194 
are able to do likewise, are able to live anywhere. But 
there is one thing certain; there is no more certain way 
in which they can invest their capital. Yet such are not 
the kind of emigrants that are the most likely to improve 
their condition so as to create an increased amount of 
happiness for their families; which I still argue should 
be the moving cause of every mover to the West. 
There never was a more favorable time for the emigrant 
than the present. During the rage of the speculation 
fever, many persons contracted debts that they are totally 
unable to pay without selling their farms; so that im¬ 
proved land can now be bought for a lower price than 
used to be paid a few years since for the bare “ claim,” 
before the land had been purchased of government. 
Stock and provisions are also low; and it requires far 
less capital now for the new settler to make a successful 
beginning with than it did a few years ago. But enough 
for the present. In my next, which I promise not to 
delay beyond reason, I intend to answer, in detail, a 
great variety of questions which have been asked me 
during the past summer, which will be interesting to the 
western emigrant. 
Lake C. H. Nov. 1, 1842. Solon Robinson. 
COMMENTS ON THE SEPT. AND OCT. NUMBERS 
OF THE CULTIVATOR. 
In the account given you by Mr. P. L. Simmonds, of 
the last meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society of 
England, there is nothing which should gratify an Ame¬ 
rican so much as the two short speeches of our worthy 
and highly distinguished minister, Mr. Everett. They 
are most happy and appropriate specimens of the great 
eloquence for which that gentleman has been so long 
remarkable. When agriculture is thus honored it will 
become fashionable; and this, added to the vast aids 
which it is now constantly receiving from men eminent, 
in every part of the civilized world, for their scientific 
acquirements, will impart to it an impetus which nothing 
can resist. — 
The communication of your correspondent, Mr. R. S. 
Hardwick, relative to the Chinese tree corn, induces me 
to state my own trials of it. Three years ago I bought 
one ear for 25 cents of Mr. Thorburn in New-York; and 
selected it from a barrel which he had just opened. 
This evidently contained several varieties, but none of 
them of a very pure white. The prevailing color was a 
pale cream, with a slight tinge of pink. All the cobs 
were uncommonly small; but the number of rows varied 
from eight to twelve. Some of the grains approached 
the gourd seed corn in shape, whilst others were very 
hard and flinty; and to this great diversity I have no 
doubt we should attribute the very different accounts 
given of this corn in the numerous communications 
which have appeared in your paper. The ear w'hich I 
selected was of the flinty kind, with 10 rows on the 
cob; but the produce appeared to consist of every varie¬ 
ty I had noticed in the barrel from which I selected my 
ear. These varieties have not yet disappeared, although 
this is my third year of planting with seed, apparently 
of the same kind, as near as I could get it. The only 
change I can discover is, that the ears are somewhat 
larger; having generally more rows on the cob, and 
maturing a few days later. In our climate, (say about 
37,) I am inclined to believe that it will prove a highly 
productive corn; as it will bear much closer planting 
than any of our larger varieties; producing more ears 
on a stalk, and ripens two or three weeks earlier. A 
writer in the April number of the Tennessee Agricul¬ 
turist, which, by the way, is an excellent co-laborer in 
our cause, pronounces this corn to be “preferable to all 
others ” to plant at the distance of 3 feet each way; but 
he does not mention how many stalks he leaves in a hill. 
I have planted 3 feet by 4, and have left from 2 to 4 
stalks in a hill, which I have found to be not too thick. 
The North Carolina paper, which attributes such won¬ 
derfully fertilizing effects to the annual burying of 
sweet potatoe vines, after digging the potatoes, is cer¬ 
tainly wrong. It is true that this process will enable 
the same ground to produce good successive crops of this 
root for several years; but some other manure will at 
last be necessary; and this I assert from long continued 
observation and experience in their cultivation. 
Mr. J. S. Skinner’s remarks on agricultural premiums 
are worthy of the attentive consideration of all our ag¬ 
ricultural societies; for I have never yet seen a scheme 
of premiums which was entirely exempt from the ob¬ 
jections w'hich he has so distinctly stated. They are too 
apt to favor show, without sufficient regard to the cost at 
which it is made, and to the general utility of making it. 
I most heartily thank Mr. W. H. Sotham for his ad¬ 
vice, as I hope it will at least soften his displeasure, 
(should he feel any) at my little comment upon himself. 
No offence whatever was intended, as I can truly as¬ 
sure him; for I am always gratified to see such practical 
communications as he generally sends you; and I re¬ 
joice at being now able to rank him among the approv¬ 
ers of my labors. — 
In all that your correspondent Quercus says of the be¬ 
nefit of green manures I fully concur; but I would prefer 
letting them dry before they were plowed in. Indeed, 
the use of them has been so long sanctioned by the best 
farmers, both in this and other countries, that the man 
who can now doubt their efficacy must be an incorrigi¬ 
ble sceptic. But I must wish that Quercus had given 
a more intelligible description of what he calls the 
“ Angola or Pigeon pea.” I presume he cannot mean 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
any variety of the Indian pea, of which there are at 
least 20 kinds in the southern states, and all produce 
more vine in land of the same quality than any imported 
pea that I have ever seen, and of course yield a more 
abundant growth to plow in. Another advantage which 
they have over the imported peas is, that the vines when 
wilted and stacked with alternate layers of any kind of 
dry straw, make as good long forage for cattle, sheep and 
work-horses as any that can be given to them. 
