202 THE CULTIVATOR. July, 
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his tillage land, had not received more than four or five 
loads of manure to the acre, each season. The weed 
commonly called charlick, (charlock ?)—which very 
much infested the land,—was suffered to attain a rank 
growth in the spring of 1831, ancf about the 20th of 
June it was plowed in. Another crop sprung up and cov¬ 
ered the ground, and in August, that was plowed in also. 
A third crop soon appeared, which, in the latter part of 
September, was served like the others. At this time the 
rye was sown in the usual manner, namely, a narrow 
strip of land was plowed, the seed sown immediately 
upon the furrows, and harrowed in, and soon, until the 
whole was completed. Sowing the seed immediately 
after the plow, was considered very advantageous to 
the crop. The soil then being moist, caused the seed 
to spring immediately, and gave a forwardness and vi¬ 
gor to the plants, which they ever after maintained. 
The next year, 1832, the rye was harvested at the usual 
season. The land contained one acre and thirteen rods, 
and yielded forty-six bushels and three pecks. A field 
of four acres, similarly managed in 1828, gave 33| 
bushels of rye to the acre. 
Mr. Keely remarked that experience and close obser¬ 
vation upon the management of green crops, had con¬ 
vinced him that three things, among others that might 
be more obvious, were essential to a successful result: 
First, the absolute necessity that the plow used be of 
good construction: Second, that some method be devi¬ 
sed to prostrate the crop before the plow, or it would 
not be covered:—He used a wooden roller, about four 
inches in diameter, and sixteen inches long, fixed on the 
end of the plow beam, in a frame temporarily put on 
for the purpose.—Third, it had been found necessary to 
plow the land soon after a rain,—this was very light, 
sandy land,—while it is moist, or the plow would 
crowd the furrow, instead of turning it handsomely. 
He also considered it advantageous to roll the land, af¬ 
ter each plowing. 
The principles by which lands are improved by turn¬ 
ing in green crops, are clearly set forth by Prof. John¬ 
ston, in his usually happy way. I cannot resist an in¬ 
clination to quote briefly from his lectures:— 
“ The plowing in of green vegetables on the spot 
where they have grown, may be followed as a method 
of manuring and enriching all land—where other ma¬ 
nures are less abundant. Growing plants bring up 
from beneath, as far as their roots extend, those sub¬ 
stances which are useful to vegetation—and retain them 
in their leaves and stems. By plowing in the whole 
plant, we restore to the surface what had previously 
sunk to a greater or less depth, and thus make it more 
fertile than it was before the green crop was sown. 
“ This manuring is performed with the least loss by 
the use of vegetables in the green state. By allowing 
them to decay in the open air, there is a loss both of or¬ 
ganic and of inorganic matter—if they be converted in¬ 
to fermented (farm-yard) manure, there is a large loss, 
and the same is the case if they are employed in feed¬ 
ing stock,* with a view to their conversion into manure. 
In no other form can the same crop convey to the soil 
an equal amount of enriching matter as in that of 
green leaves and stems. Where the first object, there¬ 
fore, in the farmer’s practice is, so to use his crops as 
to enrich his land—he will soonest effect it by plowing 
them in in the green state. 
“ But it is deserving of separate consideration, that 
green manuring is especially adapted for improving and 
enriching soils which are poor in vegetable matter. 
The principles on which living plants draw a part— 
sometimes a large part—of their sustenance from the 
* The manure voided by an animal contains very much less 
«o!id matter than the food it has consumed. For every 100 lbs. of 
dry fodder, the horse or the cow will give on an average. 49 lbs. 
dry manure. Lee. 18, Sec. 13. 
air, have been discussed, and I may presume that you 
sufficiently understand the principles, and admit the 
fact. Living plants, then, contain in their substance 
not only all they have drawn up from the soil, but also 
a great part of what they have drawn from the air. 
Plow in these living plants, and you necessarily add to 
the soil more than was taken from it—in other words, 
you make it richer in organic matter. Repeat the pro¬ 
cess with a second crop, and it becomes richer still— 
and it would be difficult to define the limit beyond 
which the process could no further be carried.” 
I would never depend upon green manuring alone, on 
land that I intended to tax with grain crops. In such a 
case, some additional saline substances would need to be 
added, which this system of manuring could not supply, 
in order to support those cropland maintain the fertility 
of the soil. The possession of light and poor, sandy or 
gravelly lands, is usually attended with limited means 
for making or purchasing manure; and these soils are 
always materially deficient in vegetable matter. It has 
therefore been my impression, for years, that, were I to 
become the owner of such a farm, I should use green 
crops extensively, in connection with other manuring, 
to invigorate my poor soil, and supply it speedily with 
this essential material—vegetable matter. 
In the case of worn and exhausted pastures,—such 
as the one I have described,—which are level enough 
to plow, and where a good portion of the droppings of 
the cattle remain on the land, a resort to green manu¬ 
ring will doubtless increase and perpetuate their ferti-’ 
lity. In my immediate vicinity, pasturage is worth 
from 45 to 50 cents a week for each cow. If my pas¬ 
ture ranges were five or ten times larger than they are, 
I could readily obtain these prices. With me then, a 
considerable outlay for increasing the productiveness of 
these lands is judicious. In other sections, where the 
various conditions I have named are all right, I would 
confidently recommend the practice of turning in green 
crops, as a cheap, effectual and speedy method for in¬ 
creasing t e productiveness and profit of worn-out pas¬ 
tures. F. Holbrook. Brattleboro ’, Vt., May, 1849. 
Action of Lime. 
Chemical investigation has led to the idea that one 
of the effects of lime, when applied to the soil, con¬ 
sists in its rendering soluble certain mineral substances 
which are essential to the growth and perfection of ve¬ 
getation. Granite, trap, and slate contain potash, 
which is liberated by caustic lime. There is good rea¬ 
son to believe that this action of lime is of great im¬ 
portance, and that in many instances, it is one of the 
principal causes of the increased productiveness, which 
the application of this substance imparts to the soil. 
The following remarks, from a valuable paper by Prof. 
Johnston, serve eminently to illustrate this subject, and 
will be read with profit.— Eds. 
The decaying vegetable matter in the stems, roots, 
and leaves of plants, which form the so-called humus 
of the soil, contain a large proportion of the inorganic 
matter which was necessary to . their existence in the 
living state. As they decompose, this inorganic mat- 
ter is liberated. By promoting this decomposion, there¬ 
fore, lime sets free this mineral matter, and provides 
at once abundant organic and inorganic food to the 
growing plant. The result of the action of lime is no 
less important in reference to its fertilising quality than 
that by which it causes the production ol those numer¬ 
ous changes in the purely organic matter of the soil to 
which I have already adverted. 
If the vegetable matter decay rapidly, it will supply 
in abundance all the materials, both organic and inor¬ 
ganic, which new races of plants require to form their 
entire substance. If it be in an inert state, or decom- 
