52 
THE SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
kind of hedge plant that has succeeded satisfac- 
torily. There are a few in stances of good hedges 
being made^ but I will venture to say there is not 
one in the United States that can be imitated pro- 
fitably as to cost, time and eflBciency. If nothing 
but live fences had ever been in use, and some 
inventive genius had discovered the use of artifi- 
cial fencing and stone, he would have been con- 
sidered the benefactor of his age. For myself, 
though I have travelled much, and have exiend- 
ed my observations over fifteen of the States of 
the Union, I have never seen a good efficient 
hedge occupying the place of ordinary farna fen- 
ces. And yet the attention of farmers has been 
directed to it ever since the country was settled ; 
the oldest American writers recommend them ; 
seeds were imported to plant them a century ago ; 
and all these efforts have been continued to the 
present day with increased force each year. And 
yet there is not, so far as I know, a single farm 
in the United States protected by hedges, in all 
its parts, or in any considerable portion of them. 
The economical farmer, therefore, will look to 
some other mode of fencing for protection ; and, 
as said above, that which his land affords most 
plentifully and most easily of access, is the cheap- 
est and best for him. 
I must not omit a few words more upon deep 
plowing. I know it is the general opinion that 
we must not plow so deep as to turn up the 
hard pan" of the clay, or the white gravel, &c. 
&c. I am very certain this is a great popular er- 
ror. If we had a plow that would turn up the 
earth two feet deep, I do not care what the sub- 
soil may be, in five years the fertile soil would be 
two feet deep. I admit, that generally a very 
stinted crop would be produced for the first two 
sr three seasons; but I also assert, that the third 
or fourth and all subsequent seasons, will pay 
not only for all thedeficienci'’s of the first two or 
three, but an hundred fold interest. Wherever 
a deep working plow has been used, the drouths 
of a dry season are not felt. The roots of plants 
pass deeply into the earth, and the burning suns 
and parching winds pass over them harmlessly. 
The subsoil plow is a good thing. It enables 
the farmer to avail himself of most of the advan- 
tages of deep plowing without any sacrifice of 
the first and second season’s crop ; but then it 
does not turnup this subsoil^it merely loosens 
it, enabling the roots to pass deeply. The roots, 
however, get no other advantage in this deep 
rooting, than that of protection from drouth; 
they get no nourishment in those depths. The 
protection from drouth, however, is an impor- 
tant consideration, and should always be availed 
off But I would seek this advantage always 
when I could by the use of the deep plow, even 
at the sacrifice of a portion or even all the first 
two or three crops. 
The saving of manure is the next, and though 
last here, not the least important matter for con- 
sideration, Every. thing of a vegetabL' or ani- 
mal kind, useless for other purposes, on a farm, 
should be gathered aad saved for manure. A 
convenient compost yard and pit should be pro- 
vided. The dung from the stables, the weeds 
from the fields, the chaff and offal straw, corn- 
stalks, &c., the kitchen waters, contents qfeham^ 
bers, and all of such things, should be cast into 
the pit. The pit should be so situated that the 
drainings of urine, &g., from the stables should 
pass into it. A shed should be built over it to 
protect it from rains, and the effects of the sun’s 
rays. Plaster, of Paris should be sown over the 
surface cf the manure pit once a week during 
warm weather, to catch and fix the volatile am- 
monia that will be cont.nually passing off. If 
such a thing as a leisure day happen, (which, by 
the way, I do not see how a good farmer can ever 
feaye even a leisure moment,) the leaves from the 
•woods may be profitably gathered and thrown 
into .the pit. Twice a year, say in April and Oc^- 
tober, the contents of the pit should be taken 
out, thoro.ughiy mixed and piled up to digest for 
a week or even a month. In forming the piles, 
if you have any swamp mud or bog earth, you 
may very properly add two or three loads of this 
to each load of the ccutents of the pit, taking 
care to mix them well. After the pile has stood 
a sufficient length of tims, the compost may be 
carried out and spread oyer the land, either as a 
top dressing, or to be plowed in before seeding. 
