118 



MOOHE'S &URj8lL EEW-YOR&3S&. 



APKXL 9. 



DEEP PLOWDTO PLOWING USDEB CLOVER. 



KM.I[>'KAL:-IamMm«linMlt*leMloMmiiBt 

 (or Uic difference of opinion of good practical 

 farmcra id reference to deep plow t >- i- 



I to the growth 



of .rop»; others, tt»»* " » w * n enough once in 



■ ■■. while Mine 



argue, with greater »ho» o( plausibility, that deep 



,< only deepen* and loosens up the soil, 



..',. roola of plant* to run deeper and 



Spread U>agrMl«l IlDgtb, tbtrebj drawings great- 



' -oil, and from 



the almoapliero, for which a mellow, deep soil— 



I ways moi*t— boa a stronger affinity; 



near the surface, nod witbiu the reach 



M mineral elc* 



I. enter into the growth ond composi- 



■ Inch nut having been tori- 



state, in the hard Empervlonj subsoil. I can net 

 count fur tfaft dlflBrenoa of opinion on no bettor 



, i dl uri mui.li 

 n "ii the subsoil, of the par- 

 ticular locality or farm which a farmer eultivaUs, 

 as it ri^-niilx thcopinion* or conclu.-oon* t hry arrive 

 < i ror of judgment or opinions that they 



I !..:>. htothe 



periencand optntoai of Ihell ndgl 



! tot urn personal ex- 



1" I I' il' r [<<l li ■ i '..l.i III- 1, ir Hi. _ t if I,,, or the 



I action of country compos. 

 • :>v subsoil, and 

 Lba 60*0, n subsoil of Quii 

 doI i" plowed deep without material loss to the 

 Cultivator. Fermera working such soils, would 

 ■OOn linil tlml it «ould be very injurious to plow 

 rcry deep, ami not being acquainted frith soils 

 having ■ tenacious subsoil, would I.. 



Condemn deep cultivation on nil soils, While 



- in ii different LoMlity, where deep 

 plowing bad prored beneficial, would be quite as 



IQcol] nwi i"i deep anltiTation on every 



variety of soil. It therefore becomes important 

 tlmi every former should understand the nature of 



■I ■ II- i' hi -ml-, mill knowing nheu to plow deep, or 



iraeo ibillo*r, bli on a a i Judgment mil dcier- 



iiiii - prllltt OOUfM to pursue, or recommend to 

 others. So fur a* my experience and observation 

 goM, l iroold not be in faror of Ttry deep plowing 



where (he previous cultivation hud been shallow, 

 anil il mi plowed in the fall; whut I call deep 

 plowing [| from nine to twelve inches deep. If 



viously cultivuled nearly us deep, prove very inju- 

 rious to tllO proillletivt ■lie- -, .'I Hull I'M. [i, I'HIf.un- 



larly corn. Alt spring plowing for corn should 

 not, in my judgment, be over seven or eight Inches 

 deep. 1 inn decidedly in favor of deep plowing; 



hut hi nil i .> .1-. when plowed loan i soul depth, 



ii hi i.i-i !■■ done In the fall, 



0OV01 been stirred docs not 

 ! !■■ promote the growth ..i 

 I him hein exposed to the innelioriiling in- 



ior > 



:rooo.| 



bud been plowed de< p m.d wi-ll, n 



limllDJ toll, i" joining Bold, had been shallow 



and | 'I.i ptiiwi.l. m. 1'Iiiil' hum h the larger crop. 



I have nl ><i km m n gronud plowed in I lie Miunner, 

 very deep, foi wheat, uliere the yield was consider- 

 ably diioiiii-li..'l in .'diisci|uoikii., hot proved of de- 



. i. <_■.,- to the future fertllitj nnd produc- 

 tiveness of the soil- producing all kinds of grain, 

 clover, and gran, equal if not supiortomost farms 

 in the neighborhood, which bad formerly a much 

 t' : .' b\oi i. putetion [f the (bnnei oultivatlon had 

 been poor and shallow, I think it would prove 

 injurious to turn up too much of the subsoil at 



one . i". i Inoreaso the depth, at each sub- 



,se.|iienl plow n,. -. il v.iii I,,,, , :,, ,1,.,. ( , ., ...,.,] 



us desirable, Deep plowing will be found to an- 

 mvci battel for fall than spring crops, but for 



"II ' i"!' . '"■■" hnirliei.il ii plowed the full previ- 



"iM. i im.i soon voryepparenlresultsln bringing 

 impoverished and worn oul lands to a hi L il iteol 

 produCtlvcneM, by plowing under clovei when in 

 Fall bloom, or nearly matured, ond before it was 

 much dried. It ii in t' u et, l believe, Uio ■ hi spas! 

 an, I l... i H-hooitiii ut hand on worn out or exhaust- 

 ed soils — on extensive farms — as it seems to r. 

