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^ THE 
 
 YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL: 
 
 OR, 
 
 HOW TO MAKE FARMING PAY, 
 
 GIVING PLAIN AND PRACTICAL DETAILS OF GENERAL 
 FARM MANAGEMENT; 
 
 WITH 
 
 A CHAPTER ON SOILS, 
 
 AND THEIR CULTIVATION, 
 AND MUCH OTHER VALUABLE MATTER OF A PRACTICAL CHARACTER, 
 
 BY 
 
 S. EDWARDS^TODD. 
 
 ..,-,Y3iry of Con^ 
 VOLUME Ily -^ "^^p^^ 
 
 C NEW YORK: 
 F. W. WOODWARD, PUBLISHER, 37 PARK ROW, 
 
 Office of " The Horticulturist." 
 1867. 
 

 
 Entered, according to Act op Congress, in the Year 1867, by 
 
 F. W. WOODWARD, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court op the United States for 
 THE Southern District op New York. 
 
PREFACE TO VOLUME SECOND. 
 
 The first volume of "The Young Farmer's Manual" treats 
 of Mechanical Agriculture, and should be read with this, as it is 
 intimately connected with it. The first chapter of this volume 
 is made up of brief articles on the General Management of the 
 Farm. The chapters on Soils, Pulverization, and Fertilizers, are 
 as brief as they can be, in order to give a young farmer a thorough 
 understanding of that branch of agriculture. A good knowledge 
 of these branches lies at the very foundation of a good system 
 of Farming. 
 
 My first volume was written while I lived on a farm near 
 Lake Ridge. Tompkins County, N. Y., where I was born, and 
 resided until I was forty years of age. From Lake Riclgc I 
 removed to Auburn, N. Y. Li the former part of 1865, 1 moved 
 my family to New York City. Read the Preface to Volume I. 
 
 I have endeavored to reduce the "scientific" to practice; 
 and I think no intelligent reader will fail, with a dictionary, to 
 get a correct idea on every subject, as I have aimed at simplicity 
 of style. 
 
 The instructions of this volume will be found well adapted 
 to any j)ortion of the United States and Canada, and even to 
 European agriculture. 
 
IV PREFACC TO VOLUME SECOND. 
 
 Many of the paragraphs of this book were originally written 
 for tlio '* Country Gentleman/' •' Boston Cultivator," and 
 *' American Agriculturist," and a number of the illustrations are 
 from stereotypes of wood-cuts prepared for the "American 
 Agriculturist." The articles alluded to have been revised, and 
 sometimes improved, previous to beuig arranged for this volume. 
 
 One prominent object, which I have aimed at, is, to pen good 
 practice, good experience, and good details for performing the 
 labors of the farm, and cultivating the soil, so that young farmers 
 will not be required to spend a whole lifetime in reaching a given 
 point in Agriculture, to v/hich multitudes have already attained ; 
 and that they may )je able to make the highest point of good 
 farming ihdr starting jplacc. If this object can be accomplished, 
 my highest aspirations will be satisfied. 
 
 I have written independently of the writings of other men. 
 My aim has been to give my own experience, in preference to any 
 thing that has ever been pubhshed. In this respect, this volume 
 is an original work. After having pennc-d my own thoughts, I 
 have examined a very few agricultural journals for the purpose 
 of copying the remarks of the best writers on the same subject. 
 Whenever I have copied a paragraph, proper credit has been 
 given, if the authority were known. 
 
 The manner in which subjects are described in the first chap- 
 ter, as well as the style of composition, will furiish a forcible 
 illustration of prosecuting the labors of a farm, even when the 
 operations are well conducted, both in the field, iu the manage- 
 ment of stock, and of fertilizers. Afy ideas have been written in 
 such a manner, that the reader vrill perceive more or less confu- 
 sion in the few first pages. The design of employing certain 
 rhetorical figures of speech and bombastic language was, to in- 
 
PREFACE TO VOLUME SECOND. V 
 
 tensify the ridiculous feeling which prevails with some persons 
 when they reflect on the truths to which I have made allusion. 
 
 If some paragraphs appear too common-place and lacking in 
 dignity, I have only to reply to such a thought that I liavc not 
 written for persons of refined manners and polished education, 
 but for working aid uneducated farmers^ who need the greatest 
 plainness and simplicity of speech, smacking sometimes of slang, 
 for the purpose of bringing the thought home to the reader in 
 the most emphatic manner. 
 
 The reader may inquire what connection killing weeds and 
 plowing and harrowing has with ** making farming pay ? " These 
 subjects lie at the very foundation of good agriculture. If a 
 man does not know how to plow well, nor how to exterminate 
 noxious weeds, he does not understand the fundamental princi- 
 l)les of his profession. If the reader will study the different sub- 
 jects alluded to in this and the next vclume, so as to understand 
 them thoroughly, he will be well prepared to make farming pay. 
 
 S. E. T. 
 New foRK, 1867. 
 
THE 
 
 YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 
 
 VOT^UME II. 
 
 CHAPTER I. — INTRODUCTION. 
 
 GENERAL MANAGEMENT OP A FARM. 
 
 " Work, for the night is coming; 
 Work, through the morning hours; 
 Work, when the dew is sparkling. 
 Work, 'mid springing flowers." 
 
 1. A farmer's destiny is to labor with his hands. To facili- 
 tate his labors, and enable him to succeed in his employment, he 
 needs facts. The minds of the great mass of working men have 
 not been enbghtened by scientific knowledge. For this reason, 
 they are not properly qualified to avail themselves of the advan- 
 tages to be derived from instructions that are more theoretical 
 than practical. A well-estabhshed fact will overthrow the most 
 plausible theory. In the management of all kinds of domestic 
 animals, in the cultivation of the soil, in raising the various pro- 
 ducts of the farm, facts, figures, and plain details of whatever is 
 to be done, is always of primary importance. Farmers are re- 
 quired to understand such a variety of manual labor, that they 
 often need minute details to enable them to perform what some- 
 times appears so simple as to need no explanation. Knowing that 
 success depends on the general management of farming operations, 
 my aim is to aid practical men in beginning correctly and ending 
 successfully. 
 
 AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY. 
 
 2. Only a few years ago, many good writers on agricultural 
 subjects were aiming to had practical agriculture, by vision- 
 
2 THE Y^OUNO FARMRU'S MANUAL. 
 
 ary theories in the cultivation of th:; soil, and in the pro- 
 duction of various kinds of crops. Bat I am sorry to record 
 that the details of Agricultural Chemistry, after having been 
 Ijrought to bear upon the principles and i)racticcs of field opera- 
 tions, have brought disappointment, in most instances, instead of 
 encouragement and success. 
 
 I would not decry Agricultural Chemistry. T would accredit 
 to that science all that is really due to its investigations. But 
 the manner in which Agricultural Chemistry has been extolled, 
 in years past, has had a great tendency to bring not only that 
 science, but the science of practical agriculture, into great disre- 
 pute, by those who are anxious inquirers after truths and facts, 
 that have an important influence on the successful cultivation 
 of the soil and on the revenue of the farmer. It has been a 
 source of pleasing satisfaction to intelligent fanners to read the 
 reports of chemical investigations; but, when tlie young farmer — 
 or the old one either — has endeavored to avail himself of some of 
 the practical benefits to be derived from agricultural chemistry, ho 
 has found that in most instances he has been pursuing a sliadow, 
 and has attempted to grasp a phantom. It is true that chomical 
 investigation has taught farmers the importance of saving bones, 
 and how to reduce them to a fine condition with sulphuric acid, 
 so that they may be employed as valuable fertilizers in promoting 
 the growth and fructification of plants. Bat when we come to 
 make an application of chemical science to the improvement of our 
 agriculture, by following the details given by writers on Agricultu- 
 ral Chemistry, we learn that dissolving bones with acid is an im- 
 provement that has been overrated; because the expense which 
 must be incurred will be too great to justify practical farmers 
 in adopting such a system of fertilization. 
 
 3. Agricultural Chemistry has taught us in what particular 
 inGrredient some soils are deficient for raisinir a certain kind of 
 grain. But when we have come to mingle those ingredients witii 
 the soil in which it was said to be deficient, as a general rule it 
 has been found that there is something more lacking. We have 
 reason to hope that, in view of the investigations of Agricultural 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 8 
 
 Chemistry, the time will come, ere long, when we shall witness 
 grand instances of the application of chemical science to the 
 improvement of the agriculture of our country. When farmers of 
 ordinary intelligence can avail themselves of the benefit of chemi- 
 cal investigations, so as to turn them to a profitable account in their 
 systems of farm management, then Agricultural Chemistry may 
 boast of her great and valuable service in improving the fertility of 
 our soils, and of making them more productive from year to year. 
 
 MECHANICAL AND CHEMICAL THEORY AND PRACTICE. 
 
 4. Farmers should understand the difference between theory 
 and 'practice, as well as between mechanical and chemical. When 
 iron or bones are dissolved by acid, the action is chemical ; but 
 when broken with hammers, or cut with chisels, it is done 
 mechanically. Plowing, harrowing, and rolling the soil, are all 
 mechanical operations ; but the changes which take place in the 
 soil, in. the formation of vegetable mould, and production of 
 phuits, are chemical. When wood is cut to sawdust, it is done 
 mechanically ; when burned to ashes, chemically. 
 
 5, ** Theory," the swift-winged sister of "* Practice/' ever vigi- 
 lant and active, launches off into new and unexplored fields of 
 thought and investigation; and beckons impatiently for her twin 
 sister " Practice'* to follow with hasty steps where she has led 
 the way. But " Practice," unobtrusive, economical and discreet, 
 refuses to move. " Theory " then returns, and upbraids ' ' Practice " 
 for her inefficiency and tardiness, who meekly replies, the way 
 was long and beset with many insurmountable barriers. " Theory" 
 on the impulse of a hasty moment, switches off on a new- 
 fangled enterprise, and visits the isles of the ocean for guano, 
 the bone mills for ossiferous fertilizers, the laboratory for a demi- 
 john of acid; and then, with a barrel of poudrette, with a sack 
 of superphosphate, with a pocketful of lime, and a handful of 
 gvpsum, she prepares the soil with silver-tipped implements, and 
 makes it fertile with the choicest elements of fertility, 'A-hile pleas- 
 
4 THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 ing anticipations of a fabulous crop fill her mind. But "Prac- 
 tice," always contented and never fretful, saves all the droppings 
 and liquid of the stable and piggery, silently flattering herself that, 
 if her crop is not as abundant as that of her sister, there will be 
 enough to pay the expense incurred in cultivation, and a little more. 
 
 6. After the crops have been secured, disconsolate " Theory" 
 says to " Practice " : '' Lend me ten picayunes to pay for my 
 demijohn of acid, for my crop was almost a failure." Gentle 
 " Practice " kindly replies ; " Let my sister take twenty picayunes; 
 for my crop, which only received the benefit of the droppings of 
 old Bos, Cherry, and gentle Dick, was very bountiful." 
 
 1" Again, energetic " Tijeory '' circumnavigates the globe, and 
 plucks a fair head of wheat on the sh:)res of the Black Sea, an ear 
 of bar)ey on the banks of the Nile, a panicle of choice oats from the 
 fertile plains of California, and a pocketful of garden seeds from 
 China. Then, with her fancy steeds and silver-mounted implements 
 of husbandry, she cheers the heart of her sister " Practice " with the 
 promise that her picayunes will soon be all returned with good in- 
 terest. But Practice continues to move steadily forward in her 
 daily labors, i>erforming every thing in good time and in good order, 
 and wasting nothing. She selects the fairest and earhest ears of 
 grain ; and the first ripened seed of the garden is carefully stored for 
 a future crop. At the end of the growing season. Theory takes up 
 with the lamentation of blasted hopes and disappointed anticipa- 
 tions; while Practice rejoices in a complete realization of all her 
 anticipations. Every young farmer should learn from these consi- 
 derations to " count the cost " in every enterprise. If he should be 
 prompted to attempt to raise a large crop of anything, by expending 
 far more than it would be worth after it was rais:'d, it would not 
 be in keeping with a judicious system of management, even if one 
 should have an abundance of means for such a purpose. 
 
 8. I do not condemn theorizing, as such : for without 
 good theorizing we could have no good practice in the 
 cultivation of the soil. Neither do I approve of holding and 
 advocating theories, in agriculture, which cannot be success- 
 fully and profitably carried out. But the two should be coipled 
 
THE YOUNf? FARilER'S MAXUAL. ' 5 
 
 together, and maie to keep pace with each other, in all impor* 
 taut )mprovements. If Theory makes valuable or wild sugges- 
 tions, Practice must decide whether they will be feasible, prac- 
 ticable, and profitable, or not. 
 
 ANALYZING SOILS AND PLANTS. 
 
 9. A great many young farmers cherish the erroneous no- 
 tion that if they only knew how to analyze soils and plants, it 
 would be an easy matter to render a soil productive. And a 
 great many wise heads have even contended that a knowledge 
 adequate to such an operation is indispensably necessary for 
 every successful farmer. But we find that such analyses do not 
 amount to any practical utility whatever. A farmer must pos- 
 sess something else besides analyses of soils in order to be able to 
 manage them so as to produce abundant crops. I have in mind 
 an instance in which one of the very best wheat growers of the 
 Empire State selected specimens of soil from several different 
 places in his best field for raising wheat, which would, at that 
 time, yield from thirty to forty bushels of wheat per acre. Tlie soil 
 was carefully analyzed by an eminent agricultural chemist, and 
 pronounced to be deficient in those elements of fertility necessary 
 to form a good soil for wheat. 
 
 1 0. Are we to suppose, for example, that a chemist will be 
 able to detect, in his laboratory, the fertilizing influence of the 
 infinitesimally small quantity of gypsum that falls on a square 
 foot of ground, when only one or two bushels per aei-e are sown, 
 which will produce a heavy crop of clover ? And, the same is 
 substantially true of the analyses of various kinds of plants and 
 grain. Again, how much of the aroma of sweet-smelling hay are 
 we to suppose can be detected in the laboratory of a chemist by 
 a carutul analysis of a few pounds of the choicest quality of hay ? 
 There may be some little satisfaction in reading about the chemi- 
 cal constituents of various kinds of plants and grain, but in 
 the practical operations of the fainn they will afford little aid. 
 A correspondent of the New York Agriculturist wrote to the 
 Editor that he thous^ht it would interest other readers, as well 
 
G THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 
 
 as himself, to have tables published, which would show the 
 chemical constituents of different kinds of farm produce, so that 
 the farmer, by having his soil analyzed, could raise in rotation 
 that class of plants best suited to the soil. 
 
 1 1. The " Theory" on this point, at first appearance, seems to 
 be just what fanners need. But we find that in " Practice" there 
 is a certain something lacking. For we cannot make the " Theory" 
 and " Practice" coincide so as to effect the desired results. There 
 are plenty of tables of this kind, such as they are. Johnston's 
 Aijricultural Chemistry is full of them. Ten or twelve years ago 
 a distinguished agricultural chemist prepared a large chart, closely 
 packed with these kinds of analyses, which are now esteemed of 
 \hi\e jyracHcal value. By the aid of chemistry, we are able to know 
 to within a himdredth part of a grain the composition « if soils and 
 their products, yet we can make little use of this knowledge. For 
 example, we know that the ashes of wheat contain a large amount 
 of phosphoric acid, and turnips but little ; yet an application of 
 phosphates to the soil does very little good to wheat crops, while 
 the superphosphates are the great turnip manure in England. 
 
 NO PRACTICAL UTILITY IN ANALYSES. 
 
 12. The Country Gentleman says on this subject : " To analyze 
 a soil with sufficient accuracy to render the analysis of .any value, 
 requires a chemical education, and considerable apparatus, just as 
 a physician needs an education for his profession, and a largo 
 variety of drugs from which his medicines mny be compounded. 
 And the great difficulty, after a prop: r analysis is made, is tiiis— 
 that so many influences, the effect of which the chemist connot 
 estimate, arise, in farm cultivation, to increase or dimiiiish the 
 fertility of the soil. Thus, when its mechanical texture is just 
 right, when the presence of moisture is regulated by good natu- 
 ral or artificial drainage, and when proper attention turns the 
 Whole produciive power of the soil to the crop upon it, instead 
 af giving a large area to weeds, a small per centagc of those 
 ingi:,;dients most sought for by the plant will go much farther 
 than an equal or considerable larger per centage of the same ck- 
 
THE TOUXG FARMERS MANUAL. 7 
 
 ments under contrary conditions. There may be some points 
 that the chemist can prove by analysis, such as the cases of poi- 
 sonous materials, if added in large quantities; but, as a general 
 rule, analysis of the soil is now discarded almost wholly as a 
 practical guide in farming. It is of very great importance in 
 scientific investigations; but even in such plain matters as endea- 
 voring to decide whether a soil requires liming or not, by testing 
 the quantity of lime it contains, we fancy the money an analysis 
 would cost will go much farther, and impart more satisfaction, 
 if expended in experimenting with lime itself. 
 
 13. The truth is, that all soils, with rare exceptions, con- 
 tain enough of the ingredients of the crops we cultivate, 
 so far as mere quantity is concerned, to produce these crops 
 year after year to an almost unhmited extent. The difference in 
 soils arises, therefore, from the different degrees of availability in 
 which their constituents are present, rather than in the relative 
 quantities. When a soil is said to be '' exhausted," we by no 
 means imply that the food of plants is no longer present; but 
 that it is not present in such a way that the plant can readily get 
 at it. Thus, a fallow for one or more years may add greatly to 
 the productiveness of a field, while nothing has really been added 
 in its composition ; and analyses before and after the fallow would 
 be just alike. 
 
 PROGRESSIVE AGRICULTURE. 
 
 14. The present is an age of improvement. The minds of 
 all good farmers are being turned to the subject of better stock, 
 and more abundant crops, from year to year, without incurring 
 any unnecessary expense in the labors of the farmer. Their 
 minds are grasping for a system of farm management that 
 will be self-sustaining; a system that will not only J^cep the 
 soil in a good state of fertility, but render it more productive 
 from year to year; a system of management that will soon be 
 the means of producing two blades of grass, two bushels of 
 grain, two pounds of wool, or meat, with no increase of expense, 
 where at the present time the proprietor receives only one. 
 
8 THE YOUXG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 15. Our fields do not produce oue-lialf the amount of grruii, 
 grasd and meat that th(;y are capable of producing under proper 
 mauaocraent. At present there can be fonnd but a few instance?; 
 in our entire country, where the productiveness of a farm lia? 
 been tested to its fullest capacity. Some farmers have ex|)eri.- 
 mented, and made eiforts to improve the productiveness of their 
 farms for a number of years in close su(;cession; and every year, 
 with no extra labor, their crops have proved to be a little more 
 abundant. In numerous instances, impoverished and worn-out 
 farms have been brought to an excellent state of productiveness, 
 with no otlier available resources for efFecting this o))ject than 
 what was found in the soil and on the fai*m, 
 
 16. This, then, is what may be denominated progressive agri- 
 cult ure. That system of management which will make a poor 
 farm a good one, and render a good one more and more produc- 
 tive from year to year, will be the system advocated in the fol- 
 lowing pages. The time is coming when the details of our farm 
 management will be ridiculed and discarded, and when we shall 
 see al:)undant crops of golden grain and grass where now those 
 crops barely pay the expense of cultivation. And an object so 
 desirable will be attained by investigation, by careful experi- 
 ments, and by the application of scientific and practical know- 
 ledge. This work is already begun; and we are satisfied to be 
 permitted to have wrought as a pioneer in an enterprise which 
 will, eventually, render the world wiser and happier, and mankind 
 better. 
 
 17. When the agriculture of our country is characterized by 
 that system of judicious management which will eventually pre- 
 vail — when our soils shall have been underdrained as they ought 
 to be — when they shall be improved in fertility by manuring 
 and more complete pulverization — when our farmers have learned 
 how to save — to make — and to apply manure in the most profit- 
 able manner — and when they have learned to turn their grain 
 into meat which will be worth as much as the grain, while the 
 manure of the animals fed will increase the amount of the next 
 crop nearly two-fold — then we may not only reckon on our agri- 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 9 
 
 culture as being progressive, but as a system of farming that *' will 
 pay," and be worthy of universal adoption. 
 
 PAYING FARMING. 
 
 1 S. Farmmg may pay well in one sense, and at the same timo 
 be characterised by an injudicious system of management. Farailng 
 may pay well, in one sense, and still be of a retrogressive charac- 
 ter. It may pay well the expense of cultivation for a number of 
 years in succession, and at the same time be a syster.i of man- 
 agemant that is continually impoverishing the soil and render- 
 ing it less and less productive. Therefore if we have the assur- 
 ance that farming pays well, we have no assurance at all that 
 the system of management which has been adopted is a good 
 one, and worthy of recommendation. If a system of farm man- 
 agement be 80 much of a progressive character t.liat it may be 
 said to pay, then it will be consistent for us to speak of it as 
 paying farming. 
 
 19. Thousands upon thousands of farmers in America are 
 growhig rich by raising grain, cattle, beef, mutton, and pork; 
 and they are called good farmers. But the truth is, their prac- 
 tices will eventually ruin their soil ; because their system of agri- 
 culture is not of a progressive character. The time has already 
 come in the New England and in the Middle States — and it is 
 fast approaching in the fertile and productive States of the West 
 — when it may be said of thousands of acres, of the ch' nicest land 
 of the country, that it has been so impoverished by a bad system 
 of farm management, the proprietors will not be able to pay the 
 interest on th.e land and the expense of cultivation from the 
 products of their soil. But if those who may succeed them will 
 at once adopt a renovating system, and take suitable measures 
 to restore the impoverished soils of our country, we may yet have 
 the pleasure of seeing a progressive system of agriculture where 
 it is now decidedly bad. One of the first considerations in mak- 
 ing improvements in any enterprise is, to obtain a correct idea of 
 its iinporiections. 
 I* 
 
10 THE YOUNG FARMEr's MA^JUAL. 
 
 WHAT CONSTITUTES PAYING FARMING I 
 
 20, There is a vast deal written and said, at the present day, 
 about " paying farming," or " farming that pays." But not one 
 half of those who talk and write upon the subject have any 
 correct practical notions of it. ''Paying farming" is not thai 
 systeiii of management whicli returns to the possessor the largest 
 crops and the greatest percentage on the capital invested. We 
 often hear it remarked that such a man is a good farmer be- 
 cause " he makes farming pay." See how well his farm is fenced, 
 and everything in prime order. But paying farming does not 
 consist in good fences, any more than it does in good and sub- 
 stantial buildings, and in beautiful yards and ornamental grounds. 
 Indeed, good or poor fences and buildings have so little to do 
 with paying farming that they cannot, with much propriety, be 
 considered any sure index, eitlier one way or the other, as point- 
 ing out correctly a paying or non-paying system of management. 
 Some of tlie best farmers of the country are allowing their fences 
 to go to dilapidation and ruin and to utter disuse ; because the 
 expense of erecting and keeping suitable fences in repair con- 
 sumes more of the profits than would be incurred by that system 
 of management in whicli fences are entirely dispensed with. 
 
 21. Again, we hear it oft'iu repeated, that such a man is a 
 good farmer, for he always seems to raise good crops, and to 
 make money very fast. There are scores of farmers in our coun- 
 try, who are extolled as very excellent farmers, who, if they were 
 placed without a large pocketful of ca^h on many farms, where 
 farming pays well, would soon become insolvent, and be obliged 
 to sell their farms to keep them from starvation. He who pro- 
 duces a large crop of anything, by expending large sums of money 
 for foreign manure and for unnecessary cultivation, although he 
 may receive the appellation of a good and thorough cultivator 
 of the soil, cannot be called a good fanner; nor can such a sys- 
 tem of management be consistently called "paying farming." 
 As important and as desirable a^? capital is in farming, that man 
 mmnot be called a good farmer who is obliged to draw funds from 
 
THE YOUNG FARMEr's MANUAL. IJ 
 
 other sources besides the farm he cultivates, for the purpose of 
 defraying the expenses of the farm. If a farmer launches into 
 debt beyond the resources of his farm, and gains a great reputa- 
 tion for being a good farmer by producing at an enormous ex- 
 pense neat cattle, or other stock, or unusually large crops of 
 grain by means of a foreign manure, the world will soon see 
 that such a system of management is not " paying farming;" 
 and that if persisted in it will most surely lead to insolvency 
 and ruin. 
 
 22. What, then, is paying farming ? We answer, it is that 
 system of management in which our old worn-out farms are re- 
 novated from their greatly impoverished condition — the poor land 
 rendered good and productive, and the good land rendered better 
 — paying the cost of cultivation, and the interest on the capital 
 invested; and leaving a profit to the proprietor, all from the re- 
 sources of the farm. Paying farming is based upon the supposi- 
 tion that the buildings and fences of the farm, and the farm itself, 
 are all computed at a fair price or prices for agricultural pur- 
 poses. In multitudes of instances farms are bought and sold at 
 prices entirely too high for agricultural purposes, and at such 
 prices the very best system of management in the world must 
 be set down as non-paying farming. 
 
 23. Let us suppose, for example, that a farm of one hundred 
 acres is valued at sixty dollars per acre; and is under the best 
 system of management, so that it may be said, with great pro- 
 priety, ''farming pays " on that farm. Now suppose the cost of 
 buildings and fences be increased from their present value five 
 thousand dollars, this would increase the value of the farm to 
 such an extent that it is quite doubtful whether farming might 
 be said to pay in both cases; notwithstanding the farming could 
 be said to be paying when the buildings, fences, and so forth, 
 were valued at a figure not beyond the available resources of the 
 land when under good cultivation. The correct idea is, that a 
 system of management may be -a. paying system, and fiirraer-like, 
 in every respect, and still be inadequate in its available resour- 
 ces to the large interest on unnecessarily expensive buildings or 
 
12 THE YOUNG FARMRr's MAXUAL. 
 
 on any tiling else which may be computed more as au expense 
 than a profit to a farmer, 
 
 WHY FARMING PAYS NO BETTER. 
 
 24. The reasons why farming does not pay better than it ap- 
 pears to in multitudes of instances, are as cogent and plausible 
 as they are numerous. A few of the chiefest of them will be no- 
 ticed in a brief and summary manner. The first and the greatest 
 reason why farming does not pay better is, far.nars do not half 
 understand managing the various operations of the farm and 
 cultivating the soil. They are not masters of their businfJss; and, 
 instead of being able to excel in most of the branches of farming, 
 they are sadly deficient in the practical understanding of those 
 branches which are so essential to their success. Farming is not 
 only one of the greatest arts, but is a great science ; and he who un- 
 derstands well the proper cultivation of the soil, and the differ- 
 snt branches intimately connected with it, is a man of science, 
 whether, in a literary point of view, he knows U from an ox bow 
 or not. Therefore, as multitudes of farmers are almost entirely 
 deficient in a correct understanding of this great art and science, 
 they grope along, as if they were blindfolded, without knowing 
 whether their practices and systems of management are at all 
 correct or decidedly defective. 
 
 25. Another good reason why farming pays no better is, 
 farmers do not underdrain their land sufficiently to produce 
 either grain, grass, fi'uit or vegetables. In most localities, tak- 
 ing the entire country through, the injury done to crops of all 
 kinds by an excess of water in the soil will amount to more, in 
 dollars and cents, than the damage arising from all other sources. 
 Want of proper drainage, then, may be set down as one of 
 the first reasons why farming pays no better than it does. 
 See Chapter on Soils. Numerous instances occur every year, 
 where a field yields sometimes one-fourth, one-third, and even one- 
 half more, the next season after it has been underdrained, tlian it 
 ever did before in one season, which affords us ocular demon- 
 stration that want of drainage is often the greatest reason why 
 farming pays no better. 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER^S MANUAL. 13 
 
 26. Another cogent reason is, proprietors of farms do not 
 husband their manurial resources sufficiently to keep their soil 
 in a good state of fertility. This practice will involve consnm- 
 ing a large proportion of the coarse grain raised on the farm; 
 thus obtaining the cash value of the grain and other produc- 
 tions in the sales of beef, mutton and pork, and retaining a 
 lai-ge proportion of the refuse of the crops for improving the fer- 
 tility of the soil. 
 
 2t. Among the many other reasons that might be enumerat- 
 ed why farming pays no better, are a want of a judicious system 
 of rotation of crops, a mixed husbandry, and the general man- 
 agement of all the branches of field and in-door agriculture. All 
 of these reasons are to be considered in close connection with 
 those previously mentioned. But, after all that has been penned, 
 everything will depend on the management of the proprietor. A 
 poor manager is like a broken link in a good chain, which would 
 be worthless, in a certain sense, because one link is broken. So 
 it is with farming. If the general management is defective, al- 
 though the best systems of agriculture may have been adopted, 
 farming cannot and will not pay. By general management is 
 meant executing or carrying out the plans and systems that have 
 been adopted. This will involve doing everything well, and in good 
 time; having a place for everything, and keeping everything in 
 its proper place ; as well as what to do, and how to do it. 
 
 WHAT IS NOT SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE. 
 
 28. Cultivating the soil, as many men do, in such a manner 
 that it is less productive every season, is not scientific agriculture. 
 Deep plowing of wet soils without under draining ; endeavoring 
 to raise large crops without applying some fertilizing matter to 
 the soil, to keep it in a good state of fertility ; allowing stock 
 of all kinds to become spring poor, during the foddering 
 Reason ; making a great show of theoretical and scientific 
 knowledge, while practices are adop^^ed inconsistent with science, 
 and many other things, which sensible people have denominated 
 scientific, are very far from scientific agriculture. 
 
14 THE YOUNG FARMER's MANUAL. 
 
 29. When some young city dandy, who has plenty of money, 
 starts up to be a farmer; and, with his rarnished and fancifully- 
 stenciled implements of husbandry, with his barrels of ground 
 bone, bags of phosphate and guano, and with his retinue of 
 Tims and Pats, just from the Emerald Isle, none of whom, bose 
 or laborer, knows any more about either theoretical or practical 
 agriculture than they do about the practical part of wax work; 
 they make such droll steerage in everything they attempt to per- 
 form, that people laugh in their sleeve and say: " That's scienti- 
 fic agriculture I" Illustrious stupidity ! There is not one half 
 as much correct scientific agriculture in all of that parade and 
 counterfeit cultivation of the soil as there is of the science of 
 medicine in a cat's eating catnip to cure the hydrophobia. It is 
 a misnomer to call such manoeuvring scientific agriculture. 
 Again : people often see some intelligent, theoretical farmer com- 
 mence agricultural operation; and his knowledge, for the most 
 part, is only theoretical. Of course in executing the details of his 
 practice, he as well as those in his employ will work awkwardly 
 and unskilfully. They smile at such management and exclaim : 
 " That's scientific agriculture I" But the wrong word is used in 
 the wrong place. This is nothing but theoretical agriculture. 
 There is none of the scientific about it, 
 
 WHAT IS SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE? 
 
 30. Scientific agriculture consists neither in theory or prac- 
 tice alone; but in combining the best theory with the most 
 approved practice in farming operations. Scientific agriculture 
 then involves — not knowing how to analyze soils, but such a 
 knowledge of them as will enable a man to adapt the most suit- 
 able crops to each particular soil; and also a correct understand- 
 ing of the most approved manner of performing all the operations 
 connected with raising crops, as well as of keeping the soil in a 
 good state of fertility with the materials that the farm affords. 
 See this thought more fully elucidated in the Chapter on Manures. 
 This last consideration involves a correct understanding of the 
 principles of breeding, rearing, and fattening all kinds of domestic 
 
15 
 
 animals, of saving and applying their manure to the soil, and of 
 cultivating the soil and raising grass or grain. All these con- 
 siderations, taken in harmonious combination, constitute the sum 
 total of scientific agriculture. It matters not if a farmer's library 
 consists of only the Holy Bible and the Babes in the Woods, if 
 he has a correct understanding of keeping his soil in a good state 
 of fertility with only the materials which it affords; and if he raises 
 good crops, and secures them well, that fanner's practices may be 
 denominated scientific agncuUure. Correct theory and correct 
 practice, in the operations of a farm, make up the scientific. But, 
 theory or practice alone will not do it. 
 
 31. The Genesee Farmer says: '*It must be confessed that a 
 man may have a good theoretical knowledge of agriculture, and 
 yet make a poor farmer. Order, system, personal attention 
 to details, with steady, persistent industry, will enable a farmer 
 to succeed, without the slightest acquaintance with science ; while, 
 on the other hand, the most thorough scientific education will be 
 of little use to the man who has not these qualities. If a man, 
 who has had the advantage of a scientific agricultural education, 
 turns farmer, he will be pretty sure to make mistakes which 
 will subject him to the ridicule of his neighbors. He may be the 
 most quiet of men — ^Ije entirely occupied with his own affairs — 
 interfering in no way with those of others. But no matter. 
 Those of his neighbors who have less to think about will be sure 
 to talk over all that he does, and their comment will not gen- 
 erally be of a complimentary kind. Agriculture is slow work. 
 A farm cannot be brought into order and a high state of culti- 
 vation in a year. It is the labor of a life." 
 
 32. The scientific man who thinks that he can take a farm 
 and raise large crops by the use of a few chemical manures, is 
 doomed to disappointment. He will be very apt to neglect 
 those little details of farm economy which are absolutely essen- 
 tial to success. While he is thinking of acids, alkalies, of nitgro- 
 gen and phosphates, his cattle will knock down a fence and eat 
 up his crops. While he is studying Liebig, his men will be taking 
 a siesta in the hay field. Careless hands will soon break his iia- 
 
16 THE YOUNG FARMEr's MANUAL. 
 
 proved implements. Ho may think to economize food by cooking 
 it; but without constant surveillance, his men will waste more 
 in a day than he can save in a week. They will take plea- 
 sure in thwarting all his pet plans; and will harass and perplex 
 him in every conceivable way. The end is disappointment and 
 disgust. 
 
 33. But it is only the mere dabbler in science that expects 
 to revolutionize agriculture. The true scuentific man has moderate 
 expectations. He does not know, and never expects to know, 
 how to transmute iron into gold, or to raise a hundred bushels 
 of wheat per acre, as easily as we now raise ten. If any dis- 
 covery he can make, if any modification of present practices will 
 increase the productiveness of -the soil five bushels per acre, he 
 knows that he would be one of the greatest benefactors of his 
 race. Theory cxn never resist facts that have once been fairly 
 established. Facts are the leaves of science. Theory alone is 
 not scientific. And yet it is too commonly conceded, that if a 
 man theorizes much he is a very scientific man. Moore's Rural 
 New Yorker says : '' The farmer who is governed in his system 
 of farm management by the most extended expei-ience and prac- 
 tical observation of the relation of facts to each other, is the most 
 sdentljic farmer, no matter whether he ever read a scientific book 
 or not. The breeder of sheep, or cattle, who is governed in his 
 breeding by laws which his experience has brought out for him, 
 is really a scientific breeder, no matter whether his practice con- 
 flicts with the rules of theoretical writers or not." 
 
 A SUCCESSFUL FARMER MUST BE A CONSUMER. 
 
 34. Consuming the productions of the soil on the farm where 
 they were raised, is a practice which lies at the foundation of 
 scientific and successful agriculture. Indeed, it is the only cor- 
 rect system of farm management which is worthy of universal 
 recommendation. It is true there are numerous histances of good 
 agriculture, where everything that a soil produces is transported 
 to some other part of the country. But even in such instances, 
 i system, which is equivalent to a consuming system, is adopted. 
 
17 
 
 Near many" of our populous cities every article that the soil has 
 produced during the seasou is removed many miles distant, and 
 consumed, where no portion of it is ever returned to the soil. 
 But in such instances the proprietors are careful to enrich their 
 soils with fertilizing materials such as ground bone, poudrette, 
 guano, gypsum, lime, or stable manure. 
 
 35. But the large proportion of the farmers of onr country are 
 too remote from market to transport a very considerable portion 
 of the products of their soil to some place where it may be pro- 
 fitably consumed. For this reason, if a farmer would keep his 
 soil in a good state of fertility from year to year, so that it will 
 be quite as productive — or more so — when he has ceased to be 
 proprietor of it, the only correct and feasible system of manage- 
 ment, which will enable him to accomplish such an object, will be 
 to consume everything that his farm produces, so far as may 
 be practicable, at home, and return the refuse and waste ma- 
 teiial to the soil. If a man is as intelligent as he should be, these 
 suggestions will enable him to adopt soms satisfactory system of 
 management, which will be quite as profitable for him in dolbirs 
 and cents, and infinitely better for his soil. Read the Introduc- 
 tion to Vol. I. 
 
 36. The grand and leading idea on this subject is to use up 
 the products of the farm in such a manner as will render the same 
 profits to the proprietor that he would receive were he to sell 
 them when those products were in a different condition. We 
 want to sell the pro-Iucts, and at the same time make such a 
 disposition of them that the soil will not be impoverished by 
 removing crops from it. We want to keep our cake and eat it 
 too, in a certain sense. For example: if a farmer raises one hun- 
 dred bushels of Indian corn, his aim should be to use it up in such 
 manner that his soil will not be impoverished. The same is true 
 of his other crops of cereal grain and grass. By feeding out ony 
 hundred busliels of Indian corn in the most economical m.inner, 
 and to the best kind of swine, cattle, or sheep, and by saving 
 idl their manure and applying it to the soil where the corn grew, 
 and by cultivating that soil in a most thorough manner, its fenility 
 
18 THE vouw; farmer's manual. 
 
 may be improved, and rendered more productive from year to 
 year. 
 
 PURCHASING A FARM— ARE YOU A PRACTICAL FARMER? 
 
 37. If you are not, whether you possess an abundance of capi- 
 tal to pnrcluise a farm with, or not, my first advice is that you 
 spend a year or two on some farm, and gain a correct knowledge 
 of the business before you engage in it. There is something 
 else to do on a farm than to wallv around th^ fields with gloves 
 on, and a staff in hand, and see the crops grow. There is a va-t 
 amount of hard labor to be done. And if a man is not able to 
 perform much manual labor, he had better not be a farmer. If 
 a man invests his money in mortgages or notes, he will usually 
 receive his income without mucli thouglit or anxiety. But when 
 it is invested in land that must be cultivated, the proprietor 
 must be a good farmer, in order to succeed well, in obtaining an 
 annual income which will be a fair cquivaler.t for the use o1 
 capital invested and for the service performed. And, in addi- 
 tion to this, he must keep his property from depreciafeing in value. 
 Otherwise, he will soon "come out of the little end of the horu,^' 
 as we Americans say of a failure in any enterprise. Thousands' 
 of men have fancied tliat farming is a delightful occupation; and 
 have engaged in it without knowing any more about its details, 
 and the successes and reverses attending it, as a livelihood, than 
 a common farmer knows about navigating the ocean. Conse- 
 quently, they soon failed to meet with success, simply because 
 they did not understand the business. 
 
 38. If you are a practical farmer, and if you like laborious 
 and active employment, and can say ayt to the description of a 
 farmer in Vol. I., page 14; and if you have come, deliberately, 
 to the conclusion to like agriculture — hard or easy, wet or dry, 
 cold or hot, great pains with small gains, and vice versa — then 
 you are fully prepared to put on your toga and India rubber 
 boots, and work your passage to earthly bliss through swar.^ps 
 and bogs, hedges and ditches, as well as among stones, stumps 
 and heaps of compost. And if you always keep cool and nevor 
 fret, glorious success and substantial happiness will eventually 
 
THE YOUNG FAR>[Er'.-? MANUAL. 19 
 
 encircle you, like a halo of agricultural glory. The next im- 
 portant consideratioUj when about to purchase a farm, will bo 
 
 SUFFICIEXT CAPITAL. 
 
 39. There is no other occupation in which capital is more 
 important than in agriculture. If a farmer has a limited 
 capital, he will often find farming to be disagreeable and 
 np-hill business. He cannot expect to succeed without a fair 
 siniount of capital, any more than a banker or a tradesman . who 
 employs but little in his business. Some cash will be essential, 
 in addition to good stock and a good soil. What I moan to have 
 understood is, that a farm3r should have capital enough on hand 
 to defray his expenses, and a little more. There will ba some im- 
 provements to be carried out almost every season. Laborers 
 must be paid as they go ; the family must b3 supported ; and a 
 man frequently meets with excellent opportunities to purchase 
 stock for his farm at a great birgain. For all such things, a 
 few hundred dollars of loose capital will be requisite, in order to 
 good success. A farmer's main capital will be invested in his 
 farm, implements of husbandry, and in his live stock. B.it if he 
 has no loose capital besides these, he will too often find himself 
 in a position like that of a stranger in a strange country wliose 
 property and cash are many hundreds of miles distant from him. 
 A fvpeculator never thinks of obtaining his livelihood by buying 
 and selling without first obtaining a suitable amount of capital 
 with which to transact his business. A farmer, in order to suc- 
 ceed, needs capital just as much as a speculator. 
 
 PAY DEBTS AS YOU GO. 
 
 40. At some seasons of tha year, cash appoars to be, neces- 
 sarily, paid out much faster than it comes in. When this is 
 the case, it will be infinitely better for a man — better for his credit 
 — better for his integrity — better for his creditors — better for his 
 fiunily — and better in every other point of view — to hire fifty or 
 a hundred dollars for a few months, for the purpose of paying small 
 bills — little debts — as he goes. Tiiese little five and ten cent 
 
20 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 
 
 bills at the blacksmith^s shop; these little bills at groceries, which 
 cannot be avoided conveniently, had better be paid at the time 
 they are contracted, even though it were necessary to pay interest 
 for a few months on the money to do it with. It is not a good 
 practice for a farmer to allow every stroke of a blacksmith's ham- 
 mer to be entered on his book. But few men will keep a book 
 account for nothing from year to year. And if those with whom 
 we are accustomed to deal always understand that a man deals 
 in cash, in little debts as well as in large ones, dealers will allow 
 that man advantages in prices which a slack paymaster can never 
 avail himself of. 
 
 41. When I see a man go to a blacksmith's shop to get a 
 tenpenny job done; or to a grocery to trade a few dimes, who 
 always says " you may charge this bill ; " and who calculates to 
 pay when his creditors feel willing to take their pay in catskins, 
 or in a quarter of poor beef, or a leg of some imbecile old buck 
 tliat is too old for mntton, I always think, My dear sir, that sys- 
 tem of management renders your business more than ten fold 
 harder, and more expensive and perplexing, than it would be 
 were you to pay your little debts as you go. But fools and silly 
 people can never be made to believe it. 
 
 PAY AS YOU GO. 
 
 42. Let me reiterate it in the ears of every young man, 
 whose aspirations ever prompt him to be anybody in the world, 
 to pay your little debts as you go. Little things make the man. 
 Little traits of character enable us to decide with great certainty 
 what are a man's cherished affections; and in little things we dis- 
 cover manifestations of his ruling passion. The world will measure 
 a man by his attention to little things — by his prompriioss in pay- 
 ing his little debts. The world will weigh a man's cJiai-acter — not 
 by what they hear about him — but by what they see in him. The 
 world will speak of a man as they find him, with relv.reuce to his 
 maimer of doing business. Among the undesirable and repug- 
 nant traits of cvliaracter, this one, of allowing little debts to go 
 unpaid, discloses a trait more ignoble than we can discover 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MAXUAL. 21 
 
 in him whose habitual weakness is to debase liimself, by drhiking 
 intoxicating beverages to such an extent as to disgrace and ruin 
 his character. 
 
 43. Again, let me repeat and reiterate for the last time, '' pay as 
 you. guP It will make a man a better citizen to pay all his little 
 ilebts as he goes. He will esteem himself more highly for it; and 
 til at trait of character will secure for him a degree of respectabil- 
 ity, hi every sphere where he may move, that he never can expe- 
 rience if he adopts tlie loose, dishonest, unbusiness-like, slip-shod 
 kind of a way of paying little debts only when they must be paid. 
 Rest assured, my young reader, that your character as a success- 
 ful cultivator of the soil will depend, in a far greater degree than 
 you may imagine, on your readiness, your promptness and punc- 
 tuality, in paying your little debts. 
 
 44. Pay as you go, young man. Pay your little debts. Never 
 let it be said of you by any one : "■ That man owes me a dime, or 
 a quarter of a dollar; and I would rather lose it than to ask him 
 for it.' Pay your day laborers every day, or every week at long- 
 est. They will work much better for it. Pay all little debts at 
 mechanics' shops as soon as the work is done. They will deal 
 cheaper on account of it. Let it be interwoven with the cardi- 
 nal virtues of morality and religion, to pay every incidental in- 
 debtedness with promptness, with cheerfulness, and without mur- 
 muring and grumbling. If a man is not faithful in these Uttle 
 transactions, we can cherish no hope that he will pay his indebt- 
 edness to the soil which he cultivates, by returning to it, in fer- 
 tilizing material of some kind, an equivalent for the crops which 
 he has removed. 
 
 45. Pay as you go. For the world is full of unprincipled 
 men, sailing under the agricultural flag of the United States 
 of America, who run a dishonorable career, and lead a wretch- 
 ed life, simply because they never calculate to pay as they go. 
 They are always ready and anxious to borrow a dime or a dol- 
 lar, whether they have immediate use for it or not. And they 
 never make calculations to pay it. Mechanics will always tax 
 them a higher price for any article that they may puichase, than 
 
22 THF, YOUN'G FAP.MKR's MANUAL. 
 
 tliey do a man who pays cash ; because tiicy nover make calcu- 
 iatiou to pay. Neiglibors and Mends are never willing; to uccoin- 
 modate them ; because they never make calculations to pay. 
 Every paper or periodical that they subscribe for, costs one third 
 or one fourth more than it does him who pays as he goes ; be- 
 cause they do not make calculations to pay when it is due. Tlie 
 agriculture of our country is being ruined by the unfarnicrliku 
 management of such men. They contracted the loose liabit of 
 not paying their little debts as they went along; and thus tlu^y 
 fell into the slip-shod practice of not paying the little indebtcil- 
 ness to their soil. 
 
 RUNNING INTO DEBT FOR LAND. 
 
 46. We have often read instructions to young farmers, to 
 *' avoid running into debt, as one would avoid a deadly pestilence 
 or himine." But, for honest men, this is a species of old fogyism. 
 For dishonest men — those wlio will borrow, or purchase all 
 they have an opportunity to purchase — who never make 
 any calculations to pay a debt, such advice would be appli- 
 cable. It never is any detriment to an honest man to contract 
 debts for a good farm to a limited extent. Indeed, it almost al- 
 ways has a tendency to make him a better citizen than he other- 
 wise would be, if he owed no man anything but love, and had a 
 pocketful of money besides. If an honest, energetic farmer should 
 run into debt for a portion of his land, and by good economy, 
 and well-directed labor, can manage so as to pay the interest an- 
 nually on his indebtedness, and to reduce the principal a little, 
 he has a laudable object to prompt him to industry and frugality. 
 This has been the making of thousands of our best farmers. And 
 my advice would be, don't fear to run into debt for a portion of 
 a good farm, providing you do not pay more per acre for it tliaa 
 it is really worth for agricultural purposes; and, providing you 
 can discover some sure way to keep it good, to pay the interest, 
 and u small proportion of the indebtedness every year. The only 
 correct way of determining this point , satisfactorily, will be to 
 compute the interest on the capital invested; the probable ex- 
 
T3E YOUNG FAKMEr's MANUAL. 23 
 
 l^onse of cuHivation; the expense of manuring, in order to keep 
 it in a ^ood state of fertility; and to compare the amount with 
 the aggregate value of the produce for one year. The difference 
 will exhibit a sum tliat will enable the proprietor to decide wlns- 
 ther he will be able, in the course of a few years, to pay for his 
 farm ; or whether he will be obliged to labor hard all his days 
 without accumulating enough to defray tlie expense of a respec- 
 tablj burial. 
 
 THE PRICE OF LAND TOO HIGH FOR AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES. 
 
 47. A large proportion of the improved land of our coun- 
 try is held at a price quite too high to pay the legal interest, 
 and the expense of cultivation, when it is appropi'iated to agri- 
 cultural purposes. For tliis reason, young farmers, in particular, 
 should be cautious ab">ut running into debt, for any considerable 
 portion of a farm, with the expectation of paying off the in- 
 debtedness from the sales of the products of that farm. If a 
 man has the money on hand to pay for a situation; and is not 
 particular whether his Goil will pay the interest and expens-e of 
 cultivation, from year to year, this advice will be of no practical 
 utility. Our aim is to aid those who need assistance; and to 
 counsel those who are seeking for advice, that will aid them at a 
 time when a little help will be of great value to them. It is an 
 easy thing for one to make an estimate of the probable expense 
 of cultivating a hundred acres of land for a year, and of the 
 probable income from the sale of the products of the soil; and 
 then deduct the amount of taxes, and repairs, and improvements; 
 and to strike a balance, as an equivalent for his services. But 
 he must be a good practical man — well acquainted with all the 
 details in every branch of his business — before he can form a cor- 
 rect estimate on every point. 
 
 48. In making this estimate, however, it will be necessary to 
 be able to decide, correctly, as to the amount of cash products of 
 a farm for several successive seasons. For example: if land be 
 valued at one hundred dollars per acre, and will produce three 
 tons of hay per acre, valued at fifteen dollars per ton, 
 
21 THE YOUNG FARMEFt's MANUAL. 
 
 aft(;r it has been delivered at the market, then tliere will be 
 the interest on that one hundred dollars annually; the lax on 
 the land; the cost for fertilizers to keep the soil good, which 
 shall be equivalent to the crop of hay removed; and all the otlier 
 expenses attending the hay crop, not omitting a portion of the 
 expense of tools and implements with which to perform the la- 
 bor. And it must be kept in mind, also, that a soil must be in 
 an excellent state ot fertility to yield three tons of good hay, by 
 actual weight, per acre. And that degree of fertility must bo 
 maintained; and the expense of maintaining it will often be 
 much greater than those are accustomed to suppose, who are not 
 familiar with all the details incident to the lai)ors of the field, 
 the stable, and stock barns. 
 
 49. Again, we will suppose that the soil is to be grazed, in- 
 stead of plowed. Now then, here will be the interest on the land, 
 the taxes; the cost of fertilizing material to keep the soil good, 
 and the expense of making butter or cheese; or, taking care of 
 fattening bullocks; or the expense incurred in growinsj: wool, and 
 mutton. As all the items above named are valued at different 
 prices in dififjrent localities, it will be necessary to compute the 
 price of each as it corresponds with its respective locality. Ano- 
 ther important consideration will be the 
 
 DIFFERENCE, IN VALUE, BETWEEN GOOD LAND AND POOR. 
 
 50. When a man contemplates purchasing a farm, he is apt 
 to think more of the location and view than of almost anything 
 else. True, it is convenient to be near the post oITlxs and the 
 R. R. depot, and the steam boat landing, and places of public 
 business. But every one cannot be located withhi a few minutes^ 
 walk or drive of such public places. And the nearer one locates 
 to such places, the more expensive, per acre, the land will be; 
 and, in many instances, the poorer and less productive it is. But 
 the price per acre almost always increases as one approaches such 
 places. In tlie selection of a farm, the soil should be thoroughly 
 examined, to ascertain whether it is naturally barren or fertile. 
 If it is naturally poor, thin and unproductive, and comcvvhat wet, 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER's MANUAL. 25 
 
 it must be purchased at a low figure indeed, or the proprietor 
 will have a task before him, and a debt on his hands that will 
 " bring down his gray hairs with sorrow to the grave," before he 
 will be able to make farming pay. 
 
 51. When a man pays sixty, seventy, eighty, or more dollars 
 per acre, for land that is not worth, for agricultural purposes, 
 more than fifteen or twenty dollars, and which will not pay the 
 interest of six per cent., at tweiky dollars per acre, I want to tell 
 him, "he has paid too dear for his whistle"; and the most profit- 
 able shift he can make will be to dispose of his poor land, even at 
 ten dollars per acre, if he can get no more If a man purchase 
 poor, unproductive land, he should be certain to get it at a low 
 price. It will be infinitely better to pay one hundred, or even 
 two hundred dollars per acre, for land that is naturally produc- 
 tive, and in a good state of fertility, and that does not need an 
 expenditure of more than half its value per acre, to put it in even 
 an ordinary state of fertility, than to purchase a poor soil at a low 
 price. 
 
 52. Let me illustrate this subject in a practical point of view. 
 Belonging to the farm that I once owned, there were certain 
 fields which were, to "all natural appearances, exactly like the 
 fields of my neighbor, just over the fence. He valued his land at 
 as many d-jllars, per acre, as I did my own; and the estimated 
 valuation of both farms by the Town Assessors was about the 
 same number of dollars per acre. He raised oats; and I also 
 raised oats, one season, on a field close by the side of his. He 
 told me that his field averaged, per acre, twenty tliree busliels 
 of clear oats. My field averaged seventy bushels of much nicer 
 oats than his. The yield of Indian corn on his field was about 
 half as much as on mine. The same field of mine yielded about 
 forty two bushels of buckwheat per acre; while his yielded, he 
 said, about ten or twelve bushels per acre. And the amount of 
 wheat on my field was more than twice as much, per acre, as on 
 his. And when we come to pasture, one acre of my pasture sus- 
 taurod more stock than three acres of his. 
 
