142 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
DICTIONARY OF TERMS 
Used in Agriculture and its Kindred Sciences. 
GIRDLING. In the settlement of all wooded new 
countries, one of the principal obstacles encountered, 
is freeing the land from timber, or clearing it, as it is 
usually called. By leaving a portion of the trees, much 
labor is saved, and if these are killed, so that there is 
no foliage, tolerable crops of wheat can be grown, with¬ 
out their removal. To kill the tree by stopping the 
circulation of the sap, is the object of girdling. It is 
effected by cutting into the tree entirely around it, 
either taking out a narrow chip, or simply striking in 
the bit of the ax to such a depth as to interrupt the 
.flow of juices. The first method is pursued with the 
maple, bass, elm, &c., while the last is effectual with 
oak, chestnut, &c. The maple, if girdled in the spring 
of the year, and the cut made in a spiral form around the 
tree, so as to receive and conduct the sap as it flows into 
some suitable reservoir, will yield a large supply of 
sap for conversion into sugar, but it is fatal to the tree. 
The water elm, or the birch, if treated in the same 
way, will pour out a continued stream for several days 
in succession. It is the opinion of many, that trees 
girdled and allowed to stand until the bark falls off, are 
more solid and durable than if used without such pre. 
paration. 
GLANDERS. This is one of the most disagreeable 
and incurable of the diseases to which the horse is sub- 
ject; and unfortunately, too well known to need a mi¬ 
nute description. The membrane of the nose is the 
original seat of the disease, and at first is a mere irri¬ 
tation ; but as it proceeds, tubercles form, matter is dis¬ 
charged, the bones of the nose and head become dis¬ 
eased and carious, the poison is absorbed into the cir¬ 
culation, and the horse perishes. The disease may be 
bred, or it may be communicated by contagion, and it 
is to this cause most of the instances of the disease are 
to be attributed. Improper stable management is the 
general producing cause of glanders. Hot, ill-ventilat¬ 
ed, filthy stables are often the cause of the complaint; 
and hence the horses of the farmer, or those on post 
routes are oftener afflicted with the glanders than those 
of the man who takes more care of them, and gives 
better attention to their accommodation and comfort. 
Nature sometimes effects a cure of the disease, but in 
nine cases out of ten, confirmed glanders proves fatal 
in from eighteen to twenty-four months from the attack. 
There is scarcely a drug which has not been tried for 
glanders, yet it may be said that all have signally failed, 
unless we except iodine which seems to have effected 
some cures. It has been proved that the glanders can 
be communicated to man, and cases have occurred in 
which death has ensued from the contagion. Those, 
therefore, who have to deal with this disease, should be 
on their guard that none of the matter ejected, comes 
by any accident in contact with the membranous linings 
of the mouth or nose. 
GLUTEN. This is a substance which, although found 
in vegetables, has all the properties of animal matter, 
and yields an abundance of ammonia by distillation or 
putrefaction. Chaptal extracted it from a great variety 
of vegetables, but it is found most abundant in the grains 
of wheat, and it is from this that it is most frequently 
obtained. Gluten is destitute of taste, turns brown in 
the air, putrefies, as animal matter does, is insoluble in 
alcohol, and but slightly soluble in water. The wheat 
of some countries contains more gluten than that of 
others, and the same remark is true of some varieties. 
Wheat is mainly composed of starch and gluten, as the 
following analysis of several kinds of whea-t, by Davy, 
will show : 
Starch. Gluten,. 
