THE CULTIVATOR. 
89 
fectly drained. Tile drains laid in autumn, have ren¬ 
dered it so dry, that the corn now growing upon it, 
received no particular injury from the heavy and con¬ 
tinued rains with which we were drenched in the 
month of May. 
Experiment with Corn. 
“ I have succeeded with the Dutton corn admira¬ 
bly,” writes a Dutchess correspondent, “and have 
planted it this year exclusively. I planted last year 
four different varieties,—the Dutton, early Canada, 
(seed from Poughkeepsie,) eight rowed white, and 
corn said to be Egyptian, eight rowed. The Dutton 
ripened two weeks before the others, and yielded 
better. The cob is very large, and that would be ob¬ 
jectionable, did it not take a good deal of corn to co¬ 
ver it.”* It is well to remark, that after raising this 
corn eighteen years—the seed having been obtained 
from the gentleman whose name we gave it, we do 
not perceive any diminution in its early ripening pro¬ 
perty, which we ascribe to the fact, that we have al¬ 
ways selected the earliest ripened ears for seed. 
* See letter of Mr. H. Clark, under Extracts. 
The Main Objects 
Of farming are, or should be, two fold, viz: 1st. 
The greatest nett profit, with reference, however, 
2d!y, to the improvement, or at least to the preserva¬ 
tion of the fertility, of the soil. He that wears out 
his land, by a parsimonius stinting of manure and la¬ 
bor, and close cropping, with a view to present gain, 
may be compared to the intemperate man who parts 
with his last cow, that fed his family, to gratify in¬ 
temperate indulgencies. While good land pays al¬ 
ways a liberal reward to labor, poor land often beg¬ 
gars its proprietor. The fault is often admitted, that 
our farmers cultivated too much land to cultivate it 
well; that they are parsimoneous of their expendi¬ 
ture to put it and keep it in good order ; and that they 
rely more upon propitious seasons, good luck, and 
the special bounties of Providence, for good crops, 
than they do upon judicious management—upon the 
capital and labor employed in the improvement of 
their grounds. There is no sounder maxim for the 
guidance of the farmer, than that which teaches— 
“WHAT YOU DO, DO WELL.” 
Among our extracts in this day’s paper, will be 
found a communication from “A Hampshire Farmer,” 
which we copy from the Farmers’ Magazine, con¬ 
trasting the profits of the old and new system of hus¬ 
bandry, not only as verified in his own practice, but in 
that of Yon Thaer, whom we agree with the writer in 
pronouncing pre-eminent in both the theory and prac¬ 
tice of agriculture. And we beg our readers to mark 
the result:—“ On the improved system the expense 
of cultivation is double; the gross product is triple ; 
the nett produce is Q.U ADRUPLE ! 
The great danger in the West, 
Is, that the soil is so fertile, and so remote from the 
ultimate market for its produce, that there will not be 
sufficient inducements to industry, to ensure moral 
and physical health to its population. Where men 
can earn enough in two days to support them seven, 
they are too much inclined to spend the five in indo¬ 
lence, especially when the time comes, as come it 
may, that the many are sellers, and the few only buy¬ 
ers, of the products of the soil. And when a people 
are idle, from whatever cause, they readily, though 
often imperceptibly, slide into indulgences and habits 
which are the bane of individual and public virtue— 
unless their idle hours are appropriated to the im¬ 
provement of the mind, and to the cultivation of a 
taste for rural embellishments, and the higher intel¬ 
lectual pleasures which emanate from literature and the 
science of agriculture. It requires far more philoso¬ 
phy and fortitude to resist the smiles of prosperity, 
than it does to bear the frowns of adversity. The 
latter is matter of necessity—while in the first we 
are left to exercise our own discretion. We have 
been led to these remarks, at this time, by the receipt 
of a letter from an esteemed friend in West Wiscon¬ 
sin, (Ioway) an extract of which we subjoin. 
“ With us in the west,” says our correspondent, “ the 
lands are rich and productive, with but little labor. A 
bountiful Providence has bestowed upon us one of the 
most fertile and delightful regions of the earth. Yet 
what are the bounties of Providence when unemployed 
by the labor and science of man? The mind is fallow, 
and the ' Garden of God’ lies barren and overrun with 
weeds, and the rose and lily are ehoked by brambles, 
unless the assiduity and skill of man are exerted in de¬ 
veloping the riches and beauties of nature. 
“Until the recent healthful chgck of the 'times,’ the 
west was intoxicated with the fell spirit of speculation. 
Labor and industry were looked upon as too slow and 
tame a way of making money. The ' royal way’ of 
making a fortune by speculation infested all classes; 
and, as a consequence, the main pillar and ornament of 
a state was almost entirely neglected. 
“ But it is to be hoped, that these times for sober re¬ 
flection may correct the delusions of the day, and im¬ 
press upon the minds of the community this fact, that 
there is no accretion to individual or national wealth , with¬ 
out the exercise of labor and skill; and that that pursuit 
which ‘ feeds all,’ and which can employ all, is at once 
the most independent and honorable.” 