 53. But people w^ould say almost uniformly: " your farm is 
 2 
 
26 
 
 ^IIE YOUNG FARMERS MANUAL. 
 
 worth much more per acre, because your buildings are so muclj 
 better than his." The much larger quantity of produce that m^ 
 fields yielded per acre more than his was hardly thought of, Now, 
 if my soil could produce more than twice as much per acre, wasil 
 not worth at least twice as many dollars per acre as his ? Most 
 certainly so. Consider, for a moment, how much must be expend- 
 ed in procuring fertilizers for a long succession of years, before 
 it could be brought up to a state of equal fertility and productive- 
 ness with my fields. While his fields would produce only about 
 enough to pay the expense of cultivation, from year to year, m^ 
 fields would yield enough to purchase themselves more than twice 
 over, in addition to paying the expense of cultivation, and of keep, 
 ing the soil in a good state of fertility. There may be fieldS; 
 on a great many farms, all over our country, that are bought and 
 sold, every few years, which have produced grain enough, during 
 those few years, not only to pay for their own cost per acre, but to 
 pay for other portions of the same farm which were too poor to 
 yield enough to pay for them^^elves. That will be the kind of 
 land to purchase. Bat the grand difficulty is, a young farmei 
 does not know positively \y\\q\\ he has found such a farm, 
 
 POOR FARMS OP NEW ENGLAND. 
 
 54. I have seen thousands of acres in New England, and in 
 some other States also, that would not yield fifteen hundred pounds 
 of hay per acre, and grain in the same ratio, which had been 
 bought and sold, and sold again and again, at cash prices per 
 aci'e, which could not be paid from the sales of all the products 
 that could be raised on it, for more than thirty years to come. 
 He]X3in lies the great error; certain fields on certain farms wili 
 yield enormous crops of grass, grain or roots, enough to delray 
 all the expenses of cultivation, the interest and the taxes. There 
 is no danger of paying too much for such land per acre. But 
 there is great danger of estimating the cash value of poor land 
 too highly; and no error is more common — often among intel- 
 ligent farmers too — than to estimate the productiveness of such 
 poor soils by what they are capable of being rendered after 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER^S MAXITAL. 2T 
 
 expending half their cash vaUie in improvements on them 
 rather than making an estimate of their present value, while in 
 their unproductive condition. It will be better every way to pay 
 a large price for good land, than to purchase poor land at even a 
 figure correspondingly low. 
 
 WHEN AND HOW TO EXAMINE A FARM. 
 
 55. When a man goes into the forest for the purpose of pur- 
 chasing timber that has been cut down, does he select a time 
 when it is all covered with a deep snow ? Never. But in 
 most instances, when men purchase farms, they examine them 
 rt^hen there is little else to be seen besides huge snow banks, trees 
 and fences. They travel around and examine the boundaries, and 
 the fences and buildings ; and they inquire what kind of produce 
 has been raised; and how much the yield was per acre. And 
 after they have finished a satisfactory examination, they know 
 just as much about that farm as they did before they made 
 an examination and usually not any more. Men do not in- 
 tend to lie right out; but I know — yes, that's the correct 
 word — I know that most men, v.^hen they are interrogated as to 
 how many bushels of a certain kind of grain they have raised per 
 icre, will answer, " Well, about so many. It was a splendid 
 3rop ! Why, you never saw such heavy grain or grass !" I 
 have heard men affirm that they had sixty bushels of barley 
 per acre, of splendid grain, and forty bushels of wheat, which 
 would all make excellent seed ! " when they knew, and I knew, 
 that there was not an acre in their whole county that yielded 
 that amount. Here is the point on which young farmers will be 
 deceived, concerning the productiveness of a soil. -A man wants to 
 5ee the soil; see it plowed; see the crops growing on it; see them 
 at harvest time; and to examine the grain after it comes to ma- 
 turity. What can one learn of the productiveness of a soil when 
 it is all covered up with a deep snow ? His judgment will tell 
 him that there is a soil beneath the snow; but it may be so bar- 
 ren that it would not yield white beans. There is a vast deal 
 of such land in our country. And to the proprietor, it is like 
 
28 Tin 
 
 self-righteousness — the more one possesses of it, the worse it always 
 will be for him. 
 
 56. Were I about to purchase a farm, I would make exten- 
 sive inquiry concerning its productiveness in years past; and en- 
 deavor to learn what had been the system of management on it 
 during previous years. Then, I would visit it — not when it was 
 covered with a deep snow — but in the spring, both when it wa^- 
 very wet, everywhere, as well as when dry. I would see the soil 
 plowed up and undergoing pulverization. At harvest time I would 
 visit it again, before the crops were gathered; and go among the 
 standing grain or grass. It is an easy matter to be deceived, 
 when looking at a field of grain, unless one goes among it. A 
 crop will appear, many times, to be a heavy one, as it is viewed 
 from simply passing by it. But, when a man goes among the 
 standing grain of a field, he can see what it produces. And what 
 he can see with his q^n eyes, and handle with his own hands, he 
 will need no further information about. 
 
 57. Here is one other important suggestion. In case a field 
 has not been plowed for many years, if it be well sodded over with 
 grass, the soil will be good. But, if the grass has disappeared, and 
 a field has many bare spots, where there is no vegetation at all, I 
 would travel on. If blackbeiTy bushes, Canada thistles, milk weed, 
 bull thistles, and other similar noxious weeds were flourishing lux- 
 uriantly, and vicing with each other for the ascendancy, I would 
 select that soil as a good one. The larger those noxious weeds 
 would grow, the more productive the soil will prove to be. This 
 f;ign will never deceive us. If those noxious plants were small and 
 slender, where there was nothing to hinder their growth, I would 
 defer purchasing, till I could find a soil that would produce Canada 
 thistle ^> so large, that if a swath were moved through them, it would 
 be difficult to induce animals to go among those that arc standing. 
 At the present writing, a friend of mine has just returned, with his 
 family, from the highly extolled A^ine Land, after having sacrificed 
 half his estate to remove them , and the other half of it to return. 
 His wife, who was a good farmer, refused to unpack their goods 
 when she saw tlie face of the country; because she said there was 
 
29 
 
 not herbage enoiigli to keep a cow. And if a cow could^nt live 
 they surely must starve. 
 
 THE WAY TO COMMENCE FAr^.^IiyTG. 
 
 *' Here, then our task begins. Tis pleasant toil 
 To tend thd flocks and herds, and break the soil.'* 
 
 58. As soon as a man becomes proprietor of a farm, with a, 
 design to pursue the cultivation of the soil, for his livelihood, if 
 he is an intelligent and thoughtial man, his first inquiry will be, 
 what system of farm management can I adopt which will enable 
 me to distinguish myself as a successful agriculturist; or which 
 will return to me a fair equivalent for the capital invested, as well 
 as a satisfactory remuneration for my labor; and at the sam3 
 time leave my farm in a condition quite as productive — or even 
 more so — than it was, when I commenced farming operations. No 
 problem in geometry was ever more difScult to solve. There is 
 the farm; and here are the forces to work it. And so we may 
 say in another respect: there is the piano, and here is the music to 
 be played. But what are these without musical talent and musical 
 skill ? And what is a farm, and tools, and implements, and 
 forces without knowledge and skill to manage them ? Tiie first 
 thing will be to plot the farm properly. Tiie details for doing 
 this will be found in Volume I. p. 29. The next step to be taken 
 will be to adapt the crops to the quality of the soil. Read the 
 remarks on this subject in the Chapter on Soils. Then, if any 
 portion of it be wet, calculations should be made to drain it as 
 soon as may be practicable. Read Chapter on Draining in VoL 
 I. The next consideration will be to adopt 
 
 A SYSTEM OF MIXED HUSBANDRY. 
 
 " One cow, and a pig, and a lamb and a calf, 
 And plenty of corn, good husbandry hath." 
 
 Edwards. 
 
 59. It is universally acknowledged, I believe, by the most 
 successful farmers, not only in the Old World but in America, 
 that a mixed kivsb.indry — rearing and feeding neat cattle, sheep 
 
so THE YOUNG FARMER^S MANUAL. 
 
 end swine, in connection with raising grain — lies at the founda- 
 tion of successful and progressive agriculture. Still it is not de- 
 nied that there is mucli good agriculture in the world whicli pays 
 well, and which might be called progressive farming, where not 
 a hoof is kept from one year to the other. But in order that 
 agriculture may be paying, and the same time a self-sustaining 
 system, the only reliable way is, to keep more or less stock, and con- 
 sume a large proportion of the coarse grain which is raised on the 
 farm. If a farmer has an abundance of surplus capital with 
 which he can purchase guano, ground bone, pouilrette, or other 
 fertilizers, he may keep his soil good, and raise large crops of grain 
 or grass without keeping stock of any kind. But this would not 
 be such a system of farm management as I would endorse or re- 
 commend to those who are about to commence farm operations. 
 The great idea jn mixed husbandry is, to commence with a limited 
 capital, and to adopt such a system of management as will return 
 capital enough to defray the expense of cultivation and pay for 
 the improvements on the farm, and leave a profit towards paying 
 for the land, and, at the same time, not impoverish the soil at all; 
 but, on the contrary, improve its fertility from year to year. 
 
 60. What I desire to have understood by a mixed husbandry 
 is, a system of farm management in which raising grain consti- 
 tutes only a portion of a farmer's employment; while raising 
 stock of some kind is a chief part of his business. In other 
 words, raising stock and growing grain on the same farm pos- 
 sesses decided advantages over that system of husbandry in 
 which nothing but grain is grown or stock reared. A system 
 of mixed husbandry involves all the good practices to which 
 we have made allusions in this chapter. And it may not be amiss 
 to allude to some of the immediate advantages arising from such 
 a system. I have my mind on a man who owned only a small plot 
 of land, who raised an excellent crop of Indian corn every season 
 for twenty-two successive years on one field. No other crop was 
 ever grown on that field during that period. And the twenty- 
 second crop yielded a larger number of bushels of good grain 
 than the first, or any other crop during that period of time. 
 
THE YOUXG farmer's MANUAL. 31 
 
 He always kept two good cows, and fattened two excellent hogs; 
 and most of the manure that they made was applied to the soil 
 where his corn grew. 
 
 61. This instance affords us an example of mixed husbandry 
 on a limited scale. But it was by no means a perfect, or even a com^ 
 mendable system of agriculture. If he had adopted, in connection 
 with this system, a three or four years rotation-of-crops system, the 
 Indian corn which was raised the twenty-second year would have 
 been heavier, and the system a most complete one. Let us notice 
 wherein it could have been improved. The soil and locaUty were 
 well adapted to raising wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, beans, or 
 grass. Now, as Indian corn requires certain elements of the soil 
 different from wheat, oats or barley, by growing a crop of In- 
 dian corn every season on that same soil, there was an extraordi- 
 nary demand for those fertilizers only which Indian corn required. 
 There was a great abundance of material in the soil that would 
 have produced oats, barley, and wheat, which the roots of Indian 
 corn would not take up. Here, then, we may perceive, and can 
 appreciate the excellence and importance of adopting 
 
 A ROTATION SYSTEM IN CONNECTION WITH MIXED HUSBANDRY. 
 
 62. Had the man alluded to in the preceding paragraph 
 T'lised wheat, barley and oats, in connection with his Indian corn, 
 there would have been opportunity for the corn-producing mater- 
 ial in his soil to accumulate, during three or four seasons, even 
 while tlie soil produced a good crop of other grain. Then, after 
 four years of good cultivation, the corn-producing material would 
 hare been so abundant, that instead of fifty bushels of grain of 
 an ordinary quality, twice that amount would have been pro- 
 duced with the same cultivation. If a farmer desires to raise 
 bountiful crops of any kind of grain or grass, he cannot expect 
 to be able to do it on a »oil that has been exhausted of most of 
 those substances which are required to produce that kind of grain. 
 But ))y raising stock in connection with growing gi"ain; by feed- 
 iijg out u large portion of coarse grain to animals; by husband- 
 ing all the resources for saving and preparing fertilizing mate- 
 
552 THE YOUNG FARilER^S MANUAL. 
 
 rials for the soil; and by adopting a judicious system of rotation 
 croj)S which are adapted to the soil and to the locality, the grain- 
 producing material which is especially adapted to promoting the 
 growth of each kind of grain will have time to accumulate in 
 the soil, so that whenever a given crop of grain or grass is to be 
 grown, there will be such an abundance of it, that not only the 
 stalks, but the grain will be large in quantity, and superior in 
 quality. 
 
 G3. In case a farmer keeps sheep in connection with grain 
 raising, he will want one or more cows to furnish milk and but- 
 ter. Then, lard will be very essentia! tor culinary purposes, to 
 say nothing of the value of pork for food. Then, a span or two 
 of good horses will be indispensable; and if a farm is large, it 
 will be necessary to keep two spans of horses or a yoke of good 
 oxen. See Horses vs. Oxen for a Team, All these animals are 
 absolutely necessary, even on a grain farm. Therefore where 
 such animals are kept, we have all the elements of a good system 
 of mixed husbandry to begin with. And now, if everything be 
 arranged harmoniously in connection with a judicious system of 
 rotation of crops — providing all the manure is made and saved 
 and properly applied that can be; and if the soil is thoroughly 
 drained where it is too wet, and properly cultivated, and every 
 operation performed in good time and in a farmer-like manner — 
 we may rest assured that success will as certainly attend the ef- 
 forts of the husbandman, as we are sure that the promise of *' seed 
 time and harvest shall not cease." Gen. viii. 22. 
 
 RAISING AND FATTENING CATTLE AND SHEEP, 
 
 64, In order to come fully up to the standard and practice of 
 a thrifty and successful cultivator of the soil, every farmer should 
 calculate to keep some kind of stock — neat cattle or sheep — to 
 consume and to work into manure the corn stalks, straw and 
 coarse grain. It is, and always has been, and always will be, 
 " penny-wise and pound-foolish " policy to keep poor animals, or to 
 keep animals poor. It has ever been a mystery that I could 
 not unravel, why multitudes of farmers could be so regardless 
 
THE YOUNG FARMEr's MANUAL. 33 
 
 of their own interests as to allow their animals to come into the 
 barnyard in a thrifty, fleshy condition in late autumn, and to 
 return to the pasture in the succeeding sprin;^ greatly emaciat* 
 cd, like the lean kine of Pharaoh. Gen. xli. 3. It is the worst 
 policy on the whole farm to allow animals of any kind to grow 
 poor. A farmer should not attempt to keep one more animal 
 than he can keep in a growing thrifty condition. It will be far 
 better to keep one good cow, or calf, or bullock, or sheep, and 
 allow it to have all that it can eat, aqd a little to spare, than to 
 keep so many that they must gnaw all day before they will b3 
 able to fill themselves. And besides, it is bad policy to have grass 
 gnawed into the earth at any season of the year; and especially 
 in late autumn and early in the spring. Most farmers try to 
 keep too many half-starved animals. But it is a practice which 
 deserves the severest condemnation. One good well-fed cow will 
 yield more milk, and butter, or cheese than two half-fed, poverty- 
 stricken cows. It will be far better for the farm, and bet- 
 ter every way, to keep cows so well, that they will yield milk 
 enough to produce from two to three hundred pounds of butter 
 each in a year, than it will be to keep so many that not more 
 than 100 lbs. can be realized from each cow. Ard it will be more 
 profitable to keep but one hog, or one sheep, or fat steer, than to 
 allow two animals to be fattened on an allowance that one would 
 consume. 
 
 65. I have always acted on the policy that it is better to save 
 a pound of fat or flesh than to attempt to produce it ; and it is 
 better for a farm — better for a man's pocket — better for animals, 
 and infinitely more satisfactory in every point of view — to pro- 
 tect animals from the inclement cold and pelting storms than it 
 is to compel them to protect themselves. Every cold and stormy 
 night that an animal is compelled to lie out unprotected, costs 
 his ownei' not less than the price of a pound of the best flesh or 
 erf tallow. This assertion cannot be refuted. And many times 
 it will cost him as much in cash material as he would be obliged 
 to pay for his own lodging for a night at a good country hotel. 
 No farmer should think of attempting to keep any animals in a 
 
34 THE YOUNG FARMEr's MANUAL. 
 
 clinifitc like ours without suitable sheds or stables for protection, 
 during autumnal and winter storms. One severe storm in Nov. 
 will use up more of an animal's fat and flesh, if it is not protect- 
 ed, than it will gain in seven days. Animals are composed of 
 flesh and blood; and they, like us, feel the cold changes in au- 
 tumn as well as we do; and experience the same inconvenience, 
 in a measure, that we would if unprotected. 
 
 BEGINNING WRONG AND ENDING RIGHT. 
 
 66. By following in the wrong path, one will most certainly 
 arrive at a wrong place. This holds good in morals and religion, 
 as well as in agriculture. But in case a farmer begins wrong, if 
 he can only manage to end right — no, it will not be as well in 
 agriculture as it would be if he began right. When I commen- 
 ced farming operations, most of my farm had been much impover 
 ished by a long succession of exhausting crops which had been 
 carried off; and but little, if anything, returned to the soil. With- 
 out any cash ahead to invest in any improvements, Ifollowed in 
 the train of most farmers for two years, when I became convinced 
 that I must commence a renovating system, or emigrate. I had 
 lots of straw and corn stalks and hay; but before grass appear- 
 ed in the spring, I was compelled to look up a little hay, which 
 always disappeared like the morning dew before a summer sun. 
 Disheartened at such a sy^:tem of management, I resolved to turn 
 square about, and make a better use of my knowledge in econo- 
 mizing my coarse fodder. In the first place, a railway horse 
 power was purchased, with which I did my own thrashing. A few 
 hundred bundles of grain were -thrashed and cut with a little hay 
 and cornstalks; and every animal, from a calf to a team, received 
 a regular allowance of cut feed, with never less than one quart 
 of good meal each per day, or twice a day, unless they had a 
 good supply of hay. But they always received it not less than 
 once a day. After the first lot of feed was consumed, another 
 lot was ])repared, and fed in the same manner. 1 never waited 
 in the fall for animals to commence to grow poor before they 
 were fed with a little moal. Good sheds, and stalls to feed in, were 
 
THE YOUNG FARMEr's MANUAL. 8i 
 
 immediately prepared, not only for protecting stock, but for shel- 
 tering the manure. I never retired to rest until I knew that 
 every animal had enough to eat and to drink, and a good com- 
 fortable place to lie down, where it could enjoy rumination and 
 quiet rest. 
 
 67. In autumn, I practised purchasing a few good steers; 
 and kept them well all winter; and in the spring increased 
 their feed of meal, and let them have grass a few weeks — ^iiot 
 omitting their meal — when they would command a ready price, 
 that would make my neighbors, who practised the old system of 
 feeding, exclaim, '* What a thumping price you got for your 
 steers ! " I well remember that the first lot of steers I fed all 
 winter, stalling them in the night, returned me more than one 
 dollar per bushel for the meal which they consumed, and a fair 
 pr:c3 for their hay, and left a lot of most excellent manure. The 
 market value of such meal was less than fifty cents per bushel. 
 My animals were also kept in a close yard, so that none of their 
 manure was lost. 
 
 FATTENING SWINE. 
 
 68. Although a separate chapter will be appropriated to 
 rearing and fattening swine, in the Chapter on Raising Stock, still 
 I consider it proper in this place to pen a few general remarks on 
 that important branch of agriculture. Many farmers fail to allow 
 this branch of mixed husbandry to occupy very much of a place in 
 their farm management, because they cannot make it pay. And 
 the true reason why they fail to make it pay is, they do not manage 
 right with their swine. In the first place, let a farmer prepare a 
 good pigger}^, where he can keep swine always confined, unless it 
 is desirable to allow them to run in the orchard. They should 
 have the benefit of a small yard also, close to the piggery. 
 
 69. Now procure a good sow of some excellent breed; and 
 manage so as to have a litter of pigs early in the season ; and feed 
 the sow well, and keep them growing. If a pig is ever allowed to be 
 stunted, it will require a long time and much feed to get him again 
 iu a thrifty condition. As soon as they begin to feed well at the 
 
36 THE YOUNG FARMER's MAXUAL. 
 
 trough, if a man has a few cows, the pigs may be weaned. There 
 is nothhig equal to milk to give pigs a start. Let their meal be 
 equal quantities of oats, Indian corn, and wheat. Never feed 
 whole grain, except new peas. Oatmeal and wheat-flour will 
 develope the frame and muscles far better than Indian corn meal. 
 Always scald the meal for them. Scalded meal will fatten them 
 full one-third more than raw meal. Mingle the milk of the dairy 
 with the scalded meal. Let the piv^s have some grass also. Red 
 clover mowed for them will be excellent. Keep them growing 
 every day. Most farmers simply keep their pigs on dish water 
 and grass, and a little whole grain until autumn ; and then push 
 them in fattening. I always managed with my swine so as to keep 
 them growing all summer and all the fall, until they were ready 
 to kill. 
 
 70. I used to raise a crop of peas for them. And as soon 
 as they were ripe, commenced feeding on peas in connection with 
 the kind of feed just mentioned. When the peas became dry and 
 hard, they were ground with Indian corn, and the meal was 
 scalded. Regularity in feeding swine, and feeding just as much 
 as they will consume at every meal, three times a day, I always 
 found to be one of the most important considerations in their 
 management. Without this, no man can expect to find it profit- 
 able to make pork. I used to feed some boiied potatoes, pump- 
 kins, and apples, mingled with the milk. But I never fed whole 
 grain ; and seldom fed any meal that had not been scalded. And 
 another source of great profit I always found to be in saving 
 their manure and applying it to the soil. These few thoughts 
 will enable young farmers to begin right. The details connected 
 with each subject alluded to under this head will be found in the 
 Chapter on Swine. 
 
 PASTURING CATTLE AND SHEEP TOGETHER. 
 
 71. Sheep will tlu'ive far better when confined in the same 
 field with neat cattle than tlie cattle will. And neat cattle — 
 vvlietiier they be milk cows, young bullocks, yearlings or calves — 
 will thrive mucli better when no sheep arc allowed to graze iu 
 
THE YOUXG farmer's MANUAL. ST 
 
 their pastures, eyen if there always ai)penrs to be an abundant 
 supply of oTass. Sheep, usually, nip the young and tender grass 
 much closer than neat cattle. Consequently, when sheep and neat 
 cattle are required to graze in the same field, the sheep will sub- 
 sist almost entirely on the youngest and tenderest grass in the 
 field ; while cattle must take up with a second quality of grass, 
 which the sheep have run over, and from which they have select- 
 ed the tenderest and best. 
 
 72. It is not a commendable system of farm management to keep 
 sheep, horses and neat catth all in one pasture. Horses and neat 
 cattle will thrive equally well together in the same pasture ; but it is 
 not good policy to let sheep have an equal chance in a good 
 pasture with neat cattle and horses. For this reason, a farmer 
 will find it to be a better system of management to keep nothing 
 but sheep ; or nothing but neat cattle and horses in the same 
 pastures, and at the same time. If a farmer desire to keep both 
 sheep and neat cattle, the cattle should precede the sheep in 
 every pasture some three or four days. By this arrangement 
 the cattle will be enabled to have an equal advantage with the 
 sheep in grazing the young and fresh grass. 
 
 WHAT KIND OF STOCK TO KEEP. 
 
 73. The kind of soil that a man cultivates, in connection with 
 the crops he raises, should determine, in a great degree, what 
 kind of stock he should keep on his farm. There is as much 
 science and good philosophy in adapting the right kind of 
 stock to the soil, as there is in adapting the right kind of crops 
 to the soil. This is a consideration that is seldom thought of 
 by farmers as a class ; but when a farmer is about to commence 
 stocking his farm, this is a subject that is intimately connected 
 with his success and profits. 
 
 14. Let us particularize on this point. We will suppose, for 
 example, that the soil of a man's farm is a fertile and productive 
 one, and well adapted to raising heavy crops of all kinds of cereal 
 grain. If it will produce abundant crops of wheat, barley, oats 
 
33 TDE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 
 
 and Indian corn, wc liave the best assurance that it will yield 
 heavy ero})s of the best kind of grass. Therefore we may cou- 
 chide that the soil will support thoroughbred animals of the 
 largest size, whether they be neat cattle or sheep. If neat cattle 
 be selected to stock such a farm with, perhaps those that have a 
 large infusion of the Durham blood will be found quite as profit- 
 able, and doubtless more so, than any other breed that can be 
 selected. Rich soils will produce heavy burdens of grass; and 
 heavy crops of grass will surely make large and profitable cattle. 
 75. If a farmer prefer to raise sheep instead of neat cattle, 
 then it will be the wisest policy to select such breeds as will yield 
 the greatest profit, both for wool and mutton. Enough can be 
 written on this subject to make one or more long chapters, and 
 the details of managing sheep would occupy more space than 
 the limits of this work will afford. If a soil be rather thin, 
 and somewhat hilly, with barren and unproductive ridges, 
 knolls, low wet swales, and not at all adapted to the produc- 
 tion of wheat, and will yield only small crops of oats, Indian 
 corn, flax, and consequently a scanty herbage for animals, then 
 it will be policy to select a different breed of cattle which 
 have small frames and small bones, and which will make plump 
 and handsome animals for beef. In the line of neat cattle, 
 there is no better for such farms than the Devons, except it 
 be for dairy purposes. The Devons will thrive well on the 
 best of soil ; and on soils of an inferior character they will suc- 
 ceed nuich better than neat cattle of a larger breed, like those, 
 i'w example, that resemble the Durhams, that are nearly or quite 
 thoroughbred. Then, when the selection is made with reference 
 to sheep, in most instances full-blooded South Down, or a cross 
 between the Spanish or American Merino and the South Down, 
 will usually be found quite as successful and profitable, both for 
 wool and mutton, as any other breed. And they will be much 
 more profitable, in most instances, than the large-framed and loug- 
 wooled sheep. If the chief object bo wool, the American or 
 Spanish moriuo will be best. 
 
THE YOUNG FARMEr's MANUAL. 89 
 
 SHEEP VS. CATTLE ON GRAIN FARMS. 
 
 T6. This is a subject in which the taste and fancy of a farmer will 
 be involved, when we inquire concerning the profits in rearing the 
 different animals. It is important — as we have seen in a preced- 
 ing paragraph under Mixed Husbandry — that either sheep or 
 neat cattle should be raised on every farm in connection with 
 growing grain. Therefore, if a farmer's fancy and taste incline to 
 raising sheep, either for wool alone or for wool and mutton, more 
 than towards raising neat cattle, he will succeed the best in 
 raising sheep; and if he is what is colloquially denominated "a 
 great cattle man," he will find it most agreeable, as well as most 
 profitable, to raise neat cattle. 
 
 *I7. Raising either neat cattle or sheep will be found profit- 
 able in connection with raising grain, when the business is con- 
 ducted according to the most approved system of management. 
 If the clean profit is the paramount consideration, without any 
 regard to a man's taste and fancy for sheep or cattle, then we can 
 give a few leading thoughts on this point, which will be appro- 
 priate to this chapter, provided every part of the business is con- 
 ducted according to the details alluded to above. It is impos- 
 sible to state whether neat cattle will be more profitable than 
 sheep until we know something of the breeds of each kind of ani- 
 mals, and the prices of mutton, wool and beef. If a farmer be 
 required to operate on borrowed capital to a certain extent, and 
 he desire to make }:)i'ompt returns in a limited time, sheep will be 
 better adapted to his circumstances than neat cattle or horses. 
 The reason for this is obvious. Sheep will furnish an annual re- 
 venue from the sales of wool and mutton ; whereas it will be more 
 profitable to keep young cattle until they are three or four years 
 old before they are sold for beef. 
 
 78. Many farmers contend that sheep will be more profitable 
 than neat cattle on any farm, and under all circumstances; and 
 this coincides well with my own experience, if the right breed be 
 selected. Of course this includes not only profits which will 
 accrue from the sales of wool, mutton and beef, but the advan- 
 
40 THE YOUNG FAllMEH'S MANUAL. 
 
 tagcs arising from the fertilizing matter that will be left by sheep 
 and neat cattle, which will go to improve the fertiUty of the soil. 
 
 THEIR EXPENSES AND PROFITS CONTRASTED. 
 
 79. It is safe to assume in the outset, that a farmer can take 
 care of one or two thousand d<.)llars' worth of sheep, with less 
 labor and at less expense, and get quicker returns in trade, than 
 he can if his stock consists of one or two thousand dollars' worth 
 '^f neat cattle. Now, allowing that all the resources for manure 
 and fertilizers are carefully husbanded, whether one keeps neat 
 cattle or sheep; and allowing that each kind of animal will be 
 constantly abstracting fertilizing matter from the soil for making 
 bones, nmtton and wool, or bones, hair and beef, the difference 
 will not amount to any definite sum in favor or against either 
 kind of animal. 
 
 80. Sheep w^ill appropriate the bone-forming material of the 
 soil which consists of phosphates, to make their wool, bones and 
 mutton; and neat cattle will require a much larger supply for the 
 formation of comparatively larger frames. But when we couio 
 to take into consideration the labor and food required to keep 
 each kind of animal, there will be a difference in favor of sheep. 
 During the foddering season, a thousand dollars' worth of sheep 
 can be cared for and protected with comfortable sheds, and fed 
 with stalks, straw, hay and grain, at a less expense than cattle. 
 For feeding neat cattle and horses, grain must be ground very 
 fine in order to obtain all the nourishment from it that it is 
 capable of yielding. But for feeding sheep — unless they have 
 poor teeth — it need not be ground, whether one feeds peas, In- 
 dian corn or oats; as sheep will masticate every kernel in a 
 thorough manner. But neat cattle and horses will not do this. 
 Therefore, here will be an additional expense of grinding the 
 grain, when cattle are kept. But during the summer, sheep 
 will require much more attention than cattle. 
 
 81. On a grain farm — so far as my own experience has ex- 
 tended — the straw of the cereal grain, the cornstalks, coarse 
 grain, and hay, may all be worked into manure with less labor 
 
THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAT^ 41 
 
 by keeping good slieep than with neat cattle or horses. By feed- 
 ing a flock of good wethers or dry ewes one pound of oil 
 meal each daily, or one pound of Indian corn, and all the good 
 straw they will consume, with a little hay or cornstalks, they can 
 be kept during the winter with a little labor. And with this 
 amount of feed they will thrive well, and make excellent mutton 
 after they have been allowed to feed on grass for ten or twelve 
 days. The great difficulty in keeping neat cattle will be in get- 
 ting a herd that will be as equal in size and feeding qualities as a 
 flock of sheep. For this reason, every animal must have a se- 
 parate stall; and perhaps a little different feed. Then there will 
 be the stalls to clean out and to litter every day, which will re- 
 quire no small amount of labor to keep every thing in proper or- 
 der. 
 
 BEGINNING FARMING OPERATIONS— FRUIT. 
 
 82. One of the first jobs which a farmer ought to perform, 
 when he commences farming operations, is planting fruit trees, es- 
 pecially apple trees. A man wants fruit of all kinds for his family; 
 and if he should raise more apples than he can dispose of advan- 
 tageously, they will be about as profitable as grain — when fed in 
 connection with it— for sheep, neat cattle, horses and swine. All 
 of these animals like apples; and they will often be of more value, 
 when consumed by stock, than to sell in the market. As we 
 do not propose to give details concerning the cultivation of fruit 
 of any kind, we must refer the reader to some of the leading 
 works on fruit culture, of which quite a number have been pub- 
 lished, and which cover ihe subject. There is one consideration, 
 however, that it will be well to mention in this place, which is se- 
 lecting such varieties as liave been found to succeed well in that 
 particular locality. But after a man has selected his varieties, the 
 true way is to go to the nursery, and get the trees and transplant 
 them as soon as may be practicable. I have seen so much careless- 
 ness and disappointment in procuring fruit trees, that I always 
 caution every one against purchasing them of itinerating dealers. 
 It will require but a short time to destroy the vitality of a fruit 
 
42 
 
 tree or vino, if the roots are exposed to frost, sunsliine, or drying 
 winds. 
 
 83. Let all fruit trees and vines be selected and dug up, and 
 transplanted with great care and despatch; and then, let the soil 
 be kept well cultivated around them, and good fruit may be rais- 
 ed in a few years. The soil needs to be well drained, either na- 
 turally or artificially; and to be pulverized to a good depth ; and 
 kept mellow on the surface. These things will be far more impor- 
 tant than manuring highly. 
 
 STOCK ON DAIRY FARMS. 
 
 84. On a dairy farm, the leading considerati )n will be to ob- 
 tain such cows as will yield not only the largest quantity of milk, 
 but those that will produce the greatest amount of butter and 
 cheese from the smallest quantity of feed. On this subject a 
 farmer will need to avail himself of all the experience and good 
 judgment of men of larger observation and extensive practice, 
 coupled with his own good judgment and knowledge. There is 
 as much difference in cows as there is in breeds, both as it res- 
 pects the quantity of the milk which they will give as well as the 
 quality. Where it is no object to raise calves, but simply butter or 
 cheese — something may be done towards selecting such cows as 
 will do much better on a poor soil than on soils that are very fer- 
 tile and will produce large grass. There ai'e thousands of acres 
 of land in almost every State where the soil is tliin and not 
 very productive, even for raising grass, which are denominated 
 " dairy farms." Now, on such soils there is no breed of cows 
 that will equal the " Native breed** of New England and New 
 York; and a good farmer would endeavor to secure such cows 
 as will the most nearly answer the purpose for which the native 
 breed were so well adapted, and it would be profitable to bestow 
 some care in the selection. 
 
 85. Durham cows should be avoided for such localities; and 
 even Devons will not be found to be most profit ible in such 
 places, although they will be more profitable than Durharas. 
 Boar in mind that some little, raw-')oned, nar.ow-che.tcd, homely 
 
THE YOUNTt farmer's MANUAL. 43 
 
 COW will often yield more cheese or butter than two other costly 
 animals of beautiful form and symmetry. Then, if the soil is ra- 
 ther poor and thin, a good Alderney cow, or one of the Ayrshire 
 breed, or a cross between these breeds with a full bloodiid Devon 
 bull, will doubtless secure a cow for dairy purposes of superior 
 excellence. Such cows will succeed well on the best of soils; 1)ut 
 their great excellence will appear, when confined to inferior soils, 
 where thorough-bred Durhams, or cows of som3 larger breed, will 
 not be found as profitable. But young farmers must not cherish 
 the erroneous idea, that any kind of cows will yield a large flow 
 of rich milk, for either butter or cheese, when they are required 
 to subsist on daisies, sorrel, and other coarse herbage. Cows must 
 have good feed in order to make good milk in large quantities. 
 
 86. Those cows that show every rib when they are giving a 
 full flow of milk, may be entered on the list with those that we 
 know by actual trial to yield more butter, more cheese, and ge- 
 nerally better calves, than those that will keep as fat as a young 
 bullock. The truth on tins point is, if a milch cow secretes all 
 the butter-forming miterial in forming fat and flesh, she cannot 
 yield much rich milk. And if she yield a liberal flow of rich 
 milk, she will almost always be very thin in flesh. Tliis is an excel- 
 lent test of good milch cows, when they have been well kept. 
 
 SELECTING TOOLS AND IMPLEMENTS. 
 
 *' A pitch-fork and dung-fork, a sieve, skep and bin, 
 A broom and a pail, to put water th-rein ; 
 A hand-birrov\-, wheel-barrow, sl.ovil and spade. 
 A curry-comb, blanket, and whip for a jade.'* 
 
 87. It is an old maxim, that ** almost any one can perform a 
 piece of work if he has the tools ; and that it requires an expert 
 mechanic to work without tools." But farmers must have tools 
 and implements that are adapted to their business, or they cannot 
 make any progress in cultivating the soil. It is very difficult to 
 make one tool or implement subserve more than one good [tur- 
 pose. For this reason, farmers find the expense of tools find im- 
 nleraeiits one of the greatest drawbacks in all their farming 
 operations. 
 
44 niE YOUNG farmer's manual. 
 
 88. In former days, when manual labor was cheap, farmers 
 were not required to invest so much capital in farm tools and im- 
 plements. But scarcity of laborers, and high wages, have compell- 
 ed them to purchase tools and implements with which their horses 
 may perform their hard labor. Without enumerating what tools 
 a farmer needs, we will make some practical suggestions concern- 
 ing their mechanical construction and adaptation to the end for 
 which they were designed. The great and leading idea should 
 always be, to select those tools that are most simple in their con- 
 Rtruction. Such machines are almost always the most durable, 
 theclieapest managed with the least difficulty, and th3 most effec- 
 tive. A tool or implement that is as complicated as a twenty- 
 four hour clock with a second-hand on its dial, will too often 
 require a machinist and a macliine-shop along with it to keep it 
 in running order. Read the Rules for Selecting Plows and other 
 Implements in Vol, I., giving full directions for the selection of 
 good farm and shop tools, their use and manufacture. 
 
 89. Another thing is, to procure s.ich only as a farmer ca i 
 use with his own forces. When a man is under the necessity ( f 
 rallying a numerous force of men and horses from a.nong his 
 Dcighbors to perform a small job, ho will always find that it will 
 absorb too large a proportion of his income to defray the expenses 
 of such large forces. On small farms, in order to make farming pay, 
 a farmer nmst calculate to do his own work as much as may be 
 practicable. I always considered it poor policy to hire teams and 
 laborers, at exorbitant prices, to perform labor that my own team 
 and hands could do by being a little longer about it. 
 
 RULES FOR SELECTING TOOLS. 
 
 90. In selecting a subsoil plow, for example, I always selected 
 one that I could draw with my own team, instead of choosing one so 
 large as to require all my own teams and a portion of my neigh- 
 bor's to draw it. Then every stick of timber and piece of iron in 
 it would be scrutinized to see if they were all sound and right. 
 The timber should be of the first-rate, second-growth, white oak 
 or white ash, or some other tough and hard wood, and frei) from 
 
TUE YOUNG FARlilER^S MANUAL. 45 
 
 knots and cross-grained places. I always looked with suspicion 
 on " the gold and glitter" — the nice paint, the beautiful pencil- 
 ing, bronzing and varnishing. All such things increase the ex- 
 pense of a machine; and, with the crowd of farmers, they often 
 eclipse the merits of an implement. Manufacturers understand 
 this point very well. They know that a few pennies' worth of 
 paint and varnish will often make a good sale for an inferior im- 
 I'lemcut. 
 
 91. Two m°n can perform almost any kind of labor on a farm, 
 if the management is only right. Instead of employing a ten- 
 horse power to do my thrashing with, I selected a two-horso 
 power; and by having my maohinery properly disposed in the 
 barn, one boy and myself, and two horses, always thrashed 
 the grain, cut the straw, cornstalks and hay; sawed the wood 
 with either the drag-saw, when sawing logs, or with the cireiilar- 
 saw when sawing cord-wood. The horse power stood on tlie first 
 floor, and the thrasher on the second floor. Stables were in the 
 basement. Now when we hauled buckwheat or barley from the 
 fleld, one man would pitch it to me as I fed it through the ma- 
 chine; and the straw of ten or twenty bushels of grain would be 
 carried away by horse power. Or, one man or boy would unbind 
 the sheaves and bring them from the mow to the machine. 
 With the same machine and help, my clover seed was thrashed 
 and hulled; and with two horses and a boy I would shell my 
 Indian corn, an'd clean it at the rate of seventy bushels per 
 hour, by the clock. By having such tools and implements as two 
 men and two horses could work with, all my thrashing appeared 
 to cost but a trifle in comparison to what the expense would have 
 been had it been done by a large machine, with a large gang of 
 hands and horses. According to one system, the expenses will 
 be large, but the job will soon be done ; while according to 
 the other system, steady and profitable employment will be 
 fjrnished for both horses and men, and a large bill of expense 
 raved. Read Appropriation of Forces of the Farm, in Vol. I. 
 
 92. In selecting hand tool^, my aim was co understand first 
 v.hut I wanted — how a tool should be made — and then selc:t 
 
46 THE YOUNG FAPJI^r's MANUAL. 
 
 the one that would approximate the nearest to what my ideas 
 were of a perfect tool. Simplifity of construction, durability, ef- 
 ficiency of operation, substantiality, and managability are all im- 
 portant considerations in the selection of any farm tool or imple- 
 ment. Wherever tools and implements are illustrated or describ- 
 ed in the " Young Farmer's Manual," in either volume, theii 
 excellencies will be noted. 
 
 WHY TOOLS AND IMPLEMENTS NEED PROTECTION. 
 
 93. I have heard it remarked, scores of times, that "tliose 
 implements are all iron; and it will not injure them to be exposed 
 to the weather." But it does injure tools to be exposed to ihe 
 influences of the weather, even when they are made entirely ot 
 iron and steel; and it is not unfrequently the case, that the 
 weather uses up more tools and implements than the work 
 wliich they do. Let a shovel, spade, broad-hoe, or any othei 
 similar tool, be exposed to a long storm of rain, and sunshine 
 afterwards, and in many instances a scale of rust will be formed 
 on the surface so thick that it will peel off. Now, it would re- 
 quire much more use than we are wont to suppose to wear off as 
 much of the surface as the thhi scale of rust would destroy. And 
 besides this, a rusty, rough surface will often render a good tool 
 inefficient in its operation; and much more force will be required 
 to use it. This is particularly true of plows, cultivators, and 
 the tools already mentioned. And, in addition to the injury that 
 the iron and steel receives, the wooden portions swell and shrink 
 by being exposed to wet and dry weather. When the surface of 
 wood is wet with water, it raises the grain of the wood; and 
 when it is dried, either by sunshine, fire or wind, the grain never 
 settles back again as firmly and as smoothly as it was before it 
 was wet. This renders the surface rough. And further more, 
 every time the surface is wet, the rain dissolves and washes out a 
 bmall portion nf the solul»lo part of the wood. This sngu'osts the 
 importance of covering the surface with a coat of good }):ii!ib 
 tnat will exclude the wet, and thus keep the surface from expiiui- 
 iig and contracting. 
 
THE YOUXG farmer's 5IANUAL. 47 
 
 94. The bearings aud the boxes of mowers, and reapers, and 
 other kinds of machinery, have often been fitted np with so much 
 care that one can see the color of his eyes in the neatly-polished 
 surface. By having the surface of such parts of machinery very 
 lig-ht and smooth, much less power will be required to work it. 
 Kow, if a machine be exposed to rain and sunshine, these polish- 
 ed surfaces will become rusty very soon; and this rust will not 
 only make them run hard, but it will frequently make a bearing 
 wear out very fast. And if it causes it to wear only a little, the 
 wear will increase more and more the longer a machine is used. 
 My own practice always was to have every tool and implement 
 washed an*.', wiped clean and dry every day, as soon as it was not 
 needed for immediate use, and put in a dry place. And the polished 
 surfaces of such tools as plows, cultivators, shovels and broad- 
 hoes were always oiled with any kind of oil that did not contain salt 
 to prevent them rusting. S alt grease or salt oil will corrode a 
 polished surface much sooner than rain water. 
 
 KEEPING TOOLS IN ORDER. 
 
 95. The v.ooden portions of wagons, sleighs, harrows, and all 
 other kinds of farm implements, by a constant use will need re- 
 pairing, and many times a break-down may be avoided by a little 
 care and forethought. As repeated strains are brought to bear 
 on the various parts of an implement, the joints will render a lit- 
 tle; the heads of bolts will be crushed a little into the wood; 
 nuts will start loose a trifle, and be constantly working more 
 loose ; so that the first thing we know is, a nut is gone ; and a 
 serious break-down follows. We often see good vehicles and im- 
 plements working, jingling, rattling to pieces, from utter neglect 
 to keep them in ordinary repair, which would occupy no time at 
 all comparatively. I will illustrate my ideas. 
 
 96. All my vehicles — when I was farming — were examined 
 several times a year; and the nuts, rivets and bolts tightened up 
 as soon as one appeared at all loose. Every time an implement 
 was taken from the tool house, every nut, and bolt and key would 
 be examined closely, to see if they did not want to be screwed 
 
48 THE YOUNG FARMER^S MANUAL. 
 
 up or keyed up. And every two or three years the sun crncA? 
 would be puttied up, aud the surface covered with a good coat o) 
 paiiii. Thousands of dollars' worth of tools and implements rust 
 out annually, wliich would do good service for many years 
 to come were they protected from the weathar and kept 
 in proper order. The condition in which tools and implements 
 are kept, furnishes a correct index to the true character of tlieir 
 proprietor in point of business habits — promptness, efficiency, 
 industry and faithfulness. And if a farmer desires to have good 
 and effective tools and implements, he must not only protect tl:em 
 from the influences of the weather, but keep tliom in good re* 
 pair mechanically. 
 
 INJUDICIOUS MANAGEMENT. 
 
 91. In case a farmer does not care to labor only a small por- 
 tion of the time, let him employ implements that will require a 
 large gang of hands and horses to work them. But this system 
 of management is nothing more nor less than having a man to 
 perform a day's v/ork that one might do as well as not, instead 
 of remaining idle. Thousands of farmers diell a few hundred 
 bushels of their Indian corn in this expensive manner. They em- 
 ploy a man with a ten-horse power, with two or three men to 
 shovel in the ears; one to pitch the cobs away; two to shovel 
 away the shelled corn; two men, two wagons, and four horses to 
 haul the shelled corn to the barn ; one to drive the horses on the 
 machine; and usually one or two to look on. The aggregate ex- 
 pense I will not foot up here, as the reader can do it himself. 
 
 98. So it is with many other operations on the farm. Tho 
 management is decidedly faulty. If our good wives and daugh- 
 ters should invite in a I'nrge circle of their neighbors to help 
 them cook up bread, biscuit, pies and cakes enough to last the 
 family from July to January, we should at once condemn 
 such a practice as wasteful and unnecessary, not consistcjit 
 with the duties of a judicious and careful manager of household 
 afiairs, and calculated to bring reproach on all who should be 
 guilty of such foolish acts. It is a farmer's business to man- 
 
THE YOUNG FAPvTJER S MANUAL. 40 
 
 age well; to wed the hands to industrious labor and the h.?cnl 
 to xseful knowledge. 
 
 99. Mereliants, mecharJcs, and men who are ( ngaged in other 
 business, if they are successful, are required to attend strictly to 
 it every day, from the end of one year to the otiicr. And thoy 
 are cjilled bad managers if they fail to do so. And it is equally 
 true of the fiirmer who employs a gang of laborers to finish up 
 a job of work in a few hours, and at a busy season of the year, 
 when his own teams and own forces would be able to do it by 
 and by, as well as to remain idle. It is decidedly bad manage- 
 ment to keep teams and laborers at even a low price, and then 
 hire tlie work done, that they could do as well as not. 
 
 100. The practice which the large proportion of farmers 
 adopt, of thrashing their grain at the latter part of harvest time, 
 when the other labors of the farm are very pressing, and when 
 wages are high, is very objectionable for several good reasons. 
 A-ud there is not much ground for justifying the practice. The 
 objections to this practice are, it is more expensive; because it is 
 done when- wages are high and help scarce. Another thing is, a 
 large amount of the straw will be wasted, which might otherwise 
 be fed out to slieej), and thus worked into mutton and good manure, 
 by which the fertility of the soil would be maintained. There- 
 fore wo see that all of these bad systems of management will 
 have a direct or indirect influence on the fertility of the soil. 
 
 HORSES VS. OXEN FOR FARM TEAMS. 
 
 " And horses or a yoke 
 Of i?asy oxen, with long-swaying gait, 
 Their large eyes dreaming o'er the rolling cud, 
 Convey the winter stores into the barn." 
 
 Read^s New Pastoral. 
 
 101. Why is there so little labor performed by oxen, when 
 compared with the amount that is done with horses ? Because 
 young farmers, boys, and hired men dislike an ox team. And 
 why this dislike ? Because they do not understand how to drive 
 oxen. And if a man is unskilled in driving oxen, an ox 
 team is a very disagreeable team to manage. On the con- 
 trary, if a man knows how to manage ox.n, an ox team is 
 
50 THE YOUNG FARMEr's MANUAL. 
 
 a very ajrreeabic team to use, not only for plo\vin<>- atid liarrowinj^, 
 but for every branch of farm labor. Most of our young men dis- 
 like oxen because they cannot ride so conveniently as they can 
 with horses. When they go to and from tlie ])asture, they must 
 ride. When they go to the field to work, they must ride; and if aa 
 implement will carry them, they must ride on it. If they ore to 
 haul a load of any kind, they must ride, or they don't iro. T,. y 
 must ride to their neighbor's, and they must ride to mill. Taey 
 must ride to the post office, and they must ride to the Ijlack- 
 smith's shop. They must ride to the well to get a drink, or havo 
 a boy to fetch it to them, and they must ride to the dinner table, 
 and ride to bed. And if they have horses the\ can do it. But 
 if oxen is their team, as they are not skillful enough to drive 
 them while riding, they are compelled to foot it. Therefore oxea 
 for a team are disagree ble to manage; and, in their estimation, 
 are not fit for a team at any rate; and they are unwilling to use 
 them, because they can't ride every rod. 
 
 TnEIR EXCELLENCIES COMPARED. 
 
 102. "When travelling on the highway, with a light load, 
 horses are preferable to oxen; because they can go and come 
 quicker, and with less fatigue than oxen, and because they are 
 better adapted to travelling on a trot than oxen are. This is the 
 only consideration of any real importance in which horses are su- 
 perior to oxen for a team. For plowing, harrowing, hauling ma- 
 nure, hay, grain, or loads of any kind about the farm, and for 
 hauling loads only a few miles, oxen that have been properly 
 broke in, and kept as oxen should be kept, v/ill plow as much 
 land, haul as many tons in a given period of time, as a sjmn of 
 horse?. 
 
 103. Let a yoke of oxen be cared for throughout the entire 
 year as well as horses are, and they will usually perform more 
 htird labor, and keep in better condition than a spau of horses. 
 It is not the work — the hard labor — that injures oxen. Tliey are 
 made for the very purpose of enduring hard labor. Cut it is 
 this incessant, detestable bawling and whipping, and goading, and 
 
THE YOUNG FARMEr's MANUAL. 51 
 
 worrying, by awkward and unskilful drivers, that uses up the fat 
 and flesh of well-fed oxen. When I was in my t^ens, a liired 
 man would usually go with the horses, and I with the ox team; 
 because I could drive the oxen day after day, at plowing or 
 any thing else, and keep up with the horsos, with ease to the 
 oxen ; but he was not able to do it. And whenever I kept an ox 
 team on my farm — as I did most of the time — they always kept 
 pace with the horses, at any and every kind of work, even in 
 the beat of summer. The great S3cret of the excellence of oxen 
 in the above cases was in using them gently, and in feeding them 
 well. I always found an ox team the most agreeable of the two 
 for doing almost any kind of farm labor. An ox costs only about 
 half as much as a horse. Then, you can feed an ox on grain all the 
 winter, with the assurance that it will not be lost. In case he 
 gets a leg broken, his flesh, tallow, and hide will bring as much 
 as if he had been fattened expressly for the shambles. There is 
 seldom anything the matter with an ox when he is well cared for. 
 
 104. But if you have a valuable horse, it will cost a vast deal 
 of time to take care of him, and an enormous amount of grain 
 and hay to keep him well. And the first thing you k;iow, he will 
 lie down, and kick up, and die, without even permitting you to 
 know that he was sick. Or he will have the glanders, the yellow 
 water, the bots, the inflammation of the lungs, or the something' 
 else, which will baffle all the skill of veterinarians; or a spavin 
 will spring up, unbidden, on one leg; or a ring bone will adorn 
 the other; or he has strained a joint somewhere or somehow — 
 no mortal can tell how, nor when, nor where. But nothing of 
 the kind occurs to oxen. Only feed them w^ell, treat them kindly, 
 give them a comfortable place to lie down in, where they may 
 enjoy quiet rumination and rest, and faithful old Buck and Bony 
 aix always on hand when the roll is called. 
 
 105. Deliver your lines to a careless man or boy, and the first 
 news will be: "The horses have run away, and made kindhng 
 wood of the wagon, torn the harness to tatters," and, perhaps, 
 ruined themselves. But let Buck and Bony be placed in the same 
 circumstances, and you will find them standing quietly in their 
 
52 THE YOUNG FARMEr's MANUAL. 
 
 places, wniting for further orders. Attempt to drive through the 
 dee]) snow with your liorscs, and, if they cannot walk or trot 
 smoothly along, down they drop, and there they will lie. And, 
 ten chances to one, if they do not wou.id their feet and legs almost 
 incurably when floundering in the snow, and acting more like a 
 beast of no intelligence than like a sagacious horse. Get them 
 in the mud above their fetlocks, and down they go again; and it 
 may be you can unhitch the traces, and unbuckle the harness, so 
 as toena))le them to rice; but if you cannot you can cut it to 
 pieces. And then faithful Buck and Bony must pull them out, 
 and haul out their load also. " 0, nonsense, perplexity nml 
 vexation personified I" you exclaim. " Put up the horses into llio 
 warm stable, and close the ventilators, and rub them dry, and 
 buckle on their blankets, and give them a half bushel of oatg 
 each, and don't take them out again until tlie weather is decent. 
 And let the oxen break the roads, and try tho miry way." 
 
 lOG. Now, ''Buck and Bony, can you go through that littb 
 drifty heap?" "Bah, bah I" and away they go like a steam 
 plow, or wallow like a dog. Sometimes thoy rest upon their 
 feet, and sometimes upon their bellies. But still they go on cooly, 
 quietly, steadily; and, if a little fatigued, tlioy don't drop down 
 on their butts and keel over, one on the top of the other, as hor.-;es 
 do. No, by no m':ans. They go on every time the word " go" is 
 given. And when they have returned to the stable all jaded 
 out, only give them a good feeding and a good bed, and they will 
 grow fat on it. And the heaves, bots, yellow water, founder, or 
 distem})er touches them not. 
 
