54 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
a pair of pigs, and shall conclude it by asking the favor of you to describe your Dutton 
corn in the Cultivator, and if practicable, send me with the pigs, a small quantity of 
seed. Is it white corn"?* If so, it will probably suit our climate. Does it produce 
more ears than usual to the stalk? Does it grow tall? Has it much fodder? How 
many rows to the ear? <fcc. &c ... 
I conclude by saying, that all men speak highly of the Cultivator. Notwithstanding 
the difference in our climates, we find it well calculated to direct our general manage¬ 
ment. Your terms are different from ours. Fer instance, you use the term husk 
where we say shuck—you specify quantities of land by roods, instead of parts of an 
acre, as l-5th, <fcc. and many others, only calculated, however, to bother the very ig¬ 
norant Excuse the trouble you may be at in reading this, and do what you please 
with it. Yours moit respectfully, 
T. A. VV. PLEASANTS. 
AGRICULTURE. 
The pursuit of agriculture, in all its branches, offers to a liberal mind, opportunities for 
research and experiments, which is denied in almost every other department of science. 
The perfection to which all other professions and sciences have arrived, leave nothing to 
the follower of them at the present day, but study and toil, in acquiring a knowledge of 
the discoveries and inventions of others. By some accidental circumstance, like that 
which revealed to Newton’s mind the eternal law of gravitation, some new discovory in 
astronomy may yet be made ; but to the devotee of science who starts with the determina¬ 
tion of laboring till he discovers some new principle by which the heavenly bodies are go¬ 
verned, there is little to be anticipated for the reward of his enthusiastic toil, but disap¬ 
pointment and sorrow at least; while the same labor and investigation bestowed on sub¬ 
jects connected with the culture of the soil, would probably have revealed some fact, un¬ 
known before, or at least might have gone far to arrange and classify the discordant facts 
with which the annals of agriculture abound. While the rules that govern the planetary 
system have been recorded with the most scientific exactness, so that every star, and eve¬ 
ry star’s motion is known and recorded; the laws that rule the productive powers of the 
soil, and a knowledge of which seems the first and most natural tendency of the human 
mind, have been but dimly and obscurely traced. Upon what does the claim of agricul¬ 
ture, to be considered an exact science rest? The answer is, upon a thousand contradic¬ 
tory facts and opinions handed down from the earliest period of history, and augmented 
till the present day, so that they now form a heterogenous mass, which requires and in¬ 
vites the study attention of scientific minds to separate truth from error. Let the laws that 
govern the soil and its powers be observed—let every fact received as a canon, be sub¬ 
jected to the test of philosophy and exact experiment, and at last be classified and arrang¬ 
ed, and then we may boast of having brought agriculture to the rank of a science. 
It is a fact to be lamented, that there does not exist among the tillers of the soil, a more 
inquisitive spirit concerning the nature and habits of the objects they have most to do with, 
and upon the perfection of which depends their hopes of gain. There is very little of that 
spirit alive. What does it concern the farmer, whether a root is indigenous or exotic ; 
whether a plant is at home in clay or sand ? as long as it has happened to come up where 
he has happened to drop the seed. 
“ A primrose by the river’s brim, 
A yellow primrose is to him, 
And nothing more.” 
But before any very great change can take place in the present state of agriculture, se¬ 
veral radical obstacles must be removed. The apathy of agriculturists must be overcome ; 
the dignity of the pursuit must be made known ; and last, and most of all, the great and 
fundamental cause of national wealth, must receive encouragement from national legisla¬ 
tion This is the true policy of the government, and if the real productive power of the 
soil was known, I hesitate not to say, that millions might be yearly added to our coffers, 
by a liberal and prudent course of government patronage to the cause of agriculture.— 
Make it an object for toil, and the wilderness everywhere will blossom like the rose. 
These are a few general considerations, and if considered acceptable, are willingly gi¬ 
ven. X. Y. Z. 
Newton , N. J. April, 1836. 
Among the recipes for curing hoven in cattle, 1 have never seen published 
the easiest and simplest method which I have ever known, viz: dissolve in a 
pint of water, about one ounce of pearlash, and drench the animal with it. 1 
nave frequently used it with invariable success, and it is as speedy as sure. 
I have never had a case occupy more than half an hour to be perfectly cured. 
__ G. H. McCARTY. 
* The Dutton corn is yellow. It does not produce more ears than other varieties. 
It does not grow tall—it is dwarfish in height, though it spreads much from the bottom, 
and affords much fodder. It is a twelve rowed variety—the grain sets very close up¬ 
on the cob. If transferred to Virginia, we think it would become acclimated there, 
and in the course of years, attain the growth and habits of Virginia corn. We plant 
three feet apart, or two and a half by three, four stalks in a hill. Thus we obtain 
23,232 stalks, and an equal number of ears on an acre. The Virginia mode of plant¬ 
ing, if we apprehend correctly, is five feet between the rows, and three feet between 
the hills—two stalks in a hill, which would give to the acre only 5,808 stalks, or about 
one-fourth the number obtained by us. We plant about the 15th to the 18th May, 
and the crop is fit to cut in the first part of September, and sometimes the last week 
in August. The grain weighs 60 to 62 pounds the bushel.— Cond. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
ON THE USE OF LIME AS A MANURE.— By M. Puvis. 
