THE CULTIVATOR. 
35 
best cattle in Connecticut, and the very best in Fairfield 
county, in which the farm is situated. 
His stock of swine also, was not large; but the animals 
were of a superior breed, being full blood Berkshires, 
from the stock of C. N. Bement of Albany. He has a 
Neapolitan sow, which he has had crossed with the 
Bershire. This breed of hogs is said to be very fine and 
delicate. Coming from a warm climate and being with¬ 
out hair or bristles, it is questionable whether it can 
withstand our climate. I apprehend it will degenerate 
here, before it becomes acclimated, and then it will pro¬ 
bably recover its external coating which nature has given 
to all animals in cold climates to keep them warm. 
Westport, although a short distance east, and a little 
north of Staten Island, has a severer climate, and in con¬ 
sequence of early frosts the corn crop is sometimes in¬ 
jured, and hence the Dutton variety has been introduced 
on account of its early maturity. On Staten Island we 
raise the large white flint corn, which is seldom injured 
by autumnal frosts, although it requires three or four 
weeks longer to mature than the Dutton. This variety 
of corn does not thrive here, in our stiff clayey soil. 
Enough for the present. With regard and esteem, 
from yours, Richmond. 
Oakland Farm, Staten Islmd, Nov. 14, 1843. 
EXPERIMENTS IN MANURING GRASS LANDS. 
Editors of the Cultivator— By recurring to page 
164, of the 9th vol. of the Cultivator, you will find some 
experiments of mine on manuring grass lands. On the 
5th of 6 th mo. last, I staked two squares of exactly one 
square rod each, adjacent to the five mentioned as above, 
and numbered them 6 and 7; on No. 6 ,1 sowed 1 lb. of 
dry sulphate of soda, and on No. 7, one quart of common 
salt. No. 1 to 5, inclusive, have had nothing applied to 
them since last year, and therefore present the second 
year’s result of the manures then applied to them. The 
following is the result of their weights, taken immedi¬ 
ately after cutting, on the 1 th of 8 th mo. last. 
No. l.*>*.53| lbs. I No. 4.. 54| lbs. 
2. . 61 5.. 55£ 
3. .53i I 6..45] 
No. 7.... 47£ lbs. 
From this, it appears that notwithstanding the valua¬ 
ble effects of salt and sulphate of soda in England, when 
applied to grass lands, there was 85 less grass on the 
square manured with the sulphate of soda, and 6 j lbs. 
less on the square manured with salt, than on No. 1, 
which had received no manure whatever; in other 
words, they injured the land by these amounts. No. 2, 
which was manured with ashes last year, you will per¬ 
ceive still shows a marked superiority over all the oth¬ 
er manures. Stockport, 1 1th mo. 26, 1843. N. N. D. 
LUCERN. 
tf Lucern,” says Nicholson, “ makes the sweetest 
and most fattening food in the world for cattle;” and 
Drown says, {i it is undoubtedly the most productive, and 
that which comes sooner into use [in the spring] than any 
other of the artificial grasses. From three to five tons 
of excellent hay can be cut to the acre; and with the 
best cultivation and plentiful manuring, nine tons per 
acre have been had in a season. It is supposed that our 
dry warm summers are more favorable to its growth than 
the cool and moist ones of Great Britain; and [Chancellor] 
Livingston has obtained greater products than those men¬ 
tioned by British writers.” The plants often last from 
eight to ten years. 
Lucern requires two or more years before it attains its 
full growth; and therefore, as Loudon justly remarks, 
<e it is ill adapted to enter into general rotations.” For 
soiling, however, it is admirably adapted, as it may be 
cut at least four times in a season, “ giving no taste to 
the milk and butter,”* and (e one acre is sufficient for 
three or four cows.”f I have seen it planted near Phila¬ 
delphia, in rows or hills, and the intervals plowed twice 
a year. This culture greatly increased its vigor; but if 
it be sown broad-cast, and light harrows be used early 
* Drown’s Farmer’s Guide. 
t Loudon’s Encyclopaedia of Plants* 
in the spring, after the plants have become strong, treat¬ 
ing them also with compost or poudrette, the crop could 
be more conveniently managed. In the former case, the 
sickle was employed; but the latter method would admit 
the introduction of the scythe. 
