176 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
June. 
are requisite to mature the plant, and thus ex¬ 
plains the fertility or barrenness of soils, and the 
use of manures. 
The chemist has discovered that a class of plants, 
as the common grains, require much phosphoric 
acid for their full developmentanother class— 
the root crops, need large supplies of potash, while 
the grasses must be furnished with lime in quan¬ 
tity. It is easy then, knowing the necessities of 
the various cultivated plants, to adapt the soil to 
their most profitable production. 
It has long been a mooted point among prac¬ 
tical men, at what time grains and grasses 
should be harvested. Chemieal analysis has set¬ 
tled it, by proving that during the riixming of 
grain, certain changes occur, which render the 
fully mature seed less nutritious than that gath¬ 
ered while in the milk. 
As concerns the preservation of stable, manure, 
science has indicated the wastefulness of the pre¬ 
vailing practices. In whatever part of the coun¬ 
try we travel, we see that the majority of good 
and thriving farmers even expose their stable dung 
to the full action of the elements, taking no care 
to shelter it; many of them cart it upon the fields 
in autumn, to lie the whole winter* and generally 
it is true, that with no great saving of labor, the 
value of manure is reduced to one-half or one- 
third of its original worth. In this country, the 
solid manure of domestic animals is deemed of 
most value. In other countries, it is the prevail¬ 
ing custom to treasure carefully the liquid manure. 
Ask one of our unreading farmers what the urine 
of a cow is worth annually, and he has never 
thought it of any particular importance. A Fle¬ 
mish farmer considers it worth $10. 
Which is the most profitable, to let it go uneared 
for, or to scrupulously preserve it ? Chemistry 
answers—take care of it, and the reason it offers 
for this advice is satisfactory. The urine is far 
richer in the materials which most encourage vege¬ 
table growth, than Is the solid manure. 
The practical uses that science may this day 
serve the farmer, are so great that it were well 
worth his trouble to become a student, and so far 
master its principles and applications to husbandry, 
as to claim without unjust pretension, the rank 
of a scientific farmer. 
If want of early training leaves him with an in¬ 
aptitude to study that he cannot command energy 
enough to overcome, let him at least see that his 
sons be taught the beautiful and beneficent truths 
revealed by modern science, that affect his calling. 
Though so little, comparatively, has yet been 
accomplished, yet that little is of exceeding value, 
and it is no hazardous prophecy to predict, that 
in few years, throughout all enlightened countries, 
agriculture will be taught as a science, as exten- 
siveiy as it is now practiced as an art. 
Moss in Grass Lands. 
Messrs. Editors —I notice the inquiry by R. 
F. B. Ellsworth, of Ohio,in regard to grasslands 
running out,, and moss coming in, and rotting out 
the grass. I have noticed this frequently in years 
gone-by, in grass lands. In cases of this kind, 
where the land is in pasture or meadow, and can 
be tilled to advantage, as soon as the u moss” 
comes in largely, I would put in the plow, and 
let the land go through a course of crops of 
two or three years, as the case may be. After 
this, seed down again with plenty of good grass 
■= --- . ...~~ 
seed, according to the fanner’s own judgment. If 
the pasture or meadow is too rough to plow to 
good advantage, then I would give the land a 
good top dressing of compost, if you have it, 
which is an important consideration; then go over 
the land with a fine, sharp-toothed harrow. Give 
it a thorough harrowing each way of the land, or 
at right angles. After this sow a good supply of 
grass seed, or the grass seed may be sown previ¬ 
ous to the harrowing, as you prefer it. I do not 
consider this last plan as effectual in restoring the 
soil to grass, as the former method. But should 
only resort to it where it was necessary, by a sto¬ 
ny or rough soil. 
This “ moss” in grass lands, I have observed, 
is of two kinds. One, as is mentioned by your 
correspondent, grows up thick, and after a while 
rots away the sod, so that it becomes soft and 
spongy to the foot. The other kind is a “ moss” 
that grows short and thick to the bottom, with a 
very soft and velvety touch to the foot. But the sod 
under it does not rot, but cakes down into a solid 
body, so that when the plow passes through it, it 
will often turn up a pateh of the sod as large as 
the top of a two bushel basket. This kind of 
“ moss” roots out the grass as effectually as the 
other kind. Yet I consider it better for the soil, 
as it forms a heavy sward, and protects the soil 
from the atmosphere. Whereas the other kind 
rots it away, and leases the soil in a barren state. 
However, I should prefer to get rid of either kind 
as soon as it could be made “ convenient” after it 
made its appearance. L. Durahd. Derby, Ct., 
April 27, 1853- 
A Proposed Experiment. 
There has been no saying oftener repeated, and 
none more worthy of repetition, so far as farm 
economy is concerned, than “ A place for every¬ 
thing, and everything in its place.” One of the 
best modes for every farmer to apply this rule in 
practice, is to make a complete list of all his farm 
implements, from his wagons, carts and plows, 
down to awls, gimblets, and screw-drivers. Let 
every implement he immediately returned to its 
place after using, no matter how inconvenient this 
may be, instead of throwing it on the ground till 
forgotten, with the intention of replacing it when 
a suitable moment occurs to do so. Row, if 
anyone is unprepared toadopt this plan, we would 
recommend the following experiment, in order 
to reduce its merits to the test of accurate 
figuring:-—Let him keep an accurate record of all 
the time lost in one year by hunting for lost tools 
in times of emergency, adding in the losses occa¬ 
sioned by keeping other persons or teams in wait¬ 
ing, while the search is in progress, also adding 
the waste occasioned by the consequent expo¬ 
sure of such tools to the weather, or by finally 
losing them,-—and not forgetting to estimate the 
detriment to his crops and farming operations ge¬ 
nerally, by the delay thus frequently occasioned. 
(He may, likewise, if he chooses, keep an account 
current of the amount of vexation caused by these 
frequent annoyances—unless he is so far gone that 
disorder and delay are matters of indifference to 
him.) We have no doubt that such an experi¬ 
ment as this, faithfully followed out, would great¬ 
ly surprise him at the end of the year, and fur¬ 
nish satisfactory proof of the immense superiority 
of the plan first proposed by us. Who will be 
willing to give both ways a full trial? 
