J¥EW E^'GL-ANB FARMER, 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



u 



FUBLISHEU BY GEORGE C. BARRETT, NO. 52 NORTH MARKET STREET, (Agricultural Warehoose.) — T. G. FESSENDEN, EDITOR. 



'OL. XIII. 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, JULY 1, 183.5. 



NO. 51. 



[Tor the \ew England Farmer.] 

 'iioMAs G. Fessendfn, Esq. 



The main object of these lines is to obtain in- 



jrniiition relative to the culture and uses of lu- 



erne (or French clover), but before I state the par- 



iculars which I wish to asH'tain, 1 will mention 



few facts relative to aiiotliM- subject. 



About the year 1827-8 there was iTinch written 

 nd said on tlie culture of the White mulberry 

 ree, and the manufacture of silk, and ever since 

 he subject has been agitated and is worthy the 

 ttentiou which has been given to if. I obtained 

 a the year 1829, 1 think, one ounce of mulberry 

 eeds, sowed them about the middle of May, if J 

 listake not. They came up well, and grew from 

 2 to 20 inches the same season. The next sea- 

 on I trans|ihinte(i them, placing them in rows 

 bout four feet apart, 8 to 12 inches in the row, 

 ifhich was rather too nigh. They ought to have 

 een 12 to 16 inches at least, if calculated to stand 

 ivo or three years. The land on which I put the 

 lost of my trees proved to be dry and poor ; at 

 ny rate they grew but very little after the first 

 nd second year. I feel confident that the land 

 ras too poor, because I had a few taken from the 

 ime seed bed, whiidi grew from 6 to 9 feet in 

 ne year ; whereas those in my nursery grew only 

 •oni four to six feet in five yeans. They were 

 :inted, but I hope they will do some gooil, as 1 

 old some at a low price, and gave away several 

 undrrd for the purpose of inocu'ating with the 

 ;hinesc mulberry, or Morus Multicaulis. I state 

 lese facts to show that the mulberry tree will 

 row on any kind of land, but much the best on 

 ood. I sowed some seed since the above men- 

 oned, and transplanted them on good land, which 

 ave done remarkably well. I will here state 

 lat I kept a few silk worms, one season, just for 

 n ex|)eriment, which succeeded well. I found 

 othiiig difficult about attending them, which 

 jmc might be led to believe from reading the mi- 

 ute and intricate manuals or details given by 

 :)mc foreign authors. In fact it is an easy, healthy 

 nd good business, which almost any farmer can 

 ike hold of. At any rate there is nothing difficult 

 1 cultivating the trees, anil rearing the worms, 

 nd if you get the cocoons, they will fetch a good 

 rice without any other trouble than carrying 

 lem to market. 



Several years ago I obtained five pounds of 

 icerne seed, and sowed it on about forty rods of 

 round, which was light, dry, and withal | oor ; as 

 3me said it would grow on poor land I thought I 

 'ould try it. I ))ut on about four or five tons of 

 lanure, and spread and harrowed it in. The 

 3eds came up wel!, I)ut the most of it died before 

 dl, except where the manure heaps were, where 



grew well and continued several years, until I 

 roke it up. Several of my neighbors tried it 

 rilhout any better success. But to come to the 

 )jiic on which I first intended to write. 



I bought of Mr George C. Barrett one pound 

 r lucerne seed last spring and sowed it the 13th 

 r May on about four or five rods of land. The 



ground on which T sowed the seed is situated in 

 front of my house, has been planted perhaps 30 or 

 40 years, 1 know not how long, ever since my re- 

 membrance, to beets, carrots, onions, &c. I 

 p'oughcd it two or three weeks before I sowed it, 

 and on the same day I ploughed it again, and 

 after ploughing dug it all over, and broke the 

 lumps very fine, then raked it two or throe times, 

 for I was determined there should be nothing 

 wanting on my part to ensure success. After 

 getting the ground mellowed and every lump and 

 stone ofT, that was as large as a pigeon's egg, I 

 sowed the seed broad cast, taking great care to 

 have it sowed even. 1 then raked the groimd 

 over two or three times and left it. In five or six 

 days fi-om the time the seed was sowed it was u]), 

 and it has grown so fast and handsome that I feel 

 quite pioud of it. It is now from 10 to 16 inches 

 high, growing nipidly, the ground completely cov- 

 ered. 1 sowed it without any other kind of seed. 

 The s] rigs or stalks which I send you are fair 

 specimens of the whole. I consider it a very rapid 

 growth or I should not mention it — only 39 days 

 since the seed was sowed. 



