174 
CLEARING FOREST LANDS.—THE GEORGIA TARLE-PEA. 
they are so spiritless and inanimate, as to allow 
in most cases the lasso to be placed around their 
necks without the necessity of a chase. 
J. H. Lyman. 
Buffalo, February 3d, 1844. 
CLEARING FOREST LANDS. 
In southwestern Ohio and Indiana, a large pro¬ 
portion of the uplands are timbered principally with 
beech, interspersed with oak, hickory, poplar,sugar- 
tree, ash, elm, maple,&c., and as you have observed 
the forests are dense, the timber tall, and generally 
heavy. Our method of clearing is this. In July 
and August, girdle everything in the forest great 
and small, reserving the rail and such other timber 
as you wish to preserve; girdle all the under-growth 
that you can well, (as it sprouts less when girdled 
than when slashed ;) slash the balance and let it 
stand four or five years; as the timber begins to 
die, it should be sown with grass-seed of some 
kind, as it prevents the growth of briers, weeds, 
and bushes; besides, if fenced in, it affords consid¬ 
erable pasture. Those unacquainted with these 
deadenings would object to pasturing them, on ac¬ 
count of the danger of having the animals killed 
and crippled by the falling of timber; but it. is 
very seldom an animal is lost or crippled in that 
way, provided open spaces are made, to which 
they can retreat in case of storms and high winds. 
I have frequently noticed, even before there was 
much appearance of the coming storm, that the 
stock would retreat to an opening, or live tim¬ 
ber ; nevertheless, had I an animal of more than 
ordinary value, I would avoid pasturing it in a 
deadening. When a forest has been deadened 
four or five years, all the roots and limbs will have 
rotted, and much of the timber have blown down; 
then cut down the balance, nigger off the logs to 
suitable lengths for rolling, by piling chunks and 
small logs across them; during this operation, by 
attention to throwing up the small trash a great 
part will burn up entire. Then go in with a team 
and two or three men, heap up the balance, and 
fire it, and if you take a dry time for it, the work 
is soon completed by another burning. Now go 
over it and grub the green bushes, and your land 
is in complete order for a crop. 
The expense of deadening here is 50 cents per 
acre; clearing off, from $3,00 to $4,50 per acre. 
A deadening ought not to stand over five years, 
and is generally in good condition for clearing up 
in four; if left too long, the second growth makes 
heavy grubbing; and further, it is the opinion of 
many of the most experienced and observing men 
we have in the country, that land cleared in this 
manner will ever remain lighter, warmer, and 
more productive; and is less affected by drought 
and wet, than lands cleared of all the timber while 
green. They refer to beech lands or where beech 
predominates; although all kinds of timber is gen¬ 
erally deadened before clearing; if white-oak, the 
small growth is cut out and the large trees are left 
standing. 
The sun must produce a powerful effect upon a 
soil stripped of the dense forest at once, and turned 
up by the plow to the scorching rays of the sun, 
where, perhaps, it has not been exposed for cen¬ 
turies. By the deadening system the sun’s rays 
are let in gradually, not on the naked soil, for the 
carpet of leaves protect it; the roots and limbs 
rot in and on the soil, and form a fine vegetable 
mould, and the phosphates (in which Liebig says 
the beech is particularly rich) are all returned to 
the soil, which renders it lively, warm, and mel¬ 
low. 
We have ridges or belts of table-land, lying 
high and fiat between water-courses, timbered prim 
cipally with beech, that are partially covered with 
surface-water; the roots are all apparently on the 
top of the ground, the soil cold and heavy, which, 
if the timber is cleared off while green, are of 
little value for grain or grass. But if deadened 
and sowed to grass, (the red-top, agrostis strict a, 
of Muhlenburgh, grows well on wet lands,) and as 
the timber dies and falls,it is cleared up, and the land 
suffered to remain in grass for ten or twelve years, 
it becomes quite valuable. By this time the roots 
and stumps will all be out of the way ; now har¬ 
row it well with a heavy harrow, sow red-clover, 
strike out some water-furrows with a plow to 
drain off the surface-water in wet weather, and 
the clover will take well generally. When the 
clover is in its greatest perfection, turn it under 
with the plow ; and if lime can be had at a mod¬ 
erate price, give the land a top-dressing. This 
will prove highly beneficial in assisting to decom¬ 
pose the vegetable matter in the soil, correcting 
any acidity remaining in it, and warming and pul¬ 
verizing the ground. The land now is well pre¬ 
pared for good crops of wheat, oats, and corn ; and 
with a proper rotation of crops, clover and manure, 
it will ever remain productive. But I would pre¬ 
fer never plowing such lands; I think it better to 
let them remain permanently in grass, occasionally 
scarifying the surface, sowing fresh grass-seed, 
and top-dresssing with manure. 
E. Carpenter. 
Brier Batch Cottage, Warren Co., Ohio, \ 
March 22, 1844. j 
We shall be pleased to receive the article on 
Woodland Pastures spoken of in a private note by 
Mr. Carpenter, and are quite obliged by his good 
wishes. 
THE GEORGIA TABLE-PEA. 
I have an excellent kind of table-pea, and if I 
knew you were fond of them, and had none of this 
variety, I would send you some, as I think they 
are so early, that they would produce finely even 
in your cold climate. You would probably call 
them a field-pea, as they have a leaf similar to the 
cow-pea of the south. They grow in bunches 
like bunch or bush-beans, and are planted at the 
same time, and in the same manner, and ripen 
nearly as soon. They require no sticking, as the 
vine does not run. We can make two or three 
crops a year of them here. The pod is 6 to 7 in¬ 
ches long and crowded with the peas, which are 
perfectly round and white. They are excellent for 
cooking, either green or dry, but are best when 
beginning to turn. They are said to be the bess 
