338 THE CULTIVATOR. 
Our practice has been, except in cases of necessity, like the one 
above, to let our hay wilt in swath, that is, to cock in the afternoon 
that which is cut in the forenoon, and not to have the cocks exceed 
fifty to seventy pounds hay when cured. We are glad to see that a 
larger quantity will cure well. Let it be remembered that the cocks 
must not be made by rolling , but by placing, with a fork, one layer 
above another, till the cock is completed. 
Under-draining. —We copy into the present number, an excellent 
article upon this subject from the Edinburgh Quarterly Journal ot 
Agriculture. Our reasons for publishing so much upon this subject, 
result from a conviction, that no department of our husbandry has 
been more neglected than draining,—that few operations are more 
important to good husbandry,—and that we are wretchedly defective 
in theoretical as well as practical knowledge, in this branch of farm 
labor. 
CO R R ESS PO N PENCE. 
Seneca Falls, JYov. 24, 1834. 
Sir, —Having recently become a subscriber to your paper, I have 
ventured to address you on a subject which has for a short time oc¬ 
cupied my thoughts, in the hopes of gaining information myself, as 
well as calling the attention of older and better informed minds to 
the contemplation of the same subject. 
It is this: The universal practice of building with vegetable cellars] 
underneath dwelling-houses, considered in connexion with the health 
of the occupants. 
It may seem strange that 1 should trouble you with a subject hav¬ 
ing so little apparent connexion with the exclusive object of your 
journal. I do it, because (in my opinion) the persons whom your 
paper is most especially intended to benefit, are most interested in 
the subject. 
It would be very inconvenient, if not impossible, for those building 
in crowded cities, or large towns, to spare room sufficient for what 
is commonly called an “out door” cellar. But the case would be 
different with those who are engaged in agricultural or horticultural 
pursuits. The latter also usually store a larger quantity of vegeta- 
bles in their cellars, and would be more likely to suffer from the evils 
of the practice, if there are evils arising from it. 
Now, sir, it is generally admitted, and indeed well proven by facts, 
that the gases arising from the decomposition of vegetable matter, 
are the principal cause of most of the diseases to which the human 
frame is subject. These gases are usually termed Malaria (or evil 
air) and Marsh Miasma. 
It was formerly supposed that this air only originated from marsh¬ 
es, and had some mysterious character. (It is, indeed, most abun¬ 
dant and most noxious in the vicinity of marshes, because thoir ve¬ 
getation is most luxuriant, and decomposition most rapid, from the 
constant presence of water, a necessary agent in the voluntary de¬ 
composition of vegetable matter.) But as the science of medicine 
has advanced, the cause, nature and connexion of diseases is more 
thoroughly understood, the mystery has disappeared, and it is ascer¬ 
tained that wherever vegetable matter is suffered to remain «en 
masse” until decomposition takes place, or in other words, till it rots, 
there is a very hot-bed for the production of that which causes fe¬ 
vers, small-pox, cholera, &c. 
Now I will propose the question, whether the storing of vegetables 
under dwellings is not the cause of most of the casual fevers which 
afflict the country, and whether much sickness might not be pre¬ 
vented by the construction of vegetable cellars in places disconnect¬ 
ed with the dwellings 1 
The question, in the extent to which I would apply it, is new to 
myself. I therefore propose it, that if you should think it of suffi¬ 
cient importance, you may notice it in your journal, with whatever 
light you can throw upon it, and also, that others who may be ac¬ 
quainted with any facts, either “ pro or con,” may be induced to sub¬ 
mit them, with their own thoughts on the subject. 
