Agriculture is Ike most healthful, the most useful, and the most noble employment of man .— Washington 
VOL. V. NEW YORK, MARCH, 1846. NO. ill. 
A. B. Allen, Editor. 
Saxton & Miles, Publishers, 205 Broadway. 
TO AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 
It will be recollected that one of our correspond¬ 
ents in volume 4, page 376, proposed that we should 
offer the paper to Agricultural Societies, when dis¬ 
tributed among its members, at the low rate of 
FIFTY CENTS a year per copy. With a view of 
aiding all such in the good work in which they are 
engaged, ansi to encourage the farmers to become 
members, the publishers immediately acceded to the 
proposition, and, in addition, have since offered the 
volumes handsomely and uniformly bound for 
SEVENTY-FIVE cents per copy. We hope that 
these very liberal deductions from regular prices, 
will be met with a corresponding spirit, and that 
they may not only be the means of increasing the 
number of members to these Societies, but ensure a 
preference among them for the American Agricul¬ 
turist. The great benefit that would arise from the 
dissemination of such a work as this among the 
people must be apparent to all. Some Societies 
have not only taken a large number of copies 
already, but, in addition to this, have employed 
agents to go around among the farmers to form 
clubs and deliver lectures. This course has again 
been marked with success, and finds much favor 
when properly carried into effect. Would that we 
vould see a hundred thousand copies of our periodi¬ 
cal distributed among the rural population, and faith¬ 
fully read, although we should not make a single cent 
by it. There would be a great reform then in 
many places, and an amount of good done for the 
farming community that could scarcely be calcu¬ 
lated. We earnestly entreat attention to this subject 
among all interested in agriculture. 
Since the commencement of the present volume, 
our paper has materially increased in its circulation, 
and we have no doubt that several thousand new 
subscribers will be added to the old list before the 
close of the year. But we will not anticipate too 
much, knowing how hard it is to get the farmer and 
planter to support what is for their best interests. 
How important that their minds be open to convic¬ 
tion ; yet we cannot expect to see this done till a 
general course of agricultural education is introduced 
into the district schools. This would make an 
effectual revolution. 
Subscribers will please remit direct to the pub 
lishers, Saxton & Miles, 205 Broadway; and not to 
the editor, A. B. Allen, 187 Water Street. Enclose 
the money in preference to Post-office orders, as 
these are very troublesome to collect. The former 
may be done at the risk of the publishers. 
EARLY PLOWING. 
Perhaps some of our readers may think that an 
article on plowing in the month of March is 
rather out of place. This depends entirely upon 
the climate and season. Sometimes we have a 
warm spell of weather in which plowing may be 
performed, even in the northern States ; but plow¬ 
ing is always going on more or less during this 
month in the southern States. To those who 
cultivate clay lands, which they neglected to 
plow last autumn, we would say, take the first op¬ 
portunity when the frost is out to plow such land, 
and be sure to plow it deep, and be careful to lead 
off all the surface water by running furrows in 
different directions before you begin to plow. An¬ 
other caution, don’t work either your men or your 
team in rainy weather, neither after a rain until the 
ground is sufficiently dried not to make mortar in. 
the furrows by the tread of the team. The object 
of this timely plowing is, that the land may if pos¬ 
sible have a chance at the frost before sowing or 
planting. The mechanical effect of the frost upon 
the land thus turned up and exposed, is to make a stiff 