 "'"" "" "''> i" "I" viiothut the soil most requires. 

 1 ion, known (ermathat would not produce over 



II " "■ l; " ■" neli ofwhi t1 to Lhi 



>!■■ of fertility by turning under u heavy 



growth or clover. From puny yellow straw, as it 



Bfl rank and dark colored; 



jtoh '" thirl] lot ) butheli pi i son 



of a I merchantable wheal This »i item of cul- 



Uvsllon .I n ■ oot .' Imil "l but once plomng. which 

 should not be either too deep or too shallow but 



Lhl ghlj cultivated mid brought to a fine tilth 



by the barrow, cultivator, or gang-plow, which 

 cultivation should not interfere with the sod. The 

 best practical proof against taming under clover 

 deep, n i when I did not plow over seven or eight 



in I ■ n depth; oot that 1 thought it -I hene- 



ficial to do ao, but having a small plow, and the 



ground beiug very dry and hard, and the clover 



Id not plow deep. Vet I ... > N '« tpi a i- 



. i.ii-, Iruio iiiiuihi; .nut, , 



clover, before or since. My theory is, if clover is 



turned under too J.^p, decomposition does not take 



place »o effectually, because it is not suflicientlv near 



. H.ienccaof air, 



»da>aUtur*,*hichareceMDJ 



nilate its fertilixing 



o decompi 



' lllllH ■Mlfii- 



i by practice, and 



sbalh 



sufficient depth of loose, mellow 



■ ■ worth but lit) 

 BtbMntleted, and Fatty Rurtohu 



"l , r« , »»il««le»*u„ / ,, 



I > d byeon/.«, pnwiatf UtoU<L, t tUt 

 hia theorica are correct w ^ 



WbooUand, N. T„ Jan., Wo. 



s the season for harrowing nnd rolling winter 

 'and, we w. , 

 a safe and beoHtsxU psjeesne, 

 1" ricueed farmers 

 its of the Hiul 



CULTUEE OP DIPFEHEHT 801X8. 



Eos. Rckal : — As Michigan la noted for its many 

 varieties) of soil, I thought I would give you my 

 views on the cultivation of those soils. Where a 

 farm contains several kinds of soil, there should 

 be different modes of culture, as well as different 

 kinds of grain sown sod planted. If this rule be 

 closely observed, it will pay a large per cent, on 

 the time invested. Von will learn something of 

 tho necessities or different fields, nod of the differ- 

 ent soil* which compose these fields. Is there any 

 difference between clay, black loam, or light sandy 

 ■otlf Is a different treatment ueccssoryr If si 

 wby operate on a single held in «i. 

 great variety of rods, in precisely the same mannc 

 on all its parts? Farmers, some of you do this 

 \cry thing. Suppose your liorncs were si 

 one having the distemper, the other a fresh 



i ike the odo application cure both? I 

 then arc two different disease 

 would use two remedies. Different kinds of soil 

 must likewise have different treatment I lone 

 many different kinds on my farm, I have my 

 fences so arranged that they divide the different 

 kinds of soil as near 08 possible, my fields ar 

 small, ranging from five to ten acres in a fielt 

 which I think is belter than to have them largei 

 with two or three kinds of soil in one lot, and lb 

 some number ol varieties of grain. I prefer sma 

 fields lo large ones, on account of Block ; stock i 

 a large posture run over the food, and destroy s 

 much ns they eat. 



I will call your attention to lot No. 1, a black 

 loamy soil The best crops for this soil are corn, 

 potatoes, grass, barley, oats, anil spring wheat. — 

 For the three last mentioned, I should prefer fall 

 plowing. This soil is of a very rich nature, nnd 

 will endure more cropping, with much less manur- 

 ing, than other soils which I am about to mention. 

