398 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[October, 
Plowing—Fall or Spring. 
This question is discussed every year, yet re¬ 
mains more or less unsettled. We do not now 
expect to dispose of it effectually, hut simply to 
suggest a few hints worthy of consideration. 
No one can deny that fall-plowing saves time 
for doing other work in the busy season of 
Spring. Moreover, the soil is drier in Fall than 
in Spring, and so is in a better condition for 
working. He who has waited week after week 
for the spring rains to pass over and the ground 
to settle, will feel the force of this consideration. 
Again, if a piece of land is infested with 
grubs or other vermin, or with the roots of 
weeds, there is hardly a better way to subdue 
these pests than by throwing them up to the 
surface just before the winter frosts set in. 
Grasshoppers, the midge, and weevil, can not 
thrive much after turning their houses topsy¬ 
turvy in October and November. They can 
not rebuild in Winter, and many of them will 
be killed outright. For light, sandy soils, apt to 
blow about in open Winters, or those which are 
quite gravelly and porous, we question the ex¬ 
pediency of fall-plowing. But for stiff clays, 
which need the action of frost to pulverize them, 
this is the best treatment that they can receive. 
A friend in Wisconsin writes us, that in all 
his region the farmers do as much fall-plowing 
as they can, finishing up the balance in Spring. 
That then, tliey sow and harrow all together at 
the same time, and that in the Summer no one 
can see any difference between the growth and 
yieid of the several fields; at harvest time, per¬ 
haps, the spring-plowed land is more mellow 
than the fall-plowed, but the grain is worse 
lodged. A correspondent Of a western journal 
claims that for spring Wheat and barley, fall- 
plowing is much preferable. He thinks that 
spring wheat grown on fall-plowed land, yields 
a better and surer crop than winter wheat sown 
n October. “ The exposure to atmospheric in¬ 
fluences during the Winter, mellows and enrich¬ 
es the seed-bed to such a degree, that whenever 
the grain is sown, it has the elements which it 
needs at hand ready for assimilation.The 
soil newly turned up, has first to be prepared 
or mellowed, oxidized, as the chemists would 
call it, before it becomes fit to yield nourish¬ 
ment; and while this process is going on (in 
Spring,) much precious time is lost, and the 
growth of the plant is abbreviated in propor¬ 
tion, its time for tillering is cut short, and the 
yield can not be as large as when it has the 
whole length of the season which nature seems 
to have set apart as that in which the plant 
shall make stems and leaves, previous to the 
formation of the seed-vessels.” 
This certainly can be said in favor of the fall- 
plowing of sward land intended for corn. If it 
is done early in the Autumn, the sod becomes 
partially rotted before the time comes for plant¬ 
ing, and so is sooner prepared to act as a 
fertilizer for the crop, than it would have been if 
plowed in the Spring. If ever the plant wants 
the food of the decayed sod; it is early in the 
season, to give it a quick and vigorous start. 
Late planting is a frequent cause of the failure 
of crops. After they are got into the ground, a 
drouth often sets in which retards the germina¬ 
tion of the seed. We plant late, because the 
cold rains put us back, and because of the press¬ 
ure of other work. Now, if we should do 
much of our plowing in the Fall, we could take 
advantage of the first favorable weather to get 
oUr seeds in, and so gain considerable time in 
their growth. If we postpone all our plowing 
until Spring, we often do the work when the 
land is too wet: the consequence is that it be¬ 
comes lumpy and stiff-baked—a condition unfa¬ 
vorable for the growth of any crop, and from 
which the land does not fully recover in a sea¬ 
son or two. 
Three Golden Rules for Cultivators. 
They are golden because they will bring the 
gold. Read them: 1st,, Make manure; 2d, Save 
manure; 3d, Use manure. If the first two can not 
be practised, which is hardly a supposable case, 
or if they do not give sufficient results, then fol¬ 
low the Silver rule: l Buy manwe .’ 
There are several sources upon which farm¬ 
ers may draw for a home-made guano, scarcely 
inferior to the imported, or manufactured fertil¬ 
izer. They can get ammonia much cheaper in 
the home-made article, than to purchase it. The 
basis of the manufacture should be dry muck or 
peat; or if these can not be had, dry black loam 
from the surface of an old field or meadow. Put 
one or two cords of this under a shed, or in any 
dry place, and leach liquid manure through it. 
This may be slops from the chamber and kitch¬ 
en, or from the stables and yard. The loam in 
the heap will absorb all the fertilizing matter in 
the liquid manure, and the water will pass off 
into the ground. It will of course grow richer 
the more liquid manure it receives. About a 
month before it is wanted for use, stop watering 
it, and turn it over with a shovel or fork, making 
it as fine as possible. If it be turned two or 
three times it will be all the better. A handful 
of this in the hill will promote the rapid growth 
of all garden and field crops. 
