THE CULTIVATOR. 
123 
er, not only to feed and clothe the bodies of his family 
from the products of his farm, but to imbue their minds 
with knowledge and virtue from the store-house of his 
understanding.” - 
Report of the American Institute, on the subject of Agri¬ 
culture, for 1841. 
This Report has been issued as a Legislative document 
since the adjournment of the Legislature. It contains 
the doings of the Agricultural Department of the Insti¬ 
tute for the last year, embracing the reports of the vari¬ 
ous committees, descriptions of implements, premiums 
awarded, statements of claimants for premiums, &c., 
&c., most of which have heretofore been noticed in the 
Cultivator. - 
A Dictionary of Science, Literature and Art, comprising 
the history, description and scientific principles of every 
branch of human knowledge. By Prof. W. T. Bkande. 
Messrs. Wiley and Putnam, New-York, have com¬ 
menced the publication of an American edition of this 
valuable encyclopedia of useful knowledge. It is to be 
issued in semi-monthly parts of 56 octavo pages each, at 25 
cents per part, the first and second of which are now be¬ 
fore us. It is printed with beautiful nonpareil type, in 
double columns, on paper of the best quality, and illus¬ 
trated with a great variety of wood cuts. With Prof. 
Brande, the general editor, are associated fourteen oth¬ 
er gentlemen, eminent in the arts and sciences, to whom 
the different departments are committed, such as Mr. 
Loudon, who furnishes the articles on Agriculture and 
Gardening, Prof. Lindley on Botany,«&c. &c. It is 
to be completed in 24 parts, making a volume of about 
1500 pages, and “will be found to be a convenient ma¬ 
nual or reference-book for all descriptions of persons on 
all subjects.” 
North American Review, No. 116—July, 1842. 
The present number of the Review is a capital read¬ 
ing one, all the papers being on interesting subjects. Of 
the whole we think ‘The English in Afghanistan,’ and 
c Cleveland’s Voyages,’ about the best. It is not often 
that we find Yankee enterprise and perseverance, prover¬ 
bial though they are, more strongly illustrated than in 
the case of Capt. Cleveland. We miss in the present is¬ 
sue, the usual paper on Agriculture; an omission which 
does not often occur. 
&n0it)£rs Inquiries, $tz. 
CURE OF COARSE GRASSES. 
“ Messrs. Editors —I have several acres of low wet 
meadow, or rather what should be such, but it produces 
littl^else than coarse swamp grasses, -which make poor 
hay, and are of no value when I have attempted to pas¬ 
ture it. How can these grasses be exterminated, and the 
cultivated grasses be made to take their place? 
Inquirer.” 
The first step in the process of reclaiming such lands, is 
to drain them thoroughly. This is indispensable; and un¬ 
til this is done, nothing else can be undertaken with any 
prospect of success. When this is done, if the soil is 
sufficiently firm, as it doubtless will be, invert the sod 
with the plow, roll and harrow, and re-sow with the 
seeds of such grasses as you wish to cultivate. Herds 
grass and redtop, will do well in such cases. Or if you 
choose, you may take a crop of potatoes from the piece, 
and the next spring seed down with oats. If you can ap¬ 
ply a dressing of ashes, (and those that are leached will 
be better than none,) or compost made of ashes and ma¬ 
nure, the benefit will be apparent, both to the crop and 
to the soil.. When the soil will not admit of plowing, 
after draining, a covering of gravelly earth, road scra¬ 
pings, mixed with lime refuse from the kilns, or coal 
ashes,, will gi ve a foundation for the better grasses. These 
materials may be drawn upon the meadow during the 
winter while the ground is frozen, when the softness of 
the soil prevents such operations in the summer. It is 
said that where the coarse grasses, or rushes, grow in 
tufts as they sometimes do, common salt applied at the 
rate of a handful to a tuft, will cause them to decay and 
disappear. As a general rule there can be no difficulty 
in substituting the valuable grasses for the inferior ones, 
when the land on which the latter grow has been drain¬ 
ed. Coarse grasses are the natural covering of soils 
abounding in stagnant waters, and a removal of the cause, 
will of course effect the cure. 
USE OF LIME. 
“Messrs. Editors —Is lime made from stone really a 
manure for any kind of land? If it is, what kind of 
land? In what quantities should it be used? At what 
season, and in what manner? What crops does it suit 
best? In a dry season, will it not burn up any crop on 
any kind of land? j. w McCall.” 
Laurens District, S. C. 
The influence of lime on soils, or in the production of 
crops, is owing to several causes. 1st. It acts in modi¬ 
fying the mechanical texture of soils, rendering them 
where it exists more friable, and better suited to the pur¬ 
poses of cultivation. 2d. It forms in many plants a part 
of the vegetable structure, and is properly inorganic food, 
having been received and assimilated by the organs of 
the plant; as such it may deserve the name of manure. 
