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NEW ENGLAND FARMER^ 



PEBRCyUTY 11, 1830. 



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[From the OW Colony Memorial.] 

 A DISSERT ATIOK ON TIIS COITRSB OF TM^LAGE 

 Most suitable for Soils in Plymouth County, and the 

 Rotation of Crops, most Conducive to the Interest of 

 the Inhabitants. By Anthony Colla.-.iore. Read 

 before the Plymouth County Agricultural Society, at 

 their annual meeting at Bridgewater, Oct. ].5, 1834. 



[Concludeil from page 2Gj.J 

 Auotlier course pursued witli some success in 

 litis county, is to plant corn on the sward, and lioe 

 in rye at the last hoeing; the second year, after 

 tlie rye is harvested, to turn in the weeds and 

 stubble, which can be done very perfectly with 

 the cast iron ])lough and harrow and sow with 

 grass seed, and then roll the land. A crop of 

 beans may also precede occasionally with advan- 

 tage a crop of rye. — Some may object that in 

 many cases, the soil would be too poor for these 

 courses of crops,, which may be true — but such 

 soils should be recruited by carting on swamp 

 mud, clay, marl, &c. and by turning in green crops 

 which is the best manure for such soils. The 

 best course for this purpose which we have seen 

 mentioned, is one recommended by Mr Poniroy, 

 in liis cs.^av on t!ie advantage of manuring Vvitli 

 green croi»s ; and which is thus described — " Win- 

 tor rye, sown early in the spring, grows rapidly, 

 and will generally arrive at sufficient stature in 

 .season to be turned in as manure for ruta baga. 

 Rye ploughed in when in full flower, and millet 

 sown, wliK-h it v.ill bring forward with great lu.\- 

 uriance, and that in its most succidont state turned 

 in for iohcat, (or rye) may be one of the best fallow 

 preparation.'! for it that can be devised ; and is 

 probably the cheapest and most convenient pro- 

 cess to rest-jre an exhausted soil. At the same 

 time it should be considered that gijpsiun acts 

 more powerfully on soils thus prepared." These 

 soils may also be kcj)t improving by practising on 

 the ma.xirn of Judge Pitman — To lay down land 

 and breakit up oflen, and enriching it by turning in 

 the mass of vegetable substances, amounting as 

 before stated to twelve tons and a quarter per acre. 

 But as it is diffietdt lo designate all the changes of 

 crops suitable for soils, much mtijit be left to the 

 judgment of the judicious cultivator. Iiy the ap- 

 plication of the princiiiles beibre laid down, and 

 by observing what crops best succeed other crop.-;, 

 he may not only keep his land from being ex- 

 hausted, but continually improving. — And who- 

 ever has paid much attention to the subject must 

 bo convinced, "that whatever pains we take, 

 whatever expen.ses vi'c incur in collecting instru- 

 ments of husbandry, in accumulating and apply- 

 ing manures, and in tilling the earth, all is to little 

 purpose unless to these we superacid a succession 

 of crops, ailapled to the nature of the soil, to the 

 laws of the climate, and the physical character and 

 rommcrcial value of the article raised." In confir- 

 mation of many of the views here expressed, we 

 will close this essay with the following observa- 

 tions, comuumicated by a distiagurslieil, practical, 

 and scientitle agriculturist of the county : 



"The success of farmers depends very much 

 on the knowledge and judgment with which they 

 manage soils ; and on so frequent a renewal and 

 change of the kinds of see<l applied, as will call 

 into action all the vegetative powers that exist in 

 them. The powers in soils strongly resemble 

 tlioso of the human body and mind ; contuiued 



diversified action nevftr diminishes, but on the 

 contrary, invigorates and enlarges them. There 

 are indeed some instances of untimely worn out 

 men and worn out soils, and the results in both 

 cases can pretty easily be traced to some impru- 

 dent management. The temperate employment 

 of bodily and mental powers, would generally 

 produce what is termed a green old age, and a 

 judicious culture of soils, would preserve in al- 

 most every field the growth of some useful plants. 

 Soils, like bodies or minds, are adapted to ditTerent 

 pur])Oses, to cultivate well we inust understand 

 what a soil the most naturally produces, and not 

 often force it to uncongenial exertion. — This can 

 be determined without much laborious scientific 

 research, it is ascertained in continual observation. 

 A knowledge of natural products, enables us to 

 fix on the most healthy changes in crops, and what 

 proves most healthful to the soil, will ordinarily 

 prove most profitable to the occupant. In the 

 county of Plymouth tlicre is a portion of the soil 

 which admits of no other profitable change of 

 croj>s, than changes in the kinds of grass. It is a 

 medium between what is called fresh and Eng- 

 lish meadow. In certain seasons, this sort of land 

 may produce very great crops cither of grain or 

 roots ; yet the probability of the total loss of labor 

 is too great to justify the frequent use of it for 

 such purposes. It should always be kept in grass, 

 and as often as it is reduced to the production of 

 only sour grasses, or too light a burden to give 

 profit, it may be renovated at a small expense, by 

 turning the soil over with a ])lough in the month 

 of August, applying manure and seeding agaiu. 