 Lot No. 2,— Clay soil. This a good aoil if well 

 managed; will grow winter wheat, graas, oat* and 

 barley. This soil requires a large amount of hard 

 labor, with considerable lull plowing, to keep the 

 soil loose nnd mellow. It .should be seeded with 

 clover as often as once in three years, and a full 

 crop plowed under to keep the soil in good condi- 

 ipplng. Lot No. 3,— A light sandy soil. 

 Is very easy titled, nnd will produce most every 

 kind of crop if rightly managed. If your soil is 

 poor, seed with clover, ot least ten pounds to the 

 acre; after the clover comes up, sow one nnd a 

 half bushels of plaster to the acre. When the 

 clover gets in blossom, plow the crop well under, 

 nnd when grass makes its appearance, cultivate 

 it in, and yon may expect a good reward for your 



Paris, Kent Co,, Mich, 



THAT "SUGGESTED PLOW" IN THE FIELD! 



Pi*n* 



■ pie. 



'■ n<-v sort &/ JHc\»" he suggests has been mon 

 than mygttUd in oldCenesee. I refer to iIiukcksr 

 to the *ur Lie i 

 plow, A number or ibem were manufactured a 

 Batavia, last season — hot, a> Mr. B. is out or thi 

 business just now, I do not know that any an 

 spring's demand. He ow 







, C iv, 





MANAGEMENT OF BEES. 



pin ric changes alluded to in a former 



cation must be traceable to some cause. 



c.iu-e be traced to man himself? Much 

 lias been published in the Tribtitu, and other jour- 

 nals, latterly, deploring the iiijinhcious destruction 

 n f the primitive foresta, by tho sturdy pioneers of 

 all our DOW settlements, and or the climatic effects 

 produced by the denuding the land of trees. That 

 a change Imi been produced is a fact any intelli- 

 gent observer need uol dispute. But what has 

 this fact to do with the habits ond instinct of bees? 



ec. In conversation with neighboring 



they agree" that tl 



much i 



t-kilhr 



hearing. Among the grusses is whito clover, the 



main dependence of bees from which they gather 

 honey, and this grass is injured with the others, 

 and is yearly diminishing in amount and lusuri- 

 ousness. The chilling blasts .sweep over our bills 

 nnd volleys without let, hindrance or impediment 

 from belts, or groves of trees wisely selected nnd 

 left for protection. The results ate disastrous to 

 the farmer as well as to tho apiarian. Without a 

 change for the better in atmospheric influences 

 and quantity of bee pasturage the prospects for the 

 future lo the iij.inriau, who wishes to cultivate bees 

 for profit, are rather gloomy— in common parlance, 

 bees will tun out," as a general thing, in this 

 Ibis elevated region. To obtain largo apiaries, 

 this is not a favorable country I am well con- 

 vinced from many year's experience — successful 

 bee-keeping here is a failure, not only in my case, 

 but a failure universal. 



discovered or suggested that may in port, or wholly, 

 tethe difficulties tuiupluiuod of This, how - 

 is a problem yet to bo solved, I wish that 

 t would give their experiences and sugges- 

 through the columns of the BrjBAL on bec- 



ol 





VALUE OF HEN MANTTHE. 



Msssns. Ens,:— Noticing in the last Rural an 

 article upon ben manure, I submit my experience 

 inrcganlioits use and value. Many years ago the 

 idea suggested itself to me that the manure from 



■ uhl I 



! as agn- 



onltnral papers talked much of the v 

 I thought I would try what could b< 

 urtitn-iid .irticle. At the time I hod about twenty 

 bushels of hen dropping* deposited on the floor of 

 my hen house, which I took and added to n like 

 quantity of unleacbed athaS, with ten bushels of 

 Cayuga plaster; miied the whole thoroughly to- 

 [ careful to powder the manure, then 

 gathered the whole in one corner of my barn and 

 pile with my horse blankets, that the 

 sfa mtghl be excluded as much as possible. When 

 the mass had become sufficiently fermented, I laid 

 out my com ground ond commenced planting, em- 

 ploying a boy or boys to follow the droppers with 

 the guajio, applying about half a gill to each hill. 

