THE CULTIVATOR. 
75 
the hay and grain. In large farms, where each field in 
rotation is in grazing, the nitrogen is completely re¬ 
placed, and where the manures made on a farm are 
carefully returned to the soil, the quantity of this im¬ 
portant ingredient must increase every year. When 
the night soil of cities shall be generally converted into 
poudrette, as it now i§ in some places, no nitrogen of 
consequence will be lost, as the quantities used in the 
shape of corn and cattle will be returned to the country 
and made available for new crops and the feeding of 
new animals. The following extract will show the loss 
farmers sustain from not attending to these powerful 
manures : 
“ When it is considered that with every pound of ammonia 
which evaporates, a loss of 60 pounds of corn (grain) is sus¬ 
tained, and that with every pound of urine a pound of wheat 
might be produced, the indifference with which these liquid 
excrements are regarded is quite incomprehensible. In most 
places only the solid excrements, impregnated with the liquid, 
are used, and the dung-hills containing them are protected 
neither from evaporation or from the rain. The solid excre¬ 
ments contain the insoluble, the liquid ail the soluble phos¬ 
phates, and the latter contain likewise all the potash which 
existed as organic salts in the plants consumed by the ani¬ 
mals.” 
Prof. Liebig’s work is divided into two parts, the first 
of which we have now briefly noticed. Some of his 
principal points of difference from the other writers that 
have preceded him, or rather those things in which he 
has advanced beyond them, maybe seen in the extracts 
we have made ; but the vast mass of facts he has col¬ 
lected, and the numerous experiments he has conducted 
and recorded, can only be learned by a reference to the 
work itself. The second part of the volume is devoted 
to a description of the chemical changes of organic com¬ 
pounds, and is, as well as the appendix to the first part, 
rich in facts illustrative of his opinions and his views 
of the nutrition of plants, and the promotion of vegeta¬ 
tion. 
The principal things in which Prof. Liebig may claim 
originality in his system, and they are those which lie 
at the basis of all agriculture, are the use attributed by 
him to humus, or rather the divesting this substance 
of the paramount importance that has been assigned it 
in vegetation, and the discovery of the manner in 
which nitrogen or ammonia is furnished to plants, and 
the consequent explanation of many of those things 
which have hitherto been so mysterious and inexplica¬ 
ble. His reasons for the rotation of crops, and his ar¬ 
guments to prove the necessity and propriety of such a 
course of culture, as well as those which refer to the 
value and application of manures, are such as will be 
appreciated by the farmer who has paid attention to 
the operations of nature around him. 
It is to be presumed that some of the positions taken 
by Prof. Liebig may require some modification ; and 
on some points he may prove not perfectly correct, but 
for the manner in which he has taught us how the prin¬ 
cipal operations of vegetation are performed—an 1 the 
understanding this constitutes the whole philosophy of 
agriculture—the farming public are very greatly indebt¬ 
ed, and we cannot question its influence will be widely 
felt. In conclusion we remark that we recommend 
Prof. Liebig’s volume most cordially to the reader, and 
as an American edition, with notes by a distinguished 
writer, is in the press, we trust that the views of the 
learned German may be put to a practical test, by the 
intelligent agriculturists of our country. 
WORK FOR THE MONTH. 
Corn. 
The agricultural census of the United States proves, 
as we had anticipated, that Indian corn is our great bread 
crop, it reaching the amount of 318,000,000 of bushels ; 
and the crop of the year 1839 was at least 20 per cent 
less than that of 1840. May is the month for preparing 
the ground and planting this crop ; and from the 1st to 
the 15th, maybe considered the proper time for plant¬ 
ing. The ground must be rich, mellow and free from 
all unnecessary moisture. If inclining to clay, or to be 
heavy when plowed wet, the greatest care should be 
used not to have the earth moved while in that state. 
If you have but a small quantity of manure, you may 
use it in the hill • but it is better to apply enough to 
ensure the rapid growth of the crop, and spread it equal¬ 
ly over the ground. Too deep plowing between the 
rows is not advisable, after the roots have begun to 
spread ; but a frequent stirring of the surface will be 
found very useful. There are almost numberless vari¬ 
eties of Indian corn, known by local appellations, or 
marked by some difference in color, &c. Of these, the 
Dutton, Brown, Canadian, Red Blaze, are the most cel¬ 
ebrated at the north, while some of the varieties of the 
gourd seed are usually depended on for the great crop 
of the south and west. The distance in planting the 
rows, depends on the size of the corn, richness of the 
soil, &c. ; and the number of stalks in a hill must be 
governed by the same rules. The greatest quantity can 
be grown in drills, but corn can he cultivated easier by 
planting so that the cultivator can be run both ways be¬ 
tween the rows. — 
Potatoes. 
Potatoes may be planted from the time the ground 
becomes dry until June ; but the late crops will not ri¬ 
pen as well as the earlier ones, or produce as good ta¬ 
ble potatoes. A moist soil, with abundance of vegeta¬ 
ble mold, is the best for potatoes. If the ground is in¬ 
clining to be wet, they may be planted on ridges : if to 
be dry, this root will do the best in furrows. For the 
table, the Pink Eye, Mercer and Foxite are highly es¬ 
teemed ; for field culture, or for animals, the Sardinia, 
Long Red, Merino and the Rohan, are most valued. 
