VOL. XV. NO. S-i. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL 



413 



seerl dropped by the cattle fed on it. It was 

 ploughed deep in the fall, in t!ie spring harrowed, 

 cross-fdoughed, and harrowed ajjain, until it was 

 mellow. For two years, oats were sown with 12 

 pound.s of red rlover seed, and ploughed in, after 

 reaping the crops of oats; and in August, after the 

 second crop, wint(;r wheat >vas sown. 'i"he soil 

 was a rich loatn, and the form of the land wis in 

 moderate swells. Owing to thi.«, the crop was un- 

 even, as the snow drifted deep in some places, and 

 in others the land was bare. The wheat wasvig- 

 ous, five feet four inches in feeight, and the ears 

 over five inches long. The crop was a profitable 

 one, and for three years aftiM-, the land produced 

 as much grass as could be dried on the ground. 



4. My hijt experiment was sowing in the spring 

 a small piece of land with winter wheat. It lay 

 next to the sheep pisture, and was occasibnally 

 fed by the sheep until September. This experi- 

 ment did pot answ.'r, probably from the want of 

 ])revious cultivation, and the snow not covering it 

 during the winter. 



As regards Mr Uonaldson's proposal of sowing 

 the winter wheat, so early as to raise a crop of 

 barley on the same land as the winter wheat, there 

 is the following objection. Whatever crop is 

 raised that produces seed, and quantity sufficient 

 to repay the labor, must exhaust the ground, and 

 in this case the barley will t;ike from the wheat a 

 portion of the nouiishment intended for it. For 

 this reason, will it iiot be belter to sow oats or bar- 

 ley fora crop early in the spring, with twelve lbs. 

 of red clover seed, and as soon as this grain is 

 reaped, immediately to pl(>;igh in the clover and 

 stubble, and sow the winter wheat with thii oats 

 as proposed before ? The growth of the clover 

 bv this mode will replace what the croj) of oats 

 or barlry has taken to manure it. 



This subject is a very important one, and if by 

 experiments we can secure a mode of cultivating 

 winter wheat on ploughed land, that would be 

 profitable, it may be the means of increasing the 

 (juanlity of wheat raised, as well as improving the 

 quality. 



It is a fact that winter wheat is a sure crop on 

 new land, where I he growth has been cut down, 

 and recently luirnt off. In the State of Maine, a 

 great quantity of'new land is annually brought in- 

 to cultivation, and the use of winter wheat as the 

 crop, will have other advantages besides its in- 

 creased value. The farmer by this means will 

 have the whole of the season Irom the spiing un- 

 til the first of August, (and on burnt land a later 

 period will answer lo sow the wheat) to burn anil 

 clear his land, without interrupting his labor on 

 bis spring crojis, ami will not depend on favora- 

 ble weather to burn ofTtlie trees for spring grain. 



CuAS. Vaughan. 

 June 19, 1837. 



Utimtt of Lime in preserving Fence Posrs. 

 — Accident in some instani-.ps, has led to the dis- 

 covery that lime applied to wood, preserves it 

 from decay. The wliitewashing of fenc !a is 

 practised, more as a substitute for paint, and for 

 appearance sake, than to prevent decay. — Even 

 this superficial mode of appling lime, is of some 

 use in preserving wood. Having full confidence 

 in the efficacy of lime, as a preservation of wooil, 

 to make fence posts less subject lo rot, T have ihis 

 season, for the first time useil it as follows : — I 

 in-ovided a number of narrow boards, about three 

 feet k ng of various breadths, and one inch thick, 



with a hole in the end of each. When the hole 

 in ihe ground was rea<Iy for the reception of the 

 post, some lime was jiiit into it; on this lime tlie 

 post was placerl ; some of the narrow boards were 

 then selected, and placed to and around the post 

 in the hole. The ground was then rammed into 

 the hole after the usual manner ; and when filled, 

 the boards were drawn out. This is done with 

 greater facility, by putting a stick into the hole in 

 the upper end of the board, by which it may bo 

 laised by a lever or prise, if too f^ast to draw out 

 otherwise. The boards being all removed, fill the 

 space ihey occupied with quick lime: if but par- 

 tially, it is better than if totally slaked, liecause as 

 it slakes it will expand and make the posts stand 

 very firui. If altogether slaked, it also swells and 

 makes the post quite secure. From three to five 

 posts with h<-wn or uniform butts will require one 

 bushel of lime. Boards to surround the post 

 hall an inch thick (and [lerhaps this thickness of 

 lime may be sufficient) vvou'id not take half that 

 quantity, 'i'he lime is all the additional expense, 

 except the extra labor (which is very trifling,) to 

 be incurred by setting a fence, with that part of 

 the posts in the grournl envel(q)ed in lime. 



To prevent the ground from ;idhiu-ing to the 

 |)0sts at the surface, and occasioning their decay, 

 this part being the one which generally first be- 

 gins to rot, lime mortar is applied, plastering 

 round the posts with an elevation ailjoining to the 

 wood. Into this mortar, gravel was pressed to 

 prevent the rains from washing it away. This 

 mortar may be applied at any time most conveni- 

 ent after the fence is made. — Memoirs of Phila- 

 delphia Society. 