 ■i mediately covered with the hoe. The 

 was that upon ground which would not iu 

 the ordinary mode of treatment yield over thirty 

 bushels per acre, I received fifty bushels of good, 

 sound corn to the acre. I tried the experiment 

 upon potatoes and wheat, upon a small scale, with 



I am of the opinion that the drippings of each 

 hcu krpt on a farm, if properly eared and applied, 

 will produce twice the amount of grain that she 

 will consume through the winter. 



Ootnttaa, Mich., is-o. Bicauxo P. Clxos. 



" may be desired. 

 The implement is a simple and practical one — 

 ingjnsjt what Mr. "*"desiros — capa- 

 ble o( being guaged at any depth below the surface 

 plow, from one inch to eighteen — and, attached 

 to one of Mr. It.'s plows, il will subsoil and turn a 

 surface furrow with less strength of team to per 

 form both operations at onco than would be re- 

 quired to run a subsoil plow, alone, to the same 

 depth! ll is very light, and performs tho work 

 with the least possible resistance from the soil. — 

 Last season, an extensive farmer said, "I would 

 lake one of these, but I fear I shall break it."— 

 Says Mr. B., " Yon can lake one home, put it iu 

 Ihc worst spot you have, with your yoke of oxen 

 and two span of horses, drive plow to the beam 

 and the subsoiler to the bottom (89 inches,) and if 

 in two days you break it, you break my plow/"— 

 He tried it, and mode an cnlhusustic report at the 

 end of the two days — with on appeudi 

 full, to the effect that whero that plow ran his crop 

 was doubled. It did •' prove a desideratum in the 

 culture of corn," and other crops 



Kurd Spirit of tlje press. 



HOW TO Mattr HEHS LAY. 



Mn. Mourns: — Among other inquiries iu 

 paper of April 2d, I notice one asking bow to 

 hens lay, and as I am somewhat posted in regord 



upon on experience of about five years. Up to 

 time I was like the Mich, subscriber, auxiouslj 

 quiring of every one how to make hens lay, 

 generally kept about fifty, and would get just eggs 

 enough for a man and his wife, if they both had the 

 dyspepsiu, for which, as all Doetors admit, there H 

 nothing so bad as eggs. 



Five years ago I killed off all of the old stock, 



bought twelve Brahmas, built a hen-house 12 by 20 



feet with an outdoor yard ; in cold weather 



fined the bens, hut when not too severe let them 



Wbitcwosh the bouse once a year ; this keeps 



it free from lice. In regard to feed, many labor 



under a mistake; they feed too much. To keep 



twenty hens through the winter give, say six ears 



and two quarts oats or buckwheat per day, 



I twice a week ; also, give them shorts or bran 



vith warm sour milk, if you have it — i 



vith warm water; make it quite wet, and put 



large spoonful of black pepper. Give them 



all the green stuff you can get, such as cabbage 



I, apple parings, 4c. Every fall I kill offthe 



ns, nnd save the earliest chickens. Change 



■OOBtera every spring. 



re I have adopted this course, I have plenty 



e fresh eggs from twenty hens. Even i 



coldest weather I have from ten to Dftecn 



daily. Hens, like cuttle and horses, will do letter 



h good care. People generally think they have 



business to be hens, nnd let them take 



chances. A. Com 



A SPICY LETTEB EHOM IOWA. 



Eds. Rural: — Your valuable paper reaches n 

 'gularly, and I think it is appreciated. 

 Land in this section of the country has been co: 

 dered too valuable to cuhtiaU— more mom 

 could be made by buying and selling it. But I a 

 happy to say many have hud " a change come ov. 

 of their dreams." Land has deprcciatt 

 real estate bos " taken a tumble," and v 

 have learned the simplefact that lazy, unprincipled 

 speculators, shiftless young men, and Union prayer 

 meetings, never has, and never can develop and 



ut in./uftri/. "Faith without works," died a 

 iserable death long ago. 



We have piled up brick and stone on corner lots, 

 it the improving of land, nnd cultivation of fruits, 

 e have sadly neglected. I do not wish to have it 

 understood that sve have , iili-'./y neglected tins-, 

 the boys say, " we have come so near to it 

 no J an m U." If there arc people auywherc 





,tn, ... 



?e are bound to retrwes. 



