I gMBW ^ g ggl 
18 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
atmosphere, in a few days or weeks, and which, in 
this swamp, (as I infer from the superincumbent crea¬ 
tion,) must have resisted decay 1,000 years or more. 
The mossy soil above consists entirely of the imper¬ 
fect decay of subsequent vegetable growth, and which 
has probably not so effectually resisted decay, on ac¬ 
count of its occasional exposure, superficially, to the 
influence of the sun and air during the drier seasons 
of occasional years of great drought. 
Loudon says, (page 845, No. 2238,) “Marl and 
even shell sand have been known to act chemically 
on peat bogs, and to produce astonishing benefits. 
■True and genuine peat bogs contain a considerable 
quantity of an acid , which has some affinity to gallic 
acid, and often yields phosphoric acid to analysis. It 
appears to be these acids which confer on peat its 
highly antiseptic qualities, and prevent the complete 
decay of woody fibre in such situations. When either 
true marl or shell sand is laid as a manure in such 
soils, a rapid decomposition of the vegetable matter 
takes place, owing to the calcareous matter uniting 
with the acid, which before impregnated the woody 
fibre, and such land soon becomes very productive, 
probably also because the carbonic acid of the marl 
and shell sand is applied to the growth of living vege¬ 
tables, as it is gradually disengaged by the union of 
these acids with the lime.” 
Deane’s New-England Farmer, under the head of 
peat, page 323, refers similarly to it, and the mode of 
using it. 
The Complete Practical Farmer, an American 
book, very generally possessed, page 30, under the 
head of peaty substances, also describes the process. 
Sir Humphrey Davy says : “Inert peaty matter re¬ 
quires fermentation to render it nutritive to plants. It 
remains for years exposed to water and air, without 
undergoing change, and, in this state, yields little or 
no nutriment to plants. Woody fibre will not ferment 
unless some substances are mixed with it, which act 
as the mucillage sugar and extractive or albuminous 
matters with which it is usually associated in herbs 
and succulent vegetables. Lord Meadowbank (he 
says) has judiciously recommended a mixture of com¬ 
mon farm yard dung for the purpose of bringing peats 
into fermentation. Any putrescible or fermentative 
substance will answer the end, and the more a sub¬ 
stance heats, and the more readily it ferments, the 
better it will be fitted for the purpose. And he states 
that one part of dung is sufficient to bring three or 
four parts of peat into a state, in which it is fitted to 
be applied to land; but of course the quantity must 
vary according to the nature of the dung and of the 
peat. In cases in which some living vegetables are 
mixed with the peat, the fermentation will be more 
readily effected.” 
I have occasionally, in the absence of guides,, tried 
these substances and tailed, and in some instances 
have succeeded. Two or three experiments of my 
own are now in progress, which are, as I apprehend, 
checked more or less by the counteracting tendency 
and operation of frost. I shall, for the present, sus¬ 
pend a communication already longer than 1 intend¬ 
ed to have made it, again to resume it, if you wash, 
when I shall have better tested them. But in so far 
as your last number has described these substances, 
they are consistent with my observations, and I think 
undoubtedly applicable. This, however, should pro- 
bablv be borne in mind: I use more of the ashes to 
the acre, because my swamps contain little or no cal¬ 
careous marl beneath them, and an analysis I appre¬ 
hend would therefore not find so much of the sulphate 
and carbonate of lime as that which professor Brande 
analyzed. The two which you saw are incumbent on 
a clay marl, little if any embued with calcareous mat¬ 
ter, or other than of vegetable impregnation, valuable 
to ameliorate the texture of a soil too prevalent of 
sand, or to improve the capacity of upland for holding 
manure in solution from which alluvial influences 
have taken an undue proportion of clay. The marl 
is followed under it, in a distinct stratum, by a stiff 
pipe or porcelain clay, which, with the marl, made it 
heretofore so perfectly impervious to water, that al¬ 
though no other than alluvial supplies immersed it, it 
seldom, if ever, was known, before it was drained, to 
be dry. The level of the present drain is about nine 
feet below the former fullest water surface. 
Believe me, with great respect and esteem to be, 
very truly yours, W. A. SEELY. 
Entomology, &c. 
Bath, Feb. 3, 1838. 
