138 THE CULTIVATOR. 
AMONG THE FARMERS. 
If a man would understand the value of agriculture; 
if he would learn to prize the art of all arts, the one 
that confers wealth and bread on the world; if he would 
see the true nobility of the country, the real sovereigns 
of the United States ; if he would learn to look upon la¬ 
bor in its true light, honorable and useful to all; if he 
would have his heart gladdened at the successful re¬ 
sults and rewards of honest industry, let him go among 
active, intelligent, practical farmers, men who in their 
practice enforce the same salutary lessons they embrace 
in their theory, or inculcate with their pen. We know 
not of any other sight so well calculated to show at a 
single glance the great source of national prosperity, 
the manner in which wealth is created, as a ramble in 
the fields among the ripening or growing crops, or a few 
hours’ ride through a well cultivated district, when the 
farmer is filling his barns with the fragrant hay, and the 
reaper his arms with the golden sheaves; when the light 
wind comes scented with the odor of millions of flowers 
from the meadows and pastures, and gently bows the 
heavy heads of the maturing grain, when the rich silk¬ 
en tassels begin to wave amid the deep green of the lux¬ 
uriant corn, and when, in short, on every hand, are to be 
seen unfailing indications of plenty, and for the toil and 
labors of the husbandman, an abundant reward. 
The pleasures we have described, we yesterday en¬ 
joyed in a hurried call, (for farmers must husband their 
hours in harvest,) upon some agricultural friends in the 
south part of Onondaga. The fertile section of country 
to which our remarks allude, lies on what is called by 
our state geologist, the Marcellus shales, or the forma¬ 
tion between the Onondaga and the Tully limestones. 
It of course partakes largely of the character that would 
result from the decomposition of the rocks and strata 
farther north, and the boulders of limestone and sand¬ 
stone indicate the nature and direction of the agents 
that have there produced the present order of things. 
The result is a soil in general favorable to cultivation, 
rich and productive, rather uneven, and where well ma¬ 
naged, giving ample returns. 
Mr. Cummings is a gentleman who combines in a 
greater degree than most others, the experimental with 
the practical, and has been the agent of effecting much 
good to his agricultural friends, by the introduction of 
new and valuable kinds of seeds and vegetables. The 
introduction of the Canada flint wheat, a valuable Eng¬ 
lish variety received through the Canadas, is an in¬ 
stance of this, and from him it has received the name 
by which it is in this section of the- state generally 
known, the “ Cummings wheat.” It is a fine grain, 
bearded, very hardy, and appears likely to supplant to 
a considerable extent, the- cultivation of the common 
flint wheat. It is more liable to shell in harvesting than 
ordinary wheat, and hence must be cut earlier than 
those that part with their seeds less readily. He has a 
beautiful crop of it now growing, and the seed has been 
extensively distributed within three or four years. He 
has at the present time six or seven varieties of Indian 
corn growing, in order to test their productiveness and 
early qualities ; and as many or more varieties of the 
potato, cultivated for the same purpose. 
Mr. C’s farm is not a large one, but well managed and 
very productive. His manures are applied to crops that 
wiii be the most benefited by them, such as corn and 
roots, and these alternating with grain and clover consti¬ 
tute a profitable course of husbandry. W e here witnessed 
another proof of the great superiority of manure from 
the hog yard, over all others, in bringing forward rapidly 
and giving a great growth of corn. Common stable 
manure appears entirely inefficient, compared with it. 
An experiment on a small scale, of the application of ash¬ 
es to corn as a top dressing, gave most satisfactory evi¬ 
dence of the utility of such a measure. It was the 20th 
of July, and he assured us he had in his garden corn fit 
for boiling. We question whether many farmers in lati¬ 
tude 43 3 could have said the same. We saw in his gar¬ 
den a quantity of the Sweet Water and Isabella 
grape vines. He told us, that he had for some 
time attempted to grow fruit on them by training 
on frames, unsuccessfully, but now, as they lie 
spread over or near the earth, w r e found them loaded 
with fine clusters. We saw in 1838, in the garden of 
the Hon. E. Edwards of Sodus Bay, grapes, the vines 
of which were spread over frames only a few inches 
from the earth, and which were laden with the finest 
fruit. Is not proximity to the earth more desirable in 
the more delicate varieties of the grape, than in hardier 
or common kinds ? 
