236 
THE COW-PEA AND PEACH. 
Our farmers have from 50 to 500 acres under | 
what they call cultivation. Still they are in debt, 
and in many cases the more they possess the 
worse they are off. Their land is scattered far 
and near. Two acres here, and ten there, instead 
of being compact together. In this manner, more 
time is often lost in going from one lot to another, 
in building the fences of other people, and keep¬ 
ing out their cattle, than the whole income of the 
land amounts to. I have myself lost more time 
in this way in a single year, than it would take to 
keep ten acres in the finest condition. 
What is the remedy ? Sell half of your land and 
spend the proceeds of it on the remainder, and thus 
make what you have yield a liberal income. This 
may appear to those who have always “followed 
in the footsteps of their forefathers,” of adding 
field to field to their farms, as- the height of folly, 
but I am confident it will be their salvation. There 
is a good old adage, one that should be remembered 
by farmers as well as others, “ Never attempt too 
much.’? Depend upon it, there is no course so 
suicidal as that of owning and attempting to cul¬ 
tivate 200 acres, when you can hardly do justice to 
100. Suppose, for instance, a man has 50 acres of 
naturally good land, and he has but a certain 
amount of manure, time, &c., to use in its cultiva¬ 
tion, which is not enough to keep it in heart, or 
pay that attention to rotation of crops, which it re¬ 
quires, is it not evident that the land, the owner, 
or whoever is connected with it, must suffer ? 
would not all intelligent persons condemn such a 
course ? yet how many such instances are to be seen 
all around us! I believe it would be for the in¬ 
terest of many farmers, even to give away a por¬ 
tion of their land, rather than have so much in 
their care. Self interest tells us, it is the true pol¬ 
icy of such a man to sell what he can not properly 
use, for he would gain time to devote to the re¬ 
mainder, money to purchase all that it required, 
his crops would yield in double ratio, his land in¬ 
crease in value as it increased in fertility, and thus 
he would be in every way benefited. 
I have seen acres of the best land, overrun with 
daisies, burdocks, thistles, mulleins, and other nox¬ 
ious plants, that root out the grass, and eat up the 
life of the soil, without affording nourishment to 
man or beast, which might by a little attention 
yield a rich harvest. But the farmer has no time 
to attend to it, and the land becomes worse than 
useless; for it is self-evident that land must either 
increase in fertility, or decrease in value—there is 
no middle way—it must afford a profit or be an ex¬ 
pense. 
Look again at the swamp and meadow lands, 
with which our country abounds that are now 
worthless, and causing sickness and death in their 
vicinity. All these might be reclaimed and made 
the most productive land, by a small outlay of 
time and capital; the owners have neither, because 
they have too much land already calling for their 
attention. The muck contained in these places, 
can be made to pay better interest than bank stock. 
Yea, if properly used, it may be the farmer’s mine 
of wealth. 
This leads me to inquire how are our lands rightly 
to be cultivated ? I reply by using the experience j 
Jand directions of those who have studied the 
chemical formation of soils, and the effect differ¬ 
ent manures have on different soils. Much time 
is lost, and land injured, by the farmer not know¬ 
ing the relative value of his manure, and the theory 
of rotation of crops, which might be saved by the 
expenditure of a little time and money in procur¬ 
ing and reading agricultural papers and books. 
There is too much of the saving a cent, and los¬ 
ing a dollar economy in this age. When the time 
shall have arrived that men will be willing to 
study the theory and practice of farming in all its 
details, then shall we see agricultural pursuits el¬ 
evated to a proper standing and yielding a profit 
that shall rejoice the hearts of all. 
C. Casse. 
Orange County , N. Y . 
THE COW-PEA AND PEACH. 
Our friend, Mr. Affleck, on page 181 of current 
volume of the Agriculturist, in making some re¬ 
marks on the cow-pea, says, in speaking of cul¬ 
ture, &c., “ It has already been discussed in all 
its bearings, but has been but little tried.” Also, 
for fodder it is “ difficult to save.” As I differ from 
him on both points, and as the differencennvolves 
others, judging from the italics, and as it might 
deter farmers not conversant with the article from 
cultivating it for hay, I beg to give my notions on 
the subject. 
The cultivation of the pea, has been known to 
me practically for the last twenty-five years, and 
although no experiment similar to the one Mr. Af¬ 
fleck proposes has ever been tried within my 
knowledge, yet so many have been, that the re¬ 
sult of such trials seem plain. I can not call to 
mind where, but I think in the Southern Agricul¬ 
turist for 1832, or about that time, you will find a 
detail of experiments with the pea. You will also 
find in Yol. XIII. of the American Farmer, page 
212, an experiment made by the Hon. William 
Lowndes, as detailed by W. (i. Read of Baltimore. 
At all events I feel certain, that though “it has 
already been discussed in all its bearings,” yet that 
it was discussed from the deduction of tried ex¬ 
periments. 
As a food it assuredly stands high, and is dif¬ 
ficult to save if attempted as in curing other hay. 
There are two plans that will obviate the difficul¬ 
ty, viz: after cutting put them up into rail-pens 
having a floor of rails in the bottom some 6 to 12 
inches above the ground, on which place the vine 
to some 2 feet thickness, and sprinkle it with salt, 
then a floor of rails, on which put more vine and 
so on; the other is, to pack away in your shed or 
narrow house, pea-vines and oat or rye-straw, 
layer and layer about, using salt on the pea-vine. 
I have housed the pea-vine the day cut. The vine 
is not cut by cradling, nor would any one require 
to be told it were impossible, if he ever saw them 
grow ; nor would I suppose any one ever recom¬ 
mended it, unless writing of one thing and think¬ 
ing of another. But they can be cut with hoe, 
knife, scythe, or sickle, either of which I should 
greatly prefer to the two-horse harrow, or any such 
[ mode ; for this reason, that the horses would waste 
