1870. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



337 



complished. Each plough has four mould- 

 boards, all adapted to the same beam, so that, 

 with the exception, perhaps, of a light one- 

 horse plough, no other is needed on the farm. 

 These mould-boards are suitable for tough 

 sward, stubble, meadow and sandy loam, 

 where the turf is thin and tender. 



It is my experience that a six- acre field can 

 be well cultivated as easily with a swivel 

 plough, as a five-acre field can be with a land- 

 side plough. In the first place, all dead fur- 

 rows are avoided, and these are not only un- 

 sightly, but inconvenient, as they are so many 

 trenches where the soil is taken away, leaving 

 barren lines, and piled up in other places 

 where not needed. In the second place, they 

 save a great deal of travel, for wherever a 

 land "is laid out too small to make it an ob- 

 ject to set in at the ends, at every round these 

 are passed over without doing any work, and 

 the time is lost. But even where the ends are 

 ploughed, a second ploughing is needed be- 

 cause the furrows become completely trodden 

 dow by the team passing over them in turning. 

 Again, with a swivel plough, a narrow strip 

 may be ploughed on the edge of the field by 

 turning the first furrow against the fence, and 

 so continuing until as many furrows are turned 

 as desired ; and this can be done, leaving the 

 ploughed portion level, and the remainder of 

 the field uninjured. 



As a matter of convenience and economy, 

 in every respect, the swivel Is fast taking the 

 place of the old land -side plough ; and, within 

 a few years past several patterns, differing 

 more or less from each other, have been intro- 

 duced and advertised In our columns. The 

 ploughs used in the trial to which we have al- 

 luded were all of the swivel form, and of the 

 series devised by Ex. -Gov. Holbrook of Ver- 

 mont. With the operation of the other pat- 

 terns of the swivel plough we are not as fa- 

 miliar as with this. But we are pleased to 

 know that the demand for this style of ploughs 

 has so far stimulated the inventive genius of 

 manufacturers that excellent swivel ploughs 

 are now offered to farmers who have become 

 dissatisfied with the old style of land-sides. 



— Woodpeckers, and all the family, are most 

 useful birds. The borer stands but little chance 

 where they have undisturbed access. They pene- 

 trate through both bark and wood and destroy 

 this and other pests. 



For the yew England Farmer, 

 MUCK IN QOSHBN. 



In Mr. O. J. Upham's criticism of what I 

 said in favor of muck, I am charged. In the 

 first place, with living In Goshen. To this I 

 plead guilty. To his second charge of hav- 

 ing a large family, guilty, also, lo his third 

 charge of supporting a family on a farm on 

 which muck has been used five years, I re- 

 spond by referring him to Psalm cxxvill. 2. 



I believe these are all the specifications he 

 has brought before the public to prove that 

 muck is of no value as a fertilizer, with the 

 exception of his assumption that muck taken 

 directly from the swamp and applied in that 

 state to the soil has no effect. 



Muck taken in Its crude state directly from 

 the swamp and ploughed Into a cold or wet 

 soil, I should say would be slow in showing 

 any good result ; as when applied In that con- 

 dition It has little chance to decompose. But 

 mix It with a warm or sandy soil and it will 

 soon make Its presence manifest In letters 

 plainer than printer's ink can do It ; not in 

 poisoning peas but in hastening them and 

 other vegetation to a corpulent and rapid ma- 

 turity. 



But before going farther, let us consider 

 what muck Is composed of. Usually where 

 you find a muck or peat bed of much depth 

 and size It will be surrounded by higher lands, 

 with one or more streams flowing through It, 

 having formerly been a lake or pond, which 

 was gradually filling with leaves, decayed veg- 

 etable matter, floodwood, dust, wash from 

 the uplands, dead fish, frogs and all decayed 

 substanct's gradually collecting for centuries 

 and forming a vast deposit of material, which 

 I think the Author of the universe Intended 

 for the use of man, when the uplands should 

 become worn and reduced to a barren condi- 

 tion by cropping and waste. 



To all discerning minds It Is becoming more 

 evident that Nature had some wise design In 

 store for man when the world was created, 

 and that all things were Intended for some use. 

 We all remember how almost incredible was 

 the newS; when first received, of pumping oil 

 from the bowels of the earth. How wonderful 

 are the vast deposits of coal, guano, phos- 

 phates, &c., that have been discovered; how 

 startling are the discoveries that science is 

 constantly bringing to light. Let us cease to 

 wonder, as children, and hasten to apply, like 

 men, the means that Nature has stored lor the 

 benefit of mankind. 



That there should be a great difference In 

 the value of different deposits of muck Is as 

 reasonable as the fact Is obvious. If the sur- 

 roundings of the peat bed are sandy, and the 

 timber pine or sole wood, and the soil natur- 

 ally poor, the peat would be composed or 

 formed of moss, water plants and sand, with 

 the sheddlngs of the softwood timber. This 

 I suspect to be the case with those peat beds 



