36 



NI^W ENGLAND FARMER. 



August 24, IS27. 



LUCERNE. 



(Continued from page 3?.) 



Of the preparation of the land for Lurcint. 

 At whatever season you sow, the land ought to 

 be rendered very fine by ploughing and harrow- 

 ing, because all seeds buried under clods will 

 never sprout. If you harrow after each plougli- 

 ing, the labour will be less. It is not possible to 

 prescribe the number of ploughiiigs, because 

 much depends on the nature of the soil. The na- 

 ture of the Lucerne root points out the necessity 

 of deep ploughing. The duration and the good- 

 ness of a field of Lucerne depend in a groat mea- 

 sure, upon the success of the first year ; if the 

 seeds do not come up well, if they are sown too 

 thin, weeds will obtain the !aad over the grass, 

 ff you sow Lucerne in the Spring, two fall plough- 

 iQgs will much facilitate your dce|) ploughing in 

 fhe Spring ; besides, the earth is admirably divid- 

 ed by the winter frosts. fVintcr is an excellent 

 labourer. After the last ploughing, if the fur- 

 rows are deep, you must harrov; before sowing. 

 Then sow, and harrow ; first v.'ith the teeth of tlie 

 harrow down, then with the flat side of the har- 

 row, and so alternately till the seeds arc well 

 covered, and it would be well to attach a bush 

 harrow to the harrow with teeth. [In general, 

 these directions do not difler from our usual course 

 in sowing clover and other grass seeds, and tlio 

 same treatment which is adapted to clover will be 

 proper for Lucerne, except that the ploughing 

 should be as deep as possible.] — Editors. 



Of the care required for Lucerne f elds. 

 When the soil is adapted to the plant, and it has 

 come up well, it requires no care. This remark 

 does not agree wth the assertions of authors, who 

 prescribe weeding as necessary to success ; a pre- 

 caution useless, an expense superfluous, if the 

 Lucerne lias not boon sown too thin. I had 

 scarcely, says the Abbe Rozier, chosen Languedoc 

 as the place of my retreat, than I began to sow 

 Lucerne, and full of the ideas I had before ac- 

 quired, I caused my fields of Lucerne to be re- 

 gularly weeded. The peasants smiled at my 

 care and solicitude. I asked them the reason of 

 their ridicule, — the Lucerne, said they, will do 

 more for itself, than you can do for it ; let it alone, 

 k( will kill the weeds without your help. For this 

 ^nie they were right; the part of the field which 

 was not weeded, was the next year as good as 

 .iljat* which had been. After that, I was not so 

 ready to throw away my money for nothing. The 

 Abbe occupies some pages with the destructive 

 eft'ects of an insect, a ScarabtBus, something like 

 our rose bug, upon fields of Lucerne, but as we 

 may never he visited with that scourge, we shall 

 omit his remarks on this subject for the present. 



Of the different crops- of Lucerne [in the same 

 season.] 

 If you give credit to the assertion of an Eng- 

 lish writer. I\Ir. Hall, in other respects a writer ol' 

 great merit, the southern parts of Prance have the 

 advantage of making even seven crops h year. 

 Unhappily for them it is not true, be the seasons 

 ever so favorable, even when you have W'ater at 

 command and can water your fields at pleasure. 

 If you cut the plant before it is in full flower, you 

 obtain only a watery plant of little substance, and 

 which loses three fourths of its weight in drying., 

 U would,; besides, afford but little nourishment. 



1. That a quantity of calcined plaster, equal in 

 measure,' to the quantity of oats wiiich would be 

 required to sow any piece of land, is sufficient to 

 manure it. 



2. That gypsum succeeds better on Lucerne 

 fields which are rich, than on those which are 



Supposing that the crop should be cut from the 



beginning to the middle of April, is it possible 



that tlie Lucerne .■should have time to flower seven 



limes in the same season ? It is rare, that we can 



have more than five ci-ops. The ordinary number 



in the provinces, of which Mr. Hall speaks, is four 



crops. If t!;o season shall have been favourable it ' poor and sandy. 



is a fine and rich product. No field yields nuineri- ;i. That it produces a greater eli'ect the first 



cally so much as a good Lucerne field. It is a; than the second year. 



clear and net revenue for ten years, which demands j 4. That it is less active in a moist soil than in 



no culture, no advance except that of preparing la dry one. 



the land for the crop at first; the cost of seed, .5. If you sow the plaster as soon as it is possi 



and the wages of the mowers. One thiid of an i bio in Spring, the first crop will feel the cflecl.- 



acrc, or 401) square toises of Lucerne field, are i of it. 



usually let for one hundred and fifty livres, or JMr. the Abbe Rozier adds " I acknowledge ac 



tliirty dollars a year ! Happy the proprietor, who cording to my own e.xperience, that plaster is very 



has much laud fitted for Lucerne. [beneficial for Lucerne fields which begin to de- 



IWauy persons aflirm that Lucerne will succeed . cline ; that it facilitates in a great degree the 



in any soil ; if this assertion was as true, as it; growth of the large clover ; that it is very useful 



certainly is false, a great part of Provence and , in meadows covered with moss." 