This mention of the mania of speculation calls to 
mind the facetious relation of a brother Yankee, who 
made the grand tour of the “Far West” in 1836. 
After describing the fertility and beauty of the coun¬ 
try, in glowing terms, he added, after a pause—“ but, 
the inhabitants will starve ! their work is altogether 
of the head, and not of the hands— they are trying to 
live by speculation more than by labor. Why, if you 
accost even a farmer in those parts, before he returns 
your civilities, he draws from his breeches pocket a 
lithographic city, and asks you to take a few building 
lots, at half their value, and earnestly presses you to 
buy as a personal favor conferred on you.” 
We are heartily glad to learn by our friend’s letter, 
that the times are mending beyond the Mississippi, 
and that the public attention is being turned to our 
parent art, and a strong evidence of the truth of his 
declaration came enclosed, in the form of a twenty 
dollar bill, being the subscription money for twenty- 
two copies of the Cultivator. 
Advantages of Science. 
The British Farmers’ Magazine abounds in com¬ 
munications, urging the establishment of a national 
agricultural institution. Scotland is particularly re¬ 
ferred to as affording a striking illustration of the 
utility of such associations. Forty years ago, says 
one of these writers, Scotch husbandry was far in¬ 
ferior to that of England; but now, he says, it is 
manifestly superior. This is ascribed mainly to the 
influence of the Highland Agricultural Society, to the 
interest which the nobility and gentlemen of wealth 
have taken in diffusing agricultural science, and pro¬ 
moting agricultural improvement, and the establish¬ 
ment of museums for the exhibition of agricultural 
products, and models of agricultural implements. 
Among these writers is a Mr. Handley, who has 
addressed a very able letter to Earl Spencer, who 
seems to be regarded as the pioneer in this praise¬ 
worthy project. The following extracts from this 
letter will not fail to interest the reader. 
“Science—by which is to be understood, that know¬ 
ledge which is founded upon the principles of nature, 
illustrated • by demonstration—is the pilot that must 
steer us into those hitherto unexplored regions, where 
I am well convineed a mine of wealth is still in store 
for British agriculture. Chemistry, botany, entomolo¬ 
gy, mechanics, require but to he invited, to yield a har¬ 
vest of valuable information to guide and to warn us. 
“What has been the course adopted by our enter¬ 
prising manufacturers ? Had they been satisfied with 
the inventions which chance or the intelligence of their 
artizans might have discovered, in vain would they have 
struggled for the proud ascendancy which they now hold 
in the scale of the manufacturing world. How truly 
has it been said, that a Manchester manufacturer, who 
had been absent from England for the last seven years, 
would be ruined, if, on his return now, he endeavored 
with his former processes, to compete with the almost 
daily improvements of his indefatigable and intelligent 
rivals. How many thousand acres of land would the 
bleaching operations of Manchester alone require— 
what enormous capital would lie stretched for weeks 
unproductive on the sward—and how impossible would 
it have been to have completed the accumulated orders 
from foreign customers, had not chemistry furnished a 
cheap and rapid substitute?” * * * 
The writer then adverts to the still disputed and 
unsettled questions, whether it is better to apply ma¬ 
nure in a fermented or unfermented state ? What 
are the principles upon which lime proves beneficial 
to lands ? That nothing has been definitely settled 
upon the latter point, is evidenced by the fact, that 
“vast sums of money have been, not only uselessly 
expended, but much labor has been thrown away, in 
anticipation of beneficial results from the use of lime, 
which had the subject been better understood, might 
have been saved, but positive injury has resulted, 
which in thousands of acres has proved irredeemable.” 
The same uncertainty is then pointed out in regard 
to the operation of gypsum, of salt; and also in many 
other interesting and important branches of agricul¬ 
ture, which can only be settled by chemical and phi¬ 
losophical research. 
“ Botany ”—continues Mr. H.—“ by which I would be 
understood to mean, not that branch of the science 
which is confined to nomenclature and classification, 
but which treats of the structure, the economy, the pro¬ 
perties, uses, and diseases of plants, a correct know¬ 
ledge of which tends to increase their number, and im¬ 
prove their quality, oilers to the farm not less valuable 
truths than it imparts to the garden. The important 
labors of Mr. Knight, for instance, uniting as he does 
the ablest practice with the most profound science, and 
who has successfully cultivated the principles of the 
philosophy of vegetation, and thus improved the prac¬ 
tice of horticulture, are alone sufficient to stimulate the 
agriculturist to extend his inquiries into the same field 
of interesting and useful discovery. 
“The diseases of plants, whether arising from a su¬ 
perabundance or deficiency of juice, from its impure 
qualities, or from external causes, though at various 
times treated of by practical and scientific writers, are 
as yet very imperfectly understood. 
