194 
THE CULTIVATOR, 
June, 
growth has not been allowed to take its place. The con¬ 
sequence is. that much land which would have produced 
trees, and nothing but trees—as the rocky points of hills, 
barren knolls, the sides of gullies—have been left 
naked, and the soil, having nothing to hold its particles 
together, has been washed to sterility. Another injury 
which has ensued from this destruction of trees, is the 
greater exposure of many situations to the force of 
winds. In this climate, subject as it is to extreme heat 
and cold, trees are important as a means of shelter. A 
border of trees, even of not more than a rod in width, 
on the north and west sides of fields, will produce a very 
favorable effect in breaking off the cold blasts. This is 
particularly required on hill and mountain pastures, and 
also in open champaign districts, like the western prairies. 
There should also be trees in proper places for shade, as 
animals exposed to the full blaze of our intense summer 
sun, suffer greatly from its effects. 
All steep hill-sides, gorges and gullies, should be left 
in trees, or planted with them. These spots, left bald 
and unproductive, give an unpleasant aspect to the land¬ 
scape, but clothed with trees, they impart a picturesque 
beauty and interest to the scenery. It would not be dif¬ 
ficult to cover these places with trees, by planting the 
sugar-maple, elm, white-ash, oak, chestnut, and some 
evergreens, as the cedar, hemlock, and pine, to fill up 
the plantation. All these would become valuable, either 
as timber or for fuel. It would be necessary to keep 
stock away from them, till they have attained such size 
as not to be injured by browsing. 
4. Drainage is a subject which is beginning to receive, 
as it deserves, much attention. ¥e believe it will prove 
here, as it has been in Europe, the most important means 
of improving the soil, which has been adopted within the 
last fifty years. In the northern portion of our country, 
there is much land which would be rendered vastly more 
productive by under-drainage. Judgment and experi¬ 
ence are necessary to the proper location and construc¬ 
tion of drains; but there is hardly a farm that does not 
contain some land on which they might be laid down to 
advantage. The whole subject, however, has within a 
few years, been so much discussed through the medium 
of this periodical, that no more need be said of it at present. 
5. There are many questions in agriculture, the settle¬ 
ment of which would be productive of great benefit. 
The best situation for instituting and carrying on proper 
experiments for the solution of these questions, would be 
an Experimental Farm, in connection with an Agricul¬ 
tural School. The want of such an institution forms a 
great barrier to making these experiments. Few indi¬ 
viduals can afford the money and time which would be 
required to carry them on, and at the same time, they 
naturally consider the answers involved in these ques¬ 
tions, as of public, rather than private benefit. It is ne¬ 
cessary and proper, therefore, that some way should be 
devised for these experiments to be made, without an 
injurious sacrifice of individual interests. In the absence 
of such an institution as has been mentioned, something 
might be done through the efforts of agricultural socie¬ 
ties, and we think a portion of their funds could not be 
better expended than in the employment of intelligent 
and trustworthy persons to conduct experiments, under 
the supervision of a competent board of directors. 
We need experiments in feeding stock with various 
crops, in order to ascertain their relative value, and 
which would afford for this purpose, the greatest return 
per acre, or for the expense of production. In relation 
to manures, also, a course of systematic trials to show 
their relative effect and value for different crops, 
and on different soils, would be highly useful; and it 
would be exceedingly interesting, as well as practically 
useful, to compare the results of these experiments, as 
far as practicable, with the results obtained by chemical 
analysis. To test the different breeds of horses, cattle, 
sheep, swine and poultry, in regard to their value for 
the different purposes to which they are applied, is 
another important object, in reference to which thorough 
experiments should be made. 
On all these subjects light is much needed. What 
farmer, for instance, knows what crop will afford him 
the most profit for the purpose of making beef, mutton, 
pork, or butter and cheese? Who can tell the relative 
value of Indian corn and the other grains, or of carrots, 
turneps, or other roots, for either of these purposes? 
We are equally as much in the dark in reference to the 
merits of the different breeds of domestic animals. If, 
for example, the question is asked—What is the actual 
difference in the Short-horn, Hereford, Devon, Ayrshire, 
and common cattle, for the dairy, or for beef, who can 
answer? It may be said that these breeds are adapted to 
different locations, which is true, but there are circum¬ 
stances in which they may meet on an equal footing, and 
though there is, probably, a difference in their capaci¬ 
ties, it is desirable to know what this difference would 
amount to in pounds of meat, butter and cheese, and 
dollars and cents. 
6. The improvement of domestic animals, by encour¬ 
aging a class of skillful and systematic breeders, de¬ 
serves attention. The improvement of animals by the 
art of breeding, is one of the most important branches 
of husbandry, and yet it is but very little understood in 
this country. It necessarily follows that we have made 
slow progress in this department, and th, although we 
have had frequent importations of stock from abroad, 
producing, in many instances, a marked improvement in 
their immediate progeny, it has, with few exceptions, 
been necessary to continue the importations, in order to 
keep up the character of our stock. The truth is, our 
people have given so little attention to the subject, or 
have examined it under such false impressions, that it is 
difficult to find a man who is really capable of selecting 
a proper animal to breed from, and much more difficult 
is it to find one who is capable of breeding a herd or 
flock, without degeneracy, for several generations. 
The successful breeding of animals for particular pur¬ 
poses, requires a critical judgment and skill, which can 
only be obtained by a long course of the closest obser¬ 
vation, and a habit of comparing animals , united with a na¬ 
tural taste for the subject, and a determination to under¬ 
stand its principles. Hence the number of real improv¬ 
ers in this line has been very small. It is an easy mat¬ 
ter to improve a stock, so long as the breeder can resort 
to other stocks of a quality superior to his own, but 
when deprived of this advantage, a difficulty presents 
itself which few have the sagacity and intelligence to 
overcome. This is not, perhaps, the view generally ta- 
