416 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Sept. 



FOOD FOR CROPS. 



This is the ^^ grand question''^ among Cirmers at 

 the present day. In new countries, where the 

 land has not been cultivated much, little is thought 

 about giving the crop any food, in order to make 

 it into food for ourselves, but after the fresh soil 

 has become exhausted by constant cropping — after 

 the "wew" is off, or rather out, the farmer finds, 

 that to make food for himself, he must give food 

 to the plants he wishes to raise. 



Yv'ell w!iat must it be ? To answer it with per- 

 fect accuracy, you should first know what the soil 

 is made of, and f.hen what the plant is made of — 

 or, in other words, botli should be analyzed, and 

 the ingredients ascertained, both as to their quali- 

 ty and quantity. But this requires a greater 

 knowledge of practical chemistry than the majori- 

 ty of the people as yet possess, and also more ex- 

 pense than most fiirmers are able to meet. 



What is the nest best thing to be done ? For- 

 tunately the remains of organic bodies, (by which 

 we mean those bodies both of animal and vegeta- 

 ble origin, that have had life and a set of organs 

 forming tlieir bodies,) pijssess most of the ingre- 

 dients required for this purpose. Although some 

 of these ingredients which make up the mass of 

 organic manures may not be needed in this crop, 

 they will not be lost, and will come in play for 

 some future one. 



We are aware that there is much said about 

 specific manure, and this article and that article is 

 loudly recommended as the very thing, and the 

 only thing needed. We do not undervalue them, 

 and at the same time we would caution our read- 

 ers not to overvalue them. Watch all experiments 

 — use everything of the specific kind, such as plas- 

 ter, super-phosphate of lime, sulphate of ammo- 

 nia, guano, &e., &c., as you know will be benefi- 

 cial, but at the same time don't give up your ma- 

 nure heap. 



As a general rule, the remains of manure, made 

 from the remains of organic bodies the nearest re- 

 lated, that is tlie nearest in kind and quality to 

 those which you wish to raise, will make the best 

 manure for them. Return to the soil again, as 

 much of the same crop as you can, in order to 

 make another one. 



Nature gives you this advice. IIow is it that 

 yonder forest has kept up for so many years such 

 a heavy crop of wood ? IIow is it, that for as long 

 as you can remember, there has not only been a 

 heavy burthen of wood on that soil, but it has 

 been constantly increasing in growth? It is ma- 

 nuredevery fall, as sure as tlie fall comes, by a thick 

 deposit of leaves, and twigs, and small branches, 

 which the frosts, and the winds and snow break 

 ofi'and sjiread around tlicir roots. These leaves 

 and twigs are made up of material, in part drawn 

 from the soil, and in part drawn from the air, and 

 of the same kind as the rest of the wood, and so 

 t!iey decay and supply food for the standing, 

 growing wood. 



The vine growers in some parts of France find 

 the clippings :ind prunings of thoir vines to be a 

 valuable dressing for their vineyards. The cotton 

 growers f«f the soutii begin to find that the cotton 

 seeds and refuse cotton is a valuable dressing for 

 cotton plants. 



Many of our farmers begin to find that the stalks 

 and husks of Indian corn, ploughed undtT, make a 



valuable manure for the corn crop, and that the 

 prunings of the orchard, chipped up and applied 

 to the trees from which they were taken, make a 

 valuable dressing for the orchard. — Maine Farmer. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 MOWING MACHINES. 



Mk. Editor : — It has long been the wish of far- 

 mers in New England, to see a mowing machine 

 suitable for our small farms, and, after having 

 tried one of the kinds now offered, I had concluded 

 that none now made would answer. I was in- 

 duced this spring, to try ''Ketchum's," made by 

 Howard, & Co., of Buffalo, and find that works 

 well. I have tried it in thin "June grass," in clo- 

 ver and herdsgrass, both standing and lodged, and 

 in coarse meadow grass, and it does the work ful- 

 ly equal to the best mowers'. All who have seen 

 it express this opinion. It works better on une- 

 ven ground than any one would suppose. It is 

 strong and durable, and will, I think, be used suc- 

 cessfully on nine-tenths of the mowing fields of 

 New England if properly prepared. 



The machine requires two good horses of even 

 spirit, good life, weighing not less than 1000 lbs. 

 The knives should be sharp, (though they leave 

 no grass if dull) and the best of machinery oil 

 should be used plentifully; the cost of oil is trifling 

 compared to the expense of unnecessary friction. 

 The driver should be a person of judgment, and 

 observe the directions, which are few and simple. 

 Hon. Samuel D. Hubbard, of the city of Middle- 

 ton, uses his with a yoke of oxen. 



I can in three hours cut over as much surface 

 as five men usually mow in the forenoon. And 

 in one and one-half hours, I can rake it all, 

 with Delano's Independent Horse Rake, which is 

 very far superior to any kind now in use. Requir- 

 ing not half the attendance in labor, does the work 

 better, and leaves the hay much lighter than the 

 revolving rake. It has all the advantages of all 

 the other kinds and none of the disadvantages. 



In raking hay mowed by a machine, the rake 

 should go in the same direction of the mowing ma- 

 chine or directly across the snaths. 



David Lyman. 



Middletown, Ct., July 26, 1853. 



Remarks. — The mowing machine is an imple- 

 ment of great importance to the farmer, and, ere 

 long, will be in use in most neighborhoods of pro- 

 gressive and intelligent cultivators. In our week- 

 ly number of July 10, 1852, and in the Monthly 

 Farmer for August, 1852, we gave a figure of the 

 mowing machine spoken of by our correspondent, 

 and appended some remarks. We believe there 

 is plenty of land sufficiently level in nearly every 

 neighborhood, to justify the purchase of a moAing 

 machine. This might l)e done by several p rsons 

 owning it jointly, and the expense of cuttiuiz; their 

 grass materially reduced. We hope to see one in 

 use among us soon. 



(3^ A. pear bud inserted into a quince stock last 

 August, by M. D. Eaton, of Barre, has grown 

 eleven feet and seven inches. 



