THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR 



January, 1842. 



and loosen the soil as deep as practicable. There 

 is one disadvantage that would in case of thin 

 soil attend such deep ploughing ; that is, it would 

 create a necessity for applying considerable ma- 

 nure before much of a crop could be raised. But 

 if a sufficiency of fertility either naturally exists 

 in the soil, or can be placed there artificially, at 

 or near the surface, very deep stirring will let 

 the water settle down and the roots penetrate. 

 On the contrary, it will not probably answer in 

 general to have nothing but poor cold earth, with- 

 out manure on the top. A combination of the 

 foregoing methods of draining might be useful 

 in some cases. 



If the land is not very wet, and tolerably 

 smooth, it is frequently advantageous to plough 

 but seldom, and apply top dressings of compost. 

 Level plains, s^ibject to injury from ice in the 

 winter, might receive benefit from the ridging 

 system ; making them from four to eight rods 

 wide, with a true convex surface from twelve to 

 twenty-four inches higher than the bottom of the 

 furrows, which would have to be connected with 

 some open space sufficient to carry off the water 

 when the ground is frozen. 



PLOUGHS. 



Ingenious mechanics have supplied us with a 

 variety of implements for agricultural purposes. 

 Philosophy affords a guide to authors of mechan- 

 ical improvements and new inventions. 



The plough is perhaps one of the most ne- 

 cessary and useful implements. Much skill has 

 been used by various manufacturers to improve 

 it. It may be noticed, that different kinds of 

 land require a difttjrence in ploughs. For exam- 

 ple, new land, full of roots, requires a strong 

 plough, with a cutter fastened to the share. 

 Smooth land, free from obstructions, requires 

 one th.it will be easy for both team and holder, 

 and suitable for making good work. Wet clay, 

 requiring narrow lapped furrows, would jtroba- 

 bly be managed best by the Scotch iron plough, 

 which seems admirably adapted to such a soil 

 and climate, as many parts of Scotland are said 

 to be, but it requires some niodificaiion here. 



It is easy to form mathematical rules tor con- 

 structing the mould-board and bottom work of 

 ploughs ; but it is a matter of considerable ex- 

 pense and difficulty to ascertain what rule would 

 work best in all sorts of cases. It is siipjjosed, 

 however, that great extremes ought to be avoided. 

 If too stunt or obtuse, they draw hard and make 

 bad work. If very acute or slender, they require 

 more careful teaming and holding, and, like a 

 thin ground axe, more careful usage. 



Good ploughing is that which is best adapted 

 to raising a good crop. Straight (urrows, evenly 

 and uniformly laid over, handsome and close, are 

 best calculated to save seed, labor in covering it, 

 and insure a more evenly crop. The best posi- 

 tion of the furrows depends on the nature of the 

 soil and climate. In stiff clay soil, and very dry 

 tough sward land, the seed is "more easily covered 

 to a sufficient depth by harrowing, to have the 

 furrows lapped : and the reason for narrow fur- 

 rows arises from the fact that the more seams 

 there are the greater will be the crop. Profita- 

 ble practice in ploughing, however, will require 

 a medium width, regulated in some measure by 

 the nature of the plough, and the depth of the 

 furrow. 



Covering the seed evenly has a tendency to 

 make the crop ripen evenly. To have the mould 

 board forcibly press the fiirrows close, requires 

 perhaps from ten to thirty percent, more strength 

 of team than where it is merely let tumble over 

 by its own weight. Sward land often requires 

 some preparation to make good work. Water is 

 best avoided by lapped furrows, and drought by 

 flat ones, provided the seed is ploughed down or 

 otherwise covered to a sufficient depth. 



MANURES. 



The principal sotn-ce of manure to the farmer 

 remote from cities or villages, is his stock. The 

 annual quantity made in this way depends much 

 in saving every thing. Good farmers are using 

 means to secure their stable manure from the 

 weather, and to cart common earth and swamp 

 muck into their yards to absorb the juices. In 

 Great Britiiin the urine is estimated at one third 

 the value of all the rest, or nearly so. 



For connnon farming purposes' a ton of unfer- 

 niented manure from the barn is probably worth 

 about a dollar, applied to soil of medium miality ; 

 but applied to soil naturally good, bm reriiict'd 



by cropping, it is worth more, and on rich land 

 less ; the value being in proportion to the pover- 

 ty of the land, and natural goodness of it. 