 107. Again, hitcli the horses to a huge rock or log, and, if 
 it don't start right along, look out for floundering, rearini>- and 
 pitching, balking and jerking, and broken harness or whilfletrees, 
 without so much as moving the load a single foot. But only hitch 
 on the oxen, and, at the word, they pull with all their might, just 
 like a man, not once only, and then back up, and flounder, and 
 balk, and refuse to move after they have been unhitched, but 
 they will pull seventeen times; and, if the load is drawable, they 
 'will fetch it at last. 
 
THE YOUNG FARilKR's MANUAL. 53 
 
 OXEN SLOW IN THEIR MOVEMENTS. 
 
 108. When steers have been correctly broken in, they will 
 keep close up with horses as long as they travel on a fast walk. 
 But the course that is usually purs«:ied with young oxen is the 
 most successful way to make them intolerably slow. They are 
 hitclied to a huge, lumbering cart, heavy enough for a single tonni 
 to draw without carrjing any load, and, whanged around with it, 
 day after day, often being compelled to carry a good portion of 
 their load on their necks, and hold it for hours without any relief. 
 Such usage, with unmerciful kicking and pounding by human 
 stupidities, who have less intelligence than the oxen they drive, 
 destroys all their elasticity and spirits, and soon makes them like 
 an old, broken-down dray horse that moves like a bug in a tar 
 barrel. 
 
 109. S. A. Law says: * A common objection urged against 
 o^xen is, that they are constitutionally slow of motifm, and not to 
 be depended upon in the hurrying operations of the farm. The 
 fault is not a constitutional one, but the effect of injudicious 
 training. The common method of breaJdng steers tend.-: to make 
 their movements slow. They are usually put into the yoke when 
 two or three years old, and fastened to a yoke of old cattle, 
 rendered slothful by labor, where they are worked until ' broken,^ 
 and forced to accommodate their movements to the tardy motion 
 of the team that controls them. After having been tamed and 
 rendered obedient in this way, they are usually put to labor quite 
 too severe for their age and strength, and soon become * broken' 
 in s[;irit. It is not strange that under such treatment oxen are 
 sluggish in their movements." 
 
 110. The Devon breed of cattle has ever been esteemed for 
 its working qualities, being excelled hi speed, at the plow, or 
 even upon the road, by but few horses; and, in their native 
 country, it is said they are not unfrequently trotted, with an 
 empiy wagon, at the rate of six miles per hour. From this valu- 
 able stock many of the working oxen of New England are be- 
 lieved to have sprung — their color, form, and action betraying 
 
54 TTTE Youxn farmer's manual. 
 
 t.ioir ori,G:in. Well directed experiments liave demonstrated th;it, 
 with proper treatment and training, the difference in speed be- 
 tween horses and oxen, in farm labor, is very little. Sir John 
 Sinclair says, that the ox teams upon the farms in Wooden and 
 Mellendean, when along with the horse ploios, never lose a turn. 
 The issue of plowing matches throughout the country ha^, it is 
 bL'lieved, established the, fact, that oxon can plow a given space 
 of ground as quick and as loell as horses. In the early history of 
 tliis country, when the roads to the Hudson River were new, 
 passing through forests, and surmounting many of the steepsst 
 hills, my father employed heavy ox teams upon the roads in his 
 farming and lumbering operations. His ox teams, heavily loaded, 
 going and returning, made their trip to Catskill, a distance of 66 
 miles, in six days. Horse teams consume, on an average, the same 
 length of time now — travelling over roads, for the most part 
 carefully graded and well worked — roads ten miles a day easier 
 for a team than those in use from 1800 to 1812. The heavy 
 six-horse teams travelling upon the National Road make but fif- 
 teen miles a day. Ex-Governor Hill, of New Hampshire, says: 
 *' I have, at this time, cattle of my own raising which have been 
 taught to step quick; and, having worked in the same team with 
 horses, will travel as fast and plough as much in a day as the 
 same number of horses. A pair of these oxen will plow from one 
 and a half to two acres in a day, working eight hours. Oxen well 
 fed with hay, and a portion of Indian corn or meal, will, in the 
 heat of summer, stand it to work daily from eight to ten hours.'* 
 111. It occurs to me, at the present writing, that the last 
 yoke of oxen that I owned was broken by myself, and no one 
 was allowed to drive them but myself; and they would go to the 
 saw mill with a lieavier log than the horses hauled, and return 
 promptly with them. And, for many successive days, when they 
 were excellent beef, and were eating ov^er one bushel of corn meal 
 per day, they plowed with narrow furrow slices more than one 
 acre of ground daily, and cut a deeper furrow than the horses, 
 and never lost a round. And when I drove them five miles to 
 iiiaiket they outwalked the Uorsjs — wliich were good wa'kers — 
 
TA2 YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. Gj 
 
 more than half a mile. But their spirits had never been broken 
 by a huge ox cart. Another objection urged against oxen is: 
 
 OXEN CANNOT STAND THE HEAT. 
 
 112. So far as my experience and observation have been 
 brought to bear on this subject, this objection is not well grounded. 
 There is no fairness in condemning a thing before it has been al- 
 lowed to have a fair trial, under favorable as well as unfavor- 
 able circumstances. A correspondent of the Country Gentleman 
 says: " It is a common practice with farmers, during the hurry- 
 ing season of farm labor, to grain their horse teams, and take such 
 other care of them as tends best to strengthen their powers of 
 endurance; while it is a like common practice to feed no grain to 
 their oxen — tasking their utmost energies in field labor during the 
 day; and then leaving them to seek in the pasture, between sun- 
 set and sunrise, a restoration of their exhausted powers. Such 
 oxen are often found lolling in the forenoon ; and are pointed to as 
 an illustration of the fact, that oxen cannot endure heat! Smjrt- 
 hu: ;inder the lash, irritated by the bawling of an inexperienced 
 and cruel driver, with a hot sun over him, and a stomach filled 
 with green fermenting food, the ox faints at his labor, and very 
 wisL lookers-on shake their head and say, " he can't stand the 
 heat." Sage conclusion, very! In India and China, in the West 
 Indies, in South America, in Spain, everywhere under the tropics, 
 oxen are used for draught, or as beasts of burden, and their 
 powers of endurance are as great or greater than those of horses. 
 
 rHE EXPENSE OF OXEN VS. HORSES. 
 
 113. Notwithstanding I hinted at the expense of the ox and 
 horse teams in a former parugraph, (108,) I have thought it im- 
 portant to sum up the expenses of each team, so that the reader 
 may see at a glance how they compare in cash value. Allowing 
 the original 'urchase of a span of horses to be three imndred 
 dollars, theii 'arness, whiffletrees and neckyoke forty dollar?, 
 we have $34b 00; while a yoke of good oxen — not the most 
 valuable — will cost one hundred and fifty dollars; and their 
 
5() THE YOUNG FARMER's MANUAL. 
 
 yoke and cliain about eight more, making $158 00. I hr.ve net 
 computed the prices of the best horses, nor the best oxen, but 
 only those of an ordinary quality, for the purposes of a team. 
 Then the expense of keeping an ox team and a horse team will 
 be very different, with different farmers. I have seen it stated, 
 ])y writers on this subject, that the expense of keeping oxen and 
 horses will be about as two to three; or, in other words, " it will 
 cost one third more to keep a horse team than an ox team, when 
 each performs the same amount of labor." 
 
 114. But this estimate does not coincide with my experience. 
 I am wiUing to concede, that if an ox team and horse team were 
 restricted to a limited allowance, a yoke of oxen would wear 
 out a span of horses in a short time, allowing the amount of feed 
 and labor of each team to be equal. When they are fed with 
 unground grain, as horses masticate the grain better than oxen 
 do, it would require more to feed the oxen. But if it be ground 
 into fine meal, the difference will be much in favor of the oxen; 
 because, they will then extract more nourishment from the feed 
 than horses. And, so far as hay and grass are taken into esti- 
 mate, my experience is that an ox will consume quite as much 
 hay and grass as a horse. And if the oxen are large, and horses 
 not very large, the oxen will eat the most. I always found that 
 my working oxen, weighing eighteen hundred pounds each, when 
 they were plowing side by side with my horses, weighing only 
 eight or nine hundred pounds each, would consume nearly twice 
 as many pounds of hay, meal and roots — and lick their mangers 
 for more — as the horses. 
 
 TRAFFICKING IN WORKING OXEN. 
 
 115. I am personally acquainted with a good farmer who 
 gave me the following facts, but protested against using his 
 name. In the winter of 1864 he purchased a yoke of oxen for 
 two hundred dollars. As he was a good feeder, he kept them 
 til riving constantly. They did all his plowing, and hauling his 
 manure, on a farm of seventy acres. In June he sold them for 
 two hundred and sixty dollars; and the same day purchased 
 
THE YOUNG FARMEr's MANUAL. 57 
 
 another yoke for one hundred and ninety dollars. After keep- 
 ing tlicm a few months, he sold them also for beef, and pur- 
 chased another yoke soon. By this system of trafficking, he 
 cleared over three hundred dollars in one year on his working 
 oxen. A practical farmer says in the Country Gentkmin: 
 * When a small farmer buys a yoke of oxen for what one good 
 horse will cost, he most likely gets a yoke in the bargain; so that 
 with the expense of a few shillings for a chain, he is raady to 
 hitch on to anything and go to work. Then the principal part of 
 his work being in the spring, he can, by giving them good feed 
 through the summer, and pumpkins and roots, or a little grain iu 
 the fall, and perhaps the fore part of the winter, make them sell 
 for beef for from $25 to $50 more than he paid for them. This 
 course may be followed on all farms where a yoke of oxen can do 
 the work; and in numerous instances the turning point between 
 success and failure may be found in the choice of a team to begin 
 with. If the money that it costs to buy and rig out a span of 
 horses for business, and generally for riding around in more or 
 less style, over and above the cost of oxen, had been paid on 
 the farm instead of having been paid for perishable property, 
 it would have made a great difference in the final results. 
 I have succeeded en a small poor farm, where almost every one 
 prop!ie!>ied my failure; and where I am satisfied, that, had I tried to 
 buy and keep a good horse team, from the commencement, success 
 at the best would have been much more difficult, if not impossible. 
 By following this course, and selecting oxen that are good feeders, 
 it need cost but little, if any, more to make a yoke of oxen fay.* 
 beef, than itwould to keep a span of horses in good condition; thus 
 giving a profit of from $25 to S50, and sometimes even doubling 
 ).he money on the oxen, while the horses are wearing out. 
 
 THE ULTIMATE VALUE OF OXEN AND HORSES. 
 
 116. The above view of the subject commends itself strongly 
 to every farmer who keeps more than one team. When oxen 
 are kept as an ox team should be, they will perform a vast 
 
58 TFIR YOUNG FARMEr's MANUAL. 
 
 amount of hard labor annually; and be constantly increasing in 
 cash value until they are from six to ten years of age, according 
 to their aptitude to fatten ; their value then does not wear otit 
 with their ability to perform labor; but when their service ends, 
 they can be prepared for the butcher, and will bring as large an 
 addition to the purse as they would in the palmiest days of 
 their strength and activity. Here is where the value of an ox 
 counts up largely. But how much is a ringboned, brokeri- 
 winded, chest-foundered, blind, poll-eviled and spavined horse 
 worth ? Let experienced farmers answer this question. 
 
 lit. A practical farmer of New England, where oxen were 
 foi-mcrly used much more than horses, penned the following 
 tlKHuhts for the Albany Cultivator: " Ox teams, from the age 
 of four to eight years, when constantly laboring, are just as con- 
 stantly increasing in value. Experience having shown that well- 
 fed oxen, when steadily worked^ increase in weight as fast as thoso 
 lying unemployed; and when too old for service, with good pasture 
 for a short time, are worth their original cost in the shambles. 
 Oxen are also considered less liable than horses to diseases of a 
 fatal clir.racter, or those producing permanent infirmity. I need 
 not speak of tlie value of an old, worn-out horse; nor of the total 
 loss which is incurred by the owner when his horse fractures a 
 limb or dies from disease. While oxen, when too old for the 
 labors of the field, have still a value sufficient to rcjdace them 
 by a young and vigorous team, horses worn out or diseased are 
 worse than nothing .'" 
 
 * ABOUT TEAMS FOR AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES. 
 
 118. A farmer cannot reasonably expect to have a heavy, 
 strong draught horse and a fast carriage horse combined in one 
 animal. If it is desirable to keep a horse that will travel very 
 fast before a carriage, he must not allow him to haul many heavy 
 loads, nor to do much hard plowing, as such work will thicken 
 the muscles and stilieii the joints, and deprive him of (he natural 
 elasticity of his limbs, and make him slow i'.i lu3 u-jveiu-nts. 
 
THE YOUXG farmer's MANUAL. 59 
 
 Where a man keeps only one or two horses, it is very desirable to 
 keep such only as are well adapted to all kinds of work. And 
 even in animals of this description there is always a great choice. 
 The aim should be to secure horses of a good, medium size, with 
 heavy carcasses, short-legged, deep and broad shoulders, heavy 
 behind, short on the back, and of strong form and symmetry in 
 every respect. Such horses will travel well on the highway, both 
 with a load or with an empty carriage; and fur any kind of 
 heavy draught on the farm, or for wielding agricultural imple- 
 ments, they will usually move with a steady and desirable gait. 
 
 HEAVY TEAMS BETTER THAN LIGI[T ONES. 
 
 119. Most of the operations of the farm, with teams, require 
 a stea ly and rather slow uiovement. When a heavy load is to 
 be pnt in motion, it will require the expenditure of less force, and 
 lighter chains, and harness and whiffletrees, to draw it when an 
 animal is heavy and draws steady, than will be required when 
 an animal is light and quick in its movements. A light horse 
 may be as strong as one that is nearly twice as heavy; but he 
 could not haul a load with the same ease as a heavy horse, and 
 would need a stronger harness and stronger whiffljtrees than a 
 heavy horse. And why ? For the following philosophical 
 reasons: When a light horse draws a load he is obliged to start 
 50 rapidly and move so fast in order to secure a momentum equal 
 to that of a heavy horse when moving slowly, that he soon be- 
 2omes fatigued and exhausted by performing, by muscular force, 
 !in operation that ought to be performed, in a measure, by the 
 momentum of an animal. On the contrary, a heavy horse will 
 haul the same draught; and instead of doing it with the force o? 
 his muscles, as a light horse does, the momentum of his body will 
 move a portion of the load, and aid in keeping it moving. 
 
 120. A horse that weighs eight hundred pounds may effect, 
 by means of his momentum, as much as if he weighed sixteen 
 hundi-ed pounds. But, la order to do it, he must necessarily move 
 just twice as fast. This increase of gait, therefore, will require a 
 i^reater expenditure of muscles, and there \A\\ be much more 
 
GO TnE YOUNG farmer's manual. 
 
 danger of breaking some part of the gearing. When a team is 
 lieavy, and move at a moderate gait, their momentum will do 
 mncli towards keei)ing the load or draught i.i motion, whereas a 
 light team will be required to do it with their muscles, which ic 
 the most fatiguing manner of performing any kind of labor. 
 
 WHAT KIND OF ANIMALS TO AVOID FOR TEAMS. 
 
 121. There are two kinds of animals, both of the horse and ox 
 kind, that it will be good policy always to avoid, because they 
 are unprofitable to keep, as well as disagreeable to mamigo. 
 One of these kinds may be described as large-framed, overgrown, 
 long-backed, pot-bellied, Shanghai-shanked, ill-formed, that con- 
 sume vast quantities of food, and never become fat. Sue', 
 animals may make good teams, so far as labor alone is concerned; 
 but, as a general rule, their dispositions are not as agreeable a;- 
 those described in a former paragraph. This holds good with 
 both oxen and horses. 
 
 122. Another kind to be avoided is small, ill-shapen-, nirrow- 
 chcsted, light and narrow behind, cow-necked, slender-limbed, 
 dancing and prancing, and unsteady-gaited animals. Such animals 
 are almost always hard keepers, as well as difficult to m.xnage. 
 It seems almost impossible to teach them to draw heavy lo;;ds 
 steadily, and it requires constant care to control them success- 
 fully. If they have been idle for a few days, and if they feel 
 a little refractory when they are hitched to a heavy dranght, 
 away will go your traces or whiffletrees, or something else, 
 because they attempt to perform a portion of their labor V)y 
 the momentum of their bodies, instead of doing it by muscular 
 force. Read the precedhig subject on this point. When a team 
 draws steadily, a chain or traces, or small whiffletrees, will hold to 
 haul a heavy load, that would not be strong enough to move 
 it an inch in case a team should start with a jerking motion. 
 
 MARES vs. GELDINGS FOR TEAMS. 
 
 123. With some men there exists a deeply-seated prejudice 
 against mares as a team for any purpose; and if they keep a mare 
 
THE YOUNG FARMERS MANUAL. 61 
 
 on tlic farm, she is kept for no other purpose than for breeding. 
 But when a farmer has only a few acres of plow land, and prefers 
 to keep a horse team iuste;id of oxen, he can adopt a system of 
 manngement with a team of good mares tliat will be more profit- 
 able, perhaps, than any other kind of team. The details of this 
 system are practised by many successful farmers in the following 
 manner; and when I commenced farming operations I practised it 
 also: Obtain two good breeding mares, and endeavor to have 
 them drop their foals before they will be needed to do the field 
 labor in the spring; or, they may drop their foals a week or two 
 after the spring labor has been done, and thus avoid the necessity 
 of putting them immediately to woik. 
 
 124. With proper management a man ma^ raise two good 
 colt? every year, without any detriment whatever to his team or 
 mares. Bat this afiirmation is predicated on the suppo3ition, that 
 they will be used by careful hands. But, if they are to be 
 slammed and jammed around by every Tom, and Pat, and Jim, 
 that will use a mare as roughly as they would a wheelbarrow, 
 such a team would be a very unprofitable one. In case a farmer 
 desires to keep two teams of horses, it is a good practice, which 
 many good farmers have adopted, to keep one team of breeding 
 mares and another team of geldings, that will always be ready 
 to perform the heavy work, and the mares with colts perform the 
 liglit work. Two good colts annually will defray a good p.irt of 
 the expense of keeping a team through the year. 
 
 MULES vs. HORSES AND OXEN. 
 
 125. Some farmers have contended that mules will make the 
 best and most economical team. But, after making inquiry with 
 Gpecial reference to this subject, for more than twenty years, and, 
 after reading with care and impartiality all that I have met with 
 VAX this sul)ject, I have come deliberately to the conclusion, that 
 I would not have a mule team on my farm, because a yoke of 
 L^ood oxen will be infiiRtely more agreeable, as well as profitable, 
 than mules. 
 
 126. The chief arguments for and against mules may be thua 
 
C2 niE YOUNG farmer's manual. 
 
 summed up. Tlioy are longer-lived, tougher, will subsist o.i 
 coarser fare, and endure greater hardship than either oxen or 
 horses. On the contrary, it is said of them almost universally, 
 tliatthere are really but two suitable places for mules — tiie stable 
 'and the harness. They are no. as tractable as either oxen oi 
 horses, and they are much more hable to be vicious — to kick, 
 balk, and to be unruly in the field. If a farmer has an ignobla 
 •nd outlandish set of drivers — such as were accustomed to drive 
 raules in the Slaves States before the civil war commenced — w!o 
 must, of necessity, kick and pound a team about so much every 
 day, it would be advisable for him to obtain a pair of mules. My 
 old primer used to say: 
 
 " A Dutchman rides a stupid mule, 
 A stubborn beast that few can rule.** 
 
 WE MUST HAVE HORSES. 
 
 127. Whatever may be the expense of raising or of procur- 
 ing them, most people must and will have horses. If they cost 
 three times as much as beautiful oxen, horses must take the pre- 
 cedence. It appears to be utterly incompitible with the pre- 
 dominating characteristics of the people of this age to desire to 
 fide — to ride fast — and, therefore, they want and will have those 
 animals to draw them whose speed will be the neai'est equ:il to 
 the railroad cars. Men of extensive business, whose time is worth 
 fifty cents, or one dollar per hour, need a fast horse to carry 
 them from place to place; and it is right and proper that they 
 should have hor-es that can travel fast. 
 
 128. But, says one: " We must have horses to cultivate hoed 
 crops, and to rake hay with, and to perform many other kinds 
 of labor, and to draw our carriages and famJies to meeting and 
 to social gatherings.*' But oxen would do all this, if it were oidy 
 i\\Q fashion to ride after them. If it were only the fashion for a 
 man to have his pleasure carriage drawn by a Durham bull, or by 
 a fat steer, instead of a horse, then it would be as droll and odd 
 to ride after a horse as it now seems to savor of oddity for a 
 female to be seen destitute of hoop skirts or long-ti-ailiug dresses. 
 
THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 63 
 
 Americans must and will have horses, whatever the expense may 
 be. 
 
 MAKE YOUR HORSES PERFORM YOUR HARD LABOR. 
 
 '* Honor to labor, it givetli health; 
 Honor to labor, it giveih wealth; 
 Honor to labor of bD'Jy or mind, 
 Which hath for its object th^ good of mankind,-' 
 
 129. No intelligent farmer has an}' business to perform heavy 
 labor with his hands that cm ba done conveniently with a liorse,. 
 or with oxen. Horses are made to labor — to do the bidding — 
 the drudgery — the toil — -in fine, to do the service of mankind. 
 They are good for nothing else only to help us work; and if we do 
 not lay out the work for them, they are nothing but a bill of ex- 
 pense. The Creator knew well that we need some strong and 
 obedient animals to carry our burdens, and carry us; therefore 
 He gave us the horse, in whom are combined more desirable quali- 
 ties for a team than can be found in any other animal. L^t us 
 endeavor to honor our calling by bringing our horses more ef- 
 fectually into our daily labors. 
 
 130. Oiie horse is calculated — in agricultural dynamics — to be 
 equal to about five men. But, at many kinds of labor, a 
 span of horses will perform with ease more than twelve strong- 
 men, even when the men labor very hard. Where, then, is the 
 propriety of keeping a span of fat hoi'ses, capable of performino- 
 more than ten msn in a day, and letting them stand idle, and see 
 a little, feeble man toil ten or twelve long hours to perform wliat 
 they could do with ease in less than one hour? It is almost a 
 wonder tliat some of our teams do not speak out, like B Uaam's 
 ass (Num. xxii. 28), and rebuke us for our unaccountable stupidity; 
 and ask the privilege of working a little every day at soraetliin"-, 
 which would afford them healthy exercise, and bring great relief 
 to their owners. We all have minds to care for, as well as bodies; 
 and the man who neglects the proper cultivation and improvenunt 
 of his mind, and distinguishes himself in the world only by making 
 a horse of his body, wrongs himself, his friends, his country, and 
 hi:-. God. A man is the very higliest order of intelligent beings, 
 
fi4 THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 and he should maintain his superiority by laying out labor for his 
 horses, that are given to him for servants. Horses can turn the 
 grindstone, do the churning, pitch our hay, hoe our corn, dig our 
 potatoes, and do ahnost anytliing else, anl do it with ease, and 
 keep fat too, if we will only think for tliem, and give them the 
 word to go ahead and to stop. Oar business is to think, and it 
 is theirs to do the work. 
 
 131. Wiien I see a little mm lifting and lugging, and sweat- 
 ing and tugging, hour after hour, to get a few tons of hay on to 
 a high mow, while he has two fat horses standing idle, which could 
 elevate it in a few minutes, I always think what a dunce you are 
 to make such a beast of burden — such a long-eared jade of your- 
 self — when the Creator has given you such strong animals to per- 
 form your hard labor I You are frustrating the design of the 
 Almighty by making yourself a horse, when he intended that you 
 should reflect the im ige of the Creator, and exercise dominion over 
 the beasts of the field, atid require them to perform your menial 
 service I 
 
 REARING IMPROVED STOCK 
 
 132. Lies at the foundation of all progressive agriculture. It 
 does not cost as much to fat a pig of somo improved breed as it 
 will to fatten one of the alligator or landpike breed, whose 
 snouts are long enough to reach througli the fence to tlie second 
 row of corn. And this branch of agriculture ought to constitute 
 one of the principal sources of profit to the farm jr. If a farmer 
 occupies a dairy farm, and his chief object is milk, for either 
 cheese or butter, he will find it a source of great profit to obtain 
 the best cows for milk. And, in connection with this branch of 
 business, it will be good economy to fatten a few swine annually 
 which should be of the very choicest breed. Fattening pork and 
 dairying are Lntiniately connected, as swine are needed to con- 
 sume ihe butter milk and wliey. 
 
 133. Again: if a farmsr prefers tj raise slieep of any kind, 
 either for wool or for nmttoii, or bath, econoaiy would dictate 
 that he should obtain such animals only as will be the best 
 adapted to the object in view. The best is, in all cases, the 
 
THE YOUNG FAPvMEh's MANUAL. 65 
 
 most profitable for either of the purposes; and if he desires 
 to raise good horses for market, or neat cattle for the shambles, 
 the first stop should be to dispose of every breed of an infe- 
 rior character, and then obtain such only as possess excellent 
 characteristics for the purposes intended. If farmers take pains 
 to breed from the best animals, and to rear thorn in the best 
 manner, they will always be sure of the best price for them, pro- 
 viding they fix that price on them at the time of sale. 
 
 I have space here only to caution farmers against a very com- 
 mon error all over our country at the present time, of employing 
 grade male animals in raising stock of any kind. By using the 
 services of full-blooded males — aither stallions, bulls or bucks^ 
 the progeny is, almost Mhvays, very good. But by selecting males 
 from their progeny for propagating their kind, the improvement 
 will be of a retrogressive character. 
 
 134. A few years ago, many farmers employed the services 
 of a full-blooded Durham bull with their common cows; and the 
 improvement always exceeded the anticipations. Had they con- 
 tinued as they commenced, they would have succeeded well. Bat 
 after taking one good step in a good direction, they stopped, 
 and commenced breeding from an inferior animal. This has been 
 the case with sheep as well as with neat cattle. Let it be re- 
 membered, that in order to be successful in rearing improved 
 stock of any kind, it will be important to breed from a thorough- 
 bred male, that will transmit his excellencies to his progeny with 
 great certainty, and not to breed from a grade male animal of 
 any kind. 
 
 WHAT A SMALL FARMER MAY DO. 
 
 135. In order to show that something tangible may be done 
 at rearing improved stock, I transcribe a paragraph from an ad- 
 dress, by lion. Geo. Vail, by which it will be seen how soon a 
 farmer may raise up a herd of the very choicest animals : " ¥oi' this 
 purpose I cordially invite farmers to call at my tUrni and ex uniao 
 a cow of the Durham breed, which I purchased in the maiitli 
 of May, 1858, for $125. The animal I allude to was then a two 
 year-old-heiiVr. with a heifer calf at her side, dropped a few days 
 
66 THE YOUNG FAP.MEr's MANUAL. 
 
 previous. From tliis heifer and her then calf I Imvo raised six 
 calves- four heifers and two bulls — making- this stock now eight in 
 number. Three of them are now witli calf, with a promise of in- 
 creasing the number to eleven animals the coming spring. T 
 make this statement simply to encourage sucli farmers as decline 
 raising improved stock, on the ground that it costs too much 
 money to make the first p-.irchase, to prove to them that with 
 an outlay of $125 they may in four or five years rear a pretty 
 large herd, as to numbors, provided they d) not dispose of any 
 of the increase. While rearing an in^i^roved herd, they can dis- 
 pose of the old animals to make room for the the new herd." 
 
 CULTIVATING LARGE VS. SMALL FARMS. 
 
 " 'Tis folly in th' extreme to till 
 Exttusive fields ami till them "11; 
 For more one well-tilled acre yields 
 Than the wide breadUh of half-tilled fields." 
 
 136. I believe that farms are very apt to be too small for 
 profitable cultivation. I know that large farms are seldom cul 
 tivated as well as small ones are; and they are seldom propor- 
 tionally as productive as small ones. But where is the cause of 
 it ? Who, or what, is in the fault ? It is not, certainly, in the 
 soil, but in the cultivation of it. Suppose we divide a large 
 farm into several small ones, and let different proprietors own 
 and cultivate it. As a general rule, the productiveness of the 
 soil will be very much increased in a few seasons. And why ? 
 Simply because it is cultivated more thoroughly than it was 
 when it all belonged to one fariiL 
 
 137. The expense of cultivating small farms is often much 
 greater proportionally than the expense of cultivating large farms. 
 And were it not for this single consideration, we should coincide 
 with those who advocate cultivating small farms in prefeience to 
 large ones. Let us particularize on this point. A farm3r must 
 have a good team, and a full set of tools and implements, whether 
 he has one acre or one hundred to cultivate. If his farm is small 
 there will be many implements, very essential, which will not be 
 used more than one or two days iu a year, the use of which will 
 
THE YOUNG FARMEr's MANUAL. 6t 
 
 not be an equivalent for the interest on their cost. This will be 
 found true of a grain drill, mower or reaper, and some other im 
 plements. Then, if the team consists of horses, they must be 
 kept well, whether there is any work for them to do or not. But 
 if a team consists of oxen, they will be improving in value 
 whether they work or not. But with a horse team there will be 
 a much greater expense, proportionally, on a small farm, than on 
 a large one, on account of the expense of keeping a team iu 
 idleness. 
 
 138. If a man desire to keep stock, his operations will always 
 be contracted and cramped, if he have a small farm. A man 
 will take care of one hundred sheep in about the same time that 
 will be requu-ed to take care of only ten. And unless he prac 
 tices the " soiling" system— keeping them in a stable or yard — 
 the expense of a small farm will usually be much increased by 
 fencing the farm into smaller fields than are necessary on large 
 farms. The only plausible objection to large farms is, farmers- 
 are quite too apt to attempt to perform more than can be done 
 in good time with the limitpd amount of help which they employ. 
 If the soil of large farms were to receive the same attention, the 
 same amount of manure per acre, and the same amount of good 
 cultivation, it would be most profitable to cultivate large farms. 
 
 CONFIDENCE IN THE SOIL, 
 
 139. And confidence in one's ability to cultivate it in such a 
 manner as to make it pay well, and at the same time keep it good 
 is what American farmers need more than anything else. When 
 farmers are about to commence a system of improvement by 
 underdraining, there are but few, comparatively, who really feel 
 confident that the expense will all be returned, with double in- 
 terest, in a short time. So it is when they apply fertilizers. They 
 are distrustful, and filled with serious apprehensions that *'it will 
 not pay" after all. This want of confidence in the soil too often 
 induces them to slight a good job, because they have not that 
 confidence in the productiveness of the soil which is essential to 
 success. ^See this subject inoj-e fully elutddated in the Chanter on 
 
68 THE YOUNG farmer's manual. 
 
 the Management of Soils.) A practical farmer of New England 
 writes: " What is required to accomplish ihe needed reform in 
 the modes of management upon New England farms is, mure faith 
 in the land. The cultivator must come to a realizing sense that 
 profit, which is the sum and substance of success, comes not so 
 much from the careless cultivation of a large number of acres as 
 from the thorough cultivation of a few. And in that word " tho- 
 rough" is included everything which relates to managing, pulver- 
 izing, and clearing the land. Tliere are what are called " small 
 farmers," cultivating from eight to ten acres of land, whose annual 
 return in cash would excite the envy of many who cultivate our 
 largest farms; and yet they accomplish such results under greater 
 disadvantage than the krge farmer, who achieves little in com- 
 parison. They do not hesitate sometimes to bestow upon the 
 land, in a single year, manure to the full value of the land itself; 
 and they seldom fail of their reward, in the shape of immense 
 crops; while the old-fashioned cultivators are toiling over a vast 
 surface to gather the scanty products of the old system." 
 
 SMALL FARMS AlID BETTER CITIZENS. 
 
 140. Although it may be less expensive, comparatively, to 
 cultivate large farms, still there is another consideration of more 
 noble importance than simply dollars and cents, which eveiy good 
 citizen must admit to be a worthy object, which is, the improve- 
 ment of the farmer himself as well as his soil. Could our country 
 be divided up into small farms — say about fifty acres each, and be 
 occupied and cultivated by men with their rising families, we 
 should not only see a marked improvement in the productiveness 
 of the soil, but in the farmers themselves, when taken as a class. 
 If a man will be satisfied with a good competence — with a good 
 living — with having in his possession an abundance to make him 
 comfortable, and a little to throw into the box of charity, the 
 true way is to cultivate a small farm. 
 
 141. I commenced on a iarm of twenty-five acres, and per- 
 formed, with my own hands, all the labor that one man conltl do 
 conveniently during sunnner and winter; and can now revert to 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER's MANUAL. 69 
 
 that portion of my agricultural career as the most pleasant and 
 profital)le part of my whole life up to the present writing, Dec. 
 1864. It is true that sometimes I was required to labor very 
 hard. But after the few days of hard labor I would feel as 
 cheerful and happy as ever. If I had a field to plow, or sow, I 
 always knew exactly how well or how poorly it was done. If m)' 
 animals were fed, I knew whether they had enough or only half 
 enough to eat. And so it was with every other operation of the 
 farm. There was j9/e^52<.re in all the labors of the farm. But as 
 soon as I enlarged my farm, and it became necessary to employ 
 men and boys to aid me, almost everything would go like a black 
 bear over a brush fence — tail first. 
 
 A WORKING farmer's PARADISE. 
 
 142. If it is a farmer's ruling passion to get money only, 
 money first, money intermediately, and money last; and, if the 
 possession of a great deal more money than he can ever spend 
 advantageously or economically, will afford him more pleasure 
 than a well-cultivated little farm and a comfortable home, with 
 beautiful surroundings, then let him obtain a large farm. But, 
 let him remember, that he must have perplexity or vexation with 
 it. 
 
 143. The following thoughts were prepared for the columns 
 of the Country Gentleman^ which are no less important now than 
 they were then: We hold that fifty acres of good land, or that 
 which can be made good, is enough, unless a man wishes to slave 
 out his whole life in toil — digging till his old back is as crooked 
 as a rainbow— till his muscles crack with the rheumatism, and 
 his joints snap with anchylosis. Some penetrating genius has 
 discovered that man has but one life to live on earth. Then, 
 why toil incessantly for the bread that perisheth ? In the sweat 
 of our brow are we to get our bread; but don't let us sweat im- 
 moderately for mammon. Enough is all we can use. We kno\y 
 of a snug little farm of 34 acres of cultivated land, and 17 of 
 rocky pasture, which yields a profit mucli larger than any 150 
 acres within our knowledge. It upholds a snug little cottage of 
 
70 THE YOUNG FARMERS MANUAL. 
 
 eight rooiTiR, a large barn with modern useful improvements, 3 
 acres of splendid orchard of all valuable fruits, half an acre of 
 excellent garden, an acre and a half more devoted to carrots, 
 turnips, and onions. The fences are all post and rail, bushes and 
 weeds are in eternal exile, and the whole place is exceedingly fair 
 to look upon, and to live on. This man is getting rich by being 
 thorough in everything. His hen-house is perfect, his hens lay, 
 and no droppings are lost. His pig sty is well supplied with muck, 
 and the house slops run into it. After taking the first premium, 
 he puts about six acres of corn into pork, which makes manure 
 — his carrots and turnips he puts into beef, which make more 
 manure. Manure and thorough tillage are the grand secrets oi 
 all farming — in New England at least. This man lives well — 
 no pork diet for him — he eats turkeys, eggs, lamb, and the first 
 of his fruits and herds. He dresses well,, rides in a carriage, has 
 a good pew in church, and sends his children to the first institu- 
 tions of learning. His wife isn't worked to death, and has a 
 piano in the parlor. He pays about $50 a year for help, visits 
 his neighbors, and knows how to fish. No rich uncle ever left 
 iiim any property. He began life by owning about half of his 
 farm, and without any buildings upon it, and $5,000 would not 
 buy his real estate to-day. This farmer is no myth ; we know 
 liim, and more minute statistics might be given to show that 50 
 acres is enough — enough, unless a man desires to dig and scrub 
 over a large farm of half tilled acres, and perhaps not be any 
 better off in the end than my easy friend with a small farm. 
 
 144. It is a fact that a 200 acre farm might be made equally 
 good ; but it is another fact that they seldom are. Thorough 
 tillnge in New England cannot extend over a multitude of acres. 
 Fifty acres of rich land (it can be made rich if poor now), with a 
 snug house in a spacious yard, with an abundant fruitage, and 
 everything as perfect as a man can make around it, is a work- 
 ing man's paradise. There is his vine-wreathed arbor, in which 
 to read his papers of a summer Sunday eve and behold the sua 
 sink down tliro;:gh the golden gateway of the west, and wiiile 
 there is everything beautiful and bright around him, in the house 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 71 
 
 and out of doors, then why is it not all the paradise earth can 
 give? We hold that the man who makes an acre of this earth 
 more beautiful or productive, is doing Heaven service ; if he 
 has not over 50 acres, he can make it all shine with fruition and 
 beauty, and never ask discount. 
 
 INCAPABILITIES OF FARMERS. 
 
 145. It is a great undertaking to attempt to be a skillful, in- 
 telligent, and successful farmer; and a farmer's success will de- 
 pend more on his capabilities, his business capacity, and his 
 management than on everything else; because there is not another 
 occupation among all the trades, professions, arts, sciences, and 
 practices of men which requires the exercise of so much good 
 judgment, good skill, good planning, good execution, and good 
 common sense as farming. We may make a tradesman, a doctor, 
 or lawyer of the veriest piece of stupidity which the country 
 affords, but he never can be made a farmer. A farmer needs mind. 
 But how rare is that important quality. Most people have been 
 accustomed to think that if a man or boy v^as so unaccountably 
 stupid that he never could learn a trade, ** he would make a 
 farmer." Never was there a more egregious error. Let us riddle 
 this subject a little, and pour in a few rays of light on the " shady 
 side of American agriculture." Take our country through, and 
 we will not find any other occupation where the management is 
 80 decidedly faulty and bad as may be found on the farm. But 
 wliy is it so ? Simply because laborers have not learned the 
 trade which they profess to understand. And the difficulty grows 
 worse and worse every year. Ask your young clerks how much 
 they receive per month for their services; and the answer will be, 
 so much — usually about enough to pay for their board. Clerks 
 are required generally to board themselves. As soon as they 
 have learned the trade — learned to be a good salesman — they 
 will command fair vfages, and not till then. 
 
 146. Ask those young apprentices what wages they get per 
 month. A¥hy so much — barely enough to pay their ))oard — • 
 to say nothing of clothes. When they can perform a good job 
 
72 THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 in a skillful and workmanlike manner, they expect to receive good 
 wages, and not till then. But how is it with farmers ? Wliy, if 
 a man or boy has two hands and two feet, and is as stupid as an 
 animal with long ears, and if he don't know a sickle from a 
 cradle, or a fanning-mill from a thrashing machine, he must have 
 his twenty or more dollars ftr Tiwnih of twenty-six days, and hoard^ 
 whether he can perform a single operation in the field or barn, 
 in a workmanlike manner or not. Can he harness a span of liorsjs 
 correctly, and hitch them to a plow, with the traces of the 
 proper length, and adjust the plow to run right ? Not one in a 
 thousand can do it. But he wants twenty dollars per month and 
 board. Can he sow grain evenly ? Never sowed any, but guesses 
 he could sow it. Upon trial some of the soil has nothing on it; 
 while in other places the grain is thrown on in streaks so thickly 
 that there will be little but straw. Docs hekiowhow to mow and 
 cradle? 0, yes. And upon trial he can do it as well as a 
 female can chop wood. Can he go and plow a field, and prepare 
 it for a hoed crop, and plant and cultivate it in a farmer-like 
 manner ? Yes, if he has a skillful boss to perform those parts, 
 where the exercise of a little thought or mind is necessary. Give 
 such men good tools to cut cord Wood, and to split rails, stakes, 
 or po;-;ts, and in more than three-fourths of instances they will 
 cut but little more than enough to pay for their board; and, for 
 want of skill, they will spoil timber enough to pay a skillful 
 laborer for all they will perform. Can they make a good undcr- 
 drain ? The number of those who can do it is as few as the 
 righteous of ancient Nineveh. But twenty dollars per month and 
 board, cash, must come from some source. Tell them you want a 
 board or a rail fence built. Can they build it ? If they have a 
 skillful foreman to show them where and hmv to dig the hoi- s, to 
 set the stakes, and to do every part that requires the exercise of 
 a little thought and skill they can do it. Can they shear sheep ? 
 Not a bit of it. Can they prune fruit trees? 0, yes. But it 
 will be performed about as the professional fruit-grower from the 
 Emerald Isle pruned a young orchard for his employer. When 
 a died how he succeeded in prunino:, he replied, "And I pruned 
 cone atalL boss; l^ut I have got tliL'm all cut down!" 
 
 I 
 
THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 13 
 
 141. A mechanic in a machine shop, when boring ont wheels, 
 or fitting up the bearings of journals, is required to do his work 
 so accurately that any wheel will fit any journal, in a workman- 
 like manner. And if he bores out a wheel, or turns off a journal 
 the thickness of a thin piece of paper too much, he is required 
 to pay for the iron of which they are made. And this is right. 
 He receives good pay for doing the work well; if he spoils it, he 
 ouglit to pay for it. But how is it on the farm ? We pay an in- 
 experienced, unskillful, and awkward laborer twenty dollars per 
 month and board, to plow our fields in a workmanlike manner. 
 For want of skill the team is stove up and abused; the plowing is 
 performed in the most wretched manner; tools and implements 
 are smashed up as if they were the property of a belligerent 
 enemy. But " twenty dollars per month and board," or a settle- 
 ment. If there were no more good management and skill exer- 
 cised in other kinds of business than we uniformly witness inform- 
 ing, most of our tradesmen and mechanics would become insolvent 
 in less than one short year. 
 
 THE REMEDY APPLIED. 
 
 148. It is never becoming to find fault with a person con- 
 cerning his system of management or his conduct, unless we show 
 him immediately a better way, and also how he may improve by 
 availing himself of the advantages which this better way proffers 
 to hiuL Therefore we will commence at the very foundation — 
 the root of the matter. In the first place, a man should learn his 
 trade before he thinks of becoming a fnrmer. (See What a Far- 
 mer Should Be, in the Introduction to Vol. I.) He should learn 
 how to work any farm implement, and to wield any tool, in a 
 skillful manner. He should learn to make a practical application 
 of the principles of draft, when hitching teams to any im])lement, 
 and how to manage any kind of team. Then he will be com- 
 petent to decide whether a workman works correctly, and 
 drives right or not. But as it now is, not one-half of the pro* 
 prietors of farms can wield tools, and work implements, and per- 
 form certain kinds of labor any better than awkward men. There 
 4 
 
74 THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 fore they are not competent to decide concerning a mans ability 
 to labor. If farmers were skillful at all kinds of labor, and were 
 masters of their bnsiness themselves, they would be prepared to 
 test a laborer's ability, and to teach him how to work with .-kill 
 and with profit to his employer. 
 
 149. In the next place, if farmers were only masters of their 
 profession, as all good mechanics and tradesmen are, they would 
 be competent to fix some standard — as is done among mechanics 
 — whereby to regulate a laborer's wages according to his ability. 
 This is one of the most important considerations in the whole 
 science of agriculture, in order to be a successful and progressive 
 farmer. 
 
 HOW MUCH IS A day's WORK? 
 
 150. When Mr. A. employs B, and agrees to pay him so much 
 per day or month, B. agrees, to all intents and purposes, whether 
 the fact is or is not mentioned by either of the parties, to return to 
 A. an equivalent in labor performed for the money received. In 
 other words, B. virtually affirms that he is competent and willing to 
 return a fair equivalent in services for the stipulated wages. This 
 is equitable, fair, just, and right. Both parties agree as touching 
 this point. Now, then, suppose for example that A. manages 
 to defraud B. out of one-third or more of his wages, after he has 
 performed faithful service ? Why, you exclaim, " That's down 
 right knavery!" All right. Now, suppose B. don't know how to 
 put his tools in order, nor how to use them after they have been 
 put in order, and, consequently, is not able to perform half a 
 day's work in a day. Or, suppose he is indolent, always tardy, 
 always quitting work before the proper time, and never appears 
 to care whether he performs a good day's work or not. " Well," 
 you say, *' we must expect such actions; I don't know as there 
 is any remedy for it." 
 
 151. There is a remedy, and a very effectual one too, for 
 such — knavery I Yes, that's the right word — down right knivcry! 
 It is as great a moral evil for a man to agree to do right, and to 
 be honest and faithful, and then not to do it, and thus cheat his 
 employer, as it is for his employer to cheat him. Thousands upon 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL, t5 
 
 thousands of laborers cherish no other idea, concerning an equiv- 
 alent for their Avages, than " to keep a going or keep a doing.'^ 
 "Idid'nt agree to do so much work," says a laborer, "I am 
 only required to keep a going!" Illustrious stupidity. But far- 
 mers alone are to blame for such erroneous notions concerning 
 labor; and if they were masters of their employment, laborers 
 would soon learn that they would receive pay according to the 
 labor performed, and not according to the time that they squander 
 away in doing little or nothing. 
 
 152. But, how much is a day's work? A day's work is the 
 amount of labor that a man of ordinary strength can perform, 
 who can handle his tools skillfully, and labors faithfully during 
 working hours. This is a day's work, at any khid of labor. In 
 mowing grass, for example, if it is not down, and not very heavy, 
 a man can cut from two to three acres in a day, if he knows how 
 to put his scythe in order. The writer could do it, and did do it 
 w^hen he was only fifteen years old, and is able to do it with ease 
 at the present writing. But if grass were lodged, more or less, 
 a man might labor hard and be able to cut not more than half an 
 acre. Thus it is with almost every kind of farm labor. And 
 we have made these suggestions that proprietors of farms may . 
 investigate this subject, and thus obtain a more correct under- 
 standing of what constitutes a day's work at any kind of labor. 
 Every farmer ought to be so familiar with every branch of manual 
 labor as to be able to decide at a glance whether a man has pei> 
 formed a day's work or not. And if every farmer were master of 
 his ])nsiness, could put his tools and implements in good order, 
 and could handle them with dexterity and skill, indolent and dis- 
 interested laborers would soon learn that they could not impose 
 on farmers as they now do. And the result would be, farmers 
 would get their work done much cheaper, better, more promptly, 
 and with far less anxiety and perplexity than they now meet 
 with. I have known farmers who did not know how much a day's 
 work is, to censure laborers when they had worked faithfully, and to 
 commend them when they had labored very unfaithfully. These 
 considerations suggest to us why it costs some farmers twice as 
 
76 
 
 mncli as it docs tlicir neighbors to cultivate tlie same number of 
 acres of land on wliich the same crop is raised. 
 
 SUCCESS WILL DEPEND ON MANAGEMENT. 
 
 153. After reading all the best books: after obtaining the 
 best tools and farm implements; and after consulting the best 
 authorities for carrying on farming operations, success will de- 
 pend on a man's general inanagement . It is the managements 
 management first, management last, as well as the lest of manage- 
 ment intermediately, and collaterally — that crowns a farmer's 
 labors with success. This will involve everything when taken in one 
 harmonious combination — the management of tiie soil and tlic man- 
 agement of stock; the management of crops and the manage- 
 ment of manure; the management in the field, and the management 
 within doors; the management in the kitchen, and the manage- 
 ment witli laborers and with hired girls; and last — iMit most 
 difficult and important of all — -will be the right management of tlie 
 loving wife and the darling babies. 
 
 154. If a farmer does not possess the faculty of being a good 
 manager in every department of his business, it will be the height 
 of folly to cherish the idea that he is going to be successful as a 
 farmer. In order to be able to manage a farm as it should be, 
 a farmer needs more experience — more discipline — more prac- 
 tice — more of an investigating spirit — and more rigid drilling in his 
 business than a general does in military tactics, to be able to 
 manage an army of soldiers. Let mo reiterate this thought; and 
 
 let every young farmer, as well as old one write down this 
 
 maxim in large letters, and place it where he can read it when 
 Lis hands are laboring — your success will depend on your vvinage- 
 ment. In order to give practical illustration of some of our ideas 
 on good management, we copy a short communication which was 
 penned several years ago for the Country Gentlenmn : 
 
TOE YOUNG FARMER^S MAN-ITAL. It 
 
 GOING TO THE FIELD TO WGRIT. 
 
 ** A string in your button-hole, pin on your eleeve, 
 A knife in your pofket, to whittle and cleave, 
 A wrench and a hatchet, a nail and a bit, 
 And a little acumen to make them all fit." 
 
 Edwarm. 
 
 155. One of the standing and oft-repeated mixiras of ray 
 father to his sons and those in his employ was — " Never go away 
 from home, even on a pleasant day, without an overcoat: and 
 never go into the woods with a team without an axe." Tliis pre- 
 cept was well endorsed by his inflix'ble exunplein both respectr,; 
 and many times, that apparently needless overcoat, which sun 
 and skies and the ever-changing, but now pleasant weather, 
 assured us would be nothing but a burden to us, ha."^ proved to be 
 a source of great comfort; and that faithful axe, which was car- 
 ried to the woods and back again, many times without needing 
 it, often saved an hour's work. Turning these suggestions to a 
 good account, I have many times when hanhng timber or wood, 
 nearly a mile from the workshop, found that a bit of twine, or a 
 nail in my pocket, has enabled me to move along with my load, 
 making only a few minutes' delay. Also, when the team goes to 
 plowing, for instance, in a distant field, one of my rules is to hitch 
 to the stone boat and take along an extra plow point, axe, 
 wrench, hammer, a few nails, a billet of tough wood, a piece of 
 old boot leg, a piece of twine and the water jug; for I find that, 
 as a general thing, my hands always want a drink soon after 
 they reach a distant field. Therefore I have them " call the roll," 
 when about starting for the fields, so that half an hour or 
 more of precious weather in seed time may not be lost. I do 
 not advocate, or practice, tying up, and toggling harnesses and 
 tools and implements, except pro te.m. No man is able to tell 
 whether his tools and implements will or will not give out, when 
 we would not have a team obliged to stand idle an hour for one 
 dollar. Suppose the plow pomt should strike a fast stone and 
 breai£, and another is not at hand. That hour, or half day 
 during which the team was idle, waiting for another plow point, 
 
^8 THE YOFXG FAP.^IEr's MANUAL. 
 
 may briii.i? a very important job within lialf a day of being ready 
 for a heavy rain. Farming operations are often at the mercy of 
 storms ; and I have often heard farmers say with deep regret, 
 " Could I have had two hour.^, or half a day more, before this 
 heavy rain came on, that field of grain might have been harrowed 
 in, when it would have been worth many dollars more than it 
 will be now." I remember of meeting with a teamster, with a 
 load of lumber — several miles from home — who had just broken 
 an iron loop in one of the hames. He was about unhitching to go 
 home, as he had nothing in the shape of a string to tie up his 
 broken hames. Recollecting how I got out of a snow drift once 
 with a load, by using a few of the long hairs of Doll's tail in the 
 place of a broken cockeye of the trace, a few of those strong 
 hairs soon repaired his broken hame, and thus saved him a half 
 day in returning after his load. 
 
 REQUISITES OP A SUCCESSFUL FARMER SUMMED UP. 
 
 15G. It requires a very smart man for a successful farmer. 
 With all the money and agricultural books, and farm implements, 
 o,nd good farms in the world, it will be impossible to make a suc- 
 cessful farmer of a numbskull. He may be wrought into a 
 minister — for the Almighty often chooses " the foolish things of 
 this world to confound the wise," — but were he to live coeval 
 with Methuselah, he would be obliged to emigrate to a new farm 
 every thirty years, just as multitudes of men — not farmers — now 
 do, by going to a new country to avoid starvation. 
 
