THE CULTIVATOR. 
gate 
1 
visited a farm upon Staten Island, Mr. Seeley’s, where 
the proprietor, besides manuring well his crops of the 
season, had accumulated a surplus of 2,500 loads of ex¬ 
cellent compost, from the cattle yards, the swamps, and 
the sea, within his jurisdiction, my visitor remarked, 
that he had almost equalled that himself, for he had ac¬ 
tually applied to his plantation, during the year, twenty 
thousand loads of like compost, with the addition of 
such materials as the cotton crops afforded. Mr. Cro¬ 
well is a large planter. He cultivated, this year, two 
hundred acres of sea-island cotton. When he first turned 
his attention to manures, twelve years ago, he became, 
he told me, rather the butt of ridicule to his neighbors, 
than the subject of commendation. His continuing the 
practice, and his increased outlay upon it, is a sufficient 
evidence that he finds it profitable ; while his neighbors 
are now giving their approval, by adopting his practice. 
There are still other sources of fertility within the far¬ 
mer’s reach, which he may employ to profit. In a late 
jaunt in New-Jersey, I was surprised to find farms and 
districts, where I had been led to expect, from report, 
a poor sandy soil, a bad system of husbandry, and a de¬ 
pressed farming population—I was agreeably surprised 
to find, I say,"instead of these indications of poverty 
and want, a sandy soil, to be sure, and naturally poor, 
but much of it made rich and productive—highly culti¬ 
vated farms, and an intelligent, prosperous population. 
This fertility had been in a manner created by the en¬ 
terprise of the inhabitants, in applying to their soil, of¬ 
ten at the expense of twenty dollars or more an acre, 
the lime of Pennsylvania, the dung and street dirt of 
New-York and Philadelphia, the marl of their own 
State, and the animal and vegetable products of then- 
own waters. Some of these materials, although not af¬ 
fording direct sustenance to plants, operate mechanical¬ 
ly or chemically to the improvement of the soil, and 
tend essentially to increase its productive powers. 
Another means of recovering the fertilizing materials 
of the soil,is deep or subsoil ploughing. Much vegeta¬ 
ble matter has been carried down from the soil into the 
subsoil, by the operations of water. By breaking up 
the latter, we not only deepen the tilth, the pasture of 
plants, but by exposing it to atmospheric influence, we 
render the vegetable matter in it soluble, and adapted 
to the wants of the crop. We thus restore to the up¬ 
per surface much of the fertilizing matter which has 
been rendered useless by filtration. 
Another means of restoring fertility to worn-out soils, 
or of preserving or economizing it on unexhausted lands, 
is by the culture of root crops, and other green crops, 
as food for cattle, and for crops. This class of plants 
yield more food for both, than any other class ; and 
they exhaust the soil less than any other class—for they 
are seldom permitted to mature their seeds, when the 
greatest requisitions are made upon its riches, and 
draw much nourishment from the atmosphere, which 
is always charged with the gaseous food of plants, as 
well by their leaves as their roots, the soil being kept 
permeable to the atmosphere, by the culture they re¬ 
ceive. As cattle food, root crops, particularly the Swe¬ 
dish turnip, the beet and carrot, quadruple the amount 
that is given by grain or grass; they break and pulve¬ 
rize the soil' by their tap roots, they clean it by their 
culture, and they return to it most in the form of ma ; 
nure. Clover and other green crops, buried in the soil 
by the plough, are a cheap means of increasing fertili¬ 
ty, which every farmer has at command. A bushel of 
clover seed will suffice for six acres, sown with small 
grain. The next or second autumn, it will give to the 
soil, if ploughed in, at least five tons to the acre, in tops 
and roots of vegetable matters, whieh are soon rendered 
soluble, and fitted to become a part of a new vegeta¬ 
ble structure. The farmer, therefore, gets thirty tons 
of green succulent matter in return for his bushel of 
clover seed besides the benefit to the soil of pulveriza¬ 
tion by means of the tap roots of the crop. 
This brings to my mind an old practice, which has in 
a measure been exploded, as involving a waste of labor 
and manure—I mean the practice of summer fallowing. 