Mr. C. has invented a machine, consisting of a beater, 
running in a spiked cylinder, and worked by the power 
attached to his thrashing machine, by which he cleans 
clover seed after the chaff has been separated from the 
straw, most expeditiously and effectively. We under¬ 
stood him to say, that from 12 to 14 bushels might be 
turned out daily. To exhibit the advantages of drain¬ 
ing, he mentioned a field of his, formerly nearly worth¬ 
less, which was thoroughly underdra.ined, the whole ex¬ 
pense of which was more than repaid by the additional 
value of the first wheat crop, and which we now saw 
was covered with a luxuriant crop of clover and timo¬ 
thy. 
Another hour of our excursion was spent on the farm 
of E. Marks, Esq. in examining some of the improve¬ 
ments he has made and is making on his farm. The 
fa rm is of the same general character as Mr. Cumming’s, 
but more level, and containing in the soil, fierhaps, a 
little less sand ip the composition, We have known the 
farm owned by Mr. Marks, for more than thirty years. 
It was naturally good, although from its position some 
part of it was always too wet for profitable cultivation, 
but it had passed through several hands, not very skil¬ 
ful managers, and when purchased by Mr. Marks, a 
few years since, it was in the condition, termed “ com¬ 
pletely run down.” After putting the buildings, fences, 
&c. in order, the attention of Mr. Marks was directed 
to the low, sunken “ swale” that crossed his farm near¬ 
ly in the center, the timber of which had been cut off, 
but which to the extent of several acres produced noth¬ 
ing but coarse grasses, unfit for meadow or pasture, and 
was wholly unfit for tillage, on a large part of which, 
indeed, it is believed, it had never been attempted. To 
drain this thoroughly, was the first object. This was 
effected by a skilful series of cuttings, some of which 
required considerable depth, but which succeeded most 
admirably in draining the swampy ground of its supera¬ 
bundant water. It is now one of his most produc¬ 
tive fields, and is covered with corn of the most magni¬ 
ficent and promising growth. The corn in this field is 
the yellow, and the red blaze. Both Mr. Marks and 
Mr. Cummings, have small fields of the Brown corn, 
which we aided them in obtaining from his Excellency 
Gov. Hill, of New-Hampshire, which are very promis¬ 
ing, and of which we hope to be able to give a good account 
hereafter, though the late season at which the seed was 
received, very much lessens the probability of a good 
crop. 
Encourged by the success of his first experiment in 
draining, Mr. Marks has extended his operations, and 
has already laid upwards of 700 rods, and intends to put 
down more. Those parts of his farm which were con¬ 
sidered worthless, are now among the most valuable and 
productive, and although the expense has been considera¬ 
ble, his augmented crops are repaying it with accumulated 
interest. The beautiful crops of corn, potatoes, and roots, 
now growing on what, only two or three years since, 
could scarcely be made to produce coarse grass enough 
to feed a calf or sheep per acre, afford an argument in 
favor of thorough draining, more powerful than any 
which mere theory could devise. 
Mr. Marks has cultivated roots extensively for several 
years past, including the carrot, turnep and the sugar beet. 
His crop this year of these plants has a fine appearance, 
though some of the seeds planted failed to germinate, 
causing the sugar beet and the carrot to have a some¬ 
what unequal growth. His experience with roots, both 
in feeding animals, and in making pork, is such as to 
give him a high opinion of their value, and induce him 
to give them a prominent place in his system of culti¬ 
vation. 
Last year, in order to store his increased products, Mr. 
