(^^ 114 THE GENESEE FARMER. (^ -J, 



Sandy Soils. — I was pleased with your remarks "on the proper management of sandy soils." In 

 fact the editorial matter of the Genesee Farmer has of late united theory with practice bo ably and 

 well advisedly with the best agricultural improvements, and scientific discoveries of this progressive 

 age, that I have felt " Othello's occupation gone ;" hence any contribution from my pen would only 

 be a trespass on your columns. But apropos of sandy versus clay loam. For many years I had been 

 in the habit of growing Indian corn and vegetables on a heavy clay loam ; being tired of the uni- 

 versal cry, that a sandy loam was the soil for a garden. I once bought an aci'e of dry, sandy loam, 

 drained by a quick descent to the south. As its nitrogen had been exhausted by cropping, I applied 

 to it about thirty two-horse loads of strong stable manure, with nearly the same weight of leached 

 ashes. Vegetation came forward earlier and progressed faster through the month of June and July, 

 than on the clay loam ; but in a drouth in August, vegetation came to a dead stand — the corn 

 leaves curled, and the tops of the ruta bagas dried and withered ; stirring the soil between the rows 

 was of no other benefit than killing the weeds, no moisture by capillary attraction, no union of the 

 oxyo-en of the air with the hydrogen in the manured soil took place to form water ; the corn leaves 

 did not expand in the dews of evening, the ears did not fill to the end of the cob ; the crop was 

 short On the other hand I never had a greater yield from my old clay garden. Slow to advance in 

 the early part of the season, vegetation seemed to luxuriate in the drouth of August ; the corn leaves 

 curled in the middle of the day, but in the dewy morn they were the open ready conductors of the 

 rich, watery treasure to their roots ; stirring the alluminous surface of the soil let in atmospheric 

 influence to the forming of artificial moisture. The carrots and beets grew apace, the latter far 

 outstripping in size the ruta bagas on the sandy lot. 



The next year I tried the*Bame experiment over, giving to the sandy lot twice as much stable 

 manure to the square rod, as to the clay loam. But the final result was the same ; the organic mat- 

 ter in the sandy loom seemed to be exhausted and gone, while the clay loam needed manure only 

 to ameliorate its close mechanical structure. 



But I have since got a new wrinkle in the management of sandy soils. In that desert waste of 

 sand, exhausted of every element inorganic and combustible, two miles north of Providence, R. 

 I., is a farm now an oasis in the desert. Some years ago a rich merchant of New Bedford, who 

 owned it, employed an experienced farmer friend to bring up this farm to the highest point of fer- 

 tility. He began by applying 250 bushels of leached ashes to the acre ; this alone enabled him to 

 get a crop of millet and clover. This he plowed into the soil to supply the indispensable nitrogen. 

 He now built stables for forty milch cows, employed Irishmen to dig muck and peat from a swamp, 

 which when dried was placed in the cow stalls for bedding. These cows were soiled, early in the 

 season with green rye, hen clover, then Indian corn, sown in drills for fodder only. All the 

 saturated peat and manure was saved intact under the sheds which flanked the stables. I 

 never saw better crops on any soil, potatoes perhaps excepted. Tliis is a case in point to confirm the 

 truth of your theory in favor of dried peat and swamp muck composted with animal excreta, as 

 the best amendment for loose sandy soils. The leached ashes were only necessary from the complete 

 exhaustion of inorganic matter in the soil ; the after process of manuring with peat, &c., will not 

 fail to supply mineral as well as organic matter for all coming crops. 



Turnip culture is undoubtedly suited to the climate of England ; but on all aluminous soils in 

 this country the crop is small, and always injured by insects ; beets are a more certain crop on ma- 

 nured soil ; blood turnip beets require little more tillage than turnips ; they bear close planting, 

 have no insect enemies, and grow to a large size. As a green crop to plow under for its nitrogen, I 

 ajiprehend that no plant can compare with clover, if required as an intrinsic amendment to a hun- 

 gry sandy loam. 



Why is not guano an economical manure for sandy soils, if applied in small doses ns the growing 

 plants require it ? The fault of a sandy soil is, its incapacity to hold organic matter until it is 

 wanted by the growing cro[) ; hence it strikes me tliat small and frequent applications, as the plants 

 require, is the most economical mode of treating sandy soils. S. W. — Waterloo, N. Y., Ilarch 1853. 



We once tested the above suggestion witli potatoos on a black sandy soil. Tliree liiin- 

 dred pounds of Peruvian guano were sown on an acre at the time of planting, and on 

 another acre l)y the side of it wo sowed one lunidred and lifty pounds at the time of 

 planting, and one hundred and fifty pounds more just previous to the last lioeing. lioth 

 acres yielded good crops, (350 bushels per acre,) but there was no difference m favor of 