 In this way, the best English grasses can always 

 be obtained from lands v/hich, without cultivation, 

 would produce very little grass of any value. 

 Soils that naturally produce the sweeter kinds of 

 grass are generally favorable also for every sort of 

 graiu, and in the pregnant application of such 

 grain crops as suit convenience and supposed 

 immediate interest, these soils are often re- 

 duced to a state in which they will not yield 

 enough of any kind of grain to compensate the labor 

 of cidtivation. This is a serious evil, and to be 

 guarded against by all the means in our power, in 

 view both of personal interest and the welfare of 

 future generations. One highly important pre- 

 caution is, never to leave the land uureplenished 

 with roots during the inclement season of the 

 year, nor the surface without something of cover- 

 ing to protect it against the wasting influences of 

 winter winds ; always taking this precaution, it 

 may not be necessary to the continued health and 

 vigor of the soil to go into the most extensive 

 variety in the rotation of crops. We need not 

 cultivate a greater variety than personal wants or 

 the wants of the vicinity demand. When we 

 begin with wh.it is here called new land, which is 

 filled with the roots of briars and bushes, the first 

 crop should be one that will occasion an abun- 

 dance of action in the soil ; — ])Otatoes are proba- 

 bly the best crop for this purpose within the scope 

 of our present cultivation. If the soil in the 

 common language of farmers be very tough, rye 

 or oats may follow the potatoes. The third crop 

 may be Indian corn, the fourth, rye, oats, barley, 

 or wheat, with a liberal quantity of grass seed ; 

 thiui the land should remain two or three years as 

 mowing or |iasturage, afterwards if the land be 

 wanted for tillage, a similar course may again be 

 pursued. But if sulTered to remain many years 

 in grass, it will not impair its strength for the pro- 



duction of grain. This seems a benevolent ar- 

 rangement of Providence, in northern latitudes 

 where it is necessary to the sujiport of domestic 

 animals, that a large portion of the land should 

 always produce grass. With a judicious inter- 

 change of the grains, roots; and grasses commonly 

 cultivated in this section of country, we may al- 

 ways preserve even the poorest soils from barren- 

 ness. In a more extended rotation, in the frequent 

 cultivation of leguminous plants, and such roots 

 as draw nourishment from a great depth, we could 

 considerably improve soils, but a long succession 

 of great crops, under the best possible system of 

 change, is not to be expected without the frequent 

 application of nianure. 



BOILED POOD FCKR CATTLiE. 



Having for some years turned my attentioa to 

 the most economical and profitable mode of fatten- 

 ing cattle, and especially hogs, I have found that 

 preparing their food by the process of boiling is 

 unquestionably the greatest unprovement that has 

 yet been discovered — a slight fermentation fol- 

 lowing previously to feeding it away as certainly 

 adds to the capacity of food for aflbrding imtri- 

 tion. And I have also further fully ascertained, 

 that the nutritive qualities of many species of 

 food can only be obtained by boiling, and in many 

 others is only fully developed, or prepared for tho 

 action of the stomach by that process. 



The Irish Potato furnishes a case in point of 

 the first kind, and the apple of the last. It is ex- 

 tremely rare that you will find a hog that will eat 

 a raw Irish potato, but put it through a culinary 

 process and it is rare to find one that will rcfuso 

 thctn. 



Boil the apples, let them get cold, and feed 

 them to hogs, and you will double their capacity 

 for producing flesh. 



But, sir, the result of fairly conducted experi- 

 ment has equally convinced me that the mixing of 

 diflerent kinds of food, adds prodigious j to the 

 capacity of the diftijrent materials lor aflbrding 

 nutrition, from the effect of combination. The 

 increase of the quantity of food, as well as tho 

 addition to its nutritive quality, by the simple ab- 

 sorjition of water in the act ot' boiling, is familiar 

 to all well informed persons. But I am assured 

 that the combination of difl'i^rent materials, pro- 

 duces a greater mass of nutritive matttr, than Ihe 

 whole could separately yield ; and that to lind out 

 the art of mixing food, along with the best modo 

 of preparing it (or the action of the stomach, ia 

 the great art of feeding economicahy, and I be- 

 lieve to secure animal flesh, heatth, and vigor. 



The well known eifect of boiling cotton seed 

 and turnips, and feeding them together to fatten 

 beef cattle, e.xhihils a conclusive proof of the last 

 position, I think — no preparalion is known to 

 latten more rapidly ; the late inqn-oved mode of 

 keeping up in flesh working horses in England, 

 by the aduiixtiue of food, may l)i> cited as a cor- 

 roborating proof in point. It is now I think ren- 

 dered certain that the condiination of two articles 

 of food, jiroduces a new mitritive njatter, more ef- 

 fectual than cither could separately, or that could 

 be produced from the imtritive matter contain- 

 ed in each fed separately. Bull Irish potatoes, 

 pumpkins and apples; combine them by mashing 

 together, and add a little salt and it will be found 

 most nutritive tbod lor hogs, jiroduciug flesh rap- 

 idly. Now a hog on Irish })Otatoes raw, would 

 starve to death, and do little better confined to 



