]^EW ENGtAJ^D 



PUBLISHED BY GEO. C. BA.aBTT. m.a, N O.W.IARKET STRSr rjlT THE A ORICULTUEi,;w..¥l7 oLE.|-T„S. o1555D5e-E..m,»- 



VOL. XIIl. 



BOSToar, WEpmisDAy swsNzsta, januarv as, 1835. 



XTO. 29. 



/"j-om (/le 0/(/ Colony Memnriul. 

 A DISSERTATION 



0)1 i/ic course of tillage -most suitable for soils in Plym- 

 outh County, and the rotation of crops, most conducive 

 to the interest of the inhabitants. Read before the Ply. 

 mouth County Jigricultural Society, at their annual meet- 

 ing at Bridgcwater, October 15th, 1834, Ay Anthony 



COLLAMORE. 



(commenced in our last.) 

 Bv numerous other exiieiiinents he ascertained 

 that this excretion takes place chiefly during the 

 ^ight. As it is well known that the light of day 

 Causes the roots to absorb their juices, it is natural 

 to suppose that during the night absorption ceases 

 ^nd excretion takes place. By placing one root of 

 the plant in pure water, and another in a weak so- 



Etion of acetate of lead, he found that a portion ol 

 ad had heen absorbed and deposited by the bn.,:cli 

 hich dipped ill the pure water, thereby proving 

 ^.lat plants employ the excretory powers of their 

 oots to get rid of hurtful substances which they 

 nay have imbibed. Similar trials were made wiiii 

 imc water, and a weak solution of marine sail, 

 ifith a like residt. 



There can be no doubt, then, that plants have 

 le power of rejecting by their roots, soluble salts, 

 hich are injurious to vegetation. An interesting 

 etail of an experiirient on one particular family of 

 lams will here be given. 



"Leguminous Plants. — The only plants which 

 e tried of this family, were peas and beans. They 

 ve and grow well in pure water. After some 

 me, the liquid being examined, has no sensib'e 

 iste, its smell is faintly herbaceous. It is qu i- 

 ear, r.:,d almost crjii.rless in kidney beans, (harf- 

 )ts) more yellow in peas and common beans, 

 iibas). The fluid, when examined by chemical 

 sts, evaporation, &c., is found to contain a mat- 

 r very analogous to gum, and a little carbonate 

 ■ lime. It was found that when the water in 

 hich these plants had lived was pretty well 

 larged with this excrementitious matter, fresh 

 ants of the same species soon withered in it and 

 d not live well. To ascertain whether this was 

 r want of carbonic acid in the fluid, (which 

 mts derive from the earth as well as from the 

 •,) or from the presence of the excreted matter, 

 lich they repudiated, the author put into the 

 ids some plants of another family, and especial- 

 wheat. This lived well, the yellow color of the 

 id became less intense, the residue was less con- 

 lerable, and it was evident that the new plant 

 3orbed a portion of the matter discharged by the 

 5t. It was a kind of rotation experiment per- 

 med in a bottle, and the result tends to confirm 

 ! theory of De Candolle. The author would in- 



that wheat may follow with great advantage a 

 ip of beans. It is not impossible that by ex- 

 •iinents of this kind, results may be obtained of 

 ictical importance to agriculture. The infer- 

 :es which the author deduces from his experi- 

 nts, (acknowledging, however, that more ex- 

 ded trials on a greater number of families and 

 ividuals are desirable,) are 1st, that the greater 

 Tiber of vegetables exude by their roots sub- 

 aces unfit for their vegetation. 2d, that the 

 lire of these substances varies according to the 

 lilies of the plants which produce them. .3d, that 

 le being acid and resinous, may be injurious, 

 I others being mild and gummy, may assist in 



the nourishment of other plants. -Ith, that these 

 facts tend to confirm the theory of M. De Candolle." 

 On this theory may be explained the ameliorat- 

 ing eiJects of the locust tree on sandy and barren 

 soils ; as the locust trees grow and extend their 

 roots, the land becomes covered with a thick 

 growth of grass, showing by its verdure that the 

 roots fertilize the soil. Also why some plants are 

 said to be poisonous to the soil ; the excretion 

 from the roots being injurious to the growth of 

 the same plant or the same family of ])lants, and 

 perhaps to some others, while, it may prove salu- 

 tary to the growth of some other tribes. 



We now come to the principles which should 

 govern the succession of crops. 



1. Two exhausting crops of the same or difler- 

 ent grains should not succeed each other on the 

 same soil ; and hence it has been recommended 

 as a general rule to raise alternate grain crops and 

 green crops, which is called alternate husbandry. 

