NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



413 



tlie aid of poles on the same general principles, .mnrkably free from weeds, the field was laid 

 On all these accounts, it is highly deserving of doivn with clover and other grass seeds, and 

 cultivation, consequently of the patronage of the 

 societies. Let them give it countenance, and in 

 a short time the youths of the country will he 

 able to enter the lists and stand a competition 

 with the drillers of G. Britain who are amongst 

 them. JOHN YOUNG, Secrclanj. 



POT AND PEARL ASHES. 



In one of the late numbers of Tilloch's Philo 

 «ophical Magazine, is the following paragraph, 

 announcing a discovery, which, if real, ma; 

 have a serious effect on the commerce and pui- 

 guits of many in the United States. 



" 1 observed, says he, many years ago, thnt 

 I expected to see the powers of galvanism, in 

 one shape or other, a necessary a(ipendage lo 

 the apparatus of every bleach lielil. Subse- 

 quently, 1 stated that 1 considered all alkalies, 

 alkaline earths and substances, were modilic;,- 

 tions of the same base, and that, one day 1 hopc^ 

 lo see our potash taken from the lime rock of 

 our own soil, instead of deflagrating the woojs 

 of .America. After many varied experiments, 1 

 have completely succeeded, and have now reu- 

 dcrcd myself and my country, so far as regards 

 bleaching, perfectly independent of every foi- 

 eign aid, and at an expense comparatively tril- 

 ling." = 

 GLUE. 



It has been erroneously staled in the public 

 papers, that India rubber will make good glue ; 

 but it will never harden. For a strong, firm, 

 cheap glue, nothing has yet been discovered su- 

 perior to the best kind of that which is in gen- 

 eral use ; and for a tine, clear, and transparent 

 kind, which will even unite glass so as to ren- 

 der the fracture almost imperceptible, nothing 

 is equal to isinglass boiled in spirits of wine.' 



Amcr. Farmer. 



NEW ENGLAND FAR3IER7 



SATUliDAY, JULY 26, 1823. 



ed a " Plough Cleaner," invented by Mr. Jo- 

 seph Kersey, of Pennsylvania, of which we 

 the ensuing crops proved inlinitely liner than I have given a drawing and description in page 

 those before the ground was broken up. 



Another piece of ground was cropped for 

 three successive }'ears in the same manner as 

 the lirst, to which it was similar in every res- 

 pect of soil, aspect, and previous management, 

 but in which the stubble was ploughed in, in- 

 stead of being burned ; the produce of each crop 

 on it was much interior to that of the first ex- 

 periment, and the weeds increased so greatlj', 

 that in laying it down to grass, they quite over- 

 powered the grass seeds, so much so, that it 

 was necessary to re-sow ii ; and ever after, 

 while Mr. Curtis held it, the grass and hay pro- 

 duced wore coarse and lull ol weeds ; and con- 

 sequently inferior both in value and quantity to 

 those of the other held, on which the stubble 

 had been burned. 



It ma}', perhaps, be well in burning stubble 

 fields, not only lo mow the verges or borders 

 of the fields, and rake the proceeds inwards to- 

 wards the centre of the fields, but to trace a 

 furrow round the whole, and set your tire inside 

 of the furrow. A calm afternoon, towards sun- 

 set, should be preferred, when the wind will 

 not be apt to rise, and cause damage by the tire. 

 We do not learn what was the nature of the 

 soil on which the experiments of Mr. Curtis 

 were made ; and should not, therefore, recom- 

 mend a similar practice on all soils, for general 

 adoption, at least without further trials on a 

 small scale. If the crop of grain was on a stilV 

 stony soil, or on land which presents material 

 impediments to the plough, the stubble should 

 in some way be got rid of, before any attempt 

 is made to plough the field. Dr. Deane advised 

 to dispose of the stubble on still' lands by mow- 

 ing it, and carrying it to the farm yard. For 

 " such land, when ploughed, is not apt to cover 

 the stubble so closely as to cause it speedily to 

 putrefy. It will often lie in a sound unaltered 

 state for a long time, and be very troublesome 

 at the next ploughing. IJutif the ground should 

 be seeded after one ploughing, it might be ex- 

 pected the stubble would render the land so 

 hollow and cavernous as to starve man}' of the 

 plants that grow on the surface. At the same 

 time these hollows would be receptacles for 

 noxious insects and vermin. But in a light sandy 

 soil, the stubble is soon reduced to a condition 

 In such a soil it would. 



Farmer's and Gardener''s Remembrancer. 

 JULY. 