Languedoc would be covered with Lucerne, be- j Tiie Abbe proceeds to recommend air-slacked 



cause natural meadows are very scarce in these ; lime, v/hicli he prefers to plaster. He notices. 



provinces for want o*" water, but experience has and approves a sSggestion of the celebrated Du- 



hamel, that when a Lucerne field becomes par- 

 tially disfurnishod by the death of some plants, to 

 supply their place by laying the branches of the 

 adjoining ones, which will take root; but it seems 

 to us that a simpler course, which we have long 

 since adopted with clover is preferable, which is. 

 every spring to run over the field with a harrow, 

 and throw in fresli seeds in the bare spots. 

 Of the value of Lucerne as Food. 

 Lucerne loses some of its value in proportion 

 to its distance from its native soil ; that is to say. 

 it is not so nourishing, because its juices are moro 

 watery when grown in northern countries. Not- 

 withstanding this no fodder can be compared to. 

 it in point of quality ; none keeps animals in so 

 liigh a state of flesh ; none augments or increases 

 the quantity of milk so much as Lucerne. These 

 praises in all respects merited, require however 

 some qualifications. Lucerne is heating to ani- 

 mals, and if you do not moderate the quantity 

 in the hot season of the year, and especially in 

 Southern provinces, horned cattle will become 

 diseased. If you trust your labourers, thev arc 

 so proud of seeing their cattle fat, that they stuff" 

 them with this food, and are unwilling to believe 

 that it can bo the cause of disease. I know but 



proved, most decisively, that Lucerne requires a 

 deep soil, not clayey, neither too stiff" nor too sandy. 

 In the central provinces of France, Lucerne is 

 cut three times in ordinary years, and four times 

 in favorable ones ; and from two or three times in 

 the northern provinces. It is a general rule that 

 Lucerne should not be cut except when in flower ; 

 before that state, it is generally too watery, and 

 its juices crude ; after tliat period, it becomes 

 too dry and too woody. Cattle should not be suf- 

 fered to feed on Lucerne fields after the last cut- 

 ting, nor during winter, when the ground is soft. 

 The heads of tiie plants yield to the hoofs of the 

 cattle, and injure the grass essentially. It is use- 

 ful to pass a harrow over a field of Lucerne in 

 the spring, and the crop will amply repay the ex- 

 pense of it. Lucerne should be cut in a cool dry 

 time, and tended as rapidly as possible. Rains, — 

 frequent rains .while making are very injurious to 

 this grass. Let it be cut under circumstances 

 ever so favorable, and be perfectly dry, it must 

 not be carried in with the dew upon it, nor moved 

 in the very heat of the day, because, in that case 

 it is very apt to lose its leaves, which are the best 

 part. For this reason it should be stirred as little 

 as possible in the middle of the day. Great care 

 should be taken that the hay should be well cired. 



., . ^, 1 1 J . , c one mode of preventing the waste of Lucerne bv 



otherwise it is apt to heat, and even take fire. . j i i i ,, . ■ • .■' 



rr^, r ,....■ I- t ■ ■ .1 you'' servants, and labourers, snd tliat is to rai.x it 



The first cutting of Lucerne in nny season is the ■ , ' ■., » I ■ , 



not so rich, and of course are less nutritive, 



or horses. 



is apt to purge them : for which reason it is a 



Of the means of renewing the vigor and growth o/"|rulo never to give it till it has been cut 24 hours. 



Care also is taken to give it in small quantities at 



Lucerne Fields. 



Lucerne fields will wear out in time, but you 

 may retard its period of decline by dift"erent 

 treatment and manures. The first, which is the 

 most prompt, convenient and cheap, is to feed 

 your sheep upon it after the last cutting, and even 

 daring winter. 



Mr. Meyer proposed in 1768, to employ Gypsum 

 or plaster of Paris to revive and recruit old Lu- 

 cerne fields, and communicated to the (Economical 

 society of Berne, the several experiments he had 

 made. These experiments were repeated by Mr. 

 Kirchburger with care, and the following were 

 the results : 



a time, lest they should be hoven. This is not pe- 

 culiar to Lucerne. The same effects arc produced 

 by green wheat, oats, &c. All pasturage which 

 is too succulent is dangerous. In case this acci- 

 dent of being hoven should occur, an expedient 

 which I have tried has never failed, (says the Abbe 

 Rosier) which is to make them swallow an ounce 

 of nitre (salt petre) in a glass of brandy, to empty 

 tlie bowels of the animal, and to make him run. 

 (To he concluded next week.) 



Every thing respecting the Thames Tunnel isi. 

 proceeding favourably- 