100 parts of fall wheat of excellent quality gave of 77 19 
“ “ Spring wheat “ 70 24 
<! u Barbary wheat fI 74 23 
“ “ Sicily wheat “ 75 21 
The fermentation or rising of bread is depending 
on the gluten of the flour, and grain in which the natu¬ 
ral condition of the gluten*is changed by partial conver¬ 
sion into sugar, as in grown wheat, is from this cause 
unfit for bread. That the value of flour for bread is 
mainly depending on the gluten, is clear from the follow¬ 
ing analysis of several kinds of grain from Chaptal’s 
Chemistry applied to Agriculture : 
Wheat contains of gluten in 100 parts, from 19 to 24 
Barley “ “ “ “ 5 ‘ 8 
Rye “ “ “ i 1 1 
Oats *• “ “ “ i “ 2 
GRAFTING. This name is applied to an operation 
for the propagation of fruit, by inserting small branches 
of the desired fruit tree into one of less value, or the 
fruit of tvhich it is washed to change. The best place 
for grafting is the nursery, when the trees are the size 
of the little finger, but it may be practiced on trees of 
any age or size ; although small branches are always to 
be preferred. The first operation is heading down the 
tree, or cutting off the branches it is intended to graft ; 
and care should be used that enough are left to keep up 
the circulation in the trunk, and shade that from the 
direct effects of the sun, which otherwise frequently kills 
the tree. There are several modes of grafting, called 
whip, cleft, side grafting, &.C., which mainly differ in 
the modes of setting the cion in the stock. March is 
the proper month for cutting cions, and they may be set 
as soon as the sap commences to circulate, or the dan¬ 
ger of freezing has past. Clay used to be focpierly 
used for excluding the air from the place where the cion 
was inserted, but the process was a dirty one, and has 
been superseded by a composition made of 3 parts of 
rosin, 3 parts of bees-wax and one part of tallow, melt¬ 
ed together, and worked like shoe-maker’s wax into 
rolls, or spread on muslin, which is to be cut into strips 
for use. But in whatever way the wax is applied, it 
must exclude the air, as on this the success of grafting 
is mainly depending. If the wax is too hard it must be 
softened before using, but in moderate weather the heat 
of the hands will usually render the plaster sufficiently 
pliable. By grafting, we not only secure good fruit, but 
obtain it much earlier than we could in any other way. 
There can at the present time be no excuse for poor 
fruit, as any farmer may practice grafting, and every 
year is adding to the stock of valuable fruits. 
GRAINS. Since the extension of agriculture, and 
the increase of facilities for transmitting the produce of 
one country to another, the fear of famines, and the 
necessity for the great accumulation of grain, or its 
•preservation at any particular points,has mostly passed ; 
still the best modes of preserving grain must always be a 
question of interest to the farmer. The great secret in 
the preservation of grain consists in protecting it from 
the action of air and moisture; a moderate temperature is 
also necessary. The most common method among the 
ancients, and it was one which was eminently success¬ 
ful, was putting it into large pits or vaults excavated 
in rock. Such are what are called Caesar’s granaries, a 
series of chambers cut in a dry calcareous rock at Am- 
boise on the Loire in France. The Chinese still preserve 
their grain in pits dug in rock, or firm dry soil, and to 
protect the grain from humidity, these pits are lined with 
straw. In Franee the government have lately instituted 
experiments on preserving grain in pits or trenches cut 
in the rock, and carefully closed, and the results, after 
several year’s trial, have been very satisfactory. When 
St.. Louis, King of France, conducted his army through 
Egypt to Palestine during the crusades, the stores of 
wheat for the use of the army were collected in Cyprus, 
the greater part two years before the King’s arrival. 
The history of the expedition says, t! the wheat and the 
barley they had put into heaps in the midst of the 
fields, and these appeared like mountains, for the rain 
had moistened the grain a long time, and caused it to 
germinate on the outside, so that nthing was seen but the 
green surface. In removing this grain to Egypt, when 
the outer crust was removed from the heaps of grain, 
the wheat and barley was found as fresh as if newly 
piled up.” Grain well dried and put up in stacks at 
harvesting, or in mows, will keep much better than if 
thrashed and deposited in common granaries, the chaff 
of the ear serving to absorb the moisture which is most 
injurious to the grain. 