If you have anymore young men ivithonl means, 

 ud wbo are too lazy to work, tell them this is the 

 doomed city " for all such. But if they are honttf, 

 "id in,iu*trUtu4, ''with a little eapilid.) 

 this country is the paradise they seek. " It flows 

 lot overflows) with milk and honey" — at five 

 ■nts per quart, and twenty cents per pound. Come 

 it anil help supply our markets. 



I sliull prohubly set out about ten acres to small 

 oil the coming season, atul shall want to ask some 

 restions in my next letter. Yours Truly, 



Keokuk, Iowa, ism. i. B, Eawsut ar. 



COWS HOLDING THETB MTT.K. 



Ens Bubal: — In a January number of your vnl- 

 ible paper I noticed a few remarks by Damel B. 

 Hadlky relative to "cows holding np their milk," 

 .nd his remedy for the same, by milking " with 

 ne band at a time." "This." he says, "may 

 eem trivia! of itself," ond so it seemed to mc; but 

 .s I had two just such cows, I concluded lo try it. 

 ind I did so, and not without effect— for ofter 

 tripping Iberu several times, 1 was nearly discour- 

 aged of ever succeeding until the calves had Ural 

 been gratified. Open seeing what he bad written, 

 and doing as direct t-d, I was will pleased with the 

 result,— I conquered. Let me take this opportunity 

 of returning to him my hearty thanks for his use- 

 keep such cows, and^rish to raise the calves, to 

 try this simple plan of imitating the calf as nearly 

 possible by •■ milkiDg with one band at a time" 

 before giving up their attempts as fmith- < Tw a 

 r three times" milking in this manner, will hesufli- 

 cnt, in most cases, to break them of their habit. 

 - E. L. Aomstboso, Southern Wbtwin, 1959. | 



Av a meeting of the Massachusetts Horticul- 

 tural So ie'v eorrly in 1656, a resolution was intro- 

 duced authorising ihc President of that Society to 

 petition the Legislature for a repeol of the laws 

 prohibiting the kilting and destroying of the robin. 

 This motion was laid on the table, but a Committee 

 wa* appointed to investigate and h i 

 of the robin, and report. The Committee reported 

 the present spring. We give in bn. i 1 1 

 the Committee's investigations as reported by its 

 Chairman, Prof. J. W. |\ J axes, »nd found in the 

 Society's Journal: 



1st. Early in March numbers of this bird made 

 their oppenraoce in this vicinity; but until the 

 second week in April, only the male birds. 



I'd. The giuardl of those killed in the morning, 

 were, as a rule, cither entirely empty, or but par- 

 'i illy distended with food, well macerated; while 

 those killed in the latter part of the day were as 

 uniformly filled with food freshly taken. 



.Id. From the almost daily examination of their 

 gizzards, from the early part of March to the lirsl 

 of May, not a particle of vegetable matter was 

 found in the giiunrd of o single bird. On the con- 

 trary, insects in greot variety, both as to numb, i 

 and kind, as well as in every variety of condition 

 as to growth and development, were the sole food. 



But nine-tenths of the aggregate mass of food 

 thus collected during this period consisted of one 

 kind of larva, which through the aid of Baron Osten- 

 sucken, Secretary of the Russian Legation at Wash 

 ington, I was enabled to identify as the Bibi 

 Sibipennia, Bay, and whose history and habits, by 

 the aid of Dr. Asa Fitch, Entomologist of the New 

 Voik Stale Agricultural Society, T was enabled to 

 make out quite satisfactorily. From one to tw 



ii single gizzard, all in fie-li, mmiacerutcd coudi 

 tion; nnd usually, when this larva wus found, it 

 was the only food in the stomach. 



4th. During the month of May, the Ilibio larva 

 entiiely disappeared from the ^i/7iirds, but, up tc 

 the 21st of June, was replaced by a variety of in- 

 sects or worms only, including spiders, caterpil- 

 lars and beetles of the family Klatei idie, the parents 

 of the well-known wire-worms, so destructive 

 corn and various other seeds when committed 

 the ground. The enrth-worm I found to be 

 favorite food for the young hud, hut ^.nnuglv e 

 ployed by the adult for its own use. 



