90 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



SEPTEMBER 26, 1838. 



fliould be well mixed by repeated ploughui^s, or not do hunur to the best. It will reward the culti- j any of its leaves, as it stood in the garden. The 

 by Finlayson's harrow, which is an excellent im- j vator in the best soils. j heiglit was ascertained by setting up a pole by it, 



plon.ent for loosening and breaking the fallow What then have been the causes of its failure j and measuring the pole. The reader will not be 

 slice. The best way°of putting on small quanti- ' with many cultivators ? I will endeavor to state ■ likely to realize the great height to which the cum 

 ties of materials for altering the texture of the I my opinion on that subject The lucerne will not above mentioned had arrived, unless he measures 

 soil is to make a mixture of them with the manure [ grow in most meadow land.i at all. It cannot 1 1(> foct up the side of a house, a tree, &c., and 



bear low lands. It will die, if water rests upon it ' then looks at it. The frost cut off this corn before 

 in winter. On uplands, it has failed from an in- ! it had made any seed. Would not this kind of 

 sufficiency of seed. It requires 20 pounds to the j Mexican corn make a prodigious burden of green 

 acre and the price of the seed has been so high that I corn fodder if sowed broad cast on good ground .- 



you intend to apply to the field ; and these ought 

 to be well mixed By laying them loose together, 

 turning them several times, and fermenting them 

 in the mass. When this is properly done, it should 

 be carted and spread on the soil when in fallow, 

 and be ploughed in and well mixed, so as to be 

 completely incorporated with the soil. — Morton on 

 Soils. 



Roibunj, Sept. 24</i, 1838. 

 To llie Eilitor of the New England Farmer. 



Sib, The inclosed letter was written three 



years since, (as its date imports) but withheld from 

 a fear, that I had annoyed the public with lucerne 

 grass, and tliat people would begin to call me the 

 " man with one idea," My late success has in- 

 duced me to publish it,and I invite all farmers who 

 may have opportunity to visit my iliird crop this dry 

 year. It will not be cut before the Oth of October. 

 It is a beautiful sight in such a season. 



JOHN LOWELL. 



For tbe Now England Farmer. 



LUCERNE GRASS, 



Mr Pessenden: I recur once more, in spite of 

 the ill success of my former efforts, to the subject 

 of this invaluable grass. I feel a full conviction 

 that it will be, sooner or later, the favorite grass of 

 the New England States, for whoso soil and cli- 

 mate, it is peculiarly adapted. It will finally take 

 the place of the Dutch clover throughout New En- 

 gland. It is better adapted to our soil. It bears 

 our severe droughts much better than any grass we 

 have hitherto cultivated. 



I begin by stating my own experience. It is of 

 fifteen years duration. That is no trifling trial. I 

 go on regularly in the extension of its culture and 

 upon dry, sandy, and gravelly lands, it will forever 

 be for me, tlie favorite grass. It may be asked, 

 what are the peculiar advantages which you have 

 experienced from this grass ? I answer, first, dou- 

 ble crops in weiglit at least, from the same extant 

 of ground. The Lucerne will give in this state, 

 two good crops, the Jirst season in icldch it is sown. 

 Is there any grrass, which will do this ? It will 

 endure in good heart for five years.? 'Will clover 

 do this ? It will endure the sevetp.st droughts 

 when all other grasses fail. What yrass will do 

 this ? It is the favorite grass of the horse and the 

 cow. It will fatten them faster than any other 

 grass. It will do as much for a horse as an ample 

 supply of grass, and four quarts of grain a day, in 

 keeping him in flesh and strength. 



But many persons have failed in attempts to raise 

 it. And what then ? Does it follow that it is not 

 worthy of culture ? By no means. If one man 

 uniformly succeeds for fifteen years, there must be 

 some good reasons who others do not succeed. Let 

 lis try to seek out the causes of their ill success. 

 It is not the climate, because it stands our severest 

 winters unlinrt, when clover fails. It stands our 

 severe droughts, when clover dies. 



It has been intimated, that my success is owing 

 to peculiar care, and high culture. This is not so. 

 It is treated exactly like the red clover, and I give 

 to it, purposely, my worst lands. Not that it does 



our farmers would not buy it or in too small quan 

 titles, but it can be afforded from Europe at l-l 

 cents per pound, though our seedsmen cannot aflford 

 to sell it at lhat^]mce on account of the limited de- 

 mand. It is like every thing else, if the demand 

 is small, the supply will be small and high. My 

 object is, to recommend its culture, and when it 

 becomes general, the seed will be abundant and 

 cheap, but no man must expect a crop without 20 



Yours, Respectfully, 



.SA M. HOLT. 



rnr the .NVw Enslniul Fan 



ff'eston, Sept. 21, 1838. 

