NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



SGb 



NEW ENGLAND i^ARvIilil. 



SATURDAY, JUNE 14, I«i3. 



The Fariner"'} anil Gardeners Remembrancer. 

 JUNE. 



Destrov Weeds. — The destruction of wefds 

 is oue of the most important hr.inches of the 

 art of husbandry. If this be neglected, or im- 

 perfectly performed, from one third to one half 

 the crop is usually lost. If weeds are allowed 

 to grow, we loose a part of the advantage of 

 manuring our land. The mixture of weeds in 

 the soil prevents the crop from receivmg the 

 beneficial influence of the air. Weeds among- 

 grain greatly increase the trouble and risque of 

 harvest ; for a crop, which is free from weeds, 

 will need much less drying than one which is 

 mixed with them. Indeed, it would require 

 pages to make a complete recapitulation of the 

 evils which arise from these '■'■green snakes.,'' 

 as ihey are sometimes called by farmers, which 

 embrace agriculture with folds almost as deadly 

 as those with which the Anaconda or Boa Coii- 

 Strictor incloses its prey. 



Although wheat, and other broad cast crops, 

 we believe, are rarely, if ever, weeded in this 

 country, there can be little doubt but that in 

 many instances it would be good economy to 

 pull out the weeds by hand in the same way 

 that they are extracted from growing crops of 

 garden vegetables. Sir John Sinclair says, 

 " various experiments have been tried to as- 

 certain the positive advantage derived from care- 

 fully weeding one part of a field, and leaving 

 another part undone ; among these, the follow- 

 ing, made with peculiar accuracy, may be safe- 

 ly relied on. 



" 1. Wheat. — Seven acres of light gravelly 

 land were falloived, and sown broad cast ; one 

 acre was measured off, and not a weed was 

 pulled out of it ; the other six were carefully 

 weeded. The un weeded acre produced IS 

 bushels; the six weeded acres 135 bushels, or 

 221 per acre, which is 4| bushels, or l-4th 

 more produce in favor of weeding. -, 



" 2. Barley. — .\ six acre field was sown with' 

 barley in fine tilth, and well manured. The 

 weedmg, owing to a great abundance of char- 

 lock, cost 12 shillings per acre. The produce 

 «f an unweeded acre wa.< only 13 bushels; of 

 the weeded, 2G. Difference in favor of weed- 

 ing, 15 bushels per acre, besides the land being 

 fO much cleaner for succeeding crops. 



" 3. Oats. — Six acres sown with oats ; one 

 acre ploughed but once and unmanured ; pro- 

 duce, 17 bushels. Another sis acres ploughed 

 three times, manured and -u'eeded, produce 37 

 bushels. This experiment shows that oats re- 

 quire good management, and will pay for it as 

 well as other crops. Ten bushels of the in- 

 creased produce may be fairly attributed to the 

 weeding ; and the other ten to the manure." 



We have not known wheat or other broad 

 «ast crops weeded in the United States ; but 

 perhaps the recital of the above experiments 

 may, in some cases, induce individuals to make 

 trials of this mode of freeing their fields from 

 i vegetable robbers. At least all the rye, cockle, 

 darnel, &c. should be pulled up, in wheat fieUs, 

 before they produce their seeds. " In some 

 countries, particularly in Scotland, the people 

 make as much account of weeding their fields 

 of grain as their gardens. This should by all 



means be performed before the time when the 



plants begin to send out their ears ; because, 

 after thi*, they will be more in danger of being 

 hurt by people's passing among them. Especi- 

 ally the wheat or other grain ought not to be 

 touched while it is in blossom."* 



Care should be taken not to carry the seeds 

 of weeds into the fields which are intended for 

 white crops. When fresh dung is made use of, 

 it should be applied to land on which Indian 

 corn, potatoes, or some other hoed crops are 

 raised. You shouhl not suffer weeds, either in 

 gardens, or on any part of the farm, (o go to 

 seed. If you have not time to dig them up, 

 you can at least mow them down with a scythe, 

 and jou will thus, by preventing the production 

 of the vegetable progeny, realize the truth of 

 the wise saying, that " an ounce of prevention 

 is worth a pound of remedy." Our readers 

 have already been cautioned against sowing the 

 seeds of weeds with any kind of grain. t To 

 prevent this, a thorough cleaning of the seed 

 should be accomplished by winnowing, sifting, 

 washing, &c. But the seeds of weeds are often 

 sowed, after they have been separated from 

 grain by winnowing. This will be the case 

 when the chaff and rubbish at the tail of the 

 heap of winnowed grain is thrown upon a dung 

 hill, which is to be removed and applied to the 

 soil, before the seeds contained therein have 

 had opportunity to vegetate and get destroyed. 



