1860. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



519 



grow freely a in soil which is worn out as regards 

 another. 



2d. Because the crops being various, the occa- 

 sional failure of one is not so much felt, seeing 

 thit the others furnish subsistence sufficiently 

 without it. 



lu the beginning of the application of this sys- 

 tem, divide the arable portion of the farm, of 

 whatever size, into six parts or fields. Apportion 

 the crops as follows : 



1st. Root crops, such as potatoes, carrots, beets, 

 parsnips, &c., (tui.-nips and also flax,) and in cases 

 Avhcre the land is not sufficiently open for a crop 

 of this kind, the field must be left in fallow. 



2d. Crop of wheat or barley, (seeded with 

 grass.) 



3d. Crop of hay. 



4th. Pasture. 



5th. Pasture. 



6th. Crop of oats or peas. 



That field of the series which is in best condi- 

 tion for a root crop, should be called field A. 



The best for wheat or barley, B. 



That which is actually in hay, C. 



The pasture fields, 1) and E. 



That which is best for oats or peas, F. 



Each field for the first year ought to be appro- 

 priated to the crops above mentioned, and after 

 the fashion now in use among farmers, except in 

 the case of field A. By this plan, they will at all 

 events still get as much from their five fields as 

 they get at present. 



In order to render the thing more simple and 

 easy of comprehension, I shall suppose myself to 

 be again ol)liged to take a worn-out farm in the 

 autumn of 1849. The first thing that 1 should do, 

 would be to divide the land into six fields, by 

 proper fences, with communication from the barn- 

 yard to each fi^ld, and from one field to another, 

 and I would then take for field A, that which ap- 

 peared best for green crops or roots : I would 

 collect all the manure which I could find in or out 

 of the barns, I would take up the flooring of the 

 cow-house, stable and piggery, and I would take 

 out as much of the soil underneath as I could get 

 for this soil is the essence of manure, one load of 

 it being as good as four or five loads of common 

 dung. The portion thus removed ought to be re- 

 placed by an equal quantity of ordinary soil, or, if 

 it be ])ossible, of bog earth, whicli might be re- 

 moved when necessary afterwards. 



The dung and other manure thus collected, 

 should be placed on the field A, in September or 

 the beginning of October, spread with care, (as 

 far as it will go,) and covered up in a shallow fur- 

 row. 



In spring, all the manure made during the past 

 winter should be carted to the field, placed in a 

 heap, and twice turned. All bones should be 

 gathered and broken up with a hammer, all coal 

 and Tv'ood ashes, scrapings of sewers, the dung 

 from the fowl house, and the contents of the privy, 

 should be collected and made into a compost, with 

 dry loam or bog earth. This manure may be used 

 for that portion of the field devoted to cabbages, 

 potatoes and turnips. 



Manures are of the first importance to the far- 

 mer, and he must do everything in his power to 

 increase their amount. The system here pro- 

 posed is calculated so as to increase the quantity 

 of manure in proportion as the soil becomes im- 



proved. The farmer ought not to sell a particle 

 of his hay or straw, because these are the princi- 

 pal materials for manure ; and, consequently, it 

 is infinitely worse to sell the manure itself. The 

 manure thus economized, will suffice each year for 

 the field which is to receive the root crop, (No. 1.) 

 The greater variety there is in the crops of this 

 field, the better it will be, provided the soil is 

 suitable for them. Thus, this field ought, as near- 

 ly as possible, to look like a kitchen gavden. 



SUCCEEDING CROPS. 

 I have done all that I can for field A. I have 

 weeded and manured it as well as I can : and af- 

 ter having taken the crop of roots, &c., this year, 

 and the crop of wheat or barley next year, I leave 

 this field to rest until the other fields have been 

 improved in the same Avay. In the following year, 

 the cultivation of the diff;n'ent crops will be ac- 

 cording to the following order : 



Crop No. 2, (wheat or barley,) in the field A, 

 Crop No. 3, (hay,) in the field B, 

 Crop No. 4, (pasture,) in the field C, 

 Crop No. 0, (pasture,) in the field 1), 

 Crop No. 6, (oats or peas,) in the field E, 

 Crop No. 1, (green or hoed crops,) in field F, 

 and so on, changing each year until the seventh, 

 Avhen crop No. 1 will come back to field A, and 

 the whole will then be in a good state of fertility, 

 and free from weeds. 



The above system has been proved to be capa- 

 ble of restoring old land, and extirpating all 

 weeds. It is economical, and does not require 

 more capital than the actual system, or rather 

 than the present absence of system, requires. It 

 will restore fertility to the soil, and maintain it 

 by the products of the land itself. Manures got 

 from other quarters than the farm itself, are al- 

 ways expensive, and, at a distance from town, are 

 often not to be had at all. It is simple and easy 

 of application. 



It may be said that six years is a long time to 

 wait for the renovation of the whole farm ; but I 

 will reply that I know of no other means by which 

 it may be done in less time, from its own resour- 

 ces ; and it is worthy of observation that the 

 land is improving every year. The produce is 

 larger, even for the first year under this system, 

 than it is under the present mode of culture ; and 

 from year to year, the land is improving, field by 

 field, and is producing more and more, so as to 

 pay the former better than it does at present, and 

 to recompense him doubly afterwards, when the 

 whole shall have been improved under a system 

 of rotation.'' 



TREE PIiAWTING. 



"Have you never heard of the student, who, 

 ou being told that the crow would sometimes live 

 a hundred years, bought a young crow to try the 

 .experiment ?" Yes, indeed, we have hvara ot him 

 — the irony is excellent — and of Dr. Johnson's 

 growl about "the frightful interval between the 

 seed and the timber." Still, we say, plant trees. 

 They who plant at once, instead of wasting their 

 breath in selfish complaints of the shortness of 

 life, find luxuriant foliage waving over them 

 much sooner than they expected. But, whether 

 you live to see the maturity of your trees or not, 

 be benevolent enough to plant for posterity. 

 Transriiit to your children the inheritance of ru- 