GRANARY. A place in which grain is deposited. 
Some idea of the ancient granaries may be formed from 
the preceding article, and from the descriptions given 
in the Bible of those in Egypt. In modern times, grana¬ 
ries are chiefly used to store the necessary supplies of 
grain for the year only, or until it can be brought to 
market. The air in and around granaries should be 
free and pure, not in the vicinity of stables, or any 
other vitiating cause ; they should also be dry, as on 
this the sweetness of the grain will mainly depend, and 
they.should be free from all rats, mice, and other ver¬ 
min. It is better, thereff where much grain is raised 
to have the granary s< Aj te from the other farm build¬ 
ings, and built in suchkfijmanner that depredators like 
those named can find no Entrance. To prevent the en¬ 
trance of rats, gri; ' n M ention must be paid to the foun¬ 
dation ; orSGuAv^'is still better, let the granary be 
placed on posts of wood or stone, two feet from the 
ground, the tops of these to be capped with a project¬ 
ing board or flat stone to impede their ascent. In this 
way the only place of approach is by the steps and door, 
and this may be secured with sheet iron. Gx-anaries 
should be cleaned annually to prevent the attacks or 
lodgment of the xveevil, which sometimes commits ex¬ 
tensive ravages in large deposits of grain. 
GRASSES. Next to the cerealia grown as food for 
man, the grasses intended as herbage or forage for ani¬ 
mals, are the most important objects of cultivation. 
The varieties of grasses are almost innumerable, but 
the few that have been ascertained as proper for culti¬ 
vation, and sufficient for all the purposes of the farmer, 
may be named as follows ;—Meadow catstail, or Herd- 
grass ; Red top ; Rough stalked meadow grass; Orchard 
grass; Smooth stalked meadow grass ; Ryegrass; and 
White and Red clover. These wall be sufficient for a 
rotation with grain crops, or the formation of perma¬ 
nent meadows or pasture. One great fault in the culti¬ 
vation of grasses in the United States is, there is not 
seed enough sown. The consequence is there is no 
sward formed for pasture ; and between the scattering 
plants, weeds spring up and propagate rapidly. 
To show how differently English farmers manage, we 
copy from Prof. Low’s Agriculture the quantity and 
kinds of grasses used per acre, for temporary, or for 
permanent stocking. 
Land to be only one or two years in grass. 
Rye grass.*.17 lbs. 
Herds grass.... 3 “ 
Red clover. S “ 
White clover.•.2 “ 
30 lbs. 
For permanent meadow or pasture. 
Meadow foxtail. 3 3-4 lbs. 
Herds grass.. .. 1-2 “ 
5 lbs. 
2 “ 
3-4 “ 
12 “ 
2 “ 
6 “ 
32 
The Herds grass ( Phleum pratense) is the most valu¬ 
able of our grasses at the north, while in the west 
Blue grass is preferred. But for a rotation, where the 
glowing of grain, or the permanent enriching the soil is 
the object, the clovers are unrivaled, and indispensa¬ 
ble. Clover and plaster may be considered the basis of 
convertible husbandry. 
GRAVEL. Stones from the size of a pin’s head to 
those of two or three pounds weight, are termed gravel, 
and the greater or less quantity of them in the soil, as 
well as the kind of rock of which they are composed, 
has a great influence on the fertility and cultivation of 
land. If the gravel is course, and the particles slight¬ 
ly connected, the soil will be wha.t is called hungry, as 
manures put upon it sink among the porous materials, 
and produce little or no effect on crops. On the contra¬ 
ry, if the gravel is finer, or sufficiently filled with other 
earths and vegetable and animal matter, it constitutes 
one ol the most valuable of Soils, and is particularly 
excellent for wheat and clover. Gravelly soils are very 
apt to be too dry ; but unless vei-y coarse, the incorpora¬ 
tion of clay will have a beneficial effect, by rendering it 
more retentive of moisture, and consequently giving 
it more support to the crop. Under the influence of 
the doctrine promulgated by Tull, that the finer the 
particles of the soil the better it would be, some farm¬ 
ers in England sifted some of their soils, and carried 
off the gravel so collected ; but the effect was found to 
be most injurious, as the soils speedily became too com¬ 
pact for profitable vegetation ; the experiment was 
abandoned, and tne pebbles returned to their original 
place. 
