246 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



half of the field manured out of the covered yards. 

 The vines on the portion of the field manured from 

 the exposed yards began to decay by the latter end 

 of July, while the other portion of the field still re- 

 tained its stronj^ dark green. The crops were taken 

 up on the 1st to the 4th of October ; and after a 

 careful measurement and weighing of two separate 

 portions in each division, the result was as follows: 



With Uncovered Manure. 



tons. cwt. lbs. 



1st measurement— one acre produced 7 6 8 of potatoes. 



2d measurement — " " 7 18 99 " 



With Covered Manure. 



tons. cwt. lbs. 



1st measurement — one acre produced 11 17 66 of potatoci. 



2d measurement — " " 11 12 26 " 



As soon as possible after the potatoes were har- 

 vested the field was cleaned, plowed, and wheat drilled 

 in at the rate of 3 bushels per acre. As soon as the 

 weather was suitable in the spring, the whole field 

 got a dressing of 3 cwt. of Peruvian guano per acre. 

 During the winter very little difference was apparent; 

 but shortly after the application of the guano, the 

 wheat on that portion manured by the covered dung 

 took a decided lead, which it retained all summer. 

 The whole field was cut on the 26th of August, 1852; 

 the portion manured by the covered dung being at 

 least four days earlier than the other. As before, 

 the two separate portions in each half of the field 

 were measured, cut and stocked separately. On the 

 4th of September, each portion was threshed, the 

 grain carefully measured, and the straw weighed. On 

 account of a wet season, the grain was of lighter 

 weight than usual, in Great Britain, per bushel. The 

 result of the experiment was as follows: 



JVith Uncovered MaTture. 

 Produce in Grain. Weight per bu.sh. Produce in Straw. 



acre. bu.sh. lbs. lbs. stones, lbs. 



Ist 41 19 613^ 152 of 22 



2d 42 38 61>^ 160 22 



ffith Covered Manure. 



1st 55 5 61 220 of 22 



2d 53 47 61 210 22 



These and similar experiments have satisfied Lord 

 KiNNAiED of the advantages to be derived from having 

 farm-yard manures put under cover. They seem so 

 conclusive and instructive on this point as to deserve 

 to be brought before the farming classes of this 

 country. Not a few of your readers, we doubt not, 

 will take measures of some kind to profit by them. 

 It will require but a few minutes to determine the 

 probable profits of protecting any certain amount of 

 yard manure. It appears from the above results that 

 Lord KiNNAiRD got about 125 bushels of wheat more 

 from the ten acres manured with covered dung, than 

 from the ten acres which had been manured with the 

 uncovered. In wheat alone, then, without taking 

 potatoes or wheat straw into account, the difference 

 in favor of covered manure was quite considerable. — 

 Correspondent of the Country Gentleman. 



There are two reasons why we don't trust a man 

 — one because we don't know him, and the other be- 

 cause we do. 



^ ■ ^ 



Eloquence without wisdom is like butter without 

 salt — ^pleasant to the sight, but insipid to the taste. 



PREPARING LAND FOR WHEAT. 



There has a change taken place in the minds of 

 many wheat-growers within a few years past, iu regard 

 to the best method of fitting ground for the wheat 

 crop. Formerly, the summer fallow system, plowing 

 the ground early in the season and frequently stirring 

 it afterwards, to intermix and reduce it to fine tilth, 

 was considered the best method ; but recently the 

 opinion seems to prevail to considerable extent, both 

 among farmers and their scientific advisers, that by 

 practicing the old method a serious loss is sustained 

 in unnecessary labor, in the loss of the land for pas- 

 ture or for hay, and in the escape of fertilizing ele- 

 ments, while the soil is thus exposed to the action of 

 the atmosphere ; and that a better course is to defer 

 plowing until a later period, and thus obviate the 

 objections urged against the former method. 



Here we have two opposite methods of cultivation 

 prevailing, and strenuous advocates for each ; but 

 has it yet been fully demonstrated that as remunerating 

 crops of wheat can be grown by the latter method as 

 by the former? Will the general results be the same 

 on different kinds of soil ? Again, have we sufficient 

 proof that, by exposing the soil to the action of the 

 atmosphere, we rob it of its fertility ; and if so, are 

 all soils afTected alike ? These are important ques- 

 tions to every farmer, and it is high time they were 

 definitely settled. If we have been losing the use of 

 the land for mouths yearly, and expending much labor 

 to no purpose, and at the same time been impoverish- 

 ing the soil, it is certainly time it was known. 



Now, as there is no way to determine conflicting 

 theories of this kind but by experiments, I propose 

 to enter upon some the present season (health per- 

 mitting), to fully test this matter, and, if possible, ar- 

 rive at the truth. As experiments conducted upon 

 one kind of soil will only be conclusive so far as that 

 soil is concerned, I in\ite others living in the different 

 sections of our country, occupying dilTerent soils, to 

 join me in the effort to settle these important princi- 

 ples of tillage that are now in dispute. The plan I 

 propose to follow iu the first experiment is this : I 

 have a field intended for wheat where the clover has 

 run out, and there is but little sward. This field I 

 intend to plow in June, if not earlier, as deep as pos- 

 sible, say twelve or fourteen inches, leaving one-fourth 

 of an acre unplowed until late in the season, and then 

 fit it in the best manner in as little time as possible. 

 An adjoining one-fourth of an acre I design to plow, 

 harrow, cultivate, and roll a dozen times during the 

 season. Then sow the same amount of seed on the 

 different pieces, and sow at the same time, and note 

 carefully the results until harvest ; then harvesting 

 and threshing separate, and weighing both wheat and 

 straw. In this way I think I shall be able to deter- 

 mine the difference on a clayey soil of the two 

 methods, and also ascertain whether this kind of soil 

 loses its fertility by being long exposed and frequently 

 stirred. — L. C, in the Farmers' Companion. 



Careful experiments, we are confident, would only 

 confirm the conclusion to which we long since came — 

 that summer fallowing is well for stiff clays, but not 

 for light soils. The farm can hardly be brought to a 

 fine tilth without it ; and their nature is rather to 

 gain than to lose fertilizing elements by exposure to 