These are my views of • the improvement of 
.worn out and all other land. I submit them with 
.great deference to the farmers of my country. 
- huuld they disagree with me in any ,o,r all par- 
ticulars, I trust they will attribute rny errors to 
at least good motives. I desire to do some good 
in my day, and the agricultural interest is. above 
all others, most worthy of my efforts, in my opin- 
ion. It certainly has my best affections and wishes. 
Baltimore, Nov., 1844. Gideon B. Smith. 
Frum the CambridgeXMd.> Chconicle. 
On the Culture of Indian Corn. 
[From a paper read before Dorchester Farmers’ Club ] 
The question of the best method of culture of 
Indian corn, is one .of primary importance; and 
reports of the various experiments that have re- 
sulted favorably, may tend to settle the interest- 
ing problem. 
The partial practice of my method “ by late 
fall or winter plowing” and “drill planting,” lor 
more than fifteen years, and my exclusive'adop- 
tion of it lor half that period, and the obvious 
reasons in favor ol it, have concurred to satisfy 
me, by the general results, in various kinds of 
seasons, that it is the best mode of growing that 
valuable staple of ourcoiintry— and, atihe same 
time, of sustaining or improving the soil on 
which it is grown. 
I would be understood, in my remarks, to 
confine them to lands having a due portion of 
alumina, and at least a moderate coating of 
gras.s, or vegetable matters ol any kind, on the 
surface. The method is the following: 
During the winter, or late in the fail, the field 
is plowed under a true and well turned furrow’, 
sufiicienily deep to avoid re-turning the sward 
in the subsequent work; (the accuracy of this 
operation will have considerable influence on 
the eventual management and success of the 
method;) if well done, there will be but little 
occasion tor hog labor, to clear away the grass, 
asbut little will vegetate from ifie inverted sw'ard. 
In this state, the whole will remain till the 
season for planting, when a light plow is skim- 
med over the surface in the direction of the first 
furrow. The “ corn planter’Tsthen introduced, 
which furrows, drops, covers, rakes and rolls 
the corn, in one operation ; or, it may be done, 
though more tediously, without this instrument’. 
The lines in which the grains are dropped, 
are four feet apart; the grain in the lines, about 
twenty-four inches, and two plants lelt. 
When the corn is sufficiently large, a light 
double-furrowing, single-horse plow is run as 
near to the plant as possible, throwing the earth 
from it, and as soon as convenient, the earth is 
returned to it. This is the whole of my plow'- 
ing — then follows the cultivator, as shallow and 
lightly as possible, to keep the surface at all 
times friable and open to the free access of sun 
and air, and not omitting the roller w’henever 
necessary lor fine pulverization, which is in all 
cases essential to good culture. The drier the 
season, the more the cultivator is used. The 
hoe is but little required in ordinary seasons for 
the grass- and nev.er, ip any season, to make 
the slightest hill— and the general cultivation is 
as level as practicable. 
By the free admission of the fermentative 
agents— sun and air— the inverted swmrd will 
I'urnish the soil with the soluble and nutrient 
gases. The products of its deco nposition, 
which, though volatile, will be fixed by their 
union with the moisture, alumuia and other sub- 
stances in the soil ; and this process will happen, 
chiefly, at a time to meet the peculiar demands 
of the plant, whose organic structure and vital 
powers will enable it to seize upon, eliminate 
and apply to its uses the nutriment thus fur- 
nished; ammonia and nitric acid, there gene- 
rated and preserved, will abound in the soil ; 
and in tact, a quasi nitre bed is formed among 
the .spongioles of the roots, which will nof only 
yield the gases it may contain, but it wdll, as is 
known to every physical inquirer, abstract from 
the atmosphere, nitrogen indefinitely, without 
which element, a deficit ol frequent occurrence, 
the grain, though it may form and ripen, yet 
will not contaia an essential constituentof food 
for animal sustenance 
By the culture contended for, the porous sur- 
face of the inverted turf is presented as a sponge 
to imbibe readily the ammonia and nitric and 
carbonic acids, held in solution by the rain and 
snow w'hich fall upon it, and become fixed as 
before explained, for the use of the present and 
future vegetation. 
