1854 . 
THE CULTIVATOR 
301 
and strengthen them at the most critical period of their 
growth. If they have •not food manuPe is the food 
of plants,”) when young, they droop and die ; if not 
when stronger and older, they will soon grow weak 
and follow the first. Whereas, when manure is tho¬ 
roughly mingled with the soil, from lop to bottom , the 
plants have food at all seasons of their growth, and 
“ multiply exceedingly.” Hence, how careful the ag¬ 
riculturist should be in applying manure. 
If manures remain in the ground where they were 
first put, tbe'y should fee thoroughly mixed with the 
soil to give the plants food whenever they need it. If 
io descends in the soil, it should be put near the sur¬ 
face —within three inches—not on the surface, as it 
is certain some of the gases in manure—such as am¬ 
monia, will evaporate when exposed to the sun. It 
also strikes me that rain will have such effect on the 
soluble portion of manure, as to wash it in the soil; 
that some of the soluble portion of manure, which 
could be washed into the soil will evaporate by the ac¬ 
tion of the sun. For that reason I would not put ma¬ 
nure on the surface, but a few inches below. Thus 
the young plant receives nourishment from the manure 
while it is near the surface, and as the manure gradu¬ 
ally descends into the soil, so does the roots of the 
plant, and in this manner the plant is continually 
being enriched by the same. It is certain, if manure 
acts in this manner in the soil, it is most advanta¬ 
geous to the agriculturist who cultivates such crops 
whose roots run deep—which most crops do. For, 
suppose manure ascends in the soil, it must be buried 
very deep to last any length of time, and so the young 
plant cannot receive any benefit from it—(it will also 
be shown, that the old plants receive none unless the 
manure is buried to a great depth,)—so they must be 
manured “in the hill,” increasing the labor and the 
expense. As the roots of the plant descend, they soon 
extend beyond the reach of the i*anure put “ in the 
hill,” and for a time, if the soil does not contain it 
without the manure put in for the crop —the crop re¬ 
ceives no nourishment, but, as it is about to “ give up,” 
the manure, which was buried deep, ascending and act¬ 
ing upon the plant, it gradually revives and continues 
for a time, in the middle of its growth— as long it 
feels the effect of the manure to grow luxuriantly ; but 
alas ! the manure constantly rising, and the roots of 
the plant descending, or even if they do not descend— 
they soon separate—the manure is off, the plant is 
drooping. 
W hich of the three doctrines is right 1 
To find an answer to the above question, was this 
experiment proposed. 
Will the editor of the “ Cultivator ” give his views 
on the subject ? K.—*—J. 
We think experience has already demonstrated that 
the more thoroughly the soil and the manure are pul¬ 
verised and intermixed, the greater will be the influ¬ 
ence of the manure upon the crop. 
Liebig, whom some one lately saw at Geneva, ex¬ 
pressed his pleasure that he was appreciated in this 
country by Mr. Mapes. He will get along now.— Prai¬ 
rie Farmer. 
Weevils in our Peas. 
Messrs. Editors —Some days since I discovered 
these insects in my green peas, from the smallest to 
the largest, without any exception whatever ; in the 
small ones, I found it in the form of a maggot; but in 
the larger, it assumed the form and appearance of the 
weevil. 
This may be seen by peeling off the skin which en¬ 
closes the pea, (this should be done with the fingers ;) 
then you will perceive one or more dark brown spots ; 
each of these contain an insect. I think that if it was 
generally known that green peas contained these in¬ 
sects, there would be but few grown; therefore I am 
led to think that there is but a few who know com¬ 
pared to those that do not even suspect it. H. L. Tif¬ 
fany. Southington , Conn., Aug. 8. 
Seymour’s Seed Drill. 
Mr. Tucker —Agricultural implements and ma¬ 
chinery are at the present time receiving more atten¬ 
tion from the public than they have formerly done, 
and if I am not mistaken are destined to receive far 
more attention than they now' do. 
Farmers as a class are slow to adopt anything new, 
but necessity will compel them to adopt improved im¬ 
plements and machines. 
It is but a few years since the horse-rake came into 
use ; now a farmer would almost as quick think of 
getting his hay without a pitchfork as without a horse- 
rake. A few years ago it was thought impossible to 
use a horse-rake on any land that was not perfectly 
smooth and level; now a farmer would be loth to mow 
a meadow that is so rough that he cannot use the 
horse-rake. It is but a few years since the drill came 
into use ; but wherever it has been used, fo far as I 
am informed, it is universally approved. The great 
difficulty of getting agricultural laborers that can be 
depended upon to sow a field of grain as it should be 
sown, will induce the farmers to try a machine. When 
they have once used a good machine they will be loth 
to return to the old tedious practice of sowing by hand. 
I find that the opinion is almost universal in this sec¬ 
tion that the drill cannot be used except on very smooth 
land ; in fact it is not two months since I was of the 
same opinion. I am now satisfied from actual experi¬ 
ment that a drill will work well on any land that a 
Geddes harrow will work well upon. 
About the 1st of July I procured a drill of Mr. P. N. 
Seymour of East Bloomfield, Ontario "Co. I must say 
that it far exceeds my most sanguine expectations. 1 
have sown several fields of buckwheat with it, (some 
of them quite rough.) I have turned stones out of the 
ground as large as two stout men could lift, without 
injuring the drill in the least. It will sow all kinds of 
grain and grass seeds better than the most experienced 
person can by hand. It can be regulated to sow any 
desired quantity to the acre ; it will also sow lime, 
plaster, bone dust, ashes, &c, broadcast or in drills 
It will sow grain and grass seed at the same time. It 
is easily managed, and not liable to get out of order. 
Yours trulv, Henry Keeler. South Salem , N. Y, 
Aug. 15, 1854. 
