1851. 
THE CULTIVATOR 
231 
he has even had six crops of grass, and he recollects one 
year when the grass was cut for the cattle as late as 
Christmas. The first crop is generally cut In May, and 
the last crop in the end of October. The quantity of 
hay produced (as I was informed) per English acre is 
from 65 to 70 qulhtaux (somewhere between 64 and 69 
cwt.) M. de Fellenberg finds it necessary, merely on 
account of manure, to keep from fifty to sixty cows. 
He farms about 280 acres, of which 90 are grass land. 
He also feeds the cattle during part of the summer with 
clover. The cattle are never turned into the water- 
meadows. Those meadows which cannot be brought 
under irrigation are manured with solid manure' in the 
autumn; and should there not be a sufficiency of solid 
manure to spread over the whole, the remainder is wa¬ 
tered with liquid manure while the snow lies on the 
ground . 
In the farm-yard are tanks In which every drop of liquid 
manure is collected. This is pumped up into a channel 
and conveyed by it to the water-courses, and thus with 
the smallest amount of labor some of the water-meadows 
are irrigated with water diluted with liquid manure. 
The grass from these parts Is consequently richer and 
thicker, but the number of crops produced from land 
thus irrigated is the same as that which is produced from 
land irrigated with water alone. 
There is a pump in the center of the manure pile by 
which the drainings are pumped up every morning over 
and upon the manure pile, while part of the fluid is 
thrown over rubbish, potato stalks, &c. The hay was 
stowed away In large lofts above the cow-stables. 
The whole farm was a most interesting sight, particu¬ 
larly when it is borne in mind that the enterprise and 
perseverance of one man, has rendered what was former¬ 
ly a marsh covered with coarse grass and rushes, one of 
the most productive and valuable farms in Switzerland. 
Nor were the immediate results of the late M. de Fel- 
lenberg’s energy the most Important. For the agricul¬ 
tural college and schools of Hofwyl have gained for their 
benevolent founder a .higher name than that of a success¬ 
ful agriculturist. These establishments are now carried 
on by his two sons, who also manage the farm entirely 
themselves. 
I only wish I could have given a better or more wor¬ 
thy description of what M. Emile de Fellenberg was kind- 
enough to point out to me. On parting,- he observed 
that it was owing to the peculiarity of the position that 
they have been enabled to bring about such great re¬ 
sults; and that their system could not be applied except 
in places as advantageously situated. Still he added 
that Hofwyl was a proof of what the energy and perse¬ 
verance of one man could effect. 
I shall be very glad if the few facts which I have col¬ 
lected, and I have attempted nothing more, are not 
altogether without interest to you: and I must thank you 
for the useful hints you gave me as to the points which 
would be most deserving of .notice. The inquiry opened 
a most interesting and to me a new field of observation, 
and added considerably to the pleasure of a vacation 
ramble, while through, the kindness of Mr. Morier and 
M. Zellweger I had the good fortune of making the ac¬ 
quaintance of some highly informed Swiss agriculturists, 
of whose attentions I cannot be too sensible. 
Cultivation of the Chestnut. 
In answer to a request for information on this subject, 
published in our February number, we have received se¬ 
veral communications, the most essential portions of 
which are comprised in the following summary. 
Mr. Y. W. S.*4 of Syracuse, says— ‘ The nuts may be 
planted in the fall, in drills, an inch or two in depth; or 
.they may he preserved till spring, and then planted in 
the same way. If planted in the fall, they are liable to 
be thrown out upon the surface by the frost, when they 
wiil dry up and be lost, if not watched and covered 
again. The whole secret of success consists in prevent¬ 
ing the nuts from being dried. If dried a very little in 
the house, in the fall, their germinating power is destroy¬ 
ed. I have an hundred or more trees growing from the 
seed, which I started in this way. The fresh nuts were 
buried in the earth together, when first gathered, and as 
soon as the ground could be prepared next spring, were 
taken thence and planted in the nursery row, a few in¬ 
ches apart. They had already sprouted. Some of them 
grew at once, and others did not appear till after the 
lapse of several weeks. They have grown finely for two 
years, and some of them are four feet high. I intend, 
the coming spring, to cut off the tap-root where they 
stand, by thrusting a sharp spade into the ground under 
them, striking the root say six inches from the surface. 
When they come to a suitable size, after this treatment, 
I presume they will bear removal without trouble, which 
the tree growing naturally in the woods will not.” 
Mr. I. Hildreth, of Big-stream Point, N. Y., says— 
“ In the first place, the nuts should not be allowed to 
dry, but as soon as gathered should be mixed with leaf- 
mould sifted, and then put in a dry place, below the 
frost in the ground, for if they are frozen, even in the 
the earth, they will be injured j and if several times fro¬ 
zen and thawed, they will be killed, as the frost destroys 
the texture of the nut, making it soft. After the chest¬ 
nuts have been kept in this manner through the winter, 
early in the spring, as soon as the ground opens, they 
should be planted out where they are to remain, as they 
do not transplant well. They should be protected from 
severe frosts by leaves or some such substance, until they 
appear above ground, when there will be no further 
trouble, except to cultivate and hoe them until they be¬ 
come strong, from which time they will take care of 
themselves. It would facilitate the growth of the young 
tree, if each nut was planted in a double handful of 
coarse leaf-mould, as such is the substance which nature 
has provided for them where they grow naturally—at 
any rate it will prevent the earth from becoming hard 
about the young plant, and serve as manure.” • 
Mr Henry Halsey, of Windsor, Ct., sends the fol¬ 
lowing: “ In the fall of 1849, in October and November, 
I planted about two acres with chestnuts. The land was 
a poor sandy soil—previous crop, rye. At the time of 
planting, the ground was literally full of the burrows of 
the ground-mole. Not more than one-third of my seed 
came up, in consequence, I believe, of the destruction 
of it by this troublesome little animal; for, on examina¬ 
tion of the missing plants, I almost invariably found a 
mole-path to where the seed was planted. I planted the 
seed from half an inch to an inch in depth , merely turn¬ 
ing up the ground with the corner of the hoe, and plac¬ 
ing the seed, and then laying the earth back again. I 
once planted some horse-chestnuts that had been dried; 
not one of them sprouted. I afterwards planted some as 
soon as they fell from the tree, and in this case there was 
scarcely a failure. I have reason to think the common 
chestnut should be treated in the same manner. If your 
correspondent will take the precaution to have his seed, 
as soon as gathered, put and kept in moist sand or earth 
until planted, I think he will find no difficulty in getting 
his seed to sprout. I have treated mine in this way.” 
Mr. Jas. W. Gray, of New-Fairfield, Ct., says—“ I 
have succeeded well by burying the nuts in the fall in a 
dry place, with a slight covering of earth, as nursery. 