It has been ascertained that the quantity of vegetable 
matters contained in old sward, amounts to twelve tons 
an acre. If the ley is cross-ploughed, this vegetable 
matter is turned to the surface, generally when it is in 
an active state of fermentation or decay, to the wasting 
influence of the sun and winds, and at least one-half of 
its fertilizing properties are lost to the soil. The prin¬ 
cipal object of a summer fallow is to subject the soil to 
thorough pulverization—a very commendable object, 
but which I think is as well effected, on the first fur¬ 
row, by the harrow and the natural decay of the veget¬ 
able matters of the sod. This is every where penetra¬ 
ted by the roots of grasses, &c., and if the sod is well 
turned, these undergo speedy decomposition, and leave 
the soil light and loose, pervious to heat, air and mois¬ 
ture, essential agents in vegetable growth. The mod¬ 
ern practice is to substitute for the naked fallow, a fal¬ 
low crop, as potatoes, corn, oals, &c. upon the first fur¬ 
row, preparatory to a crop of winter grain. The ad¬ 
vantages of this practice are, the manure is all saved to 
the soil, the expense of labor is diminished, and an ad¬ 
ditional crop is obtained. The only plausible reason 
now urged for naked fallow is that it is necessary, on 
tenacious clays, to clean the land. 
The alternating system of husbandry has not obtain¬ 
ed among us that consideration which its importance de¬ 
mands. It is well known that ordinary lands will not 
bear a succession of the same crops without a succes¬ 
sive diminution of product; and that if grain, grass, and 
roots are alternated or succeed each other, the decrease 
of fertility is much less apparent. This is ascribed to 
& 
the well authenticated fact, that different plants exhaust 
different fertilizing properties of the soil, or in other 
words, that each species requires a specific food, which 
other species do not take up. It is now generally con¬ 
ceded that wheat will not do well in a soii which has no 
lime in its composition—that clover and lucerne require 
gypsum—that flax cannot be raised on the same ground 
oftener than once in six or eight years, with advantage. 
These facts are explained upon the ground that on ana¬ 
lyzing wheat, it is found to contain lime; clover on 
analysis, has yielded gypsum at the rate of four bushels 
the acre—and the supposition is, that a crop of flax ex¬ 
hausts the soil of some property essential to its perfec¬ 
tion, which it takes years to restore. The crops can 
derive these supplies from no other source than the 
soil; and if the supplies are not there, the crop will be 
either deficient or defective. 
There is still another reason to offer for alternating 
crops. The soil, if in grass, becomes annually more 
hard and compact; the roots are consequently restricted 
in their range for food; the heat and atmosphere be¬ 
come partially excluded, and the decomposition of ve¬ 
getable food is arrested. The consequence is, that the 
finer grasses gradually disappear, or run out, as it is 
termed, and the grass crop gradually diminishes. If 
ploughed and cropped occasionally with roots, these in¬ 
conveniences are obviated; the soil is broken and pul¬ 
verized, and rendered pervious to solar and atmosphe¬ 
ric influence, and ihe vegetable food which it contains is 
thereby render soluble; and if manure is given to the 
tillage crops, as it should and can be once during a 
course, the soil will become renovated and fitted again 
to receive the grass seeds, with the prospect of a great¬ 
ly increased burthen of hay. 
The grasses are however not the only system of crops 
that are impoved by the alternating system of husban¬ 
dry. The tillage crops, in turn are alike benefitted, not 
only from the advantages of change which I have en¬ 
deavoured to point out, but from the vegetable matters 
of the sward, which, instead of remaining in a measure 
dormant and useless, are decomposed and become the 
active food of the crop : while the root crop, by their 
pulverizing and cleansing influence upon the soil, im¬ 
prove it, mechanically and chemically, for both grain 
and grass. 
