dictionary of terms 
USED IN 
Agriculture and its Kindred Sciences. 
CLOVER. ( Trifolium .) This valuable plant consti- 
tutes a numerous familyj botanists reckoning neaily 
sixty of the cultivated varieties. Of these the most 
common are the Trifolium pratense, or red clover, and 
Trifolium repeas, or white clover. Clover will grow in 
any soil that is not too wet, but its favorite soil is a deep 
sandy loam, and on this its produce is usually great. 
The long tap roots of the red clover penetrate deep into 
the earth, and it will of course flourish in a soil so dry 
as scarcely to support any other grass or plant. All cal¬ 
careous matter, or the salts ol lime, as the sulphates 
and phosphates, the carbonates or marls, are excellent 
for clover, and plaster or lime will cause clover seeds to 
spring up from soils in which they must have lain dor- 
mantlfor a long time. White clover is a natural grass 
of the United States, succeeds best on a light soil, and 
when mixed with other grasses, as timothy or rye grass, 
makes a first rate hay. Clover seeds, in all countries 
where severe frosts occur, should be sown in the spring, 
and of the spring grains, none are perhaps more favor¬ 
able to its taking well, than spring wheat. It is found 
by experience, that clover plants from seed put into the 
ground in autumn, are more apt to be frozen out, than 
when the roots have had a summer’s growth. Some 
sow the seed on the land after the harrowing is done, 
but the best way is to sow the seed with the wheat, or 
other grain, and harrow it in with that. Seed scattered 
on the surface may vegetate, but many will fail, and the 
plants will not be as vigorous and well rooted, as if co¬ 
vered with the grain. Great care should be taken that 
none but pure seed is sown, as much foul stufl is put 
into lands with grass seeds. Johnswort, sorrel, dock, 
and Canada thistle seed may sometimes be detected in 
clover seed; and so liable are farmers to be deceived, 
that it is better for them to grow their own seed, unless 
so circumstanced that they can be satisfied of the purity 
of that they can purchase. Growing best on soils that 
are suitable for wheat; like that plant, requiring calca¬ 
reous earths or manures to arrive at perfection ; it has 
become associated most intimately with the cultuie ot 
wheat, and in the best wheat growing districts of the 
United States, its presence in the wheat rotation is in¬ 
dispensable. In some places clover and wheat, the lat¬ 
ter crop every third year, is the simple and profitable 
course pursued with manifest improvement to the soil 
and the crops. Clover makes the best of pasturage, and 
when cut for hay, if properly secured, is unrivaled for 
the horse and sheep. It requires, however, considerable 
skill to make it into hay without its either losing its 
leaves from over ripeness or dryness, or becoming moul¬ 
dy by the moisture not being removed from its stems in 
the process of haying. There is no plant of which 
swine are more fond than of clover, and when allowed 
to run in a field of it, their rapid thrift is the most con¬ 
vincing evidence of its suitableness for them. Clover 
lasts in full vigor not more than three years, and it is 
usually turned under for wheat at the expiration of this 
time, its long tap roots and the decaying tops furnishing 
one of the best dressings that can be provided. 
