142 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



and labor. For the rye it was ploughed in July, and buckwheat 

 sown, which was turned over when in blossom and rolled down. 

 The rye was sown broadcast in October, and, after harrowing, 

 ten bushels refuse salt was sown over the field, (eleven acres.) 

 The result was in some respects extraordinary. Before germi- 

 nation, a tremendous gale, lasting through several days, carried 

 volumes of sand off the field, reminding one of the simoons of 

 Sahara. The following winter was open, without snow sufficient 

 to cover the rye. During the succeeding summer and fall sev- 

 eral severe gales prostrated the corn in the neighboring fields, 

 but did no injury to this rye, which was of very rank growth 

 and attained an unusual height, yielding tliirty bushels per acre. 

 The rye crop in my vicinity was almost a total failure. In the 

 spring of 1866 clover was sown by a machine on the young rye, 

 and produced as even a lay and good yield as could be desired. 

 My deductions from this experiment are that the salt gave in- 

 creased growth and stoutness of straw and an increase of yield 

 and plumpness of berry, fully confirming, to my mind, the 

 soundness of our revered friend John Johnston's views on the 

 use of salt as a fertilizer for wheat and rye." 



Throughout the northern part of Worcester County we find 

 any amount of dry, sandy, spongy soils, such as are surface dry 

 in a few hours after a heavy rain — consequently produce only 

 meagre crops, or no crops at all, unless the season proves wet. 

 On such soils, in quite dry seasons, an extra layer of manure 

 seems to be lost ; it dries up and is taken into the atmosphere. 



When lands are too wet and retain surface water, the remedy 

 is either surface or thorough drainage. It is expensive but ef- 

 fectual in the end. Now what can be done to improve those 

 soils where crops entirely dry up ? In wet summers soils of this 

 character are quite productive if well manured. It is plain if 

 we could add something to them to retain the moisture of the 

 dews and gentle rains, we might get very fair crops from them 

 even in dry seasons. The reason that dry lands require so 

 much more manure than loamy soils, is that the rains wash all 

 the fertilizing properties of the manures through the porous soil 

 and out of reach of vegetation, and from the porosity of the 

 soil the air has too great access, so that vegetation decays rap- 

 idly and the ammonia is carried off into the atmosphere and is 

 nearly all lost to the crop. 



