, then, to trench the ground ; w hich is 

 performed in this manner. At one end of the 

 piece of ground, intended for the garden, you 

 make with a spade a trench, all along, two feet 

 wide and two feet deeje. You throw the earth out 

 on the side away from the garden that is to be. 

 You shovel out the bottom clean, and make the 

 sides of the trench as nearly perpendicular as 

 possible. Thus you have a clean open trench, 

 running all along one end of your garden ground. 

 You then take another piece, all along, two feet 

 wide, and put the earth that this new piece con- 

 tains into the trench, taking off the top of the 

 new two feet wide, and turning that top down in- 

 to the bottom of the earth of the new two feet, 

 and placing it on the top of the earth just turned 

 into the bottotn of the trench. Thus, when you 

 have again shovelled out the bottom, and put it 

 • on the top of the whole that you have put into 

 the trench, you have another "clean trench two 

 feet wide and two deep. You thus proceed, till 

 the whole of your garden ground be trenched : 

 and then it will have been cleanly tunud over to 

 the depth of two feet. 



There is no point of greater importance than 

 this. Poor ground deeply moved is preferable, 

 iu many cases, to rich ground with shallow til- 

 lage ; and when the ground has been deeply mo- 

 ved once, it teels the benefit for ever after. A 

 garden is made to last for ages ; what, then, in 

 such a case, is the amount of twenty dollars ? It 

 is well known to all who have had experience on 

 the subject, that of two plants of almost any kind 

 that stand for the space of three months in top 

 soil of the same quality, one being on ground 

 <leeply moved, and the otlicjr on ground moved 

 no deeper than is usual, the Ibrmer will exceed 

 the latter one-half in bulk. And as to trees of all 

 descriptions, from the pear-tree down to tl;e cur- 

 rent-bush, the difference is so great that there is 

 room for no comparison. It "is a notion with 

 some persons, that it is of no use to move llie 

 ground deeper than the roots of the plant pene- 

 trate. But in the first jilace, the roots go much 

 deeper than we generally suppose. When \rc 

 pvU tip a cabbage, for instance, we see no rents 

 more than a foot long; but if we were carefully 

 to pursue the roots to their utmost jioint, even as 

 far as our eye would assist us, we should find the 

 roots a great deal longer, and the extremities of the 

 roots are much too fine to be seen by the naked 

 eye. Upon pulling u]) a coininou turnip, who 

 would imagine that the side or horizontal root's 

 extend to several feet ? Yet I have traced them to 

 the length of four feet; and Mr. Tul! proved that 

 they extended to sixj'eet, though he could not see 

 them to that extent with his naked eye. But, 

 though the roots should not extend nearly to ths 

 bottom of the moved ground, the plants are affect- 

 ed by the luiuiovtd groiuid behig near at hand. 

 If this were not the case, plants wilh very short 

 roots might he cultivated on a brick p.ivement 

 with earth laid upon it to the thickness of a 

 foot ; and yet, no plant will live and thrive in 

 such a state, while it will do very well in ground 

 ahiUg side the [)avement, though moved otdy a foot 

 deep. Plant.' require a communication with, and 

 an assistance from beneath, as well as fiom above, 

 in order to give them vigor and fecundity. Plants 

 will live and will grow to a certain extent in 

 earthen pots, or in bores made of wood ; but there 

 must Ije holes in the bollom of both, or the plants 

 will die. 



It is therefore, of the greatest importance, that 

 the ground he moved to a good depth, and he 

 who is about to make a garden should remember 

 that he is about to do that, the efi^ects of which 

 are to be felt for ages. There is, however, one 

 objection to trenching in certain cases. The soil 

 may not only nothegoorf to the depth of two feet. 



but it may be bad long before you come to that 

 depth, and in this case, the trenching, in putting 

 the good soil at bottom, might bring a hungr 

 sand, or even a gravel or clay to the top, whic 

 must not bo done by any means ; for, even in the 

 case of trees, they would perish, or beconae stunt- 

 ed, because their roots woidd not find their way 

 from the bad soil to the good. In such cases the 

 top soil must, in the trenching, be kept at the top 

 and in order to effect this, your mode of proceed- 

 ing in the trenching, must be somewhat different 

 from that described. 