With the same basis, ammonia may be furnish¬ 
ed very cheaply, by mixing night soil with the 
muck. If in a wet state, it may be mixed load 
for load, and after lying two weeks be over¬ 
hauled, and more night soil be added. If free 
from liquid the mixing in equal parts will make 
the compost sufficiently strong. Hard coal ash¬ 
es are a very good absorbent, and may be sub¬ 
stituted for a part of the muck. The excellence 
of this fertilizer will depend somewhat upon 
the thoroughness of the mingling of the parti¬ 
cles. If this be overlooked, it may in some cases 
destroy the seed, though the danger will not he 
as great as in using unmixed guano or super¬ 
phosphate in contact with the seed. 
An excellent method of saving and using this 
article in an inoffensive manner is as follows: 
The vault of the privy should not be very deep. 
When Once cleaned, throw into the bottom a 
layer (say a foot thick,) of dry peat, turf, or 
common soil. Have a heap of similar material 
nigh at hand, to be used frequently, both in 
Winter and Summer. This should be kept un¬ 
der cover, and should be so convenient that there 
will be no excuse for neglecting to use it. Throw¬ 
ing it in once a week in Winter, will do; but as 
often as every other day in Summer. This will 
absorb the liquids and keep down offensive 
odors: Every month or two the vault should 
be emptied;- and where matters are managed as 
we have suggested, this will not be a very disa¬ 
greeable job. When the contents have lain in a 
heap for six months, they may be worked over, 
and a third more of common soil mixed with 
them. This will then furnish a rich fertilizer for 
corn, wheat, grass, cabbages, and indeed for 
every crop or plant. 
Another cheap source of ammonia is the ma¬ 
nure of fowls, especially hens and turkeys. No 
farmer should suffer these deposits to run to 
waste. Being comparatively free from water, 
they will make four or five times their weight 
of loam or muck sufficiently strong for a con¬ 
centrated fertilizer. The roost should be swept 
out once a week, and added to the heap. Or if 
neatness is not so much desired, the muck may 
be scattered under the poles, two or three inches 
deep: an( i stirred with a garden rake two or 
three times a week, and the whole be cleaned 
out once a month. This article is conveniently 
deposited in barrels. This simple fertilizer at 
the rate of a handful to a hill, will usually add 
twenty per cent, or more to the yield of corn, 
or potatoes, in meadow land of average quality. 
Dead animals are another cheap source of 
ammonia, requiring a li ttle longer to decompose 
them, though if they ate cut up, they are soon 
distributed through a pile of muck or loam. 
They should never be suffered to decay in the 
open air. By attending to these sources of ma¬ 
nure, every farmer may make a concentrated 
fertilizer of great value. It will turn his leisure 
time in Winter into money, and add largely to 
his crops. 
Uses of Gypsum. 
Gypsum, (or Plaster of Paris), in the opinion 
of many, is regarded merely as a tonic or stimu¬ 
lant, and by others as a source of inorganic plant 
food. It is composed of sulphuric acid and 
lime, two substances which enter into the com¬ 
position of all fertile soils, and into the ashes of 
all agricultural plants. That this is its great 
use in the soil can not be claimed, for it is noto¬ 
rious that in many soils which contain an abun¬ 
dance both of lime and of sulphuric acid, and 
perhaps we may even say, of gypsum itself, a 
fresh addition of the article produces marked 
good effects. * By this then we are forced to the 
conclusion that the good effects are not always 
due to the gypsum simply, but often to those 
qualities which fresh gypsum possesses, and 
stale gypsum does not possess. Gypsum cer¬ 
tainly attracts and fixes ammonia; it effects 
certain chemical decompositions in the soil; it 
is readily soluble in water, and thus a small 
quantity of it may be very thoroughly diffused 
through the soil; on this account a small quan¬ 
tity often produces a maximum effect, and this 
effect may also be, and it usually is, transient— 
not lasting more than one season. 
It not seldom happens on sandy lands, that 
plaster operates finely for several years, and 
then ceases to produce any effect, unless it be to 
bring in sorrel and mosses. Why so ? As yet 
science suggests no satisfactory reason. When 
this occurs, a dressing of lime often brings back 
the soil to a much better condition; but after 
this has been applied for one or two years, it 
needs following up with a good dressing of barn¬ 
yard manure. In this then, gypsum acts indi¬ 
rectly, and not as the food of plants. Nutriment 
must come from the manure heap, or green crops 
plowed under, or both. To rely on gypsum 
alone, is like giving a hungry man tonics, and 
withholding food; you stimulate him to death. 
This much may be Said in favor of plaster, 
that it generally increases the vegetable or 
leafy parts of the plants more than the 
grain, though not to the injury of the latter. By 
so doing, it increases the bulk of fodder, and 
thus of manure. If this product is carefully 
saved and wisely applied, the farm is sure to 
be improved, and all its productions augmented. 
Among the many theories respecting the ac¬ 
tion of plaster, Liebig’s is certainly well estab¬ 
lished, viz: that it absorbs and fixes the ammo¬ 
nia of the atmosphere. And Sprengel’s view 
