1846 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
139 
BB3aBaaB 3 aag ?3ffij3 CTas3aBmto&^ 
results to which the experiments of Professor Liebig 
are daily leading. 
In the spring preceding my arrival in Giessen, the 
Prof, planted some grape scions under the windows of the 
laboratory. He fed them, if I may use such an expres¬ 
sion, upon the ashes of the grape vine,—or upon the 
proper inorganic food of the grape, as shown by analy¬ 
ses of its ashes. The growth has been enormous, and 
several of the vines bore large clusters of grapes in the 
course of the season. Indeed, I know not but all, as 
my attention was drawn to them particularly only since 
the fruit has been gathered. The soil otherwise is 
little better than a pavement—a kind of fine gravel, in 
which scarcely anything takes root. 
I was shown pots of wheat, in different stages of their 
growth, that had been fed variously,—some upon the 
inorganic matters they needed, according to the analy¬ 
ses of their ashes—others had merely shared the tribute 
of the general soil. The results in numbers I don’t yet 
know. In appearance, no one could be at a loss to 
judge of what might be expected. 
I may mention in this connection, that I gave Prof. 
Liebig five varieties of American corn, all of which 
were planted, but not one of which came to maturity, 
though the first frost in Giessen was about the 20th of 
October. The climate is essentially different from ours. 
I think the heat of summer with us must be more in¬ 
tense. 
The experiments of Prof. L., which I have alluded 
k> alx>Tc, itre full of interest, not alone as sustaining the 
views he has expounded, but as also showing that the 
treasures in the shape of inorganic manures, heaped up 
in some quarters of the globe may be made to equalize 
the fruits of labor in other regions. 
The salt plains of our western territories, may have 
yet a part to play in enriching soils wide removed from 
them; and lands condemned to support a few dwarfish 
evergreens, may hereafter be found blooming with 
varied and rich vegetation, the reward of rational agri¬ 
culture. 
PLOWING. 
Mr. Editor —Franklin uttered as much truth as 
poetry, when he said— 
Plow deep while sluggards sleep. 
And you shall have corn to sell and to keep. 
Some may not acknowledge the full force of the 
words, ee while sluggards sleep ”—that is, they may not 
think there is much benefit to be derived from plowing 
in the dew * be that as it may, such notions are. incen¬ 
tives to early rising and industry, if nothing more. 
But if that does not suit, have it in this way:— 
Plow deep, and manure well, 
And you shall have corn to keep and to,sell. 
Beep plowing, with a corresponding quantity of ma¬ 
nure, is now universally recommended by our best far¬ 
mers. 
But there is another subject—the manner of laying 
a furrow on which there is a difference of opinion— 
some contending that it is best to lay the furrow per¬ 
fectly flat, and others, that it should be laid as nearly 
as possible at an angle of 45 degrees; now both methods 
are best in different circumstances. 
If the soil is light, sandy, and not inclined to wet¬ 
ness, the flat method is altogether the best, but in a 
soil of a contrary description, as many of our lands are, 
the 45 degree furrow is to be preferred. 
Much more labor than is necessary is frequently 
expended in preparing the ground for a crop. I would 
not be understood as saying that one plowing is suffi¬ 
cient under all circumstances, but in a tenacious soil, it 
is often good economy to let the ground rest a conside¬ 
rable time between the plowings. Intead of plowing a 
piece of tough green-sward three or four times in the 
•Spring, when the team is comparatively weak, to pre¬ 
pare it for a crop, let it be neatly plowed in Septem¬ 
ber, then lie until spring, and a couple of agents will 
come, while you and your team are asleep, and pulve¬ 
rize it for you, and do it better than you can and do it 
for nothing too. Do you inquire the names of those 
two clever fellows? The name of one is fermentation, 
and the name of the other frost . Highlander. 
New-Lisbon, Jan . 24, 1846. 
THORN HEDGES. 
L. Tucker, Esq. —There have, of late, occasionally 
appeared in your paper, articles in reference to hedges. 
As this indicates a rising interest on the subject, my 
giving you the result of my experience on it, may not 
be unacceptable to you. 
Hedge enclosures are highly ornamental to a country. 
They are beautiful as mere visual objects, and the im¬ 
pression of their beauty is enhanced by the ideas they 
suggest, of shelter, and comfort, and unison, with the 
natural clothing of the land. When properly trained, 
they are besides, durable and efficient fences. In a new 
country, ornament, it is true, must be a secondary con¬ 
sideration, and where timber is abundant, no kind of 
enclosure can, in point of utility, excel the common 
rail fence. It is easily and speedily put up, easily kept 
up, and easily removed; while a hedge requires years 
of care and labor. There are, however, regions of the 
states in which timber is scarce, and in all situations, 
ornament to some extent may be desired. It is, in con¬ 
sequence, important to know what plants are most suita¬ 
ble, in this part of the world, for the purpose of form¬ 
ing a hedge, and the best mode of rearing them into 
sucli a fence. 
In turning my attention to the subject, my object was 
to enclose my garden, orchard, and house-yards, with 
something more pleasing to the eye than rails or boards. 
The British Hawthorn, so extensively used for fencing 
in its native country, might have answered my purpose; 
it could have been procured in the eastern nurseries, or 
by importation,* or might have been raised from the 
seed, which vegetates freely; but being aware that even 
where indigenous, it is suseeptible of injury from 
drouth, and seeing that the specimens of it I had met 
with in this country, never appeared to assume their 
native verdure, and were often scathed and blight¬ 
ed, I fixed on one of the American thorns, the Crataegus 
Crus-galli , (Eaton,) or Cock-spur thorn, which, from 
the beauty of its shining leaves, and the style of its 
growth, seemed well calculated to serve the purpose in 
view. 
My first attempt to raise it from seed was quite un¬ 
successful. Out of perhaps a peck sown, one plant only 
came up at the end of two years. I then gathered the 
seed in the fall, placed it covered with litter and earth, 
in a hole dug in the ground, where it remained until 
the fall succeeeding, when it was sown in a bed in the 
garden. It did not vegetate in the ensuing spring, but 
in the next it did, in considerable quantity, and still 
more so in the following; that is, two and a half and 
three and a half years after being taken from the tree. 
It is probable that this very objectionable ditficulty, in 
getting the seed to spring is not insuperable; for on 
one occasion, I put a small quantity of it with earth 
into a flower-pot, which was kept watered all winter 
in a warm room, and though taken from the tree, the 
preceding fall, some of it had vegetated before the com¬ 
mencement of spring. This fact points to a remedy of 
the ditficulty, but I did not make any further experi¬ 
ments in raising plants from seed, having found a more 
easy way of supplying all I required. Under two aged 
trees of the species in question, I discovered that in the 
end of April or beginning of May, an abundance of 
plants, destined to be afterwards browsed by cattle, or 
smothered by the grass, rose from the seed that had 
previously fallen. These I transplanted while many of 
them were only in the seed leaf, and with complete 
success. By this very simple process, I procured in 
one season, above a thousand plants. 
At one year old the plants ought to be transplanted, 
and their tap roots pruned, that they may be kept clear 
* Some sent here in 1841, though they did not arrive till tlK* 
month of June, and had sprouted on the’ voyage, yet grew. 
