412 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



where I turned under the oats and broom-corn, 

 I left without any manure to test more fully 

 the experiment. The wheat on the land where 

 I took off the oat crop and applied no manure, 

 was poor, but if any difference, that where the 

 two green crops — oats and broom -corn — were 

 turned under the wheat was poorer, nor have I 

 perceived any benefit resulting from those green 

 crops since, and I have had two crops of grass, 

 two of corn, one of oats, and two of wheat, 

 since I tried the experiment." 



Examples might be multiplied, but these are 

 sufficient. To account for such results it has 

 been suggested that the mass of green herbage 

 produces acetic acid, which is injurious to grow- 

 ing plants. It has also been suggested that 

 alkalies, applied to the soil in connection with 

 the green crops, would neutralize the acid or 

 prevent its formation. Have any trials been 

 made in reference to this point? 



It has been conjectured that on limestone 

 soils these acids would not be formed ; but the 

 lime in such soils is in a state of carbonate and 

 is mild ; it only becomes alkaline or caustic by 

 burning! a*nd preserves that quality no longer 

 than it is protected from air. It will be noticed 

 that the New Jersey farmer, in one of the ex- 

 periments above noticed, applied 30 loads of 

 " calcareous earth" to the acre, with no appa- 

 rent effect as regards the action of the green 

 oats and broom corn. 



It is, perhaps, probable that clover may be 

 less inclined to produce the acid before spoken 

 of, than grass, oats, and Indian corn ; yet the 

 effect alluded to are not altogether unknown 

 where clover has been ploughed in. Farmers 

 who are in the practice of turning in this crop, 

 therefore, deem it best to allow it to^mature and 

 dry to a considerable degree, thus avoiding the 

 consequences which the decomposition of a large 

 quantity of sap is believed to produce. 



The advantages of turning' in crops depend 

 somewhat on the mechanical condition of the 

 soil. Tenacious soils are rendered .more friable 

 by the admixture of vegetable matter. Light 

 soils are already too light, and though they are 

 deficient in organic -matter, it is desirable to 

 apply it in such form as will not increase their 

 lightness. Even tenacious soils are sometimes 

 made too loose for the wheat crop by ploughing 

 in clover — wheat requiring a soil of considera- 

 ble firmness. 



The effect of turning in crops, so far as re- 

 lates to the improvement of the fertility of the 

 soil, must depend something on the kind of crop 

 used for this purpose. Some plants have the 

 power of drawing more of their support from 

 the air than others. Leguminous plants — clo- 

 ver for example — have this power in a greater 

 degree than the gramineous — as oats or any 

 other kind of grain or grass. It is no less sin- 

 gular than fortunate, that the former contain 

 nitrogen in a greater degree than the latter. 

 The grains, not being able to obtain their sup- 

 ply of nitrogen from the atmosphere, it must 



be contained in the soil to bring them to per" 

 fection. Their growth and application to the 

 soil cannot, therefore, increase the amount of 

 nitrogen. The rapid destruction of this ele- 

 ment, which is caused by grain crops, has been 

 clearly proved by the experiments of Lawes. — 

 But the result may be widely different in the 

 production of crops which, like clover, peas, 

 beans, &c, can draw more of their constituents 

 from the atmosphere. — Boston Cultivator. 



From the New England Farmer. 



Small Farms vs. Large F.arms. 



Much is said in praise of small farms, and 

 much is said against large farms. Agricultu- 

 ral writers seem to vie with each other in praise 

 of the one, and denouncing the other. I wish 

 those writers would tell us what a small farm 

 is, whether 10, 20, 30, 50, or 100 acres. 



It looks very nice on paper, to talk about a 

 snug little cottage, a nice little garden, and a 

 little farm, one or two cows and a horse, and no 

 trouble of hired help. In practice it is a very 

 different thing. I should like to see the first 

 contented man who had to farm for a living in 

 that situation ; the first one that did not want a 

 little more land. 



If a man is going to gardening, and lives near 

 a market, 5 or 10 acres will do,— but if a man 

 is going to farming, let him have a farm from 

 100 to 500 acres, one that he does not have to 

 sell off his stock in a dry year, or buy the corn 

 for his own bread. That is the case back iu 

 the country frequently with the small farmers. 

 I will give you some of the inconveniences of 

 small farming, as I have been there, and know 

 them well. 



You cannot keep a team, but must be depen- 

 dent on your neighbors to do your ox work, and 

 they will do it when they can attend to it, or 

 ■when they have got theirs done. At many 

 kinds of work, one hand works to great disad- 

 vantage, such as haying, digging stones, laying 

 heavy walls, plowing, &c. The buildings on a 

 small farm must be nearly as costly as those on 

 a large farm, to make you comfortable. The 

 cost of a small farm is almost all buildings. 

 But the worst of all is, you have nothing to sell, 

 or nothing comparatively. I am not speaking 

 of gardening, but of farming, of raising corn, 

 potatoes, oats, wheat, rye, hay, dairy stock, &c. 

 If 40 acres will support a family in a house 

 worth 10 to $1500 dollars, then 80 acres will 

 support 2 families, with the 10 per cent, inter- 

 est on the cost of the buildings, and 160 acres 

 will support 4 families with from 3 to 500 dol- 

 lars, saving on interest and repairs on buildings 

 yearly. 



Every other branch of business can be done 

 best and cheapest on a large scale. Great fac- 

 tories, great ships, great machine shops ; but 

 little farms is the talk. I said I had been there. 

 I commenced farming on a little farm about 20 

 acres, say 6 in mowing and tillage, 5 in wood- 