Judge Buel, —Sir,—I have read your valuable pa¬ 
per with much pleasure for two years, and now sene 
you the subscription price for. another year. You 
have mentioned the Humic Acid in several of your 
papers as being a substance lately investigated by 
some of the German chemists. I would inquire if 
you have seen any chemical analysis of the Humic 
Acid, either in any work on chemistry, or in any of 
the journals, foreign or domestic, and if so, if you wil 1 
publish the analysis, with the physical and chemica 
properties of the said acid, in the Cultivator.* I made 
.he request, last winter, to have some additional in¬ 
formation in regard to the entomology of our country, 
communicated from some of your many correspond¬ 
ents. A class of animals that exercise so important 
an influence over the labors of the farmer ought to be 
better known. The first object ought to be perhaps 
to distinguish in the innumerable insect tribes between 
our friends and enemies. It is a well known fact to 
readers of natural history, that a vast and intermina¬ 
ble war of destruction is carried on between the dif¬ 
ferent insect tribes, and therefore it may be for the 
interest of man to encourage the conqueror in their 
exterminating conflicts, is an object of much solici¬ 
tude and of high interest. As an instance, a few 
years since a remarkable insect, somewhat resembling 
the black wasp, but longer shaped, somewhat more 
1 ike the hornet, but of a shining black, and very ac¬ 
tive, was pointed out to me as the natural enemy of 
the grub worm. Its evolutions when on the ground 
were similar to that of the hound upon the track of 
the hare. Its head was down, as if in the act of 
smelling, and every few minutes it would dig with its 
fore feet in the manner of the dog. At length it dug 
up a worm, stung it to death, and left it. On a suc¬ 
ceeding day I saw the same insect engaged in bury¬ 
ing the victims of its warfare. A hole was excava¬ 
ted in the soil sufficient to deposite the worm by the 
use of its fore feet. The dead worm was then seized 
by the forcep jaws of the insect, who drew it back¬ 
wards into the hole into which it entered in rear of 
the worm, and from which it immediately emerged, 
and scraping the earth together raised a tumulus over 
the grave. These facts may be familiar to the pro¬ 
fessed entomologist, together with the name and the 
habits of the insect, although they were new to me. 
Another circumstance in natural history I will men¬ 
tion, as I have not seen it noticed by any writer.— 
Passing a ploughed field, in a meadow free from 
stumps and stones, one day in the summer of 1819, 
I was surprised at the notes of what I considered a 
fine singing bird, which I called into repetition some 
few times, until I discovered the melodist, which, to 
my astonishment, was no other than the little brown 
snake with a yellow ring around its neck. Had it 
been a bird, I should certainly have complimented it 
as a very agreeable songster. I have mentioned the 
remarks on the aforesaid insect, to illustrate the kind 
of information we want in regard to the insect tribes. 
Wishing you every success in your laudable endea¬ 
vors to enlighten the farmers of our beloved country, 
I am, sir, sincerely your friend, 
MOSES F. MORRISON. 
Farming—New Kinds of Wheat. 
Galena , Ills. 22d January, 1838. 
Jesse Buel, —Dear Sir,—From my youth I have 
been fond of agriculture. This fact, and a desire to 
obtain information, are my only excuses for now trou¬ 
bling you; I then thought I would be a fanner, but 
circumstances led me to other pursuits. I wished to 
make a fortune before I would turn my mind to agri¬ 
culture. Why was I not wise enough to say at once, 
I will become independent by frugality, industry, and 
farming 2 It appeared to me to be too slow a way to 
wealth, although I was aware of the advantages of a 
farmer’s life, viewed physically and morally. Well, 
sir, after years of trouble in business, my attention 
was, thank God, again directed to farming, and since 
three years, my time has been mostly taken to that 
business on my farm, situate three miles from Galena. 
Of course, I could not be long a farmer without taking 
your Cultivator. I have been more than ten, yes, 
than an hundred times repaid, by the useful informa¬ 
tion I have received, for the small pittance I have 
given in return, of 50 cents per year. I see with 
much pleasure that you intend to increase the size 
and matter of your useful paper. I shall continue to 
be a subscriber; I will also subscribe for my brother 
at the office of the Galena Advertiser. When any 
of my neighbors call on me for information about 
farming, I say, do you take the Cultivator 1 If they 
answer no, I tell them, go and subscribe for it, and 
you will hardly need lose time to question your bro¬ 
ther farmers about the management of your farms. 
My friend, Mr. A. E. Hough, of Gibralter, Wiscon¬ 
sin, gave me a few grains of your Buel corn. I will 
take great care of it; the pains you took to send those 
seeds so far, induce me to send you here inclosed a 
few grains of bald spring wheat, brought, at first from 
Lord Selkirk’s settlements, on North Red River. I 
sowed the wheat, from which this seed was gathered, 
on the 15th of May last; you can judge of the quality 
by the specimen sent; it came to maturity perfectly, 
* Hamm, hums, lmmic acid .—These seem to be but different 
names for the same substance, and but new names for the black 
carbonaceous matter of dunghills—the fertilizing material of 
soils. The principal elements are carbon and hydrogen, with 
more or less of other matters, as oxygen, nitrogen, oxides, 
and earths. We will speak more at large upon this subject 
in our next. 