The article signed “ A Wheat-grower in New-York,” 
contains more valuable information relative to the w'heat 
crop than I have elsewhere seen in so condensed a form, 
and should be thoroughly studied by every inexperienced 
wheat grower in the land. I am particularly pleased 
with it, as it goes far, although incidentally, towards 
encouraging the practice of drilling wheat, of which, as 
it is now followed in several parts of Delaware and 
Pennsylvania, I have lately heard so many authentic and 
favorable accounts, as to induce a belief that drilling 
should generally be substituted for sowing broadcast. It 
has two great advantages over the latter mode: it saves 
seed, and by depositing them in the bottom of a little 
shallow trench protects them, in a great degree, from 
being thrown out by the winter frost, which by pulver¬ 
izing the earth on the edge of each trench, adds some 
small portion of it each time to the roots of the wheat. 
In your acknowledgment of certain presents from se¬ 
veral of your correspondents in the Oct. No. I perceive 
there is one in which you have been so kind as to give 
me an interest. It is the seed of the “South American 
evergreen grass,” presented to you by Dr. N. B. Cloud, 
of Alabama. Circumstances beyond my control, snd 
which I much regret, have prevented me from re¬ 
ceiving in person the portion of this seed which you 
state that you intended to “divide with your friend Com¬ 
mentator.” But it can easily reach me, if you will send 
it to our friend Mr. Ellsworth; and if Dr. Cloud will 
send, next summer, to the same gentleman, the seed of 
the same grass, as he proposes, I am confident that many 
others, besides myself, will be very thankful to him. 
All which I may receive shall be fairly tried and the re¬ 
sults made public. 
I will take this occasion to say, that of all the grasses 
from warm climates which I have ever yet seen, the 
Guinea grass appears to me the most valuable. In our 
climate it requires no culture after the first year; it 
stands drouth better than any other grass; and will bear 
cutting at least four times, at an average height, in good 
high land, of at least 2^ or 3 feet. Another good quali¬ 
ty is, that it grows taller in sandy land than any other 
grass yet known to us. 
In the extract from Mr. J. King's letter from Iowa, 
he says—“ there is no real cause for hard times.” But, 
with due deference to his opinion, I must think that he 
himself has stated one, in regard to the reality and per¬ 
manence of which, there can be no doubt in the minds 
of any reflecting man. It is neither more nor less than 
the constant “ 'president making ” by congress, which has 
existed from the commencement of our government to 
the present time; and has now reached such a baneful 
intensity as to occupy nearly their whole time, to the 
great neglect frequently of the most pressing exigencies 
of our country. All the political evils under which we 
have ever suffered have sprung, either directly or indi¬ 
rectly, from this prolific source; and heaven only knows 
when it will cease. 
Your recommendation of sheep husbandry for the 
West will suit, unless I greatly err, quite as well for the 
East, since large portions of the atlantic states are admi¬ 
rably well adapted to this stock; from which I confi¬ 
dently believe that as large annual and clear profits 
could be derived as from any other stock. Their first 
cost may be reimbursed in less than a year; and then, 
with tolerable care, the yearly income from them will 
be fully equal, if it does not exceed the original outlay. 
In your advice to substitute clover for sorrel, I should 
think that every good farmer would cordially concur; 
and I will venture to add that the suggestions of the 
“ Maine Cultivator,” about feeding sheep with the hay 
and the seed of this land-poisoner, can hardly be of 
any use, unless it be to those persons who are so unfor¬ 
tunate as to own lands which produce nothing else but 
sorrel. With us, it is everywhere considered a great 
nuisance, and never grows high enough to be worth 
cutting, even if any of our stock would eat it after it 
was cut. If the Maine farmers would lime their lands 
well, they would soon convert this pest into a manure 
by neutralizing its pernicious acid, and thus so improve 
their soil as to render it capable of producing any of our 
best grasses. — 
The inquiry of your correspondent at “ Selim’s Grove, 
Pa.,” relative to the best contrivance for “ turning over 
heavy growths of clover,” reminds me of a very simple 
one recommended many years ago by your correspond¬ 
ent Mr. Garnett, in the American Farmer, whilst it was 
edited by Mr. J. S. Skinner of Baltimore. Having tried it 
myself,, and found it effectual for the purpose, I will here 
endeavor to give you a correct idea of it by the subjoin¬ 
ed sketch of a plow (fig. 103.) with the contrivance at¬ 
tached to it. 
