No. 7. 



AND GAllDENiars J()Ui<NAL. 



109 



i^iB. and his broibei's experimem of raising wbcnt nn 

 the same ground. To ibia «e stinll hereafier odd the 

 t\pcriinein of Mr. Knlly in Iloverhill, Moss., on 

 rinsing crop of rye a!\er ploiigliing in a crop ofchsr. 

 ij lock. This account was given to iho piiblio iii the 

 Troneociions of t^e Esse.x Agricultuial Society, nnd 

 afterwards in Colman'e First Report of the Agricul 

 ture of M^^sacbusclla. It wiil be found of tbe high- 

 est inlporiSntB. Tbe whole of these comninnicaiions 

 bear iipon iBe saiiie poNit, tbe great value of vpg»tn 

 ble matter iiirned under for tbe maniire of the ensuing 

 crop. 



We ehall take occasion here to relate a case of our 

 own, from which we ourselvce, if no other person, 

 derired some instruction. We bad in our i n>'i>y at 

 the time-two Englishinrn, bred franiere from tli?ir 

 childhood, ahd skilled and competent in every branch 

 of hnsband'-y. We gave them an acre of land, a 

 clover ley, and desired them to prepore for and culti- 

 vate it in turnips ofier their own fashion, engaging on 

 our part to offer in no way either advice, interruption, 

 or interference. A crop of clover had iieen taken oil 

 early, ond llicy then proceeied to plough and harrow 

 the land thoroughly, and then to pick out every rooi 

 and every particle of grass left, pulling it into small 

 pileS) and burning it on the ground, giving the land 

 as they termed it n thorough denning. Tbe land wn- 

 bigbly manured afterwards, ond the crop of turnips 

 was good and cultivated in drills in a very fine style .- 

 but we hod no doub: at tbe time anti have as little 

 now. that it was a greot error lo rob the ground of all 

 this vegetable refliae ; that the crop waB less than it 

 wnul'J have been but for this abstraction ; and tbe fer- 

 liljiy of tbe land reduced for a length of time. The 

 Isnd was afterwards liid down to grass, ond we weie 

 Batisficd suffered much from ibis thorough cleaning. 



Ou Growing Wheat on Inverted Sward. 



Mk. ColMak — Allow me to call J'oor attention to 

 an article m the -January number of yciur paper for 

 this year, on page six, entitled "Three Expcrimens 

 in Wheat Growing," and signed by " Agricolu,' 

 dated Greece, Monroe county, N. Y. 



I am myself, like Agricolo, a young farmer, and 

 have liltewise been a merchant, and have also a fnend 

 10 advise me respecting my farming operations, to 

 whom I showed tbe above article in your paper this 

 morning, at tbe some time asking bis advice about 

 practicing upon the above experiments of Agricola. 



He object- d entirely to the manner ond method of 

 the second experiment, but finally said that it might 

 possibly do to treat a clover lot after that manner, that 

 it, I i. e. the clover) would he killed, and what wheat 

 there was would be clean, but did not believe it wouli 

 produce a good crop — that tbe seed could not be well 

 covered and would he liable to freeze ont — that the 

 ground would be hard beneath the surface, and ibc 

 grain would not be well rooted. He did not believe 

 the third method would answer at all, as the naturol 

 grasses would never be killed, ar.d would grow up in 

 the spring nnd destroy what wheat did grow, which he 

 believed would be bnt little. 



He said that there weie a great many things writ- 

 ten for agricultural papers which would not bear ex- 

 amination, and he believed that this was one of tbem_ 

 That many theories were advanced rashly without 

 being sufficiently experimented upon, and that he did 

 not believe that either the second or third method was 

 as good as tbe fiisl, v^z : old fashioned summer fal- 

 lowing. 



On poge eight of same paper, in on editorial to 

 readers and correspondents, "Agricola" is welcomed 

 to your columns and a deeire expressed to hear often 

 from im. 



I presume that desire would not have been express 

 ed, if tho editor did not think well of his communi- 



■ D'ion ond believed wbnt 'Agricola' sinti d was sub- 

 stantially true, and that the experiments bod been ac- 

 f.ally made. 



The object of this communication is to ask if Mr. 

 Colmon has any personnl knowledije of bis correspon- 

 dent, or whether if in Mr. Colman's knowledge the 

 practice of summer tallowing has given way to 'Ayri- 

 cola's' system, ih any of the numerous farming dis- 

 'ricls which he ha6 visited, and with what success. 

