1853. 



NEW ENGJ.AND FARMER. 



267 



plows and harrows were manufactured on the 

 farm or in its vicraity, and the wood used was cho- 

 sen with care. Corn was ground in a mortar with 

 a pestle, and in later times ina mill. The list of 

 otiicr implements, such as scythes, saws, spades, 

 rakes, &c., could hardly bo extended now. The 

 use of guano, sea-weed, and commoner substances, 

 was perfectly understood ._ Land was allowed to 

 recover its strength by lying fallow. Scarecrows 

 were set up in the fields to scare away birds ; 

 though a ''spell" was also used, viz : — having 

 caught a toad they carried him around the field by 

 night alive, and then put him in a jar, scaled him 

 »ap, and buried him in the middle of the ground; 

 when, this representative enemy being buried, the 

 seed was supposed to be safe from enemies. The 

 value of hay was well understood. The time for 

 mowing was carefully determined, and the hay- 

 ricks made with due precautions against both 

 damp and spontaneous combustion. When the 

 time ol harvest came, the laborers of Athens 

 ranged themselves round the agora and waited to 

 be employed by the farmers. 



The grain was separated from the straw by 

 horses, oxen and mules, in a circular threshing 

 floor, usually placed on an eminence in the opjen 

 field. A pole was set up in the centre, and the 

 cattle fastened to it by a rope reaching to the cir- 

 cumference. They moved round it until they 

 were brought up at the centre by the winding up 

 •of the rope, and were then turned in the opposite 

 direction till it was unwound. Sometimes a rude 

 threshing machine, toothed with stones or iron, 

 or a flail, was employed. In Homer's time a win- 

 nowing machine was used also. When the har- 

 vest was completed, the event was celebrated by 

 a festival in honor of Deraeter and Dionysius, at 

 which cakes and fruit alone were oflered. 



The culture of the vine was a subject of impor- 

 tance, and the selection of a spot for a vineyard, 

 the direction of its exposure, the effects of climate 

 and of particular winds , were sedulously considered . 

 Hedging, weeding, setting out slips, the treatment 

 of the vine were all described by writers before 

 the time of Virgil. The appearance of a vineyard, 

 composed of tree-climbing vines, is beautifully de- 

 scribed by Mr. St. John, the trees being ash, pop- 

 lar, maple or elm, and planted one row above an- 

 other on a declivity, with the lower branches cut 

 off; the vine climlied thirty to sixty feet, accord- 

 ing to the depth of the soil, and running out on 

 the high branches arched from tree to tree, or on 

 bridges of reeds. 



A series of lofty arches was thus created, beneath 

 which the breezes could freely play, abundant cur- 

 rents of pure air being regarded as no less essential 

 than constant sunshine to the perfect maturing of 

 the grape. The fruit was kept frest or made into 

 raisins. It would be endless to attempt a descrip- 

 tion of all the fruits and the methods of raising 

 them. Cider and perry were made from apples 

 and pears. The olive was perhaps most extensively 

 raised, as its oil was used for lights and as the basis 

 of cookery. 



The farmyards had their noisy tenants. Geese 

 and ducks often waddled into the kitchen, in one 

 corner of which might be heard the comforting 

 sounds of th-; occupant of the pig-stye. The art 

 of enlarging the goose's liver for epicures was well 

 known both to Greek and Egyptians. Henerys, 

 furnished with roosts, were attached to the kitchen 



so as to received its smoke, which was supposed to 

 be agreeable to barndoor fowls. Pigeons, peacocks, 

 pheasants, guinea-hens, &c., were to be found at 

 the establishments of wealthier farmers. The la- 

 boring animals were much the same as now, ex- 

 cept that the horse was comparatively more un- 

 common in the working of the farm, being reserved 

 for the chase, war, &c. The arrangements of -a 

 Greek dairy were much like ours, and though but- 

 ter was little used in the classical ages, yet cheese 

 v/as universally eaten^ generally while fresh and 

 soft. Milk was sold in the Grecian markets by 

 women, and it frequently reached the customer in 

 the shape of milk and water. A method used for 

 detecting the cheat, was to drop a little on the 

 thumb-nail ; if the milk was pure, it would remain 

 in its place, — if not it would flow away. 



SOIL— TBMPBRING THE SOIL. 



The character of the soil, by which we mean its 

 capacity to afford a habitation to the plant appro- 

 priate to it, and at the same time to furnish the 

 required aliment, is a matted, as all farmers must 

 see, of the first importance. What are the re- 

 quisites to a soil of this character? and how shall 

 they be supplied, when wanting? 



The soil sliould be such as to afford sufficient 

 moisture to the roots and to admit the air to pen- 

 etrate it freely. The soil consists of decayed veg- 

 etable matter, sometimes mixed with particles of 

 rock reduced to fine pieces by the action of the at- 

 mosphere and of water, and sometimes by the 

 roots of plants. It is unnecessary to describe the 

 different kinds of soils in regard to adaptation to 

 this olyect of supplying moisture; second, it should 

 afford a supply of carbonic acid. This is furnished 

 by the decay of vegetable matter, or by absorption 

 from the atmosphere. This faculty of absorption 

 is assisted by mixing charcoal, gypsum, or other 

 matters having a great absorbing power. Char- 

 coal has a great power of absorbing this substance, 

 and it has been found that plants will grow more 

 luxuriantly in this than in any other soil, if well 

 supplied with water. The benefit of the charcoal 

 or gypsum is only as a medium of absorption ; the 

 fertilization is derived from the water, which is 

 converted by the plant itself, in its vegetable la- 

 boratory, into carbonic acid. Third, the soil 

 should be capable of furnishing a supply of ammo- 

 nia to the roots. This also is much assisted by 

 gypsum and charcoal, which absorb it from the 

 atmosphere. The usual mode is by addition of 

 animal matter from the stable. Nitrogen imparts 

 ammonia to the plant, and it is to this last that 

 the nutritive power of the cereal grains and escu- 

 lent vegetables is owing. 



Fourth, it should contain those mineral ingre- 

 dients which are necessary to the growth of plants. 

 These, if wanting, must be supplied. The usual 

 mode of doing this is by the mixture of other soils. 

 This is also advantageously resorted to when the 

 soil is too little or too fhuch retentive of moisture 