Another source of some importance, often 

 neglected, is to have a quantity of earth, decom- 

 posing chips or swamp muck, or any good ab- 

 sorbent placed where it may become saturated 

 with suds, urine, and dish-water. Conqiost of 

 this kind is found to be valuable. Hardwood 

 chip manure, more or less saturated, is proper 

 for a top-dressing to wet mowing lands. Swamp 

 muck is frequently of considerable value, de- 

 pending on the kind of timber which contributed 

 to the formation of the muck, the chance for 

 receiving wash from rich pasture land, yards, &c. 



Hardwood timber contains much of the ele- 

 ments of fertility ; soft wood comparatively little. 

 Hemlock, and white oak bark, and perhaps spruce 

 and tamarack, contains tannin, a substance which 

 is likely to injure the value of any manure. Hence 

 the reason why swamps receiving tlieir contents 

 from hardwood timber land are best. Acidity is 

 also a cause of injury to the value of muck. 

 The corrective for tannin is to mix the muck 

 with animal matters, such as stable manure, 

 butchers' refuse, &c. Fermenting a compost of 

 muck and animal manures also corrects the 

 acidity of the mud. Acidity is perhaps in gen- 

 eral a greater evil than tannin. A small quantity 

 of newly slacked lime, at the rate of five per 

 cent, of lime to ninety-five of nmck, thoroughly 

 mixed when first thi-own from the swamp, would 

 probably correct the sourness. Too much lime 

 would injure the value of the muck, in the same 

 way that it does barn manure, by absorbing the 

 carbon. A quantity of muck carted into yards 

 answers a double purpose. It not only absorbs 

 juices, but also becomes decomposable, and con- 

 sequently more fit for the food of plants, alter 

 deducting what is absorbed. 



Pond marl, when good, is likely to answer a 

 usefiil purpose ; on any dry land, especially, 

 where the original growth of tirrdier was sofl 

 wood, on such land it is likely to do best applied 

 in its raw state without burning. But if intended 

 for wet peaty soil, it would probably do best to 

 be converted into quick lime. 



Hardwood ashe.s, for land worn by cropping, 

 or natural to spiuce, or other soft wood, arc 

 probably worth more than the market [nice. 

 Unfermented nianines applied last the longest, 

 but do not |)roduce so much effect the first sea- 

 son. All manures are subject to loss, if permit- 

 ted to heat much, when exposed to the air. 



Plaster of paris is said lo be a good sidjstance 

 to mix with manure ; but lime ,is not, in many 

 cases. Animal manures are alkaline, and vege- 

 table manures acid in tlieir nature. Hence the 

 utility of cnmliining them. Long exposure to 

 the atmo.sphere gradually destroys the distin- 

 guishing properties of both kinds. 



Some animal manures, when new, contain so 

 much ammonia (a strong alkali) as to injure veg- 

 etables at fir.'st, until reduced by mixture or com- 

 bination with other substances, such as earth or 

 water. From this it is inferred that in its recent 

 state it should be applied only to crops that ripen 

 late, and in dry land be well covered with earth. 

 On sour peaty soil it may answer a good purpose 

 for any crop, by correcting the acidity. The 

 burning quality is soon dissipated, on exposure 

 to moist air, or by mi.xing with damp earth. 

 Some good flu-mers choose to have their manure 

 partially fermented before applying it; others 

 oppose that system ; both methods require some 

 precautions, and profitable practice depends on 

 circumstances. 



Wheat and turnips require manure to be in a 

 forward state of decomposition when sown. 

 Potatoes, on the contrary, do not until late in the 

 season. Hence one system of rotation makes it 

 necessary to have the manure fermented in the 

 yard, and another will do as well to have it ap- 

 plied in its recent state. Manure loses much of 

 its virtue by exposure to the weather in the heat 

 of the season. Properly covering it in the soil 

 where it is to remain, prevents this loss, if done 

 in the spring. When it is neither profitable nor 

 practicable to get the manure out in the spring, 

 a covering of earth should be thrown over it to 

 absorb the gases. 



SEF.P. 