3d. It acts an important part in correcting the acidity of 
soils, as may be seen by applying it to fields where sor¬ 
rel or other acid plants flourish to the exclusion of the 
more valuable ones. 4th. Lime exhibits its functions 
most powerfully and beneficially by the conversion of 
the vegetable geates or humates into vegetable food, or 
rendering them fit for the nourishment of plants. We 
think also, that like other alkalies, it contributes to the 
electro-magnetic action to which the circulation of plants 
is doubtless owing, and may therefore be regarded in the 
light of a stimulus to vegetable life. 
It will be of no use to apply lime to land in which de¬ 
composed animal and vegetable matter is wanting, or the 
salts they have formed. There must be the elements of 
fertility, or lime will be unavailing. On exhausted lands 
the effect is slower, than on soils where the materials to 
act upon exist in abundance. Lime may be used in 
quantities of from fifty to one hundred bushels per acre 
with benefit, and instances are on record where several 
hundred bushels have been applied without any injury. 
It is a common practice where lime is used, to spread 
it over the fields the year previous to their being plowed 
for crops. Another practice is to draw it upon the ground 
where it is wanted, after the fallowing has been mostly 
completed; deposit it in small piles at equal distances, so 
as to ensure an equal distribution; cover these piles with 
earth, which will cause the lime to slake equally, and 
then after thoroughly mixing the mass, scattering it over 
the field. It is then to be plowed in, and the seeds sown. 
Lime is useful in preparing soils for any crop, but is con¬ 
sidered most suitable for wheat, and is most generally 
used as a preparative for that crop. We have never 
known a crop burned in any season, by the use of lime, 
nor can there be any apprehension of such a result, un¬ 
less applied in extravagant quantities. Limestone con¬ 
taining large quantities of magnesia, from its remaining 
caustic much longer than pure limestone, would be more 
apt to produce such an effect; but the immense quantities 
of this kind of lime used in the best agricultural districts 
of Pennsylvania and Delaware, prove that danger from 
this source is mostly ideal. 
NEW WEED. 
“ Messrs. Editors —I send you a few roots of a new 
pest to the farmer. The first I noticed it was in 1840, 
and its spread has since been unparalleled. The root 
you will see is a small bulb or nut, and those sent I have 
this day taken from the furrow. Last year one of my 
pieces of corn, planted on the 10th of May, was almost 
destroyed by this weed. I plowed and hoed it four or 
five times, and within a week or fortnight after going 
over it, it would look as though neither plow nor hoe 
had touched it. I should be much gratified to receive 
some information respecting the history and destruction 
of this root which threatens to become a formidable ene¬ 
my to the farmer. J. V. B. Johnson.” 
Piermont, N. Y. 1842. 
We are unacquainted with any weed or plant having- 
roots like those sent by Mr. J., and the condition of the 
leaves or shoots rendered it impossible to trace it. If any 
of our botanical friends are able to recognize it from Mr. 
J.’s description, and will furnish us with the name and 
habits of the plant, they will no doubt confer a favor on 
the public. Judging from their present dried appear¬ 
ance, the roots when fresh would be nearly the size of a 
robin’s egg. 
CULTURE OF SAFFRON. 
“Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —As I am now en¬ 
gaged in the culture of saffron, and being a subscriber to 
your paper, I have to ask one favor of you. If in your 
power, will you publish the best method of cultivating 
saffron, curing it, &c. Yours truly, H. Clark.” ° 
Petersburg, May, 1842. 
We are glad to learn that the cultivation of this valua¬ 
ble dyeing material has been entered upon in our coun¬ 
try. It is a native of Asia, and is used by the Chinese 
for giving the beautiful rose, pink, scarlet, purple, and 
violet colors to their silks. In Germany, where it is an 
article of culture, the seeds are drilled in good ground, 
in rows 18 or 24 inches apart, and four inches between 
the plants. The ground must be kept clean and light by 
the hoe or otherwise. The gathering forms the most 
considerable item of labor, it being calculated that for 
one month while the plant is in blossom, every acre will 
keep four or five girls constantly employed in gathering 
the flowers. In drying them, the blossoms must be kept 
free from all moisture, and be kept in positions where 
the air can circulate freely. They must be thoroughly 
dried, or they are apt to mold when packed. From some 
experiments we have made, there can be little doubt that 
the culture of saffron will yield a handsome reward. 
“ DO CANADA THISTLES GO TO SEED ?” 
This is the heading of a communication received by 
us, from L. W. Beebe, of Lima, Livingston county, and 
of this question he seems inclined to take the negative 
side. This opinion he founds on an experiment made by 
him, of planting some heads of the ripened thistles; as 
well as some observations made on the manner in which 
this pest of the farmer spreads. He admits at the same 
time, that there “ is something mysterious about it in 
his own mind,” and requests the opinion of some of our 
correspondents on the subject. 
We well remember the time when respectable farm¬ 
ers contended that the Canada thistle formed no seeds, 
but we had supposed such opinions had passed away, and 
that no one now doubted either the formation or germi¬ 
nation of thistle seed. That this is the case, the evidence 
is just as decisive, as that corn or wheat mature theii 
seeds, and that such seeds germinate. We have seen 
this experiment of germinating Canada thistle seed tried 
so frequently that not a doubt—indeed we never had any 
—remains, that this troublesome weed is propagated as 
many other plants are, both by the roots and by the seed. 