Contrast this with the usual practice of 
spring and summer plowing, and cross plounng ; 
the sward iTecently turned, is ihrowm back into 
its former position; the grass is. as it were, 
re-planted for much hoc labor, as it had not re- 
mained in a condition to suffer decomposition ; 
or, so far as it had undergone this process, the 
products are wasted by exposure on the surface 
to the action of the sun and ak, and a total loss 
to the plant and soil, or nearly so, is the inevi- 
table consequence. 
By planting too, we may have more than 
double the number of plants that the usual me- 
thod allows in safety. Leaving tw'o plants at a 
point, the distances named, will make about 
ten thousand slocks to the acre, and the lines 
arranged in a north and south direction, they 
will have abundance of space for air and light. 
Practically, I have found this to be true. My 
crops have suffered from drouth less than those 
under the ordinary practice of cross plowing, 
which is manifesily to be ascribed to the con- 
tinual flow of vapours among tbe roots and 
their ascent around the plant from the ferment- 
ing mass below, promoted by the frequent use 
of the cultivator, preserving a loose, open sur- 
face, and allowing the free entrance of ihe fer- 
mentative agents, heat, air and moisture. 
Much mote, in foxt and in theory, might be 
adduced in favor of the praciice indicated, but 
my paper has already exceeded the limits de- 
signed, and I w'iil not now' extend the disenssioD. 
Feb. 12,1845. Joseph E. Muse. 
From Ihe Magazine of Horticulture. 
On the Cultivation of Lettuce so as to prQ» 
duce successive Cro^is the year through. 
As lettuce is more or less used in every fami- 
ly, the mode of obtaining it in the greatest per- 
fection, throughout the year, in regular succes- 
sion, may not be unacceptable to a portion of 
your readers. 
Lettuce is growm in considerable quantities 
for the market, and fine heads may be obtained 
nearly the winter through ; in the months of 
December and Janpary, owing to our severe 
weather, it cannot be grown as large as it can 
in the climate of England, without too much 
care and expense ; but later, when hot beds do 
not suffer from extreme frost, it may be had in 
the greatest perfertion. Notwithstanding let- 
tuce may be found in the market of such excel- 
lence, few' individuals, except market gardeners^ 
understand its cultivation during the winter, 
and on this account many gentlemen are depriv- 
ed of this desirable vesetable during that season, 
w'hen it adds so much tp th^' luxury ol tie table. 
The following remarks are the results of se- 
veral years cultivation of lettuce, both for pri- 
vate use and for the market; and it the direc- 
tions are carefully fbliow'ed others may be 
equally successful. 
Selechnn of Sorts . — There are a Dw’ leading 
points to be strictly adhered to, and which ought 
not to be oveilooked, if Igtiuce of a superior 
quality is the object of the cultivator. The ten- 
nisball, royal cape, and green curled Silesia, are 
probably the best for spring use; the imperial 
(true) is the most worthy of tfie cultivator’s 
trouble, in order to have a good .supply through 
the summer; and the green cabbage, or hardy 
hammersmith, foi the winter crop, it is of the 
greatest importance to obtain the seed true to 
the name, and not hybridized ; what makes the 
careful selection of the seed of so much conse- 
quence is, that all the care and labor bestowed 
on the culture ol these plants, if raised from 
spurious seed, approaches very nearly to labor 
lost. It is well known, although not so uni- 
versally as could be w'ished, that a great por- 
tion of the varieties ennmerated in the cata- 
logues are not woilh growing jn this climate; 
the c,os lettuce, so much qultivgLed in Englan4, 