Some kinds of seed yield a much more valu- 

 able crop than others. " This may he seen in dif- 

 ferent varieties of potatoes, wheat, and grass. It 



will often (my cost and inlcrf st to take some 

 pains in this matter. Old pastures and mowing 

 land are apt to lose the more valuable grasses, 

 and require to be renewed. It is said corn be- 

 comes early or late, according to the climate in 

 which it is raised for a number of years, and by 

 selection. Plump seed grain gives a better start 

 to the plants when young, by affording more 

 nourishment. A ton of weeds in a field of grain, 

 sown sufficiently thick, diminishes the weight of 

 the crop nearly to the same amount. One dol- 

 lar's worth of labor cleaning the seed grain and 

 pulling weeds, would in many cases prevent this 

 loss. 



STOCK. 



The size of a breed of cattle may be increased 

 or diminished in the course of several genera- 

 tions, by attention to breeding. Any quality, 

 good or bad, is subject to the same law. Food 

 and treatment are supposed to be sufficient in 

 time to effect a change, in the size and hardihood 

 of the race. Thus cattle, that for many genera- 

 tions are kept on poor pasture, and exposed to a 

 severe climate, are thought to diminish in size 

 and become more hardy. 



Very large animals will have to work hard lo 

 obtain a sufficiency on short pasture, while small 

 ones would do it with comparative ease ; of 

 course one would become lean, while the other 

 would fatten. Hence the size of stock should 

 be proportioned in some nieasine to the good- 

 ness of the fefd. 



The offspring are apt to partake largely of the 

 nature and qualities of their parents or grand- 

 sires. If any great extreme, either good or bad, 

 exists in both parents at the same time, it is of- 

 ten transmitted with interest to the progeiv 

 For example, in England it was found that ' 

 breeding horses, if both parents were remarkabl 

 short, or long in the leg.s, the colts were oflen 

 more so than either parent. The same reasoning 

 may apply to any other quality, in other kinds of 

 stoi-k. 



The progeny « most apt to possess medium 

 qualities, when extreme points, in one parent, 

 are balanced by opposite qualities in the other. 

 That is, the peculiarities of the parents should 

 he exactly the reverse of each other to produce 

 a medium in the offspring. But to increase any 

 peculiarity that is considered good and useful, it 

 is necessary that both parents should excel, and 

 be alike in that particular point. The power of 

 habit and good keeping may sometimes be made 

 to operate as aids, as is the case with feeding 

 and milking heifers to make good cows. 



Young cattle raised on very poor pasture, aiul 

 afterwards taken to that which is good, are said 

 to gain faster than others coming from a good 

 pasture. 



The first cross of different breeds often does 

 best; they are afterwards apt to incline to one 

 side or the other, and sometimes degenerate. 

 This is noticed in swine. Breeding from rela- 

 tions always has a tendency to degenerate the 

 species and render it worthless. A good general 

 rule is, never to sell or kill the best, but reserve 

 them for breeders. 



SYSTEMS OF ROTATION. 



It is often expensive to adjust our fields and 

 buildings in such a manner as to have a suitable 

 rotation of crops. The best farmers are gradu- 

 ally approximating the following systems under 

 various modifications : 



For strons land, in which grass keeps good a 

 long time, plough three years, mow three, and 

 pasture five or six ; putting on manure, and 

 planting the second year. The practice on this 

 system is to sow oats the first year, plant corn 

 and potatoes the second, and sow wheat, rye, or 

 barley the third, along with clover and licids- 

 grass seed. This is an excellent method on 

 stock farms, and per-haps affor-ds as much w.iges 

 for evei-y day's work laid out after the fenchig is 

 done as any system. A moderate amount of la- 

 bor will manage a large farm in this way. 



For ordinary soil, warm and quick, plough two 

 year-g, mow two, and pastui-e four or five ; in this 

 case putting on cftnipost the second year along 

 with wheat and gr-ass seed. Oats are sown the 

 first season, excepting where planted. A large 

 quantity of nranur-o or compost, thiirly spread 

 over a large surface, is necesaary in this case. 

 On very di-y land, manuring where grass seed is 

 sown is favorable to having it grow sufficiently 

 thick. The resrrlt of this svstem is much labor ; 