The Black Wef.vjl. — It is your own adage, 

 that short articles, for the Register, are of most 

 value ; and adopting your opinion for the occa- 

 sion, I seiid you one of that character. 



For several years, I sustained much mischief 

 in my wheat, by the black weevil; but until 1 

 read Mr Webb's commmiication to the Register, 

 1 was ignorant that it had extended its ravage** 

 into Virginia, and North and South Carolina. I 

 do not doubt the efficacy of Mr Webb's remedy. 

 Mine costs less money and trouble. When my 

 granaries are cleareil of grain, I once a year, burn 

 in them half a pound of pounded sulphur, closing 

 doors and windows. For safety, 1 make a bed of 

 sand on tlte floor, in which I put the sulpher in a 

 stone, or earlhern pan. Antecedent to this prac- 

 tice, I had sustained serious mischief from the 

 black weevil ; since, I have never seen one in my 

 granaries. 



Some of your correspondents insist, and I think 

 you concur in the opinion, that pTOper names lo 

 articles, would give increased value to the Regis- 

 ter. To this, I do not entirely agree. I suppose 

 you have no correspondents who do not trust you 

 you with their names; /uid though no one woidil 

 consider you responsible for erroneous theories, 

 I have deemed you responsible for the truth of 

 facts. If proper names were required, it would 

 cut olT some beneficial communications. There 

 are a class of men, who have no inclination to see 

 their names in print. There are others, who, not 

 having entire confidence in the purity of their 

 style, and the ciu'rectness of their orthography, 

 would be unwilling to subject themselves to the 

 scourge of Dr Syntax, a gentleman, who held, I 

 believe, a residence in Virginia. The love of 

 writing is a dangerous thing. I have known some 



half-witted, half-educated gentlemen in Maryland, 

 who would have got on tolerably well, but for 

 their unhap|)y propensity to scribbling over their 

 proper names. .Modesty is the crown of many 

 virtues, in which patriots, from the days of Ci- 

 cero to the present, have been sadly deficient. — 

 Ijeing a retired farmer, and not a patriot of the 

 current stamp, I have no disposition to blazon iwy 

 name as the conqueror of the black wi'evil, but I 

 do require that Virginians, North and r'oiith Car- 

 olinians, and all otherj, who, with my arms, shall 

 subdue this pestilent enemj', to make their ac- 

 knowledgments in the Register, that they owe the 

 victory to a farmer of 



Tjii; Eastern Shore of Mariland. 

 — Farmer's Rc-r.) 



Pay the Mechanic. — The rich man who em- 

 ploys a mechanic, docs not always know how 

 much inconvenience, loss of time and expense he 

 exposes him, by negli'cting to pay an undisputed 

 bill, or presentation. Without going too deep into 

 the subject, let us propose a very simple example, 

 of constant occurrence. A mechanic undertakes 

 a job, for which his honest charge is fifty dollars. 

 It is done to the satisfaction of his em|)loyer. — 

 He experts his pay on Ihe presentation of a bill. 

 Why should he not receive it? He has no bank 

 credit ; he pays cash for stocK, and he pays cash 

 for labor. He has been employed for a week on. 

 that job, with tvvo or three journeymen, besides 

 furnishing the raw material, paying shop rent and 

 other expensive contingeiicii^s. Why should he 

 be asked to wait six months or a year for his 

 money ? He must pay his hands on Saturday, 

 provide for his family during the week, pay for 

 iiis stock, and lay up something against rent day. 

 Is it reasonable — is it just, that his ready employ, 

 er shoidd ask him to «ait for his pay until his 

 convenient time, v/hen cash is not scarce — when 

 3 per centum a month is not to be had on the 

 loa'i of money that belongs to others, or which 

 ought to he approi)riated to the payment of the 

 honest debts, instead of sleeping and fattening at 

 interest on post notes — or contributing to the ar- 

 tificial wants of his family — or gratifying a reck- 

 less spirit of speculation in visionary stocks? Is 

 it righteous, is it just, that a man of supposed 

 wealth should do this, and leave the honest and 

 hard-working mechanic to the mercies of small 

 creditors, the importunities of journeymen, and 

 the rapacity of usurious extortioners? Certainly 

 not. — Boston Trans. 



Turkish Probitv. — A French merchant,whose 

 house was ilestroyed by fire at Constantinople, 

 having with great difficulty packed up some val- 

 uables in a trunk, and being obliged to look for 

 his wife and chi'dren, on quitting the house, had 

 (lut his trunk into the hands of the first person he 

 met, who happenetl to be a Turkish porter. He 

 lost sight of the man in the confusion, and gave 

 up all idea of recovering his |)roperty. Some 

 months after, a Turk met him in the street, and 

 told him that he had the trunk in his possession, 

 with which the merchant had entrusted him on 

 the night of the fire, and that he had longsought 

 him in order to restore it. The trunk was then 

 returned, without a single article being missing. 



The Northampton Courier says that about 4000 

 Shad were taken at one haul last week, in the 

 Connecticut river, at South lladley Canal. 