 15*1. The first crowning requisite of a successful farmer is a 
 correct understanding of agriculture in all its branches. This 
 involves almost everything, that we can mention, which is con- 
 nected with the subject^. He requires knowledge to make a selec- 
 tion of the best animals, that are best adapted to the soil and 
 its productions; cultivating a rotation of crops which arc best 
 adapted to the soil ; maintaining the fertility of the soil, by under • 
 draining that which is excessively wet; and thorough pulveriza- 
 tion and fertilization with materials which the farm affords; and 
 laying all the plans for out-door and in-door's labor in such a 
 
THE YOUNG FARMEr's MANUAL. T0 
 
 manner that everything will be attended to in good time, and 
 without one interfering with the other. " Then," says J. J. 
 Thomas in Annual Register^ *' the business, instead of being re- 
 pulsive as it so frequently is to many of our young men, would be 
 attended with real enjoyment and pleasure. But success must 
 not be expected without industry and diligence. Labor must be 
 the motto, and work the watcliword," 
 
 158, My own practice always was to keep to work every day. 
 When I could earn but twenty-five cents per day — work. When 
 fifty — work. When one dollar, or five dollars, or eight dol- 
 lars, I always kept working at improvements on the farm, or at 
 tools and implements in the shop. But at the most busy season 
 of the year, I always found time every day to do something 
 towards keeping the mind active and thoughts clear. All the 
 hard work that I ever performed, and I know I have " done a 
 heap of it," never injured me. But bad habits have. And it is 
 the bad habits, not the labor on a farm, that tires out and breaks 
 down so many men. Therefore good kahits, with a knowledge of 
 one's business, will constitute the crowning concomitant amon<j 
 the first and the last requisites of a successful farmer. 
 
 WATCHING FOR IMPEOVEMENTS. 
 
 159. My own practice always has been to take practical ob- 
 servaticms with refeience to various improvements on my farm, 
 not only with reference to drainhig and improvement of soil, but 
 in adapting different crops to a given soil; and the very best time 
 to do this I always found to be when the soil was being plowed, 
 and when the crops were being harvested. For example, when 
 plowing, sometimes there would be a wet, springy place in a cer- 
 tain part of the fiuld that required underdraining. Now, by ob- 
 serving where the water came from when the soil was being 
 plowed, I could often determine where a drain could be made tha+ 
 would save a great many dollars' worth of drain, if it were made 
 without knowing where the water came from that rendered a 
 large spot so wet. Stakes would then be set where the drain 
 should be made. Then, when the time arrived for making the 
 
80 THE YOUNG FARMER* S MANUAL. 
 
 drain, I always knew exactly where to make it, where it would 
 drain the soil most. Another way in which I was accustomed to 
 watch for improvements was, both when plowing and harvesting, 
 to notice particularly the poor as well as the rich spots, and drive 
 down stakes at their borders. Then I always knew exactly where 
 to api)ly fertihziiig material, and where more was neeJed. I 
 have my mhid on portion-! of certain fields to which I never 
 allowed a handful of fertilizing material to be applied during the 
 sixteen years that it was cultivated, from which a crop was re- 
 moved every year; and while other portions of the field were 
 very highly manured, and extra pains taken to make them yield 
 a crop about equal to the unmanured portions, still these un- 
 manured parts would yield more than double the amount that 
 would grow where manure was applied. In addition to the fore- 
 going suggestions, every farmer should keep a vigilant eye on 
 growing crops at all times, and watch the effects of underdrain- 
 ing, deep plowing, shallow plowing, thick and thin seeding, as 
 well as everything else that tends to reflect light on his occupa- 
 tion, and to render his labor lighter, his forces more effective, his 
 crops heavier, and his farm more valuable. 
 
 PRACTICAL MAXIMS FOil YOUNG FARMERS. 
 
 IGO. Many farmers do not know when they are really doing 
 well; and many times, when they have made an excellent begin- 
 ning, and arc in a fair way to make a good mark in life, and to 
 distinguish themselves as excellent farmers, will " sell out." If a 
 man is doing well, he ought to know it. And if he is not doing 
 well, he should satisfy himself that he can better his condition by 
 selling his farm. Slick to your farm; and if you have a good 
 location, do not sell out expecting to better it because you are 
 off'ered a good price. If your neighbors can make farming pay on 
 your farm, resolve that you can do it as well as they can. The 
 Country Gentleman says: "Do not change farms often; for by so 
 doing you can carry out no definite system of improvement. An 
 excellent farmer may spend several years on a farm before he will 
 be able to determine what system of farm manajrement he had 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 81 
 
 better adopt, and which will be best adapted to his soil. Do not 
 begin to improve till you have a general plan of what you wish 
 to do; to do so would be like commencing to get out timbers for 
 a house before you know its length and breadth. Unless your 
 crops are good ones, sow less and plow better. Lay out a system 
 of improvv^ments for your farm and buildings; and, as your means 
 I)ermit, carry these plans out. Do not enter upon speculation with 
 other people's money, or your own, unless you see cloarly that you 
 will make profits; and even then do not do it to the neglect of 
 your farming. Do not mortgage your farm for money to buy 
 goods; very few men Ciin enter the mercantile business without 
 training for it, and not become bankrupt. Do not buy fancy stock 
 and pay fabulous prices, on the spur of the moment, or without 
 knowing why you want it, and how you are to make the invest- 
 ment profitable. Do not keep poor stock when you can keep good 
 at the same expense, and with four times the profit. Do not 
 cha':!ge your kind of farming, because what you raise this year is 
 low-priced, for that which is high. Ten chances to onu your crop will 
 be up next year, and that which is up now will then be down. Do 
 not try to grow those crojjs for which your farm is not well adapted- 
 Resolve that your farm shall be a profitable one, if industry and 
 good management will make it so. Invest your surplus earnings 
 in making such improvements as will add to the profit, appearance, 
 and convenience of your farm. When you make experiments, see 
 that jou keep within the laws of nature. These are the farmer's 
 helps. Make such experiments as appear to be reasonable, no 
 matter what your neighbors say. Make yourself thoroughly ac- 
 quainted with the principles of agriculture, and be guided by 
 tiiem. Do not keep more stock on your farm than you have plenty 
 of pasture for. Never enlarge your farm when half of it is not half 
 cultivalcd. If you own more- land than you can till well, pre in 
 debt, or need funds to make necessary improvements, sell part of 
 .your farm, and use the money to pay your debts, and make your 
 improvements. Never borrow money to build a showy house, 
 when a less pretentious one would answer better; and never lend 
 money when you have poorly tilled land to improve. 
 i* 
 
82 THE you?Jg farmer's manual. 
 
 161. This is a great error with American farmers — to bnild 
 siicli spacious dwelling houses, and very small outbuildings. 
 Tiicre is but little danger that a farmer will erect ontbuildiiigs 
 too capacious. But the common practice, which prevails all over 
 our country, of building so much houso room, that cannot be 
 used to any kind of advantage, and launching into debt for it, a3 
 thousands of young farmers are accustomed to do, is a practice 
 til. t cannot be denounced in too strong terms. Erect a plain, 
 cheap, and comfortable dwelling hon^e Jlrsf,; and use up all money 
 that is accumulated from year to year in cirrying out improve- 
 ments in the field, instead of putting it on interest. Solomon says 
 (Prov. xxiv. 21.): ''Prepare thy work without, and make it fit 
 for thyself in the field, and afterwards bnild thy house." Re- 
 member that a thousand dollars invested in large parlors and 
 costly furniture will increase the amount of a farmer's taxes a 
 great many dollars; whereas had that sum been invested in 
 erecting necessary outbuildings, and in improving the live stock 
 of the farm, and in improving the fertility of the soil, which 
 would render the farm really more valuable, his taxes would be 
 comparatively less. Let me reiterate this caution, not to ciect 
 costly dwelling houses until the farm has been brought to such a 
 degree of fertility as will be in keeping with an expensive dwell- 
 ing house. (See Vol. I., p. 24.) 
 
 THE PRACTICAL ADVANTAGES OF MOMENTUM. 
 
 162. Our apology for introducing momentum is, that former 
 writers have not discussed its practical advantages to farmers. 
 Momentum is the force of motion. Philosophy teaches 
 us that if two bullets, for example, one weighing one pound^ 
 and the other ten pounds, were to strike each other squarely 
 when the one pound bullet was moving ten times faster 
 than the large one, they would both be brought to a dead 
 stand still, and would drop to the ground. The theory on this 
 ])oint is correct ; but it would fail in practice on account of the 
 elasticity and compressibility of matter. The large bullet would 
 
THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 83 
 
 be indented a little, while the small one would be very much 
 flattened, and carried with the large bullet in its course. 
 
 163. An excellent illustration in practice is furnished in driv- 
 inf^ slim nails into the tough hoofs of animals. With a very light 
 hammer, by which the momentum is obtained by a quick and 
 swift motion, tile nails aro driven in with no difficulty, when not 
 a single one could be driven with a heavy hammer, whose mo- 
 mentum would be exactly equal to the momentum of the small 
 hammer. And this holds good when driving nails into hard 
 wood, where they are liable to double up after they have entered 
 but a short distance. With a light hammer they can be driven; 
 but with a heavy one they will double up when the momentum 
 of both hammers is, in theory, the same. When a man drives a 
 stake into the ground on account of the elasticity and compres* 
 sibility of matter, he cannot do it with a light hammer, because 
 the wood will batter up so badly. Therefore, he takes a heavy 
 hammer; and by means of the momentum of a heavy body 
 moving slowly, he performs what he could not do with a light 
 body mo vino; rapidly. When a sleigh or wagon is frozen fast to 
 the ground, instead of taking a hammer or some light body to 
 knock it loose with a quick blow, which would damage some por- 
 tion of it, we tak'3 a piecs of timber as large as we can handloj 
 and thus, by the momentum of a heavy body moving slowly, we 
 accomplish, without injuring anything, that which could not be 
 done with a light body when wielded quickly. 
 
 THE PnOPER MECHANICAL CONSTRUCTION OF TOOLS AND 
 IMPLEMENTS. 
 
 164. There is no more important principle in agricultural 
 dynamics than a correct understanding of the most proper weight 
 for every tool and implement. Mechanics, who make the tools, 
 as well as the farmers who use them, should understand correctly 
 the difference between accomplishing a certain result by means of 
 muscular force only, or chiefly by the momentum of a tool. In 
 turning a fanning mill, for example, the force required is entirely 
 muscular — the power of the arms. We cannot avail ourselves of 
 
84 THE YOUNG FARMEr's MANUAL. 
 
 any aid ])y using a balance wheel on the journal of the fans. But 
 a balance wheel of thirty or forty pounds on the journal with the 
 crank would enable a man to turn it with less fatigue to his 
 arms. This is on the same principle that a man can turn a jour- 
 nal having a wheel or a grindstone on it that weighs one hundred 
 pounds, when no one is grinding, with much less fatigue than he 
 can turn nothing but the journal, because the momentum of the 
 wheel will aid the muscles of the arm in raising the crank 
 at every revolution. (Read about A Grindstone — IIow to 
 Select, How to Hang It, Vol. I. p. 374 ) But the smaller and 
 lighter a grindstone is the less muscular force v.ill be required to 
 turn it while one is grindino:, unless he turns it with a treadle. 
 
 1G5. We attach balance wheels to straw cutters, corn shellers, 
 root cutters and saws, for the purpose of accumulating the force, 
 or of doing by the momentum of the ^heel what could not be 
 done by muscular force alone. But the error that I desire to point 
 out here is, in making balanca wheels too heavy. There is a 
 great efficiency in a balancr} wheel when it is not too heavy in pro- 
 portion to the force employed to turn it at a given velocity. If, 
 for example, a v.heel weighing one hundred pounds be attached 
 to a circular saw driven by two horses at the rate of ten or 
 twelve hundred revolutions per minute, the momentum of that 
 wheel, in connection with the muscular force of the horses, will 
 operate very effectively in sawing wood. But as the wheel ia 
 much lighter than this, it will not accumulate so much of the 
 force of the horses. And if it be increased in weight, the in- 
 creased weight will absorb too large a portion of the muscular 
 force to keep it in motion. 
 
 166. Balance wheels are put on hand corn-shellers many times 
 twice as heavy as they should be, because they absorb much of 
 the effective muscular force of the person who turns them. VV^hen 
 a man cannot tell when an ear is being shelled, the wheel is too 
 heavy. A wheel may be heavy enough to absorb all the muscular 
 force to put a machine in motion, so that it will do little or no 
 vvork at all. A cylinder of a thrashing machine is a modification 
 of a balance wheel. The momentum of a cylinder and spikes 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 85 
 
 does the thrashing. Xow, if a heavy cylinder be used with a two 
 horse machine, all of the effective muscular force of the horses will 
 be absorbed in driving the cylinder fast enough to thrash grain 
 clean. When I was a young man I made a turning lathe to be 
 driven by hand or a treadle. The wooden driving wheel was 
 about five feet in diameter, and would weigh about one hundred 
 and tliirty pounds. I could drive it with one foot, and turn at 
 tlie same time with ease. Many people told me that my driving 
 wheel was not large enough nor heavy enough, and that a larger 
 and heavier wheel would run as easy again as that light one. So 
 I procured another wheel, seven feet in diameter, that would 
 weigh over two hundred pounds, and hung it where the light one 
 was. But, to my great surprise, it required all my leg-power to 
 simply get up motion high enough for turning, and I could do 
 nothing at all with it. It was too heavy for the muscular force 
 employed to turn it. 
 
 THE CORRECT W^EIGHT OF TOOLS AND IMPLEMENTS. 
 
 167. When labor is performed by means of muscular strength 
 only, the lighter tools and implements can be made with con- 
 sistent strength the better they will be. Read about the Shovel 
 and Spade, Vol. I. p. 23S. As nothing can be effected by the 
 momentum of the shovel and spade, the lighter they are the better 
 they will be, if sufficiently strong. So it is with pitch forks, 
 band rakes, grain sickles, corn cutters, and many other tools 
 which are worked with muscular force only. These should always 
 be made as light as possible, with consistent strength. The 
 grass scythe and snath, the grain cradle and the broad hoe, are 
 tools whose efficiency depends almost entirely on the muscular 
 force that wields them. The momentum of a broad hoe does not 
 amount to much. Therefore the lighter it is the less a man will 
 feel fntigued in using it. The efficiency of a grain cradie will 
 depend, in a very limited degree, on its momentum. Bat they 
 are made so heavy almost always, that more is lost by uiiueces- 
 sary fatigue in handling them than is gained by the momentum 
 of a heavy cradle. Grass scythes are worked almost entirely by 
 
86 THE YOUNG FARMERS MANUi»L. 
 
 muscular force. Therefore let them be as light in every part as 
 is possible with the strength required. See the article on How to 
 Grind, Hang, and Use Grass Scythes and Cradle Scythes, fully ex- 
 plained and illustrated on p. 382 of Vol. I. ; also read the chapter 
 on Edge Tools, p. 369, Vol. I. When any tool is only one [)ound 
 too heavy to be equal to the muscular force that wields it, that 
 unnecessary pound will operate against the'efficiency of it. Every 
 farmer should make himself familiar with the strength of 
 materials in constructing farm implements, and always aim to 
 have them made as light as will subserve the purpose for which 
 they are designed. 
 
 168. Wheel vehicles, lumber wagons and carts, are almost 
 always made one, two, or three hundred pounds heavier than is 
 necessary for the strength required. This unnecessary weight is 
 a nuisance, because it absorbs so much of the effective muscular 
 force of the team. This is particularly true concerning ox carts 
 and ox sleds. They are often heavy enough for a team without 
 any load on them. Plows, horse hoes, and wheel cultivators liavo 
 been very greatly improved, as it respects their correct weight, 
 and still there can be quite as much improvement made in many 
 of them as has already been made. The momentum of a plow 
 does not amount to anything towards drawing it — consequently 
 the tens of unnecessary pounds of iron and wood that are worked 
 into them, in places where it only increases the weight, thus 
 absorbs the effective force of the team. (See Liglit and 
 Heavy Flows in the chapter on Plowing.) We trust that these 
 Fiindom suggestions will induce farmers to think and to investi- 
 gate the principles of mechanics and of agricultural dynamics, 
 and thus have their tools and im[)lements made of the most cor- 
 rect weiglit, as well as form, to secure the greatest effective force 
 when they are in operation. 
 
 AN AGRICULTURAL SER:M0N'. 
 
 169. "If, therefore, ye have not been faithful in the un- 
 righteous mammon, who will commit to you the true riches V* 
 
 Luke xvi. 11. Mammon means worldly possessions, such as real 
 
THK YOUxVG farmer's MANUAL. 8t 
 
 estate, farms and their appendages, and tli3 live stock of a farm. 
 The true riches means the pleasures, the happiness;, and the endur- 
 ing enjoyment which are reserved for those who love and serve the 
 Lord in this world. Thus the apostle says : " Eye hath not 
 seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man 
 the things — the true riches — which God has prepared for them 
 that love him." 1 Cor. ii. 9. The true riches may mean eternal 
 life; and the expression stands in contra distinction to mammon 
 of unrighteousness, or the things which constitute worldly po^> 
 sessions. 
 
 170. The argument made use of in the text by the Son of 
 God is, that if a man has been unfaithful in his business, or in 
 the management of his earthly affairs, he would be rejected in 
 the next world from holding any position; because he had been 
 uu'faithful in managing the affairs of others — which is emphatically 
 true of a farmer. He is only a trustee or a steward, or agent to 
 manage a farm for a few years. It is not his. It is only entrusted 
 to him to cultivate — to improve by art — to embellish; and 
 to make it a source of comfort to himself while he remains trus- 
 tee or manager of it; and then to leave every part of it as good 
 as he found it. Hence the words of the text: " If you have not 
 been faithful in managing your worldly possessions, or unrighteous 
 mammon, who will commit to you the true riches ?" Or, as the 
 Great Superintendent of agriculture will not commit to you any 
 heavenly possessions, because you have been so unfaithful in the 
 inanagement of your farming operations, who do you expect will 
 do it ? If you forfeit all claim to any inheritance by your u i- 
 faithfulness in Mttle affairs, in the management of a farm, f j: 
 example, when you are done with the unrighteous mammon, aril 
 go up to the throne of the great Agriculturist, with the expec- 
 tation of receiving anything that he has promised to the faithful 
 in this world, you will meet with a sad disappointment; because 
 the Almighty will not commit to unfaithful men the true ricbr s 
 of his dominion. And if he who is the sole possessor and king 
 refuses to commit anything to your trust, " who," says Jesus* 
 " will do it ?" This was his affectionate way of telling his dis- 
 
S8 
 
 ciplesby asking them a question, that if they were unfaithful ia 
 the mauage-ment of their earthly affairs or farms, God would be- 
 queath tlie inheritance that was designed for them to others who 
 had been faithful in little things. We see from this subject 
 
 THE DUTY OF A FARMER TO KEEP HIS SOIL GOOD. 
 
 171. A farmer is a trustee, or a steward. His great Em- 
 ployer has committed a cliarge to him, and said: " Occupy till 
 I remove you. Raise whatever crops you choose; but keep the 
 soil in as good a state of fertility as it was when you received it. 
 The soil is to support those who will come after you. It is the 
 worst kind of robbery to take crop after crop of grain off a farm, 
 and do nothing towards repairing the waste. He who recklessly 
 adopts a bad system of husbandry not only wrongs himself but 
 is guilty of great injustice to his siiccesssors. The Creator 
 works by means; and he will not restore impoverished soils by a 
 miracle. If a farmer, by bad husbandry, injures the fertiUty of 
 his soil, he, and those who come after him, must suffer the damage 
 resulting from his abuse of the resources of the farm. It is 
 therefore the solemn duty of every man to try to keep his soil in 
 a good state of fertility, by means of the maimrial resources 
 which it affords. If he does as well as every farmer m%y do, the 
 day will soon dawn when our grass fields will yield two spears 
 where only one grows now; and all our crops of cereal grain will 
 be increased at least two-fold. Every farmer can do this in a 
 few years by simply commencing a renovating system; by under 
 draining, manuring, and growing crops in rotation. Let young 
 farmers resolve to leave their soil in a better state of fertility than 
 they received it. Then they will have the satisfaction of knowing 
 that they have been " faithful in the unrighteous mammon." 
 
 now TO RE XT A FARM. 
 
 112. The correct way to arrive at a fair price for both par- 
 ties is the following : add the value of the cultivated land and 
 buildings to the value of the sto^^k an 1 tools. If a renter have 
 tio benefit of wood land, the growth of timber and increasing 
 
rnE YOUNG farmer's manual. 89 
 
 Talne of Llie land will be an equivalent for the interest on it. 
 Now, if a renter agrees to pay to the proprietor annually, six, 
 seven, eight or more per cent on the aggregate value of stock, im- 
 plements and farm, and keep the soil in a good state of fertility, 
 and make certain improvements every year, the proprietor will 
 receive a better compensation than the renter. A renter could 
 not make a decent profit on many farms were he to hire them 
 at six per cent; while on others, he could afford to pay twelve 
 per cMit The productiveness of the soil must be taken into 
 account. Then the per centage must be lessened in proportion 
 as a renter makes improvements that will increase the value of the 
 farm. If he rents a farm for a term of years, and certain im- 
 provements will benefit him as well as the proprietor, each one 
 should share iti the expense. 
 
 113. A written contract between the parties should require 
 the renter to adopt a rotation of crops adapted to the soil; to 
 allow nothing to be carried off the farm that would make manure; 
 to allow no manure to be wasted by remaining in heaps from year 
 to year; to keep tlie stock good;J;o keep all tools, implements 
 and buildings in good repair, making allowance for their natural 
 wear; a;.d not to damage fruit or ornamental trees in any way. 
 The prices at which everything is valued in different localities 
 renders it quite inconsistent to do anything farther than simply 
 make suggestions on important points, at which a fiiir contract 
 for both parties may be framed. AVhen a farm is worked oa 
 shares, the proprietor should so frame the contract, that hay, 
 straw, cornstalks and other coarse material shall not be carried 
 off the soil; and he who works it should make and apply a given 
 amount of manure annually. If foreign fertilizers are applied, 
 the proprietor ought to sustain a small portion of the expense, if 
 be receives a share of tl o grain. The couti'act should not allow 
 a man to plow up the entire farm at one time, so that there will 
 be no grass the next season, either for pasture or meadaw. 
 
 DETAILS CF FARMING OPERATIONS POR THE SEASON. 
 
 174. The first crop to be put in, in the spring, will be spring 
 
90 
 
 wlicat or barley, then oats may be sowed. As soon as the oat? 
 have been put in, it will be time to commence preparations 
 for a crop of Indian corn. After the Indian corn is planted, 
 turnips should be planted. After this plow the buckwlieat 
 ground, or plant a crop of beans, or both. 
 
 175. At this period, there will probably be a week or two 
 in which to shear sheep, make fences and drains, &c. Then, if 
 proper calculations have been made the year previous, there will 
 be a field of early grass to cut, to make into hay. Then, by 
 the time the hay is made, the corn will need to be cultivated. 
 Then, the turnips will need attention. Then, buckwheat must be 
 sowed. After these operations, late grass may be cut. Then, go 
 through the corn again. By this time the golden grain will be 
 ready for the reaper. After harvest, preparations must be made 
 for a crop of winter wheat, by plowing, and making com})Ost. 
 Lowery weather au.l rainy days should be spent in making im- 
 provements around the out-buildings; and weeds must all be cut 
 or pulled up among the Indian corn, turnips and beans. The 
 care of stock will also come in through the entire season among 
 the incidentals. 
 
 176. After winter wheat has been put in, there will be a week 
 or two of comparative leisure, when stones may be hauled, ditches 
 made, fences repaired, and potatoes dug. If Indian corn and 
 buckwheat are still green and growing, fallplowhig may be done. 
 Then, Indian corn must be cut up. After this buckwheat will be 
 ready to be cut and secured. Then, apples must be gathered; 
 Indian corn must be husked, the stalks must be secured; and roots 
 pulled; and fall plowing finished. 
 
 177. Tlie foregoing details are calculated for only a certain 
 kind of soil. The intelligent farmer will understand that tliese 
 are given only as an illustration of the details of a single instance; 
 and they are designed to aid him in laying out his field labors 
 in such manner as to have profitable labors going on during the 
 entire growing season, so far as may be practicable. Wa may 
 illustrate this subject still further by alluding to the details of 
 the numerous 
 
THE YOUXG farmer's MANUAL. 91 
 
 INJUDICIOUS SYSTEMS OF MANAGEMENT. 
 
 1*78. Thnt are ])ractised to a very great extent all over the 
 country. On some farms, notliing but oats and summer fallow, 
 and a crop of wheat follow each other, from year to year. Such 
 a system of management makes a great amount of labor at seed 
 tune as well as at harvest. The labors of men and teams are 
 not distributed throughout the season. Consequently, additional 
 teams and laborers must be secured at a very costly rate, in 
 order to accomplish the work in the proper time. And if crops 
 are not put in or not harvested in good time, the proprietor must 
 sustain more or less loss. But it suits many farmers to employ a 
 host of teams and hands at one time, so as to have the work all 
 done up; and then have nothing to do for many long weeks 
 together. 
 
 FITTING UP MACHINERY. 
 
 " The ringiner of the anvil, trte grating of the drill. 
 
 The ola*<ering of the turning lathe, the whining of the mill, 
 The pufBng of the • ngine, the driving of the awl. 
 These busy sounds of workshops I love, I love them all. 
 
 Mrs. F. D. Gage, 
 
 179. Farmers must, of necessity, use a large number of 
 machines and implements; and as many new ones are introduced, 
 which are manufactured by men who are not and never can be 
 worthy of the title — a good machinist — my design here is to lay 
 down a few plain and practical directions on fitting up macliinery, 
 not so much for the purpose of aiding a farmer in doing \t himself, 
 as for enabling him to understand how it should be done by a 
 machinist, and when a job is performed in a workmanlike man- 
 ner. (See Introduction to Vol. I.) 
 
 180. The superior excellence of almost any machine or imple- 
 ment consists in the most symmetrical proportion of its parts — 
 its simplicity as opposed to its complexity, and the workmanlike 
 manner in which the various jmrts are fitted up. One of the 
 most prominent features of perfection in fitting up machinery is, 
 the stillness with ivhich it runs. Some kinds of machinery will 
 always make a tremendous noise when in motion, even when fitted 
 
92 THE YOITNO farmer's MAVrAL. 
 
 np most jtorfcctly; but, for the most part, the incessant clatter, 
 and rattle and jar, and tumblmg of mncliinery — sometimes noisy 
 as " the seven thunders " — can be traced to imperfect construc- 
 tion or fitting' up. There are a liost of very important consi- 
 derations to be taken into account, in constructing any kind of 
 machinery, in order to make every part ju^^t as it sliould he. 
 Every redundant pound of wood or iron should be rejected or cut 
 away; and every part which is subjected to more or less strain 
 should be made of a form which will be strongest when made of 
 the smallest amount of materials; and those parts which are 
 liable to wear, should be of such form and condition as will ran 
 together with the smallest amount of friction. The force em- 
 ployed for working machinery on the farm is quite limited; 
 therefore every redundant pound of materials in a machine, and 
 every imperfection in fitting up the working parts of it, detract 
 in the proportion of their magnitude from the efficiency when in 
 operation. 
 
 181. Every machine should be made of as few parts as will 
 be most convenient and pj-acticahle. The larger the number of 
 wheels and journals in any machine, the more friction there will be, 
 and the more liable it will be to get out of order. Consequently, 
 the greater the amount of friction, the more of the effective force 
 which drives it will be absorbed in simply putting the machine 
 in operation. Hundreds of machines and implements are con- 
 structed so improperly and unwieldy, that it is no uncommon 
 thing to have more force absorbed in giving an effective velocity 
 to them, rvit/wiU performing any work, than would be required 
 to perform a good business, besides putting them in motion, pro- 
 viding they were properly constructed and fitted up. 
 
 JOURNALS OF MACHINES. 
 
 182. Journals are the spindles or shafts which sustain the 
 wheels and pullies and othei* parts which revolve. The hearings 
 of journals are those parts which rest in cavities or holes called 
 boxes. Journals are also called arbors, and sometimes improp 
 erly called gu l^-eons. But arbors are only those parts of a 
 
THE YOUNG FAUMER's MANUAT. 93 
 
 jonrnal that revolve in the boxes. Gudgeons are iron pins or 
 bearings niserted in the ends of wooden shafts or eyUnders, Mnd 
 do not, jik3 journals, extend from end to end of a shaft. The 
 bearings of all machinery, when saving power is any object, should 
 be made as small as possible with the consistent strength. The 
 smaller in diameter the bearings are, the less force will be 
 absorbed when putting machinery in motion. The bearings of 
 the greater part of all agricultural machinery are made too un- 
 profitably large. The size of the bearings exert a much greater 
 influence on the ease with which machinery may be worked than 
 most machinists are accustomed to compute. A journal four feet 
 long, sustaining wheels or puUies having a high motion, will run 
 more steadily and smoother than if it were only a foot long. If 
 the bearings of a journal of a cylinder to a thrashing machine are 
 about seven eighths of an inch in diameter — which is sufficiently 
 large for small thrashers — less power will be absorbed to make 
 it revolve at a given velocity than if the bearings were an 
 inch and a half in diameter. When almost all the strain is 
 applied to one end of a journal when it is made to revolve, 
 and every little stress comes on the bearing at the other end, the 
 last one referred to may be made very much smaller than the 
 one near the other end; and it is always well, and usually hest, 
 to make the end small under such circumstances. 
 
 FITTING Ur THE BEARINGS OF JOURNALS. 
 
 183. This is a piece of work of which most farmers have no prac- 
 tical knowledge; and the majority of them do not even understand 
 the importance of having them properly fitted. When the bearings 
 of a journal are hammered as true as is practicable, and//e^Z 
 smooth as they can be, they are utterly unfit for any part of a 
 machine in which saving of power or diminishing of friction is 
 any object. The most skillful machinist in the world cannot fit 
 up the bearings of a journal- with hammers and files alone in -i 
 proper manner, any more than he could cut out a neat bedstead 
 without a turning lathe; because such tilings cannot be made 
 perfectly round and true without being held in a lathe, while 
 
94 THE YOUNG FAKMKR^S MANUAL. 
 
 they arc being fitted. If tie bearings are not entirely true and 
 smooth, the friction will be great, and the bearings, or their boxes, 
 or both, will lieat, even wlien well oiled; and will very soon be 
 so badly cut out or worn away, that a break-dowii will be the 
 sure result. 
 
 184. In oi'der to fit up the bearings properly, depressions are 
 made with a pointed punch in the ends of the journal, exactly in th 
 centre^ when it is put in the lathe, and made to revolve slowly, 
 while the bearings are turned as true and smooth as they can be 
 by cutting a shaving so small, the last time going over it, that it 
 is hardly perceptible to the naked eye. After they have been 
 turned they are sometimes filed a little as they revolve, and then 
 polished with emery and oil so brightly that the workman can 
 see the color of his eyes in them as in a looking glass. A kind 
 of clamp, made of soft wood, is used to squeeze the bearings, 
 which holds the emery and oil, while polishing them. Sometimes it 
 is done by holding a soft-wood stick on them as the journal re- 
 volves rapidly. The emery is held by b:4ng imbedded in the 
 stick while the stick is pressed on the bearings. In fitting up a 
 journal of wrought iron, one side of the bar is frequently so hard 
 that it will take the edge off the turning chisel in an instant 
 For this reason a bearing often wears on one side — the soft side 
 — so that it is of an oval form. This is particularly the caso 
 when the boxes are harder than the bearings. After the bearings 
 have been polished they are sometimes case hardened, by making 
 a thin portion of the surface of the bearings entirely around them 
 as hard as a file. 
 
 185. Journals are sometimes made of steel, which are always 
 much superior to common wrought iron, especially for small 
 ones. As steel will admit of a fi.ier polish than iron, machinery 
 may be made to run much easier on steel bearings than on iron 
 ones. 
 
 186. Journals are often made of cast iron, and when there is 
 not much strain or jerk on them they are quite as good, and 
 sometimes better than wrought iron. As the surface of even soft 
 cast iron is covered with a very hard, rough scale when it comes 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 95 
 
 from the furnace, the bearings of the pattern should always be 
 made an eighth of an inch or more larger than they are to be 
 when fitted up, in order to make suitable allowance for turning 
 off the hard scale. 
 
 187. Cast iron gudgeons are often fitted to their shafts with- 
 out boiiig turned either before or after they are put in. The 
 true way to fit up a shaft of any kind, with gudgeons in the 
 end, is to put in the gudgeons ^?*s^, before either are turned, and 
 then put them in a lathe and turn the bearings and shaft, if 
 desirable, as if the whole were one journal. The most skillful 
 machinist in the world cannot put the gudgeons into a shaft 
 after they have been turned, and have them run as true and easy 
 as they would if they were turned after they were put in. The 
 least perceptible variation from trueness in the bearings will cause 
 a journal to run harder than it sliould if it were true, and it will 
 soon begin to wear on one side, or to cut the box. 
 
 188. I have in mind several men who did not appreciate 
 the importance of having the bearings of shafts and journals 
 neatly fitted up in a lathe, who failed entirely in accomplishing 
 their purpose from this single neglect. I well remember that when 
 a small lad my father employed a mechanic to build a horse 
 power for a cider mill. The gudgeons were cast iron, and were 
 put in without being turned. I know it was very hard work for 
 two horses to work it; but had the bearing been properly fitted 
 up in a lathe, one horse would have been able to do more with it 
 than two were accustomed to perform. Most men appear to 
 think that if a gudgeon is cast after a round and smooth pattern, 
 it will be just as well to file them a little without turning them. 
 But it is a very great error to think so; and, more than this, the 
 expense for files to file off the hard scale on cast iron would be 
 greater than the expense of turning, and the job w^ould not bo 
 half done, as it should be. When fitting large gudgeons into a 
 water-wheel shaft, or fitting a crank into the shaft of a new mill, 
 they would run enough better to pay the expense of carrying the 
 shaft ten miles to have the bearings turned after the gudgeons 
 Jiave been put in. The bearings are much better, except for very 
 
96 THE YOUXG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 small ones, when four inches long, than when only two inches 
 lonG^. 
 
 o 
 
 FITTING A SMALL JOURNAL TO A LARGE HOLE. 
 
 189. It is a very common thing that a wheel of some kind, 
 having a hole already bored out in the centre of it, would fit a 
 certain journal if the hole in it were not larger than the journal. 
 AVhen a journal is not more than a hundredth part of an ineli 
 smaller than the hole, if wrought iron, it may be hacked a Uttlc 
 with a cold chisel all round it, and then turned off true. Some- 
 times a piece of tin or sheet iron put round the journal will make 
 a good fit. When there is a half inch or more difference between 
 them, let a blacksmith pat two red hot rings on the j(3urnal — 
 shrinking them on — when they may be turned off to fit the wheel 
 as neatly as if it were a large journal. Twenty-five cents ex- 
 pended in this way will sometimes save a number of dollars. 
 
 FITTING UP BOXES FOR THE BEARINGS 
 
 190. This operation has almost as much influence in render- 
 ing machinery perfect as fitting up the hearings o{ the journals in 
 a ncut manner. Iron boxes, except when a shaft revolves slowl}', 
 arc not half as good as some other metal. Indeed, no machinery 
 will run as easy and as long without heating and wearing, 
 wdien the boxes are iron, as it will if they are wood, brass, 
 copper, lead, or some other metal. When any part of machinery 
 has a reciprocating motion, like the connecting rod or i)itman of 
 mowers or reapers, where there is a higli motion, and as much 
 jerking and thrusting as there is in that part of a reaper, the 
 cross heads at the end of the pitman ought to be made of one 
 large piece of brass, not less than two inches wide, instead of a 
 little, thin, narrow eye of iron, fitted to the crank or wrist pin of 
 the cam, which wMll heat and wear out in one season. Tliis is a 
 vci-y great defect in nearly all tl;e mowers and I'capers now 
 manufactured. When boxes are made of iron t"::ey ought always 
 to be bored out true and smooth in a lathe. Some times iron 
 bxxes are bored out just enough larger than the bearing to 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 97 
 
 admit of being lined or bushed with strips of slieet iron. Sheet 
 copper is often made use of for bushing wooden boxes. Machinery 
 will run much easier with co'pper boxes than when they are iron; 
 and when the timber of a machine is hard wood, it is so-metimes 
 better to bore out or gouge out a groove in the wood, and fit a 
 piece of sheet copper in it, and hammer the ends of it down, and 
 nail them to the wood. 
 
 191. Another manner of fitting up boxes is to cut out the 
 wood a half inch or so larger than the bearing, and fasten the 
 journal, after it has been finished, exactly in the place where it is 
 to be when the machine is in motion, and then pour in melted 
 lead or zinc, or babbet metal, so that it will form a half box for 
 the bearings. Previous to pouring in the melted metal the 
 polished bearing should be oiled. This is a very cheap way 
 of making good boxes; and a large portion of machinery is fitted 
 up in this way. When boxes are bored out and bolted to the 
 wood work of a machine, it sometimes requires all the skill of a 
 good machinist to get the boxes just right. But when the 
 polished bearings are held in their places, and melted metal 
 poured around them, they will be correct without fail. When 
 lead or zinc is used for boxes, the bearings mu=;t be neatly 
 polished and must be kept well oiled. Machinery wi;h lead boxes 
 will run as easy as when they are made of any other metal; and if 
 the machinery is not heavy, nor subjected to powerful strains and 
 thrusts, it will wear well. 
 
 192. I have a grindstone, saw journal, and some other pieces 
 of machinery, which have run in lead boxes for twelve years, and 
 are as good as when they were new. Zinc and babbet metal 
 being much harder than lead, are preferable to it, unless ma- 
 chinery is always to be in the care of a man who will always 
 keep the bearings well oiled. 
 
 193. AVhen circular saws, and some other kinds of machinery, 
 are run by water or steam all day, the bearings run in large 
 boxes, which have a recess in the bottom part large enough to 
 contain a quart of oil, which is supplied and applied to the 
 bearings as fast as it wears away, by meauo of a strip of lamp 
 
 5 
 
98 THE YOUxVG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 wick, one end of which is in the oil and the other end is in con- 
 tact with the bearing; and the oil is taken to the bearings by 
 capillary attraction, just as it ascends to the top of the tubes of a 
 lamp. 
 
 194. Both boxes and bearings of all kinds of machinery 
 sliould be very smooth; and, for most kinds of machinery, they 
 shonld fit each other so neatly that tliere will be no play between 
 them; and the bearings should not fit so tightly as to make it run 
 one pound harder. 
 
 195. Should there be a sixteenth of an inch play up and 
 down in the bearings of a thrashing machine cylinder — if it is ac- 
 curately balanced — it will be just as well as if they fitted without 
 a particle of room for play. But the bearings of a saw journal 
 should have no play, nor should it fit so tight as to make it run 
 any harder than it would if it had a K^tlc play. 
 
 196. The boxes of a journal which produces a reciprocating 
 motion, by means of a crank or cam, should always fit the bear- 
 ings without any play. If there be any play in the boxes, the 
 amount of play will increase faster and faster the longer a 
 machine is run. There is danger, also, if there is toothed gearing 
 on such journals, of breaking the wheels, in consequence of too 
 much play in the boxes; and the liability to break and wear the 
 teetii ujievenly always becomes greater as the amount of play b.e- 
 tween the bearings and the boxes increases. Boxes are too fre- 
 quently made too narrow. Many times they are only two inches 
 wide, and wooden boxes at that, when they should be substantial 
 metallic boxes, not less than four inches wide. 
 
 197. Suppose they are narrow, you say, what difference does 
 it make ? One chief reason is, when they are very narrow there 
 is more friction in a short space than there is in so nmcli space in 
 wide boxes, and ten drops of oil on a bearing four inches long 
 will not wear out and leave the bearing dry half as soon as it 
 would if a box only two inches wide were in the same place. The 
 boxes of the main journal of my railway horse power were 
 originally made of wood only two inches wide. The result was 
 that after three or four years they wore so rapidly that tho 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S SIANUAL. 99 
 
 pinions on the shaft wore out, and the expense of sending to 
 Albany, where the power was made, for new pinions, and fitting 
 them up, cost several dollars. If the manufacturers had made 
 such boxes as they ought to have done for the price of the power, 
 those pinions would have been good for many years afterwards. 
 Farmers should not neglect to examine such parts of machinery 
 when about to purchase, and insist on having every part fitted 
 up in a proper and workmanlike manner. 
 
 BALANCING MACHINERY, AND ITS IMPORTANCE. 
 
 198. Why does a thrashing machine tremble sometimes in 
 such a manner that it jars the building that it stands in ? Because 
 one side of the cylinder is heavier than the other; or, as 
 machinists say: *' It is not balanced." Why does a circular saw 
 frequently tremble so as to raise the frame from the ground, and 
 to keep it jumping up and down, as if it possessed life and the 
 power of locomotion ? Because the journal or balance wheel is 
 heavier on one side than the other: or it is not balanced. When 
 a wood turner puts a large stick into his lathe, and gives it a 
 high motion, why does it sometimes tremble so that he cannot 
 turn ? A]id after the same stick is turned ofif round, why does it 
 run as still as a top ? Because, before it was turned off, one side 
 was heavier than the opposite side; and every time the heavy 
 side turned up, the momentum of the few ounces of wood that 
 made it the heaviest caused the latter to tremble. Tlius it is with 
 a cylinder of a thrashing machine; if it be well balanced, and only 
 one spike be removed, it will tremble when running at au ordinary 
 velocity. When one spike is removed from a cylinder, the 
 opposite side is just one spike too heavy. 'Now, by giving this 
 extra weight of one spike a high velocity, it has a momentum 
 equal to a heavy body moving slowly, whose momentum would 
 be sufficient to move the frame of the machine a little. Wheels 
 frequently make machinery tremble to such a degree, that it is 
 sometimes disagreeable, and even dangerous, to use them. 
 
 199. I well remember, when a small lad, that my fatlier's 
 thrashing machine trembled so violentlv, that it was difficult to 
 
100 THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 • keep it in its place, even after tliey bad rolled a large bowlder, 
 weighing some three or four Imndred pounds, on the top of it. A 
 few spikes had been broken off one side; and no one present 
 knew anything about balancing machinery, and had probably 
 never heard of such a thing. When a cylinder of a thrashing 
 machine is properly balanced, the frame will not tremble when 
 it is running at a high velocity any more than when it is at rest. 
 The same is true also of a circular saw journal, on which there is 
 a balance wheel. 
 
 PRACTICAL IMPORTANCE OP HAVING MACHINERY WELL BALANCED. 
 
 200. Some kinds of machinery will not operate well if it be 
 not evenly balanced. This is particularly true of the upper mill 
 stone, which runs on the point of a spindle. The stone must be 
 w^ell balanced, or it will not grind evenly. When the journal of 
 a cylinder, circular saw, or any other piece of machinery, is not 
 evenly balanced, the bearings will wear all on one side; and there 
 will not be friction enough on the opposite side to keep them 
 bright. 
 
 201. I remember examining the bearings of a cjiinder of 
 an old thrashing machine which had run many years without 
 being balanced; and the bearings were as round on one side as 
 when they were first fitted up; while on the oppos'te side they 
 were worn away nearly one-eighth of an inch, and the surface 
 was not circular, but elliptical. The side that was worn was the 
 heavy side; and at every revolution the greater momentum of 
 the heavy side raised the bearings to the upper side of the boxes, 
 so tjjat when the heavy side was uppermost the cylinder did not 
 rest at all on the bearings. This caused the bearings to wear all 
 on one side, and to run hard and roughly. Every wheel or 
 journal that revolves faster than once each second should bo 
 well balanced, not only for the purpose of having all the parts 
 run as smoothly and still as possible, but that the bearings may 
 wear on every side alike. 
 
THE YOUXG FA:IMER S MANUAL. 
 
 101 
 
 now TO BALANCE A JOURNAL. 
 
 BALANCING A SHAFT. 
 
 202. The accompaiiyiu.L^- illustration will furnish a correct idea 
 of the means employed to balance the journal of a circular saw, 
 and balance wheel or cylinder. 
 Two steel squares, or iron squares 
 with perfectly straight edges, are 
 placed on two benches, for the 
 bearings of the journal to rest on. 
 The upper edges of the squares 
 must be adjusted with a level, so 
 that the journal will not roll either 
 way when it is placed on them. 
 If one side of the wheel or cylinder 
 descends and oscillates, and at last 
 comes to rest beneath the journal, 
 it is the heaviest side, and must be 
 made lighter; or the opposite side must be rendered heavier, 
 which is done in various ways. 
 
 203. Sometimes small flat knobs are cast on the inside of the 
 rim of a wheel, so that a few ounces of iron may be cut off the 
 heavy side of the rim. This is better than to remove a portion 
 of the metal by drilling holes in the rim of the wheel, as that 
 renders it liable to burst when running at a high velocity. 
 Another common way is to fasten a small piece of lead to the 
 light side of the wheel, until the journal will remain at rest wltli 
 either side up. If the balance wheel is a plate wheel, drill a hole 
 close to the rim on the lightest side, and put in a small bolt, 
 and slip on small washers until the right weight is secured. 
 Cast iron balance wheels are frequently turned off true in an en- 
 gine lathe. Such wheels will run as smoothly as a top. Cylinders 
 of thrashing macliines and power corn shellers are balanced by 
 placing the bearings on the squares, as represented by the illus- 
 trations, and boring holes in the wooden staves and pouring in 
 lead. Or more spikes may be inserted. In balancing the cylin- 
 
102 THE YOUNG farmer's manual. 
 
 der of a corn sheller, I once drove in nearly thirty spikes more 
 on one side tlian the otlier, before it wonld Ijalance. 
 
 204. In order to ascertain how much weight is required on 
 the hght side of a cylinder, my practice was to tie on spikes or 
 pieces of lead or nails, until the light side would balance the 
 heavy side; and then secure the desired weight on the light 
 side. It must be kept in mind that the bearings must be turned 
 very true, and the edges of the squares must be very straight, or 
 it will be in vain to balance a journal with any accuracy. After 
 a journal has been balanced as well as it can be on the squares, 
 it is put in its place in the machine, and driven at a very high 
 motion, with the caps of the boxes left off, so that it can rise up 
 and down as it runs, which it will do if it is not well balanced. 
 Now, while it is running at a high motion, hold a piece of chalk 
 about one fourth of an inch above the journal; and the heavy 
 side will rise up and hit the chalk at every revolution. In tin's 
 way the balancing of cylinders is finished, so that a machine will 
 not tremble in the least. 
 
 205. Mill stones are usually balanced by drilling four hoi es 
 at equal distances from each other, near tlie outer edge of the 
 stone; and as it rests on the point on which it revolves, small 
 shot are dropped into the holes in the lightest side, until it will 
 just balance. Another way is, to insert four iron bolts, say half 
 an inch in diameter, in the periphery of the stone or wheel to be 
 balanced. These bolts have a thread cut on them, and pass 
 through a ball of iron, which is screwed outward or inward 
 at pleasure. Thus the stone can be balanced with great accuracy. 
 This is particularly interesting to farmers, as it discloses cer- 
 tain important principles in the cor^struction and use of machinery. 
 I think these few paragraphs will enable most farmers to balance 
 any machinery that they are capable of running skillfully. 
 
 206. In Yol. I., I referred to the subjects of fitting up and 
 balancing machinery in this volume; and a certain editor took 
 occasion to cast some reflections on such a branch of agriculture. 
 But, as I now have the floor, it is proper for me to say that if 
 be had worked by my side on a farm for nearly forty years, and 
 
THE YOUXG farmer's MANUAL. 103 
 
 made and handled as much machinery and implements as I have, 
 and witnessed the disadvantages to practical farmers of not know- 
 ing more about the machinery that they use, which I have seen 
 and often felt, he would never have intimated that putting tools 
 and implements in order is not very closely connected with 
 ** paying farming." A long experience justifies me in stating 
 that, if a farmer does not know how to keep his machines in good 
 running order, he will find it up hill business " to make farming 
 pay." 
 
 farmers' trinkets. 
 
 ** A pitchfork a dungfork, a sieve, skep, and bin; 
 A broom, and a pail to put wat- r therein; 
 A hand barrow, wheel-barrow, shovel and spa-^e, 
 A cuiry-comb, mane-comb, and whip for a jade."— TUSSEB. 
 
 20*7. Little things are often of vast importiv^ce; and this is 
 particularly true with farmers. But, as a general thing, farmers 
 are not more than half awake with reference to a multitude of 
 things which have a great bearing on their interests; and there 
 are scores of good farmers who do not avail themselves of the 
 numerous little things within their reach, because they are not 
 aware that there are such things or facilities in existence. 
 
 208. A farmer's time is often equivalent to cash, and if it is not 
 cash saved it is cash lost. When we have really commenced out- 
 door operations in the field, an hour's hindrance may often be the 
 cause of the actaal loss of several dollars, which might have been 
 avoided by the possession of some little trinket or tool which 
 does not cost one dime. 
 
 BRACE AND BITS. 
 
 209. Every farmer who has not a set of augers, brace and 
 bits, should make up his mind to procure a set at once. Do not 
 purchase one at a time, but go to the hardware store and make a 
 good selection of a full set of auger bits, centre bits, rimmers, 
 screw driver, nail bits, and gimlet bits. A good set can often be 
 purchased for a few dollars. Such a set will soon pay for itself. 
 If you feel too poor to expend such an amount of money at once 
 tor tools, take that dime that you are about to spend for tobacco 
 
101 THE YOUNG farmer's mvnual. 
 
 and purcluise a bit with it. A little bit, wortli nb vat one dime, 
 has often saved a fai-mer two hours of his precious tune, and, 
 doubtless, several dollars. 
 
 CARRIAGE BOLTS. 
 
 210. A great many very economical farmers go to the black- 
 smith's shop and pay ten to fifteen cents for a little bolt, often 
 not half as good as could be bought at hardware stores for two 
 or three cents, simply because they do not know that there are 
 such things in existence as carriage bolts. Probably at every 
 hardware store in the country carriage bolts can be obtained of 
 almost any desirable size and length, at so low a rate that one 
 unaccustomed to them would think there must be some error in 
 the price. They are usually made in a most neat and workman- 
 like manner, with turned heads, and square near the head, to 
 keep them from turning around, when the nuts are being put on, 
 and with a far bettor thread and lit, of both bolts and burs, than 
 most blacksmiths are capable of making. With us, carriage 
 bolts five inches long are sold by the doz3n for thirty cents, and 
 those eight inches long and half an inch square for six cents 
 each. 
 
 TIRE BOLTS. 
 
 211. Tliese may be obtained of any desirable length and size 
 amazingly cheap. Only tliink of neat little bolts, two inches 
 long, with turned heads and a first rate thread and imts on them, 
 for three-quarters of a cent apiece! How complete they are for 
 rivets in almost any place, and how much better to bolt on our 
 wagon tires with them than to spike them on. 
 
 212. Carriage bolts and tire bolts come in play in a hundred 
 instances, which I will not mention. When hanging doors with 
 straj) hinges there is nothing better nor cheaper in the end to bolt 
 on the straps with than carriage or tire bolts. When making or 
 repairing any tool or farm implement, where rivets are necessary, 
 they are infinitely superior to rivets, because thsy are cheaper in 
 the outset, and can be put in in h'Ss time; and, when loo^o, cm 1)C 
 drawn up much tighter than rivets. Somn fanners always want 
 
THE YOUNG FARMEr's MAXUAL. 105 
 
 a large rivet throiigli their barrow stiles. If tliey should be put 
 in very tight, as soon as the timber shrinks a little, they are of no 
 benefit at all. Bnt if such rivets were carriage bolts, they could 
 be tightened, and keep the timbers from splitting. Always keep 
 a good supply on hand. They seldom depreciate in value on a 
 farm, 
 
 PLOW BOLTS. 
 
 213. Most of our plows are bolted together with bolts, having 
 what is called counter-sunk hea^ds. Many of tiie bolts must, of 
 necessity, have a left-handed thread or screw on tliem. This is 
 particularly true of the bolts that hold the plow points. The 
 lower side of the burrs will frequently hit the earth and stones 
 beneath them; and, were the screw a right-handed one, the nut 
 would unscrew. Such bolts, either right or left-handed threads, 
 can be purchased for from two to three cents a piece, and a 
 blacksmith would want twenty-five cents torn.akng a single one. 
 Another kind of very useful trinkets is 
 
 GIMLET-POINTED SCREWS. 
 
 214. These, of almost any size and length, can be purchased 
 by the dozen or gross, very cheap; and they are very useful in 
 scores of instances where it would be very inconvenient and im- 
 practicable to use nails. Not only those that are gimlet-pointed, 
 but those having the patent thread — not the old-fashioned Y 
 thread — are the best, as they v.ill hold better in wood. 
 
 OTHER LARGE BOLTS. 
 