The Rohan requires the whole season to mature, but is 
very productive and easily gathered. 
Animals. 
More animals die in the months of April and May, 
than in any or perhaps all the other months of the year. 
It is a sign that a man has little corn for his pigs, no clo¬ 
ver, hay or turneps for his sheep, no carrots or oil cake, 
or ship stuff for his cows, or cob meal and cut straw, oats 
and cut hay for his horses, when the crows begin to col¬ 
lect for their carrion feast in the fields, and the fences 
and apple-trees are decorated with dead lambs, sucking 
pigs, &c. &c. Don’t let your animals into your fields 
too early ; and not into your meadows at all, unless you 
wish to have the roots of the grasses spoiled by tread¬ 
ing, or killed by close grazing. Men rarely lose any 
thing by extra attention to their animals at this trying 
season of the year; and attention to their wants now, is 
always amply repaid at a later period. 
Manures. 
The cardinal point to be observed in the management 
of manures, is to apply them in that state, and to those 
crops which are the most benefited by their applica¬ 
tion. When manures are left in the yards over the 
summer, and exposed to the action of sun and rain, they 
are deprived of much of their value. The most efficient 
parts pass away and are lost to the farm. If manures 
are not applied to the spring crops of corn and roots, 
they should be heaped with layers of earth, vegetable 
mold, marsh mud, wash of roads and with some lime, 
that the salts and gases produced, may be absorbed and 
retained. In this way, the value of yard manures is 
much increased, and the quantity augmented. The ex¬ 
periments of Chaptal and Liebig, prove that the mere 
vegetable mold left by the decomposition of plants or 
manure in the open air, possesses little value compared 
with that in which all the salts and fertilizing ingredi¬ 
ents are retained. 
A short time since, a committee of ihe French Insti¬ 
tute was appointed to examine the nature and effects of a 
new manure, represented as of extraordinary power. It 
was found to be composed of Gypsum, saturated with 
urine, the mass then dried and pulverized, and applied 
to plants in the form of a powder. It xvas pronounced 
the most effective of a large variety of the animalized 
manures, so much so indeed that the committee recom¬ 
mended great caution in its use. A small quantity ap¬ 
plied to corn, garden plants, &c. ga\ r e a most rapid and 
vigorous growth. Would it not be well for our farmers 
to make some experiments with this material ? It is cer¬ 
tainly Avithin the power of all. We hope that pou¬ 
drette and bone manure will also be fairly tried ; on 
these points Ave should be negligent no longer. 
Fruit Trees. 
May is the time to examine your fruit trees particu¬ 
larly. Look at your plumbs and cherries, and if you 
can detect the black excrescences upon them Avhich are 
so common, and Avhich threaten to destroy these deli¬ 
cious fruits, see that every infected branch is eradicated 
Avithout ceremony. This course has been successful in 
some nurseries and orchards, and will doubtless be. in 
others, if thoroughly adopted. There are some apple 
trees in almost every orchard that are shy bearers, and 
while thrifty and vigorous, Avill not produce a bushel of 
fruit in a dozen years. Let such trees be marked for 
grafting. Trees rnay be transplanted this month, if 
proper care is used to remove a sufficient quantity of 
earth Avith their roots. Do not put your trees into nar- 
i'oav deep holes, dug in a hard soil, but let the holes be 
large and shalloAv rather than otherAvise, and be care¬ 
ful that the tree in setting out is not covered but a very 
little higher Avith earth than as it naturally stood. Neg¬ 
lect of this point, not unfrequently inflicts serious in¬ 
juries on trees, and prevents their thrift or productive¬ 
ness. — 
Nexv Things. 
Do not run crazy after neAV things. There is g great 
deal of charlatanry in the world ; and cattle and sheep, 
and sAvine, and new plants, or neAV varieties, are as ca¬ 
pable of being outrageously puffed, as Brandreth’s Pills, 
or RoAvland’s Kaylidor. Many valuable plants and an¬ 
imals have of late been brought to the notice of the 
public, and farmers are much indebted to the pub- 
lie spirited men Avho have been at such pains and 
expense in importing or improxdng them. While there¬ 
fore the farmer should encourage every properly con¬ 
ducted effort to improve the character of our animals, 
and increase the quantity and quality of our produc¬ 
tions, he should examine every claim to improvement 
carefully, and froAvn doAvn every attempt at imposition 
or fraud. Many failures occur in seeds and plants in 
one part of the country, Avhen the same would succeed 
Avell in another. Such are not adapted to the particu¬ 
lar soil and climate, and the blame must fall on the want 
of judgment in undertaking the culture. 
The Team. 
It is enough to sicken the heart of a man of ordinary 
feeling, to witness the Avretched skeleton animals that are 
compelled, by dint of flagellation, to perform the labor of 
the farm, in so many instances. Such treatment of ani¬ 
mals is not only cruel but unprofitable. It is certain 
that one team Avell kept, will do more Avork than tAVo 
half starved ones, and do it at the time and in the man¬ 
ner it should be done. It is a most injudicious practice 
to alloAv working cattle or horses to leave their stalls 
for the pasture, until the spring work is mainly over. 