COAL. This invaluable article is very widely distri¬ 
buted, and embraces several varieties. The first is call¬ 
ed anthracite, and being destitute of bitumen, burns 
with more difficulty than any other. This obstacle has 
been overcome by the invention of peculiar grates and 
furnaces, and as it is composed almost entirely of pure 
carbon, is destitute of any unpleasant smell, perfectly 
safe, and very durable, it has come into extensive use 
as fuel in the United States, as well as other parts of 
the world. Pennsylvania is the region of anthracite 
in this country, though it occurs elsewhere in smaller 
quantities. In no part of the world can it be obtained 
so easily and in such quantities as on the Schuylkill, 
Lehigh, Susquehannah and Lackawaxen; and the coal 
trade of the eastern part of Pennsylvania, furnishes no 
inconsiderable item in its prosperity. Bituminous coal 
is another variety, and is much more widely distributed 
in this country than the anthracite. It contains bitu¬ 
men with the carbon, whence its name ; it burns readi¬ 
ly, and is extensively used by blacksmiths, in furnaces, 
and for manufacturing purposes. As fuel lor the family, 
it is less agreeable than anthracite or even wood, the 
strong bituminous or sulphurous odor being unpleasant 
to all. Miners divide coal into slate coal, loliated coal, 
coarse coal, cannel coal, pitch coal, 8tc. from the dif¬ 
ferent appearances and qualities it exhibits. There is 
scarcely a substance found in the bowels of the earth, of 
more consequence to man than coal, and one can hardly 
look on the immense stores of it so deposited, without 
conceiving there was design in the preparation of such 
an inexhaustible supply of fuel for the use of man, 
when the forests that long covered the earth should be 
removed to make room for a continually increasing popu¬ 
lation. It seems at the present time scarcely to admit 
of a doubt, that all coal has a vegetable origin; and the 
gradation can be traced by almost insensible steps, from 
the scarcely bituminated wood, up to the perfect coal, 
and purest carbon. In most of the kinds, the trunks of 
trees, branches, fruits, and foliage, can be distinctly re¬ 
cognized in the masses ; and the character of the beds, 
anil their relative position, furnish the geologist with in¬ 
teresting facts and data, in determining the earlier his¬ 
tory of the world. When coal is burned in close ves¬ 
sels, the bituminous part is driven off in the form of 
carburetted hydi ogen, or inflammable gas ; and it is in 
this way that the vast quantities of gas used in lighting 
our cities are mostly prepared. The coal so treated pos¬ 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
sesses the qualities of common charcoal, and is used 
like that. It is called coke, and for many purposes 
is far better than in its first state. Charcoal is wood 
burned in pits or close vessels, and is so called to dis¬ 
tinguish it from that found in the earth and produced 
by mining. 
COMPOSTS. Animal manures combined with earths, 
and rendered fine by decomposition, are called composts; 
and when the preparation of them is well managed, a 
great increase in both the quantity and quality of ma¬ 
nures on a farm may be obtained. Where the dung of 
the stables or the barnyard, is allowed to ferment be¬ 
fore it is placed in the field, or in situations, where it is 
uncovered or unmixed with some substance to absorb 
and retain the gases generated, a great loss to the farmer 
of nutritive matter certainly ensues. To avoid this, 
and provide a supply of fine manure indispensable in 
gardening, and some other farm operations, it is found 
an excellent plan to mix the vegetable matter of swamps, 
the muck of drains, wash of roads, peat, &c. in heaps 
with the unfermented manure, and in this way the in¬ 
soluble part of the vegetable matter used is prepared to 
become the food of plants, while they at the same time 
serve to prevent the escape of matter from the ferment¬ 
ing mass. In preparing these heaps, the manure, and 
the muck, or the earth, (for even arable earth will be 
better as an absorbent mixed with the fermenting dung 
than nothing,) is placed in layers until the requisite 
height is obtained, when it is left to ferment and decom¬ 
pose. If the heat rises to much over 100°, the pile 
should be shoveled over, and this incorporation of the 
materials will check the too rapid fermentation, and 
promote the fineness and quality of the compost. An¬ 
other mode of making compost, and perhaps the best, 
where it can be adopted, and there is no fine manure re¬ 
quired, is to carry on the field the proceeds of the sta¬ 
bles and yards, spread them, and turn them thoroughly 
under with as little delay as possible. A compost is al¬ 
so made by spreading the yard to the depth of ten or 
twelve inches, with swamp muck, or other earth con¬ 
taining insoluble vegetable matter, and allowing this to 
receive the wash of the stables, manure, &c. As the 
straw, hay, dung, urine, and other matters, will, in the 
course of the winter, become, by the trampling ol beasts, 
thoroughly incorporated with the added earth, the vola¬ 
tile salts which are so apt to escape, as well as those 
which being soluble are washed away by the rains, are 
retained, and the quantity of manure is most beneficial¬ 
ly augmented. In this way on some farms where but 
comparatively small numbers of stock are kept, from 
500 to 1000 loads of manure are annually obtained, and 
the fertility of the farm rapidly increased. 
