1863.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
13 
quay already pretty thoroughly explored. With 
the steel tooth cultivators of former inventors, 
or with Share’s liorse-hoe, there was no difficul¬ 
ty in doing nine-tenths of the tillage of the com 
crop in the most satisfactory manner. There are 
nine patents for seed drills, showing that there 
is dissatisfaction with the common mode of sow¬ 
ing grain broadcast. There are ninety-seven 
patents for harvesters, mowing machines, reap¬ 
ers, and their various appendages. The inven¬ 
tive skill of the country seems to be specially 
directed to the most economical method of gath¬ 
ering our hay and grain harvests. The problem 
is solved, for we have now machines that put 
all the exhausting labor of the hay and grain 
field upon the muscles of the horse, and greatly 
lessen the drudgery of the farm, almost turning 
it into agreeable pastime. The great West and 
the boundless prairies speak in these inventions. 
One might think on inspecting any of four 
large agricultural warehouses, a (single one of 
which enumerates more than a hundred kinds,) 
that plows were nearly perfected. Our inven¬ 
tors are not of that mind, for we find in the list, 
sixty patents for plows and their appendages. 
Something must be the matter with the old 
methods of dropping seed, for we find thirty- 
seven new seed planters, most of them for corn. 
The days which shall see a boy dropping corn 
from a basket with a man covering with a hoe, 
are nearly numbered. The writer tried one of 
these horse corn planters last Spring. A man 
and boy easily planted ten acres a day with it, 
which is some improvement upon one acre a 
day. The corn came up as well and made as 
good a crop as if it had been planted by hand. 
Beside these, there are a great variety of seed¬ 
ing machines, grain separators, thrashing ma¬ 
chines, machines for sowing fertilizers, spading 
machines, straw-cutters, horse-rakes, feed cut¬ 
ters, corn shelters, and over t wenty new churns, 
showing that the war has very little affected 
the inventive genius of our people, or impaired 
our capacity to feed ourselves and the world. 
Evans’ Rotary Digger. 
The report given below indicates that this 
implement is at least an approach to what has 
long been desired, as an improvement upon the 
plow: “ The undersigned committee, appointed 
to examine ‘Evans’ Rotary Digger,’ exhibited 
by Mr. H. C. Hepburn, at the State Fair at 
Rochester, respectfully report, that the machine 
was submitted to them in operation on a field 
near the Fair grounds. The soil was a loam of 
medium texture between the sandy and clayey, 
and had been cropped the past season with 
beans. The machine was drawn by a pair of 
farm horses rather under the average strength, 
making at each passage over the field a cutting 
twenty inches wide and eight or nine inches deep. It 
moves on three wheels, and weighs in its pres¬ 
ent condition, as stated to the committee, 1,200 
pounds. The operation of the revolving teeth 
or diggers, upon the soil, is similar to forking. 
One passage over such soil as that on which it 
was tested before the committee, appeared to 
loosen and pulverize it to the full depth of the 
teeth or diggers, but when twice passed over 
the same cutting, the weeds and grass had near¬ 
ly all disappeared, and the soil was made so 
loose that persons walking over it sank as they 
would in a mass of newly fallen snow. The 
committee take pleasure in saying, that, on the 
whole, they have been well pleased with what 
they have seen of the practical working of 
‘ Evans’ Rotary Digger,’ and concur in the opin¬ 
ion that it is in a fan - way of being made a ma¬ 
chine of great value for the pulverization of the 
soil. All of which is respectfully submitted. 
Lewis F. Allen, of Erie; Samuel L. Fuller, 
of Livingston; P. Barry, of Monroe, Committee." 
Inoculating Meadows. 
In a foreign exchange, we find mention made 
of Wedlake’s “ turf-separating machine.” This 
is nothing very new. It is a machine with which 
to lay down parks, meadows and lawns by in¬ 
oculation. It resembles somewhat a common 
straw-cutter, and is used as follows : The land 
to be treated must be plowed* harrowed, cleared 
of all lumps, weeds and large stones, and then 
rolled smooth. Go now with a paring-plow to 
some common or roadside, where the turf is of 
good quality, and having sliced off a suitable 
quantity, stack it up in small, loose heaps, where 
it will become partially dry, and easily broken 
into fragments. This prepares it for the machine, 
into which it is put, and torn and separated into 
small fibres, or numberless distinct plants with 
roots. Before the plants become much wither¬ 
ed, take them by the basket full and walk over 
the field, sowing them broad-cast, like grain. 
(It should be said, however, that this sowing 
should be preceded by a light scarifying of the 
surface with a harrow.) After the sowing, fol¬ 
low with a roller, which will compress the roots 
a little into the earth and give them a hold on 
the ground. This process in a good grass 
season insures a fine turf in a single year. 
--» .——a*«■=——• -- 
Turning out to the Right, or Left ? 