 Perhaps this commlinicntion, if published, may draw 

 out 'Asjric-idn' once more, but I hope not angrily nt 

 ibe doubt tlirown out about tbe results of bis practice 

 nnd experiments. 



Rcsjicctfully your ob'tser'vt, 



TURNIPSEED. 



Neic Windsor, Orange Co., N. Y. 



Editorial, remarks on the above. 



In reply to the inquiries of ' Turnipseed' we hove 

 only to sny that the authority of Agricola for tbe three 

 experiments in wheat growing, deserves his entiie 

 confidence. We have known the system procticed 

 upon by two of the best farmers in the whole Conn- 

 'ry, Earl Stimpson of Gnlwny, Saratoga county, N. 

 Y. . and Elias Pbinney of Lexington, Mass We 

 have known, likewise, other coses, where the same 

 husbandry has been pursued. Success, however, 

 must essentially depend upon the manner in which the 

 plouobing is executed ; the sward should be so neatly 

 nnd completely inverted that all the growing vegeta- 

 ble matier may he covered. Tbe decoy of this vege- 

 table matter will furnish nutriment for the growing 

 plant. 



Another point, which is not generally understood, 

 but is so well settled by the experience of judicious 

 farmers, given without concert with isnch other and 

 without knowledge of the opinions of each other, tbnt 

 it may be considered as ascertained, is tbnt it is much 

 belter to plough in this vegcinble matter after it has 

 become perfectly ripe, decayed or dead, ihnn in a 

 grpen or succulent state. For spring grnin there 

 would of cotirse be no difTiruhy in doing this : to 

 wait for this in autumn miabt carry the sowine on too 

 Inte in the season. We shall not enter into ihe phi- 

 losophy of this, though good reasons moy be given ; 

 the fact is all .nbout which in the present case we are 

 concerned ; and that we deem establiabcd. 



As to the olijections of the eccpticnl friend of Thi- 

 nipseed they do not surprise us. We admit that a 

 great many things are written for nnd suggpsied in 

 aiiriculturnl papers, which are not well cc'.nblisbed and 

 which must rest upon the responsibility of those w-bo 

 ofTer them. Where they are clearly erroneous and 

 would be likely to lead our friends into mislakee, we 

 certainly sbonid accompany them with a coution. 

 Where we know them to be well founded and impor- 

 tant, we ebou'd, if we deemed it neccssnry, endorse 

 them. Where they are doubtful or altogether specu- 

 lative, they must pass with our renders for just what 

 they deem them worth ; but they are surely not to be 

 considered as o)ir views because we insert them, nor 

 in any case, unless we openly nnd directly approve 

 them. An agriculiurni journal must be open to free 

 discussion ou all subjects connected with husbandry ; 

 nnd though we have a tolerable mensure of confidence 

 in our own judgment, we claim no infallibility, and 

 will not reject statements or opinions of respeclnble 

 correspondents because they may not quadrate with 

 our own. 



As to the other objections of hie ecepticol friend, 

 ^ Inch spring out of his superabundnnt self-confidence, 

 we hardly lliii.k they deserve a grave answer. There 

 are a stnnl many men in the world, who hove never 

 yet found out that tbe eorih turns round and it is quite 

 probable they never will. Let such men colculote 

 iheirown almanacs, and let us be thankful that the 



cause of on improved or an improving agriculture, or 

 any oibef cause of ((Uhlic or p'lvaie improvement, ra 

 not left In their bands. Put such men into a conal 

 boot under lull woy, and you could not moke thini 

 ncknotvlidge that the boat moved ; no, it is only the 

 land running away from them, they hnotc it because 

 ihey see it. 



Artny Woiiu nnd Cut Wuriii. 



(Eztrntl of a letter iltitcd Maumce City, June 2hJ 



The army worm is ninkin^ drendlul ravages in ibis 

 county arid in some other paits of the stnK, taking 

 whuli; pieces of wheat and mowing grass* neoily clean 

 as they go — or at least so much as to ruin the crop. 

 The cut worm has also done very much damage thia 

 i^pring, culling off almost entire fields of corn. I 

 snVed mine by one of the three following operations, 

 01 by them all combined. F'list. by ploughing my 

 bottom lands very early in the spring, say first of 

 March: secondly, ploughing lightly and droging tho- 

 roughly jnel before planting; and thirdly, 1 si-aked ni]^ 

 seed in saltpetre water 24 hourB before planting. 

