o4 Ohseroations on Colonel Taylor's Letter, 



sick — the vitious — and the idle — consume, however, 

 no small portion of the earnings of the workers. The 

 latter their owners must employ ; for the more they 

 work, the quieter they keep them. Therefore all sys- 

 tems are good or indifferent, according to existing cir- 

 cumstances. 



I have always been of opinion, and so I long ago 

 mentioned to you as plainly as I dared — that your corn 

 stalk cutter was an expensive bauble; if used on a 

 great scale on an extensive farm. You see even the la- 

 bour of slaves, is thrown away in this tedious operation. 

 It can only be useful where forage is scarce ; and la- 

 bour applied when tiiere is nothing else to do. — And 

 when is that interval, on even a Pennsylvania Farm ? 



The maxim of our grazing farmers, on uplands here, 

 is ; " the more cattle, the more grass, and the more fer- 

 tility." Arthur Young says — " the more sheep the more 

 fertility, and suppHes of food." I have never yet found 

 this verified — est modus in rebus — JVilliatn PFest, with 

 the addition of his top dressing, went the nearest to 

 prove it as to cattle. He bought no manure but lime, 

 and ploughed none : — but the hoof and the tooth were 

 in eternal activity. In no country is there finer or better 

 grass, than constantly covered his fields. 



The bird' foot clover^ eo nomine^ I do not know. But 

 being, no doubt a vai*iety of the trefoil^ the plaister ope- 

 rates with it. Mr. Taylofs ideas, as to old dungy are 

 similar to my own ; but I have never liked applica- 

 tions of it in a fermenting state, in light soils. Weeds, 

 Mr. T. does not seem to care about. I have been just 

 reading some discussions, in the late British agricultu- 

 ral magazines They go to prove " that the heavier the 