 Frii ND Breck: The following is worthy a 

 place in your useful and valuable paper. 



Messrs Stearns & Crehore, merchants of Wal- 

 pounds to the acre of seed, but as it endures five ^^^^^^ ^^^ ^ji^^ ^^^ ^^^j ^^.^^ Boston, planted 



gQ j^.jj^ ^j. ^1^^ Marrow Squash from which they 



years at least, and pays for its cost the first season, 

 it is a miserable and wretched economy, which, 

 witholding the seed, decries the plant as unproduc- 

 tive. 



It is with me, the richest treasure. My farm is 

 small, it is true, but it is a grazing farm, and my 

 produce is 20 tons of hay. Surely the experience 

 of such a farmer for 15 years, is worth some- 

 thing. JOHN LOWELL. 



August 6, 1835. 



I have already cut two crops from lucerne, sown 

 in April last; and two crops from lucerne two 

 years old, and two crops of hay from lucerne three 

 years old, at the rate of three tons per acre. I 

 expect two crops more from each. These are /acts, 

 notorious to them, who pass by ray grounds. 



What ftai'e we like it? Lucerne must be, and 

 will be the grass of the south shore of this state, 

 and other light lands of New England. 



Let farmers, who pass this way visit my lands, 

 let them see the grass, and the hay produced from 

 it, and inquire of those who feed my stock, and they 

 will be satisfied, that the lucerne is yet to be a 

 blessing to their (arms. 



For the New England Farmer. 



INDIAN CORN. 

 More than a hundred fold ! .' — Old Connecticut 

 yet — Connecticut forever .'.' 

 Mr Editor: In the year 1837, in the garden of 

 Ellas TuUy, of Saybrook, Connecticut, there grew 

 two kernels of corn. One of these kernels pro- 

 duced 5 stalks — 11 ears and 2147 kernels. The 

 other produced 6 stalks — 15 ears and 2270 kernels ! 



gathered over three tons of Squashes, which they 

 sold from their store at 1 1-2 cents per pound, 

 amounting to one hundred and about twelve dollars, 

 making one dollar and twentytwo cents per hill. 

 Who, who, can beat this? 



JONATHAN WARREN. 



From the Genesee Farmer, 

 FLIGHT OF GRASSHOPPERS. 



The warm, dry weatlier of the present seasor 

 has been favorable to the propagation and growtl 

 of these depredators, and in some sections of th( 

 country they have been productive of much injury 

 In their general habits they are much assimilatei 

 to the locust of Asia and Africa, and the presen 

 season has developed their migratory powers in at 

 unprecedented degree. It seems from the Lancas- 

 ter (Pa.) and Frederick (Md.) papers, tliat the 

 grasshoppers, af\cr having devoured the pastures 

 those, sections, have taken wing in immense num 

 bers for otlier as yet unvisited places. The Lan 

 Jour, says : — " About noon on Wednesday (Aug 

 8th) a cloud of grasshoppers passed over tlie cit) 

 of Lancaster. Their course was from the nortli 

 east to the south-west. As we did not see the 

 whole of the procession, we cannot say how 

 they were in passing, or what were the objects o 

 their journey. The appearance of these insect; 

 was singular and beautiful. Their glossy transpa 

 rent wings shone in the sunlight like stars, anc 

 and tlieir twinkling completed the illusion." A 

 Frederick, the greatest appearance of their fiigh 

 was on Thursday Uie Oth. The number floatinj, 

 was immense, and though the fact was not knowi 



Let the rich prairies, the fertile river bottoms, and 



other parts of the great West beat this if they can. j at the time, it seems very probable that the cloud; 



Yours, as ever. 



An Observer. 



For ihe New England Farmer. 



MEXICAN CORN. 

 Mr Editor : A variety of corn, said to be from 

 Mexico, and said to be a very large, and a very 

 productive kind, was planted in several places in 

 1834. But one kernel, however, of this variety 

 was known to vegetable. TVmt one stalk stood a 

 towering giant in the garden of Elisha Tully, of 

 Saybrook Conn., and on the 13th of Sept 1834, 

 though it had neither tassalled out, or fared out, it 

 measured 16 feet in height, without stretching up 



of them observed at Lancaster, were the same seei 

 at Frederick making a very respectable fligl)t foi 

 twentyfour hours. The Frederick paper says 

 ' birds were hovering around tliem picking ui 

 stragglers, and some came as low as the iiouse tops 

 Their appearance was very splendid, and attractec 

 the notice of all.' 



The migration of grasshoppers we have observec 

 several times, and it appears to be governed by the 

 same causes that impel the locusts of the Easterr 

 world in their devastating movements. When ho) 

 and dry weather succeeds their hatching from eggs 

 deposited in the ground the previous year, they 

 quickly obtain a size and strength that enables 

 them to set the ordinary chances of the snmmej 



