192 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
ed in alternate layers to rot. After this has under¬ 
gone a strong fermentation, he causes the whole heap 
to be turned and well mixed, leaving it for some time 
to mellow, then mix one load of ashes to ten loads 
of compost, leaving the whole to mellow together.— 
About the latter end of September he causes about 
ten loads of this compost to be laid in little heaps on 
each acre of land intended to be sown with wheat; 
it is immediately ploughed in with the seed. He has 
also tried this manure on lighter lands, and found 
it to answer well, provided it has lain a considerable 
time in the compost heap to mellow, and lessen its 
natural heat and causticity; but it agrees best by far 
with clayey soils, and on such is worthy of being re¬ 
commended as an excellent dressing for wheat crops. 
As soap makers use much lime to deprive the alka¬ 
line salts of their fixed air, the addition of lime to the 
ashes is unnecessary.”— Complete Farmer, English 
Edition. 
The reading of this account of Barilla ashes en¬ 
couraged me to use them to a considerable extent. 
They have been tried by several of my neighbors on 
wheat and rye fallow, with good effects on the grain 
crop, but more particularly so on the succeeding 
grass. 
In all the drill-barrows that I have noticed (except 
my own and those made after them,) the rollers for 
pressing in the seeds have been convex. Mine are 
made concave, about one inch deep in a breadth of 
three inches. This in my opinion has the effect to 
press the earth around the seeds as well as upon the 
top of them. Besides if heavy rains soon fall, after 
planting, it has seemed to me better for the water 
to stand and settle a little off, rather than immediate¬ 
ly upon the seeds. ROB. WHITE, Jr. 
Shewsbury, N. J. December, 1838. 
Farming in North Carolina. 
Mocksville, Davie county, N. C. Nov. 19th, 1838. 
Judge Buel —Bear Sir—Having lately become a 
subscriber to the Cultivator, (the first in this county 
I think,) I am much pleased with the character of the 
work ; it certainly contains a great deal of very use¬ 
ful information for the farmer, such as 1 felt the want of 
myself, and I know it is the same case with my neigh¬ 
bors, as I don’t know of a single agricultural paper 
that is taken in this county. The zeal with which 
agricultural schools are urged, and legislative aid in¬ 
voked, is certainly commendable, as it appears to me 
that that course will be the surest way of introducing 
the new system, as it is very hard to get men advanc¬ 
ed in years and fixed habits to change. Our system 
of farming in this state, is certainly very bad, and I 
can see it more plainly since I read the Cultivator; 
(I have the back volumes.) To speak in general 
terms, we are carrying on the “skinning” system in 
high perfection. Our farms are mostly divided into 
“ meadow and plough lands.” As to permanent pas¬ 
ture land, we have very little ; our cattle, sheep and 
hogs mostly run at large in the woods and old fields 
in summer. We alternate corn with small grain and 
small grain with corn; pasture our lands every op¬ 
portunity, as soon as the crop is off, until we are rea¬ 
dy to put another on. Clover is scarcely known here 
as a field crop, and as to stocking down our plough 
lands with grass seeds for mowing or pasture, the 
practice is not known here. Root culture is not at¬ 
tended to, but for the table. I have some doubts whe¬ 
ther our climate is not too hot to pursue it to advan¬ 
tage. We go over a great many acres, and get few 
bushels; feed our stock from stacks in the fields, 
and “ summer yard” what little manure is acciden¬ 
tally made about the barn and stables, and there is 
very little improvement in the breeds of our stock.— 
To all of which, however, there are some exceptions, 
particularly in this county ; we have some enterpriz- 
ing men who are departing from the beaten track, 
and endeavoring to improve their lands and stock ; 
but so far as I am able to judge, we all lack know¬ 
ledge as to the “ why and the wherefore,” or the true 
science of fanning; but from the number of agricul¬ 
tural publications now in circulation, enough may be 
obtained to better our condition very much, and I feel 
a hope that proper exertions on the part of those who 
see and feel the necessity of a change, will bring 
about a favorable one, even among those who are fix¬ 
ed in the habits of their forefathers. As some evi¬ 
dence of my industry in the cause, enclosed are ten 
dollars for ten copies of the present volume of the 
Cultivator, for my neighbors who have consented to 
take them. And I would say to every subscriber, try 
and do likewise. Very respectfully, &c. 
C. HARBIN. 
Inquiry as to the Operation of Gypsum. 
Canton, Pa. Dec. 1838. 
