MC ’^ qQ>; !SStaaaig!aft 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
112 ___ 
lids receive a greater expansion, circulation is restored, and the sap depo¬ 
sited in the vessels during the summer and earlier part of autumn, affords 
the first nourishment to plants. 
The branches of trees that are lopped off in winter, put forth buds and 
stalks in the spring; a branch of a vine introduced during the w inter into 
a hot house, vegetated as it would have done in the spring, whilst that 
portion of it which remained exposed to the cold, experienced no change. 
Plants that have been browsed in autumn, do not put forth so early, nor 
with so much strength as those of which the roots, and the parts immedi¬ 
ately surmounting them, have been preserved by mowing. 
All agriculturists have observed, that young trees transplanted in the 
spring appear to flourish for three or four months, and then die; if when 
taken up they have examined their roots, they have almost invariably found 
that they presented no appearance of having increased; w hich proves that 
vegetation is carried on in the spring by the nourishment provided, and 
deposited in plants before the fall of the leaves. 
The difference which exists in the vegetation of the same branch, one 
end of which is placed in the earth, and the other rising above it, must 
strike every observer. The part w hich is planted in the soil, sends forth 
roots, whilst that which rises into the air produces leaves; and if any part 
of the root be uncovered, so as to come in contact wiih the air, it produ¬ 
ces stocks and leaves; whilst that which remains beneath the soil contin¬ 
ues to grow as the root of them. All parts of plants then are oiganized 
by their growth in such a manner, as shall enable them, most convenient¬ 
ly, to imbibe at the same time their nourishment from the soil and from 
the atmosphere. 
It is in the pow'er of art to influence the flow of the sap, nearly at will. 
When the nourishment afforded by the earth is too abundant, it is but im¬ 
perfectly digested, and is exclusively employed in the grow th of the plants; 
a tree in this case produces neither flowers nor fruit, but expends all its 
strength in leaves and wood. To remedy this superabundance ofsap, some 
of the roots may be separated; or what is still better, incisions may be 
made in the bark of the tree to cause the escape of a portion of the sap.* * 
If it be wished tofacilitate the growth of the fiuit, a portion of the branch¬ 
es may be pruned, and part of the fruit plucked off; in this way a greater 
quantity of sap may be supplied to the lruit that remains; tight ligatures 
upon the branches, and incisions surrounding them through the whole 
thickness of the bark, produce the same effect. The pruning of fruit trees 
is principally designed to limit the production of fruit to the quantity that 
can be properly nourished by the plant. The grafting which is practised 
upon trees of analogous species, only presents to the juices of the wild 
tree an organic tissue different from its own; in the cells of w hich the jui¬ 
ces receive a peculiar elaboration, which changes the nature of their pro¬ 
ducts. 
It is not by an analysis of plants, nor by the proportion of their consti¬ 
tuent piinciples, which can be extracted by Water, that we can judge of 
the nutritive quality of vegetables, or other alimentary substances. I have 
NOTE BY THE CONDUCTOR. 
* We would call the reader’s attention to the principle here laid down, as im¬ 
portant in the management, not only of fruit trees, but of many of the crops 
of the. firm. It is a common, but mistaken notion, that by putting fruit trees 
into ricb ground, or rendering the soil very rich in which they grow, they may 
be forced into an early and abundant state of bearing. Precisely ill ■ reverse 
is the case ; a great grow th of wood may be induced ; but the production of 
fruit, by this means, is in a measure prevented, till the plant arrives at a ma¬ 
ture state, or the growth of its wood is checked. Rich grounds will produce 
the largest fruit, but poorer soils will produce the richest fruit, in all the pro¬ 
perties which give it value—the juices w ill be more concenlrated. arid the fla¬ 
vor higher. The best wines are made from grapes grown on thin dry soils. 
The same is the case in regard to the juice and flavor of the apple. 
The prino pie is also illustrated in farm crops. The maize arid potato, for 
instance, whose sap vessels are large, and which may be denominated coarse 
feeders, are not prejudiced by the strong gases which are given of!'from stable 
manure in the first stages of fermentation ; indeed those gases constitute Hie 
proper pabulum for these crops at midsummer, when they are most abundant¬ 
ly furnished by manure buried in the soil, and when they are most needed lo 
give a vigorous growth lo the stalk. These gases are in a great measure ex¬ 
hausted, ere these crops produce their seeds and tubers in autumn, and when 
they would be prejudicial. Mot so with the smaller grains. These produce 
their seeds at midsummer, when fermentation is at its greatest height; and 
the gases cause too vigorous, or an unhealthy grow th ot straw’, to the preju¬ 
dice ol the grain. It is for these reasons that we so often insist on the propri¬ 
ety of applying all the manure which a farmer has on hand in the spring, in 
an unfermented state, exclusively to hoed crops. These crops reduce the ma¬ 
nure to a proper stale for sustaining small grains and grasses, without dimin¬ 
ishing the value of the dung any more for them than would he occasioned by 
a summer fermentation in the dung yard. We find it to be a general practice 
in parts of Otsego and Montgomery, where we have lately travelled, to leave 
all the dnrig in the yard till autumn, and in too many cases, it is allowed lo 
accumulate for years. Such a pracliee is the most wretched feature of bad 
firming. In the first ease, the best half of the manure is lost, and the crops 
which it ought to nourish, and which it would double in product, are conse¬ 
quently light and meagre. Farmers who permit the dung to accumulate about 
their barns for years, must be either wretchedly indolent, or grossly ignorant: 
for this dung is to their crops what hay is to their, farm-stock—the food destin¬ 
ed by nature to nourish and perfect them. 
already proved, that a nutritive substance, deprived of all its soluble parts! 
by water, is capable, in the progress of its decomposition, of forming new 
and soluble compounds. It is only by experiments, and by the effects of 
this or that kind of food upon animals, that we can ascertain the difference 
existing between various nutritive bodies. 