“ The soil for Lucerne,” says Loudon, <c must be dry, 
friable, and inclining to sand, with a subsoil not inferior 
[in quality.] Unless the soil be good and deep, it is in 
vain to attempt to cultivate lucern;” and yet I have a 
patch of several square rods, sowed broad-cast, in the 
spring of 1841, which is doing well. The seed was a 
present from M. B. Bateham, of Rochester; and as it had 
to be sown somewhere, I selected a loam, rather heavy, 
the best spot I could find that was mellow, though hardly 
dry enough for wheat. I have been, therefore, agreeably 
disappointed. It has resisted the frost well, which I 
scarcely expected, and far exceeds the adjoining clover 
in growth. 
This experiment has satisfied me that farmers might 
find it very convenient and profitable to appropriate some 
half acre of land adjoining their stables or barn-yard. 
Throughout the whole summer, horses from the plow or 
from the road could be promptly provided for; and a bait 
for each milch cow, in the evenings and mornings, would 
be paid for in the pail. D. T 
Greatfield, Cayuga Co., \2th mo. 16, 1843. 
BOTTS’ STRAW CUTTER. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker:— My attention has been 
attracted to an article in the Dec. No. of the Cultivator, 
from your distinguished correspondent Mr. Bement, in 
which he has done me the honor to notice the straw cut¬ 
ter invented by me, and exhibited at the Agricultural 
Fair of New-York, in 1842. I am much obliged to Mr. 
Bement for the commendations he has bestowed upon the 
machine, considering the unfavorable circumstances un¬ 
der which it was exhibited; but in speaking of it, he 
uses an expression which I feel bound to notice, as it 
may lead to misapprehension on the part of some of your 
widely diffused readers. He says, “ it appears to be a 
machine long sought for, viz. one that will cut hay, straw 
and cornstalks .” Now, this machine was taken from Al¬ 
bany, put in good order, and exhibited a few weeks after¬ 
wards at the Fair of the Philadelphia Agricultural Soci¬ 
ety, and at the great Fair of the American Institute in 
New-York. At both places it bore away the palm from 
all competitors, and at the latter it received a silver me¬ 
dal on account of its superiority as a hay, straw, and 
stalk cutter. I believe it is the strongest, simplest, and 
most efficient straw cutter, and better adapted to the ca¬ 
pacity and management of common operatives, than any 
other machine I have ever seen; and in this opinion I 
am supported by testimonials from hundreds of the most 
judicious farmers in Virginia and the southern country. 
But I have received several orders for this cutter from 
gentlemen in the south, because of its supposed adapta¬ 
tion to the cutting of cornstalks, and I have uniformly 
declined to send it under such circumstances, because I 
knew it was fitted for no such purpose. The truth is, 
the cornstalks of the north and south are very different 
things. You grow your corn very thick, and your stalks 
are hardly larger than your thumb, whilst ours are fre 
quently as large as your wrist. 
This knife, although intended for straw and hay, on 
account of its great strength, operates very well on our 
tops, (the part of the plant above the ear,) and your stalks. 
But I have never seen but one knife adapted to cutting 
the lower part of the stalk of the southern country, and 
that is one which I have lately gotten up for the express 
purpose, at the request of a gentleman, upon an entirely 
new principle, viz: that of cutting the stalk obliquely, by 
means of a powerful knife descending upon the layer of 
stalks so as to make a very obtuse angle with it. 
This knife will also cut straw and hay, as well as 
stalks, but requires to be fed by hand, whilst the one first 
spoken of is much more rapid in its execution, and Is 
furnished with a very perfect feeding apparatus. 
The cutter recommended by Mr. Bement is sold at 
thirty dollars, the stalk cutter proper at ten dollars. 
Richmond , Va. } Dec. 15, 1843. G. T. Botts 