Permit me to inquire through the columns of your 
very valuable paper, for a little information on a sub¬ 
ject that would seem to merit more attention than it 
has as yet perhaps received from philosophic investi¬ 
gation ; I mean the manner in which gypsum (com¬ 
mon plaster) operates on plants to increase their 
growth. Does the sulphate of lime absorb another 
portion of oxygen from the atmosphere when on the 
blade of the plant, and thus leave the nitrogen at liber¬ 
ty to be absorbed by the plant to increase its growth, 
or is it some other way, or how is it? C. C. 
Remark —The first point to be solved is, does the gyp¬ 
sum actually benefit the plant, while upon its leaves ?— 
This is a controverted point—and we are rather inclin¬ 
ed to sustain the negative. Our opinion is, that gypsum, 
that is, sulphuric acid in its combined slate with the 
calcareous base, is a necessary element in all plants 
which it benefits, and that it is imbibed only by the roots 
of the plants from the soil, and consequently that it only 
benefits when it enters the soil. We know of no case 
where a greater portion of oxygen can be combined 
with sulphur than exists in sulphuric acid.— Conductor. 
Singular Facts. 
Black Locust Grove, near Liberty, Mo. Nov. 6,1838. 
Hon. J. Buel —Sir—In the last number of the Cul¬ 
tivator, I saw the rust on wheat attempted to be ac¬ 
counted for. Now, sir, I will give you my own ob¬ 
servations and experience on that subject, for your 
reflection. 
In the year 1835, the army worm, (a brown worm 
with white stripes,) made its appearance in Mason 
county, Ky. and was very destructive on some mea¬ 
dows and pastures, and some of us thought they would 
ruin our wheat, but not so. The season was wet and 
cool about the time of and during their appearance. 
The wheat had began to turn a little just below the 
head ; a Major Waddle had two fields of wheat, one 
of Ihem the worms stripped of all its fodder or blades, 
and got a few paces into the other, when they disap¬ 
peared; the field they stripped made an excellent 
crop, while that portion of the other which they did 
not touch, was nearly ruined by rust. The fields 
were both clover sod, consequently the wheat rank 
and thick bladed. It was remarked that year, that 
every field in which the worms made their appear¬ 
ance turned off good crops, while most of those 
that escaped the worm were lost by rust, especially 
the fields that had been in grass. 
Now, sir, you can make what use of this you deem 
best. I will now give you a description of some singu¬ 
lar stocks of corn which made their appearance in mine 
and one of my neighbor’s fields ; the variety planted 
was the large yellow gourd seed. After the crop had 
generally silked, and the most of it in good roasting 
ears, you could see several stocks not tasselled, and 
still growing in all the thriftiness and verdure of June, 
though unusually dry. One of them (which I now 
have) is indeed a curiosity, measuring 17| feet long 
with five joints undeveloped, (lor there were five 
blades clustered up around the tassel, which had just 
began to make its appearance,) now allow only six 
inches to the joint, and it would have measured when 
grown, 20 feet, and 33 joints, 13 of which had roots 
from one to three inches long sticking out all around 
them; the blades were from four to six inches wide ; 
none of the stocks ever had any corn on them. Most 
respectfully, AUGUSTUS H. F. PAYNE. 
EXTRACTS. 
Of Grass Lands that ought not to he broken up 
by the Plough, 
There are various sorts of grass lands that ought not 
to be broken up ; as water meadows; salt-marshes; 
lands apt to be overflowed ; lands near large populous 
towns, where the produce of grass land is always in 
demand, and consequently dear ; and low lying tracts, 
in the vallies of mountainous countries. But whether 
rich lands, which have long remained in grass, and 
continue productive, should ever be converted into 
tillage, is a question respecting which a great diver¬ 
sity of opinion has been entertained. 
The lands considered as best adapted for permanent 
pasture, are of three kinds; strong tenacious clays, 
unfit for turnips or barley, which are said to improve 
more the longer they are kept under a judicious sys¬ 
tem in grass; soft clayey loams, with a clayey or 
marly bottom or substratum; and, rich sound deep- 
soiled land, or vale land, enriched at the expense of 
the higher grounds, generally lying in a situation fa¬ 
vorable with respect to climate. 
The advantages of such pasture are represented in 
the strongest light. It is affirmed that they feed cat¬ 
tle to a greater weight; that they are not so easily 
scorched by the summer’s drought; that the grasses 
are more nutritive for both sheep and cattle; that 
milch cows fed upon them give better milk, and more 
butter and cheese ; that the hoofs of all animals pas¬ 
tured on them are much better preserved; that they 
produce a greater variety of grasses ; that when pro¬ 
perly laid down they yield a succession of pasture 
throughout the whole season; that the herbage is 
sweeter, and more easily digested, and that they re¬ 
turn an immense produce at a trifling expense. 