Yourfrst trench must be opened in the manner 

 described ; but you must not then proceed to turn 

 the top of the next two feet into the bottom of the 

 trench. Let us suppose, now, that you have your 

 first trench, two feet wide as before directed, open 

 and clean. This being the case, take a foot deep 

 of the next two feet all the way along, and/or this 

 once, throw it over the open trench to add to the 

 earth that you have already thrown out of that 

 trench. Then you will have the bottom foot of 

 earth lefl. Dig out this and turn it into the bot- 

 tom of your oiien trench, and then the first trench 

 will be half filled up, and you will have got your 

 second trench open. Then go to a new two feet 

 wide, that is the third two feet. Take the top 

 foot deep off from this, and throw it on the top 

 of the eaith that you have just turned into the first 

 trench ; and then, where that first trench was 

 there will be earth two feet deep; the bad soil at 

 bottom and the good soil at top. Then you go on 

 regularly. 



At the end of your work, you will, of course, 

 have an open trench and a half; and this must be 

 filled up by carrying the earth, which came out 

 ol the first trench, round in a cart or wheel-har- 

 row, and putting it into the space that you will 

 have open at last. 



It must be observed, however, that though the 

 soil be good in its nature down to two feet deep, 

 that which comes to the top in the first mode of 

 trenching, will not be immediately so good for use, 

 as the soil which lias been at top for ages. It is, 

 in such a case, of great advantage to jjlace the 

 old top soil at the bottom ; because when roots 

 find the soil good to such a depth, the jjlants and 

 trees thrive and bear siu-prisingly. But then the 

 new top soil must be exceedingly well «orA-crf and 

 well and judiciously manured, in order to make it 

 equal to the old top soil ; which object is, howev- 

 er, very soon accomplished, if the proper means 

 be made use of. 



Thus will the ground be prepared ; and here I 

 close my directions with regard to the nature and 

 preparation of the soil. But it seems necessary 

 to add a few words on the subject of manures as 

 adapted to a garden. It is generally thought, and 

 I believe truly, that dung of any sort, is not what 

 ought to be used in the raising of garden vegeta- 

 bles. It is very certain, that they are coarse and 

 gross when produced with the ai(l of that sort of 

 manure, compared to what they are when raised 

 with the aid of ashes, lime, rags, and composts. 

 And besides dung, in hot soils and hot climates, 

 add to Ihe heat ; while ashes, lime, rags and com- 

 posts do not; but, on the contrary, they attract 

 and cause the earth to retain moisture. 



All the ground in a garden ought always to he 

 good ; and it will he kept in this state if it be well 

 manured once «)t7T/i/car. Perhaps it will scarce- 

 ly ever he convenient to any one to manure the 

 whole garden at one time; and "this is not of so 

 much importance. Clay, or any earth, burnt, is 

 excellent manure for a garden, it has rio seeds 

 of weeds or grass iu it. A compr»t, made of such 

 ashes, some wood-ashes, a small portion of horse 

 dimg, rotten leaves, and mould shovelled up un- 

 der trei-'S, round buildings, or on the sides of 

 roads. All these together, put into a heap, and 

 turned over several times, make the best manure 

 for a garden. 



A great deal more is done by the fermentation 

 of manures than people generally imagine. In 

 the month of June fake twenty cart loads of earth, 

 which has been shovelled off the surface of a 

 grassy lane, or by a road side, or round about 

 barns, stables, and the like. Lay these twenty 

 loads about a foot thick on some convenient spot. 

 (Jo and cut up twenty good cart loads of ivceds 

 of any sort, and lay these well shaken up, on the 

 earth. Then cover the weeds with tweiity more 

 cart loads of earth like the former, tiirowing the 

 earth on lightly. In three days you will see the 

 heap suioko as if on fire. Ifvoii put your hand 



into the earth, you will find it too hot to be en- 

 dured, in a few days the heat w ill decline, and 

 you will perceive the heap sink. Let it remain a 

 week al\er this, and then turn it very carefully. 