The arguments that I have urged for enriching your 
lands, and cultivating well what you do cultivate, apply 
with equal force to your domestic animals. It costs as 
much to keep a poor cow, a poor sheep, or a poor hog, 
having reference to breeds, as it does to keep a good 
cow, a good sheep, or a good hog. And yet such is the 
difference in the breeds of animals, and sometimes be¬ 
tween individuals of the same breed, that the good ani¬ 
mals will return twice, thrice, and sometimes four times 
as much in product as the poor ones, for the expense of 
their keep. The mule is supposed to have a prepon¬ 
derating influence in the character of their progeny, and 
will muhiply more rapidly than the female, the cross of 
any improved breed. Those, therefore, who do not 
choose to go to the expense of buying superior animals 
of both sexes, can, by purchasing a male, progressively 
improve their stock at a moderate outlay. If the best 
animals are retained for breeding, and kept in good con¬ 
dition, especially when young, the progress of improv- 
inent will be greatly accelerated. It is by judiciously 
selecting good animals as breeders, and by taking pro¬ 
per care of them, that the favorite breeds of domestic 
animals have been brought to their present state of un¬ 
rivalled excellence in Europe. An observance of the 
rules will produce the same results here, in due time, 
that has resulted from their observance in Europe.— 
Cattle are also essential to keep up the fertility of a 
farm. They convert the forage of the farm into meat, 
milk, and manure. The meat and milk go to enrich the 
pocket, and the manure to enrich the soil, and feed the 
crops. 
As a general remark, it may be said, that labor and 
capital can be expended in no way more profitably by 
the farmer, than by enriching his lands. God has given 
to us all the elements of fertility, of plenty, and of hap¬ 
piness. He has given to man the capacity of appro¬ 
priating them to his own use. He has commanded him 
to exercise those capacities with dilgence ; and although 
He has not promised, He seldom fails to bestow upon 
those who honestly keep the command, the highest re¬ 
wards in temporal happiness. 
The orchard receives less attention than its impor¬ 
tance demands. If men do not drink cider, they must 
use vinegar and will eat apples. The orchard supplies 
a grateful dessert, and many economical culinary dishes, 
for our tables—and often profitable commodities for the 
market; and it has of late become a source of substan¬ 
tial profit for the food which it affords to farm stock of 
every description. The apple, whether sweet or sour, 
affords much sugar, one of the most nutritious proper¬ 
ties found in vegetables, which is readily converted into 
beef, pork or mutton, by the domestic animals on the 
farm. It is asserted by some, who have experimented 
in the matter, that a bushel of apples is worth as much, 
for these domestic uses, as a bushel of potatoes. If this 
is true, or if apples are worth half or quarter as much 
as potatoes, an apple orchard is a valuable appendage 
to the farm; for an acre will often give from four to ten 
times as great a product in apples as it will give in po¬ 
tatoes, and without the expense of annual cultivation. 
In our zeal to promote the temperance reform, I fear 
some have neglected this branch of farming economy 
too much. The old orchards are disappearing, and few 
new ones are planted. We may ns well discountenance 
he raising of rye as of apples, as both are liable to be 
perverted to evil purposes; yet we may use both without 
abusing them. Wisdom, like truth, is often the medi* 
cine between two extremes. 
But whatever objections may lie against the orchard; 
none, I am sure, can be urged against a well cultivated 
garden. This affords almost a constant change of choice 
delicacies for the table, at once grateful to the palate, 
and highly conducive to health. No man eats so good 
fruits and vegetables as he who raises them, for .none 
can so well enjoy them in all their freshness and perfeo 
tion. A good garden is a matter of farm economy; for 
while it may be made to contribute largely to the suste¬ 
nance of the family, its labors may be performed at odd 
times by the laborers of the farm, or by those who can 
or will do little else, without much expense. The object 
of our toil, as I have observed, is to secure the rational 
enjoyments of life. There is no profession which can 
gratify these indulgences to a greater extent than tha 
farmer, if he will, from the varied produets of his farm 
and garden. 
There are other sources of enjoyment, in the garden, 
besides the innocent gratification of the animal appe- 
tites. It may be a source of high intellectual enjoy¬ 
ment, of useful instruction, and of moral improvement. 
