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THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



tion. When these great writers, however, 

 entered the list as regular contributors to the 

 newspapers, and were followed by Bolingbroke, 

 and in a later age by Junius, the public press 

 at once took a lofty position, and one which 

 it has since maintained, and even increased. 

 In England, however, to this day, the news- 

 paper has less influence than in either France 

 or the United States. In the free country it 

 is really the great parliament of the nation, 

 where all important subjects are discussed, 

 and virtually decided. Congress is, in fact, 

 but the formal mouth-piece of the press, or, to 

 speak more definitely, of the people controlled 

 by the press. The day will come when to be 

 a member of this fraternity will be a higher 

 honor than to be a legislator, and it is even 

 now a more influential position. Long live 

 the press. — Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. 



A PERMANENT PASTURE. 



"We have been asked, " What grass seeds 

 we would sow to form a permanent pasture, 

 and in what quantities per acre V Our reply 

 is: In the first place, we would sow in the 

 month of August, after having first manured 

 the land well, ploughed it deeply, harrowed 

 and roiled it thoroughly, so as to bring it into 

 the finest possible tilth, ten pounds of timothy 

 seed, half bushel Kentucky blue grass seed, 

 one peck red top grass seed, one bushel of 

 orchard grass seed, half bushel of perennial 

 rye grass seed, and one quart sweet scented 

 vernal grass seed. 



The above grass seeds to be thoroughly 

 mixed together before being sown, and, when 

 sown, to be lightly harrowed in, and rolled. 



If the ground had not been recently limed, 

 in the course of the winter, when the ground 

 was sufficiently hard from frost to bear the 

 team without injury, we would haul on and 

 spread fifty bushels of lime, or one hundred of 

 marl per acre. 



In the succeeding spring, when the frost 

 was fylly out of the ground, we would sow on 

 each acre eight pounds red clover seed, and 

 roll that in, so as to'eover it, and consolidate 

 the ground. A pasture thus formed, should 

 be permitted to remain for the first year un- 

 grazed and untouched by the scythe. If thus 

 managed, it would forma permanent pasture — 

 one which would last for a lifetime— of the 

 most luxuriant character; provided every se- 

 cond year it was treated to a top-dressing, in 

 which a bushel of salt to the acre formed one 

 of the elements. Whenever top-dressed, the 

 pasture should be harrowed and rolled. He 

 who forms such a pasture will have done an 

 act of justice to his stock, obeyed the prompt- 

 ings of humanity, set an example to his neigh- 

 bors, and cannot fail to put money in his 

 pocket.— American Farmer. 



CORN AND POTATOES. 



The idea advanced by some that potatoes 

 planted in rows alternating with corn, would 

 prevent the potato rot, induced many last year 

 to try the experiment. As the potato disease 

 did not prevail so extensively during the last 

 season as usual, the results of the experiment 

 in this respect are not so definitely ascertained 

 as we could wish. 



It has also been believed, by some, that there 

 is a better mode of raising these two crops 

 than by planting them separately. 



We have been reminded of this idea by 

 reading the address delivered by Mr. Newhall 

 before the Essex County Agricultural Society, 

 at their last Cattle Show. We find that he 

 advances the same idea, and brings forward 

 some facts corroborating it. Premiums had 

 some years ago been offered by that Society 

 for mixed crops of corn, beans, potatoes, &c. 

 Mr. Newhall says: "But one premium had 

 been claimed, which was for corn and potatoes 

 planted in alternate rows; the experiment 

 made at the time, by measurement of land 

 and produce, showed that the mixed crop 

 yielded some nineteen per cent, more than 

 that planted separately. The corn and pota- 

 toes planted in this way were mutual helps to 

 each other, the potatoes shading the roots of 

 the corn and protecting it from the effects of 

 drought, and the corn in the months of July 

 and August screening the potatoes from the 

 rays of the sun. The crops planted in this 

 way, adding the value of potatoes in corn, 

 yielding from eighty to one hundred bushels 

 per acre." 



Mr. Newhall quotes a remark of Lorain on 

 this subject, who says that he "frequently 

 planted Indian corn in single rows, eight feet 

 asunder, and dropped single corn two feet dis- 

 tant from each other in the rows, so as to stand 

 in single plants. When the corn was ridged, 

 potatoes were planted in the clearing out fur- 

 rows which were filled with rotted dung, and 

 closed by two furrows backed over the pota- 

 toes by the plough. I have had repeatedly 

 forty bushels of shelled corn, and one hundred 

 and fifty bushels of potatoes to the acre. In 

 weight the corn always exceeded the best corn 

 cultivated in the common way. The mode 

 was suggested to me by General Washington, 

 who told me that he had great success in it." 



It is also probable that another reason why 

 these two crops are better(taking itfor granted 

 that there is no fallacy in the above named 

 experiments) is this: The air can circulate 

 freely through them and the sun also have its 

 genial effect, while the mutual shade which 

 one crop gives to the other, tempers its rays 

 and prevents any excess of heat which would 

 be injurious; in other words, the temperature 

 is more uniform. 



This experiment is so easily tried, that we 

 hope it will be more generally instituted next 

 summer, and its results noted. — Maine Farmer. 



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