Marks built him a new barn, of a construction differing 
from ordinary ones, and which is unquestionably, in 
many respects, a decided improvement on the common 
system of building. It is built on a gentle declivity, with 
an underground apartment, and adjoining cellar, the last 
dug into the earth, with heavy stone walls, pointed with 
lime mortar. The part not occupied by the cellar, is 
neatly enclosed, with windows and doors, forming a re¬ 
treat for his stock from storms, and a place for folding 
ewes and lambs in the spring of the year. The height 
of the barn is another point in which it materially dif¬ 
fers from common ones, The upper part, or that which 
is intended for the reception of grain, is 20 feet from the 
sills to the top of the plales, which, added to the size of 
the building, gives an opportunity of securing a large 
quantity of grain, without being obliged to have recourse 
to stacking. Mr. Marks is very careful in his manage¬ 
ment of manures, and he remarked to us that one load 
made and kept where it was not liable to he leached by 
the rains, and its salts wasted by washing and evapora¬ 
tion, was worth two which had lain exposed in the yard 
through the season. 
Mr. Marks was one of the first to introduce the pure 
Berkshires into Onondaga, and although unfortunate in 
not having any progeny from the first sow he purchased, 
the attempt has rendered essential service to the farmers 
of that section, as the pigs of various grades abounding 
in the neighborhood, prove. We have had the present 
season, various opportunities of observing the greater 
ease with which a Berkshire pig can be kept in good 
condition, by noticing such as run in the same fields, 
with others of the common breeds, and all faring in 
every respect, precisely alike. 
As the efforts of Mr. Marks have been principally 
directed to the culture of grain, in connexion with the 
permanent improvement of his farm, he has not paid 
particular attention to stock, with the exception of pigs 
and sheep. He has, we believe, a few animals of the 
Short Horn cross, but the experience of our wheat grow¬ 
ers seems to have decided that sheep and clover, are bet¬ 
ter than cattle and clover on a grain farm. 
It would unquestionably be srreatly for the interest of 
agriculture, if every neighborhood of farmers contained 
a few such men as Messrs. Cummings and Marks. 
Their influence is beneficially felt, even when their ef¬ 
forts are doubted or derided. Farmers, as well as other 
men, will imitate when they find it is for their interest. 
The draining of one such swamp as that of Mr. Marks, 
and the subsequent crops, would convince a hundred dis¬ 
believers in the theory of draining. It is needless to 
say, these men are reading, as well as acting, practical 
farmers. On their tables we saw many of the back vo¬ 
lumes of the Genesee Farmer, an entire set of the Cul¬ 
tivator, and the excellent Monthly Visitor of OUr friend 
Gov. Hill. 
BONE DUST. 
Considerable quantities of this material are used at the 
present time in this country as a manure, and so far as 
we have been able to learn, with the best effect. It is 
to be hoped the use of the article will extend, until 
what is now frequently looked upon as a trouble and a 
nuisance, shall be converted into a substance most use¬ 
ful to the farmer. Immense quantities of bones have 
heretofore been cast into the rivers and sea, in our 
country, from soap boilers’ works or other places where 
they accumulated, or have been shipped and sent abroad 
to benefit the agriculture of other nations, at the ex¬ 
pense of our own. Some farmers appear to have 
doubted the efficiency of bone dust, but experience inmost 
cases has dissipated such impressions, and shown that 
for ease of application, and immediate energetic action, 
bone dust has few or no rivals among the manures. 
That such should be the case, the nature and composi¬ 
tion of bone would lead us to expect. 
According to the chemical analysis of Fourcroy and 
Berthollet, bones are composed of a variety of matters, 
which for convenience sake may be divided into two 
kinds; animal matters and earthy matters. The first 
class consists of gelatine, animal oils, fat and albumen, 
to the amount of about 28 per cent; the second class, or 
the earthy materials of bones, consist of phosphate of 
lime, carbonate of lime, fluate of lime, sulphate of lime, 
carbonate of soda, and a small portion of muriate of 
soda ; the whole amounting to about 72 per cent. All 
these articles are more or less efficient in promoting the 
growth of vegetation, and many of them are essential 
to the formation of plants, being found to constitute a 
greater or less portion of them. 