 Others recommend that taj) and fibrous rooted 

 lilants should be raised alternately. Tap roots de- 

 scend into the ground in a perpendicular direction 

 as the parsnip, red clover, &c. and are supposed 

 to 'derive most of their nourishment from a con- 

 siderable depth below the surface; while the fibrous 

 rooted plants as all grains, being composed of nu- 

 merous thready or fibrous parts, are noiu-ished 

 chiefly near Xhe surface of the soil. Bu.t whatever 

 may be the true ex|)lanation, it is observed by Ro- 

 zier, " that every tap rooted plant succeeds very 

 well after a crop of plants with fibrous roots, and 

 ihi;s akrr :ate!j ;•' ni..; " •; u ;,..w ,-ecogniz<-,i in 

 the writings and practice of all judicious ruliiva- 

 tors, as a rule not to be departed from, that ciil- 

 mifcrous crops ripening their seeds should not be 

 repeated without the intervention of pulse, roots, 

 herbage, or fallow." 



2. The same kind of crop should not be repeat- 

 ed at too short intervals. If the theory stated 

 above be well founded, the reason of this will be 

 obvious, and experience proves the advantages of 

 introducing different species in every course of 

 cropping. Where land has been pastured a num- 

 ber of years, there may not be so much necessity 

 for adhering strictly to this rule ; but it is found 

 by experience, that wheat and other grains degen- 

 erate, when cultivated on the same land every sec- 

 ond year for along period. It is said green crops 

 beans, peas, potatoes, turnips, and especially clo- 

 ver, be<'ome all of them much less productive, 

 when they come into the land every second, third 

 or fourth year. But what the interval ought to be, 

 has not yet been determined, and probably cannot 

 be until further discoveries are made in the phi- 

 losophy of vegetation. It is also found advanta- 

 geous to change the variety as well as the species ; 

 and even the seed of the same variety ; thus it has 

 been found beneficial to obtain the seed of Indian 

 corn, in some cases, from a colder climate, while 

 potatoes and oats are said to flourish best if the 

 seed be brought from a warmer latitude. Also 

 wheat, oats, &c. which are grown on a clayey 

 soil, are more productive when the soil is chann-ed 

 and they are sown on a sandy soil. 



Crops sliould also be so arranged, that the la- 

 bors of cultivation should proceed in regular suc- 

 cession. Thus it will not answer in any case to 



sow all winter or spring crops, as the harvest 

 would come on all at once ; but by cultivating a 

 variety of plants, the labor both of seed lime and 

 harvest is rendered easier, and the work is tiioro 

 likely to be done well and in season. 



Another circumstance to be attended to is the 

 nature "and state in which the manure is, when 

 applied t( the land, in order that the first and all 

 succeedin,, croj.s should be supported in the best 

 and iriost cilcctual manner, by tlje change which 

 the manure is always undergoing, till itls united 

 and incorporated with the soil ; anil that those 

 parts, not suitable for one kind of crop, may he 

 converted into nourishment for the next, and so on 

 in the same manner. As a general rule, manure 

 in the unfermcnted state should be apidird to the 

 hoed crops ; for when applied to the grains, it 

 causes such a luxuriant growth that the grain' is 

 not well filled — in common language, it runs too 

 much to straw or stalks. - Marie, marsh mud, sea- 

 weed and i;;arine manures, may be used for all 

 crops ; as well as the stimulants, ashes, lime and 

 gypsum. The two last arc, however, said to he 



■roj)s ill 



most beneficial when applied to those 



which linio is foimd to be a constituent part of the 

 plant, and therefore essential to its growth, as 

 wheat, clover, &c. 



Crops should also be suited to the soil, climate, 

 and demand. Thus the course of crops adajited 

 to the low, moist, and clayey soils, is not the most 

 profitable to cultivate on dry sandy soils and vice 

 vcisa. 'lit. ilie course of tillage proper for the 

 dm at: ut England, n.id the rotatir'Ji.s pursued 

 there, cannot be introduced with advantage in this 

 country. In the former, the mildness of the cli- 

 mate permits the farmer to feed off" his turnip 

 crops on the ground, by which the soil is much 

 enriched ; while here, the expense of gathering, 

 securing, and feedi.ig out such crojis, forms the 

 greatest objection to their cultivation. — In Great 

 Britain they cannot cultivate our maize or Indian 

 corn, and have no other crop which yields so rich 

 returns in food for men and animals, and leaves 

 the soil so free from weeds, and so favorable to be 

 succeeded by a crop of grain. That the farmer 

 should cultivate those crops siiited to his wants 

 and the state of the market is too evident to need 

 illu.<tration. 



Having explained the general principles neces- 

 sary to be taken into view in raising crops, we 

 coine now to consider more particularly " the 

 course of tillage most suitable for soils in Plymouth 

 County, and the rotation of crops most conducive 

 to the interest of the inhabitants." On the present 

 occasion, we shall arrange the kinds of soils, and 

 the crops most suitable for each, under three divis- 

 ions. 



1st. The low, moist, clayey and swampy soils, 

 which are most suitable for grass. 



2d. Those of the rich, dark, loamy kinds, equal- 

 ly suitable to produce grain or grass. 



3d. Light, sandy soils, which are easy of culti- 

 vation, and produce most naturally grain ; but 

 which ought to be subjected to a course of alter- 

 nate mowing, or pasturage and tillage, or what is 

 termed convertible husbandry. — This kind of soil 

 is most abundant in this county. 



1st. Under the first division may be ranked the 