 215. Farmers frequently have occasion to use long bolts, and 
 much larger than carriage bolts. Now, in order to obtain good 
 ones at the most reasonable rates, purchase blank nuts, which 
 may be had at hardware stores of almost any size — four-square 
 or six-square — and have one nut welded on the end of a rod of 
 round iron for a head, and a thread cut in another for the other 
 end. Blacksmiths usually make such nuts too thin, and, there- 
 fore, they do not hold as well as they might. If a bolt is three- 
 fourths of an inch in diameter, the burr, in order to be of cor- 
 
106 
 
 responding strength, must be not less than three-fourths of an 
 inch thick. The true rule for corresponding strength is, the nuts 
 must be as thick as the bolts. In case a man should need a 
 number of large bolt.^, the most economical way to get them is 
 to procure the iron and have them forged out, and take them to 
 some machine shop and have the threads cut in a lathe. The 
 expense will be much less, providing you have it done by the 
 hour, and they will be far superior than if the threads were cut 
 by an ordinary blacksmith. For nuts on such large bolts, those 
 intended for the arms of wagon axle-trees will subserve a good 
 purpose. Intimately connected with bolts are 
 
 COTTERELS — WASHERS. 
 
 216. When these are purchased by the single ones they will 
 cost from one to two cents a piece; but they should be bought 
 by the pound or gross. These are very useful under the nuts, 
 and sometimes beneath the heads of bolts, and can be obtained 
 of almost any size at ten to twelve cents per pound. 
 
 HOW TO MAKE WROUGHT NAILS. 
 
 217. Wrought nails, proper, are usually manufactured of a 
 very impro[)er form for most uses, being four-square and pointed 
 — the very best form for splitting anything into which they may 
 be driven, without first boring holes for them. In some cities 
 cut-wrought nails can be obtained at the same price of common 
 cut nails, made of the same form, so that they will not split 
 everything into which they may be driven. 
 
 218. When wrought nails are wanted, whether one-penny, 
 three-penny, te'i-penny, or six-penny nails, put a quantity of them 
 into the fire some evening, when there is fire enough to heat them 
 to redness, and allow them to remain there until morning. By 
 annealing the most brittle cut-nails in this way they may be 
 rendered as tough as a piece of annealed wire. 
 
 219. Cut-fence-nails will be much better after being aimealed 
 — when they are not to be driven into hard wood — as they will 
 not break so readily at every little thrust. For making any kind 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 107 
 
 of implements, even when hai-d wood is used, the nails should be 
 annealed, and holes bored for them, because a very little twisting 
 and straining on cut nails will break them; whereas, if they are 
 properly annealed, it is very diffioult to break them. If farmers 
 would use annealed nails for making their bunks, racks, feeding- 
 boxes, and troughs, instead of ordinary cut-nails, which will often 
 fly into three pieces when struck with a hammer, they would soon 
 be unwilling to use any others. 
 
 LOTS OF LITTLE THNGS. 
 
 220. T have thought best to enumerate many little articles 
 that few farmers know are to be obtained at hardware stores, 
 which are neatly made, and sold much cheaper than they can be 
 made by hand. Among them are hooks and staples of various 
 sizt's; rivets, large and small, long and short; brass and copper 
 rivets, for uniting leather belts; belt hooks of various sizes; 
 clout-wrought nails in papers, which are designed for nailing 
 leather belts or canvass to machinery; trimming nails of various 
 sizes and colors, and many other useful articles. 
 
108 THE YOUNG FARMERS MANUAU 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 SOILS AND THEIR MANAGEMENT. 
 
 " Here, barren sands and granite rocks abound, 
 There, slippery clay and marly beds are found. 
 But where d rnie Nature with her skillful hand 
 Has tempered well the surface of the land 
 With sand and clay, and covered it with mold, 
 There Cercs plants her grain like shining gold." — Edwards, 
 
 221. Soils are strata of the earth, lying at or near its sur- 
 face; and, when spoken of in general terms, they are all embraced 
 in the expressions, soil and subsoil. 
 
 222. The soil is sometimes very thin, not one inch in depth; 
 and many times it is found to be several feet deep. The subsoil 
 is the stratum of earth on which the soil rests, and will be found 
 of different depths, different color, and different in every respect 
 in different localities. And the subsoil is frequently as different 
 in every respect from the soil that lies above it, as the soil of a 
 given locality differs from that in any other locality. 
 
 223. Some writers have fallen into the error when writing 
 about soils, of limiting the soil to that depth which is pulverized 
 with tools and implements. But that earth which has been 
 si)aded or i)ulverized w th plows one or more feet deep, cannot be 
 properly called soil, unless it has been at some time exposed to 
 the combined action of rains, frosts, heat, vegetation, and thus 
 prcpnred by the action of those powerful elements of nature for 
 piuducing crops. Farmers should bear in mind the proper dis- 
 
THE YOUNG FARMEr's MANUAL. 109 
 
 tinction between soil, subsoil and earlh. Earth may be takea 
 from a thousand feet beneath the soil, in vvliich seeds will vege- 
 tate; and the plants may come to maturity. But that earth 
 cannot be properly denominated soil or subsoil. It is simply 
 mrtk — barren earth or fertile earth. 
 
 HOW SOILS ARE FORMED. 
 
 224, The time has been when all soils and subsoils were in a 
 state of rock; or, in other words, soils have been formed of stones 
 on the earth's surface. We can perceive all around ns the 
 operations of nature's laws, changing and transforming material 
 substances into a multitude o.- new forms. The intense cold of 
 winter, the scorching sunshine of summer, the gentle rain and dew, 
 and the growth and decay of plants, all exert more or less in- 
 fluence in the formation of soils. But when we reflect for a mo- 
 ment what a powerful agent electricity is to divide, subdivide and 
 to shatter to atoms infinitely small the hardest and the knot- 
 tiest substances in nature; when we consider that electricity per- 
 vades the entire globe on which we dwell, from its centre to its 
 utmost circumference; when we contemplate the vast and un- 
 limited power that was once in operation to heave up to moun- 
 tain height large tracts of country, all of solid rock, as we may 
 witness all over the Eastern as well as the Western Continent; and 
 when we contemplate the grand and awfully sublime spectacle of 
 vast strata of solid rocks broken up and put in motion, crushing, 
 grinding and reducing each other to atoms, it requires no very 
 great stretch of imagination to understand how soils have been 
 formed. 
 
 225. The best geologists tell us, that " soils have been formed 
 by the wear and tear — the disintegration and decomposition of 
 rocks." In other language, the rocks have fallen to pieces, and 
 have been dissolved by the united action of rain, frost and heat ; 
 and thus the particles have been reduced so small, that the smallest 
 roots of plants will absorb and appropriate the soluble portions 
 to the purpose of forming plants. A very good illustration of 
 the formation of soils is given in the preparation of gypia.n as a 
 
110 THE YOUNV, FAR'.IER'S JIANUAL. 
 
 fertilizer for crops. (See Gyp;nm in the Chapter on Manures.) 
 The rock is first reduced by mechanical means — by hammers and 
 mill stones — to a very fine powder. Then, after it has been 
 re(hiced as fine as practicable by mechanical means, it is sowed 
 over the soil, where it is reduced to particles still smaller, by 
 chemical myid^m — by being dissolved; and then entering into the 
 formation of plants. Thus it has been with those rocks of which 
 the soil was formed. They have been torn from the vast 
 quarries, as if charges of powder had been deposited at short 
 distances apart throughout the entire quarry, and exploded 
 at one touch of the torch, and afterwards put in motion; and by 
 crushing and grinding, and smashing along, they have been re- 
 duced to a fine powder, which powder has been reduced still finer 
 by chemical means — by cold, heat, wet and dry, and vegetation, 
 all combined — by the formation of plants, and by their decay, 
 and mingling with the earth on the surface of the earth. 
 
 DIFFERENCE IN SOILS 
 
 226. From these considerations the young farmer will readily 
 perceive that different kinds of soil have been formed by different 
 kinds of rock. When wells are dug, or when other excavations 
 are made in the earth, strata of earth and small stones will be 
 dug through ; and one can perceive with the naked eye that the 
 earth which surrounds the stones has been formed of just such 
 stones as are still remaining. And, more than this, the stones 
 that remain present the same appearance that stones of all sizes 
 would, after they had been rolled and tumbled for a long period 
 of time in a vast tumbling drum, until most ^A them had been 
 reduced to powder. 
 
 227. Every observing man can call to mind instances where 
 he has seen large stones — 3ven after they have been placed in a 
 wall of some building — all falling to line atoms, thus forming 
 Eoil. The stones and gravel in our cultivated holds are annually 
 being dissolved by the action of the elements, by the wear and 
 tear and grinding of tools and implements, when they are plowed 
 and h'vrrowed, which often amounts to more than as much as is 
 
THE YOUNG FAmiER's MAtfUAL. HI 
 
 usually applied in a top dressing of gypsum. All of these agencies, 
 in connection with the decomposing of vegetation, constitute the 
 great means of forming soils, and of keeping them in a fertile 
 and productive condition. And out of these raw materials the 
 farmer is required to produce subsistence for himself as well as 
 for his domestic animals. Therefore the great and leading 
 idea will be, not only to produce a subsistence from tlie soil, and 
 leave it, when we are done with earth, as good as we found it, 
 but to manage it in such a manner that it will sustain us and 
 our cotemporaries; and come into the possession of our successors 
 twice as productive as it was when we received it. 
 
 SOILS STILL FARTHER DEFINED. 
 
 228. A very practical writer in the Mark Lane Express says: 
 *'Soil means the surface land that is used for the purpose of cul- 
 tivation, and producing crops from the seeds that are deposited 
 in its matrix. The nature of the subsoil, or under-stratum, is, in 
 many cases, of very considerable moment in the fertility of the 
 land that lies upon it — if it be wet or dry, porous or compact. 
 And then the climate or external influences to whi oil the vege- 
 tables of the crop are exposed in the growing and maturing con- 
 dition; and, lastly, the capacity of the soil for imbibing and 
 retaining moisture and caloric. Soils are very largely varied in 
 the composition, but mostly derived from the decompositions of 
 the rock on which they repose. There are several extraneous 
 bodies intermingled with the soil which have been produced and 
 located by unknown causes; and there are vast depositions of im- 
 ported debris lying between the rocks and the soil which seem to 
 destroy the direct connection between the parents and the progeny. 
 This interposition is mostly local, and may be reckoned a diluvium 
 from peculiar causes, and in a certain position. Soil is the suj)- 
 port of vegetation, and the reservoir of receiving and communi- 
 cating nourishment. This power is large or small, according to 
 the composition of the soil in the natural ingredients an I the 
 mixture of the substances. The chief substances in soils are clay, 
 sand, Ume, animal and vegetable matters, some oxide of iron, ani* 
 
113 THE YOU:^G FARAr^.R*S MANUAL. 
 
 occasionally certain saline conipoiiad.^. The three in-i^rjdients of 
 clay, sand and lime are the principal constituents of soils, alon^^ 
 with the valuable addition of aninixl and vei^etable matters, now 
 called himms. (See Ilnmus in Chapter on Minures.) The mat- 
 ters which constitute soils are of a compound nature, and operate 
 as sucli in the formation of them. There are few, if any, sub, 
 stanches in nature which after being exposed to and acted upon 
 by the atmosphere and other agents are not capable of affording 
 support to some kind of vegetables, though there is a very great 
 variety in this respect among earthy matters. Some mitterg 
 are quickly converted into the proper nourishment of vegetation; 
 while others require a long time in being assimilated into a ma- 
 terial for sustaining any kind of vegetable life. 
 
 HOW SOILS ARE DISTINGUISHED. 
 
 229. Soils are distinguished in general terms as light and 
 heavy. The light soils are those that are composed of light 
 materials, for the most part such as humus or vegetable mold, 
 with a limited proportion of clay or sand, or both. Heavy soils 
 are distinguished from light ones by being composed in a large 
 proportion of clay. ''Then we speak of fertile soil, and barren 
 soils, of wet and dry soils; of rocky and mucky soils; of clayey, cal- 
 careous, argillaceous, aluminous and gravelly clay; of loamy, 
 sandy loam, gravelly loam, and clayey loam. Besides these, there 
 are many soils that cannot properly be called by either of the 
 foregoing terms; but may be spoken of as a mixtiure of various 
 kinds of soil 
 
 230. Every intelligent farmer knows what clay is, and what 
 sand, gravel and vegetable mold is. Now, all soils are com- 
 posed of these substances; and when any one or two of them 
 predominates in a soil, that soil may be distinguished by those kinds 
 of earth. For example: when a soil is composed mostly of heavy, 
 slippery clay, we call it a stiflf clay; although a soil of pure clay 
 is never met with. When there is a good proportion of loam 
 among the clay, it may properly be denominated a clay loam. 
 When there is a good portion of gravel among the clay, we de- 
 
113 
 
 sign ate it as gravelly clay. When a portion of the clay soil hag 
 been formed by the dishitcgration of limsstone, we call it a cal- 
 careous clay. 
 
 231. A sandy soil is one in which there is more sand than 
 anything else. But when there is a good proportion of loam 
 among the sand, we call it a sandy IocvM. Sand and clay 
 form loam. Hence loamy soils contain from thirty to sixty 
 parts in one hundred of sand. From loam we branch off to 
 clayey loam and gravelly loam. In addition to these kinds of 
 soil, tiiere is an infinite variety of soils in which vegetable mould 
 predominates, which cannot be classed with the sandy, loamy, or 
 clayey 'Soils. There are thousands of acres, a large portion of 
 the soil of which has been formed of limestone, that are called cal- 
 careous clays, calcareous loam, or calcareous sand. 
 
 232. Alkivial soils are such as have been deposited by the 
 action of streams of water; and they may be as varied in their 
 composition as any other variety of soil. But, as a general rule, 
 there is a large proportion of vegetable and mineral matter mingled 
 with them, which renders them very productive. 
 
 FOKMATION OF PRAIRIE SOILS. 
 
 233. The soils found on our prairies in the western part of 
 our country are quite different from all others that have been 
 mentioned, on account of the peculiar manner in which they have 
 been formed. For ages past the large crops of prairie grass have 
 been allowed to decay where it grew ; and, in many instances, 
 fire has swept over most territories, and reduced the dry vegeta- 
 tion to ashes. And as the roots have brought up the soil, and 
 it has been formed into plants, and then burned to ashes, a soil 
 of a very peculiar character has been formed, which abounds 
 richly in materials for producing large crops of all kinds of cereal 
 grain as well as grass, and anything else that farmers desire to 
 cultivate. Such soils may properly be denominated vegetable 
 soils. I might pen page after page concerning soils, which 
 would be of interest to read. But, as most farmers want only a 
 few practical and tangible thoughts on this subject, I have 
 
114 THE younpt farmer's manual. 
 
 thonglit it best to write briefly. Most farmers are more inter- 
 ested in cultivating their own soils well than they are in direc- 
 tions for cultivating soils of a different character in another part 
 of the world. (See Allen's American Farm Book.) 
 
 CHEMICAL CLASSIFICATION OF SOILS. 
 
 234. The editor of the Mark-Lane Express says: The best 
 classification of soils is a chemical classification, founded on their 
 composition, accor.ling to the proportion of sand separable by 
 washing; it divides them into sands, s.xndy loams, loams, clay 
 loams, and clays. It subdivides those again into fine and coarse 
 sands and sandy loams, according to the size of the particles of 
 sand, and into gravelly sands, loams and clays, according to the 
 proportion of pebbles or fragments of rocks. The proportion of 
 calcareous matter indicates whether they are to be called marly 
 or calcareous sands, loams, and clays; while, if they contain a 
 certain proportion of vegetable matter, they are called vegetable 
 soils. Each name should express some defined proportion of 
 sand separable by washing, and of calcareous or vegetable matter. 
 In such a classification as we advocate, we should have: 1. 
 Silicious soils, containing from 90 to 95 per cont. of sand. These 
 would be divided, on the same principle, into blowing sand, coarse 
 sand, good agricultural sand, and calcareous sand. 2. Loaviy 
 soils, 70 to 90 per cent, of sand separable by washing, subdivided 
 into coarse sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, rich loam, and 
 calcareous loam. 3. Clayey soils, with 40 to 10 per cent, of 
 sand, divided into clay loam, clay, and calcareous clay Each of 
 these soils, termed calcareous sand, calcareous loam, &c., contain 
 five per cent. of lime. Marly soils constitute a fourth group, in 
 which the proportion of lime ranges between 5 and 20 per cent., 
 and are divided into sandy marls, loamy marls, and cl .yey marls. 
 Calcareous soils contain more than 20 per cent, of lime. They 
 are divided into sandy calcareous, loamy calcareous, and clayey 
 calcareous ; while in calcareous sands, clays, a-'d loams, the 
 proportion of lime does not exceed 5 per cent. The difference of 
 compositiou denoted by diffjrence of name is similar to the 
 
rriE YOUNG farmer's manual. 115 
 
 sulp^atos and sulphites of chemical nom9nclatiU'e, which contain 
 different proportions of sulphuric acid. According to the q lantity 
 of pebble fragmonts yielded by a square yard, or by a cubic foot 
 of the soil, they might be denominated gravels or grivelly sand, 
 loams, and clays. Vcgztahk soils vary from the com non garden 
 mould, which contains from 5 to 10 per cent, of vegetable mitte", 
 to the peaty soil^ in which the organic matter is about 60 to TO 
 per cent. They will be vegetable sands, loams, clays, marls , txc. 
 Considered geologically, soils may be classed in three groups: 
 1. Local soils, or those derived exclusively from the debris of the 
 rock on which they rest, unmixed with the materials of other 
 rocks. 2. Erratic soils, containing the mixed materials of 
 several, and, in many cases, distinct formations, transported by 
 currents of water which, at the close of what is called the tertiary 
 period of geology, acted irrespectively of the present lines of 
 drainage and sea levels. 3. Alluvial soils, composed of finely 
 divided matter, transported and deposited by rivers and tidal 
 current.^, in subordination to the existing levels and lines of 
 drainage. 
 
 CLAY AND CLAY SOILS. 
 
 235, " Clay is a viscous earth of marine or fresh-water origin, 
 ductile and plastic, capable of retaining the moulded forms; 
 imbib.'s fifteen times its own weight of water without dropping, 
 and retains it with great obstinacy. A very considerable quantity 
 of clay is necessary in the composition of soils; it is the basis of 
 all good lands; there cannot be a rich-bearing earth without some 
 clay; conveying a vast chemical superiority, though with a 
 mechanical disadvantage. Clay is required to imbibe and retain 
 moisture, and its value depends on the quantity in the soil. An 
 excess of clay produces a starved barrenness from too much 
 moisture: the want of it forms weak lands, dry, and barren." 
 Chiy is an earth, the base of which is alumina; and alumina con- 
 sists of the mttal known as aluminum united with oxygen. Clay 
 may be further define 1 as a heavy, soft, and slippery earth when 
 wet; and when dry, compact, brittle, and hard. Pure clny is 
 said to be white. But it is rarely found in its pure state. It is 
 
116 THE YOUNG FATIMEr's MANUAL. 
 
 almost always ming-lcd with other sul)stanc8s, wliich rnorllfy its 
 color as well as its texture or solidity. We frequently see al- 
 lusions made to ahiminous clay and aluminous earth, which means 
 almost pure clay. Then we have silicious earth o/ clay, in which 
 there is a good proportion of silica or flint, sand and quartz. 
 Other writers allude to argillaceous earth or soil, to denote that 
 the purest kind of clay predominates. In many local'ties the clay 
 is properly of a calcareous nature — called a calcareous clay — 
 which signifies that there is a large proportion of lime in the soil. 
 Then we have what may be termed a ealcareo-argillaceous soil, 
 which contain a good portion of calcium and argil, or aluminum. 
 Clay is sometimes almost red, which is colored by the iron in it. 
 Ot.her foreign substances give diTerent colors to clay, imparting 
 sometimes a bluish, and sometimes a brown tint. Almost all soils 
 contain more or less clay, although in some the amount of clay is 
 so small that it may be said to contain no clay at all. 
 
 236. One of the great e:_celleucies of clay soils is, the capacity 
 and power of retaining fertilizing matter for promoting the 
 growth of plants when there is not an excess of water. When 
 clay soils are wet they will retain such substance"; as well as when 
 dry ; but an excess of water will render the soil so very compact 
 that the roots of plants cannot avail themselves of the food tiiat 
 exists in abundance throughout tHe entire soil. When the pores 
 of the soil are filled with standing water none but .the roots of 
 aquatic plants will grow in it. And even then, unless the soil 
 be kept constantly wet, such roots will die when the clay comes 
 to dry and shrink and crack under the influence of the sun. 
 
 PREPARATION OF CLAY FOU TOP DRESSIXG. 
 
 237. If we dig up clay in chunks that has never been ex- 
 posed to the alternate influences of freezing and thawing, and 
 drenching rains, and scorching sunshine, and place it where it can 
 freeze and thaw a few times during the winter, instead of remain- 
 ing in heavy, soggy, melastic masses, it will crumble to fine 
 powder, wiiich may be shoveled over or spread around with com- 
 parative ease, ^'ow, in using clay as a top dressing, or in ming- 
 
THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. lit 
 
 lino^ it with sandy soils, the great idea is to save hard labor, and 
 to derive as much benefit as may be practicable from the clay the 
 first season it is applied to the soil. If it is to be mingled with 
 a sandy soil after it has been hauled half a mile or more, which 
 may be done in some States during the winter months, let it be 
 spread on the soil where it is needed, whether meadow or plow 
 land, and in the spring all the compact chunks will be reduced to 
 a fine powder, which may be spread evenly o^er the surface But 
 if tlie clay is to be used as a top dressino; foi- hoed crops, it should 
 1)0 drawn at the fornior part of winter near the place where it is 
 to be used, and spread on a smooth plot of dry ground, about 
 eight or ten inches deep, and about ten or twelve feet in width, 
 and then a temporary shed of boards erected over it to carry off 
 the rain. Should it all thaw out during the winter, let the 
 boards be removed, and let the whole of it be plowed over, cutting 
 very narrow furrow slices, and covered up again to keep off the 
 rain. By keeping off the rain, and by plowing it ever several 
 times, it will be so mellow and fine by the time it should be ap- 
 plied to the growing crops that it can be shoveled and spread 
 with comparatively little labor. On deep mucky soils a top 
 dressing of clay will produca heavier grass than a dressing of 
 barnyard manure. And on veyy porous sandy or gravelly soils 
 a small shovelful of pulverized clay to a hill of potatoes or Indian 
 corn would produce more grain than a dressing of most of the 
 kinds of fertilizers sold in manure markets. 
 
 nUAJUS IN SOILS. 
 
 238. That portion of a soil which we scientifically denom'.nte 
 humus is the same substance that farmers ordinarily call moiUd, 
 comprehending the organic matter in all soils which has been 
 formed by the decay of vegetation and animal substances at any 
 previous p3riod of time. In some soils it is found in great abund- 
 ance, and in many others it appears in only limited quantities. 
 It constitutes the greatest source of fertility in every soil, as is 
 alMindantly proved from the fact, that when no humus is to bo 
 found in a soil it will be as unproductive for cereal grain as cold, 
 
118 
 
 Rogp^j, calcareous clay, or barren sand Scientific writers call it by 
 various names, such as liuraic acid, hurain, liumic extract, and the 
 decayed carbon of acideous residue of plants and animal substances. 
 Ilumus exists in as many different forms as carbon. Chemists 
 tell us tliat the diamond — " more precious than silver or gold" — • 
 and black charcoal are composed of pure carbon. But how 
 vastly different their appearance I Humus is also called vegetable 
 matter in a state of decay. Peat and turf, when they are in a 
 state of decay, are sometimes called iiieri humus. Although a 
 certain amount of humus is essential to render a soil productive, 
 still where it exists too abundantly it operates as a source of 
 i7ifertility rather than of fertility. Farmers may readily recognise 
 humus when they meet with it in their fields. On new lands just 
 cleared of the forest, decayed brush, leaves, rotten wood, which 
 has crumbled to a black mold, and the thin super -stratum of 
 black earth on the surface of any compact soil is humus. 
 
 THE OPERATION OF IIUMUS. 
 
 239. The influence which humus exerts on vegetation is a 
 tv/o-fold one — mechanical and chemical. When it is mingled with 
 a clay soil it renders it porous, light, friable, warm, and easily 
 worked. It keeps the soil from running together like mortar, as 
 it allows the water to percolate through it quickly, and it prevents 
 its baking, in hot weather, by conducting off the water quickly 
 and keeping it porous for the admission of air. This is the me- 
 chanical influence. 
 
 240. The chcmic%l influence may be thus explained. Chemists 
 tell us that it absorbs nitrogen from the atmosphere during its 
 decay, which is almost constantly going on, and thus becomes 
 converted into ammonia and nitric acid, which are excellent sub. 
 stances in promoting the growth of vegetation. It also forms 
 carbonic acid, which is the very life of all our cultivated i)lants. 
 Tiiese are chemical influences. (See this subject elucidated under 
 the head of Mechanical and Chemical, Chapter I.) These sub- 
 stances unite with others in the soil; and thu^., by farther 
 chemical changes and influences, excellent food is formed for the 
 
119 
 
 roots of growin,<^ plants. The organic matter (humus), when 
 formed in wet places, constitutes muck and peat, which are not 
 fertile; but as it occurs in arable soils, in quantities usually not 
 exceeding 3 to 10 per cent., it is of great value, not only on ac- 
 count of its power of absorbing water, but also from the fact, 
 that in its decay it is a continuous source of carbonic acid and 
 ammon'a, thus satisfying, to some extent, one condition of rapid 
 growth already insisted upon, viz.: supplies of atmospheric plant- 
 food by the soil. The carbonic acid formed ia the soil by the slow 
 oxidation of humus acts also according to the amount of its pro- 
 duction in the chemical disintegration of the insoluble parts of 
 the soil, and thus indirectly furnishes to the plant increased quan- 
 tities of ash-ingredients,' 
 
 SAND AND SANDY SOILS. 
 
 241. Sand is the particled granulation of rocky substances 
 that have been reduced by the action of water, and have been 
 carried about and located by the aqueous agitations. The 
 quartzy and silicious formation prevents any cohesion of sand, 
 which is loose and incoherent; and when dried, it is blown by the 
 wind. It possesses not any fertility, but it is u^^fully mixed with 
 other substances, and, in the proper quantity, promotes the open- 
 ness of soils that is necessary to fertility. Sand varies in color 
 about as much as clay, and its excellence for agricultural pur- 
 poses differs about as widely as the excellence of clayed soils in 
 their great variety. If we wash a handful of sand, and examine 
 it with a microscope, it appears more like a heap of sharp-cornered, 
 rough-looking bov/lders than anything else. The fertility of sandy 
 soils arises, for the most part, from the mechanical influence which 
 the sand exerts in promoting vegetable growth; and the great 
 excellence and efficacy arising from the sand in clayey soils con- 
 sists in its rendering the clay more porous, so that the numerous 
 roots of plants may spread very readily through the soil. The 
 sand does not supply nourishment, except in a very limited de- 
 gree. The little roots find their way through the soil, where 
 there is a good proportion of sand, about as readily as insects. — 
 
120 THE YOUNG FARMEr's MANUAL. 
 
 worms and bugs — crawl downward through heaps of small 
 stone. 
 
 242. Every intelligent farmer knows what quartz and flint 
 stone is. Sand is formed from this hard and flinty rock. Sand 
 is not formed of slate, or hornstone, or limestone. Sand furnishes 
 material for growing plants that gives stiffness to the stems. For 
 this reason cereal grain, that grows on sandy soils, always keeps 
 erect much better than when it grows on mucky soils, where 
 there is a deficiency of silex, or silica, for imparting stiff.icss to 
 the stems. The Gomsee Farmer s^^ys: "The immediate eflfjct of 
 sand applied to clay is to make it into a more adhesive mortar; 
 and anthracite coal ashes, unless in large proportion, will have 
 the same indurating effect; but if coarse vegetable or stall 
 manure, or a stiff clover sod is applied with the sand, and both 
 are plowed in, in the fall, so that the frosts of winter can act oa 
 tlie furrows, then a thorough amelioration takes place, and you 
 have the next season a friable soil of great fertility, capable, with 
 subsequent good tillage, of standing both wet and drought. But 
 to keep up this condition of the soil, it must be well underdrained, 
 and an occasional rotation of a clover crop, with the sod and a 
 little manure plowed in, must not be omitted. The action of 
 frost on clay is allied to that of burning the clay; the aluminous 
 base of clay seems to lose its strong adhesiveness by burning, 
 and the finely comminuted sand that is precipitated is identical, 
 apparently, with the fine sand of the richest river bottoms, which, 
 it has been said, cannot be worn out by ordinary cropping. At 
 any rate, such a soil is more capable of holding water by absorp- 
 tion, and decomposed organic matter by chemical attraction, 
 than by any other equally absorptive soil. 
 
 THE FERTILITY OF SOILS. 
 
 243. The question is often asked on what the fertiUty of 
 super-soil and subsoil depends ? And it has puzzled a great 
 many wise heads to give a correct answer to such a simple inter- 
 rogation. Soils from different parts of the country have been 
 carefully analyzed, and the analyses have turned out to be exactly 
 
THE YOUNTx FAR?.IEr's MAN'UAL. 121 
 
 alike. But in productiveness, one was called a harren soil, and 
 the other a ^productive one. AVriters have theorized and philoso- 
 phised about it, and penned elaborate essays in giving the true 
 answer to this simple question, which may be answered correctly, 
 scientifically, and practically in only a few words, which are — 
 the fertility of the soil depends or. the amount of available nourish- 
 ment ivhich it contains. This comprehends it all. 
 
 244. A man may understand correctly what ingredients are 
 necessary to constitute a fertile soil, and he may determine 
 whether those ingredients are to be found in the soil, or whether 
 t'ney must be supplied. Cut, after all that is said and done, if 
 those ingredients are not in an available form for promoting the 
 growth of plants the soil cannot be called a fertile one. Some 
 writers have supposed that wheu one soil was barren, and another 
 exactly like it in its chemical composition was very fertile, its 
 fertility must be traced to the exceeding fineness of the particles 
 in the fertile soil, and to their coarseness in the barren soil. This 
 is correct so far as it goes. Of course the nourishment in the 
 very coarse particles of earth is not available by the roots of 
 plants. And it might not be anymore available were it reduced, 
 by mechanical means, to a very fine, impalpable powder. Before 
 substances can be ava 1 .ble by the roots of plants, they must be 
 reduced to a liquid or fluid state, and even after they have been 
 changed to a liquid state, they may still not be in an available 
 condition for promoting the growth of plants. All vegetable 
 nourishment, whether it is in the soil or in the atmosphere, must, 
 necessarily, be in such a liquid or fluid state that the roots and 
 leaves of plants will taka it up. Plants never take up solid ma- 
 terials, and they will never absorb liquids and fluids, w/ien they 
 are in a certain condition, any more than they will absorb solid 
 substances. 
 
 ERRORS IN CULTIVATING SUBSOILS. 
 
 245. The subsoil or under-stratum which supports the cul- 
 tivable layer, if it be earthy or rocky, compact or porous, in- 
 fluences the productiveness of soils. A sandy soil may owe its 
 
 6 
 
122 THF! VOUNPr farrier's ^rAXt^AL. 
 
 fertility to the power of the subsoil to retain water; and a wet, 
 clayey soil may be much benefitted by a subsoil of porous sand 
 or gravel. It is well known that soils, when only a few inches in 
 depth, and on beds of cold, wet clay, rock, or chalk, are by no 
 means so fruitful and productive as those which are deeper, 
 though of inferior quality, but resting on a bottom which is dry 
 and gravelly. The difference of weight and tenacity in the un- 
 derstrata of soils likewise introduces great variety in regard to 
 their powers of raising and rearing vegetable productions in tlie 
 way of crops upon the n. As farmor.'^!, generally, have not made 
 themselves familiar with different kinds of soil and subsoil, we 
 have too often seen them experimenting with subsoils at a very 
 costly rate. One farmer, whose soil was very deep, has run his 
 plow deep, and turned up three or four inches of new earth, which 
 he called subsoil, which has increased his crops more than double 
 the usual amount. Another, whose soil was very thin, contain- 
 ing only a small proportion of mould, and resting on a stubborn 
 and compact subsoil, has turned all the mould that has been 
 slowly accumulating for ages past, eight or ten inches below the 
 surface, and brought up several inches in depth of this cold, un- 
 friable, unfertile subsoil, with the expectation that this soil 
 would produce a v3ry bountiful crop, when, to his great disap- 
 pointment, he finds that the productiveness of his soil is ma- 
 te-rially injured for many years to come. Many farmers, in dif- 
 ferent parts of the country, who were ignorant of the character 
 of their subsoil, have plowed deep in the spring for a crop of 
 Indian corn; and as the subsoil was often wet, cold, and barren, 
 not half a crop was raised. Therefore, by not understanding 
 how soils are formed; how long time is required to make a pro- 
 ductive soil out of Uie materials that are near the surface of tbe 
 earth; and by not understanding wherein consists the source of 
 fertility of all soils, deep plowing and deep cultivation have b?en 
 condemned; scientific agriculture has been denounced ; and " Book 
 Farming has been blown higher than Dr. Franklin's Kite," 
 simply because deep plowing — turning up the unfertile subsoil — 
 proved an injury rather than an advantage. 
 
THE YOUXG farmer's MANUAL. 123 
 
 SUBSOILS— THEIR CHARACTER. 
 
 246. We have seen in a previous paragraph what constitutes 
 the subsoil. Now the great idea above all others is to be able 
 to manage them in the best and most profitable manner. Subsoils 
 are almost as various as soils. But we shall distinguish them as 
 compact and porous, barren and fertile. The most fertile and 
 productive soils can be made of subsoils by proper management. 
 But it cannot be done in one year, nor in ten years. Some kinds 
 of subsoil may be changed into good soil in a short time, and at 
 a comparatively small expense, while other kinds will require 
 peculiar treatment for many successive years. There may be a 
 great abundance of the elements of fertility in a certain subsoil, 
 but if those elements be not in a condition to promote the growth 
 of plants they will be but little better, for the purposes of vege- 
 tation, than sawdust and charcoal are for nourishing animals, 
 notwithstanding those substances are composed, in a great degree, 
 of carbon, oxygen, and other substances, that form the very best 
 of nourishment. 
 
 247. The subsoil of the farm that I formerly owned was as 
 variable as the many different mixtures of the soil. In some fields, 
 where underdrains were cut three feet deep, the subsoil would 
 consist of a light-colored gravelly and clayey loam, which would 
 produce as good turnips or cereal grain the first season that it 
 was thrown to the surface, as the soil. On the other parts of 
 the farm the subsoil, only ten inches below the surface of the 
 ground, would be stubborn, lumpy, destitute of friability and bar- 
 ren, and would have to be manured, clovered, plowed in the fall, 
 and the lumps crushed with a roller, year after year, before it 
 could be brought into a moderately good state of fertility. And 
 these are common characteristics of different subsoils all over the 
 United States. And the true way for every farmer in managing 
 them is, to test their fertility to a limited extent in every field 
 before he plo\vs very much of it to the surface of the ground. 
 (Read the 111 P]flfects of Deep Plowing in the next Chapter.) 
 
124 THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 now SUBSOILS SHOULD BE CULTIVATED. 
 
 248. We have seen, in a previous paragraph, that all ^ood 
 soils must contain a good proportion of vegetable matter. Xow, 
 if there be but a thin super-soil, and only a limited amount of 
 mould m it, only one inch or two in depth of that subsoil sliould bo 
 turned up on the surface. And whatever may be the character 
 of the subsoil respecting its fertility, it should not be turned up 
 in the spring of the year. (See Fall Plowing in next Chapter.) 
 The true place for all kinds of subsoil — except in certain in- 
 stances where the soil is of a peculiar character — Is beneath the 
 surface soil. Tiiere are thousands of acres of the very choicest 
 quality of wheat land in New York and other States where the 
 soil should never be inverted more than four or live inches deep. 
 The subsoil should be loosened with a subsoil plow, and be kept 
 below the soil. Oa the slopes of most of our lakes, where the 
 soil contains but little vegetable matter, deep plowing would be 
 the very worst system of cultivation that could be adopted. 
 After a furrow has been turned with the common plow, the more 
 thoroughly the subsoil can be mellowed up with a subsoil })low 
 — (See Cut of Subsoil Plow in the Chapter on Plowing) — the 
 more complete and scientilic will be the system of cultivation, 
 and the more abundant will the crops be on such a soil. 
 
 249. I advocate deep cultivation and deep plowing. And 
 the deeper one can plow the better it will be for the soil as well 
 as the cro})s. But every farmer should be exceedingly careful 
 not to turn up too much of the subsoil to the surface unless there 
 is too large a proportion of vegetable matter in the soil. The 
 aim should always be, as far as may be practicable, to keep the 
 mould on or near the surface of the ground. Let not the reader 
 misunderstand me on this subject. I repeat the thought to plow 
 deeply; and, at the same time, I reiterate the caution that where 
 a soil has but little mould on the surface the plowing must be 
 done by simply plowing only a few inches deep with a connnon 
 plow, and then {"oilowing with a subsoil plow. (See this eluci- 
 dated hereafter iu Parngrapli •2")0.) 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 125 
 
 KEZiLP THE BEST SOIL ON THE SURFACE. 
 
 250. In Europe, on irany of the most productive farms iu the 
 country, tenants arc bound in written contract " not to plow up 
 any meadows." And why? The theory is, "if old meadows 
 are bnken uj), tlie decay of the sod will yield several largecrops 
 of cerciil grain or grass. But, after it has been seeded down 
 again, the grass crop will continne to diminish for a number of 
 years, until a coat of carbonaceous matter or mould has lieen 
 formod on the surface, when it will again increase in productive- 
 ness." Where land is cultivated in this manner without supplv - 
 ing an equivalent amount of fertility, it deteriorates in value, and 
 requires time to restore its original condition. If grass land is 
 plowed for grain, its fertility must be maintained. Every farmer 
 knows that one of the first requisites is, there should be on the 
 surface of the soil a stratum of carbonaceous matter, or what is 
 colloquially tovniGd mould. This will aid, facilitate and promote 
 the quick germination and rapid growth of seed and tubers.' 
 Then, if the soil beneath this mould abounds in manurial sub. 
 stances, such as roots of plants will appreciate in the production 
 of various kinds of crops, and has been prepared by seme me- 
 chanical means — or made mellow — ^for the easy ramification of 
 the roots, we have a soil in the most excellent condition for pro- 
 ducing any kind of crops to which it may be adapted. 
 
 251. When a soil is not excessively wet, ror too dry, the 
 roots of any kind of plants that take up the most nourishment 
 arc those which are nearest the surface of the soil. It appears 
 always to be an essential consideration in vegetable physiology, 
 that the surface of the soil should be covered with a little mould 
 in order to aid the growth of plants. When we go into woods, 
 for example, where the soil is covered with a thin stratum of 
 mould, we see the entire surface occupied with young plants 
 early in the spring of the year, which would never have vege- 
 tated if they had not been in such a favorable place. So it is 
 in the cultivated field. If all the mould on the surface of soTne 
 linds (f soil — not of every soil — be turned beneath the surface 
 
120 THE YOUXO farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 ?ev(.'rni inchc?:, and the compact moiildless soil or subsoil be 
 brought to the surface, every good farmer need not be told how 
 difiBcult it is to get a good sod formed ou the surface; and also 
 how much more liable winter grain is to be lifted out by the 
 freezing and thawing of winter. 
 
 252. When planting Indian corn, we all know how import- 
 ant it is to have a few inches of mould on the surface, in order 
 to give the young plants a "good start." So it is, also, when 
 raising turnips, carrots, parsnips, and anything else that springs 
 froni very small seed. The surface of the soil lying in con- 
 tact with the air, if rich and finely pulverized, aids germination 
 very much. The operations of Nature in the forests, around 
 oil stumps, and along decaying logs and fences where seeds ger- 
 minate; vegetable physiology, sound philosophy and the best 
 practice of the best farmers all combined, coincide and unite in 
 this one consideration, that it is the best system of cultivating 
 the soil, for any kind of crops — grass not excepted — to keep the 
 'best soil and a little mould on the surface, as much as may be 
 practicable. 
 
 MATNTAINIXG THE FERTILITY OF SOILS. 
 
 253. Mr. John Johnson, Geneva, New York, in answer to 
 some inquiries, in the Country Gentleman, with reference to 
 his manner of maintaining the fertility of his soils without resort- 
 m<^ to foreign manure, replied : " There is no diffictilty in doing 
 that on all our clay subsoils in this part of the state. In the first 
 place you must feed your stock well all the year, and keep them im- 
 proving both in summer and in winter. Keep them in yards 
 from the time the pasture woii'tafiford them a sufficiency in autumn 
 until there is pasture enough in spring to support them fully. 
 Then apply the manure made in winter, and take care not to over- 
 stock your pasture land in summer, as by so doing you are not 
 improving nor resting your land by letting it lay in grass, if it is 
 all eaten off as fast as it grows. Let the land be covered with 
 grass or clover, and it is getting fat daily; and so will the stock. 
 I also have sown one bushel of gypsum to the acre, on all my 
 
THE YOrXG FARMKr's MANUAL. 127 
 
 meadows and pasture land ever since I commenced farming here. 
 By rig-idly following up the foregoing system, my farm has be« 
 come far more productive now than it was thirty-five years ago, 
 producing double the quantity of hay and pasture and corn or 
 oats, and the wheat crop is also more productive. If we had 
 dry summers, wheat would stand much higher manuring, but we 
 do not know what the summer is to be until it is past; therefore 
 it is safest to manure only moderately for wheat. For corn or 
 grass I have never reached the point vrhere I thought too much 
 was applied. This buying of dung at city prices may pay, and I 
 suppose does, to raise vegetables for New York or other largo 
 cities, but I cannot believe that it can pay to raise grain or grass. 
 It is something like a farmer buying his bread and meat. I know 
 that every farmer can, in this part of the country, make manure 
 enough to keep up the fertility of his farm with stock and clover 
 if he tries to do it. I have kept about one-third and sometimes 
 one-h.alf of my farm in grain crops yearly since I owned it, and 
 the result is that it is far more productive than when I com- 
 menced on it; and every one that knows it now and knew it 
 then, knows that what I write is true. Manure, however, will 
 be consumed much sooner in much of the land on Long Island, 
 than on our drained clay lands in this part of the State of New 
 York." The reader should keep in mind that I advocate in this 
 treatise no other system of farm manngement than that which 
 will be self-sustaining — by which the intelligent farmer will be able 
 to maintain the fertility of his soil, with the materials that the 
 farm affords. 
 
 254. In addition to the foregoing remarks, I have copied a 
 portion of a letter from Mr. Johnston, who imported into this 
 country the first drain tile and tile machine: and who gave us 
 an excellent practical illustration of the manner of restoring and 
 improving the fertility of a worn-out farm by thorough draining 
 and barnyard manure. He says : " If our farmers would only 
 make all the manure they can on their own farms, they would 
 have no occasion to resort to guano or chemical manures. It 
 may perhaps be profitable to import guano, and to apply to che- 
 
123 THE YouxG fakmer's manual. 
 
 mists to manufacture manures in Great Britain, where produce 
 enough cannot be raised to feed the population ; but not so in 
 this conutry, where we raise a hirge surplus for exportation, and 
 a great deal that is worse than wasted in manufacturing intoxi- 
 cating drinks. If our farmers would convert their coarse grahis 
 into mutton, pork and beef, I believe they v.ould find it more to 
 their profit than selling them." 
 
 MIXING DIFFERENT SOILS. 
 
 255. By referring to alluvial soils, the reader will perceive 
 that when an alluvial soil is conijiosed of about equal parts of 
 clay, sand and humus, it will be a very rare instance in which 
 another soil will excel it in productiveness. Taking the hint from 
 this consideration, we find frequently that an excellent job may 
 be performed by mixing the different kinds of soil in many of our 
 cultivated fields. On many farms, all over the United States and 
 Canada, there are low lands and high lands in the same fields 
 which vary in height and depth only a few feet; and the leaves of 
 the forest and the decayed vegetable matter has been accumula- 
 ting in the low lands for ages unknown, so that there is but 
 little vegetable matter or humus on the knolls or high ground. 
 Here, then, is an instance in which too much of a good thing is 
 not found to be as beneficial for producing crops as a smaller 
 quantity would be. 
 
 256. Now, then, we want to get a large proportion of 
 this light soil in the low places, back on the higher ground, 
 where much of it once came from. But the great barrier in the 
 way of accomplishing this object is, the vast labor required to 
 remove a few inches in depth of soil to another part of the field. 
 But if such light soil can be removed and mingled with the heavy 
 and compact soil on the high ground, a better effect will often 
 be produced on the fertility of the soil than there would be by 
 th.e application of a liberal dre?Ring of manure. As it is a mucli 
 easier matter to tell what ought to be done, concerning mixing 
 soils, than it is to dq it, I propose to give some of the 
 
THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 129 
 
 DETAILS OF EXPERIENCE IN MIXING SOILS. 
 
 25t. Although my farm was called a level farm, there was 
 much high ground and much low ground. And in some places 
 in the low ground the liglit, dark-colored soil had accumulated— 
 at the expense of the soil on the high ground — to the depth 
 of eight to twelve inches. On the high ground, in some \)ivU of 
 the field, the super-soil, not more than three or four inche.^ deep, 
 rested on a stiff, calcareous clayey loam in some instances; and 
 in others on hard pan, or on a stubborn subsoil of grivelly clay, 
 which was very hard to cultivate for almost any kind of crops. 
 I have my mind, at the present writing, on a portion of one field 
 that was about two feet higher than a strip of low ground. Tais 
 high ground was well underdrained and manured liberally very 
 often. But the ground where I never allowed any minura 
 to be distributed, would always produce more than twice as much 
 per acre as the high ground. But I found there was nothing 
 snperior to a coat of the soil from the low ground spread on the 
 high ground, to increase its productiveness for any kind of cropi 
 — grass not excepted. 
 
 258. My manner of mixing such soils was to have the soil 
 that was to be removed plowed up in a mellow condition, and 
 then with a team and dirt scraper scrape off a few inches in 
 depth and haul it to the higher ground. One man with a team 
 could hold and drive, and haul soil six or eight rods faster than 
 he could do it in any other minner. And a man who has never 
 performed any such labor would be astonished to see how much 
 soil one man and a team would remove several rods in one day. 
 I worked at this at any season of the year when the soil was not 
 wet enough to adhere to the scraper. Many a day has the writer 
 removed soil alone with a team and scraper; and after the two 
 kinds of soil were well mingled together, the good effect on the 
 crops at such places was always more satisfactory than wiien 
 only a coat of m inure was applied. After a few inches in depth 
 of the light soil had been removed, a portion of the subsoil wonid 
 be turned up — if it could be reached with the plow — .mi mingled 
 6* 
 
130 THE YOTiyrr FAnMEu's MANTAL. 
 
 with the lip^ht soil. Tliis subsoil always increased the productive- 
 ness of that kind of soil more than a top dressing of manure. 
 
 PvEMOVIXG SOIL WITH A WHEEL-BARUGW. 
 
 259. Let six or eight narrow plank be placed end to end for 
 the wheel to run on, and let the soil to be removed be plowed, 
 and then let it be wheeled and spread on each side of the plank 
 for ten or twelve feet. Then carry the plank along, and cover 
 another plot as already done. If the soil is mellow, and not full 
 of water, an active laborer will remove and spread a great many 
 cubic yards of soil in a day. Still another way is where the dis- 
 tance is too great to carry soil with wheel-barrows, or with a 
 team and scraper, to liaul it on wagons. Let the bottom or 
 platform be made of light scantling, about three inches squire, 
 with the ends shaved round, so that one man can drop a load of 
 soil in a very few minutes; and then use two wagons, and let 
 one or two laborers load the light soil, and one man haul and 
 unload it. Every dollar that is expended in this manner will be 
 returned with interest in the increased amount of the first two 
 crops — and many times in the first crop — that such soil produces. 
 
 260. The easiest and most expeditious way to spread soil 
 evenly that has been dropped from a scraper or wagon is, to 
 fasten two large pieces of scantling together, in the shape of a 
 three-square harrow, and hitch a team to it, and let the driver 
 ride on it. One mau with a team will be able to spread 
 more earth, and such a dirt spreader, than ten men woull 
 spread with shovels. Another important consideration is, to 
 drop the scraper loads in rows a few feet apart, and drop the 
 earth from wagons in small heaps, which will facilitate spreading 
 it. 
 
 IMPROVING MUCKY SOILS. 
 
 2G1. In many parts of the country the entire soil, with an 
 occasional knoll of sand, loam, or clay, consists of black mould 
 or muck, which is often so deep that it is impracticable to turn 
 up with the plow any of the sub^^oil on which it rests. In such 
 instances earth must be hauled with waocons and mixjd with ao'iU 
 
THE YOUXG farmer's MANUAL. 131 
 
 of this character, to give thein firmnsss and solidity for grass or 
 any Ivind of cereal grain. Therefore a thin covering of clay 
 spread over the entire surface in autumn or in winter, where it 
 will be exposed to the dissolving and disintegrating influences of 
 frosts and rains, will tell more effectually on the productiveness 
 of such soils than two crops of clover plowed under or a good 
 dressing of barn-yard manure. Such soils do not need improving 
 with clover or any other green crops. They lack mineral fer- 
 tilizers, or they lack what we scientifically denominate inorganic 
 manure, which clay will furnish in unlimited abundance. There- 
 fore a farmer need not be at the expense of attempting to im- 
 prove the fertility of such soils by the same system of manage- 
 ment that would be necessary on a heavy soil. Apply clay — this 
 heavy, unctuous, slippery clay is just the stuff — and every load will 
 be more valuable in rendering such a soil productive than a load of 
 ordinary barnyard manure. If clay cannot be obtained get clay 
 loam, or this compact, calcareous, gravelly clay. Plow up some 
 hard barren knoll, or scrape away the super-soil, and plow up the 
 subsoil, and spread it on the mucky soil. Every time such light, 
 porous, mucky soil needs the application of some fertilizers apply 
 a dressing of clay until its texture has been so changed that it 
 may be said to consist of one-sixth or one-tenth part of clay. 
 B;it a dressing of barnyard manure every time clay is applied 
 will also increase its productiveness. 
 
 SANDY AND GRAVELLY SOILS. 
 
 262. Where sand and gravel predominate in soils to such a 
 degree that a good shower of rain is needed almost every day to 
 keep vegetation from' drying up, nothing will improve them so 
 well as a dressing of clay. x\.nd the next best dressing will be 
 clayey loam. When neither of these kinds of soil is at hand, 
 muck or peat, or some other kind of earth mingled with the sandy 
 and gravelly soil, will tell a good story on its productiveness. 
 Such soils that are too open and porous to retain moisture re- 
 quire clay mingled thoroughly through them, so that they will be 
 more retentive in holding moisture and the fertilizins- substanceg 
 
132 
 
 that j)romote the growth of all kinds of plants, and then they 
 need mould, humus, muck, clover, or maiza, or barnyard manure, 
 to make them productive. 
 
 263. We have read of experiments in applying clay, after it 
 had been finely jmlverized, to Indian corn in the hill on sandy 
 soils, and the effect was to increase the quantity of grain per 
 acre quite as much as a dressing of hog-pen manure did when ap- 
 plied to some of the other rows in the same field. A shovelful of 
 clay applied to a hill of corn, when properly preparecl, would 
 operate on a sandy soil in a most beneficial manner. If it were 
 sprinkled around the hill — as it should be, and not thrown in a 
 heap as it should not be — 30 as to cover an area of ground about 
 two feet in diameter, much fertilizing material would be furnished 
 for the roots of the young plants, and it would operate as a good 
 mulch for retaining the necessary moisture in which sandy and 
 porous soils are often deficient. 
 
 264. When pulverized clay is applied to Indian corn in this 
 way the fertilizing matter will be passing down to the roots dur- 
 ing all the growing season. And the good effect will be as great 
 on the crops for two years after it was applied as it was the first 
 season. A top dressi.ig of pulverized clay would be excellent 
 on a porous, sandy soil, when roots of any kind are raised, if it 
 were prepared properly, and applied after the young plants had 
 got a good start. 
 
 265. The editor of the Country Gentknmn writes: " In al- 
 most every section of oar country there are tracts, of greater or 
 less exicnt, of s-indy, gravelly, or light loamy soil'. Even in 
 New England, notwithstanding the mountainous and rocky cha- 
 racter of many sections of it, in the aggregate there is within its 
 limits immense quantities of light sandy lands, which generally, 
 when spoken of, are designated as 'pine lands,' as the original 
 forest growtli when the country was first settled was most com- 
 posed of the white and other varieti s of pine trees. Tliese soils 
 are tiie result of past geological agencies, and, by geologists, are 
 termed drift or diluvial, while the lower-lying lands, bordering 
 onr rivers and smaller streams, are called alluvial soils ; in somo 
 
THE YO -XG farmer's MANUAL. 133 
 
 sections they are termed ' bottom lauds;' in otlier, intervales. 
 The allavlal o.* intervale lands are freqne ^tly the most produc- 
 tive and valuable lands we hav >, though they vary somewhat in 
 natural fertility and agricultural value. 
 