CORN. {Maize.) This plant is one of the most inte¬ 
resting of the graminal, rivaling the rice and the sugar 
cane of the tropics; and in the United States, in the 
opinion of some, ranking in utility higher than wheat it¬ 
self. European writers place it in the third rank, as a 
plant bearing food, giving rice and wheat the prefe¬ 
rence, but it is there comparatively uncultivated, and 
its value little understood. In England, and all the 
northern countries of the eastern continent, the tempe¬ 
rature, though excellent for wheat, is too low for corn, 
while the hot summers of this country render it one of 
the most certain and valuable of crops. America is un¬ 
doubtedly the native country of the maize or Indian 
corn; since, though corn is mentioned in the earliest re¬ 
cords of the world, it is evident that by the term was un¬ 
derstood the common grains, such as wheat, barley, &c., 
and not a shadow of evidence can be adduced to prove 
that such a plant as the maize was known previous to 
the discovery of the American continent. There are 
many varieties of Indian corn known, of which the most 
prominent are those distinguished by color, as the yellow, 
white, red and blue; those that have different numbers 
of rows as the eight, ten, twelve, sixteen, and twenty- 
four rowed kinds ; those that differ in taste, as the com¬ 
mon or sweet kinds, and those that have peculiarities in 
the shape of the kernels, as the common northern round 
corn, the gourd seed corn, the rice corn, and the Texas 
corn, each kernel of which has a separate husk or en¬ 
velope. Dr. Brown of Pennsylvania, in his excellent 
treatise on corn, enumerates thirty-five of these varie¬ 
ties, and several have since, with propriety, been added 
to his catalogue. Indeed there seems no reason to doubt 
that this plant,, like the potato, may be greatly im¬ 
proved by cultivation, and that varieties may be multi¬ 
plied to any extent by judicious selection of kinds, and 
crossing by careful impregnation. Corn is usually the 
first crop in a regular and well conducted rotation, 
coming on the lay, and requiring a heavy manuring. 
There is no plant cultivated, that bears heavy manuring 
so well as corn, while there are many to which fresh 
manure is decidedly injurious; and by applying it to the 
corn crop, that is highly benefited, while the manure 
undergoes the decomposition that fits it for the use of 
the succeeding one. The quantity of corn grown in the 
United States is immense. It has been variously esti¬ 
mated within a few years at from one hundred, to one 
hundred and fifty millions of bushels, and when we con¬ 
sider that it is produced to a great amount in every part 
of the country ; that it is used as food for man and for 
beast, we shall be justified in believing that it does not 
fall materially below the highest estimate. 
COULTER. The iron which is attached to the beam 
of the plow, immediately belore the share, and with its 
sharp cutting point, by dividing the turf renders the 
operation of plowing more complete, is called a coul¬ 
ter. It is constructed and applied in many ways and 
forms, but the object is nearly the same in all, the cut¬ 
139 
ting of the turf before the share. When properly made 
and affixed, the coulter greatly lessens the force required 
on the plow to turn the turf well, as it is easier to cut 
than to tear or break the matted roots of the grass. 
The coulter should be as near the share, as can be con¬ 
veniently, unless the surface to be plowed is very 
level, and the depth is regulated by wheels, in which 
case a greater distance between the coulter and share 
is admissible. The point in all cases should be set 
slightly forward, as it will, if inclining backwards, ex¬ 
ert a constant tendency to throw the plow out ol the 
earth. The cutting should be as near the line to be made 
by the share as possible, though if there is any deviation 
it is found to be better to have it made to land, as the 
plowman’s phrase is, than otherwise. 
COW. One of the most useful and valuable of all ani¬ 
mals is the cow. Perhaps there is none in a very large 
part of the world that contributes so essentially to the 
comfort of mankind as the cow; and certainly there is 
none that better repays what care and attention is given 
to them by the owner. Milk, in many respects, is one 
of the most indispensable articles of food, and by far the 
largest quantity in nearly all countries used for human 
sustenance, is obtained from this animal. The cow is 
in prime condition for milk, from four or five years of 
age to eight or nine; though many of them retain all 
their valuable milking qualities to a much later period. 
