72 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
Agriculturist 
New-York, Wednesday, April 12, 1854. 
Our Paper of this week contains nearly thirty 
agricultural articles, about a dozen of which are 
editorials. It will also be seen that the greater 
portion of these are adapted to the season. The 
present number is a fair sample of what may be 
expected weekly. This is only the fifth num¬ 
ber of the present volume, and we believe many 
of our readers think, as some have already said 
to us, “ that they have received a dollar’s worth 
in the first four numbers.” Please, then do a 
little favor for your neighbor as well as for us, 
by acting as a voluntary agent in extending the 
circulation. Our friends have done nobly for 
us thus far, but we hope they will not cease 
their efforts. We arc expending a very large 
sum annually on the Agriculturist , and it is to 
the little sums of one dollar and two dollars that 
we look for the means of meeting this outlay. 
We are quite sure we shall receive more than 
this, if you, and you, reader, will do what you 
conveniently can for us. 
. »-• «— | — 
“PENNY WISE AND POUND FOOLISH.” 
NOT A FANCY SKETCH. 
"We know a farmer who pays $200 every 
spring for four tons of Peruvian guano, while 
he neglects an equal amount of fertilizing mate¬ 
rials on his own farm, which he could gather 
for one-fourth of the money; and thus save an¬ 
nually at least $150, by exercising a little 
thought. 
We happened on his farm a short time since, 
and made the following notes: 
Under his poultry roost lies full a ton of first- 
rate manure, dropped by sixty to eighty fowls, 
which he keeps the year round. There is a 
bed of this several inches in depth, which is 
nearly as valuable as the best accumulations 
upon the surface of the Chincha Islands. 
The drain—into which goes all slops, includ¬ 
ing urine—opens out upon the road-side, at a 
distance from the house, where is a deep slough 
of odorous materials, of the very best character 
for applying to almost any crop, but which are 
allowed to go entirely to waste. 
He burns hard coal, but uses several cords of 
wood during a year for kindling and hastening 
fires. All the ashes, because containing cinders, 
are thrown out into a corner of the garden, and 
we estimated the unsightly heap, which had ac¬ 
cumulated for years, to contain several hundred 
bushels, one-fourth of which were wood ashes. 
Allowing only for the value of the latter, if un- 
leached by rain, we would give $25 to have 
that heap distributed over a small field of our 
own. 
The privy is placed high, with no vault under 
it, but so that the excrements can be drawn out 
with a hoe in the rear, where they are washed 
away by rains and evaporate into the air during 
decay. A quantity of muck and plaster, occa¬ 
sionally thrown with these excrements, and the 
mixed mass gathered into a dry place, or ap¬ 
plied directly to the soil where wanted, would 
give annually a dozen or more barrels of as good 
poudrette, as any sold in the market at a high 
price. 
His barn-yard is so placed, that there is a 
constant washing out upon the lower side, of a 
rich, dark liquid; and the most valuable part of 
the manure from thirty head of cattle, thus runs 
into a low spot, where it sinks away into the 
soil, or evaporates into the air. A very few 
days’ work with a plow and scraper, would 
change the bed of his yard, so that this waste 
would be entirely prevented, and this valuable 
fluid absorbed by the straw and a few loads of 
muck, which is easily procured, would be worth 
more than a hundred dollars per annum. 
The manure of five horses, is thrown from 
the stable through a side opening, and lies for 
months steaming and evaporating, and exposed 
to the water from the eaves; and not till its vir¬ 
tue is three-fourths lost, is it drawn out and 
used upon the field. A small quantity of plas¬ 
ter and muck, or plaster alone, mixed with this 
heap, as new portions are daily added, and a few 
loose boards placed over it to shed off the rain, 
would have quadrupled its value. 
At another time we will give additional notes 
from that same farm, which is not 20 miles from 
our office, and which is but a counterpart of 
thousands all over the country. The cost and 
cartage of a single ton of guano would have 
sufficed to save all the manure wasted in the 
ways we have indicated, which we could not es¬ 
timate at less than $200 or $300 per annum. 
PEA PLANTING. 
This crop may be planted -either in the fall 
or very early in the spring. But not much time 
is gained by the former process. The ground 
has been so constantly frozen throughout the 
northern portion of our country during the last 
half of March, that the vegetation of seeds was 
impossible. But now, that the birds begin to 
sing merrily, and the wild geese arc wending 
their way to their summer quarters, no time is 
to be lost in putting in this crop. 