The digestive juices of the stomachs of animals and the organs of plants 
animated by vital pow’ers, of which we are ignorant, have also their chy- 
mistry, with which we are unacquainted, and of which we can understand 
only the results. It is surely erroneous to pretend to determine the quan¬ 
tity of nourishment, by that portion which can be extracted irom any ar¬ 
ticle of food by water; but upon this principle Davy has represented the 
nutritive virtue of beets by the number of 136, and that of carrots by 98; 
whilst M. Thayer has by his experiments estimated that of the first to he 
57, and of the last 98. Upon the same principle Davy has valued the ef¬ 
fects of linseed cakes at 151, compared with those of beets as 136; while 
it has been proved that 701b. of beets are hardly equivalent in nourishment 
to 10!b. of linseed cakes. 
In order to estimate the nutritive merits of any substance, it is neces¬ 
sary to have less regard loits chemical character, than to the nature of the 
animal to be nourished by it, one is disgusted by that which pleases ano¬ 
ther; and this will decompose what that will reject; it is only by observa¬ 
tion that we can decide. 
These principle- are still less applicable to the nourishment of plants, 
than of animals; because of the first it is necessary that their food should 
be presented to them, and in a slate of solution or mixture; whilst the last 
seek theirs where it may he found, and make choice of such as are suita¬ 
ble for them; but in both cases the nutritive virtues of the food can be es¬ 
timated only by the results of its elaboration in the digestive organs, and 
by the effects produced on the economy of the animal or vegetable. It 
should besides be remembered, that the nutritive qualities of the various 
products of vegetation depend less upon their weight, than their kind; and 
that a substance may be insoluble in w’ater, which may, when acted up¬ 
on by the gastric juices, become excellent food. 
Miscellaneous. 
From the Farmers' Register. 
ON THE ADVANTAGES TO BE DERIVED FROM THE ESTABLISH¬ 
MENT OF AN AGRICULTURAL PROFESSORSHIP. 
Barboursville, July 23, 1835. 
Sir—Tt has been a settled conviction on my mind for years, that a pro¬ 
fessorship of agriculture—a pattern farm, anti such a paper as yours, unit¬ 
ed therewith, would be productive of incalculable benefit to the common¬ 
wealth. The space of a letter is too confined to admit of one-half being 
stated. Suffice it to say, it would elevate the science—add dignity to the 
pursuit—call off from encumbered vocations a portion of the mind of our 
citizens now lost to the community—present a rallying point for all the 
scattered information of the land—reduce to the test of experiment every 
theory plausible enough to justify it—by the same standard to prove the va¬ 
lue of every discovery or improvement—promote economy by causing one 
experiment for many—a certain and rapid communication, through thp 
state, of the results—furnish a sure means of ascertaining the nature of 
our climate—the quantity of rain falling in the year—the seasons when 
drought most generally prevails—and by consequence, furnish data to guide 
the husbandman in the cultivation of crops, both as to time and kind. But 
I must stop—for I find no end to the advantages that would result fiom such 
an establishment. Let me, however, add one more. All these things are 
to be done before the youth of Virginia—the future men of the com non¬ 
wealth, destined eventually to influence her destiny. A portion of these, 
selected from every part of the state (say one to each congressional or se¬ 
natorial district,) of promise, but unable, from poverty, to educate them¬ 
selves, to become the adopted children of the state, would he able by al¬ 
ternate labor and study, alike to keep up the farm, and to improve them¬ 
selves. Indeed, it is worthy of the profoundest consideration, whether 
every student ofthe University would not profit by a few hours’ wot k dai¬ 
ly, in the proper season. These being my views, I submit to you wheth¬ 
er it does not behove the tillers of the earth to make an effort to induce 
the legislature to attend to their neglected interests. How is this to be 
done? I answer, as every olher sect effects every thing, by conventions 
—to that alternative we must also resort. What say you to such a con¬ 
vention, to meet in Richmond the first Monday tn January? Let any one 
who feels an interest in the object attend. Let each agricultural society 
in the state he represented there. If it tie asked what good can come of 
it, the answer is, let us try. A free communion ol the intelligence of the 
land cannot be altogether unproductive of good fruit. Apart from what 
can be done by such a convention on its own means, an appeal may be 
made to the legislature under the weighty sanctions of their united wishes, 
to do something for us. If the view which I suggest is esteemed imprac¬ 
ticable, they may incorporate an agricultural society in each congressional 
district, and award a small sum to each, to be distributed in premiums, 
after the manner of New-York and other states. 
But it is objected that it will cost something. Have we not as a class 