In all temperate climates, the cow and her products, of 
milk, butter, cheese, and beef, constitutes one of the 
most important items in the profits of agriculture. By 
paying attention to the breeding of the cow, with par¬ 
ticular reference to her milking qualities, they have been 
greatly improAmd in this respect, though as a general 
rule, the tendency to be a great milker is found to be in¬ 
compatible with that of great size, and ready fattening. 
We much question whether instances among our native 
breeds of cows cannot be found which fully rival in 
quantity and quality the best milkers of the improved 
breeds; but the difficulty in such cases lies in the fact 
that the heifers from such coavs do not ahvays partake 
of the milking qualities of the parent; while those 
which have been bred Avitfi reference to this point, rarely 
depart from it. Some of the finest dairies in the United 
States, and which perhaps will exhibit as great a pro¬ 
duct in proportion to the number of coxvs kept, as in 
any dairies in the Avorld, may be found in theAvestern 
part of Massachusetts, and the northern part of Con¬ 
necticut, in the counties of Berkshire and Litchfield. 
The quality of the products of the dairy, depend in a 
great measure on the sxveetness and purity of the her¬ 
bage on which they feed ; and the fine clovers and grass¬ 
es of elevated pastures are better for milk than the 
coarser and more luxuriant herbage of lower and rich¬ 
er lands. 
CRADLE. The cradle is an implement of agriculture 
of comparatively modern invention, and is intended to 
aid in cutting and gathering grain, which, Avhen well 
constructed and skilfully used, it does most materially. 
Formerly the sickle was relied on in gathering the grain 
crops, noAA r , unlesson new lands, its use is mostly aban¬ 
doned. The cradle consists of a broad scythe connected 
Avith a snath and light frame work, the fingers of Avhich, 
projecting in a line Avith the scythe, gather and retain 
the straw as it is cut in the semicircular sweep of the 
implement, until it is deposited on the earth in a posi¬ 
tion for binding into sheaves. Serious objections for¬ 
merly existed to the use of the cradle in the Avheat field, 
as Avith the clumsy implement as first used, much giain. 
Avas lost that might haAm been saved by the sickle ; but 
noAV a skilful cradler, with a good cradle, folloxved by a 
competent raker, will in the wheat field lose little if any¬ 
more than the sickle, and a saving of at least one half 
the time will be made. When we compare the ancient 
cradle, as delineated in the books of agriculture, and 
even those norv used in England, with those constructed 
at this time in this country, Ave shall cease to Avonder at 
the objections made to their use, and be convinced of the 
great improvements effected in their making. The best 
implement of the kind, is the one termed the Mooly cra¬ 
dle, in which a A r ery cuiwed snalh is used, and the 
Aveight of the grain when on the implement, brought so 
much nearer the operator, as materially to lessen the 
labor and fatigue of carrying it, Avhile it cuts the grain 
Avith great eAmnness, and of the desired Avidth. 
CULTIVATOR. This is an implement of agriculture, 
the use of Avhich is to loosen the earth between toavs of 
plants, so as to destroy Aveeds, and give the earth and 
plants the benefit of atmospheric influence. It is formed 
of a central piece of timber xvith diverging moveable side 
pieces, into which shares or points of iron are fixed, and 
the Avhole, drauvn by a horse, pulverizes and stirs the 
earth, Avithout penetrating so deeply as to injure the 
roots of the plants under cultivation, as is sometimes 
done by the common plow, particularly in crops of 
corn and potatoes. In preparing these plants for hoe¬ 
ing, the cultivator is noxv generally used in preference to 
the ploAv, as possessing all the advantages of that im¬ 
plement, Avith none of its disadxmntages. As Avith the 
ploAv, so Avith the cultivator ; a great variety of these 
implements have been placed before the public, the gene¬ 
ral principle in all the same, and differing only in the 
details and construction. 
“ The Practical Farmer, Gardener, and Housewife 
is the title of a volume recently issued at Cincinnati, by 
Edward J. Hooper, editor of the Western Farmer. 
It is highly recommended in the papers of that city, 
and is no doubt a valuable work. 