358 
without smut or rust, producing at the rate of 30 bush¬ 
els to the acre. I have, also, a many headed wheat, 
brought from Santa Fee, in New Mexico. It bears from 
9 to 15 heads per straw, counting the centre and side 
heads. I think it differs much from the Egyptian 
wheat, the berries are very large, white, and plump; 
it is said to be a spring wheat. I sowed in a drill, 
(about half a gilLof it) last spring, on the tenth of 
May. It grew luxuriantly, producing heads of such 
large size, as I never saw before, but at the approach 
of its maturity it shrivelled up, the berries being very 
deficient. I will plant it again, at various periods, so 
as to ascertain, if I can, the best moment. In the 
Santa Fee country it produces at the rate of 60 bush¬ 
els per acre. Can you give me any information about 
the culture of this wheat 1 
1 am, very respectfully, yours, &c. 
JAMES G. SOULARD. 
Transplanting—Potatoes—Italian Wheat—Plough¬ 
ing old Meadows. 
Clinton, Oneida co. Jan. 5 th, 1838. 
Mr. Buel, —Sir,—As the earth is composed of 
atoms, and the ocean of drops, so the columns of the 
Cultivator may, perhaps, receive an accession of in¬ 
terest from sources comparatively small. A few brief 
remarks are all I propose to offer. 
1st. With respect to transplanting. In the early 
part of December, 1836, I procured a lot of apple trees, 
and set them the next day, (roots partially froze during 
the night;) the ground being naked and clear of frost. 
The next season witnessed a fine growth in every in¬ 
stance ; numbers of them blossomed, and one bore about 
a dozen apples to maturity. The suggestion I would 
make is, that late fall, or winter setting when practi¬ 
cable, is preferable to performing that operation in the 
spring, as the earth becomes adjusted to the roots by 
the long action of winter, being thereby less exposed 
to perish by drought or other causes. 
2d. As much difference of opinion exists, whether 
large, small or medium size potatoes are best for seed, 
I made a trial of the two extremes in the following 
manner, viz. by planting two rows with one potato of 
the largest size in each hill; then two with three of 
the smallest in each hill, placed in a triangular form, 
four inches apart, soil similar and very rich. Result 
—the potatoes from the first two rows were general- 
ly larger than those from the other two, (though all 
were large, and the yield about one-sixth greater.) 
As truth is said to lie between extremes, as a general 
rule, perhaps this case is not an exception. 
3d. Italian wheat. My experience here is limited, 
having raised but a single patch of forty-eight rods, 
from which I obtained eight and three-fourths bushels, 
being at the rate of twenty-nine bushels per acre. 
The crop was diminished by smut, the straw bright 
and grain heavy, weighing more than sixty-one pounds 
to the bushel. I beg leave here to suggest the im¬ 
portance of making all statements of crops for publi¬ 
cation, from actual measurement, both of land and pro¬ 
duct. The superiority of this variety of spring wheat 
is thought by many to consist chiefly in its adaptation 
to worn out or light soils. My field had been in til¬ 
lage forty years, with, perhaps, one exception. As 
far as my observation extended the past season, the 
growth was abundant, very little injured by rust, and 
I am not at present willing to abandon its culture. If 
on further trial some other species shall be found pre¬ 
ferable, of course they will supersede it, as improve¬ 
ment is or ought to be the object of every farmer. 
4th. In conclusion, I would reiterate your oft-repeat¬ 
ed recommendation, to plough up old worn-out mea¬ 
dows, and keep them in tillage two or three seasons. 
My own experience, though not great, enables me to 
say that on a piece of meadow thus renovated, I have 
for several years cut triple the amount of its former 
product. 
I am, sir, with respect, yours, &c, 
G. BUTLER. 
Relative Value of Ruta Raga for Fattening Oxen. 
Scaghlicolce, Feb. 3, 1838. 
Sir, —Believing the turnip culture to be of almost 
inestimable value to the farmers of this country, and 
knowing the strong prejudices entertained by the most 
of them, against any thing like innovations, or devia¬ 
tions, from the good old ways of their fathers, as they 
term them, I deem it the duty of the few, who have 
been credulous enough to cultivate a few acres, to 
say, what they can, from experience, to induce others 
to give them a fair trial, and a chance to grow upon 
a few acres of their poor sandy soil, that will hardly 
grow any thing else, and they will find, when the 
summer is passed, and the harvest ended, that they have 
not been imposed upon, except by the large quantity 
of roots. And, it was my object in commencing this 
article, to show what I believe to be their value, 
for feeding, in comparison with other grains and 
roots, generally used. I will first state that my crop 
was about 950 bushels per acre, on a light, sandy soil, 
without manure, ploughed but once, and hoed twice, 