Animal matters have always been known as among 
the most active fertilizers; and this power is supposed 
to reside principally in the nitrogen or azote such mat¬ 
ter contains. They also decompose readily, and conse¬ 
quently become available very quickly; and to this 
cause the speedy action of this manure must doubtless 
be attributed. The most familiar use of animal mat¬ 
ter as manure, is perhaps to be found in the general use 
of fish on the sea coast of this country, as a preparation 
for corn land. A gentlemen residing in the country who 
always has a fine kitchen garden, stated to us a short 
time since, that having a quantity of what is called hali¬ 
but fins, of a rather inferior quality for cooking, on hand, 
he determined to make the experiment of depositing a 
small piece under the earth of each hill of a bed of cu¬ 
cumbers he was then planting, with the exception of a 
few reserved as a contrast. The result exceeded his ex¬ 
pectations altogether. The hills so manured were far 
more vigorous in their growth than the unmanured, their 
production was greater, and the products earlier than 
from the others. As it is clear that the value of bones 
is depending very much on the quantity of gelatine and 
oil or fat they contain, any bones subjected to a process 
that deprives them of these ingredients, must render 
their dust far less valuable than that made from bones 
not so treated; and hence bones that have been boiled 
in ley to extract the fat, are not as rich in fertilizing 
materials as those not so used. 
The earthy matter of bones comes under the denomi¬ 
nation of mineral manures, and setting aside the fluate 
of lime, of which mere traces only can be detected in 
plants, there remains no less than five active materials 
as specific manures, in the earthy part of the bone. 
Next to the carbonate of potass and lime, there is no 
salt of such extensive use in the structure of the plant, 
as phosphate of lime ; and its presence in the cultivated 
plants of wheat, barley, peas, beans, oats, corn, and 
most of the leguminous and garden plants, proves that 
to these it is at least necessary. The same may be said 
as to most of the other earthy salts found in bones, and 
accounts most satisfactorily for the efficient action they 
are found to have as manures. 
Experience proves that doses of bone dust repeatedly 
made to land, in a short time lose their efficacy, in the 
same manner that lime loses its power of promoting ve¬ 
getation by long use. This may be attributed to two 
causes; first, as but a small quantity is required as a 
specific manure for the use of plants, a larger quantity 
than is required for this purpose must in this respect be 
useless. Secondly, as the fertilizing property of bone 
dust, especially the animal part of it, is in a great de 
gree depending on the organic matter already existing 
in the soil, it is clear that repeated applications of bone 
dust, without corresponding additions of other vegetable 
manures, will in time cease to produce the desired ef¬ 
fect on soils. It is in this way, and this way alone, that 
lime, gypsum or bone dust can be termed exhausting 
manures. When this occurs, the remedy is easy; a ro¬ 
tation of such crops as do not require mineral manures, 
but to which farmyard manure is of great service, or 
in which clover, fed off upon the ground by sheep, forms 
a prominent part of the course, will soon do away the 
objection that bone dust is inert and worthless. 
Large Fleece. —A fleece, weighing twenty three 
pounds, was taken at the present year’s shearing, from 
a Cotswold ram, owned by J. Gould, Pottimore, Eng. 
Compost Manure.—M. Quenard, an experienced culti¬ 
vator of Franee, recommends as perfect, a compost prepa¬ 
red as follows :—1. A layer of green stuff taken from a 
pond. 2. A layer of quick lime, ashes and soot. 3. A 
layer of straw and green grass. 4. The same as first. 
These layers to be repeated as often as need be. Holes 
are then made through the several layers, and sufficient 
writer introduced to saturate the mass, and cause a tho¬ 
rough mixture of the vegetable and alkaline substances. 