I wish that some experienced person, who 

 is acquainted with this kind of grass would tell 

 me how to proceed, whether I had best cut it 

 while in blossom, or not cut it at all this season — 

 also whether I had better put on a dressing of ma- 

 nure this fidl or not. If this does as well as it 

 promises now, I think of sowing more another 

 year, therefore I want to know what use it can be 

 put to, to the best advantage, and whether any 

 other grass seed had best be sowed with it, and 

 what kind if any. In fact any information relative 

 to the above grass would be gratefully received. 

 I presume I coidd get much information in the 

 above subject from some of the former volumes 

 of the New England Farmer, but my numbers 

 are incomp'etc ; and I think something on the 

 above named grass would be interesting to others 

 as well as myself. 



Truly your humbTe and obliged servant, 



James Leonard. 



Taunton, June 22, 1835. 



By the Editor. — With regard to the mulberry, 

 frotn Mr Leonard's statement, as well as from 

 some others which have been given us verbally, 

 we are le<l to believe that some writers osi silk 

 cidture have published opinions which may mis- 

 lead. Mr Rush obssrves "All the practical 

 writers agree that the proper soils for the mulberry 

 tree are dry, sandy, or stony : the more stony 

 the better, | rovided the roots of the trees can pen- 

 etrate among thera. The situation should be high : 

 low, rich and moist land never produce nourish- 

 ing leaves, however vigorously the tree may grow. 

 They are always found to be too watery." Mr 

 Cobb, however, and some other jiractical cultiva- 

 tors, with whom we have conversed on this sub- 

 ject, tell us tb.-it a soil rich, warm and mixed with 

 much motdd is most proper for mulberry trees; 

 and where it is intended to strip the trees fre- 

 quently for feeding silk worms, doubtless the soil 



should be of good quality, to enable thetn to re- 

 produce their foliage without much injm-y from 

 its de|)rivatioii. 



With regard to lucerne, we have but little 

 knowledge, except what is derived from books. 

 English writers tell us that the first year's crop is 

 not so large as t!ie subsequent ones, and it retains 

 its vegetative vigor about ten years, when it should 

 be ploughed in ; and the soil will be found iin- 

 prnved for other uses. " There is one quality, in 

 particular, which recommends the grass for fresh 

 fodder, to farmers in the vicinity of market towns. 

 If mowed as often as the growth will fill the 

 scythe, as it should be for this purpose, it will con- 

 tinue to produce a succession till very late in 

 the season. For fatting bullocks and pasturing 

 swine this grass may be very advantageously used. 

 When it is niaJe into hay let it be cut while quite 

 green, and without much shaking, as tl.e leaves 

 fiill off" considerably when dry. A little salt add- 

 ed to it when laid in the mow, would be a groat 

 improvement." — Young's Farmer's CaUndar. 



With regard to the proper time for cutting lu- 

 cerne, it seems that in England it is nmch used 

 for soiling, and cut whenever it is large enough for 

 a good crop, or as Mr Young expresses it, when- 

 ever it will "fill the scythe." The Hon. J. Low- 

 ell, of Roxbury has been a successful as well as 

 scientific cultivator of this grass for 12 or 14 years. 

 We will here give an abstract of some of his ob- 

 servations on this subject. One liiece of land 

 cultivated by Mr Lowell was sown with tall mead- 

 ow oat grass, in the proportion of one bushel of 

 oat grass to six pounds of lucerne. 



" The first crop was very great ; it was difficiilt 

 to decide in this first crop, which excelled, the4n- 

 cerne or the oat grass. But in every succeeding . 

 crop the lucerne predominated to so great a degree 

 it seemed to be the only crop. This was owing 

 to the greater breadth of its leaves. / never cut it 

 till iljlou'ered. I made four cro] s last summer of 

 excellent hay from it, amounting in all to six tons 

 and a half to an acre, and after that it furnished a 

 rich su])ply of after feed. This crop was seen and 

 adiriired by a great number of intelligent far- 

 mers. 



"Having been convinced that it was suited to 

 my soil, I last year laid down an acre and a quar- 

 ter for a pasture, being satisfied that it is admirably 

 adapted to that purj.ose. I laid it down with bar- 

 ley, but it grew su fast that I was ob iged to cut 

 the barley stalks very short, or else I should not 

 have been able to thresh it, so thick and succulent 

 was the lucerne. I cut over this field once and 

 then depastured it. 



" I mention this fact as a remarkable one, be- 

 cause the French writers speak of it as a very rare 

 occurrence even in </!ciV climate that it will bear 

 the scythe the first year." 



With regard to top dressing for lucerne, we sec 

 nothing in the books. Mr Lowell say's, " I have 

 always used gypsum, and [lerhaps owe my suc- 

 cess to that valuable stimulant. I have employed 

 two bushels to the acre." 