I will very briefly slate a few reasons why I am inclined to an¬ 
swer the question in the affirmative ; and, 
1st. The malaria is lighter than atmospheric air, consequently, it 
has a tendency to rise through the crevices in the floor of the house, 
as soon as it is generated by decomposition, especially if the cellar 
is kept closed, as it usually is during the night, and passing through 
the house, mixes with the air of the rooms, which is already render¬ 
ed impure, and its adaptation to the purposes of human life much 
' lessened, by frequent breathing. In this concentrated and doubly 
j poisonous state, it is inhaled by those asleep. This might account 
for the fact, that a great number of those who suffer from fevers and 
other diseases, feel the first symptoms of the disease, either in the 
night, or when they first awake in the morning. Although the ma¬ 
laria is lighter than pure atmospheric air, yet it mixes with it, and 
as it becomes diluted by it, loses its power of communicating dis¬ 
ease, so that if it is under the necessity of passing but a very short 
distance, either perpendicularly or horizontally, in situations where 
it is exposed to the free action of the atmosphere, it is rendered com¬ 
paratively inert. I could, if necessary, cite many instances to prove 
this, and probably you yourself are acquainted with some, where, 
when disease has been rife in some districts of a city, the air which 
caused it has been deprived of its power to infect by merely crossing 
a narrow street. 
2d. Even fresh vegetables, when first buried or secured, undergo 
fermentation to a considerable extent: witness the necessity of mak¬ 
ing air-holes in the earth covering vegetables, which are buried out 
of doors, for the purpose of suffering the gas which is generated to 
escape. 
I will close with one more reason: Cellars are always damp, and 
frequently very wet, and in the best of them there is sufficient mois¬ 
ture and heat to produce fermentation, so that many of the vegeta¬ 
bles kept over winter are found to be decayed in the spring. In 
some, vegetables in a half-rotten state are suffered to remain month 
after month. I have frequently heard those who have had much 
sickness in their families ascribe it to the water which was standing 
in their cellar, whereas water of itself would, even in this case, be 
perfectly harmless; but if a quantity of vegetable matter were in 
the cellar upon which the water might act, as an agent in decom¬ 
position, the sickness would, to my mind, be satisfactory accounted 
for. 
For these reasons I am inclined to believe that so much disease as 
is produced by this practice might be avoided by making “ out-door” 
cellars for vegetables, even though but a small space intervened be¬ 
tween the house and the cellar. 
Yours, respectfully, W. D. C. 
Milan, Huron co. Ohio, Dec. 12, 1834. 
Dear Sir, —There are twenty copies of the Cultivator received 
at this office, and some of us have been looking with solicitude to 
find something on the cultivation of hedge <horn, but find nothing, or 
nothing satisfactory. Situated as some of the subscribers are, upon 
the large prairie, destitute of timber, it becomes a subject of inqui¬ 
ry, “ How are our farms to be fenced 1” 
The object of this communication is to obtain information in rela¬ 
tion to this subject. Can you give us information, 1. Whether the 
hedge thorn has been successfully cultivated in this country? 2. If 
so, what kind of soil is best adapted to its growth ? 3. Where may 
the seed be obtained, and what is the best method of cultivation ? 
4. How long will it be before sets from the seed will be sufficiently 
large to stop cattle and hogs? 
The soil of our prairies appears to consist principally of vegetable 
mould to the depth of from four to twelve inches, with a subsoil of 
clay, very tenacious, by which means in time of much rain the earth 
is full of moisture, and very soft. In time of drought, the earth 
cracks, and its lumps become hard and impervious to the roots of 
most vegetables. With a proper degree of moisture, vegetable mat¬ 
ter is very abundant, corn yielding sixty, and oats fifty bushels to 
the acre. Trees transplanted upon the prairie usually thrive re¬ 
markably well, but those vegetables likely to be greatly affected by 
a superabundance of moisture, or short periods of dry weather, can¬ 
not be expected to do well on the prairie. 
Can you inform us of any other live fence besides the thorn, which 
would be likely to thrive and answer the purpose on our prairies ? 
Would the yellow locust thrive so as to afford posts, &c. in a few 
years? 
We are sorry to trespass upon your time, and the deep interest 
some of us feel upon this subject must be our apology for troubling 
you. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
RALPH LOCKWOOD. 
P. S. Our prairie farms are principally fenced with oak rails; but 
they have advanced in price within a few years from $1 to $4 per 
hundred, delivered on the line of the fence; they will last about ten 
years. Oak boards maybe had at $1 per hundred feet, and are con¬ 
sidered as durable as rails. We are anticipating a further advance 
