49 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
grass and the compactness of the soil; but when the 
ground has been plowed for oats, spring wheat, and bar- 
ley, or even for a summer fallow, it not more than three 
times, it spreads out in every direction; and a patch, 
that might be covered with a sieve, in one or two 
years, will increase to several rods in diameter. Into 
these circles, if the growth is rank, many farmers are 
unwilling to enter, leaving the crop as well as the this¬ 
tles, to stand undisturbed. 
Now, what are we to do % becomes a very important 
question. In answering it, we should say that the 
farmer ought to be very watchful in passing over Ins 
fields, both before and after plowing, so as to mark eve¬ 
ry new patch that appears; and then, without the delay 
of a single week, he ought to dose the root of every 
seperate stem with strong brine. A dry day is the best 
for this purpose. We have generally made a hole laige 
enough to hold a gill or more, with the corner of a hoe, 
cutting the stem as far down as that instrument reach¬ 
es. When we have used old brine, one application has 
always been enough todestroy them; and in this way, 
taking them in time, a little attention, and a little labor, 
would prevent great damage. 
If the patch, however, has become too large to be 
treated in this way, its further progress may be check¬ 
ed by applying brine in the manner proposed, to all 
such as stand near the circumference. 
It should be remembered, however, that most of these 
patches consist of a single plant with many stems, un¬ 
less broken by the plow ; and that we cannot destroy 
them unless we attack the whole. If, therefore, they 
are protected by fences or other obstructions, these 
ought to be removed; and then by perseverance and 
frequency in either plowing or hoeing, their destruction 
may always be accomplished,—sometimes in one, but 
in two without failure. F>. T. 
Cayuga Co. 1 mo. 30, 1840. 
The Sugar Beet. 
Messrs. Editors —I have raised the sugar beet three 
years, and believe them to he the best root raised to 
winter farm stock of every description—hogs in parti¬ 
cular are exceedingly fond of them. They are of great 
use in fattening pork. My best crop was raised in the 
following manner 
To make sure of a good crop, a rich, clean, well pul¬ 
verized soil is absolutely necessary. I plow my land 
deep in the fall; cross plow and pulverize with a fine 
drag in the spring; throw it into one bout ridges two 
and\ half feet apart; rake the ridge length wise ; plant 
ten or twelve inches apart; keep the ridge as large and 
broad as possible; destroy all wmeds; three hoeings are 
sufficient. I believe these directions will answer for the 
northern and eastern States at least. I soak my seed in 
strong nitre water, and roll in plaster. They are supe¬ 
rior for milch cows. They increase the milk and give a 
pleasant flavor, and are excellent for ewes that have 
early lambs. 
Improved Harrow.—[Fig. 32.] 
I send you a rough draft of a drag. I have one in use. It 
clogs less and works the land better than any drag I ev¬ 
er used. The placing of the teeth is certainly necessary 
to prevent the drag from clogging, and to make it work 
the land equally. Oak timber, three inches square, for 
the sides and centre pieces; one and a half inch plank, 
five inches wide, locked half an inch deep, and bolted 
through with half inch bolts, make a firm drag. Fig. 
32, a. represents the hinges—a hook and eye made of 
stout bars of iron, bolted with half inch bolts— b. the 
cross pieces bolted as above. It may be made from five 
to six feet wide, and any number of teeth wanted, used. 
Yours, with respect, 
EDMUND WELLS. 
Harmony, Dec. 10, 1839. 
Farm Buildings. 
J. Buel, Esq.—Sir—I have been reading the fifth 
volumes of the Cultivator that you sent to me. I find 
therein much useful information ; but my corn grounds 
are yet too rich to profit by your mode of culture. I 
tried the experiment this year on two acres; I hauled, in 
the spring, from my barn yard, forty good ox cart loads 
of manure ; spread it well on two acres; then took two 
acres by the side of it; plowed the four acres well; 
planted in one day ; tended well, all alike, with hoe and 
cultivator; cut it to the ground the 1st of this month. 
I cannot perceive any difference in the crop at present, 
but may when I come to husking. The ground is a 
sandy loam, with gravel two or three feet from the sur¬ 
face ; six feet to permanent water; very limy; was thir¬ 
teen years in corn, with one or two changes in wheat; 
then three years a meadow, and three years in pasture. 
I broke it up in April, 1837, and planted it in corn; 
eighty-one bushels of shelled corn per acre, which 
was measured in 1838 ; about sixty bushels were not 
measured, but judged to be that quantity. This year 
I planted about the same, may be a little more. The 
two last seasons have been bad years for corn. 
I will try your Dutton next year; as it can be planted 
so much closer than our large corn, perhaps it will pro¬ 
duce more; but to plant our corn three feet apart, we 
should get nothing but fodder and nubbins. 
I send you theground plan of my barn; I think my 
stables an improvement; if you think so you can tell 
others of it; if not, say nothing about it. 
[Fig. 33.] 
A A A. Broad doors to feed working oxen with the 
yoke on. 
B B. Doors into the passage. 
C C. Windows for light and air, hung at the top; and 
when open, to form a roof over the opening. 
D. Broad door to drive in, to unload hay or grain; 
also used for horse stable. 
E. Door to threshing floor. 
F F F. Places for hay and grain. 
g. Breastwork three feet nine inches high, forming 
one side of the feed trough. 
h. Inside of feed trough, 23 inches high. 
i i i. Doors to the stalls, every animal having a door 
to his own stall. 
K K. Single stalls for large or troublesome stock; all 
the rest are double; to be used for one or two, as may 
be wanted. A temporary partition to be slipped in be¬ 
tween the studs 2 2 2* when two are put in; the double 
stalls are very useful for milch cows, and for cows to 
calve in; when the weather is bad, I put in the partition 
and house all; the studs are framed in pairs, n n, which 
space between is to receive the plank, forming the per¬ 
manent and temporary partition. 
o. Is a door through the breatwork to go through the 
stall out doors, and to go in to milk. 
