96 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
OLDEN TIMES. 
We proceed to draw lessons of instruction from the first volume 
of the Transactions of the Society for the Promotion of Agriculture, 
&c. 
SAVING MULBERRY SEED. 
To save seed of the mulberry, Mr. De Labigaire gives the follow¬ 
ing directions: “ Gather the berries as they fall from the tree; put 
them for two days in a dry place, where they must be turned up and 
down, for fear they should be heated; after which mash them with 
your hands in a tub, pouring over some water from time to time, in- 
order to separate the seed from the must. Let then the water set¬ 
tle for a quarter of an hour, and all the useless particles floating over 
will be taken out. Repeat the washings till the seed is disengaged 
and pure. The best seed being the heaviest will stay always at-the 
bottom of the tub. Then spread the seed to dry upon a piece of 
linen, and when dry it is put by till the Season of sowing,” which 
should be about the first of May. 
CHANCELLOR LIVINGSTON TO ARTHUR YOUNG. 
The next article in order is a letter from Chancellor Livingston to 
Arthur Young, well known as one of tire most distinguished agricul¬ 
turists of Great Britain. We quote from this a noble sentiment, 
and commend it to the special notice of all who are rich in agricul¬ 
tural experience, and who are capable of benefitting the community 
by their practical or scientific knowledge. 
“The happiness of man,” says the Chancellor, “ depends so much 
upon the advancement of agriculture, that every new discovery, eve 7 
ry improvement, by which the fruits of the earth are increased, 
should be thrown into the common stock; and the man who has 
been so fortunate as to make them, should thank God that he has 
been enabled, in some sort, to repay to society the debt that he o#es 
them for the benefits he has himself received from the discoveries of 
others, to the great mass of which his own, however important, will 
be insignificant.” 
We have in this letter a singular instance of the change, produc¬ 
ed by climate, upon the texture and color of the wool of sheep—and 
verifying the remark of the naturalist, that the texture of the hair 
and wool of animals becomes finer, and the color whiter, as they are 
removed to colder latitudes. “I send you,” says Chancellor L. “ a 
sample of wool, from a stock of sheep which I received from the 
West Indies, and which had originally no wool, but was’ covered 
with a thick coat of red hair. This is changing into wool, which I 
think superior in fineness to that of Shetland, with which I have 
compared it; but what is very remarkable, is, that the wool is white, 
though the original color of the sheep, and the hair intermixed with 
the wool, is of a mahogany, or what is called blood bay in horses.” 
This letter details the result of further experiments with gypsum, 
applied to potatoes, when about three inches high. Gypsum induc¬ 
ed a remarkable growth, and the product was greater, without dung, 
than on the adjoining ground, which had been dunged. On buck¬ 
wheat it caused an average growth of four feet, which lodged, and 
consequently diminished the product in grain.' Oats, sown upon 
ground previously plastered, and in clover, averaged sixty-four bu¬ 
shels per acre, notwithstanding the soil was naturally poor. The 
great product was ascribed to effects of the _ clover, and the gypsum 
which had been sown in previous years. 
Effects of shade-trees upon vegetation ,—by Chancellor Livingston. 
“I planted maize on the west side of a young wood, consisting of 
oaks, poplars, a few chesnuts, and a large mulberry, somewhat ad¬ 
vanced into the field. The shade made by the rising sun extended 
nearly across the field, and was not entirely off until about ten 
o’clock. I remarked, that as far as the shade of the chesnuts reach¬ 
ed, the corn was extremely injured; it was yellow and small; the 
conical shape of the morning shade from particular trees, might be 
traced a considerable extent, in the sickly appearance of the plants. 
The black oaks were likewise injurious, but less so than the ches- 
nut; the poplars very little so. Near the mulberry tree, the corn 
was covered by its shade a very long time every mornings and 
though not so large as that which had more sun, maintained a 
healthy appearance. The shade of the locust is well known to be 
extremely beneficial to grass grounds.” 
These experiments were repeated by Chancellor Livingston, in 
1793,—the ground sown with buckwheat and plastered. The crop 
grew more than four feet high, as well where it was shaded by mulber¬ 
ry and apples trees, as where it had no shade. Under the black oak 
it was less healthful. Under the chesnut it was not half a crop. 
