308 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



matter, the tmdeiicy is to produce an inactive and 

 diseased condition of tlie digestive organs." 



Tliird. It saves labor in preparing, and it is not 

 more tlinn half tiie trouble for the cook. Proof — 

 Tiie experience of any housewife v^^ho has tried it. 



Inference— A farmer can do nothing without 

 iiealth. Unbolted meal promotes health ; therefore 

 firip.ers should use it. 



In the short space I intend to occupy, I can not 

 enumerate halt the benefits that would ensue on 

 eating every kind of grain ground coarse. Farmers 

 could do more work without becoming tired; far- 

 mers' wives would not have to slave in the kitchen 

 so much as now ; farmers' children would be better 

 natured, ar.d all would be healthier and happier. 

 Hoping for this " good time coming," I hope to hear 

 from Mr. B., and sign myself, 



"BE SURE YOU'RE EIGHT, THEN GO AHEAD." 

 Mat shall, Iowa. 



NEWiSANDY LAND. 



Eds. Gen'. Faemek: — A considerable portion of 

 the State of Michigan, as well as more or less of 

 all the other States, is composed of what is nsually 

 termed sandy laud — land that does not pack we'll 

 for roads, and is harder when wet than when dry. 

 These lands have generally been shunned by the 

 first settlers, — they considering them nearly worth- 

 less for cultivation — and they generally lie nnim- 

 proved and even unfenced, till all the clays and 

 loams are occupied and partially exhausted, before 

 any attempt is made to render them productive, 

 and even then, with the ordinary pioneer culture, 

 h.tle is obtained from them without manure, unless 

 the season hapiiens to be very favoral)le. But it 

 generally tiirus out in the end, that, with judicious 

 m.iuagement, these light, sandy soils, although not 

 producing the largest crops, are the best Jiaying 

 soils in the world, and the intelligent sandy-soil 

 farmer invariably gets ahead of his equally intelli- 

 gent clay-soil neighbor in the amount of money he 

 lays up. . 



I do not mean to say that these lands are the 

 best for all purposes — they certainly do not make 

 the best pastures. I merely claim that, for general 

 agriculture, they make better average returns from 

 year to year, according to the amount of mojiey 

 and labor invested, than what are usually termed 

 clay lands, for the following reasons : 



There ai"e some exceptions, but generally they lie 

 high and dry and never need underdraining. They 

 are very sensitive to the sun's rays, and they thaw 

 out and become warm and fit for the plow much 

 earlier in the season. They are seldom too wet or 

 too dry to work, consequently less time is lost by 

 bad weather. Crops mature quicker than on claj^ 

 soils, consequently are less liable to early fall frosts. 

 They are much easier of cultivation, and more 

 acres can be worked in a day with a lighter and 

 less expensive team. In short, they are brought up 

 to and continued in a high state of cultivation at 

 less expense than ordinary clay lands. 



The objections to them are, that in their natural 

 yrate they are more liable to injury from drouth, 

 seldom produce large crops, and do not form a good 

 grass sod. 



But let us examine the reasons why they do not 

 enjoy as- good a reputation while the country is new 

 as whea it becomes old; for I have ever noticed 



that in all well cultivated countries, the sandy lands 

 bring the largest price per acre, where both are in 

 a high state of improvement. 



All new countries, before much improvement is 

 made, are liable to be overrun annually by fires. . 

 On tliese dry, sandy soils, they burn deep and con- 

 sume nearly all the humus, and prevent the growth 

 of timber, except some of the most hardy and deep 

 rooted kicds, such as oak, pine, hickory and hem- 

 lock. In the lower and more isolated spots, where 

 the fires have been kept out by. surrounding wet 

 lands, or by an under soil of clay or loam, more 

 retentive of moisture, the beech, maple, bass, elm, 

 walnut and whitewood flourish. These have a 

 more dense foliage, cast a deeper shade, and the 

 soil being thence more moist, decomposition of the 

 fallen foliage is more favored, and the result is a 

 thick bed of vegetable mold, the accumulation of 

 ages on the surface. The pioneer cuts down the 

 heavy timber and burns it on the spot, at once 

 killing all the vegetable matter, the growth of 

 which would hinder the growth of his crops; and 

 strewing the ground with ashes, the very best 

 stimulant and solvent for tliis rich bed of humus. 

 Chemically, these soils are then in the condition of 

 the highest cultivated lands. Such lands, and such 

 only, will for a few years give large returns for the 

 meagre culture that the pioneer generally bestows. 



Taking the hint from these facts, the more scien- 

 tific successor commences on the sandy soil by 

 restoring to it the organic matter, the humus, 

 which the fires have consumed. They are already 

 rich in all the mineral elements of plants — possessing 

 in great abui'.dance the silicia and potash so essen- 

 tial to the growth of corn, grain and the grasses; 

 lacking only in humus to uourish the infant plant, 

 and above all to catch and retain the rains and dews 

 about their roots, without which, the plant fo<>d, 

 however abundant, can not be assimilated. By 

 the ordinary pioneer manner of cultivating the 

 timbered lands, these sandy soils will produce little 

 except in uncommonly wet seasons. Tlie sand 

 itself holds very little water; besides which, it has 

 been rained upon for centuries, and the rain has 

 sunk into the soil, forming channels downwards, 

 ants have made holes in every square foot, and the 

 rain disappears almost, as soon as it touches the 

 surfage. The thin coat of humus on the surface, 

 although more retentive of moisture than any othei 

 soil, can not supply the demands of the tliirsty soil 

 below, and the scorching sun above. Seeds planted 

 u[)on this surface mold readily veget'ite, but as the 

 roots strike down, they find no moisture, and they 

 wither and die or make but a dwarfish gi-owth. 

 But plow deep and break up these downward chan- 

 nels, incorporate this dark surface humus with the 

 underlying sand, and the moisture from the rains 

 is retained about the rootsj and, after adding a 

 little to the organic matter by muck, barn manure, 

 or plowing in of crops, no kind of soil is so sure of 

 producing a fair paying crop, and every time you 

 plow or harrow it, and every particle of organic 

 matter you add to it, is sure to be felt and appro- 

 priated by the growing plant. Some talk of the 

 leaching of such soils, but Avith deep culture it 

 leaches just enough to bring the plant food within 

 reach of the roots, and if buried in the soil not a 

 particle of mauure will be lost. 



My object is not to disparage the more adhesive 