 266. " The diluvial or sandy soils, generally forming the 
 peconl teiTace above t!ie rivers, vary greatly in their natural fer- 
 tility and agricultural value, aside from their nearness to or re- 
 moteness from markets. These differences are generally owing 
 to the chemical, mineral, anl physical composition of the earthy 
 materials forming them; some of which, if they can be called 
 soils, consist almost entirely of fine silicious sands, destitute of 
 vegetation of any kind. Large tracts of such are found on Cape 
 Cod and elsewhere. There may be particular locations and other 
 conditions where the reclamation, by heavy dressings of clay or 
 muck and manure, of such * blowing s mds,' may be made to 
 pay in the production of excellent crops of grass and cereal 
 grain." 
 
 GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR MIXING SOILS. 
 
 26t. In nearly all parts of the country different kinds of 
 earth arc found deposited in hills, knolls, valleys, and plains, in 
 sufficient abundance to improve such soils as need improvement 
 by mixture. Wherever we find heavy, slipp3ry clay soils, we 
 shall almost always find, within a convenient hauling distance, 
 hills of gravel or sanl, or both, as well as beds of muck and stores 
 of fcxjellent sanly loam, or some other kind of earth that will 
 improve the productiveness of a soil whose preponderating in- 
 gredient is heavy clay. 
 
 268. In many localities there may be found inexhaustible de- 
 posits of excellent alluvial, which will have an excellent effect — 
 both mechanically and chemically — on any ki ;d of soil that may 
 be found on the uplands contiguous to it. 
 
 269. The intelligent farmer will be able to understand from 
 these remarks that when it is recommended in making and ap- 
 plying m inures to soils to use muck and peat in composting or 
 in absorbing the liquids of stables and stock yards, the soil to 
 which the manure is to be applied is not a mucky soil, but, on th? 
 
134 THE YnUNG farmer's aFANUAL, 
 
 contrary, one that is different in its texture and composition from 
 the kind of earth that is to be applied to or niixgd with it. Let 
 clayey soils have a dressing of sand, fine gravel, muck, or sandy 
 loam; let sand receive a proper admixture of clav; let mucky 
 soils be dressed with some compact soils or earth, as clay, clayey 
 loam, or gravelly clay. Light mucky or peaty soils may often be 
 mucli improved by a sprinkling of sand or sandy loam, where 
 earth of a clayey nature cannot be conveniently obtained. 
 
 •2 to. In some parts of our country there are inexhaustible de- 
 posits of marl. Now, in case light and mucky soils are near such 
 deposits, their pro luctiveness may often be increased fully one- 
 half by a Hberal dressing of the marl, even when it may have to 
 be dug from several feet below the surface of the earth. These 
 few ideas, in connection with what may be learned under the 
 head of Deep Plowing and Thorough Pulverization, in the next 
 Chapter, will be sufficient to enable every farmer to manage his 
 soils in a very satisfactory manner. But, it must be borne in 
 mind, that the great proportion of the soil of our country can be 
 improved by deep plowing, in connection with clover and barn- 
 yard manure, better and cheaper than any other way, 
 
 MIXING SOILS IN NEW ENGLAND. 
 
 2*71. A farmer of Yermont records a little experiment for 
 the American Agriculturist, which proves that a top-dressing of 
 yellow loam to a clay soil operates very satisfactorily. He 
 writes: "I had a piece of ground which had become reduced by 
 a succession of crops, so that it produced only five hundred pounds 
 of hay to the acre. I wished to dig a cellar under my barn, and 
 concluded to try an experiment with the earth which was taken 
 out. I measured off oiie acre of the field above mentioned, and 
 drew the earth from the cellar upon it, covering the piece to the 
 depth of two or three inches when it was evenly spread. This 
 w:\s turned under, the same autumn, to the depth of six inc'.ies. 
 The next spring it was harrowed thoroughly, and one half 
 planted to potatoes, and the other half sown to oats. The result 
 was one hundred and tv*^enty-five bushels of potatoes, of as fine a 
 
THE YOUNG FAIl^[ER's MANUAL. 135 
 
 quality as I ever raised, and thirty bushels of oats. I again 
 plowed it in the autumn, going two inches deeper than the pre- 
 vious plowing. In the spring I thoroughly mixed and pulverized 
 the soil, and sov/cd to wheat, and seeded to clover and timothy 
 grass. I had a stout growth of straw, but owing to the weevils, 
 the yield was about 15 bushels of wheat. I have since cut two 
 tons of hay to the acre for two years. I think the four crops 
 hive well paid me for the trouble of trying the experiment; and 
 the result has been, thus far, quite as good as though I had ap- 
 plied thirty loads of manure to the land. The soil was clayey; 
 the earth applied was a yellow loam. I think the mixing of soils, 
 as clay upon sand, or sand upon clay, will prove of great benefit 
 where' the materials for making an abundance of manure are 
 scarce." 
 
 272. I have known other instances in which farmers have kept 
 their teams hauling earth from hills, knolls, or places where ex- 
 cavations were being made, to fields on their farms — some times 
 more than half a mile distant — where the soil was of a different 
 quality from that which they were hauling; and the good effect 
 could always be perceived in the increased productiveness of such 
 soil for any crops that were raised on it for several years to come. 
 
 MIXING SOILS IN NEW YORK. 
 
 273. In addition to my own experience, which has been re- 
 corded in other places in this book, I copy a few paragraphs 
 from the Country Gc/i^/e/«a?j concerning mixing soils: "Draining 
 and manuring are the principal means which have hitherto been 
 employed for improving the condition or composition of soils. 
 Almost all agriculturists — certainly all inquiring and well-in- 
 formed ones — are now pretty well acquainted with the advan- 
 tages to be derived from the above-named methods of improve- 
 ment, and are thoroughly convinced that all injudicious ex- 
 penditure, either in the way of draining or of manuring, will or 
 may be made to pay. The agricultural community do not need 
 great addition to their knowledge on these points. But there is 
 a method of improving soils, to which the attention of farmers 
 
13G 
 
 has not been, as yet, muc'.i directed. We refer to that method 
 which consists in adding to soils those earthy substances in which 
 they are deficient. Some little has been done in this way in the 
 case of gardens; but in the cnse of fields or plow-lands, very little 
 has been attempted, principally, we presume, from the generally 
 prevailing opinion that labor exjiended in this manner * will not 
 pay.' 
 
 274. " This o]iinion we are inclined to think an erroneous one 
 in many cases. Where labor is scarce and high it may be true; 
 but where there are quite a number of boys in the family, and 
 several teams on the farm, and work not crowding in the lali 
 and early part of winter, we think this opinion may stand in the 
 way of making some additions to the too sandy, too clayey, too 
 mucky, or too something else soil of a field, which would render 
 that field much more productive, causing an increase in the crops 
 from it for many years, which w^ould amount to a large percent- 
 age on the cash value of the labor expended on it. From what 
 we have witnessed in the case of some gardens and some patches 
 for corn-culture, to which sand, meadow muck, and composts of 
 various kinds had been added so as to alter the composition of 
 the soil very much — as, for example, changing a hard clay, al- 
 most all the season too stiff to be worked with hoe or otherwise 
 •into a loose, friable, dark-colored loam — we are strongly inclined 
 to the opinion that a large outlay in making needed alterations 
 in the composition of soils would be better than investing the 
 money at an interest of 10 per cent. As small expjrhne its 
 of this kind, comparing the outlay with the increase of products 
 as far as that can be done, would be the most likely way of 
 banishing erroneous opinions, and of leading to the general preva- 
 lence of right ones, we would urge those who can spare the time 
 and labor at any time from this date till the setting in of winter, 
 to make a trial on some small patch of garden, meadow, or cora 
 ground. Let clay, clay marl, sand, gravel, meadow muck, &c., 
 be drawn out upon the soils which need such additions; let these 
 additions be spread equally over the surface in the spring, and the 
 results carefully noted. These results will not consist wholly in 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 137 
 
 increased productiveness of soil, but there will be, besides an in- 
 crease of crop, a greater facility and pleasure in cultivation, nn 
 opportunity of raising crops for which the soil was formerly un- 
 suitable, and, probably, a more obvious and ready return from 
 the application of manure. Light sandy and gravelly soils, upon 
 which, perhaps, wheat cannot be raised to any advantage, are 
 benefitted by additions of clay, clay marl, peaty earth or meadow 
 muck, or a mixture of all of these in a compost with stable and 
 barn manure. Ciay soils, again, are benefitted by additions of 
 lime, sand, gravel, loamy sand, and peaty earth. Any of these 
 separately, or a mixture of several of them, will alter for the 
 better the composition of such soils, and render them more fria- 
 ble, fertile, and easily cultivated. Upon both these kinds of soil, 
 and indeed uj on almost every variety of soil, peat earth acts 
 favorably. It should always form a part of any mixture which 
 is added to a soil if it can be had conveniently. 
 
 EXPERIMENTS IN MIXING SOILS. 
 
 275. To these general directions I will add a brief account of 
 two experiments of the kind I am recommending, which have 
 fallen under my observation, and from the details of which a hint 
 or two may be gleaned for the guidance of tliose who are dis- 
 posed to coutinue experimenting on this subject. In the first 
 case, the spot most convenient for a garden on a new farm was 
 one of hard, stiff clay. An attempt was made during the first 
 year to make the soil of this garden more friable and loose by 
 plowing in a liberal supply of long or undecomposed manure. 
 This, however, seemed to have little effect Next year leached 
 ashes were spread freely upon a part of this clay garden, perhaps 
 two inches deep," but with little effect in making the soil looser, 
 or more capable of being hoed in warm dry weather. During 
 the fall or early winter of another year enough of meadow muck 
 was drawn upon the garden to cover the whole surface to the 
 depth of about two inches. This was intimately mixed with the 
 clay to the depth of 8 or 9 inches the first year, by spading, 
 raking, &c., and from that time to this that soil has had quite a, 
 
138 THE YOUNG FARMKrVs MANUAL. 
 
 different appearance, has been mnch more productive, never gets 
 baked, compact or hard, and admits of the weeds being pulled 
 up with much more ease than formerly. lu the other case, there 
 was a peaty meadow and much clay soil upon the farm. Near 
 by, however, was a sand hill, from which could be taken any 
 quantity of pretty fine and pure sand. In the fall of each year, 
 for a term of years, enough of sand was drawn from this hill to 
 cover a large barn-yard to the depth of 5 or 6 inches. This 
 was spread out evenly with the hoe so as to be a bed for the 
 cattle. Being fed around this yard, and sleeping in it al night, 
 almost all the droppings of the cattle and all the urine fell upon 
 this sandy bed of the yard. When the surface became filthy, so 
 that the cattle could not readily find a clean place to lie down, 
 the plow was taken out and run through this sand, and a new, 
 fresh, clean surface turned up. Such was the mode of manage- 
 ment during the winter. In the spring, at convenient times, this 
 sand was all hauled out upon the farm, sometimes upon the low 
 meadow, but generally on t])e upland. From cart or wagon two 
 men scattered it as far as it would go. The natural meadow 
 became gradually less mucky, and more fit for the growth of 
 herds' grass, and subsequently of crops of corn. The clay land 
 became more loose and friable, and when the dressing did not 
 extend all over the field to which it was applied, the difference in 
 the color and growth cf the grass, and in the amount of the hay, 
 was quite observable. One field which had more of this dressing 
 than any other became changed from a stiff, compact clay to a 
 loose, friable clayey loam; and with a dressing of meadow muck 
 from the cleanings of the ditches, assumed a dark appearance re- 
 sembling thos3 rich low soils which abound in carbonaceous de- 
 posits. These fields can now be plowed or hoed at times when, 
 as formerly, they would have been hard and compact almost as 
 a bi-ick. 
 
 IMrROVIXG SANDY SOILS WITH CLAY. 
 
 27G. A correspondent of the Gcrnmntown Telegra'ph writes : 
 *• There is a very erroneous impression on some minds, that light, 
 loose sands are valueless for the purposes of cultivation. lu 
 
THE YOUNG FAHMER's MANUAL. 139 
 
 their natural state, it is true, they are not very productive. A 
 few crops of rye or buckwheat reduces their fertility, and so much 
 manure is thenceforth requisite to reinvigorate and keep them 
 in heart that they are either turned out to pasture or abandoned 
 in despair. I have had some experience in the cultivation of this 
 species of soils; and my success has induced me to attach to them 
 a much higher degree of importance than is usually accorded- 
 And I am fully persuaded, that even the lightest and most sterile 
 soils may, by proper management, and without any ruinous outlay 
 of expense, either in time or capital, be made highly and perma- 
 nently productive; in short, that our poorest plain land can be 
 redeemed from this unjust imputation of utter worthlessness, and 
 made to yield not only remunerating crops, but crops equalling 
 in abundance and richness those afforded by the most affluent soils 
 upon which labor was ever yet bestowed. In the first place, in 
 order to the successful amelioration of sandy soils, it will be neces- 
 sary completely and thoroughly to cleanse them from stumps. 
 After this is effected, let them be ploughed deeply with a strong 
 team in the last of summer, turning in all the growth upon them 
 to the depth of at least one foot; then harrow thoroughly and roll 
 with as heavy a roller as you can procure. The next thing is to 
 give the surface a good dressing of clay. This earth will generally 
 be found in the near vicinity of the field to be clayed, either in 
 some neighboring run or water course, or beneath the sand; for 
 sand and clay are never far apart. The finer it is, and the more 
 greasy, the better and more durable will be its action ; and the 
 more liberally it is applied, the more thorough will be the im- 
 provement consequent upon its application. The best time for 
 a])plying it is immediately after ploughing; and, to secure its 
 being refined and broken up, it should be deposited in heaps, and 
 spread evenly over the surface, to remain exposed during the 
 winter to the action of the frost. In the spring plough again, 
 not so deeply as before. In order not to disturb the sward, har- 
 row, and again roll. You can now sow on rye, or plant; 
 and the crop will come off in season to allow you an opportunity 
 to give another dressing of clay, which in quantity should be 
 
140 THE YOUNG FARMKIl'S MANTAL. 
 
 equal to the first — say forty cords to the acre — and spread as 
 before. 
 
 277. This will entirely change the texture of the soil, and 
 you will no longer liave the barrenness of sand to contend with; 
 but a soil endued with all the essential requisites of permanent 
 and vigorous fertility, and on which manure will act with as much 
 celerity and energy as upon the richest loams. It may be thought 
 that the quantity of clay recommended — 80 cords to the acre — 
 is hirge; but when we reflect that some cultivators bestow this 
 amount of stable manure, and bear in mind the important fact, 
 that while manure is an article for which money has to be paid, 
 the whole cost of clay is embraced in the carting, the objection 
 arising from the quantity requisite to insure a complete and 
 thorough improvement being large, will at once cease to retain its 
 force. If the farmer cannot afford this, he can apply a less quan- 
 tity at first, and add to it year by year; but, in this case, he 
 must contend with a much less lucrative return for his annual 
 labors, as a very large per centage of clay is called for, in order 
 thoroughly to improve the soil, and overcome the many and 
 serious imperfections of sand, as it naturally exists. There- 
 fore it is much better and more in accordance with a policy of en- 
 lightened economy to give enough at first to effect the object 
 desired, than to occupy years with only a limited annual return. 
 
 278. One great reason — and indeed I regard it as the princi- 
 pal one — why manure never acts vigorously on light sand is, that 
 the extreme porosity which characterizes it, causes the dung to 
 keep dry^ and consequently to remain inert. A lump of dry 
 manure is no better in the soil than a chip or a stone; and will 
 prod-ucejust the same effect upon the crop. The clay gives 
 cohesiveness to the particles, unites them, by a sort of glutinous 
 attachment and consolidation. And while it favors absorption 
 and retention of moisture, insures the fermentation and ultimate 
 decomposition of the dung. In a few years the soil assumes a fiiie 
 dark ;ip})earance, resembling that of garden mould; and the 
 various gr.isses will find in it a bed capable of affording expan- 
 sion and soluble food commensurate with their wants. To every 
 
THE Y0T7NG FARMER'S MANUAL. Itil 
 
 person, therefore, who is the possessor of sandy soil, I would say 
 day it at once! No soil is so easily worked; and from no soil, 
 when managed in this way, will labor secure to itself a more certain 
 and rich reward.'^ 
 
 LASTING EFFECT OP CLAY WITH SAND. 
 
 279. Judge Buel, who gave such an excellent impetus to prac- 
 tical agriculture in America, on the sandy soils near Albany, 
 N. Y., penned the following remarks, which will be read with 
 interest : *' A few years since I broke up and planted to corn a 
 clover lay upon sandy soil, embracing an area of about ten acres 
 of land. Upon an acre of tliis ground, more than twsnty years 
 before, thirty loads of clay had been deposited, and had become 
 thoroughly incorporated with the sand. The ground in every 
 other respect possessed the same character and qualities. It was 
 plowed at the same time and subjected to the same tillnge in 
 every detail. Immediately on the appearance of the young 
 sprouts, the crop growing upon the mixture of sand and clay 
 exhibited a more vigorous growth, with a deeper and healthier 
 color. As the crop advanced, the difference increased, and the 
 boundary of the area became as distinctly marked by the ap- 
 pearance of the crop as if it had been separated by a hedge from 
 the remainder of the lot. This appearance was so remarkable 
 as to attract the constant observation and inquiry of strangers 
 as to the causes of the marked and peculiar distinction. The 
 part of the lot containing the clay was little injured by the grub 
 and worms, although the remainder suffered severely from their 
 ravages. The crop of the entire field was excellent; but that 
 grown upon the acre of clayey sand yielded almost twice the 
 harvest in both grain and stalks of any other acre." 
 
 280. The result of an experiment is recorded in the Genesee 
 Farmer, which the writer states was tried in Herkimer County, 
 N. Y., from which it appears that the hygrometrical or absorp- 
 tion power of a loose, sandy soil treated with a light coating of 
 clay was very efficacious. The author says that, during a trying 
 drought, a poor, sandy soil that he had treated with a coating 
 
142 THE YOUNG FAmiER's MANUAL. 
 
 of blue clay the year beiorj, now stood the drought well, yielding 
 a good crop of red clover, while the other part of the field, un 
 clayed, remained parched and dry, presenting a scanty vegetation, 
 liardly worth harvesting. 
 
 281. Again, the soil tlius clayed was so permanently benefitted, 
 that it required less than half the stall manure to enable it to pro- 
 duce crops that was required by the sandy surface not thus treated 
 with clay; thus proving that the constant requirement of sandy 
 soil for heavy manuring is entirely due to its lack of the alumi- 
 nous principle which enables it to hold the escaping gasses of de- 
 composing manures for the benefit of the growing crop. There 
 are thousands of acres of scrub oak and pine plains on Long 
 Island, within two hours by rail of the city of New York, all 
 arable land, needing no underdrains, a sandy loam surface and 
 coarser subsoil; but making a compact and perfect race-course 
 roadway. To grow the best of red clover, these plains have 
 only to be cleared and burned over, but for continuous cropping, 
 the soil needs the aluminous principle in a coating of clay, which 
 when worked in gives adhesive absorptiveness to the soil, with- 
 out which there can be no lasting fertility short of continued 
 heavy manuring. 
 
 282. Thaer says, in his Principles of Agriculture, that " Land 
 should be chiefly valued according to its consistence; the greater 
 the degree of this quality which it possesses, the nearer does it 
 approach to first-class land; but the smaller the proportion of 
 clay, and the larger quantity of sand which enters into its com- 
 position, the more rapidly does it fall in value." Experience as 
 well as history confirms this remark as correct. All the great 
 deserts of the world are composed mainly of shifting sands. The 
 most fertile soils, wherever found, contain a large portion of clay. 
 Clays, however, differ largely in agricultural value, as may here- 
 after be shown. 
 
 283. One reason for the valuable character of clay soils is 
 found in the fact that they contain, more than any other soil, the 
 elements of fertility within themselves. They are usually more 
 or less productive, if rightly cultivated, without aid from stimulants 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANITAL. 
 
 143 
 
 or manures, but acknowledge such aid very gratefully when re- 
 ceived. A recent writer says " they are deposits of various 
 earthy compounds mixed in many cases with organic matter, and 
 frequently require only aeration to render them productive." 
 
 284. The practical lesson taught us is, that to farm clay soils 
 profitably we must take full advantage of the property they 
 possess of attracting and holding the elements of fertility supplied 
 by atmospheric influences — air, water and light. To this end 
 they must have exposure to the air, freedom from stagnant water, 
 and a course of tillage which shall keep them in a comparatively 
 mellow state. The natural characteristic of clay is to attract and 
 retain water, to harden in drying, and to become impervious 
 generally to all ameliorating influences, and the more so the 
 longer they remain undisturbed.^ This, however, depends more 
 upon their state of drainage than upon anything else; and this 
 naturally accords with the amount of clay present in the soil, and 
 the porous or non-porous character of the subsoil. 
 
 CULTURE OF HARD-BAKED SOILS. 
 
 285, On this subject, I transcribe some remarks that were 
 prepared for the Country Gentleman, adding such as more mature 
 experience appears to warrant. To produce a proper seed-bed 
 on a heavy or hard-baked soil is always a difficult matter, re- 
 quiring a great amount of labor, and often resulting imperfectly 
 at last . If land containing a certain proportion of clay be plowed 
 in the usual manner, comparatively dry, it will present a greater 
 or less proportion of lumi)S or clods of a size proportioned to 
 the depth of the furrow and the baked state of the soil, and very 
 far from affording a seed-bed likely to produce any profitable 
 crop. If plowed when comparatively ivet, and dry weather fol- 
 lows before any further cultivation ensues, the same cloddy state 
 is the result; nor would the preparation of the soil be enhanced 
 by any working given, while the soil was iu a plastic state. To 
 produce the best results in the easiest way, such soils must be 
 woiked when just dry enough to crumble down; when not so wet 
 as to knead, nor so bak^J as to require great force to break 
 
144 THE YOUNG FARMER^S MANUAL. 
 
 it up, and only in clods at that. We find it difficult to ex- 
 plain the matter jjlainly; but every farmer who has uncultivated 
 lieavy soils will understand our meaning from liis own experience. 
 Tlie question, then, is not when and how shall we best cultivate 
 heavy soils; but how, when a heavy soil becomes baked, shall it 
 best be pulverized — best reduced to that state of fine tilth to 
 furnish a proper seed-bed for our crops. We cannot always take 
 advantage of that crumbling stage of a heavy soil; our forces 
 may be otherwise employed, or insufficient to do all our plowing 
 while the ground is properly moist. Therefore the gre.it idea 
 will be to reduce these huge slabs of putty-like furrow slices, or 
 the rough clods and lumps, to a fine tilth. 
 
 28G. In the first place the soil must be thoroughly drained. 
 If it is wet and continues to remain wet, until the scorching heat 
 of summer has dried up the excessive moisture, there is no pos- 
 sible way of accomplishing this important object but by me- 
 chanical means. When these compact soils are covered with 
 lumps of baked earth, a few hours after a heavy shower of rain 
 has fallen, they will crumble to fine powder at a slight pressure. 
 Therefore let a heavy roller pass over them, which will pulverize, 
 most thoroughly, every one near the surface. (See Haw to Make 
 a Good and Cheap Roller in Vol. I.) After the ground has been 
 rolled, harrow it, with a heavy harrow. This will pulverize many 
 of the lumps; and will also bring many more to the surface, 
 which must be crushed with the roller. (Read When to Harrow 
 Compact S oils in next Chapter.) But in case the soil was plowed 
 when so wet that it lies in long, hard furrow slices, just as the 
 plow left it, the best way will be to cross plow it when it is just 
 dry enough to pulverize well. After this, apply the roller and 
 harrow shortly after a "heavy shower of rain; and the work will 
 be done. 
 
 KEEPING STOCK OFF SOILS WHEN WET 
 
 287 Fcvv farmers, comparatively, appear to exercise that 
 great care on this point which is absolutely necessary in t)rder to 
 keep heavy soils from plowing up lumj)y. When the soil is frozen 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER*S MANUAL. 145 
 
 up tight, or is dry, stock cannot injure it by running over it. 
 And many farmers will insist that it will not make it lumpy 
 to allow stock to tread and poach it in the fall; because they 
 insist that the frosts of winter will expand and pulverize it 
 wherever the feet of stock may have poached it, although a soil 
 will not plow up as lumpy when it has been poached in the fall 
 by the feet of heavy stock as it will if they are allowed to run 
 over it in the spring; still that soil will be far more lumpy when 
 ijattle have poached it in the fall than it would be had it not 
 been poached at all. 
 
 288. Wherever heavy animals are allowed to poach a soil 
 that will bake hard in dry weather, their feet compress the dirt 
 into less than half the space that it occupied previous to being 
 poached. And such portions must be expanded more than half 
 1 dozen times before it will occupy as much space as it did before 
 being compressed. And when a soil is already too close and 
 compact, it will be very injurious to it to have it pressed into 
 half the space that it ought to occupy. 
 
 289. My own practice always was to exercise as much care 
 in keeping heavy stock off plow lands, when the soil was wet — 
 at ail seasons of the year — as I did in keeping them off my fields 
 of grain or meadows. Where there is a large proportion of sand 
 or gravel in the soil, heavy animals will not injure it by poaching 
 as they will a clayey soil. But there are few soils in America 
 that will not be injured, more or less, by being poached by heavy 
 animals when they are too wet to be plowed, 
 
 RENOVATING WORN-OUT LANDS IN JUAJNE. 
 
 290. On this subject E. L. Hammond says : " The renova- 
 tion of an exhausted farm requires time, patience, perseverance 
 an J capital; and the larger stock a man has of these on hand, 
 the sooner he may consummate his object. Yet patience and 
 perseverance will accomplish much in a short time, if rightly ap- 
 plied. Any mode of farming which does not return to the farm 
 annually that amount of plant-sustaining elements which have 
 been drawn from it by the crops which have been removed, may 
 
 7 
 
146 THE YOUNG FARMER's MANUAL. 
 
 be set down as bad management, and will soon show itself in the 
 shape of a worn-out soil," 
 
 291. It is sometimes found that apparently worn-out soils 
 are not so much exhausted as they appear to be; and by a right 
 application of means they may be easily reclaimed. I think 
 that a large majority of farms, at least in the northern counties 
 of Maine,are of this class. For instance: a succession of the same 
 kind of crops may have exhausted the soil of more or less of the 
 elements necessary to sustain and nurture sucli crops, and still 
 retain the necessary elements to grow some other. Again, a 
 variety of crops may have exhausted the surface soil of most 
 of its plant-sustaining properties, wliere shoal plowing has been 
 the practice, and the farmer considers his farm worn out, when, if 
 he would deepen the cultivation a few inches, he would probably 
 lui-u u[) to tiie action of the air and water many important ele- 
 ments necessary to sustain vegetation. 
 
 ADAPTING CROPS TO THE SOIL. 
 
 •' Each soil hath no liking of every grain, 
 Nor barley nor wheat is for evpry vein; 
 Yet know I no country so barren of soil, 
 But some kind of corn may be g i.cii with toil." — Tusseb. 
 
 292. After all our discussion about the various kinds of soil, 
 and the different modes of managing them, in order to make 
 them fertile and productive, if a farmer fails to adapt his crops to 
 the soil, he makes a grand failure in the one great and essential 
 point on which all his success depends. Why can we not raise 
 water melons and musk melons, by the wagon load, on our best 
 wheat soil, as they are raised in many places on a different kind 
 of soil ? Because the soil is not adapted to their growth. On the 
 contrary, why can we not grow forty bushels of good wheat per 
 acre on the very soil where melons, squashes, and sweet potatoes 
 will attain an enormous size with almost no cultivation at all ? 
 Simply because the soil is not adapted to its growth. 
 
 293. Multitudes of farmers, not understanding this principle, 
 have expended, in the aggregate, small fortunes in trying to grow 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER^S MANUAL. 14T 
 
 certain crops on certain soils, which were no better adapted to 
 each other than our northern winters are to the necessities of 
 the chattering wren. Thousands who were ignorant of the con- 
 stitution of a good soil for wheat have read the cheering accounts 
 of raising forty or more bushels of wheat per acre in certain lo- 
 calities; and thinking that manure, clover, and thorough pul- 
 verization of the soil were the all-important considerations for 
 wheat, they have plowed deep and manured highly some fields 
 where hardly a trace of clay could be found, and have produced 
 straw large enough to yield more than fiffey bushels of grain per 
 acre, but received, to their great disappointment, hardly enough 
 to pay the expense of cultivation. 
 
 294. Now, what has been the result ? Why, those who have 
 failed to grow as large a crop of wheat on a soil that was not at 
 all adapted to that kind of grain as another farmer produced on 
 the best kind of a wheat soil, have4ost their confidence in reports 
 of such agriculture, and denounc-'d it as " humbuggery," a^ 
 " book-farming," and as a report concerning something that " no 
 practical farmer ever realized." And thus it has been in mul- 
 titudes of instances concerning root crops and grass. Some 
 farmers have taken a new start in agriculture to raise roots of 
 some kind — beets, carrots, or turnips — for feeding stock, and 
 have selected a piece of ground that was no more adapted to the 
 production of such crops than the clay of a brickyard is adapted 
 to making a good radish bed. Of cours3, after bestowing twice 
 as much labor in their cultivation as they require in a good soil, 
 they were compelled lo acknowledge a failure, and were glad to 
 return to a proper system. 
 
 295. Here, also, is another cause of failure. We may go 
 through our States, from Maine to Kansas, inquiring about grasses 
 for hay and for grazing, and we shall find a large proportion of our 
 best farmers cultivating and ready to extol, in the highest terras, 
 certain kinds of grass, while nearly an equal number will de- 
 nounce those very kinds as not fit for cultivation. Let a maa 
 read all the communications in our best agricultural papers coa- 
 Cc'rning Hungarian grass — for example — and if he possesses no 
 
148 THE YOUNG FARM E It's MANUAL. 
 
 other evidonce of its excellence, he will be as much puzzled to 
 decide upon its merits as he would be were he required to deter- 
 mine correctly the points of the compass in a cloudy day in the 
 middle of the ocean. (See the details of this subject in the 
 Chapter on Grasses and Wheat.) The correct way is for every 
 farmer to ascertain, by trial and careful observation, what kinds 
 of crops a soil will produce most advantageously, and then 
 adopt a short rotation of such crops as will succeed well. 
 
 UNPRODUCTIVE SOILS. 
 
 296. The unproductiveness of soils is attributable to various 
 causes. Sometimes it arises from excess of water, sometimes 
 from a deficiency of water, sometimes from a want of lime, 
 humus, or vegetable matter, and frequently from growing ex- 
 hausting crops for many years in succession without eni[)loying 
 any fertilizing material for the purpose of maintaining its fertility. 
 In the majority of instances, however, the soils of our country 
 are rendered unproductive by an excess of water, and by growing 
 exhausting crops on them for many years without applying any 
 manure. In some ■ instances the soil appears to be naturally 
 unproductive, and neither too wet nor too dry, nor deficient in 
 lime or vegetable matter; and sometimes an excess of some acid, 
 alkali, or iron is the true cause of uuprodu'jtiveness., Soils that 
 are composed, for the most part, of coarse gravel and sand are 
 quite too porous to retain a sufficiency of moisture and vegetable 
 nourishment near the surface of the ground, where it is essential 
 to the gTowth of plants when the seed first germinates. Heavy 
 clay soils are sometimes unproductive from a want of thorough 
 pulverization. This is a common cause in many localities where 
 the ground is plowed very shallow, with wide furrow slices, a. id 
 only once a year, very early in the spring. Many times the 
 elements of fertility are held so firmly, botli mechanically and 
 chemically, in heavy soils, that their unproductiveness will yield 
 only to the combined influence of mechanical action in pulveriza- 
 tion and cliemical influence arising from the application of lime, 
 gypsum, or something else, that will destroy this combination 
 
THE YOUNG FARMRr's MANUAL. 149 
 
 and firmness, and render tlie elements of fertility ava'lable by 
 plants. It is proper that w^e keep in mind the difference between 
 soils that have been rendered unproductive by injudicious manage- 
 ment and those that are naturally sterile or unproductive from 
 some one or more of the causes just mentioned, as it is of great 
 importance to k.io\v why a soil is unproductive before the best 
 means can be employed to restore its impaired fertility. 
 
 MANAGEMENT OF DIFFERENT SOILS. 
 
 SOT. The reader has, doubtless, perceived through this entire 
 book that I have been particular to state the kind of soils when 
 allus'on is made to a given system of management, because I 
 consider this a very essential point in plowing, harrowing, 
 manuring, and almost everything else connected with its cultiva- 
 tion. I have been more accustomed to the cultivation of heavy 
 soils than light soils. Consequently, when I give the details of 
 my system of managing for almost any kind of crop, those far- 
 mers who have never cultivated a heavy soil laugh me in the 
 face, and set down such directions as palpable absurdities. The 
 truth is, they know nothing about the most proper manner of 
 cultivating heavy soils. On the contrary, let us talk to a man 
 who is entirely ignorant of the best manner of cultivating a light 
 soil, of the manner of plowing, harrowing, and fertilizing, and he 
 is ready at once to denounce such a practice as superlatively 
 ridiculous! Let us, for example, refer to the cultivation of dif- 
 ferent kinds of roots. A good farmer of New Jersey, or of some 
 parts of New England, whose soil is very light, fertile, and never 
 apt to bake, raises vast quantities of roots of almost any kind- 
 He has only to scatter the seed, and brush it in a little, and keep 
 most of the weeds subdued, and he raises a bountiful crop; audit 
 appears a mystery to him that farmers in other localities do not 
 grow more roots when they can be produced at such a small ex- 
 pense. Only one plowing, and half done at that, and he is cer- 
 tain of a crop. But, on a heavy soil, one must ditch and plow 
 ill autumn, and subsoil, and harrow, and roll, and harrow again 
 and roll, and wait sometimes a week or more before it will pos- 
 
150 THE YOUNG FARMER'S! MANUAL. 
 
 £ibly be dry enough to plow or liarrow; and, when itis just right 
 to jnilverize well, to drive the teams early and late in order to 
 take advantage of the best tim-} for pulverizing the soil most ef- 
 fectually. All this discussion f bout pulverization and plowing 
 and harrowing in the right time is downright nonsense to the 
 farmer who has never worked heavy soils. For this reason, I 
 have endeavored to make a marked distincti-^n in the system of 
 managing both light and heavy soils for nearly all kinds of crops. 
 And every good farmer will coincide most perfectly with the sug 
 gestions and directions. It should always be kept in mind that 
 difTe.ent soils will require ditfcrent systems of management. 
 
 HOW TO RENOVATE BARREN SOILS. 
 
 " The soil must be renewerl, which, o ten washed, 
 Loses its treasure of salubrious salts. 
 And disappoints the crovis." — CowncR. 
 
 298. In many parts of the country soils are found naturally 
 so sterile that it is difficult to grow even a small crop of any kind 
 of grain or grass. When there are no beds of muck or peat 
 within convenient hauling distance, and no foreign manure is 
 used, it is a tedious task to render such a soil even moderately 
 productive. Still, it can often be done with no other fertilizing 
 material than the farm affords. Take, for exam})le, a shallow 
 calcareous or silicious loam, in which there is little or no humus 
 or vegetable mould, and wliich has never produced much except 
 weeds. Soils of this description can seldom be benefitted by un- 
 derdraining, because the subsoil is usually so porous that the 
 large amount of water falling in the spring and autumn leaches 
 through the soil in a short time. If there is surface water in 
 certain places, of course the first step will be to render it dry by 
 thorough draining. The next operation will be to obtain a little 
 mould, or humus, of which such soils are destitute. If barn-yard 
 manure, mellow earth from the highways or pond beds can be 
 obtained ; a thin layer over the surface will enable a farmer to 
 bring a sterile soil into a good state of productiveness in a few 
 years. Where nothing of the kind is at hand, proceed as follows: 
 
THE YOUNG F IRMER's MANUAL. 151 
 
 Plow in autumn if possible, not more than six inclies deep, and 
 plow again in the spring- no deeper than before, as soon as the 
 frost is out and it is sufficiently dry. The surface soil is superior 
 to that Avhich is seven or eight iiiclies below, even where it is 
 very sterile; and it is important to keep the best on the surface. 
 As soon as the ground is sufficiently warm to plant Indian corn, 
 plow again in narrow furrow slices, and sow broadcast, or drill 
 in, three and a half or four bushels of good grain per acre. It is 
 better to drill in two bushels per acre each way than to sow it 
 broadcast, as it will be covered of a more uniform depth, and will 
 grow more uniformly. Is'ow, sow three or four bushels of 
 gypsum per acre, and the more wood ashes the better, even to 
 one hundred bushels per acre. If the work be well done, and the 
 soil unusually sterile, all that can be expected will be a growth of 
 green corn, from one to two feet high. As soon as the tassels 
 have appeared, which will be in about seventy days, plow it 
 under, sow five to ten bushels of quick-hme, and harrow it in; 
 then drill in another four bushels of corn per acre to plow under 
 just before frost. By this means two coats of green manure will 
 be plowed under, wliich will furnish more humus or vegetable 
 monld than any other plants will supply in one season. The spring 
 following, plow with narrow furrow slices, as soon as the soil is 
 dry, but no deeper than usual, sow five or eight bushels of quick 
 lime per acre, harrow it in, and drill in one bushel of spring rye 
 per acre. Then sow eight pounds of early red clover seed and 
 half a bushel, or seven pounds, of orchard grass seed per acre. 
 If the ground be at all lumpy, roll it before sowing the grass 
 seed. As soon as the rye has come up sow two or three bushels 
 of gypsum per acre. The chief object of the rye is to shade the 
 young grass, should there be much hot weather. As soon as the 
 rye begins to head, mow it all off with grass scythes, a foot or more 
 liigh, letting it remain where it falls. If the rye be allowed to 
 go to seed it will exhaust the fertility of the soil. Keep all stock 
 off the grass that it may become well rooted. Should it attain 
 a large growth by autumn, it may be fed off in part; but in 
 jj^eneral it is best not to do so. 
 
152 THE YOUNG FARMERS MAXUAL. 
 
 299. The next spring sow three or four bushels of gjpsuin 
 per acre, and all the wood ashes leached or unleached that can 
 be obtained, unless previously applied. If the grass be grazed 
 off, it should not be fed very close to the ground. It is better to 
 mow it, make hay, feed it to sheep or neat cattle, and return the 
 manure as a top-dressing for two years. Then plow the usual 
 depth with a common plow, following with the subsoil plow, and 
 plant Indian corn one season, sow peas the next, and feed out 
 most or all the crops to swine, sheep, or neat cattle, and make 
 as much manure as practicable to return to the soil. The next 
 season, if the soil be adapted to wheat, winter wheat may be 
 sowed after peas, and the ground stocked down in autumn with 
 timothy and the late kind of red clover; the next spring there 
 will be a sufficient quantity of mould in the soil to commence a 
 system of rotation of crops. The best soil should be kept near 
 the surfiice. It would be bud management to plow such soil 
 deep with a common plow, though the subsoil plow may, in very 
 many instances, be used to advantage. 
 
 RENOVATING FAUMS THAT HAVE B3EN IMPOVERISHED BYINJUD'CIOUS 
 MANAGEMENT. 
 
 300. This desirable object must be accomplished mainly by 
 barn-yard manure, by grass, and by allowing the soil to rest. 
 There are scores of once good farms, almost everywhere, that 
 have been so impoverished by a long succession of exhausting crops 
 that they will no longer return to the owner the expense of cul- 
 tivation. In most instances such farms can be restored to their 
 original fertility, if a correct system of management be adopted, 
 in a few seasons, because they have been, as a general rule, too 
 wet to produce large crops: and the proprietors have been so 
 anxious to skim over a great number of acres that they could not, 
 or have not, plowed deep, and therefore the fertility of the soil 
 has not been so much exhausted as if it had been well drained 
 and plowed deep. If the crops have all been carried off on some 
 adjoining farm, the case is far worse than if they have been con- 
 sumed on the farm, and large quantities of manure are lying 
 
THE YOUNG FAR^.IEP.'s MAXUAL. 153 
 
 about the farm or in the ])arn-yard. When a farm is greatly 
 impoverished, and there are ho heaps of manure, and no tiling at 
 band to make manure of, the task and expense of bringing the 
 soil to a degree of ordinary fertility will be attended with in- 
 creased labor and expense, and a greater length of time. But it 
 can be accomplished in due time by perseverance in a wise 
 system of management. 
 
 IMPORTANCE OF DRAINING. 
 
 301. The first step, then, in renovating an iinpoverislied soil 
 will be to drain the wet places; and, if the soil needs it, to go 
 into a judicious system of thorough draining by cutting ditches 
 parallel to each other, a given distance apart, over the entire 
 farm. Thorough draining will lengthen the growing seasons ia 
 localities wiiere tiiere is an excess of w^ater; and wet land that 
 has been well drained will not require half as much manure of 
 any k'nd to produce large crops as would be required without 
 draining. Indeed, in many instances where land has been 
 drained thoroughly, it will produce twice as much grass, or any 
 kind of grain, ivithout manure, as some otiier portions of the same 
 field will with a good supply of fertilizers yearly, and twice a? 
 much more as that very soil has been wont to produc:) before it 
 was drained. This proved true on my own farm; the l.ow places, 
 in every field which had been well drained, would usually produce 
 twice as much of any kind of crops as the higlier and drier por- 
 tions, which received, every few years, a bountiful coating of 
 manure. Draining all the wet places on a farm, and adopting a 
 judicious system of thorough draining, is the very first step to- 
 wards renovating an impoverished farm. All the manure in the 
 kingdom of nature will not produce a large crop where the soil 
 is thoroughly water-soaked and sodden, so that it rolls up, when 
 plowed, more like a furrow of putty than a productive soil. 
 
 COMPLETE PULVERIZATION OP THE SOIL. 
 
 302. The second step is thorough pulverization. This must 
 be accomplished, for the most part, with the common plow. 
 
154 THE YonNo farmer's manual. 
 
 Mines of untold wealth lie slumbering beneath the impoverished 
 Eoil, and it must be turned up in small quantities every season, 
 and mingled with the soil, thoroughly pulverized. The soil must 
 be plowed in a most thorough and farmerlike manner. It will 
 not answer the contraet to set a little, inexperienced boy to 
 plowing with a yoke of weak, poverty-stricken, straw-fed oxen, 
 or with a spun of poor, ring-boned, chest-foundered, broken- 
 winded horses, with some old worn-out plow. By no means. 
 But a good plow is essential, and a strong and well-fed team, 
 that will be able to move along steadily, and turn a deep furrow. 
 (Read more about Thorough Pulverization of Soils in the next 
 Chapter.) 
 
 WAY TO IMPROVE PASTURES. 
 
 303. The true way to improve a pasture is to plow it, and 
 cultivate the soil for a few years, and apply a liberal dressing of 
 barn-yard manure, or turn under a crop of red clover, and then 
 sow about three or four bushels of Indian corn per aci-e, as soon 
 as the clover has been plowed under, and turn that under before 
 frost injures it; and then sow the ground with winter rye so late 
 in the fall that it will not vegetate before the next spring, when 
 the soil should be well seeded with three or four different kinds 
 of grass seed which are adapted to the soil and to the locality. 
 304. In case there is an excess of water in the soil, the first 
 operation should always be to render it dry, by underdraining 
 the wet portions of the field; or by adopting a system of 
 thorough draining — making drains about two rods apart, over 
 the entire field. Yery many fields require such a system of 
 draining before they will produce as much good pasture as they 
 are capable of producing. And every intelligent farmer knows 
 that a bountiful crop of tender and sweet grass cannot be raised 
 on a soil that is inclined to be wet. It is true that a tolerably 
 fair crop of some kinds of grass may be raised where there is an 
 excess of moisture; but by draining that same soil, and by bring, 
 ing it into a better state of fertility by thorough pulverization 
 and more or less manure, the quantity of grass may easily be 
 doubled, and the quality very greatly improved. 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 155 
 
 305. In many parts of New England there are many acres of 
 pasture which it is very desirable to improve without plowing 
 the soil. These fields have been in grass for many successive 
 years. And in many instances they have become " turf-bound/' 
 as it is termed, which means that there is a thin mat of old, 
 tough, dried-up roots and moss on the surface, which obstructs 
 very much the luxuriant growth of young and tender grass. 
 Such fields cannot be rendered productive, to their highest ca- 
 pability, without inverting that tough sod, and bringing a new 
 soil to the surface, thus starting a new system of roots and a 
 new turf. But it may be very greatly improved in productive- 
 ness. Therefore the 
 
 WAY TO IMPROVE PASTURES WITHOUT PLOWING 
 
 will be to top-dress the soil with fertilizers of some kind, and 
 then give the surface a thorough harrowing, with the harrow 
 teeth well sharpened. 
 
 306. The character of the soil will be a good guide, in a 
 measure, for determining what kind of fertilizers may be em- 
 ployed most economically. On many of the sandy loams and 
 silicious sands of New England there will be nothing superior to 
 a dressing of ground bone, harrowed into the soil in autumn. In 
 case the soil were not well turfed over, it would be better to 
 defer the harrowing till spring. Then, after harrowing well, sow 
 a few pounds of wliite clover seed, a few pounds of timothy, a 
 few pounds of orchard grass seed, and a few pounds of Kentucky 
 blue-grass seed, mingled together, making in the aggregate from 
 four to six quarts of seed per acre. Perhaps red clover might 
 take the place of some other seed. But the chief idea is to seed 
 the land well with a kind of grass seed that will flourish well in 
 that particular locality. In case ground bone be applied, it will 
 he better to sow it before the soil has been harrowed, for the 
 purpose of covering it slightly with earth, as a little moisture 
 and heat will hasten the decomposition of the small fragments of 
 bone; and the little roots will twine around these small particles, 
 and absorb them as fast as the rain and heat will dissolve them. 
 
156 THE youNG farmer's manual. 
 
 On some soils, ten or twenty bushels of lime per acre will be the 
 best top-dressing that can be applied after harrowing and re- 
 seeding witli grass seed. A few bushels of gypsum, also, mingled 
 with wood ashes, will be a good dressing. In case, however, a 
 farmer has a good quantity of barn-yard compost, well rotted, 
 the most economical way will be to spread it evenly, late in 
 autumn, and harrow it well in. Then, the next spring, sow grass 
 seed of several difl'erent kinds, and harrow again. 
 
 307. This system of management will usually insure a good 
 crop of grass. But pastures treated in this manner should not 
 be fed off until the middle of summer, or until the young grass is 
 well rooted. And, sometimes, not a hoof should be allowed to 
 go on the ground until autumn. If sheep or cattle be permitted 
 to graze on such fields, just as the young grass begins to grow, 
 their sharp teeth and hoofs will destroy it faster than it can 
 grow. The grand reason why there are so many poor pasture 
 fields in our country is, the grass is fed off too closely when it is 
 very small. 
 
 HOW GRASS LAND IS IMPOVERISHED, AND HOW IMPROVED. 
 
 308. Chemists tell us, that in a ton of good hay there are 
 one hundred and fifty pounds of mineral matter and twenty-five 
 pounds of nitrogen, equivalent to forty six and a half pounds of 
 ammonia, which is of great value in promoting the growth of grass 
 or of any other crop. This mineral matter alluded to is com- 
 posed of forty-three pounds of potash, twenty-five pounds of lime, 
 and eight and a half pounds of phosphoric acid, besides several 
 other ingredients not enumerated. Now, as these elements 
 become scarce in the soil, the quantity of a crop will be diminished, 
 unless special care be exercised to return to the soil an equivalent 
 for the amount that has been carried away in the hay. The 
 question naturally arises then, how can this be done in the most 
 economical manner, so as to maintain the fertility of the soil ? 
 There are several ways of doing it. But the farmer needs to un- 
 derstand the most eccncmical way of performing a task so im- 
 portant and desirable. One of these ways is, to supply the waste 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 15T 
 
 by scattering ashes, lime, bone dust and gypsum over the meadow 
 after every crop of hay has been removed. In this manner a 
 meadow may be made to yield a heavy crop of grass every season 
 for a long time. The ashes will furnish the necessary potash, as 
 that in.fl^redient promotes the growth of grass very much, as may 
 be proved by observing the rank and luxuriant growth of timothy 
 or clover in the bed of a log heap, or where brush has been 
 burned. A top dressing of bones and lime will supply the other 
 ingredients that have been removed in the hay. Another way 
 of maintaining the fertility of grass land is, by the application 
 of guano or superphosphates, which contain all the elements of 
 fertility which are necessary to secure a heavy crop of grass. 
 These two ways are rather expensive modes of maintaining the 
 fertility of grass land; but when the grass is all removed from 
 the farm, either in a green state or in hay, one or the other must 
 be resorted to, unless the proprietor has access to peat, marl, 
 or a stable manure. Still another way of maintaining the ferti- 
 lity of grassland is by barn-yard manure and home-made com- 
 post. This is the most economical, and in fact the true way for 
 farmers in general to keep their meadows and pastures in a good 
 state of productiveness. By saving with care all the manure that 
 can be made from animals while they are consuming a ton of hay; 
 by mingling a little muck with the manure, and by feethng some 
 grain and oil meal, and applyiug the' manure judiciously, the 
 quantity of grass per acre may be increased a little from year 
 to year, for years to come. 
 
 MANAGEMENT OP PASTURE LANDS ON DAIRY FARMS. 
 
 309. The management of pasture lands on dairy farms will be 
 different with unlike soils. Broken and uneven surfaces, hard to be 
 tilled — hill-sides, v/here the surface lies near the rock — thin or 
 sandy soils — it is evident must be studied as to their character, and 
 treated according to the peculiar circumstances or difficulties that 
 may surround each. Lands natural to grass — and these embrace 
 a greater portion of the clays and shales — produce p...8tni-a'^e, 
 year after year continuously, if properly attended to; and would 
 
158 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL, 
 
 often be injured for pasture by plowing and reseeding. It is an 
 erroneous impression that newly seeded meadows, producing large 
 yields of one or two kinds of grass for hay, would, if turned to 
 pasturage, be equal to good old pastures for grazhig milch cows. 
 
 310. When pastures fail and become foul, and the grass 
 scanty and poor, they need breaking up; and will be vastly im- 
 proved by thorough cultivation. But the practice common with 
 some, of breaking up large fields of good clean, sweet sod, which 
 perhaps may have been a trifle injured by the too close cropping 
 for a season, in order to raise grain for a few years, and fre- 
 quently, too, without the application of manures, is believed to be 
 pernicious on dairy farms. 
 
 311. We have seen rich, old pastures, solid in growth and 
 yielding largely, plowed up for the reason that a good crop of 
 corn was wanted, and that particular field seemed best suited to 
 the purpose. It did produce good grain crops; but after being 
 got back again into grass, the annual yield was very much less 
 than on the old turf. 
 
 312. In the treatment of oil pasture lands, injured from close 
 cropping, but not wholly run out, it will generally be better not 
 to bretik up, but to leave them for a part of the season to resus- 
 citate, running a harrow over the ground in early spring, and 
 sowing a mixture of timothy, blue grass, red top, the clovers, 
 red and white, and orchard grass, making an application of 
 plaster, pulverized bones, ashes, salt, or other stimulating fetilizers. 
 Ashes, leached or otherwise, remove mosses, and are a valuable 
 application to grass lands. 
 
 313. There are pastures in Herkimer county, N. Y., which 
 have not been broken for more than forty years — many that have 
 never been ploughed perhaps but once or twice, years ago, when 
 the country was new, that are yielding an abundance of nutritious 
 food, enduring year after year close cropping and drought, 
 without any perceptible injury or tendency to run out, and yet 
 have rccived no top-dressings beyond the usual application from 
 time to time of gypsum. The grass on these lands springs up 
 green and fresh, with thick fine bottom, a marked contrast 
 
THE YOUNG FARJIER's MANUAL. 159 
 
 throughout the season to occasional patches on the same soil 
 recently re-seeded. To plow and cultivate such lands would be 
 to destroy the original grasses; and after re-seeding, many years 
 must intervene before the new grasses can obtain that firm pos- 
 session of the soil and the enduring vigor and variety of the old 
 sod. 
 
 BEST KINDS OF GRAIN FOR DAIRY FARMS. 
 
 314. A farmer must be so well acquainted with the character 
 of his soil — for dairy purposes — that he may be said to know of a 
 certainty whether it will be best to plow up a pasture field, or not. 
 Farmers are very often deceived with reference to the productive- 
 ness of old pastures and old meadows. I have known farmers to 
 refuse to plow up some old pasture or old meadow when it did 
 not yield half a crop of grass, because they were such great stick- 
 ers for old pastures. But after a dairy farmer has decided, 
 deliberately and understandingly, to plow up a certain pasture 
 or meadow, the first crop most profitable for the dairyman will 
 be Indian corn, since the stalks, properly cured, make the best of 
 fodder, and the whole crop can be turned to good account for 
 stock. With the second crop, re-seed. It is beUeved to be poor 
 policy for the dairyman to exhaust his land by keeping it long 
 under the plow, and in the raising of grain before putting down 
 to grass. It is here that great mistakes are made; for the loss 
 sustained by running the land to obtain several successive crops, 
 will, in the end, prove to be much greater than is connuonly sup- 
 posed. From this cause, often lies the secret of poor meadows 
 and sickly pastures. The soil has been overtasked, and needs 
 rest and nursing until it has gained heart to make ample returns. 
 Two crops of grain, at most, are all that good management would 
 seem to authorize to be taken in succession from the soil, if the 
 land afterward is intended to be employed profitably in grass. 
 