You will perceive that it is nothing more than an iron 
hook notched into the land side of the plow beam, and 
forming an obtuse angle with the front of said beam, 
which prevents all shaking. It is fastened to the beam 
Plow and Gearing. — (Fig. 103.) 
by a small screw bolt; and having a number of holes in 
it, may be raised or lowered according to the depth of 
the plowing. The flat part of this iron is about 8 or 9 
inches long, 2 inches wide, and one-fourth of an inch 
thick. The curved part is round, about three-fourths of 
an inch thick at the largest part, and tapered to a blunt 
point. This curve should form a semi-circle about one 
inch wider than the plow-share, and should be so bent 
as to form a right angle with the flat part of the iron. 
It will thus move parallel to the surface of the earth, and 
three or four inches above it, when the plow is entered 
as deep as you wish it to run. The hook will then take 
in all the growth, (be it what it may,) which stands up 
the furrow slice, and by bending it forward, parallel to 
plow beam, will enable the mold-board to eover up the 
whole. — 
Under the head, “Sowing Clover Seed in the Fall,” I 
beg leave to add to your information, that I have known 
it to succeed perfectly, in almost every case, between 
the latitudes 37 and 38, if sown at any time from the 1st 
of Sept, to the last of Oct. I have also known it to do 
so when sown among corn, even as early as the last 
working of it in August, and as late as the middle of No¬ 
vember, if sown with wheat. It will not succeed of a 
dry spring on winter grain, unless it is harrowed imme¬ 
diately after sowing. — 
You have denounced the words “ can not ” in well me¬ 
rited terms; and you question whether there is another 
phrase in our language “ productive of as much mis¬ 
chief.” What think you of its twin brother— “will 
not?” I guess, as Brother Jonathan would say, it is 
“ pull Dick, pull Devil,” between them; for they are a 
matchless pair—if not to perpetrate evil—at least to pre¬ 
vent all good. Occupet extremum scabies, say I, of both 
of them. — 
The accounts which you occasionally give us of the 
agricultural societies of England and Scotland would be 
enough to sicken the hearts of all the true friends of 
American husbandry, were it not for the hope that such 
soul-stirring narratives may at least awaken throughout 
our whole country the same enthusiasm and ardor in ag¬ 
ricultural pursuits which now evidently exists in those 
countries. Persevere then, gentlemen, I pray you perse¬ 
vere in giving us these accounts, and heaven grant that 
your highly laudable and meritorious efforts in our cause 
may meet with all the success they deserve. We have 
a country unsurpassed in natural advantages by any other 
in the world; and it wants only their full development to 
realize all the fondest, most sanguine hopes of the wisest, 
the best, and the most patriotic of her citizens. 
Your correspondent, Mr. L. B. Armstrong, has be¬ 
stowed on me a degree of praise so far above anything 
which even my own vanity can admit to be just, that it 
almost made me blush, although I was quite alone when 
I read it. Still I owe him my best thanks, which I here 
tender to him, for his very favorable estimation of my 
communications; and I shall most willingly comply with 
his request to state my opinions in regard to the subjects 
upon which he wishes to know them. But in the first 
place, I must protest against the opinions of Mr. Garnett, 
or of any other man, having “ almost the force of law ” 
with any person whatever. Indeed, I greatly mistake 
the character of that gentleman if he himself would wish 
it. In regard to his experiments referred to by Mr. 
Armstrong, I myself have witnessed similar ones with 
the same results; although it is very possible that Mr. 
G.’s reasoning and conclusion^ on them may be incor¬ 
rect in some respects. Thi>A.h ow ever, cannot invali¬ 
date the facts of the case. Inigeference to Mr. Garnett’s 
communication, I can think of no way to account for the 
facts which he there mentions, but one substantially the 
same that he has adopted. A.11 the comparative experi¬ 
ments which I myself have witnessed between plowing 
in manures as soon as they were spread and postponing 
it for some time after spreading them in a state as little 
fermented as possible, have contributed to prove that the 
latter mode is best; at least, in regard to vegeto-animal 
manures; and of such only, I presume, Mr. G. was 
speaking. As to green manures, I have made no com¬ 
parative trials with them in the two states of green and 
dry; but am inclined to believe from analogous reason¬ 
ing, that to plow in the vegetable growth on land after 
it is dead, would be more beneficial than in its grown 
state. As to Mr. Garnett’s opinion—“that it is always 
best to apply manures on the surface of land,” it would 
have been more explicit if he had added,—and there to 
leave them until just before planting or sowing the crop 
they were designed to benefit. To state all the argu¬ 
ments in favor of this opinion would extend this already 
long communication beyond what I wish. I must there¬ 
fore beg Mr. Armstrong to wait until another opportu¬ 
nity, if he still desires to see them. There is, however, 
another of Mr. G.’s opinions which Mr. A. deems un¬ 
founded, and upon which he asks what I think, that I 
will here briefly notice. It is, if I may infer it from 
Mr. A.’s remarks,—that all leaf-bearing plants, particu¬ 
larly trees, derive most of their nourishment from the 
atmosphere. Although this seems now to be the opinion 
of all the latest writers on agricultural chemistry and 