We can attribute the hesitancy which some feel on this 
point only to the fact, that a large portion of the seeds 
are usually blighted or immature, and that in some years, 
whole patches of this thistle will produce very few, 
if any, seed bearing heads. There are some farmers who 
maintain that chess never germinates, and consequently 
take no pains to free their seed wheat from its presence; 
it would be a still more fatal error, should farmers ge¬ 
nerally allow their thistles to remain uncut, under the 
impression that they produce no seed, or that such seeds 
will not grow. 
SORREL-MANURES. 
The following are extracts from a letter written by G. 
Billings, Esq., of Carlisle, Mass, to the editors of the 
Cultivator: 
“ I have noticed that much of the grass lands, or as we 
call it, mowing fields, are greatly overrun with sorrel. 
Much of this land is of a good soil, capable of producing 
from I \ to 2 tons of hay to the acre, although much of 
it at present falls short of this. Why is it that land pro¬ 
duces sorrel, the poor as well as the rich ? and what is 
the best method to rid the soil of it ? Will sorrel be as 
good as clover, or other green crops plowed under ? 
Our soil in these parts is mostly light anil sandy; with 
peat or bog meadows in abundance.” * * * 
“As the use of manure is claiming- attention in all parts 
of our country, not more, however, than it deserves, it 
becomes all of us to make ourselves acquainted with the 
best method of preparing and applying it to the soil. 
Many of the farmers in this section of the country pitch 
it over in April or first of May, and let it ferment till 
they want it to plant corn or potatoes, and then put a 
shovel full or more in each hill. This method is getting 
out of use, as it is thought it causes the worms to injurs 
the plants, and makes them more liable to be effected by 
the dry weather. Some, after it is pitched over and 
fermented, apply it to the surface, and harrow it in as 
they call it. Others again take it from the heap, just as 
it is thrown from the barn, put it on the land and plow 
it under, either on grass land, or such as has been tilled 
one season. Which of these three ways is best, say when 
the soil is a sandy loam ? The first is attended with the 
most labor; the second many object to as they say the sun 
dries the manure up too much ; and in the third it is 
said you bury it too deep, and so lose the good of it. 
I have read Mr. Garnett’s mode of applying his manure; 
this is attended with the least expense, and by his ac¬ 
count, it is the best way; if so, we ought to adopt it. 
as a great expense in time and money might annually be 
saved for other purposes. The time is fast coming, and 
even now is, in many parts of our country, when our 
heaps of manure must be our chief dependance for our 
crops. To the farmer, then, it is all-important that he 
should know the best and cheapest mode of applvine: it 
to the soil.” 
The acid of sorrel is the oxalic, and sorrel will only 
grow in soils where this acid is in abundance. To de¬ 
stroy sorrel it is only necessary to neutralize the acid 
that produces it, and this may be done by any alkali, 
but the most common and the cheapest is lime. Sorrel 
plowed under will not fertilize soils like clover, for the 
evident reason that it contains in itself a principle fatal 
to the more valuable grasses and grains, and mere plow¬ 
ing does not neutralize or destroy it. 
In using manures we should prefer the third mode, 
that is, spreading it fresh from the yards and plowing it 
under at once. Not too deep, however, as the roots of 
plants would not reach it while young, the time when 
they need the influence of manure to give them a vigor¬ 
ous start. In heaping manures, there is much danger 
the fermentation will be too rapid, and ammoniacal gases 
escape, which would greatly lessen its value. It has 
been found in England that the best method of employing 
stable manure for the turnep crop is in the rotted state, 
when the process has been performed in such a way that 
the manure retains all its fertilizing qualities. Had we 
“peat and bog meadows in abundance,” we should use 
our barn-yard manure in the manner recommended by 
Dr. Dana, and practiced by many of the most skillful far¬ 
mers of Massachusetts; that is, we should use it for con¬ 
verting those substances into compost, instead of applying 
it directly and alone to the land. The farmer in the use 
of manures should keep a few plain things in view; and 
he cannot widely err. The manure in preparation should 
be allowed to lose none of its most essential qualities; this 
may be done by rapid fermentation in masses, or it may 
be exposed, so as to have all its soluble parts washed 
away and lost. In its application it should be placed 
where the roots of the plant can readily reach it, and 
that at the time when most wanted. Shallow covering 
we prefer to deep covering in the management of ma¬ 
nure, although deep plowing in the preparation of the 
soil is indispensable. 
BERMUDA GRASS. 
“A Subscriber” in Wilkes county, Georgia, says, 
“We wish to be taught some mode of cultivation by 
which we can extirpate from a field or farm, root and 
branch, the Bermuda grass. You are aware that although 
not propagated from seed, each root and sprig is so te¬ 
nacious of life, that we have, so far, been baffled in every 