 315. The great object in view will be to make permanent 
 pasture or meadow; and thus by taking a few acres at a time;, 
 thoroughly manuring and cultivating it, the work is accomplished 
 in that piece for years. A farm under this system may in a few 
 
IGO THE YOUNG FARMER's MANUAL. 
 
 years be bronglit up to a high state of fertility, and easily 
 111 aiiitai lied and increased in its fruitfuhiess without breaking 
 in upon the main business of the dairy. This course is to be 
 preferred to that of disposing of the stock, [ilowing up large por- 
 tions of the farm at once, and then getting it back again to grass; 
 for only a few acres at a time can, with economy, be properly 
 manured ; and the work will not generally be performed in 
 that thorough manner, as when the attention is directed to a 
 more gradual, but surer, improvement of the soil. In re-seeding 
 some attention will be needed to have a greater variety of grasses 
 than is commonly employed for putting down pasture and meadow 
 lands. It has been shown that in rich old natural pastures, from 
 Avelve to twenty distinct species are found in the sod, and that 
 :he number of plants to the square foot is greater when there are 
 several kinds intermixed. Many years ago it was considered 
 ^ood economy for the farmer to produce on his farm nearly every 
 article needed to supply his wants. More recently, the tendency 
 has been to make one or two articles leading staples in certain 
 localities, as productive of more wealth than the mixed farming 
 of former years. 
 
 316. Some difference of opinion exists, among dairymen, 
 in reference to grain raising, many insisting that all the grain 
 needed should be grown on the farm in connection with dairy 
 farming. Our best dairymen, however, do not generally advocate 
 the system, beyond what is necessitated from a judicious rotation 
 of crops. Flour, therefore, and much of the grain fed to cattle, 
 are imported from grain growing districts. Meadows and pas- 
 tures that need breaking up and re-seeding from time to tune 
 will be employed in grain raising; but to break up a good pas- 
 ture or meadow that is yielding well, for the purpose of "plow 
 land," or getting a crop of grain, is believed to be poor policy. 
 Wheat and oats, at best, are not the most profitable crops in 
 dairy districts, and can generally be purchased cheaper than raised, 
 
 317. II will be well to have some system of rotation, adapted 
 to the soil and farm under cultivation, thus l)ringing every 
 part of the farm into grass again, at intervals of 10 or 15 years. 
 
THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 161 
 
 If five acres of sod be broken yearly, and five acres be put down 
 to grass, ten acres will be annually under the plow; which, for 
 one hundred acres, would give meadows of ten years' standing. 
 Under such a system it will be seen, the land could be thoroughly 
 cultivated and enriched, and made to produce large returns 
 both in grain and grass. 
 
162 THE YOUXO farmer's ilAXUAI 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 PLOWS AND rLOWING. 
 
 " The plowman comes, beliiml his smoking team! 
 Clear the brown path to meet tie mould-boards' gleam. 
 Matted and dense, the tangled turf upheaves, 
 Mellow and dark the ridgy '■orn-field cleives. 
 Through the moist valley, clogged with stubborn clay, 
 The patient plowman breaks his destined way." 
 
 318. In Yol. I. I penned a Chapter on Plows and Plowing, 
 
 in Avhicli the subject was discussed {;r:istically, or as an art, and 
 the reader is referred to that cliapter for instructions in selecting: 
 plows — how to adjust, how to hold, how to plow a field by 
 commencing in the middle of it and finishing at the outside, and 
 the technicalities in plowing. But in this chapter the subject 
 will be discussed scientifically, or with reference to its import- 
 ance, and its effects on the crops that the soil [)rodnces. 
 
 319. Plowing is a mechanical operation, or, in other words, 
 it is the act of effecting a change in the mechanical condition of 
 the soil. (S^e the diiference between Mechanical and Chemical 
 stated, Paragraph 2, Ciiapter I.) Plowing, spading, harrowing, 
 rolling, and pulverizing the soil in any way, by means of tools 
 and implements, is the act of preparing it, mechanic.illy, for the 
 ciiemical changes and operations that must occur in the forma- 
 tion and production of plants. A farmer, with his teams and 
 implements of husbandry, is required to perform the mechanical 
 part of raising crops, and of making beef, mutton, pork, and 
 wool; and nature performs the chemical part. And just in pro- 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER^S MANUAL. 163 
 
 portion to the thoroughness of the manner in which the me- 
 clianical part has been performed, will nature perform the 
 cliemical part. A farmer cannot do the chemical part of raising 
 crops, if he were disposed to attempt it. And nature will not 
 perform the mechanical part of plowing and sowing, and reaping 
 and mowing. 
 
 WHY DO WE PLOW ? 
 
 320 Were we to interrogate a thousand farmers, " Why do 
 ^ve plow ?" the answer would probably be, " For the purpose of 
 rendering the soil more mellow and porous." This is correct 
 as far as it goes; but the chief object is, to reduce the soil to 
 its greatest degree of fineness, or comminution of particles, 
 mcchanicaUy, so that the rain, or water applied by hand, may 
 readily change the elements of fertiUty in the soil from a solid 
 to'a fluid, in which state only those elements are available as food 
 for plants of any and every kind. Therefore by reducing the soil 
 very fine, by some mechanical operation, such as plowing its 
 solidity is, in a measure, overcome or destroyed, and the roots of 
 plants find little hindrance in ramifying throughout the entire 
 mass that has been broken up. And. if the roots and little 
 spongioles occupy the entire soil, the ten thousand mouths of 
 these roots are ever open to drink in those substances which 
 will promote the growth of the plant. On the contrary, if a 
 large proportion of the soil is in the form of lumps, or is turned 
 over in furrow slices of an unbroken mass, the soil is not in the 
 best, or even in good condition, to promote the growth of these 
 plants that occupy it. 
 
 321. Now the idea is, in plowing, to use those plows that will 
 brciik up the solidity of the soil most thoroughly and effectually. 
 Turning the soil upside down, as if it were a huge slab of earth, 
 does not accom[)lish the desired purpose, as its solidity is not de- 
 stroyed, except in a very limited degree. Every observing farmer 
 knows that when calcareous and aluminous soils are not too wet, 
 nor too dry, if they are plowed with a kind of plow that leaves 
 the furrow slice on its edge, the pulverization will be about as 
 thorough and complete as it caij be made with a comoioii plow; 
 
1G4 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 
 
 whereas if such soil be plowed when there is only a little too 
 much moisture, or not quite enough, pulveriz ition is only partially 
 efFccted; and, consequently, it is not possible that the crop 
 should be as great as it would be had the pulverization been 
 more complete. 
 
 322. The tbllowijig remarks from the Genesee Farmer show 
 very clearly soma of the more important reasons to which the 
 above question refers: 1. We plough to bury the weeds, grass, 
 and other vegetation. 2. We plow to loosen and pulverize the 
 land. All soils, but especially those of a clayey nature, have a 
 tendency to consolidate, and soon become too firm and compact 
 for tlie tender, hair-like roots of young [)lants to enter. The soil 
 may contain all the plant-food required, but if it is so hard that 
 the roots cannot penetrate, it will be of no avail. It is locked up. 
 Plowing is the key that milocks the storehouse. The plow is 
 inferior to the spade, because it does not break up and pulverize 
 the soil so thoroughly. If we had a digging machine that could 
 be worked by horses or steam — as we undoubtedly shall have 
 before many years — it would soon supersede the plough. 
 
 323. We plough to let in the sun and air. In nearly all soils 
 there is a large amount of inert organic matter which could be 
 rendered available plant-food by fermentation or decomposition. 
 This is accelerated by the admission of air. Like water, air will 
 penetrate all porous bodies. Large lumps of sugar are long in 
 dissolvuig, because the water has access only to the outside; but 
 crush it, and let the water get at its particles, and they are dis- 
 solved with great rapidity. So of the soil; if it is in lumps the 
 air cannot get at it; but loosen it, and render it porous by plow- 
 ing, harrowing, rolling, and the air will ba brought in contact 
 with the particles of organic matter and decom})ose them. It 
 will also disintegrate the inorganic matter of the soil, and render 
 more or less of it available as food for plants. It must not be 
 forgotten that the roots of plants need air, as it contains ammonia 
 and carbonic acid; and it is a well-known fact that porous bodies 
 will attract those gases. 
 
 32-i. Most soils, also, contain substances which have a 
 
THE YOUNG FARMEr's MAXUAL. 165 
 
 chemical affinity for ammonia. Prof. Way says: "I find that 
 clay is so greedy of ammonia that, if air charged with carbonate 
 of ammonia, so as to be highly pungent, is passed through a 
 tube filled with fragments of dry clay, every particle of the gas 
 (ammonia) is arrested." Of course, the more such soils are 
 stirred the more their particles are exposed to the air, the more 
 ammonia can they absorb from the atmosphere. This power of 
 soils to attract ammonia from the atmosphere is one principal 
 cause of the well-known benefit of summer fallowinsr. 
 
 325. We plough to incorporate manure with the soil. The 
 more thoroughly this is done the better. The carbonic acid 
 generated by the decomposition of humus has a good effect in 
 disintegrating the mineral matter in the soil. The soil may be 
 regarded as a stomach, in which the food of plants is digested and 
 rendered assimilable. It is important, therefore, that the manure 
 should be well mixed with the soil. We plough (in the fall) to 
 expose the soil to the pulverizing action of the frost in winter; 
 to disturb the eggs and larva of insects, and expose them to cold. 
 
 THOROUGH PULVERIZATION OF THE SOIL. 
 
 326. As a general rule, farmers are not fully awake to the 
 importance of having the entire soil reduced to a fine powder. 
 Hard lumps of earth, even when they are full of grain-producing 
 substances, are of but little more value in producing a crop than 
 the same amount of stones. The roots of plants cannot enter 
 hard lumps of earth; and before such Limps can be of any real 
 benefit to plants, they must be broken down, mechanically, with 
 some implement, or be dissolved by rain. In order to appreciate 
 the importance of thorough pulverization of the soil, we need to 
 have a little smattering of the theory of " vegetable nutrition.'' 
 
 327. '' How do plants grow ? How does the hard soil and 
 dry manure become changed into plants of any kind ?" These are 
 important questions which every farmer should understand well, 
 and then he would be able to appreciate the importance of more 
 complete and thorough pulverization of every kind of soil. Xo 
 soil or manure can promote the growth of a plant — except me- 
 
166 THE YOUNG FARMER^S MANUAL. 
 
 chanically — until after it has been dissolved by rain or water 
 and reduced to a liquid. Dry earth or dry manure cannot enter 
 the roots of plants. Roots of grain, gra'ss, and trees feed upon 
 nothing but liquid or fluid. When we apply bonedust to plants, 
 rainwater must first dissolve the little fragments of bone and 
 carry tlioni along, where they will be taken up by the thousand 
 moutlis in the little roots of the plants. So with the hard soil 
 and hard lumps of earth; they must be reduced to a fine powder, 
 by some mechanical operation, and then the rain will dissolve 
 the fine particles, thus forming a fluid, which is the food of 
 plants. When the soil is very lumpy the atmosphere has but a 
 small surface, comparatively, to act upon ; therefore plants grow 
 slowly where the entire soil is one complete clod or is little else 
 but lumps. 
 
 PULVERIZATION OF HEAVY SOILS IMPRACTICABLE IF TOO W^ET. 
 
 328. When there is an excels of water in heavy soih, it is 
 utterly impracticable to reduce them to fine tilth with plows and 
 harrows. They may be rendered somewhat fine by cutting and 
 tearing them to pieces; but they cannot be pulverized any more 
 than one can pulverize a batch of dough. When a heavy soil is 
 filled with water instead of air, the more it is plowed or har- 
 rowed the more compact it will be when the surplus water has 
 dried out. Sandy soils may be plowed and harrowed in some 
 instances without injury when they are quite wet; but heavy 
 soils must be sufficiently dry to crumble readily when worked, or 
 it will be impossible to reduce them to that degree of fineness 
 Avhich is essential for the roots of plants to spread through them. 
 If a handful of heavy soil, in which there is not an excess of 
 water, be worked with the hands, it will crumble; but when so 
 wet that it will knead like dough, the more it is worked the 
 harder it will be when it comes to dry, and the less suitable its 
 condition to promote the growth of plants. When a heavy soil, 
 just dry enough to crumble well, is plowed with narrow furrow 
 slices or spaded finely, it will be about one-fourth deeper than it 
 was before it was plowed. On the contrary, if plowed when so 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 16T 
 
 wet as to knead and not crumble, it will settle down at once to 
 the same bulk or depth that it had before it was worked. 
 
 329. The first thing to be done then toward a thorough 
 pulverization of heavy soils is to drain them. The next is to 
 plow in autumn and apply barn-yard manure; then, in order to 
 increase the quantity of vegetable mould, and keep them light 
 and friable, to raise crops of red clover or Indian corn, to be 
 plowed under when green. 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF DEEP PLOWING. 
 
 330. The editor of the Agricultural Review writes under this? 
 caption: " There was a time when the cultivated soil was merely 
 scraped, when the ponderous plow drawn by four horses laid bare 
 the earth but a few inches below the surface. But the memory 
 of the * oldest inhabitant ' hardly goes back to that easy going 
 time, and now manufacturers successively out-do each other in 
 the production of implements by which the soil is thoroughly and 
 deeply pulverized. That deep plowing is beneficial to the soil 
 is admitted by every intelligent farmer; but the particular soil 
 most benefitted by it, and the proper time for the performance 
 of the operation, are subjects on which a variety of opinion pre- 
 vails. Stiff clay soils are the most benefitted by deep plowing, 
 and the results are still more satisfactory when the subsoil is of 
 the same nature as the supersoil. If the farmer cannot extend 
 the superficial area of his farm, he can, at least, add the cubical 
 contents of its productive portion. By thoroughly breaking up 
 the subsoil, it is exposed to the action of the air; the mineral 
 food of the plants becomes liberated from its latent state and 
 made available, and the sourness, which is a frequent property 
 of the subsoils, disappears. In the working of stiff soils, the 
 labor expended in pulverizing will be highly productive; but care 
 should be taken that the quantity of subsoil brought to the sur- 
 face is not greater than a winter's frost is sufficient thoroughly to 
 disintegrate. If the land has been recently drained, and the 
 underlying soil exhibits a bluish tint, not more than one and a 
 half inches should be turned over on the surface soil. If too 
 
1G8 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 
 
 large a qnantity of the infertile subsoil be brouglit up, the fertil- 
 ity of the land may be seriously impaired for several years. The 
 remedy in this case is the repeated and careful tillage of the sur- 
 face soil, and the abundant application of manure. If, however, 
 the subsoil be merely broken up by the subsoil plow or spade, 
 and not brought in quantity to the surface, the pulverization may 
 be advantageously made to extend to a much greater depth, and 
 small portions may from time to time be brought to the surface 
 in the course of tillage. Deep cultivation is inapplicable in the 
 case of sandy soils, except when they rest upon a stiff subsoil, 
 which, however, is rarely the case. If there be simply a. thin 
 strata of stiff clay beneath the sandy soil, it should not always 
 be broken through, as it may prevent the moisture passing away 
 too rapidly as drainage. When friable soil rests on chalk, gravel 
 or sand, deep plowing should not be performed; neither is the 
 operation desirable, but the reverse is the case on any kind of 
 highly manured land. We have often known the manure to be 
 plowed in so deeply that its decomposition took place only after 
 the lapse of several years. Manure, to be efficient, must be as 
 close to the surface as possible, in order that atmospheric iufla- 
 ences may decompose it speedily, and that the nourishment 
 afforded by it may be within easy access of the rootlets of the 
 plants. The proper season for deep plowing is in the autumn, 
 in order that the soil may be exposed to the winter's frosts and 
 rains — those potent agents by which the dormant elements of 
 fertility are set free and made available for the sum:ner's crop." 
 
 DEEP VS. SHALLOW CULTIVATION. 
 
 331. A few years since an eminent farmer penned the fol- 
 lowing thoughts, with reference to plowing in Europe and 
 America : " 1 am sorry to be obliged to state, that in my 
 opinion, formed from observation, four inches (solid) is still the 
 full average depth of the agricultural pie-crast in which plants 
 are to grow whose roots would, if permitted, descend many feet." 
 We question if the " agricultural pie-crust" of Canada is any 
 deeper on the average, and though it yields a large supply of 
 
THE YOUNG FIMIEr's MANUAL. 169 
 
 food for man and beast, let it not be forgotten that there is 
 something Mow the crust, which is capable of adding immensely 
 to that supply. In point of fact, nearly every farmer in the coun- 
 try has a second farm, of the possession of which he lives in total 
 ignorance — a new farm under the old one. Farms not only lie 
 side by side, but in layers, and if the rage for hroad acres could 
 be displaced for deep acres, the amount of soil under cultivation 
 might soon be doubled. 
 
 332. The objects of plowing are chiefly these: to pulverize 
 the soil so that the air can get into it, and the roots of plants find 
 their way through it; to mingle the different portions of it as 
 thoroughly as possible; to cover manures; to kill weeds, and to 
 keep the surface open and fresh. By bringing fresh portions of 
 earth to the surface, moisture is attracted from the air, and along 
 with moisture various fertilizing gases are absorbed. By keep- 
 ing the pores of the land, so to speak, open, this process goes oa 
 more thorouglily than it can do if the surface is suffered to grow 
 hard and stiff. Beep plowing extends these benefits to a greater 
 depth. It opens a larger proportion of the soil to the beneficial 
 action of air and moisture, and furnishes a more roomy bed for 
 plant roots, and a more capacious store-house for plant-food. It 
 has, to some extent, the same effect as draining. It carries off 
 more or less of the surface water, warms the soil, and renders it 
 more easy of cultivation. Land thus tilled is not so soon ex- 
 hausted. The roots of grain, by penetrating farther, take firmer 
 hold, and the stocks are less liable to give way and lodge. 
 
 383. It also saves labor. It is less work to raise thirty 
 bushels of wheat from one acre than from two or three, to say 
 nothing of the zest and pleasure connected with getting a large 
 instead of a small yield. Deep culture is especially important in 
 the growth of root crops. Those who have only a four inch 
 " pie-crust" to operate upon, have little idea of the size to which 
 turnips, mangolds, carrots, &c., will attain when they have am- 
 ple range in a rich soil. Rev. Mr. Smith, of Lois Weedon, one 
 of the most noted agriculturists of the present day, gets his rows 
 of Swedes to "sh;ike hands" by their leaves atjivefict intervals. 
 8 
 
170 THE YOUNG FAJRMI-:R*S MANUAL. 
 
 lie plows back all his top-soil, and havln:^ thus laid bare the 
 poor siib?oII, puts manure into it until tOj)soil and subsoil are a'ike 
 rich. Dr. Dixon, of Kivenhall, once pulled up a parsnip with 
 a vertical root thirteen feet six inches lonj^, besides a further 
 piece left by its breaking off. This was in a bank of earth 
 twenty feet deep, that fell over loosely when excavated. The 
 roots of strawberry plants, grnpe-vines, etc, have been known to 
 descend several feet in search of food and moisture. The exposure 
 of a cold, barren subsoil to the action of the atmospliere without 
 the addition of manure, will, in due time, render it capable of pro- 
 ducing a crop. How great, then, musi be the advantage of both 
 loosening it up and dressing it lil)erally with dung. 
 
 334. Gardeners understand this. A four -inch "pie-cnist" 
 will not raise choice vegetables. Hence the land is trenched to 
 the depth of a couple of feet, or at least doublc-^paded, and 
 manure worked in at a rate that seems almost v\^asteful, yet it is 
 the very best economy of land, labor and money. V/liy should 
 not the farm be as deeply tilled as the garden ? The reply pro- 
 bably is, because of the expense. The objection would lie if we 
 wore confined to slow hand labor with the spade. But the same 
 result can be attained by the use of team and i)low. These are 
 inadmissible to gardens because of the limited space for turning 
 and working, and also because there are trees, plants, walks, etc., 
 that would be injured by this mode of culture. But in the open 
 field, team and plow can get down as deeply as the spade. There 
 are two modes by which greater depth ot tillage can be attained. 
 One is by deeper plowing with an ordinary surface plow, and the 
 other by the use of the subsoil plow. Tiie surface plow driven 
 deeper down, throws in the furrow made by the other, and simply 
 tears up and loosens the hard-pan. It stirs and mixes up what 
 is under the pie-crust." 
 
 335. The change from shallow to deep plowing muit be made 
 gradually when it is accomi)lished with the common plow, put 
 in more deeply, and maimre sufficient to enrich wiiat is thrown 
 up from beneath must be applied. An inch at a time may be 
 taken until by successive dcepoiiijigs the plow can be driven to 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER^S MANUAL. 171 
 
 the depth of niiio or ten inches. Tlie sul)Soil plow — an imple- 
 ment almost unknown in this country — will effect gradual deep- 
 ening of the soil without throwing the broken hard pan to the 
 surface. By loosening the subsoil so that the air can penetrate 
 it, it wiil soon improve and be assimilated to the topsoil. S tronger 
 implements and heavier teams will be needed- for the deeper cul- 
 tivation we are urging; but the results in heavier crops will sooa 
 justify and reward the outlay. 
 
 PULVERIZING AGENTS. 
 
 336. The plow, the harrow, cultivator, roller, clod crusher, 
 hoes, and all other implements, never impart any fertility to soils, 
 nor take any from them. They are only a means for accomplish- 
 ing an end. Z. A. Leland writes on this subject: " Much, in 
 farming, depends on pulverization. By pulverization I do not 
 mean stirring with the plow, drag, &c., for that does not reduce 
 the particles of the soil. 1 know of but two effective agents for 
 that purpose — the frost and fermentation by fresh manures. The 
 frost will reduce the lime and clay gravel, and pulverize the earth. 
 Hard freezing will improve the land, although it may injure the 
 winter crop. Then, by applying fresh or coarse manure, and 
 plowing the same deep under, make the corn-field the compost 
 bed; stir it during the summer on the surface, but by no means 
 mix it up with the manure for the first year. The gas rising will 
 make the laud meilow and porous if not pulverized, so that it 
 will remain an absorbing soil for many years, and stand the 
 drought well. I have found the decided effect the eighth year." 
 
 337. Whether the growth of vegetation depends more upon 
 absorption or evaporation is not easily answered; yet no doubt 
 a free friendly commerce between the earth and atmosphere is 
 generally useful, although, at certain times, a prohibitory duty by 
 way of mulching may benefit the plants. The practical point we 
 arr've at is, finally, how to render slightly absorbent soil more 
 absorbent. The answer is, 1st, by increasing its own depth and 
 Hneness; and 2d, by incorporating with it a highly absorbent 
 material. Tillage answers the first iicdication. Stirring the soil, 
 
112 THR YOUNG FARMEIlV, MANUAL. 
 
 breaking the crust, relieving the compactness into which it 
 naturally passes when left at rest, are obviously indirect means of 
 feeding the plant. Green manuring, dressing with swamp muck 
 and composts, which contain much vegetable matter in the state 
 of humus, are the most effectual amendments to the soil, and are 
 applicable to all soils, whatever be their character or sitaatlon. 
 By the liberal use of a compost of stable manure with swam[) 
 muck, effects have been produced in Connecticut which are almost 
 miraculous. I have seen a field, that orighially was part of a 
 plain, covered with a coarse gravelly sand, gray, hot and hungry, 
 in two years converted into a dark, rich, moist soil, on which 
 luxuriant crops stood and matured in seasons so adverse that the 
 adjoining fields were completely dried up. 
 
 HOW TO DO DIFFERENT KINDS OF PLOWING. 
 
 338. A portion of the following pai igraphs were penned by 
 the writer for the American Agriculturist, and some of the il- 
 lustrations were prepared by an artist under his supervision, and 
 others were obtained of Ames' Plow Company, Boston, Mass. 
 There are four ways of plowing sod ground in common use, known 
 as '' lapped furrow slices, flat furrow slices, trenchhig, and round 
 furrow slices." The two first are performed with the common plow, 
 w^hile tlie second may be done with the common or douljle plow, 
 and the third is accomplished exclusively with the Michigan sod 
 plow, or with one similar to the cylinder plow, an illustration of 
 w1lc!i is given on a subsequent page. 
 
 now TO PLOW with lappfd furrow slices. 
 
 339. Tiiis operation is illustrated by figure 1, in which the 
 slice is shown as it would appear if the plow were withdrawn 
 from the furrow, slices being about 12 inches wide, 7 deep, and 
 lapping about 3 inches. The illustration shows the third slice 
 in the process of turning. To turn lapped furrow slices, if the 
 team be horses, adjust the traces so that the whiflle-trees will 
 ju^t clear their heels when the team is turning round. Change 
 the land pin, dial clevis, or the index of the hind end of the plow 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 
 
 173 
 
 beam, whicliover may be altaclierl, until the plow will run level 
 and true dircct]y after the team. The first furrow will necessarily 
 
 
 LAPPED FURROW SLICES. 
 
 be turned flat. In turning the second, drive tlie team close to 
 the last furrow slice and lean the plow handles to the left until 
 the furrow wslice will just lap a little, say not more than an inch 
 on the one turned first. If the double whiffl3tree or " evener" 
 be more than thirty-two inches from the middle to the point 
 where the single whiffletrees are attached to it, it will be better 
 to shorten it, as it is impossible to make some plows run right 
 by adjusting the clevis, if the double whiffletrca is a little too 
 Jong, When the double whiffletree or ox yoke is too long, and 
 the plow is adjusted to cut a furrow slice eleven or twelve inches 
 wide, it must move more or less sidewise, which mikes it hoi.l 
 harder or draw harder. 
 
 340. After one rc-;md has been plowad, the plow must be 
 adjusted very gradually to cut a little wider or narrower, deeper 
 or more shallow, as may be required to lap the last furrow ilc.} 
 about tlu-ce inches on the other. The plow should always be held 
 as erect as practicable. If the furrow slice be left standing too 
 much on its lower edge, the plow must be adjusted to run more 
 shallow until it will turn the slice just right, or it must be made 
 
174 THE YOUNTx FARMEr's MANUAL. 
 
 to cut a wider slice and of the mme dcptli, in order to turn well. 
 Tlie form of the plow will alwavs determine which of these ways 
 may be ado[)ted. If the mould-board be of such a form as is not 
 calculated for turning deep furrows, the plow must be adjusted to 
 run more sh.allow, and to cut narrower, until it will turn the slices 
 in the desired position. It is always essential, when plowing sod 
 ground, eitiier with lapped or flat furrow slices, to have the plow 
 cut a certai i depth and width in order to turn well, which must 
 be determined by the form of the mould board. The most de- 
 sirable form of a plow for turning lapped furrow slices is wide 
 at the base, and proportionately narrow at the top of the mould 
 board,* with a sharp coulter, a broad and sharp wing on the 
 point, for cutting the fiu'row slices entirely loose. 
 
 341. F. HoLBRooK says: ** This is a style of plowing much 
 practised in Great Britain, and in some sections of our country 
 where the soil is a stiff clay. As the cut shows, there is a little 
 air space or drain under each furrow slice, and the projecting 
 angles of the surface of the plowed land present the stiff clay soil 
 favorably to the action of the harrow or other surface-working 
 instrument, for the raising of a line tilth or mellow seed-bed. To 
 execute this mode of plowing in a perfect style, the furrow slices 
 must not be cut more than one-third wider than they are deep, 
 for if they are they will not stand at a steep enough inclination, 
 or rather at an angle of forty-five degrees, which is the best in- 
 clination. The usual proportions of furrow slice among iinished 
 plowmen are about 6 by 9 and 7 by 10 inches. For a new 
 country, where the laud has not yet become cleared of obstruc- 
 tions, nor its surface much smoothed, this is a difficult style of 
 plowing to execute well; and, indeed, it is better adapted to an 
 old than a new country. For plowing more than seven inches 
 deep, the sod and subsoil style of plowing is preferable, even in 
 clay land, being easier of good execution, lighter in draught, and 
 requiring ICoS width of slice than even the lapped style, and 
 therefore making a finer tilth of the clay." 
 
 342. I have always found in plowing sod with a common 
 plow and lapped furrow slices that the plowing could be done a 
 
THE YOUNCx farj:::rs manual. 
 
 115 
 
 little better to have the wing of the share so narrow that it 
 would not cut olF the slice by about two inches. This two inches 
 tends to keep the slice from being crowded so far into the previous 
 furrow that it would not turn well. I find there is not a little 
 difficulty, after all that has been ponned, in giving suitable di- 
 rections for a beginner to enable hira to plow well, without 
 several years of practice. It would be loss difficult to handle the 
 plow than the pen in this matter. A man needs to practise 
 several years bofore he can be called a good plowman. 
 
 TLOWING WITH A DOUBLE PLOW. 
 
 343. Plows with which work resembling the accompanying 
 illustration is done, are familiarly known as Michigan or Double 
 
 DOUBLE FUEEOW SLICES. 
 
 Plows. They include all those plows which have a small plow 
 attached to the beam in front of a large one, and are or should 
 be used only in deep soil. The engravings illustrate the working 
 of these plows when cutting a slice about as deep as wide. The 
 little plow or skim, as it is appropriately termed, cuts a slice of 
 turf about half the width of the furrow and turns it over flat 
 Jaying two grass sides together as in C. Then the large plow 
 
176 TJIE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 attacliod to the same beam follows, turning this double section of 
 sod nearly in the bottom of the previous furrow, dropping it 
 nearly on the edge, as shown at D, and covering it with pulver- 
 ized soil E, several inclies deep. When a proportionally wider 
 furrow is plowed, the same effect takes place, but with less re- 
 gularity. If, however, the slice cut is so narrow that the skim 
 slice is turned off into the furrow F, then the sod is buried flat 
 
 CEOSS SECTION OF FUEROV.'S. 
 
 in the bottom of the furrow. Thus used, tliese plows are very 
 useful in a sort of trench-plowing, where it i.s desirable to bury 
 the top soil, or a dressing of manure, 12 inches or more beneath 
 tlie surface. The top of the soil may be quite deeply and tho- 
 roughly woiliL'd without stirring the cods or manure. 
 
 now TO TURN FLAT FURROW SLICES. 
 
 344. The " flat furrow slice" involves a complete inversion of 
 the sod, as shown in the next figure, which is particularly desirable 
 on light loamy soils. For turning flat furrow slices-, the plow 
 should be adjusted as for any other plowing, except the coulter 
 should be set so as to cut under a little instead of straight down; 
 and the clevis must be set so that the plow wiil cut not quite wide 
 enough when the handles are held erect. In plowing, the handles 
 must be inclined more or less to the right. A plow having a nar- 
 row base and broad at the top of the mould board is desirable. 
 The width of the farrow slices must be greater in proportion to 
 the depth, especially when turned with certain plows. With 
 gome plows it is quite difficult to turn a flat furrow, while with 
 others, cither flat or hipped slices may be turned as described. 
 
TITl^ YOUXr. FArAIF.n'S AfAXUAL. 171 
 
 When a plow runs seven or eight inches deep in order to turn 
 the slices flat, it must cut from fourteen to sixteen inches wide. 
 
 FLAT FTTKROW SLICES. 
 
 A skillful plowman will soo:i learn how to a Ijiist to tarn a flat 
 slice. But where it is desirable to plow mucli land with flat 
 furrow slices, a plow sliould b3 obtained that isboLter adapted to 
 turning flat than lapped furrows. 
 
 345. F. HoLBRook writes on the subject of turning flit fur- 
 row slices: "For the breaking up of bushy, rooty, or uneven 
 pastures, or any other grass land, when there are too many ob- 
 structions, or the surface is too rough, or the sod is too stiff 
 and rooty with wild or swamp grasses for the safe and effective 
 use of the double plow, the single or flat-furrowed greensward 
 plowing is the better style. The accompanying cut sliows at a 
 glance the proper flexure and movement of the greensward flat- 
 furrow slice. For pericct plowing, with the lightest practicable 
 8* 
 
178 THE YOUNG FARMkr's MANUAL. 
 
 drnft upon the team, tlie furrow slice should have an exact ma- 
 thematical curvature and equality of twist throughout its entire 
 passage over — as is represeiited in the cut. It should be the ef- 
 fort and pride of the plowman to bo able to adjust his line of 
 draft, or his hitch to the plow, so as to have it meet the pe- 
 culiarities of the movement of the team — no two teams hardly 
 ever drawing a plow exactly aiiko — 30 that his jilow will readily 
 take the precise right depth and width of the furrow, and hold 
 easily in it, and so that he can perfectly and instantly control or 
 vary the bias of the plow, to meet the peculiar lay of the land 
 anywhere, and bring the farrow slice over handsomely into its 
 place, and preserve the perfection of his furrows. These little 
 tricks and arts of the true plowman's trade should be learned by 
 every one who pretends to hold a break-up plow; end surely no 
 good farmer can consider them beneath his attainment. For 
 your rough or unsubdued sod land, you will do well to jilow the 
 flat sod i'urrow, using a plow of sulhcient strength and capacity 
 for a team of four horses or oxen, wiiea required, and carrying a 
 depth of furrow 8 to 10 inches in good style. 
 
 TRENCU PLOWING. 
 
 346. Trench plowing is frequently spoken of as subsoiling, 
 and vice versa. But trench plowing is not subsoiling ; neither is 
 subsoiling trench plowing. Many farmers, when they have plowed 
 deep, turning up a few inches of the subsoil, have su})poscd tliey 
 were subsoiling. The accompanying illustration will furnish a 
 very correct idea of trench plowing. A thin sod is removed by 
 a skim plow forward of the main plow on the same beam, and 
 laid np side down in the bottom of the furrow; while the soil 
 ten or more inches below the surface is turned up to the light of 
 the sun and the influence of the atmosphere. (See Subsoiling 
 Defined, paragraph 304.) 
 
 347. Mooreh Rural New Yorker says, on this subject: " Ex- 
 perienced farmers often assert that they have tried suljsoiling 
 land, and instead of good effects following, the result seemed to 
 indicate an injury. Not long since a farmer was detailing his 
 
THE YOUXG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 179 
 
 experience, and asserted his disbelief in the good effects of subsoil 
 plowing in very emphatic terms. He had tried it, and his crop 
 
 
 had failed the season following every experiment. He was 
 astonished when we told him we did not believe he had ever 
 used a subsoil plow in his life; he was slightly indignant. Did 
 we believe he would lie about it ? No, but he evidently did not 
 know the difference between subsoil and trench plowing. We 
 ex|)lained to him the difference, and he seemed satisfied that he 
 knew ranch less about subsoil plowing than he thought he did. 
 
 348 This subject has been frequently brought to our notice; 
 and, recently, we have had repeated inquiries as to the relative 
 benefits of trench and subsoil plowing. We propose to indicate 
 some of the advantages to be derived from each, and compare 
 their effect upon soils and crops respectively. 
 
 349. Trench plowing is deep plowing, and turning the subsoil 
 
180 niE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 
 
 on tilt* surfiice. It matters little what the character of the soil 
 may be, (excepting light sandy soils, always,) trench plowing 
 onght always to be done in the fall — especially if the stratum 
 of soil is to be turned to the surface that has never been disturbed 
 before. For one of the great benefits derived from trench plow- 
 ing is that resulting from the exposure of new soil to the in- 
 fluences of frost, light and heat, thus preparing it for the work 
 of germination and production. It is more rarely the case that 
 trench plowing in the spring results in an immediate increase of 
 the crop. It is only on old and worn and very light soils that 
 good effects follow spring trenching — we mean immediate effects. 
 Where trench plowing is practised in the spring, the farmer should 
 by no means bo too ambitious to plow deep. If he has been 
 plowing four, six or eight inches, he should by no means spasmod- 
 ically double the depth because he has a new notion and a new 
 plow. The depth should be gradually increased, if the subsoil is to 
 be turned to the surface. Two inches deeper each year is enough, 
 and sometimes more than enough with the trench plow in spring. 
 Then the soil thus thrown to the surface should be thoroughly 
 incorporated or mixed with the soil that has been exposed previous 
 years. Trench plowing is beneficial to light soils underlaid with clay 
 — to soils containing a large proportion of humus— to old worn soils 
 that have been plowed, cro})ped and manured for a series of years. 
 But trench plowing should be done, on stiff ; oils especially, in 
 the fall; on light sandy soils it is better done in the spring." 
 
 BENEFITS OF TRENCH PLOWING. 
 
 350. The necessity of trench plowing has been frequently 
 adverted to, for the purpose of bringing the phosphates to the 
 surface. In loosening the soil, the minerals settle down on the 
 hard-pan, and their beneficial effects are lost. By trench plow- 
 ing, they are again brought to the surface, and rendered available 
 for plants. 
 
 351. Another benefit of trenching is, that it brings the j ro- 
 toxide of iron, which is poisonous to plants, to the surface, and 
 exposes it to the action of the oxygen iu the atmosphere, by 
 
THE YOUNG FARMERS MAXUAL. 181 
 
 which it becomes oxygenated, or jteroxide of iron, and is benefi- 
 cial. Earths only l)econie fertile after having become oxygenated 
 or oxydized by exposure to the atmosphere for a considerable 
 length of time. 
 
 352. Trenching, then, though ultimately beneficial in creat- 
 ing a greater depth of arable soil, at first lessens the fertility of 
 the ground in spite of manures. It must be exposed to the 
 action of the atmospliere for a while before its beneficial effects 
 are seen. It is only after the subsoil stratum, and tlie minerals 
 in it are charged with oxygen from the atmosphere, that its be- 
 neficial effects are realized. In deciding as to the propriety of 
 subsoiling, the nature of the ground must be taken into consid- 
 eration. Unless the subsoil is loose and porous, so that the 
 water can easily pass off, or the land is previously well drained, 
 suusoiling is not to be recommended. But loosening a part of the 
 subsoil, while the underlayer is a stiff, adhesive clay, is injurious 
 rather than beneficial. Until there is some way for the escape 
 of the water, the larger the amount of surface loosened the greater 
 the space for holding water. 
 
 353. If ground is properly drained, or the subsoil is suf- 
 ficiently. loose to allow the water to percolate aown through it, 
 the effect of subsoiling is remark ible. An English agriculturist 
 says that a crop, after draining and subsoiling, " was four times 
 the quantity in weight ever produced in the same field at any 
 previous time." Another English farmer says : " When land 
 nas been thoroughly drained, deeply wrouglit, and well manured, 
 the most promising sterile soil becomes a deep, rich loam, rivaling 
 in fertility the best natural land in the country; and from being 
 fitted for raising only scanty crops of common oats, will bear good 
 crops of from 32 to 48 bushels of wheat per statute acre," The 
 same farmer says when he commenced operations on his farm, ho 
 " had not more than from four to four and a half inches of sur- 
 face soil; but having applied the system of thorough draining to 
 it, and used the subsoil plow, he can now turn up more thaa 
 sixteen inches of good soil." 
 
 354. But, as before remarked, these effects are not to bo 
 
cxpoctofl from a stronfc, ndhosivc clny soil; this i-aiinot be per- 
 manently iinpi'oved hy subsoilino-. The first operation on faw.U 
 land should be thorough draining, and then pulverizing by plow- 
 inn: ill uurotted manure, clover, or buckwheat when in bloom. 
 Such soils may be thus prepared for subsoiling. 
 
 SOD AND SUBSOIL PLOWING. 
 
 355. The preceding illustration represents the manner of 
 turning the sod and furrow slices when a very narrow slice is 
 cut with a Michigan Sod Plow. F. Holbrook and some other 
 writers denominate it sod and subsoil plowing. He says: " This 
 kind of plowing requires two plows upon one beam. The for- 
 ward or skim plow should take a depth of not more than two or 
 three inches, dropping the sod accurately into the channel, grass 
 side down; and the rear plow should lift the remaining depth or 
 under soil, raising it high, and laying it handsomely over the sod 
 or skim furrow slice, and well matched up to the previous furrow, 
 breaking the soil well in the act, and leaving a clean channel 
 behind for the reception of the next furrow slices. When a well- 
 constructed plow for this kind of work is accurately adjusted as 
 to the line of draught, and held so as to cut a uniform width and 
 de])th, and turn up the rear furrow slice to meet fully the pre- 
 ceding one, as rejn'esented in the cut, the upturned soil is laid 
 over in a remarkably light pulverized condition, making a very 
 level and finely cracked and open seed-bed or tilth, superior to 
 what can be done with any other implement yet introduced, and 
 indeed superior to what the most accomplished spadesman could 
 do in grass land by hand labor. For the deep breaking up of sod 
 land I would recommend the sod and subsoil style of plowing, on 
 all such as are free enough of obstructions, and have sufficient 
 regularity of surface to admit of the use of a double plow. Deep 
 plowing is done with lighter draft to the team by this mode than 
 by any other, because you can plow quite a narrow furrow in pro- 
 portion to depth — say ten inches deep, by eleven or twelve inches 
 wide — while by other modes you would be obliged to carry at 
 least from a third to a half more width than depth to turn the 
 furrow surely. 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL 
 
 IbS 
 
 MICHIGAN SOD AND SUBSOIL PLOW. 
 
 The cut of the double plow accompanying this parafj^niph is 
 manufactured by the Ames' Plow Company, Boston, Mass. It 
 
 MICHIGAN SOD AND SUBSOIL PLOW. 
 
 is used for the most part in fall plowing, as represented by illus- 
 trations, (Paragraph 343.) The most important suggestions in 
 using this plow is to set the small one about one fourth of an 
 inch more to land than the large plow cuts; and run the small 
 one not less than two inches deep. When it cuts a very thin 
 slice, it increases the draught very much ; because it runs directly 
 among the roots of grass. When the point runs below them, 
 the draught is lighter. The forward mould-board is connected 
 with the beam, and its depth of furrow is adjusted as follows: 
 A substantial iron flange is fastened to the under side of the 
 plow-beam by two bolts passing up through the flange and the 
 beam, and made tight on top by nuts and Fcrews; the flange has 
 two rows of slots in it to receive the bolts from the hindside of 
 the forward plow, and the plow is made fast to the flange by bolts 
 and nuts. By means of the slots in the flange, the forward plow 
 may be raised or lowered, according to the depth of plowing de- 
 sired, and made fast at the requisite point to give the depth 
 desired. The forward mould-board turns the sod-furrow as wide 
 as the working of the whole plow, and the earth on top assum- 
 
181 TUE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 ing an arcli-likc sliape, is naturally opened, wliilethc cuort of the 
 rear mould-board brings up the deeper soil, })laeiiig it upon the 
 sod and filling tiie channel, so that the sod-1'urrow is in no case 
 liable to be brought to the surface by harrowing or other pro- 
 cess of after-cultivation, tlie cohesion of the soil is broken, and 
 the plowed land lies liglit and meHow, and almost as fine as if 
 liarrowed — indeed, in some free soils rendering the use of the 
 harrow quite unnecessary. 
 
 GOOD EFFECTS OF DEEP PLOWING. 
 
 356. I am inclined to think that the best thing which I can 
 pen on this subject will be my own experience in deep plowing, 
 and also what has come under my immediate observation. When 
 I was a boy, my father, and all other farmers in that vicinity, 
 would always remonstrate against *•■ plowing up the yellow dirt" 
 as they called it; because they insisted that such dirt w^as *' cold, 
 barren, wanting in fertility, and would spoil the soil." Conse- 
 quently they did not plow, on an average, where the soil would 
 produce the largest crops of winter wheat, only three or four 
 inches deep. 
 
 357. The subsoil, in most places, was a mixture of clayey 
 loam and gravelly clay of a calcareous nature. The first ex- 
 periment in deep plowing was tried on a field that had been 
 cropped as loiig as I could remember, and but little manure 
 had ever been returned to the soil. The thin surface soil of 
 mould was about five inches deep. I ran the plow twico in a place 
 in the spring, and sowed oats on it. Every alternate land was 
 plowed in this manner. The oats were very much larger oa 
 these lands where the plow was run twice in a place. And 
 had the plowing been done in the fall, so that the frosts and rains 
 could havj mellowed the compact subsoil, the crop would have 
 been, no doubt, much heavier than it was. On other parts of 
 my farm, where the subsoil consisted, for the most part, of a 
 light-colored clayey and gravelly loam, deep plowing, when per- 
 formed in the fall for spring crops, would increase the crop for 
 a year or two more than a good coat of manure. 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 185 
 
 358. I liave my mind, at the present writing, on a Held at a 
 distance from the barn, which had just come into my possession; 
 and which was one of the first fields that had been cleared of 
 the forest — more than thirty years previous — to which not a load 
 of manure had ever been returned, which I plowed deep, with 
 a span of horses and a yoke of oxen hitched to a double Michigan 
 sod plow, which cut not less than twelve inches deep, and some- 
 times fourteen inches deep, actual measurement. I always car- 
 ried a rule; and would measure the deptli of furrow on the side 
 where the soil was unbroken ; and the rear gauge wheal on the 
 plow beam was adjusted to allow the plow to run twelve inches 
 deep. But where the subsoil was not very compact, it would, 
 sometimes run deeper than twelve inches. This field was plowed 
 in December, when there were three or more inches in deptli of 
 snow on the ground. Indian corn was planted the next spring on 
 that field without any other preparation than harrowing it. The 
 entire field was a vast mellow seed bed, not less than fourteen 
 inches deep — as a soil after it has been pulverized will be 
 several inches deeper than it was before it was plowed — and not 
 a hard lump could be found in the fijld. 
 
 359. The result wns, that it seemed like play to plant the 
 seed, as the subsoil was so mellow. And the surface dried off 
 in the spring very much earlier than on adjoining fields, and the 
 seed was planted promptly as soon as the ground was warm 
 enough to promote quick germination; it was very easy to cul- 
 tivate and hoe; it grew luxuriantly all summer; and although 
 the season was dry, I never saw the leaves of that corn rolled up 
 but very little; because the roots had a deep and mellow bed 
 to spread in; and lastly, and most important of all, that corn 
 was ripe, cut up and stocked before a single field of corn on 
 adjacent farms was ripe enough to cut up; and the yield of grain 
 was much larger than had been produced on my farm up to that 
 time. 
 
 THE ILL EFFECTS OF DEEP PLOWING. 
 
 360. Another field was plowed deep — as deep as a double 
 team could draw a double Michigan sod plow — much of it was 
 
186 THE YOUNG FARMRlt's MANUAL. 
 
 sixteen inches deep — for the purpose of forming a deep soil for a 
 pear orcliard. See best works on fruit culture for best modes 
 of preparing soil for fruit trees. Here the subsoil was of a 
 very different character fiom that alluded to in the foiegoing 
 paragraphs. There was very little mould among the soil. And 
 the result was, that crops were a h.ng time in getting started 
 after it was plowed deep, because the surface would be so very 
 hard. Crops would grow very slowly, and the yield would be 
 small for several successive seasons. 
 
 361. It was thoroughly underdraincd with tile and stone, 
 about two rods apart, with drains from thirty to forty-five inches 
 deep; was manured abundantly every two or three years; was 
 plowed in autumn, for tlie purpose of securing more complete 
 pulverization; and a large and heavy crop of Indian corn sowed 
 broad cast was plowed under, all of which combined rendered it 
 a very productive soil for cereal grain and grass. But it was 
 too compact and heavy for raising roots, carrots, turnips, pars- 
 nips or potatoes. 
 
 362. Besides my own experience on this subject, I met with 
 similar instances all over the country, where farmers had turned 
 what little mould there was on the surface some eight or ten 
 inches below it; and had brought up a new stratum of cold, 
 heavy and unfriable earth, which was not fertile enough to be 
 called soil, and which would require many years of judicious 
 management to render it a good fertile soil. 
 
 363. On many of the slopes of our lakes, where the soil was 
 thin and resting on a compact calcareous gravelly clay, many 
 farmers, after seeing the excellent effects of plowing deep on the 
 uplands, where the soil was a deep, black mould, resting imme- 
 diately on a fertile subsoil of gravelly or clayey loam, instead of 
 loosening up this hard substratum with the subsoil plow, have 
 put a double team to one plow, and rolled up huge furrow slices 
 of barren earth , and for a number of years have rendered their 
 good soils about worthless. The ill effects of such deep plowing 
 were discovered innnediately . But the next geu'jration of farmers 
 will find that their predecessors committed one error in plowing 
 such soils that will result in much profit to them. 
 
THE YOUNG FARMEr's MANUAL. 18*[ 
 
 PRACTICAL EFFECTS OF DEEP PLOWING. 
 
 364. The prevailing practice among the mtijority of farmers 
 all through Central New York used to l)e, to plow shallow, and 
 not to turn up any of the yellow dirt. Couseqaently, as they did 
 not pay much attention to keeping up the fertihty of their virgin 
 soils, they soon became so much impoverished that their crops 
 would hardly pay the expense of cultivation. I remember well 
 a certain large farm that was managed on the '' skinning" and 
 " skimming" system — plowing shallow and carrying everything off 
 the soil, and returning nothing to it — which came mto the posses- 
 sion of a man who hitched two teams to one plow; and turned 
 up several inches in depth of the fertile subsoil; and drained the 
 wet portions of' it; and plowed under some clover, and all the 
 coarse strawy manure that he could collect ; and by this means 
 he raised large crops of winter wheat, when his neighbors could 
 not raise half of a crop; and his crops were quite as heavy as the 
 soil ever produced when the land was first cultivated. It was 
 a common remark among his neighbors, that he had turned up a 
 new soil. Every one who observed the effect attributed his large 
 crops to the deep plowing. And this was correct, because for 
 more than thirty years only a thin stratum of soil had been cul- 
 tivated. And as the subsoil, for the most part, was well filled 
 with available nourishment for promoting the growth of the 
 wheat plant, it was almost like a new soil, because it had never 
 been cropped. 
 
 365. On many of our river bottom lands, where the soil had 
 been plowed shallow for many years, deep plowing has often 
 increased the quantity of the crop from one-third to one-half 
 the usual quantity. But the intelligent farmer will perceive 
 that soils should never be plowed deep with a common plow, 
 where there is but a thin stratum of mould resting on a com- 
 pact, cold, aad barren subsoil. Many good farmers all over 
 the country have related their experience in deep plowing, and 
 it has been condemned about as often' as it has been recom- 
 mended But by inquiry it will always be found ihcit the kind of 
 
188 THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 mbsoil would always determine the success or the failure of the 
 experiment. And the quality of the subsoil— or the quality of 
 the lower part of the soil — will always afford proper instruc^tiou 
 when to plow deep with a common plow, as well as when to 
 dee})cn the soil with a subsoil plow, thus keeping the best soil ou 
 the surface of the ground. 
 
 EXPERIMENTS IN DEEP PLOWING. 
 
 36C). Wm. D. Sheldon, of Wayne Co., gives in the Rural 
 JVew Yorker the result of two experiments in turning up the sub- 
 soil, which may prove instructive to our readers. He says : " I 
 ])urcliased a farm a few years ago that had been worn out by 
 (constant sli allow plowing. The first year I sowed five acres to 
 oats, upon a ridge which had a gravelly hard-pan some six inches 
 bclow^ the surface, and the crop was hardly worth cutting. 
 Plowed it shallow. The next year I used the Michigan Double 
 riow, running it ten inches deep, which brought up some four 
 inches hard-pan. The oats on the average were four and a half 
 feet high — the largest growth I ever saw. The five ar.'res filled 
 a 30 by 40 barn from bottom to top, and a part of the barn 
 floor. There was not enough lodged on the whole field to make 
 one bundle — the straw was strong, and so harsh that the stock 
 had no inchnation to eat it. Another lot on the same farm, on 
 a flat, I plow^ed about one foot deep. The soil was a black 
 sand; the result was the reverse of the above — it nearly spoiled 
 the land." 
 
 367. Hiram Walker, Mexico, Oswego Co., N. Y., wrote the 
 following letter to tho Country Gentleman: "The land ou 
 which I have tried deep subsoil plowing is a clayey loam, with 
 a very retentive subsoil. I began five years ago by following the 
 large Peekskill Plow with Starbuck's subsoil plow in the same 
 furrow. The subsoil plow does not cut more than two-thirds as 
 wide as other plows, and merely raises the earth some four inches, 
 and tails back in its original bed, leaving a strip of earth between 
 the furrows undisturbed 
 
 308. After going over ten acres in this way, I thought I 
 
THE YOUNG FAIiMEK's MANUAL. 189 
 
 miglit more effectually stir the whole subsoil strata by cutting 
 both fnrrows with the same plow, I then gauged my sod plow 
 to cut six inches deep. By having the draft raised, and throwing 
 the roller into the furrow, I could easily cut the second furrow in 
 the bottom of the first without any alteration of the draft or the 
 roller. This was much more convenient than to change plows 
 every round, as I did when using two plows, as I performed the 
 work with a single team. In performing the work with a single 
 plow, I stirred the whole earth the depth I plowed, raising part 
 of the subsoil furrow to the surface, so that at the next plowing 
 the sod and subsoil furrows will be well mixed t02:ether. 
 