Weeding flax is considered in Europe, and 

 by good husbandmen in this country, as neces- 

 sary to secure a good crop. It should be care- 

 fully weeded when the plants are only three or 

 four inches high ; they are not then injured by 

 the laborer going barefooted over them. It is 

 not supposed to be injured by the clover and 

 grass sown with it ; on the contrary the Flem- 

 ish farmers think them beneficial, by protect- 

 ing the tender roots from drought, and keeping 

 the weeds under.| Land, however, which has 

 lately been cleared from its original growth of 

 wood, or lately broken up from sward, will, 

 generally, produce broad cast crops, which re- 

 quire no weeding. 



l.fDiAN Corn. — " When the plants are three or 

 four inches high, run a furrow with a one horse 

 plough in the intervals between the rows as 

 near as can conveniently be done without injur- 

 ing the plants, making two furrows in each, 

 turned from the rows, and then the weeds kill- 

 ed with the hand hoe, and a little fresh earth 

 drawn about the plants." Such are the direc- 

 tions of Dr. Deanc ; but Judge Peters, of Penn- 

 sylvania, says, " Wherever the harro-w has been 

 fairly tried, its advantages over the plough, in 

 corn crops, have been decisively shewn." Per- 

 haps the question whether the plough or har- 

 row is to be preferred, like many others in ag- 

 riculture, admits of no definite answer, but de- 

 pends on the nature of the soil. If that is hard, 

 stony and uneven, the plough will loosen more 

 mould, and destroy more weeds than the har- 

 row ; but if the field is level, mellow and dry, 

 the harrow should, we think, be preferred, at 

 least for the first time of hoeing. Judge Peters 

 asserts that 



" Transplanting from a seed bed, sown early, 

 broad cast, in or convenient to your cornfiefd, 



* See Deaoe'a N. E. Farmer. 



t See communicatioQ of O. Fiske, Esq. in our paper, 

 N'o. 28, page 222. 

 t See Mr. Po!neroj''6 Essay oa Flas Husbandry. 



or with supernumerary plants, from other hills, 

 is far preferable to usin.g seed corn for supply! 

 ing defective hills cut off by the grub, or other- 

 wise vacant. Plants even "take and keep pace 

 with those uninjured ; but renewals with seed 

 corn seldom arrive at maturitv." 



A writer in the American Farmer, vol. ii, p. 

 35, informs that he does not set or transplant' 

 his corn, as it never succeeded with him. 



" Salt is used for destroying grubs, worm.s, 

 &c. and has been successful in banishing or kil- 

 ling the corn-grub," as we learn by Judge Pe- 

 ters, but we are not told what quantity should 

 be applied to the hill, nor the time of its appli- 

 cation. We have been told by a practical far- 

 mer, that a small handful of salt, put into the 

 hill at planting, preserved Indian corn from the 

 wire worm and other insects. We should ap- 

 prehend, however, that if salt is placed in con- 

 tact with young plants it might injure or destroy 

 them by its acrid qualities. 



" A handful of ashes on each hill will nourish 

 the plants and have a tendency to prevent their 

 being annoyed by worms. Some lay it on just 

 before the first or second hoeing. It will have 

 a better eSect in preventing worms, if laid on 

 before the corn is up. But it is commonly de- 

 signed to answer chiefly as a top dressing; and 

 for this purpose it would answer better near 

 the third hoeing ; for then the plants want the 

 greatest degree of nourishment, as they begin 

 to grow very rapidly. Two dressings with 

 ashes, to answer the two purposes, would not 

 be amiss."* " This practice of dressing the 

 hills does best when applied at the first hoeing, 

 and repeated again at the third hoeing; the 

 first brings forward the stalk, and the last the 

 corn."! "It is essential to have this plant 

 started well ; because if it get stunted at the 

 outset by coid rains, it seldom gets the better 

 of this during its whole growth, particularly if 

 the soil be not perfectly suitable to it. To 

 prevent this, it is best to apply some stimulants 

 to the plants at that time ; and the best for that 

 purpose are bog dirt, marie (dug out of bog- 

 swamps,) ashes and gypsum. The latter ought, 

 however, to be preferred on all soils to which 

 it is suitable, because it is cheap and easily ap- 

 plied." Plaster, ashes, &c. are usually applied 

 immediately after weeding, and left on the top 

 of the ground. But it is recommended by a 

 writer in the American Farmer, vol. i, p. 5, in 

 case of dry weather to cover the plaster, " as 

 long droughts and hot sun are injurious to its 

 stimulating powers." 



PuMPKi.NS. — If you have any spare land of a 

 suitable quality you may perhaps as well raise 

 a crop of pumpkins. They will grow on any 

 kind of soil which is proper for hoed crops, 

 but the land cannot easily be made too rich for 

 them. The Farmers' Assistant thinks they will 

 grow better when planted by themselves, than 

 when raised with Indian corn. Dr. Deane like- 

 wise expresses the same opinion. It is directed 

 that hills for pumpkins be placed about seven 

 feet apart, and only one plant should finally be 

 suffered to stand in a hill. The crop is much 

 less expensive to raise than Indian corn, and 

 we are told that an acre properly cultivated 

 will produce as much as ten tons, worth at least 

 16 cents a hundred for feeding and fatting cat- 

 tle. Instead of a summer fallowing for wheats 

 a farmer might derive a handsome profit by 



* Ueane'B N. E. Fanner. t Fannere' Manual. 