 Stvbble Fields. — As soon as you have com- 

 pleted your harvesting, plough your stubble 

 fields. You may plough in your stubble, or jou 

 may burn it off and then plough the land. The 



last mode of proceeding has been recommended i to nourish vegetables." 

 by English writers. They say that the ashes therefore, probably be best to plough in the 



aifords a good dressing to the soil, the heat de- 

 stroys insects, and the fire, by burning the stub 

 ble, removes an impediment to the plough. We 

 Iiavc heretolore taken notice of an experiment, 

 which proved the advantages of this mode of 

 proceeding, in our first No. page 6. But as we 

 have readers, who, probably, have not seen or 

 taken particular notice of that article, we will 

 repeat the substance of it. Mr. \V. Curtis, of 

 Lynn, Norfolk, found very beneficial effects 

 from burning the stubble of oats, which was left 

 eighteen inches high for that purpose. On a 

 field broken up from old pasture the same year, 

 he afterwards sowed wheat and oats in succes- 

 sion on the same ground, the stubble of both 

 which was burned in the same manner. The 

 ashes, in every case, were ploughed in, to a 

 small depth, and the verges of the fields mowed 

 to prevent accidents. After the third crop of 

 corn [grain] all of wluch was abundant and re 



stubble as soon as possible after harvest, before 

 the sun and wind has robbed it of all its juices, 

 and taken away its power to enrich the soil. 



It has been recommended previous to plough- 

 ing in stubble to pass a heavy roller over the 

 field to lay the stubble flat on the surface. If 

 this expedient is adopted, great care should be 

 taken to pass the roller the same way the 

 plough is to go. Others advise to annex a small 

 roller to the fore end of the plough beam. A 

 foot piece, or piece of timber, with a mortice 

 in it, through which the fore end of the plough 

 beam is passed, so that the piece of timber 

 stands perpendicular, and the lower end scrapes 

 along on the ground, may be so contrived as to 

 regulate the depth of ploughing, make it uni- 

 form, and at the same time greatly assist in 

 clearing the way before the coulter. But we 

 believe the most effectual contrivance for pre- 

 venting a plough from clogging, is what ts call- 



107 of our paper. It consists of a piece of tim- 

 ber, pinned to the plough beam, just before the 

 <;oullcr, with a slatf or handle attached to its 

 upper end, so placed as to come "within reach 

 of the ploughman, who by pulling the handle, 

 turns the piece of limber on the pin, and causes 

 the lower cud to scrape the ground just before 

 the coulter, and thus remove stubble, weeds, 

 and other obstacles to smooth ploughing. This 

 is as simple as it is useful, and has, wc are told, 

 been used for several years io Pennsylvania, 

 and found " very convenient." 



H.-iRROvv, Roll, and Top Dress vovr Mowing 

 Ground. — Mowing land, after it has been laid 

 down a few years to grass, becomes bound, or 

 too thickly swarded, and will produce but little. 

 It may not always be convenient, and is often 

 not advisable, to break it up. In such case, after 

 a plentiful rain, go over your mowing ground 

 with a scarifier, spiking roller, or heavy loaded 

 harrow. Then dress it with some kind of com- 

 [lost in which earth is a principal ingredient. 

 Next pass a heavy roller over the land, imless 

 it be uneven or stony, in which a roller would 

 prove of little erno benefit. Half rotted strawy 

 manure, spread on grass ground is of little ser- 

 vice, and the dung of swine or of horses thus 

 applied, will be dried up by the sun and air 

 with but little benefit to the soil or to the crop. 

 If you have on your premises a pond or mud 

 hole, the bed of which is partly uncovered in a 

 dry season, you may take the first leisure time 

 after haying and harvesting, either to cart it 

 into your barn yard, oi spread it on your grass 

 ground. It has been recommended by writers, 

 as well as practical farmers, to apply your ma- 

 nure to grass land, especially where a second 

 crop is expected, immediately after mowing 

 the first crop. But in such case it will not an- 

 swer a good purpose to make use of unmixed 

 dung, or what is called putrescent manure of 

 any kind, as the sun will not only dry it up, hut 

 scorch the grass. Compost manure, ashes, soot, 

 &,c. loose little if any thing by exposure to the 

 air, hut spreading unmixed dung on grass land 

 is a very extravagant way of using it. 



S.4VE YOUR Summer Manure. — Wherever jour 

 cattle are confined every night, as is advisable, 

 it will be but little labor to shovel the manure 

 ever}' morning into a heap or heaps, which 

 should be immediately covered with fresh earth, 

 peat, or some other substance which will pre- 

 vent its being dried up bj- the sun, or washed 

 away by the rain. If you keep a horse or 

 horses in a stable, or soil your cattle, it will 

 often pay (or the labor to mix earth every day 

 or two with the fresh manure, which will pre- 

 vent any part of it from being lost by evapora- 

 tion. Place a few loads of earth near the place 

 where your stables are emptied, or in the en- 

 closure where your cattle are yarded, and from 

 time to time mix such earth with the fresh 

 dung, which will prevent its being weakened, 

 rlried, or washed away. If you keep your swine 

 confined in pens, you should be careful as you 

 empty their styes to mix earth with the manure 

 thus obtained. Horse manure, more particu- 

 larly, will ho-it, or become " fire langed," as it 

 is calb'd, without such precau'ion. You may 

 have first a layer of earth, tlun of manure, and 

 then again of earth. Sir John Sinclair saya, 



