1852, 
THE CULTIVATOR 
205 
are fed principally on them during the spring, for which 
purpose they are cut into slices by rather a rude machine. 
Indeed all their •implements struck me as very coarse 
and ill made, and I was surprised to see such excellent 
work with such poor tools. The plows are very heavy 
clumsy affairs, with a short beam inclined very much up¬ 
wards, resting on a train of two wheels, with cumbrous 
machinery for adjusting the depth of the furrows, bj f 
raising or lowering the beam; yet I saw admirable work 
done by these plows, on even rough land! I will here 
remark that at Grignon they were trying an American 
side-hill plow, that had been sent out by Mr. Taintor, 
and its simplicity and effectiveness was much admired. 
In the stables were about twenty-five strong Norman 
horses, mostly mares, these animals being used as breed¬ 
ers besides performing the work of the farm; here, as 
in many parts of France, the stablemen, cowherds, and 
shepherds, always occupy a sort of birth or “ bunk” in 
the houses of their respective charges, which are thus 
never left alone, and to this fact may be attributed, espe¬ 
cially in sheep, the few losses by accidents, &c., that are 
so usual in large establishments where this precaution is 
not taken. 
Belonging to this institution is an extensive and well 
stocked garden, in which horticulture is especially taught 
as a necessary adjunct to its sister science. A mulberry 
plantation and silk-house form part of the establishments, 
the culture of silks being included in the course of in¬ 
struction, as in the southern parts of France it is an im¬ 
portant branch of industry. 
The greater portion of the labor on this farm is done 
by the students, who have also to attend the regular 
lectures, recitations, and other instruction in the various 
and numerous sciences related to Agriculture. There 
were at this time about an hundred pupils, all wearing a 
sort of uniform (as is the invariable custom of schools 
in this military nation) of a short blue frock or blouse,” 
which is also the regular agricultural dress, even of the 
gentlemen farmers of that country. F. M. R. Morris, 
Otsego co., N. Y., April 2, 1852. 
Culture of Tomatoes. 
Messrs. Editors —I wish to say a few words about 
growing tomatoes, which I think would be worth publish¬ 
ing, if it has not appeared before this from some other 
source. We hear people talk about planting tomatoes 
in sandy ground, that is not very rich, for the reason that 
they run all to vines and produce no fruit. Now my plan 
is to plant the seed in good rich ground, and allow them 
to grow until they have made two, three or four shoots 
from the stalk—after which, prune all the side shoots 
that come out, and follow this plan all through the season, 
every three or four days, and let the vines grow the full 
length, never pinching off the ends. In this way I can 
raise earlier and better tomatoes than by any other plan, 
and also a great many more of them. It is necessary to 
stake the vines up to keep them off the ground, and they 
will then grow from seven to nine feet long, with large 
bunches of tomatoes at the ends of the vines. Some of 
my neighbors have tried this plan and pronounce it far 
superior to every other. J. W. Clute. Schenectady, 
April 22, 1852. 
Culture of Strawberries. 
Eds. Cultivator — I do not know that the subject mat. 
ter of my communication will appear sufficiently impor¬ 
tant for insertion in your Journal; but as it appears 
“ quite a wonder” to me, I give you the narration. 
I purchased last spring, for the purpose of agricultural 
experiment, a couple of acres on Division Avenue, 
Brooklyn, at $1,000 per acre—a price which the readers 
of your Journal have full liberty to laugh at. 
As I had a great number of 11 whimsies” to work out, 
the greater part had to be devoted to 11 small truck.” 
Among other things, Strawberries received some atten¬ 
tion. In a bed 50 feet by 20, I set out May 15th, in rows 
80 inches apart each way, 160 plants of the Early Scarlet 
variety. On the first of August I loosened all the run¬ 
ners that had set between the second and third rows, and 
turned them back between the first and second, and third 
and fourth, as they respectively belonged. 
This, of course, thickened the plants between the first 
and second, and every alternate two rows—leaving the 
space between the second and third, and every alternate 
two rows, for a path. The jdeld was much lessened by 
a row of corn, planted across one side between two rows, 
which shaded and thinned the plants. The produce of this 
160 plants was as follows: From the 1st to the 21st of June, 
I picked 69 quarts. Besides this, they were much exposed 
to plunder; about 20 persons at different times, plucked 
from the vines for immediate eating, so that the actual 
quantity could not be arrived at. As for the culture, 
there were no more pains bestowed upon them, than upon 
an equal space of potatoes. Thomas W. Field. WilU 
iamsburgh, L. I. Jan. 26, 1852. 
Experiment in Manuring Corn. 
The Journal of Agriculture gives a communication 
from W. R. Kimball of New Hampshire, describing a 
careful experiment with corn. Greensward was plowed 
in October, and manured highly next spring—it was 
plowed and harrowed, and planted with corn in hills of 
three grains each, three feet by eighteen inches. The 
seed was steeped six hours in a solution of chloride of 
lime, and in each hill was dropped a handful of compost 
made of plaster, unleached ashes, and hen manure— 
consisting of about three bushels each of hen manure and 
plaster, and eight of ashes. The ingredients were all 
dry powder. The corn came up quickly and grew with 
great vigor, and yielded about eighty bushels per acre. 
On two rows through the middle of the field, the chloride 
of lime and compost were omitted, with a greatly dimin¬ 
ished result, or about thirty-five bushels less per acre. 
Manures for "Wheat. —The lands of Maryland and 
Virginia are wonderfully revived by guano. Robert F 
Brown states in the American Farmer, that one of his 
neighbors sowed seven bushels of blue-stem wheat on eight 
acres, and harvested over 33 bushels from one, with the 
application of 150 lbs. of guano per acre. Two other 
experiments given resulted nearly as favorably. Jos. W. 
Kay, another correspondent of the same paper, furnishes 
a statement of the mode in which Dr. E. P. White raised 
in one instance 54£, and in another 56 bushels per acre, 
by the application of lime, clover, plaster, and other 
manures, in connexion with deep plowing. 