To break up lands possessing these advantages, it is 
said, can only be justified by the most urgent public 
necessity, and to prevent the horrors of famine. The 
real value of such lands will appear by considering 
their rent and produce. The grass lands of Lincoln¬ 
shire are accounted the best in the kingdom. The 
rents are various, from £1 15s. to £3 per acre, [equal 
to $7.77 to $13.32] and the value of the produce 
per acre from £10 to £15. This produce arises from 
beef, mutton and wool, and is obtained, with little va¬ 
riation from the nature of the seasons, and at a tri¬ 
fling expense. The stock maintained per acre on the 
best grazing lands, surpasses what could be fed by any 
arable produce. It is not at all uncommon to feed at 
the rate of from six to seven sheep in summer, and 
about two sheep in winter. The sheep, when put 
upon the grass, may weigh from 18 to 20 lbs. per 
quarter, and the increase would be at the rate of 4 
lbs. per quarter per sheep. But suppose it only 100 
lbs. at 8d. per pound, that would amount to £3 17s. 
lOd. The wool would be worth about two guineas 
more, besides the value of the winter keep, and the 
total may be stated at about £7 per acre, got at little 
expense. Such lands, it is evident, can not be better 
employed than in feeding stock. 
Grass on tenacious clays and heavy loams, when 
brought in a succession of years, or perhaps of ages, 
into a state of great productiveness, can not be plough¬ 
ed without the risk of great injury, and are more pro¬ 
fitable in the production of herbage than they could 
be in the production of grain. 
Grass on deep-soiled sound vale lands, would be pro¬ 
ductive of corn if ploughed; but would be probably 
injured by cultivation; from their texture being al¬ 
tered and rendered unduly loose and open by tillage; 
from the native plants being more or less destroyed 
or enfeebled ; and from the great decomposition and 
waste of the principles of fertility resident in the soil. 
The extent of these descriptions of land, however, is 
not so great, that the advantages of breaking them 
up could probably ever be a national object, or worth 
the risk of injuring their future productiveness in 
grass. But there are pasture lands of the inferior 
sort, which are apt to be confounded with those al¬ 
ready described, and respecting the propriety of oc¬ 
casionally appropriating them to arable culture, there 
can hardly be a doubt. Such lands do not depend 
upon their intrinsic fertility, but upon annual supplies 
of manure derived from the arable land in their neigh¬ 
borhood.— Loudon. 
OF THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF BREAK¬ 
ING up grass i./.nrJ* 
The advantages of breaking up grass lands, not of 
the richest quality, will appear by a comparison of 
their product with that of arable land. From the in¬ 
quiry of the Board of Agriculture, it appears that an 
acre of clover, tares, rape, potatoes, turnips, kale or 
cabbages, will furnish at least thrice as much food as 
the same acre would have done had it remained in 
pasture of a medium quality; and consequently, that 
the same extent of land would maintain at least as 
much stock as when in grass, besides producing every 
other year a valuable crop of corn; and this, inde¬ 
pendently of the value of the straw, whuffi, whether 
consumed as litter, or as food for cattle, will add con¬ 
siderably to the stock of manure. It follows, that 
with the exception of rich pastures, arable land is, on 
an average, superior to grass land with respect to fur¬ 
nishing articles of human food, in the proportion of 
three to one ; and consequently every piece of land, 
unnecessarily kept in grass, the produce of which will 
only maintain one person, is depriving the community 
of food, capable of maintaining two additional mem¬ 
bers. 
The principal objection to the conversion of old turf 
into arable land, arises from an alledged infirmity in 
the new when compared to the old herbage; a com¬ 
plaint which probably originates either from the im¬ 
proper choice of seeds, or from giving them in too 
small quantities, thus favoring the growth of weeds. 
A gentleman who had a large farm, principally con¬ 
sisting of strong rich clay, (every field of which, with 
hardly an exception, he occasionally broke up,) was 
accustomed to lay them down with a crop of barley, 
and to sow 14 lbs. of white clover, a peck of ribbon 
grass and three quarters of hay seeds the acre. By 
this liberal allowance of seed, he always secured a 
thick crop of herbage the first year, which differed 
from old pasture only in being more luxuriant. Such 
lands, therefore, under judicious management, will 
rarely be injured by the plough. When laid down 
from tillage into grass, they may not carry for the 
first year or two, such heavy cattle as they would af¬ 
terwards, but they will support more in number, 
though of a smaller size, and bring a greater weight 
of butcher’s meat to market. It is often desirable to 
keep one or two moderate sized enclosures, of from 
ten to twenty acres, according to the size of the 
farm, in perennial pasture, for the feeding of cattle 
and sheep, and as a resort for the stock to go to in 
case of a severe spring, or summer drought; but the 
retaining of any considerable portion of a farm in old 
turf, or permanent pasture, unless of the richest qua- 