It stimulates to the study of natural science, tends to 
purify and elevate the mind, to prevent the formation 
of bad habits, and to increase the delights of home, 
where the social and domestic virtues can only be well 
nutured and enjoyed. So salutary is the moral influence 
of a highly cultivated garden, that it has been consider¬ 
ed a strong indication, wherever it is seen, of high in¬ 
tellectual and moral worth in the possessor. God pul 
our first parents into the garden “ to dress it and to keep 
it,” and God commanded the man saying, “of every 
tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat,” except of 
the forbidden tree. 
The utility of the silk business, as an auxiliary source 
of profit to the farmer, no longer admits of doubt, and 
so much capital has been vested in trees and buds, that 
this must become a branch of national labor. And to 
no class can it be rendered more profitable than to the 
farmer, if judiciously managed. He can buy, however 
limited his means, a few mulberry trees; these he can 
multiply himself, with but little labor; he can plant 
them about his fences and waste grounds; he can pur¬ 
chase a few eggs to begin with; an out building, or a 
spare room, may be converted into a cocoonery; and 
without further expense the children and females of hi* 
family can gather the leaves and take care of the worms.. 
When the cocoon are perfected, he may increase bis 
eggs, and find a ready demand, and a fair price, for th« 
surplus cocoons. The avails of the sale, be it two dol¬ 
lars or five hundred dollars, may be virtually considered 
as nett profits to the farms. Fifty years ago I was fa¬ 
miliar with the managemenl of the silk worm in my na/- 
tive town, then in the county of Windham. Under 
every disadvantage of those times, it was then profita¬ 
ble, and an auxiliary branch of household labor. I 
have every reason to believe it may be rendered much 
more so now. 
In regard to the mulberry best adapted to farm eco¬ 
nomy, much speculation is afloat, and differences of 
opinions no doubt honestly exist. I think it may be 
laid down ns a natural law, that plants attain to high¬ 
est perfection, for all useful purposes, in the climate 
and soil where they are found indigenous; and that their 
useful properties are diminished in proportion as they are 
more or less removed from their natural zone. When 
the public mind has settled down to sober reality, I think 
thiinaw will befound toapply to the mulberry; and that 
these species and varieties will be found to be best which 
are naturally best adapted to our climate and our soil. 
In corroboration of this fact, it may be stated, that iff 
Italy, whence we receive our best, and most of our 
sewing silk, the leaf of the black mulberry, which is 
there apparently indigenous, is almost exclusively 
employed for the production of this article. The 
white mulberry, which is perfectly hardy in France* 
has a decided advantage there over other varieties.— 
The Brussa, in the mountains of Asiatic Turkey, and 
the Alpine, from the Alpine regions of Europe, both 
hardy species, are for the like reason deemed superior 
in elevated or northern regions, where they withstand 
the rigors of winters. The native red mulberry of our 
forests, (Morus Rubra,) though it has neither “ far¬ 
fetched or dear bought” to recommend it, will ultimate¬ 
ly, I think, be found to be as good as any kind we can 
cultivate. All the species and varieties cultivated will 
no doubt produce good silk, and some better in the 
north than in the south—as is the case with the apple, 
the pear, the peach, the plum, &c. each variety having 
its favorite zone and soil in which it best develops its 
highest flavor. In selecting fruit trees, it is always bet¬ 
ter to take them from a colder than from a warmer 
climate, because they will be more hardy, and mature 
their fruits in higher perfection. But a word more of 
the red mulberry. I have had presented to me a hand¬ 
kerchief, a most beautiful and substantial fabric, pro¬ 
duced by the silk-worm from this native species of the 
mulberry. I have also several samples of sowing silk, 
of great strength and beauty, produced from like mate¬ 
rials. And I am advised by Dr. Martin, a highly re¬ 
spectable gentleman from Kentucky, that his neighbor 
has sold sewing silk to the amount of $900 a year, for 
several years, produced by worms fed entirely on the 
native red mulberry; and that he has rejected offers of 
all other kinds of the mulberry, considering this deci¬ 
dedly the best. 
If these observations upon the laws which govern the 
vegetable kingdom are correct, they plainly suggest to 