5th, From the date of dune 21st, I began to find 

 strawberries, cherries nnd pulpy fruit gene 

 but in a majority of the examinations intermingled 

 with insects, which led me to conclude that they 

 were not fond of an exclusively vegetable diet, bin 

 rathe r adi .i.led it as a dessert, and from the case o 

 procuring it, particularly during the enervntiii)] 

 season of moulting. At this season of the year, I 

 discovered a marked difference in the food of the 

 birds killed near or in the village and th.,-, kill, d 

 in the country nl n distance from gardens nnd fruit 



elude that the robin is not au extensive forager. 



Gth. The mixed diet of the robin seems to con- 

 tinue from the ripening of the strawberries and 

 cherries to October, the vegetable portion consist- 

 ing during August and .September, iu great part of 

 elderberries (Satnbucus canadensis! and pokeber- 

 ries (Phytolacca decandra.) 



7th. During the month of October the vegetable 

 diet is wholly discarded, and its place supplied l.y 

 grasshoppers and ortboptcrous insects generally, 



8th. Early ill November the robin migrate* flauth ■ 

 ward— the few remaining eking out a miserable 

 existence during the winter months, on hay berries, 

 (Myrica ccrifern,) privet berries (Ligustrum vul- 

 and juniper her lies i .liuiipenis communis. I 



Ion. A. B. DtcKissox, of Steuben Co., this 

 State, furnishes the New York Tribune with the 

 following mode of preventing the potato rot:— 

 " Cut each potato so as to leave but two eyes on 

 each piece, and make that piece as thin as is prac- 

 c without injuring the chit or set. If you 

 plant in drills, put these pieces twelve inches apart . 

 f in hills, put three in a hill. Of course, the core 

 if the potato— three-fourths of its bulk, if a large 

 me — is left to be eaten or otherwise disposed of, 

 ty this mode the seed goes far, and, should it 

 Itempt lo rot, it can do comparatively little Ion iu. 

 t large, whole potato will send up larger nnd more 

 igorous stalks, but will give no ampler vield. As 

 i further preventive against rot, Mr. D. gives bis 

 potato and most olber seeds a thin coaling of tar, 

 applied as follows :— Pour a pint of tor into ten gal- 

 lons of boiling water, and stir till thoroughly dis- 

 solved. Soak five bushels of potato seed, cut as 

 ,1 ready indicated, in this tar-water. Now roll in 

 duster, taking up as much of it as possible, and 

 your seed is ready for planting." 



^gritttlturnl illisccllnnn. 



i tilr> «lnJ»-for»oniod 



A 



i . Hill roving, and that "IW Winter of 



Ii nol ret "made glorlou Bammex," 



nor Boring, and that we mull wall pancnilj, we mist 



aol long, for bright snnaMne and a balmy atniMphem. 



Slick Ur.— Ye*, that's tho phrajo— «Ke* vp tho 

 whole premise*. Now'* the time to clean Dp about the 



door van), and all Die other yards,— flelda, foneeo, build- 

 ings, and co forth. After "slicking up" tiling once, 

 onlj f.-el avast deal belter, ni sve an 



last I., i.rp things »to rlgaW* A little time i labor 



ii and If jou, Mr. Uusband 



- ■ anything of jour r„o,il. i,,„l .,,.!, i„ 



Estimated product for 1868. 1859. 



i.i n 





n.,ln replying, through tl 



radon In the .sut<- of [Ulnots, and will, in May 

 be prepared to contract lot the cultivation of Dams, 

 E prairie, and »upplj machines to purchasers." 



lib In plowing l.j -: 



Jea a ituptndous humbug. Let up wait and sec 



time and eenlui wlB accomplish. 



g model or a potato digger recently patent! 



1 by Mr. 



oniiRT Wives, of this county, which appears 





long-sought desideratum. Tho machine i 





igolj tested hist season, heforo application w 





r a patent, and is said to mini Its design ad 



ulrnbly. 







As Exnmm FAtiura.-It la said that 



Jacob 



ntAW», of Itockford, III., went to that Slate tw 





jr» ago, a poor man, and has by Industry n. 





reance become one of the moil wealthy and 



proml- 



1 mare, and the gray savage par 

 my, who had been regularly Uiro' 



o be shod. It wo* full twenty ralonl 



■ ■■ 

 linoog the mi 

 lighted will. i 