The shade of the apple tree was hurtful to Indian corn. The Chan¬ 
cellor concludes with remarking, “ that the injury some vegetables 
receive from the shade of certain trees, is not owing simply to the 
diminution of light, but either to the change the light undergoes in 
passing through them, or from its dissolving and becoming the vehi¬ 
cle of some substance noxious to certain plants contained in the tree 
through which it passes.” 
The cast iron plough-share, was first introduced into use among us 
so late as 1793, as appears by a communication of Col. John Smith, 
describing it, and the first experiments made with it. Our recol¬ 
lections. go back to the period when none but wooden mould-boards 
Were used in our husbandry. 
EXPERIMENTS WITH LUCERN. 
The next article we shall notice is a communication from John 
Stevens, of Hoboken, detailing his experiments on wheat, clover and 
lucern. 
Three and a half acres of loamy soil, were manured and cropped 
with Indian corn. The corn was cut up in October, and gave a 
good yield. The ground was immediately dressed with street dirt, 
ashes and dung, ploughed and sown with three and a half bushels 
of seed wheat. The product was estimated at 100 bushels oi wheat 
on the three and a half acres. Clover was sown in March upon the 
wheat, and upon one acre eight pounds of lucern. The clover was 
cut in October, after the wheat crop was taken off, and gave four 
tons of hay. The seed of the lucern did not grow but partially. 
Two other experiments follow, designed principally to determine the 
best mode of managing lucern, and the best time of sowing it. From 
these experiments Mr. S. concludes,—1. That lucern should not be 
sown too early, say not before May. 2. That the ground should be 
well prepared for its reception, by a potato or other hoed and dung¬ 
ed crop, and that in the culture of that crop all weeds should be 
carefully extirpated. 3. That lucern may succeed very well when 
sown with barley, without clover. And 4. That the plant seems 
admirably fitted to our climate. 
TALL MEADOW OAT GRASS. 
Upon the superior properties of this grass we have an interesting 
letter from the Rev. Dr. H. Muhlenburgh, of Lancaster, Pa. “I 
have cultivated this grass a number of years,” says the Doctor, 
“ and find it, after a great many trials of pretty near all other grass¬ 
es, the earliest, latest and best grass for green fodder and hay. It 
blossoms in the middle of May, the same time with the common red 
clover, and the seed ripens a month after. Horses, it is true, do not 
like it green, at least not all of them, but eat it in hay. Horned 
cattle prefer it to all other grasses. It will grow best in clover soil, and 
the leaves are from two to four feet high before it blossoms; in the 
blossom the stalk rises from five to seven feet. It ought to be cut 
in blossom about the end of May, [middle or latter part of June in 
lat. 42;] and will yield an abundance of sweet good hay. The seed 
may be sown in the fall or spring, with or without grain, and must 
be brushed in or lightly harrowed, If mixed with clover, it will 
make uncommon good upland meadow.”- 
RELATIVE VALUE OF GRASSES. 
Dr. Muhlenburgh thus ranges the grasses he cultivated, their 
good quality being in the order in which they are named:—1. 
Tall meadow oat,*. (Arena elatior .) 2. Tall fescue grass, (Festuea 
elatior.) ■ 3. Meadow fox-tail grass,* (Alopecurus pratensis.) 4. 
Meadow soft-grass, (Holcus lanatus.) 5. Timothy, or meadow cats- 
tail grass, (Phleum pratense.) 6. Rough cock’s-foot, or orchard 
grass, (Dactylus glomerata.) 7. Rye grass,* (Lolium perennef) 8. 
Sweet scented vernal grass,* (Anthoxanthum odoralum .) 9. Reedy 
cinna, (China arundenacia .) 10. Broom grass, (Bromi,) two spe¬ 
cies. All these,' continues the doctor, should be cultivated with ti¬ 
mothy, in our bottoms or meadows, which can be watered. For up¬ 
land meadows he recommends clover, lucern and sanfoin,—the first 
being the best preparation for a good crop of wheat. 
Dr. Muhlenburgh recommends a free intercourse among literary 
and intelligent men, with the view of promoting agricultural im¬ 
provement. “ Agriculture,-” he remarks, “ will, I hope, be our chief 
study, and be the means to raise the Americans among the first na¬ 
tions of the earth.” * Exotics. 
SCARCITY OF CATTLE FOOD IN BRITAIN. 
The last winter and spring was a severe one for farm stock in the 
north of Great Britain. A letter shown to us from a farmer there, 
says :—“ The last season was the worst 1 ever knew for keeping 
farm stock. The turnip crops were dreadful bad. Hay has sold 