Long custom is not easily changed, and rea¬ 
sons “as thick as blackberries” are always to 
be found, for “ doing as our fathers did.” This 
has been fully verified by the mass of communi¬ 
cations called out by the article in the American 
Agriculturist , (Oct. No., Vol. 21, page 302,) show¬ 
ing the desirableness of teamsters adopting the 
English practice, and turning to the left, when 
meeting. An anonymous writer, “ E. O.” pre¬ 
sents the opposite view quite forcibly. His rea¬ 
sons for opposing the changes are: the difficul¬ 
ty of obtaining common consent; the existing 
laws to the contrary; the necessity of altering 
the construction of all one-horse sleighs, the 
thills of which are now placed in accordance 
with the present manner of turning out. He is 
however in favor of the driver changing his 
seat to the left, that he may better keep his ve¬ 
hicle from collision. He gives an additional 
reason for this in the fact that the step upon 
carriages is on the left side, and if a lady is first 
handed in, the driver must crowd past her to 
his place on the right—not easily done in these 
crinoline times. He has practised chiving seat¬ 
ed on the left for years, and likes it much better. 
Perhaps our correspondent can use the whip 
well with his left hand, otherwise both he and 
his lady would occasionally find it awkward 
business for him to give a strong right-handed 
blow, while seated on the left. The necessary 
change in sleighs would cost less in the end 
than the damage resulting from collisions—par¬ 
ticularly in crowded cities, and as for laws and 
customs, they should be helps and not hindran¬ 
ces to improvement. If the propriety of a 
change of custom be generally agreed upon, it 
will not take long to make all needed legislation, 
and to re-model the one-horse sleighs when used. 
After hearing both sides pretty fully, we adhere 
to our position on the question, and all things 
considered, it is better to “Turn out to the left.” 
Branched Bean Poles. 
“Y.” of Saratogo Springs, N. Y., communicates 
his experience to the American Agriculturist as fol¬ 
lows: I have been for a number of years, a 
successful cultivator of Lima beans, and now 
give you my modus operands. My poles, which 
are dwarf maple, hickory, etc., say nine or ten 
feet in liight, are cut, leaving their tops on. 
These poles (which I put under cover in the 
Winter,) usually remain sound five or six years. 
Early in the Spring, I have my bean patch 
well worked, then have holes dug, say two feet 
by eighteen inches, then dump into each hole, 
about i a bushel of fresh horse manure, cover 
with rich earth; then, with the aid of a crowbar, 
set the poles, and plant the seed in a circle around 
each—say half a dozen beans, with the eyes 
downward. These, after they get beyond the 
reach of grubs, I thin out, leaving three in a hill, 
and I have never failed in raising a good crop. 
True, I am compelled at times to cover them 
up nights, by placing newspapers around them, 
held down by stones or lumps of dirt, to protect 
them from frost, but I am well repaid for the 
trouble. I can raise from the same number of 
hills, with brush on the poles , more than double the 
quantity of beans that can be raised on the old- 
fashioned crowbar pole. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
Good Way to Make an Asparagus Bed. 
With a two-horse plow turn a deep furrow 
each way, this will open a ditch two feet wide 
to the depth of the soil. Then run the plow 
in the bottom of the furrow and loosen the clay, 
or subsoil, as deep as possible, and throw this 
out with a shovel upon one side. Place in the 
ditch six inches of half rotten manure, cover it 
with a slight coat of the soil, then make a small 
mound of sand or fine earth (sand is best), every 
two feet, in the center of the ditch. Set the 
crown of the plant upon it, and cover with sand 
slightly; then shovel or plow the soil over the 
plants three inches deep, which will bring the 
surface level again. Next take the plow and 
one horse and run close to this row, throwing 
the soil from it, then turn the other way and 
throw the subsoil on the first planted row where 
it may remain. Clean out this second ditch with 
the shovel and proceed to plant the asparagus 
roots as before; and in the same manner ex¬ 
tend the bed to any desired size. 
The planting should be done in the Fall, and 
the clay that is thrown on the top will be pul¬ 
verized by the frost and sufficiently enriched by 
a coat of four inches of manure, which should be 
spread over the bed as soon as the frost has de¬ 
composed the clay upon the bed. This I think 
the cheapest way of making a good bed, for it 
must be made deep to be durable. One-year-old 
plants are best. I have them now from seed ob¬ 
tained from the American Agriculturist ast Spring, 
that have a circle of roots over a foot in length. 
By setting them upon a cone as described above, 
they are placed exactly in their natural position, 
with the ends inclined downward towards the 
manure and moisture ; and the earth coming in 
closest contact with them. And, by the way, 
this is the proper plan for setting all kinds of 
plants, or trees , that have fibrous roots, between 
which the earth will not readily pass, the great 
object being to get the earth in closest contact 
with the roots. A good coat of manure and salt 
should be spread over the asparagus bed every 
Fall; and it will produce for an age. 
Montgomery Co ., Md. W, Ii, 