They cannot derive sufficient nutriment from the young 
grasses, and a taste of the new, makes them eat spa¬ 
ringly of the old, and the result is, they will fall away 
rapidly -— 
Plaster. 
May, in our latitudes, is the best month for sowing 
gypsum, and it should be improx r ed fully. The use of 
it on corn, peas, potatoes, and particularly on clover, 
will amply repay the expense of procuring and sovving. 
The quantity per acre should be from one to tAvo bushels; 
although a greater quantity can do no injury. Do not 
fear reducing your lands by the use of plaster ; that 
was one of the errors of ignorance, and ought not to 
find any countenance among Avell informed men. It 
cannot be too oftenrepeated, that plaster and clover are 
the grand means of enriching and fertilizing land. 
Caterpillars. 
Examine your fruit trees and orchards carefully this 
month, as you will be able to detect the appearance of 
worms, or Avebs, more readily now than at a later lime, 
and Avhen attacked early, an orchard may be soon 
cleared of the caterpillar. A long slender rod Avith a 
SAvab of tOAV or cloth around the end, w'ill at this time 
Avind up both web and Avorms, if applied in the morn¬ 
ing xyhen the insects are in their nests, and no injurious 
applications to the trees, such as are sometimes recom¬ 
mended, Avill be necessary. 
Pruning. 
It is the custom among farmers to do the pruning of 
their orchards at such times as is most convenient or 
as they have been taught to do, Avithout reference to 
vegetable physiology, or the best methods pointed out 
by nature. Some prune in the winter, many in this 
month, and perhaps May is as good a time as any, the 
summer months excepted. We think that July, or rather 
the interxml that takes place between the formation of 
the flower and fruit shoots or buds, and that of the ter¬ 
minal shoots or buds, a period that lasts some three 
Aveeks, is the best time for pruning, and avc advise 
those of our friends who have this work to do, to as¬ 
certain by experiment, what time gives the most healthy 
and vigorous xvood for covering the wounds necessari¬ 
ly made in pruning. — 
Harrowing Meadows. 
Meadoxvs, Avhere they have not been subjected to an 
occasional ploAving and cropping, are apt to become 
exhausted of good grasses, the ground close and hard, 
and the roots mossy. A dressing of ashes or plaster 
will do much good, but a thorough harrowing Avith a 
fine toothed harrow, Avill materially aid such dressing 
and give a sweeter, better herbage. Previous to the 
harrowing, grass seeds of the best'kind should be soxxm. 
Avhich Avill be covered by the process, and a neAV healthy 
crop Avill be the result. The experiments of Liebig, 
in ascertaining the effects or necessity of alkalies in the 
formation of grasses are interesting, and show conclu¬ 
sively the loss those sustain Avho sell their ashes, or al- 
Ioav their leached ones to remain Avithout use, when 
their fields xvould by them be so much benefited. 
The Garden. 
There is very much work to be done in the garden 
the present month. All the vegetables we intend to cul¬ 
tivate, the seeds of which are not already in the ground, 
must be put in as fast as the soil is warm enough for 
their reception. There is little use in planting when the 
ground is cold and Avet; the plants will be more vigor¬ 
ous and arrive at maturity in favorable states of plant¬ 
ing, if the putting into the earth is delayed a week or 
fortnight, as soon as they xvould if put in, xvhen the 
soil xvas unfit as much earlier. Let the ground be rich 
loose, dry, and warm, and there is little to fear for the 
garden. 
Corn for the table, must have a place in every kitchen, 
garden, and if planted in drills and properly managed 
a fexv roxvs of the early, the common, and the sxveet 
varieties, Avill furnish a supply for a long while. It 
must be planted as soon as the danger of frost is passed 
as it has no enemy to fear but cold. 
Melons and cucumbers are cultivated in hills, the first 
five or six, and the last four feet apart. Bridgman di¬ 
rects to have a rich piece of ground worked the first 
xveek in May, mark it into squares of the distance in¬ 
tended for the hills, at every angle of the square dig a 
hole twelve inches deep and eighteen over, into xvhich 
put six inches deep of good rotten dung • put on this 
four inches of good earth and mix wellxvith the spade ■ 
draw more earth over the mixture and form a circular 
hill a foot broad. Of cucumbers, plant four or five seeds 
half an inch deep, and of melons six or seven at the 
same depth. We prefer putting more seeds in a hill 
and after the plants are xvell up, selecting the best 
placed and most vigorous for the crop. The yelloxv 
bug is the xvorst enemy the cucumber and melon is ob¬ 
liged to encounter, and a crop of these plants as well 
as squashes, will be frequently destroyed in a few 
hours. Constant attention at such times is required • 
but we have found a hen with a good brood of chickens’ 
enclosed in a coop and placed in the garden, one of the 
best preventives for these and similar depredators. 
Beans, both the bush and the pole beans, require a 