 This wdl mix the whole well together. You will 

 find the weeds and grass in a piUrid state. An- 

 other beating will take place, but less furious than 

 the former. Turn it a second time in seven 

 days ; and a third time in seven days more. And 

 by this time you will have forty cart loads of ma- 

 nure, equal in strength to twenty of yard dung, 

 and a vast deal better for a garden, or, indeed, for 

 any other land. It is not expensive to obtain this 

 sort of manure ; and such a heap, or part of such 

 a heap, might at all times be ready for the use of 

 the garden. When such a heap were once form- 

 ed, some ashes, fish-shells or bones reduced to 

 powder, or other enlivening matter, might be 

 added to it, and mixed well with it ; and thus 

 would a store be always at hand for any part of 

 the garden that might want it. 



I'or the Farmer's Monthly Visitor. 



Hon. L Hill : — The small sample of rye ac- 

 companying this, was raised last year in Barnsta- 

 ble, Cape Cod, and was sent to me by a friend, but 

 too late in the season to sow it last fall. The 

 continued drought pinched it somewhat, but it is 

 much superior, even now, in size, to the common 

 kind raised upon the Cape. I saw it in June 

 when it was young, and it looked nobly. 



You are aware that the Cape is mostly compo- 

 sed of sand. There is no pan, except in a very 

 few spots. The dressing put on to the land soon 

 goes out of sight. They can raise more of rye 

 than any thing else ; but the common average 

 was fortnerly from six to eight bushels to the acre. 

 Capt. Geo. Lowell, who sent me the sample, sent 

 to Albany some three or four years since for some 

 seed rye, and obtained the kind which I send 

 you, not knowing that it was better than what he 

 had formerly sown ; but he was greatly surprised 

 to find that he could get sixteen bushels to the 

 acre instead of eight. He has sold it about to 

 people in his region, and the consequence is, they 

 have doubled their quantity. I should like to 

 have you try it, or let some friend have it who 

 will test its value. 



Respectfully, &c. 



J. W. POLAND. 



Hampton Falls, May 6, 1841. 



05^ Generally we have not the good fortune to 

 succeed well in experiments of our own trying. 

 Our attention is too much divided, and we are 

 not practically either a good mechanic or farmer 

 so far as the work of our own hands is concern- 

 ed. This rye we will hand over to Mr. Whitney, 

 who is all we should desire to be in the liractice 

 of agriculture ; and he may upon our premises 

 be able to give u good account of the new kind 

 of rye. — Ed. Visitor. 



For the Farmer's Monthly Vi.sitor. 



Hon. Isaac Hill: — Though the following may 

 not be of so much consequence at this se 

 the year as if presented last Fall, still, if i 

 bercd till anotiier autumn, may not be amiss even 

 now. 



Something more than a year since, I rode with 

 a brother of mine from West Cambiidge to 

 Watham, Ms. We took rather a circuitous route 

 for the sake of seeing the estate ol the late Gen. 

 Theodoue Ltman. Though it was early in the 

 spring, before farmers had begun to plough, yet 

 there were many things worthy of notice. The 

 noble lieds of made land, where once there wa.'5 

 a boggy meadow — the finebuilding.'^ and substan- 

 tial fences, all showed that the owner not only 

 had a taste for agriculture, but also imderstood 

 the science, and how to turn it to profit. The 

 prini-ipal thing, however, which I wish to notice 

 at this time, is the care bestowed upon the ma- 

 king of 



LEAF JIA-NURE. 



The Lyman farm has a great many ma])le and 

 other hard wood trees upon it. in the Fall, 

 these trees shed their leaves, which are carefully 

 gathered up and stowed away iu the barns. They 

 are used very freely for hed<ling the cattle, and I 

 believe the hogs also have a warm bed out of 

 them. As they are thrown out into the yard, 

 they mix wilh the other manure, and rapidly de- 

 caying, make a very excellent compost. I saw a 



rgp heap of thnn covfiJ-d over with soil from 