GREASE or SCRATCHES. This is a disorder to 
which horses are subject, and only affects the skin of 
the heel. As there is much motion and tension to this 
pavt of the leg, it was necessary the skin should be very 
pliable and soft, and to ensure this, nature has provided 
a secretion of greasy matter which is absorbed by the 
skin at the heel, giving it a sensible greasy feel, and 
prevents in a healthy state the crack or roughness of 
the part which would otherwise ensue. Under ill treat¬ 
ment, or bad stable management, inflammation takes 
place, the secretion of grease is stopped, a dry and 
scurfy state of the skin succeeds, cracks of the skin show 
themselves, and swelling and lameness ensues. Ac¬ 
cording to Youatt, “ if cracks are slight, a lotion com¬ 
posed of a solution of two drams of blue vitriol, or 
four of alum in a pint of water will often speedily dry 
them up and close them. But if the cracks are deep and 
the lameness and inflammation considerable, poulticing 
will be necessary, and one of linseed meal, or of car¬ 
rots boiled soft may be used. After the inflammation is 
checked, the lieel may be dressed with an ointment 
composed of one part rosin and three of lard melted 
together, and one part of calamine powder added when 
these begin to get cold.” Occasionally wetting the 
cracks with the vitriol solution will expedite the heal- 
ing. Some farmers use an ointment made of grease 
and sulphur, which is rubbed in, the hair being first 
clipped. Sometimes from careless management, or in- 
attention, the cracks degenerate into deep sores, fungus 
springs upon their edges, which dries and assumes a 
horny form, and is known by the name of grapes. The 
grease is supposed to arise from the filth and urine of the 
stable acting on the tender skin of the heel; yet some 
horses are more subject to it than others in any situa¬ 
tion. Care is the best preventive, and as this has 
banished the disease from the cavalry of most nations, 
it would doubtless prevent its recurrence among farmer’s 
horses where it is most injurious. 
GRUB. This name is applied to the larva of several 
species of insects, of which those the most injurious to 
the farmer are the larva of the May bug, ( Melontha 
vidgaris) and snapping bug ( Eleater segetis ) called the 
white grub and the wireworm. The first occasions at 
times great damage in grass lands or meadows, eating 
off the roots so that large pieces of turf may be rolled 
up like carpets. The larva are eagerly sought after 
by hogs, and whole fields are sometimes rooted over to 
obtain them. They sometimes occasion much injury to 
corn and wheat, but they are seldom numerous enough 
to effect much. The larva remains in the ground 
three or four years, when it is transformed to the per¬ 
fect insect, and makes its appearance after sun down as 
the common May bug. It is quickly attracted by light, 
and the best method of destroying them is to build 
bright fires of brush or other materials on those few 
evenings in which they appear, when they will perish 
by thousands. The wireworm does much more injury 
than the white grub, as it attacks the roots of most cul¬ 
tivated plants, and when numerous, will destroy whole 
fields of corn or spring grain, and we have known it 
commit serious depredations on the potato. The most 
effectual method of destroying this grub, appears to be 
the adoption of fall plowing as late as possible, or after 
the grub becomes partially torpid. In this way multi¬ 
tudes of them are thrown up to the effects of a cold 
which is fatal to them. 
Educate a community in the idea that to work with 
their hands is degrading and dishonorable, and you 
educate them for vice and. misery. 
Orchard grass. 
MeadowFescue--- .. 
Rough stalked meadow grass 
Rye grass. 
Red clover. 
White clover. 