Nine feet over the threshing floor is another thresh¬ 
ing floor which I use for flail threshing, and various 
other purposes. You will observe that as my barn will 
hardly hold feed for my stock, I have grain and hay 
houses built in the field convenient to the crop; the 
benefit of which I have lately experienced hy having 
one of 24 by 36 feet full of wheat burnt. I don’t like 
to have my whole crop in one place; besides, I prefer 
short hauling in harvest, and rehauling at a more leisure 
time. I send you a plan of my barn and stables, not 
because I think it is the best, except the stalls, which I 
think are a great improvement. The extra expense of 
doors is mostly saved by the gain of room, as the pas¬ 
sage for the cattle is saved ; and the convenience of 
housing is great, as every animal soon knows his own 
door, and norunuingand pushing each other, and can lie 
down without being confined with halter or bows. 
My barn stands in the central part of the yard ; I pre¬ 
fer the north for entrance to stalls in this climate, when 
the winters are open ; and the north is the hardest side 
of the barn it keeps the sun off, which makes the north 
dry and hard when the mud is six inches deep on the 
south. I have no open sheds because I find them more 
expensive than shut ones. The strong cattle drive the 
weak ones out, and the open shed that would serve ten 
head, would make abundance of room for 25 or 30 put 
up in the way that I do. 
Seven years ago I built considerable board fence, 13 
rods of which I made with posts not set in the ground 
but gave it a worm, thus; 
which has stood all storms unharmed, and without re¬ 
pairs; whereas the straight fence posts have many of 
them rotted off’ this year, and will need much repairing 
soon, while the worm fence is as good as new. 
Respectfully yours, 
V J - 7 _ T 
Oxford, O. Sept. 10 ih, 1839. 
Curing and Smoking Hams. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —Permit me to offer 
a few observations on the subject of curing and smok¬ 
ing hams. Whatever abridges labor and expense, is 
useful to the agriculturist. I have tried several me¬ 
thods of preserving hams, and among others, the cele¬ 
brated Knickerbocker pickle—but for a number of years 
past, I have employed the method stated below—and I 
must say, I have never tasted as good hams, cured in 
any other manner. Besides being the best method, it 
requires the least labor, and is the cheapest. 
I take a clean oak cask—cover the bottom with a 
thin coat of fine salt, then pack in as many hams as 
will lay singly on the bottom; I then put about half a ta¬ 
ble spoonful of pulverized salt petre to each ham, then 
cover them slightly with salt; I then put to each ham 
about a gill of molasses, and proceed in this manner till 
the cask is filled. I let them lie for 8 or 10 days, until 
the salt petre is dissolved, and has penetrated the meat; 
I then cover the whole with a strong pickle of salt and 
water; in 15 or 20 days they are fit to smoke. 
In smoking, I am very particular as to the material 
employed in making a smoke. 
I prefer green hickory, or sugar maple chips, when 
these cannot be had, white ash or cobs answer an 
excellent purpose. Any kind of hard wood, provided 
it is sound, will answer; but soft wood, such as pine or 
hemlock, should never be used, as they impart a bad 
taste to the ham. After the hams are well smoked, they 
can be preserved for summer use, in the most approved 
manner. 
A very tight, or close smoke house, which excludes 
atmospheric air, is apt to cause the hams to sweat, and 
has a tendency to injure them near the bone. 
The above method I have never seen published; if 
you think it worth a trial, it is at your disposal. 
Respectfully, &c. T. ROBINSON. 
Binghamton, January 21, 1840. 
Gypsum—Phosphate of Lime. 
Messrs. Editors —I have been engaged in farming 
for about a year past, and being nearly destitute of expe¬ 
rience, have read much, and reflected some, in order to 
qualify myself for my new pursuit. I have had, thus 
far, no great success. Nevertheless, I feel persuaded 
that I have discovered some facts, that may be made 
useful in the hands of those possessing more science 
and more leisure than fall to my share. I regret, how¬ 
ever, that I cannot explain my subject without using 
chemical terms, that may not be understood by a por¬ 
tion of your readers. 
Agricultural Chemistry seems to be imperfectly un¬ 
derstood, even by the most scientific. What we most 
require to know, for practical purposes, is, the constitu¬ 
ent elements of the useful plants, and how and whence 
they are or may be obtained for their nourishment. 
The publications to which I have had access, do not ap¬ 
pear to me to furnish accurate information. The rea¬ 
son probably is, that chemists of the highest attain¬ 
ments, have made agriculture a secondary object of 
research. 
Gypsum being extensively used in agriculture, the 
laws by which it operates ought to be well ascertained. 
None of the publications that I am acquainted with, 
satisfactorily explain its principal phenomena. The 
truth might have been discovered by attending to facts 
already known, but which appear never to have been 
applied to this subject. Gypsum is decomposed in the 
soil by carbonate of potash. The two substances are 
changed by double electric affinity, forming carbonate 
of lime and sulphate of potash. Now, as the soil (with 
some exceptions, noticed hereafter) contains carbonate 
of potash, and as decaying vegetables contain it, the 
gjqisum, as it slowly dissolves and reaches the alkali, 
must be decomposed. Such is the law of chemical af¬ 
finity. I consider the fact as demonstrated. 
Chaptal says, page 175, that “ the most abundant salts 
in plants, are sulphate of potash common salts, the phos¬ 
phate of lime, and the nitrate of potash.” Now, if the 
sulphate of potash is “ an abundant salt in plants,” it 
may be highly useful to furnish it for their nourish 