 What think yob 1 



I was less fortunate in my gorden ; the cut worm 

 took almost every thing, and finally I set out a large 

 pntch of cabbages ond they look them clean. After a 

 good rain [ act out more, using as many of the com- 

 mon pieventives as I could hear of, but all to no pur- 

 pose ; ond the second day they had ruinid about 200 

 plums. About ,') o'clock of that day I received your 

 excellent paper at the ofTiccnnd by the lime I reached 

 home I found a remedy recommended ; I immediale- 

 ly set about it, and put about a table epoonfull (of 

 salt) around the stalk of every rcmoining plant, ond 

 in the murning, lo my at.loni-bnient, not another 

 plant bad been touched, neither bns one been injured 

 since. So much for being a etibstribcr <o the New 

 Genesee Farmer. When will all my brother f'armera 

 learn wisdom at so cheap a rate. 



J. W. SMITH. 



We give the above from n volued corrci^pondent, 

 not priBuming to cndoise it with much confidence, 

 oficr tbe trial of a single night. A table spoonful of 

 salt, applied directly to a plant in this way, is quite as 

 likely to kill the plant as the worm. Aboui ns much 

 as is recommended to be applied lo a pigeon's toil in 

 attempting to catch them, would certainly be mucU 

 safer. Salt intermixed wiih tbe manure or laid near, 

 but not m contact with tbe planis, may have the de. 

 sired effect, bnt on this subject let us have expert- 

 meniB. — Ed. 



•Tliey only eat herds grass— they do not t'Uch clover 



N'ou-Resident Lands in Michigan. 



THK uiiilrrsislieii resiieetftlily announces lo ttie puMir, 

 Hint he hiiB opened nii Offi.ro in tliis city for tbe si-ecilic 

 iil'ject of aelingas gciicriil Ageiitfor the pnyinent of Tuxes 

 UN non-rcsidciit Laiide, now, or llcreiifier lO Veconte due. in 

 liny of the Counties of tliis Slate and be will visit liiinself, 

 ur hy a tiubiy pcison. each of the Counties, to obluin all ne- 

 cessary infoni-ationupon the suliject. 



Peisons wisfiing li.xes piiid in ;tiiy of the Counties in 

 Michigan, nnd fcrwaidiiiglo ihe undcrsijned tlie iiccess.-:ry 

 limouiil of fun s fice of post.-ige, toscihcr wiili im ■-ic-curiLte 

 description ol Mieir hinds. in:iy rest iisEUred that lAeir .nler- 

 es:s shall I c scmiiuhiufly :-tiend d to. 



His ci. urges will iil all tones lie icasonablc.iiril proportion- 

 ed lo tlie servicet rendered. 



The unilersiiined will endeavor to make bmself thorough- 

 ly acquainted Willi the vii itc of Landa in ••very part of the 

 .-ita'c tb.-itlie amy lecnnhlpj to give iniiinntioii lo all cn- 

 iiuirers; nil' if desired, will uiidcrt.-iketie side of the s.Mue. 



He Ueg.-' leave luo.-st respectfully to eler as to chariictcr, 

 and capncit to redeem tlie pledges aJoyc given, to the nn- 

 iicved certificates. J- L. WUllIiNG. 



Detroit. Marcki, I84«. ,,.... ,.,.„. 



rctrnit, March 5. 1F40. 



I think such .in office as is propised hy f)r. J. [,. Whiting 

 highly necess.nrv for theconveiifi.'J'',"' 'be conimunity, i.n.1 

 ■hriliiei8e.«cecdingly well q-nlihed l-y long residence in 

 Michigan, much knowledge ""I'C country, strict integrity, 



-.: dcorrcclliusiness hlibita. ''i;, H',r„''';™„"'', 'I'f. '"■• P"^<'<' 

 .„_,,..- (* C. I It' -WBRlDt.K. 



" ^ ■ Tics't B.-oik of Michigan. 



I concur fully in 'be sel'"""'"*^ and opino.ns expressed in 

 healioveliol/oflMr lowlridge. Detroit Ulnrch 5. 11-10. 

 \VM \v 0O'"l'"'t-'''. Govern r olltllchignri. 

 Ihrveleri;„cqu,ii,//I ",'"' Dr- J- L. Whiting lor m,,,,y 

 vpars and fullv conc^ '" ''"^ views aliove expressed hy HIr. 

 Trowbridge ^- I'Alt.NSWOtTH, Chancellor, 



