1871. 



NEW ENGLAND FARRIER. 



165 



Now, if, according to the theory of some 

 farmers whose opinions upon matters of agri- 

 cuhure ai-e entitled to consideration, manures, 

 fertilizers, or whatever we choose to call that 

 with wliich we feed the soil and prepare it for 

 the crop, pass into the atmosphei'e and arf 

 lost rapidly when left upon the surface, how 

 is it that such lands regain their primitive rich- 

 ness by the decomposition of the annual fall 

 of leaves ? According to their theory, as soon 

 as decomposition has taken ])lace, and the 

 rains have dissolved the soluble particles thus 

 produced, they should pass of!" by evaporation 

 and be forever lost. The land, should, there- 

 fore, not only grow no richer, but annually 

 poorer by the constant extJ-action of nutritive 

 matter from the soil by the growing trees. 

 Tlie inevitable result would be decay and 

 linal death of all forests, whether of the sec- 

 ondary kind under consideration or the pri- 

 mary, should such a law be enat-tcd ; nay, all 

 vegetable life not under the inuuediate, con- 

 stant care of man would share the same fate. 

 Of course such a theory must be fallacious. 



Thus in the natural renovation of soils ex- 

 hausted through ages of improvident hus- 

 bandry we see a wise provision of the Creator 

 by which they may again be made to blossom 

 as the rose, and yield their increase to genera- 

 tions of men far down in the fnture. it must 

 ever be impossible to know how many times 

 this alternation has been repeated in the old 

 world since man became a culti^ ator of the 

 soil, voluntarily by the abandonment of worn 

 out lands, or forcibly by some great epidemic 

 or natural convulsion that destroyed whole 

 populations. Each successive race of cultivar 

 tors found "new land" in all its vigor, though 

 it miglit have been the twentieth time such 

 land had been peopled and cultivated. Al- 

 ready has such alternation begun in New Eng- 

 land in small districts, upon hills first settled 

 and now worn out by long continued ''ultiva- 

 ion. The inhabitants are gone; the land is 

 abandoned for the purposes of cultivation and 

 is being overrun by trees and brush. 



If, tiien, these views be correct, it would 

 seem that no alarm need be felt that manures 

 left upon the surface" can be lost hy evapora- 

 tion ; nor that nature, always doing her work 

 in the best manner, has here given a great ex- 

 ample that is not worthy of imitation. 



The views herein set forth have guided me 

 in the cultivation of my small tract for several 

 years ; and under the new regime my lands 

 have perceptibly improved, and my crops pro- 

 portionally increased. My method is this : 

 Next spring I shall plough up a piece of 

 greensward, manure the surface, harrow thor- 

 oughly and plant. The next spring the same 

 process will be repeated. The third year the 

 land will be ploughed, manured very liberally 

 and harrowed thoroughly ; then sowed with 

 oats or barle}% and grass seed and harrowed, 

 the inequalities about the margin and other 

 places being levelled with the hoe. I have 



little trouble by lodging when my oats are 

 sowed early, and generally have large yields. 

 In 1869 they stood from four to five feet high 

 and well filled ; stalks could be j)ulled up five 

 and one-half feet long. Last year they were 

 nearly as heavy. They are the connnon oat. 



Grass is a very important crop in New Ejig- 

 land and throughout the North. If our object 

 be grass, and we attempt to bring our farms 

 to a high, productive capacity by ploughing 

 manure under, we shall be disappointed. Be- 

 fore reaching the last acre of arable land, the 

 first is crying for help and re(iuires immediate 

 attention, if surface manuring is adopted 

 and it is desirable to plough largely, a better 

 result will follow, two loads being equal to 

 three ploughed under. 



In top dressing ])loughed fields it is desirable 

 that manures be well rotted, but not indispen- 

 sable. 1 have used green stable manure in 

 feeding down with good results. c. 



Wihningfon, Vt., 187 1. 



For the Keic Enrjland Farmer. 

 RAISING TOMATO PLANTS. 



I do not ])ropose to teach old ])rofessional 

 gardeners aiiytliing about the management of 

 hot-beds, or the raising and selling of jilants. 

 They have large propagatinghouscs, and heated 

 water-pipes, where the work can go on 

 through all kinds of weather ; but from which 

 large sales nuist be made in order to pay for 

 fuel and interest on buildings, fixtures, &c. 

 There are farmer's sons living near villages, 

 all over New England, that might, after a lit- 

 tle experience, obtain a better income from a 

 few rods of ground near the farm buildings, 

 than their fathers get from some of their acres. 



Tomatoes are used now in almost every 

 family. Many people set a dozen plants an- 

 nually who have not room for much else in 

 their small gardens. In order to have a full 

 crop from the plants, they must be started 

 under cover before the weather out-side is 

 warm enough to grow them. jNIany farmers' 

 wives start a few in some south window of the 

 kitchen, and have very good plants. Many 

 fail, however, by planting too early in the win- 

 ter, by putting in too many seeds for the room 

 they have, and by not transplanting at the 

 proper time. 



I want my frames made and the holes dug 

 the fall previous, and a few loads of suitable 

 soil placed where I can use it about the last 

 week in March. I have seldom planted the 

 seeds before the first of April, and never 

 would for my own use. But village garden- 

 ers are ajjt to be in a great hurrj- in the spring 

 to get their gardens under way. 



By planting a few seeds for very early 

 plants, one often has a chance to sell his vil- 

 lage customers two lots of plants in a season. 

 I know of men who always buy the first plants 

 they see for sale. They are the ones who 

 generally buy twice. It is seldom safe to put 