Translated for the Farmers’ Register from the Annales de l'Agriculture Fran- 
caise, of 1835 .—( Continued from page \“i.) 
importance of manures which improve the constitution of soils. 
The question of improving' manures is of great interest to agri¬ 
culture. This means of meliorating the soil is too little known, 
and above all, too little practised in a great part of France—and yet 
it is a condition absolutely necessary to the agricultural prosperity 
of a country. In the neighborhood of great cities, alimentary ma¬ 
nures being furnished on good terms, may well vivify the soil; but 
animal manures cannot suffice but in a few situations, and of small 
extent—and in every country where tillage is highly prosperous, 
improving manures are in use. The Department of the North (of 
France,) Belgium, and England, owe to them, in a great measure, 
their prosperity. The Department of the North, (which is, of all 
Europe, the country where agriculture is best practiced, and the 
most productive,) spends every year, upon two-thirds of its soil, a 
million of francs in lime, marl, ashes of peat and of dead coal, [nou- 
ille;] and it is principally to these agents, and not to the quality of 
the soil, that the superiority of its production is owing. The best 
of its soil makes part of the same basin, is of the same formation, 
and same quality, as a great part of Artois and Picardy, of which 
the products are scarcely equal to half the rate of the North. Nei¬ 
ther is it the quantity of meadow land which causes its superiority; 
that makes but the fifth part of its extent, and Lille, the best Ar- 
rondissement, has scarcely a twentieth of its surface in meadow, 
while Avesne, the worst of all, has one-third. Nor can any great 
additional value be attributed to the artificial meadows, since they 
are not met with except in the twenty-sixth part of the whole 
space. Neither can this honor be due to the suppression of naked 
fallows, since in this country of patent husbandry, they yet take 
up one-sixth of the ploughed land every year. Finally, the Flem¬ 
ings have but one head of large cattle for every two hectares* of 
land, a proportion exceeded in a great part of France. Their great 
products then are due to their excellent economy and use of ma¬ 
nures, to the assiduous labor of the farmers, to courses of crops well 
arranged, but above all, we think, to the improvers of soil, which 
they join to their alimentary manures. Two-thirds of their land 
receive these regularly; and it. is to the reciprocal reaction of these 
two agents of melioration, that appears to be due the uninter¬ 
rupted succession of fecundity, which astonishes all those who are 
not accustomed continually to see the products of this region. 
At this moment, upon all points in France, agriculture, after the 
example of the other arts of industry, is bringing forth improve¬ 
ments; in all parts especially, cultivators are trying, or wishing to 
try, lime, marl, ashes, animal black. It is this particular point in 
progress, above ail, for which light is wanting; and this opinion 
has induced the preparation of this publication. Since more than 
30 years, the author has devoted himself, from inclination, to agri¬ 
culture ; but he has been especially attentive to calcareous ma¬ 
nures. He has studied in the practice of much extent of country, 
in his own particularly, in personal experiments, and in what has 
been written on them both by foreigners and countrymen. An 
Essay on Marl lias been the first fruit of his labors; an Essay on 
the vse of lime wiil soon be ready: it is with these materials that he 
now sets himself to work. To prepare for this object, a series of 
articles, of the nature of a recapitulation rather than of a regular 
work, it was necessary to be concise, and yet not to omit any thing 
essential. It is proper then that he should limit himself to the pro¬ 
minent parts of his subject, those especially useful to practice.— 
His advice will then be as often empirical as regular, and his direc¬ 
tions will be precise, although supported by few developments. 
An extract from this work has appeared in the Encyloyedia Ag¬ 
ricole : here it will again appear, but by separate articles, which 
will be corrected by a systematic general view of theory, founded 
on practice. This is the moment for multiplying publications on 
this subject, because that in almost all parts of France, it is the 
point in agriculture most controverted—that which induces the 
most labor and the greatest expenditures—which presents most 
doubts—and which has consequently most need of being made clear. 
We shall not enlarge here upon the manner in which improving 
manures act: we will put off this important question, with its de¬ 
velopments to the article on lime. Here we only present the the¬ 
ory. Hereafter, that which we will hazard will be founded upon 
facts, and yet we will not promise these developments, but for 
the purpose of enlightening and directing practice. 
OF THE VARIOUS KINDS OF IMPROVING MANURES. 
The first in order, and the most important, are the calcareous 
manures. We comprehend, under this name, lime, marl, old plas¬ 
tering mortar, and other rubbish of demolished buildings, beds of 
fossil shells, [falunf] or shelly substances, plaster or gypsum: ex¬ 
perience and reason will prove that we ought to arrange in the 
same class, and by side of the others, wood ashes, ground bones, 
and burnt bones. We will not place in the same list, the ashes of 
peat, of dead coal, and red pyritous ashes: their effect is not ow¬ 
ing to their lime, but (as will be seen afterwards,) rather to the 
effect of fire upon the earthy parts, and parlicularly upon the argil 
which they contain. 
We will next in order treat of manures of the sea, of saline 
* The hectare is very nearly equal to 2i English (or American) acres. 