“ Mildew , rust , smut , and a variety of diseases fami¬ 
liar to every farmer, continue prevalent, and baffle all 
attempts to guard successfully against them, notwith¬ 
standing the numerous nostrums quoted as infallible. 
“ How they are originated or propagated is still mat¬ 
ter of doubt; yet this knowledge is essential to the cure. 
The preparation and choice of seed, the manures ap¬ 
plied, their nature and quantity, and the culture of the 
soil, are probably all, more or less, intimately connect¬ 
ed with their existence, and, if carefully and scientifi¬ 
cally considered, might furnish the remedy. 
“■ The rotation of crops, and their comparative ten¬ 
dency to exhaust the soil on which they grow; their efi 
fleets upon each other, in either furnishing or extracting 
the nutriment requisite for their successor; the theory 
of their excrementitious operation; the facilities they 
respectively afford to the propagation or destruction 
of noxious weeds; the still more important investiga¬ 
tion as to the value of different plants and grass¬ 
es as food: the most advantageous methods of cul¬ 
tivating them; their power to withstand seasons; 
the disposition of seed grown in southern latitudes to 
retain its propensity to early vegetation and maturity, 
though sown in the north; the benefits derivable from 
change of seed under all circumstances; the rules for 
selecting and improving new varieties, a subject so ably 
treated by Col. Le Coutier; and the habits, modes of 
growth, and peculiarities of weeds, which aflect agri¬ 
culture, and the most effective means of extirpating 
them; with many other similar subjects which it is un¬ 
necessary to enumerate, come within the legitimate 
range of the botanist’s inquiries, and would render his 
co-operation invaluable to the agriculturist. 
“ Entomology, and that branch of Zoology which ap¬ 
pertains to worms, furnishes another subject for scien¬ 
tific research, most interesting and important to agri¬ 
culture. 
“Lastly, I would refer to the benefits which would 
accrue to agriculture, were the mechanism of our imple¬ 
ments more scientifically attended to. Mechanical men, 
possessed of talent competent to the production of the 
highest class of machinery, cannot be expected to draw 
upon their invention, unless, as in manufactures, they 
are stimulated to exertion by the assurance, that suc¬ 
cess in the improvement of old, or the invention of new 
machines, would ensure their reward, from premiums 
or general demand. Were such the case, it may be 
safely predicted, that the construction of even our sim¬ 
plest implements, which in fact constitute the mechan¬ 
ism of agriculture, would not be left to the contrivance 
of village smiths, but would command the attention of 
men whose intelligence would lead them to calculate 
the nature and amount of the various and frequently 
conflicting forces to be overcome, and whose mechani¬ 
cal skill would give to every implement its most effec¬ 
tive shape.” 
Insect Enemies. 
An interesting paper on the insects most injuri¬ 
ous to our crops, by James Duncan, is published in 
a late Quarterly Journal of Agriculture. Mr. Dun¬ 
can states, on the authority of Mr. Spence, the ento¬ 
mologist, that on a fair computation, 60,000 bushels 
of seed wheat are annually lost to the British farm¬ 
ers, by the ravages of the wire-worm, ( Cataphagus 
obscurus,) and an expense incurred in dibbling and 
harrowing in where the seed is destroyed, of £15,750. 
The hop-fly ( Aphis humuli,') sometimes occasions an 
annual loss of £415,000 to the British revenue, in the 
tax which the government imposes upon this article ; 
and the turnip fly, fHaltiea nemorum ,) according to 
the Linnean transactions, has occasioned a loss, in the 
single county of Devonshire, of £100,000 in one year. 
The depredations of the grain-worm, in all probabili¬ 
ty, will this year cause an immense loss to the farm¬ 
ers of New-York. 
As a preventive of the ravages of the turnip fly, 
Mr. Duncan says, “ soot, ashes, &c. have been used 
for this purpose, but there can be no doubt that by 
far the most useful application of this kind is quick¬ 
lime,” strewed, we presume upon the young plants 
in the morning, while the dew is upon the leaves. 
Upon garden plants, as radishes, cabbages, &c. 
which are liable to be destroyed when in the first 
leaf, Mr. D. says that strong soap suds, thrown with 
a garden engine or syringe, is destructive to the in¬ 
sect ; indeed that any liquid, even pure water, often 
thrown upon the plants, serves as a preventive—as 
moisture is prejudicial to them, they not attacking the 
plant but when the leaves are dry. 
Five Hundred Sovereigns. 
The Highland Agricultural Society have offered a 
premium of 500 sovereigns, “for the first successful 
application of steam-power to the cultivation of the 
soil,” that is, to ploughing, harrowing and preparing 
the ground in an efficient manner. The total premi¬ 
ums to be awarded by the society the current year, 
amount to about 3,500 sovereigns, equal to $15,000, 
exclusive of more than fifty gold and silver medals. 
</U*~ 