The best four early peas that we have tried, 
are the Extra Early May, Early June, Prince 
Albert, and Early Emperor. About a week 
later is the Champion of England, which is the 
sweetest, and most prolific pea we have tested, 
either early or late. 
The early peas do not have so strong vines as 
the Marrowfats, and need not be planted so far 
apart, and do not require so high brush. We 
usually plant them in double drilled ro .vs, the 
drills ten inches apart, and the rows four feet. 
The pea is one of the lime plants, its straw 
showing a large per cent, of that constituent. 
Maximum crops can only be grown in common 
garden soils, by the application of lime, in some 
form. The best crop of peas we ever raised, 
was with home-made super-phosphate of lime. 
The growth of vines was large, the pods thick 
set, and well filled, and the peas of very fine 
flavor. 
The comparative merits of deep and shallow 
planting is still a question among gai'deners. 
Some plant a foot deep, especially in fall and 
early spring, and claim that the peas do not dry 
up so quick, and bear much longer. We never 
plant more than an inch deep, considering that 
the main advantage of deep planting is the 
loosening of the soil. We trench very thor¬ 
oughly, and have never had reason to suspect 
that the roots of the pea did not penetrate down¬ 
ward, wherever they could find the way. 
This is a very profitable crop in the vicinity 
of cities and villages. Immense quantities are 
brought to this city from the south, and distri¬ 
buted through the cities and villages of New- 
England, long after the season of peas in our cli¬ 
mate. Tens of thousands of dollars, every sum¬ 
mer, are paid for this article, withered and next 
to worthless, that might as well be paid to our 
neighbors for a fresh wholesome article. 
GET SPRING CROPS IN EARLY. 
There is a great advantage in sowing and 
planting early. Taking one season with ano¬ 
ther, there is less risk from frost than from dry 
weather in the latter part of spring, or the early 
part of summer. Some crops can be re-sown, 
if a chance cold, wet spring should destroy 
the first sowing. 
We sowed a field of marrowfat peas three 
weeks sooner than usual, and they came for¬ 
ward so early that we sold them green in the 
pod, for more than fifty dollars an acre over the 
expense of picking and carrying to market, and 
in addition had a moderate crop come to matu¬ 
rity. 
Early potatoes always bring a good price in 
any location. A plot of these planted as soon 
as the frost is out of the ground, will be quite 
likely to produce a little extra “change” just 
when it will be very convenient, to say nothing 
of the luxury of having early new potatoes for 
home use. Should the first planting happen to 
be destroyed, the use of the ground need not be 
lost. 
TOP-DRESS YOUR WINTER WHEAT. 
We would recommend those who have fine 
manure on hand, to give a small coating of it to 
wheat at this season, especially on land that is 
not already rich. If the manure has been well 
rotted, most of it will wash into the soil, and 
give the wheat a good start, which is important 
at this season. Guano, if at hand, will be found 
valuable for this purpose. It is better to mix it 
well with muck or finely-composted manure. 
A good plan is, to sow it just before, or during 
a gentle rain ; a very heavy rain would wash 
portions of it away. 
We would especially urge farmers to try some 
experiments at this season. These will cost 
less than a good analysis of their soils, and fur¬ 
nish more conclusive and valuable information. 
Select a few lands of wheat, and scatter over 
one of them some guano, on another ashes, on 
a third salt, on a fourth super-phosphate, on a 
fifth plaster, on a sixth lime, on a seventh nitrate 
of soda, on an eighth bone dust, on a ninth com¬ 
post manure, and on other plots put combina¬ 
tions of two or more of these. Leave undressed- 
lands between each of these; keep an account 
of the kind and amount of the fertilizers added 
to each plot; and note the apparent effects dur¬ 
ing the growth, the time of ripening, and also 
the plumpness and quality of the grain at har¬ 
vest. Similar experiments could also be made 
in planting and sowing the various other crops. 
A part, or the whole of these experiments, will 
cost but little time or expense, and will give the 
intelligent farmer much pleasure in observing 
the effects, to say nothing of the valuable in¬ 
formation that may thus be gained, for the fu¬ 
ture guidance of himself and neighbors. 
Numerous carefully-conducted experiments 