 369. *' I have cultivated fifty acres in this way during the last 
 five years. Most of this plowing has been done with Reming- 
 ton's large size steel plow, made at Ilion, jS^. Y. Tlie land I 
 have cultivated, as above stated, is nearly free from stone, and 
 much of it so adhesive a nature that an iron plow, however 
 bright, would load up the mould-board, while the steel plow 
 would always kicp clean and save 25 per cent, in the draft. 
 Any plow will clean itself in loose gravelly soils. I do not think 
 it necessary to subsoil loose, porous soils whose tendency is to 
 leach, as they are loose enough without. 
 
 3T0. I prefer to subsoil in the fall — first, because there is 
 more time for this extra work, and teams are strong; and secondly, 
 because clayey grounds may be quite moist and pasty, and any 
 lumps of clay thrown up will be slaked and left light by the frost 
 of winter and April winds. Land thus fall plowed is left loose, 
 and the air penetrates it till it is worked in the spring, thereby 
 improving the subsoil for vegetation. 
 
 371. I have had better crops on land worked as above than 
 before, as it lets the air mingle with the soil at a greater depth ; 
 water recedes from the surface quicker, and I can run my plow 
 to a depth with ease that could not be done before." 
 
 372. The Editor of the Agricultural Gazette s-djs: "Light 
 land, whetlicr sandy or gravelly, cannot have its naturally un- 
 certain productive capaciiies fully developed without deep culti- 
 vation. If a hole be dug in search of gravel or sand, and the 
 
190 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 
 
 soil be simply put back again, that placo will retain ius I'lxur- 
 ianee of liTOwth much longer than the soil adjoin ng, where the 
 field has merely been subjected to ordinary shallow plowing. 
 
 3T3. To create two feet of well-filled soil, instead of nine 
 inches of it, is to give the soil a greatly increased power of 
 i-eta'ning moisture. A piece of pumice stone will occupy far less 
 space when smashed to powder. Its capacity to resist the escape 
 of moisture will be proportionately increased. Light soil is of a 
 somewhat corresponding structure; and by first stirring it as deep 
 as possible, and then compressing it into a compact, united mass 
 of stone, not only are fresh substances made available for roots 
 to feed on, but its natural moisture is retained for use by the 
 growing plant. 
 
 374. Heavy or clay land, even if underdrained, would be 
 greatly benefitted by deep autumn cultivation, if well fui-rowed 
 out subsequently. Drainage, in any case a fertilizer, is, in such 
 a case, the first necessity, and deep cultivation is the second 
 requisite, if profitable cro})S be the abjtct. If soil be deepened 
 and pulverized, and just enough ammoniacal or other stimulatiiig 
 manure be applied to cause the first development of green crop, 
 enable it to feed freely on the air, and if this crop be turned in 
 to decompose, an addition of every element of food for plants will 
 be made to the soil. All that need be guarded against in prac- 
 tising deep cultivation, is bringing up merely mineral earth from 
 below more rapidly than it can be easily converted into soil by 
 tillage and exposure." 
 
 375. A practical farmer writes to the Rior a I JVeiv Yorker: 
 ** We have abundant evidence, from various sources, of the 
 superior benefits obtained from plowing eight or ten inches deep, 
 instead of five or six, as was once the almost universal custom. 
 Yet many still continue the old practice, asserting that they have 
 tried the other and found it injurious, the crops invariably depre- 
 ciating on lands thus treated. Now, what is the cause of this 
 discrepancy in results ? We assert that in every case where the 
 subhoil is of rqual or superior fertiUty to the surface, and has 
 been subjected to the ameliorating influence of the atmosphere 
 
THE YOUN'G FARMEr's MANUAL. 191 
 
 for a short time, that deep plowuig increases the crop. But, un- 
 fortunately, many of our soils a few inches below the surface are 
 nearly barren; and to throw up, say four inches, of this barren 
 soil to the surface, and without cross-plowing or mixing it with 
 the mould, sow the grain on it and drag it in, no wonder that the 
 young plants, in their vain struggle to find nourishment, should 
 dwindle and die. But it is believed that such, or in fact any soil, 
 can ultimately l)e benefitted by deep plowing, if judiciously per- 
 formed. We would, in the above case, deepen but one inch the 
 first year, and mix well together, manuring, if necessary, and then 
 in one, two or three years, according to circumstances, deepen 
 another inch, and so continue until you have a soil as deep as one 
 pair of oxen or horses will ordinarily plow with a good plow, 
 which is about ten inches." 
 
 DEEP PLOWING IN NEW ENGLAND. 
 
 376. Although the plowing in the New England States is 
 done with a single team, for the most part, and only four, five 
 and six inches deep at that, yet, in many instances, a double, 
 triple and even a quadruple team is used to draw a single 
 plow. Many of the fertile intervale soils bordering on the 
 rivers have a very deep as well as fertile soil; and the deeper they 
 are plowed the more productive they are. I have my mind on 
 fertile river bottom lands on the Merrimac River, that are always 
 plowed as deep as four good horses are able to draw a plow. 
 And there is no danger of ever injuring such soils by deep 
 plowing. Levi Bartlett, an excellent correspondent of the 
 Country Gentleman, when alluding to the amount of team em- 
 ployed to plow the soil on the Webster farm, in N. H., says: 
 " The present owner was plowing an eight-acre field of sward 
 land. This was in the month of September. The team consisted 
 of three large yokes of oxen and a heavy pair of horses. The 
 soil was alluvial, as free from stones, stumps, &c , as the prairies 
 of the West; furrows 12 inches deep, by 18 in width. A less 
 team could have done the work; but as the owner of the farm 
 had that amount of team, he put it into the field. I have seen 
 
192 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 
 
 p;ood plowiug' done here by a pair of horses or a pair of oxen. 
 Some of our land is as light and easy to plow as the limestone 
 soils of Western Virginia. In Concord there are men that plow 
 these intervales at six dollars per acre, with four good horses. The 
 crop of corn grown, with good culture and manure, averages sixty 
 bushels per acre. A crop of corn of sixty bushels per acre, in 
 'many sections out West, will sell for only six dollars — -just what 
 it costs to plow an acre of land in the Granite State." 
 
 377. In many other places in the "Old Granite State," 
 after the rocks and s:nall stones have been removed, the soil is 
 deeper than most farmers ever desire to plow. But the intel- 
 ligent reader must heed the warning given in preceding para- 
 graphs, not to turn up a stratum of barren subsoil, and spoil his 
 land, because somebody else has found very deep plowing to be 
 productive of an increase of crops 
 
 llESULT OF DEEP PLOWING IN PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 378. A practical farmer writes thus to the Germantown 
 Telegraph: ''There is no subject in agriculture more worthy 
 of consideration than that of plowing deep in tha fall, under 
 certain circumstances. My experience on this subject has 
 shown me, that clayey and slate soils may be greatly benefitted 
 by plowing deep in the fall, exposing the soil to the action of the 
 air and frost during the winter. Experience has also taught m^, 
 that plowing clayey soils deep in the spring, so as to turn up two 
 or three inches of soil never before exposed to air, is sure to 
 be a failure in the first crop. After being thus exposed for one 
 year to the atmosphere, and plowed the following spring, the 
 increase in the next crop will be plainly seen, proving the ad- 
 vantage of plowing such lands deep in the fall. On slaty soils I 
 have seen far greater results from this method. 
 
 379. A portion of my farm is slate. 1 was told by one of my 
 neighbors that a part of this slate had been under the plow for 
 over twenty years. The owner tried a number of times to seed 
 it, but without success. I commenced plowing this piece of land 
 with the intention of I'cstoring it to fertility. I plowed it beam 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER's MANUAL 193 
 
 deep, and sowed oats in the spring, and seeded to June clover. 
 The result was more than I expected. A uniform growth of 
 oats, three feet high, was the result. The next June I mowed 
 one and a half tons per acre of good clover hay upon said land. 
 I commenced plowing in the clover on the 15 th of September, and 
 f owed to winter wheat. The July following I harvested a fair 
 crop of wheat, considering the amount of insects which worked 
 upon it. I plowed again in the fall, and sowed oats in the spring, 
 expecting that there would be clover seed enougli left to seed it; 
 but in this I was disappointed; the result was a fair crop of oats 
 for this year; I have plowed again this fall with the intention 
 of seeding next spring. 
 
 380. Another piece adjoining I plowed in the fall, and sowed 
 with oats in the spring. I harvested what the insects left after 
 doing their work, which was 45 bushels per acre. Said piece 
 of land did not produce more than 40 bushels of ears of corn per 
 acre the year before. I have satisfied myself that there must 
 be some power in slate stone for the growth of vegetation, when 
 brought into a state to be acted upon by the roots of plants, 
 •wliich is done by the action of heat and cold, in pulverizing the 
 slate. 
 
 381. Geology and experience have taught us that no soil, un- 
 less exposed to the atmosphere, will vegetate the least plant. 
 We may take swamp muck, as an example, which experience 
 teaches will be of no use until brought to the air, and changed 
 by a chemical process in uniting with some other substance, or 
 the action of the atmosphere upon it, thus changing it into a 
 valuable manure. In the other case, the soil is not so much satu- 
 rated with water, as in the former, and nature is, in this case, her 
 own remedy, when the soil is exposed to the atmosphere. The 
 distance to which air penetrates clayey soils cannot be more than 
 two or three inches when plowed shallow. Wiiile with deep 
 plowing it may penetrate to three times that depth. 
 
 FALL AND WINTER PLOWING. 
 
 382. It seems not a little surprising that there should be so 
 
 9 
 
194 T'JE vouxG farmer's manual. 
 
 many fiirmcrs, in this au-e of intelligence, who will so strenuonsly 
 insist ui)on the inexpediency of fall or winter plowing. It would 
 seem that after a few successful experiments in fall plowing 
 every farmer would be not only ready, but in haste, to avail him- 
 self of the great benefits of plowing deep in the fall. But we find 
 a great number who have come deliberately to the conclusion, 
 that they do not get as good crops from these fields which were 
 plowed in the fall as from those which are plowed only in ths 
 spring. Many contend that when land is plowed in the fall, 
 (especially sward land), the crop, especially if it be corn, will be 
 very much injured the ensuing year by the worms. Others say 
 that they have experimented in fall plowing, and have become 
 satisfied that they do not get as good crops as from spring plow- 
 ing only, 
 
 383. We grant, in a measure, the truthfulness of both these 
 objections; but, at the same time, we would advocate late fall 
 plowing, except when the soil is very sandy, or a sandy loam. 
 It is true tliat there ar.^ soils which it would not be well to plow 
 in the fill, on account of their disposition to leach. After a far- 
 mer finds, by a few fair experiments on sucli soils, that he obtains 
 greater crops from spring plowing only, than from fall or winter 
 plowing, the practice should be abandoned at once. On very 
 porous, light sandy soils, on gravelly loams, and all other kinds 
 of soil which are not accustomed to bake and to become lumpy, 
 the rains and snow and frosts of winter have no ameliorating ef- 
 fect, because if we increase their porosity and friability it is 
 done at the hazard of their fertility 
 
 THE OBJECT OF FALL PLOWING. 
 
 384. The grand object to be attained in fall or winter plow- 
 ing is to increase the friability and porosity of soils, and to de- 
 stroy the worms. If the soil is already very porous and friable, 
 there is too much reason for apprehending that much of tlio 
 elements of fertility will be washed out by drenching rains, and 
 thus the soil would be impaverisiied rather than made more fer- 
 tile. But, generally speaking, all soils that are apt to be lumpy 
 
THE YOUNG FARMEr's MANUAL. 195 
 
 » 
 
 when they are plowed where there is not an excess of moisture, 
 and inclined to bake in spring and summer, clayey loams, c.J- 
 carc'01.13 soils, and thin soils of muck lying on a subsoil of ciayej 
 loam and gravelly clay, will be greatly bcu^^fitted by being turned 
 up to the influence of the rains and fro.^ts of winter. If a soil 
 has boen thoroughly drained, but is very wet from heavy rains, 
 we need entertain no fears that fall plowing will injure it; be- 
 cause, should it be so wet as to run together like mortar, the 
 rains and frosts will destroy this cohesion. But if a soil is not 
 thoroughly drained, we need expect no benefit to result from 
 plowing such soils in the fall or winter. I will tell why. A soil 
 that is thoroughly saturated with water will expand but little, 
 if any more, than the same bulk of water when it congeals; and 
 when it thaws, much of the finer particles run together like lime, 
 sand, and loam, when they are made into mortar, holding in this 
 mass the elements of fertility so firmly, that as food for plants 
 they are in an unavailable state. But when soil that is only 
 moistened freezes, its bulk is greatly increased, and the cohesion 
 of every part is affjcted; and when it thaws, there being not 
 water enongh to allow the diffirent particles to run or settle to- 
 gether, it remains light and friable lik3 honey-comb; and eaeli 
 successive freezing increases its porosity and breaks up this 
 coarseness of particles. 
 
 385. Another object in plowing late in autumn is, the de- 
 struction of numerous insects that are injurious to vegetation. 
 When insects are turned up from their winter quarters in cok- 
 weather, they are not lively enough to descend again into the 
 soil. Therefore many of them perish. 
 
 386. When a soil is plowed early in autumn, if there are many 
 worms in it, there is danger that they will seriously injure the 
 crop the following season. But if the plowing is djfjrred until 
 late in the autumn, or even until winter, a great majority of them 
 will perish after being routed from their winter quarters. And, 
 furthermore, when sward land is plowed early in autumn, the 
 grass roots on which the worms would have fed while the crop is 
 growing, will have decayed long before the crop in the following 
 
190 TIFR YOUNG FARMEr's MANUAL. 
 
 season is out of danger from the worms. But if land be plowed 
 late in autumn, or winter, the grass roots undergo but little 
 change, and will furnish food for worms, as well as if the soil had 
 been plowed in the spring. 1 have known many crops materially 
 injured by the worms in consequence of plowing too e;nly in 
 autumn. A few years since a neighbor cut a ditch through one 
 of his pastures, in the month of September, and on the following 
 season plowed in the spring, and planted with corn. Along this 
 ditch, a strip, about six or eight feet wide, was almost entirel}'' 
 destroyed by worms, while the rest of the field yielded a bounti- 
 ful crop. 
 
 THE EFFECT OF FALL PLOWING WET GROUND ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 387. In order to illustrate this subject, let any one take some 
 nnslacked lime and wet it just enough to mik3 it slack well, and 
 it will afford a beautiful example of the effect of rain and frost 
 on a dry soil that has been plowed in the winter. Now, lake 
 another quantity of lime and continue to pour on water, more 
 than is necessary to slack it; and after it is slacked, stir it with 
 a stick and let it settle. Now let the water evaporate, and let 
 the lime freeze and thaw, and we are furnished wit i a very cor- 
 rect idea of the effect which fall or winter plowing has on a soil 
 that has an excess of moisture in it. In many parts of the 
 country a thin soil rests on a heavy, compact substratum, some- 
 times called " hard-pan," which is often said to reacli as far as 
 the second rail of tlie fence; and it is often plowed when water 
 will stand in the furrows. But labor expended in plowing such 
 soils when so wet is of very little benefit to them. So long as 
 the interstices of the soil are filled with water the soil is dead. It 
 cannot be pulverized, and plants cannot grow. It must be 
 drained. It is the height of folly to attempt to grow any kind 
 of crops on such a soil without first removing the surplus water. I 
 shall reiterate this thought from the beginning to the end of 
 this book — 'drain all heavy soils ichen there is any super fiar as 
 vioisturc. 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. l9t 
 
 THE EXPERIENCE OP OTHEIIS IN FALL PLOWING. 
 
 388. We have made extensive observations on this snbject, 
 in reading agricultural papers for more than twenty years past; 
 and the testimony from farmers all over the country is universiilly 
 in favor of the practice. A correspondent of the Rural Neio 
 Yorl-er writes: "Fall plowing I think an important item in farm 
 operations, for past experience has taught me that better crops 
 of barley and oats may be secured, or. any of our lands, by plow- 
 ing in the fall; and we can invariably get them in, in better 
 condition, I considei* it indispensable, however, that no surface 
 water be allowed to remain long; and neglect in this respect I 
 believe to be the cause of so many failures in the experiment. 
 Some say, 'plow dry land, but you must not plow those which 
 are wet;' but, with all deference to the opinions of such, I, from 
 past experience, advise to the contrary. If I have a rather wet 
 clayey lot which is intended for spring crops, I plow in the fall; 
 not, however, in an indifferent manner, as is the practice of some, 
 but with great care, putting it in narrow beds, and cutting cross 
 furrows or ditches, in order that all the surface water may 
 quickly ran off and not lay upon the land to harden it. In this 
 condition the legitimate effjct of the frost is to pulverize the soil; 
 and, when spring comes, once harrowing, and then going over it 
 with the wheel cultivator, will put it in as good condition for 
 sowing as it possibly can be," 
 
 389. A correspondent of the Cultivator writes: '* I noticed an 
 article on fall and winter plowing, in which it was highly recom- 
 mcn >d to plow in the fall, except on sandy or sandy loam soils 
 — the writer taking the ground that such soils w;il leach if 
 plowed in the fall. I do not know but it is so; but I have yet 
 to learn that if you plow such a soil in the fall it is at the hazard 
 of its fertility — especially if it is sward land, and the first crop is 
 intended to be corn. Instead of the action of the frost and snow 
 of winter increasing the porosity and friability of such a soil, it 
 tends to sctt'le it d wn together, and renders it 1 ss lial)le to be 
 affected by the drouth, which is something to bo thought of 
 
198 THE YOUNG FARMER's MANUAL. 
 
 when we have such dry seasons as we have had for two years 
 past; and tlien the sod rots earhei- than it would if it were 
 plowed in the spring, and gives its fertilizing qualities as a 
 manure to the young corn as it just commences to grow — a time 
 when it is needed, if ever, to push it forward, so that the hoe can 
 be used to keep the weeds in subj Lection. Last year I had a field 
 of corn of some eight acres; a little more than half was plowed 
 in the full, and the rest in spring. When I came to harvest it, 
 that plowed in the fall was nearly if not quite one-third the best; 
 a great deal heavier growth of stalks and longer ears; audit 
 stood the drouth better by half. Where it was plowed in the 
 spring, the corn leaves began to roll a week or ten days before 
 they did where it was plowed in the fall; and when there came 
 any rain, it seemed to leach through and leave the ground as dry 
 as ever. I am in favor of fall plowing for any crop. It is 
 equally as good for other crops as for corn, as far as my ex- 
 perience goes." 
 
 SUGGESTIONS AGAINST FALL PLOWING. 
 
 390. 0. C. GiBBS, M. D., Ohio, writes to the Country Gentle- 
 man: *' We seldom look into an agricultural paper, in the later 
 months of autumn, witjiout seeing fall plowing recommended for 
 spring crops. Btlievingtliis advice to be, in most cases, injudicious, 
 and founded upon erroneous principles of agriculture, I shall of- 
 fer a few suggestions in support of this opinion. 
 
 391. The great stimulus to every form of cultivation, so far 
 as the soil is concerned, is admitted by all to be the quantity of 
 organized matter in the soil, in a state of disorganization or de- 
 composition. Now, irrigation and pulverization of the soil pro- 
 mote the disorganization of those organic elements, and vender 
 them active for the development and support of vegetation; and 
 if there be no crop upon the land to receive that stimulus, or if 
 the surface of the land be not in some way protected, so as to 
 prevent the escape of those fertilizing elements, rendered gaseous 
 by the process of decomposition, they are, in a great measure, 
 evaporated and utterly lost to the soil. Hence, land is im- 
 
THE YOUNG FARMEr's MANUAL. 199 
 
 povcrishcd nearly, if not quite as much, by fall plowing, prepara- 
 tory to spring crop, as though a crop had actually been taken 
 from it without any return. Land may, perhaps, be tilled a 
 little earlier in the spring for the fall plowing; but in Ohio, at 
 least, it can be tilled early enough for corn, spring wheat, oats 
 &c., without this impoverishing preparative. At any rate, where 
 autumn plowing facilitates early culture, undcr-drainin x would 
 be far more beneficial, and not open to the serious objection 
 which we urge against the measure under discussion. It is 
 thought by most of the advocates of fall plowing that it de- 
 stroys the cut-w^orm, so injurious, sometimes, to the corn crop. 
 But this, I think, is questionable. Though the worms be ex- 
 posed to the action of the elements, yet I submit the inquiry, how 
 long would it take them to penetrate again beyond the reach of 
 frosts ? And would not their unerring instinct prompt them to 
 avail theinselves of this sure protection ? Be this as it may, in 
 reference to the cut-worm one thing is certain, and many farmers 
 have experimentally learned the fact, that fall plowing injures the 
 soil as effectually as it does the worms. It is said that fall 
 plowing renders the land much easier tilled the coming spring; 
 this, in reference to some soils, is doubtless" true, and is the only 
 real advantage the system possesses; and this certainly ought not 
 to weigh against attending evils." 
 
 392. We have quoted the foregoing letter simply to show 
 what could be said against fall plowing. But it may be seen 
 tliat the tenor of the writer's arguments appear very like the de- 
 fense of a man who knows and feels that all the facts in the case 
 and all the knock-down arguments are on the side of his antagon- 
 ist; and himself would like a good opportunity to skedaddle with 
 his tail of — feathers drooping. That land ** is impoverished by 
 fall plowing" there is no evidence at all. Fall plowing will, 
 doubtless, destroy many worms if it be done in late autumn ; be- 
 cause, if their winter quarters be disturbed, they will not possess 
 vitality enough to descend again beneath the surface, unless the 
 weather were unusually warm. The very best argument against 
 the theory advanced that fall plowing impoverishes the soil is, 
 
200 TITE YOUXO farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 that much better crops are always attained on heavy soil by fall 
 plowing where there is not an excess of water in it. 
 
 ERRONEOUS THEORY REFUTED. 
 
 .893. B. T. ITarvey says: '• Organic matter, lying upon the 
 surface of the soil, unmixed or uncovered with any other absorb- 
 ing element, in a state of decomposition, may " waste its sweet- 
 ness on the desert air," or, in other words, its fertilizing proper- 
 ties may escape in a gaseous form. But in all ordinary cases, 
 tlie organized matter in the soil undergoing decomposition, so far 
 from being evaporated and lost in the atmosphere, is, on the con- 
 trary, absorbed and retained by the other elements constituting 
 the basis of the soil. But if it were otherwise, it must be evident 
 to all observing minds, that from November to April, tliroughout 
 the Northern States, decomposition hi the soil is arrested for 
 want of heat; consequently no injury could result from fall plow- 
 ing, so far as evaporation is concerned. But supposing the 
 Doctor's opinion of evaporation correct (which neither facts or 
 logic will establish), it is even tlicn questionable whether fall 
 plowing or plowing at any season will have a tendency to im- 
 poverisli any soil of ordinary fertility. That there may be, as 
 above stated, a continued passing olT of fertilizing elements into 
 the atmosphere, from organic matter in a state of decomposition, 
 not in immediate contact with other absorbing elements, is 
 evident, but which must again, through chemical attraction, or 
 by combination with the humidity of the atmosphere, in connec- 
 tion with dew and rain, return to the soil. If this were not so. 
 would not the air we breathe become surcharged with deleterious 
 elements, producing death so rapidly that the M. D.'s themselves 
 would soon become subjects. But experience has taught the 
 farmer that frequent plowing and turning the soil is the proper 
 way to fit it for attracting and retaining moisture, and why not 
 fertilizing properties from the atmosphere as well. As there are 
 some exceptions to general rules, so there are some soils that may 
 be injured more than benefitted by autumn plowing; such as light 
 sands, or soils wanting tenacity, by the operation of plowing, 
 
THE YOUXG FARMER S MANUAL. 
 
 201 
 
 and tlironp:!! the agency of frost, be rendered still more friable, 
 and wanting in proper texture. In the cultivation of such soils, 
 it is important that the roller should follow the plow. If, as a, 
 general rule, fall plowing has a tendency to deterioration, tiien 
 plowing at any time must be injurious to land, and the less it is 
 practised the better for the soil. This may be gratifying in 
 theory, but it will be found ruinous in practice." 
 
 THE SUBSOIL PLOW. 
 
 304. The accompanying figure represents an implement called 
 the '* Liftino: Subsoil Plow." The standard consists of a flat 
 
 SUBSOIL FI<OW. 
 
 piece of iron an inch or more in thickness, with two heads on the 
 upper part, by which it is bolted to the underside of the beam. 
 The point or share is made either with a wing on both side^^, like 
 a spear placed flat on the ground, or with the wing only on one 
 side, as shown by the illustration. On one or both sides of the 
 standard there is an adjustable flange about three inches wide, 
 over wiiich the soil rises and drops back crumbled into the 
 bottom of the furrow. The share and these fl.inges form an in- 
 clined plane. If it be desirable to elevate the soil much or only 
 a little, the rear ends of the flanges may be adjusted to the 
 desired hciglit by means of bolts passing through the standard. 
 The higher the rear ends of the flanges the harder a plow will 
 draw, and the more thoroughly it will pulverize the soil. A draft 
 rod and dial clevis attached to the beam enable the ])lowmaii to 
 9* 
 
202 
 
 so adjust it as to run directly in tlie furrow made by the common 
 plow, thus breaking up tlie compact subsoil, and leaving it in the 
 furrow. The wheel may be placed on either side of the beam. 
 If the plow will not run deep enough loosen the standard bolts, 
 and put a thick piece of leather between the forward standard 
 and the beam. Or a better way will be to separate the beam 
 from the standard, and dress off one-fourth of an inch of the un- 
 der side of the beam, where it rests on the rear head of the 
 standard. This will give the point more " pitch," so that it will 
 run in readily. 
 
 HOW TO SUBSOIL. 
 
 395. When a farmer has but one te:im, he plows one furrow 
 round the field or land, and then hitching to the subsoil plow 
 goes round again in the same track. In order to pulverize the 
 subsoil very thoroughly, it is necessary to cut narrow furrow 
 slices, and to use the subsoil plow when the ground is cross- 
 plowed as well as the first plowing. S ubsoiling thus for two or 
 three years, the ground will be pretty well pulverized to the full 
 depth the subsoil plow reaches. When the plow cuts wide fur- 
 row slices the subsoil plow may be run twice in the furrow. 
 When this is not done, and especially if the field be subsoiled 
 only one way, the subsoil will not be more than one-third or one- 
 half broken up. A span of horses or yoke of oxen will draw a 
 two-horse subsoil plow ten to fourteen inches deeper than the 
 first cut through a pretty compact subsoil. When run deeper 
 the draft increases very rapidly, and the pulverization is not so 
 complete. Two or three spans of horses or yokes of oxen are 
 usually required if the subsoil plow be }mt dcwn 18 or 20 inches 
 deep, as is not un frequently done in preparing ground for or- 
 chards, vineyards, hop-yards, tfec. 
 
 39G. It is essential in subsoiling, in order to do the work 
 well, to have a sharp point on the plow. As the point is driven 
 through soil that is much more compact than the surface soil, 
 the points will wear out much faster than on a common plow; 
 and unless tluy are renewed as soon as they are worn so that 
 
THE A'OUXG farmer's MANU4L. 
 
 2D3 
 
 it will not enter readily, it will be difficult to run the plow of a 
 unrforra depth. 
 
 397. The accompanying illustration represents a section of 
 sod ground after plowing with a subsoil plow. The subsoil is 
 
 SUBSOIL PLOWING. 
 
 pulverized beneath the furrow slices as low as the dark line from 
 the edge of the unbroken ground towards the right hand. This 
 represents the appearance of a section of ground as nearly as we 
 are able to mdke it look on paper. As stated in a previous pa* 
 ragraph, the sub oil must be plowed with narrow slices, and 
 cross-plowed, before it would be pulverized to a uniform depth. 
 The narrower the furrows are the more thoroughly the work will 
 be done, and the longer the subsoil will remain open and loose. 
 
 THE EFFECTS OF SUBSOILING. 
 
 398, Some writers have affirmed that '' subsoiling promotes 
 drainage." This is the tendency — and so it is the tendency of 
 moonshine to promote the healthy growth of plants. If wet sub- 
 soil be plowed deep enough, we might say that it promotes drain- 
 age. But in order to accomplish anything appreciable or tang- 
 ible, it would be necessary to pulverize the subsoil several feet 
 deep. It is said, also, that " subsoiling lets in the air." Where 
 there is not an excess of water in the soil it does; but where the 
 ground is wet, and has not been underdrained, air cannot fill the 
 interstices of the soil while they are full of w^ater. 
 
 399. Subsoiling enables roots to strike deeper, providing they 
 do not meet with a strata of soil that is full of water. Roots of a 
 cereal crop will not spread in any soil where they are required to 
 grow in water. Subsoiling promotes the absorption of moisture 
 
204 THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 from the atmospliere during drongths, thus cnaljling crops to 
 witlistand the clU'ct of hot and dry weather. "VYlien a soil is 
 thoroughly pulverized one or more feet deep, and there is not an 
 excess of water, the warm air fills the interstices and is con- 
 densed, thus furnishing moisture for the roots. This condensa- 
 tion is effected in the same manner that we see water formed on 
 cellar walls, or stones that are well bedded in the ground, or 
 as dew is formed. There is aqueous vapor in the atmosphere, 
 which comes in contact with the cold earth, and is condensed, 
 thus forming water. Therefore if the soil be free from an ex- 
 cess of moisture, dew will be formed — not only on the surface of 
 the ground — but in all the interstices of the soil where air enters 
 freely. 
 
 400. If we subsoil a strip of land, and skip a land where the 
 subsoil is very compact, or even not very open, and underdrain 
 it where there is an excess of water, and plant Indian corn, it 
 will be seen that the leaves of the corn where it was not subsoiled 
 will be rolled up during hot weather, while that which had been 
 subsoiled will look fresh and green, and the leaves will not be 
 rolled up until the weather becomes extremely dry. These 
 thoughts will be sufficient, it is beheved, to convince intelligent 
 farmers of the importance of using the subsoil plow where the 
 subsoil is not already as open as it should be. 
 
 401. I have found the two-horse SL.bsoil plow^ an excellent 
 aid in cutting ditches, where they were wide enough fur a horse 
 to travel in them. Sometimes it was drawn by two horses, one 
 on each side of the ditch, with a whiffletree some eight or nine 
 feet long, and a chain three or four feet long from the whiffle- 
 tree to the plow\ When used in this manner, it operates as an 
 excellent ditching plow. 
 
 402. Every observing farmer knows that when hollows have 
 been filled up with mellow earth of any kind, two or more feet 
 deep, heavy showers of rain are immediately absorbed, and the 
 surface appears quite dry after a short time; and if more water 
 falls than the soil will hold by capillary attraction, it settles at 
 once beyond the reach of the roots of plants. 
 
THE YOUNG FAEMEr's MANUAL. 205 
 
 SUBSOILING WET GROUND. 
 
 403. When any kind of subsoil is not dry enongh to crumble 
 readily, running the subsoil plow througli it will have little good 
 effect, because it is pressed by the passage of the plow into a 
 smaller compass; and as it does not crumble, it settles back very 
 much to its former bed, occupying less space ; and when the sur- 
 face water is dried out, it becomes more compact than it was 
 before the plow disturbed it. If the land be thoroughly under- 
 drained before the subsoil is broken up, it will be crumbled and 
 lightened up. Months must pass before the lumps will wash 
 down so as to materially fill the interstices, and the subsoil will 
 not become so compact in several years as it was before subsoil- 
 ing. It is therefore of little or no use to subsoil wet, heavy 
 soils before they have been well undcrdrained. For this reason, 
 many farmers, on soil which is exceedingly wet, with the subsoil 
 compact and retentive, have experimented with and condemned 
 the subsoil plow. We have known subsoiling to be done when 
 the water would be driven along in the furrows before the plow 
 by the turning over of the furrow slice. The consequence was 
 that the more the subsoil was worked the harder and more com- 
 pact it became as soon as the water had dried away, and the 
 more difficult it was for roots of plants to spread in it. As a 
 natural consequence, such poor results had a tendency to bring 
 subsoiling into disrepute. If the wet heavy soils be well under- 
 drained, and subsoiled when just dry enough to crumble, good re- 
 sults will invariably follow, if the work be thoroughly done. This 
 process on many farms would add several acres of ground avail- 
 able for increase of crops as certainly and with less cost than 
 buying additional land. Better grow 80 bushels of corn on one 
 acre than to plant and cultivate one and a half acres for the 
 same crop. 
 
 SUBSOILING SKINNED LAND. 
 
 404 W. R. CoppocK wrote to the Genesee Farmer: "Did 
 you ever see " skinned " land ? If not, I will explain the terra. 
 It is land that has been cropped for a long succession of years, 
 
20G THE YOUNG FARMEIl's MANUAL. 
 
 skin deep, or only a few inclios in deptli, and all tlie mnnnre sold 
 everv spring to the person who would pay the most for it. Just 
 such a place of twenty-five acres, beautifully located ujar our 
 city (Buffalo), I have ju^t purchased. My first step was to pro- 
 vide a span of horses and dung cart, with which three cords of 
 fertilizing material were hauled duily and spread on the land 
 previous to plowing. This material consisted of stable manure, 
 ashes, limed hair, charcoal from the rectifiers, sweepings from 
 smiths' shops, bones, old plaster, lime rubbish, and street dirt. 
 
 405. I then purchased a subsoil plow (similar to the one il- 
 lustrated, Paragraph 454), and invited some twenty practical 
 and amateur farmers, who had never seen a subsoil plow operate, 
 to see it work. I turned a furrow slice with the common plow 
 nine inches deep. The siibsoil plow followed in the bottom of 
 the furrow eight inches deeper, crumbling and rendering permeabl i 
 and light, without bringing to the surface any of the inert hard- 
 pan , and comminuting earth's rich inorganic materials that had 
 lain dormant for ages past. 
 
 40(). Here was the charm! My friends looked on witli 
 astonished delight. Conviction flashed on their minds, and they 
 appeared quite satisfied of the great and important advantage 
 that must result from pulverizing the earth deeper, thus affording 
 greater space for the roots of plants to penetrate, and providing 
 a safe-guard against the drouglit of the growing season. The land 
 was left as light as a well-spaded bed or thoroughly-trenched 
 garden. It was so well pulverized that the surface w.is raised tea 
 or twelve inches above the level. (We think it would not have 
 measured more than six inches. Earth must be pulverized ex- 
 ceediuily fine in order to make a depth of seventeen inches 
 occupy iwenty-seven inches deep.) Is not this the great funda- 
 mental step towards renovating my skinned farm ? 
 
 407. A three-horse team drew the subsoil plow at the first, 
 and afterwards a heavy yoke of oxen; and, with the exception of 
 places where there was hard gravel subsoil or heavy clay, two 
 hoi'ses drew it without severe fatigue.'* 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 207 
 
 COMBINED SURFACE AND SUBSOIL PLOWING. 
 
 408. In many parts of the country common plows have a 
 " subsoil attachment" fastened to them, which consists of a spear- 
 like head, similar to the lower part of a subsoil plow. It is at- 
 tached to the beam of the main plow by iron bars, and works 
 close behind it in the bottom of the furrow. It is adjustable, so 
 that it can be made to run two or more inches deeper than the 
 bottom of the furrow. . 
 
 409. The manufacturers contend that with such a plow the 
 subsoiling can be done at the same time, and with the same team 
 required to draw the common plow. Bat this is not so. All the 
 advantage that can be rightfully claimed is, one man can hold 
 the plow for performing both kinds of work at the same time, 
 whereas two men are required when two plows are used at the 
 same time. It is the height of folly to talk about pulverizing 
 our heavy, compact soils from twelve to twenty inches deep 
 without a strong, heavy team. A plow may be constructed to 
 work the soil to that depth which may be held by one man. 
 This is the only source of economy. No man can plow deep with- 
 out some strong force to draw his plow. 
 
 MANNER OP PLOWING LIGHT SOIL. 
 
 410. When plowing stubble of any kind, where the soil is 
 light and of a mucky character, it is better to use a plow that 
 will turn a wide slice. The furrow slice should have a short de- 
 cided twist, be raised in turning, for the more efifectual covering 
 in of the stubble and other trash, and be turned quickly and 
 strongly, so as to force the soil all over to an inverted position, 
 breaking it fine in the act, and leaving a clean channel for the 
 reception of the next furrow. This is the kind of stubble plow- 
 ing you want for light soils. I have seen stubble plows at work 
 of such construction — raising the earth so high, turning it so 
 forcibly, and Withal in such a sort of spray from the rear of the 
 mould board, that you miglit lay down a full-sized bundle of 
 straw or stalks, and, passing by it with the plow, cover it entirely 
 
208 THE YOUNG farmer's manual. 
 
 out of sight with a single furrow. You can readily see that the 
 \on^, p:radual, easy twist of the green sward furrow slice is not 
 adapted to good stubble plowing, nor is the short abrupt twist 
 of the stubble furrow slice at all suitable for easy, handsome and 
 effoctivo greaii-sw.ird plowing. E ich requires its own peculiar 
 form of [Ao\7 to produce the best effect. 
 
 PLOWIXG IIKAVY SOILS IN STUBBLE. 
 
 411. The cut herewith annexed represents a transverse sec- 
 tion of plowing with narrow slices, as directed in a previous 
 
 • ^ paragraph where the soil is heavy, 
 
 B^M'^M^^^ ^'^^ °^^ i^ ^^^- "^^^^^ ^^"^^ ^^ 
 
 f'''^^^^'^-^^P plowing is done with a deep tiller 
 plow, similar to Mead's Conical 
 Plow or Allen's Cylinder Plow, 
 DEEPPLomKG. Paragraphs 451 and 454. It 
 
 will be seen that the entire soil is broken up and well pulver- 
 ized, so that plants will find little difficulty in sending their roots 
 in all directions through it. All good plowing appears similar 
 to this when examined with a sp.ide. But where furrow slices 
 are wide, and the plow runs deep sometimes, and at others 
 shallow, and the point dull, and plowman lazy, there will be many 
 unbroken bars or ridges beneath the surface which the roots of 
 growing crops cannot enter without much difficulty. Some of 
 my lielils, where there were many Canada thistles, w^re plowed 
 in this v/ay with deep narrow slices in hot weather, soon after a 
 crop of oats or wheat had been removed; and when the weather 
 continued dry, the thistles gave very little trouble the next year, 
 as all the roots were killed as deep as the plow ran. 
 
 FROST AND RAIN GREAT PULVERIZERS. 
 
 412. After a soil has been broken up it soon commences to 
 run together again, and to set very much as mortar does, which 
 lias been made of lime and sand; and to assume a solid and 
 almost organized form. In this process, almost every particle of 
 the soil that has been plowed is moved, more or less; and much 
 
THE YOUNG FARMEr's MANUAL. 209 
 
 of the soil is separated and moved several inches from those 
 parts with which it has been in contact. This operation is ef- 
 fected by rain and sunshine. As a matter of course, this change 
 in the position of the particles of the entire soil does much to- 
 wards securing thorough pulverization. Freezing and tha.wing 
 of a soil exerts a very important influence in securing the com- 
 plete pulverization of all soils. But when a soil has been plowed 
 several months before the time of frost, it becomes consolidated; 
 and tlie frost will not exert half the influence, in its more thorouo-h 
 pulverization, that it would were it but recently plowed. 
 
 413. For this reason, plowing early in autumn — where 
 thorough pulverization is the chief object — will not be asefl'ectual 
 as late plowing, or even plowing in the winter. If the rains and 
 frosts of winter can be in operation when a soil is running together, 
 after it has been plowed, the pulverization will be more thorough 
 and complete than it would be under any other circumstances. 
 And more than this, the more complete the pulverization is the 
 longer that soil will remain mellow and porous; and consequently 
 the greater will be the available amount of fertihzing matter in 
 that soil which will promote the growth of crops. 
 
 THE WAY TO PLOW WET GROUND IN THE FALL. 
 
 414. As farmers cannot complete all their underdrains in one 
 year, nor usually in ten years, there is a mode of plowing wet 
 fields in autumn which will improve very much the friability of 
 the soil, and thus be the means of producing a much larger and 
 better crop the next season than when plowing is performed in 
 the usual way. The first consideration is to lay out the lands for 
 plowing, up and down the slope, as nearly as may be. The slope 
 is sometimes in a diagonal direction across the field, and some- 
 times a field does not all slope in one direction. But where 
 the ground is decidedly wet, the lands should be up and down 
 tiie slope, if the incHnation is not so great as to wash away much 
 of the soil, so that the middle furrows may carry off the surplus 
 watir more readily than when made across the slope. 
 
 415. When wet land is plowed across the slope in late autumn 
 
210 THE YOUNG far:,ieii*s manual. 
 
 the surplus water will be retained, in a great measure, by settling 
 across the lands, from one middle furrow towards another, by 
 which the soil will be kept well saturated, and sometimes com* 
 pletely flooded with water. In case a field should slope gradually 
 from two directions, and form a shallow valley, the true way 
 would be to plow a land in the lowest part of the valley, and 
 then let the middle furrows of all the lauds, up and down the 
 slope or slopes, empty into the main middle furrow. 
 
 41G. Now that the work is laid out, the next step will be to 
 execute it. If the ground is sod ground, the plowing should be 
 performed — if it be done with a single plow — with lapped furrow 
 slices, and not with the furrow slices laid flat. And more than 
 this, the plowing should be done in narrow lands — not more than 
 sixteen or eighteen feet in width. Then, after every land has been 
 finished, adjust the plow for running as deep as the team can 
 draw it, and cut the middle furrows six or eight inches deeper 
 than the rest of the plowing. After this has been done let the 
 midtdle furrows be shoveled out, so as to form a free channel for 
 the water, and let the earth which is shoveled out be spread 
 evenly each way from the middle furrows, over the ridges. One 
 active man, with a good round-pointed shovel, will shovel out a 
 long line of such furrows in a day; and the good effect upon tlie 
 crops next season, where wet land is treated in this manner, will 
 amply remunerate for the labor bestowed. This kind of work can 
 be })erformed when the weather is so unfavorable and cold that 
 workmen can do little or nothing else to good advantage 
 
 LAPPED FURROW SLICES FOR HEAVY SOIL. 
 
 417. Plowing heavy soils with flat furrow slices in late 
 r.ntunm is decidedly objectionable, because the soil is not efficiently 
 pulverized. Generally speaking, when furrows are turned flat, 
 the cohesion of the soil is not half broken up; and although the 
 iurrow may appear to be broken up, as it turns on the plow, 
 still all the cracks will close after the furrow slice leaves the 
 jilow; and the soil will be but little better, so far as its porosity 
 is concerned, than if it had not been plowed. Simply inverting 
 
THE YOUNG FARMEr's MANUAL. 211 
 
 tho soil to the depth of five or six inches in one unbroken mass, 
 as we would turn over a plank, thinking that the rains and frost 
 will render it sufficiently porous and friable, is a wrong idea. The 
 plow must not only turn the fu'-row upside down, but it should 
 destroy entirely the square form and unbroken compactness of 
 the furrow slice. Then the rain and frost will be able to effect its 
 pulverization in the most desirable and perfect manner. By 
 plow^ing with a plow that turns round or convex furrow slices, the 
 ground is prepared for the rain and frost to perform their office. 
 By plowing with lap or flat furrows, w^e leave a task for the frost 
 and rain which they are unable to perform, which the plow should 
 have done, and then wonder why the result should be so different 
 from what we anticipated. By turning the furrow with a plow 
 that rolls a thin sod together, and encircles it completely with 
 well-pulverized supersoil and subsoil on all sides to the depth of 
 three or four inches, the soil is prepared in the most perfect 
 manner possible for rain and frost to perform their work, and to 
 preclude the risk of the elements of fertility being washed away 
 by drenching rains. 
 
 HOW^ TO BECOME A GOOD PLOWMAN. 
 
 •• To tend the flocks and herds, and break the soil, 
 And reap the golden grain, is pleasant toil." — Edwakbs. 
 
 418. It is with plowing as with any other work. If a man is 
 ambitious, energetic, and prompted with laudable aspirations to 
 excel in his business, he will undoubtedly succeed. On the con- 
 trary, if he is indifferent, and satisfied when he plows well, and 
 not dissatisfied when he plows badly, he will not make an expert 
 plowman. A good share of ambition is essential. An easy-kind- 
 of-a-nobody may get up ambition enough to admire good plowing, 
 when stimulated by others to praise it; but his own plowing will 
 be performed, like every other job that is performed, in a second 
 or third-rate manner. 
 
 410. If a man or boy desires to excel in the art of plowing, 
 he must learn first how to hitch the team correctly to the plow, 
 and how to adjust it, in order to make it run deep or shallow, to 
 
212 THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 tbe riglit hand or the left. He needs to learn by practice that 
 when the traces are lengthened or shortened only one, two, or 
 three inclies, or when the draught is changed at the end of the 
 l)low beam only half an inch, the running of the plow will be 
 altered so much as to prevent doing the work well. Observe 
 closely the movements of the plow. See how it does the work when 
 running at a given depth and widtli of furrow slice. When the 
 soil is variable, and it appears difhcnlt to cut a furrow of uniform 
 width and depth, observe those places where the })low works to 
 suit you. Then stop at once, and endeavor to adjust the plow by 
 the clevis, by the wheel or wheels, by lengthening or shortening 
 the whiflletrees or traces, or ox yoke and chain, to make it run 
 exactly the depth and width desired. Make yourself master of 
 tlie principles laid down in Vol. I., pp. 331 to 336, on Adjusting 
 tiie Plow and Beginning to Plow, and procure plows adapted to 
 the work — to the depth of furrow and width of furrow slice — 
 and you may safely calculate on a very satisfactory improvement 
 in plowing. But the beginner must keep in mind this one im- 
 ]»ortant fact, that he cannot plow well eight inches deep with a 
 J "low that was designed to run only four inches deep. A deep 
 tiller })low will work well when running shallow; but a shallow 
 l.ller will not do good work when adjusted to run deep. 
 
 420. Plowing is quite different from most other work. If it 
 be poorly performed it must remain so. A plowman cannot re- 
 turn to perfect a bad job. When hoeing potatoes, he can return 
 and do his work over again until it is well done. But in order 
 to plow well, a man must know how to start correctly, and how 
 to maintain a correct course of procedure. A careless, inad- 
 vertent step ill the course of one's conduct brings a reproach on 
 liis character that cannot be easily wiped away. So with plow- 
 ing. If every furrow is not made with careful precision the 
 work w 11 not be done well. These suggestions are made merely 
 to induce young plowmen to aim to excel in holding the plow. 
 Good plowing is intimately connected with "paying farming;" 
 l)ecaase if land be not well plowed it is folly to expect to 
 raise superior crops. And if a farmer fails to grow remunerating 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER's MANUAL. 213 
 
 crops because his land is not half pulverized, he cannot expect 
 to make farming pay. If we can induce our farmers to plow 
 better, one very important step has been taken towards making 
 the cultivation of the soil a paying business. 
 
 DRAUGHT OF HEAVY AND LIGHT PLOWS. 
 
 421. The momentum of a plow in its passage through the soil 
 is not an appreciable force. There is no advantage arising from 
 the use of a lieavy plow, from its relieving the team in overcom- 
 ing obstacles. On the contrary, there is considerable disadvantage 
 in the draught of a heavy plow, as every unnecessary pound ab- 
 sorbs a certain proportion of the effective muscular force of the team. 
 If a plow weighing one hundred pounds, which is heavier than 
 many good plows, be sufficiently strong, the addition to its weight 
 of thirty or more pounds will tax the team to haul that unneces- 
 sary weight from day to day to no purpose. A dynamometer (or 
 draft-measurer) is r.ot delicate enougli to indicate the difference 
 which there actually is betv/een the drauglit of liglit and heavy 
 plows. If a plow cuts a furrow slice one foot wide, then in plow- 
 ing one acre, if it weigh thirty pounls more than is necessary, it 
 will absorb an amount of the ciTective force of a team sufficient 
 to move 1,980 lbs. a distance of one-eighth of a mile, dragging it 
 along on the ground. These facts lead us to discourage the use 
 of unnecessarily heavy plows, out of regard to the teams, if not 
 to the plowman. 
 
 422. In plowing stony soils with a light plow, if small stones 
 continually turn the plow from its course, so that the plowman 
 must labor hard to keep it in its proper place, I have often seen 
 them put a large stone in the bosom of the plow to make it run 
 more steadily, and I have sometimes done so myself. In such 
 places there is some advantage in a heavy plow. Still, as a 
 general rule, a heavy plow will be found about as disadvantage- 
 ous as a heavy shovel, heavy hand hoe, chopping ax, grass scythe, 
 or grain cradle. If a plow be made sufficiently strong it will be 
 heavy enough to work well in most soils. 
 
214 Till: YOUXG FARMERS MANUAL. 
 
 HOW TO TEST THE DRAUGHT OF PLOWS. 
 
 423. An iii:;tnmiciit called a dyuamomcter is placed between 
 the plow beam and draught chain, and the team draws by it as 
 by a clevis. They are required to move at the rate of 2^ miles 
 per hour, or 220 feet per minute. The dial and index of this 
 instrument is graduated to represent a horse power when the 
 team moves at the velocity just stated. For example — if the 
 dynamometer indicates 300 pounds when the team is moving at 
 the rate of 220 feet per minute, the force required is just equal 
 to what is understood in mechanics as ** two-horse power." Now, 
 if the speed of the team be increased from 220 feet per minute to 
 440 feet, or 5 miles per hour, the dynamometer will indicate 600 
 })Ounds instead of 300. This is the theory, and is probably cor- 
 rect. 
 
 424. When a man desires to have the dynamometer exhibit 
 a light draught of his plow, he adjusts it to run at the desired 
 depth, without drawing downward but very little on the gauge 
 wheel at the end of the beam. Tiien he drives the team as slowly 
 as he can make them move, and at the same time lifts on his 
 plow handks and thrusts forward, as if he was shoving the plow 
 by hand. In this way the draught of a plow will be exhib- 
 ited by the dynamometer nmch less than ihe correct draught. 
 On the contrary, if he desires to make it appear that some otiier 
 pltjw draws harder than his own, he v/ill adjust it to run a little 
 too dc'p, then bear down heavily on the handles, which increases 
 the draught, and drive the team much faster than 220 feet per 
 minute, when the dynamometer will leave the 300 pound figure 
 and stand at 400 or 450 pounds. 
 
 425. The theory is that a certain amount of force is required 
 to draw a plow 220 feet per minute. Now, if that resistance 
 and friction in cutting the furrow slice loose and turning it over 
 be overcome in less time, the force must be increased. 
 
 don't plow heavy soils too eakly in the spring. 
 
 426. By too early,! mean before the soil has settled or is in 
 a proper condition to turn up mellow and lively. Ground should 
 
THE YOUNG F IRMER's MANUAL. 215 
 
 a]wa3's be allowed to settle after it has been frozen before it is 
 plowed. The soil is rendered lighter and more porous by freez- 
 ing and thawing: and after it has been frozen and thawed it 
 settles back to its original compactness. Therefore if it be 
 plowed before it has settled, it will settle after plowing; and in 
 a short period of time will be as compact as if it had not been 
 plowed at all. But let it be plowed or spaded after it has settled 
 to its former compactness, and it will remain mellow and friable 
 for a long time unless it is excessively wet. 
 
 427. Every farmer should make some estimate of his plowing 
 and sowing, in order to know how many days will be required 
 to complete this branch of business; and then, if the weather is 
 nnfnvorable and the soil too wet, plowing may be delayed some- 
 times for a longer time, or until the soil is in a proper condition 
 to be plowed and harrowed. These considerations are of far 
 more importance where clay predominates in the soil than where 
 the soil is sandy and loamy. As soon as the frost has disap- 
 peared from the soil, and it has settled and become so dry that it 
 will not adhere to one's feet, it is in a good condition to be 
 plowed, as it will pulverize more thoroughly if plowed about that 
 time, than it will if it be plowed before it has settled. Where 
 soils are apt to become lumpy, or to bake, it is very important 
 that they should be plowed at a time when they are just moist 
 enough to crumble well when the plow breaks them up. 
 
 428. In case a field is inclined to be a little too wet, it would 
 be far better, both for the soil and the crop, to defer plowing it 
 for a week or more than to plow it early, when the furrows roll 
 up like huge slabs of putty. Ground may be plowed for Indian 
 corn during this month, in some localities, more advantageously 
 than next month ; although, as a general rule, it will be best to 
 defer plowing for that crop until the time to plant the seed has 
 nearly arrived. Where the soil is heavy and in sod, and free 
 from noxious weeds, let it be plowed as soon as practicable after 
 the frost has disappeared from the ground. Many of the fields 
 on the slopes of our lakes, where the soil is heavy, ought to 1)3 
 plowed as early as practicable in the spring, because the work 
 
216 THE YOTTNT. FARMER's MA>TtTAL. 
 
 can be peiTormed so mucli better — the furrows can be cut of a 
 more uniform depth, and the soil will pulverize better — than it 
 would if the plowing were deferred until later in the season. 
 
 429. When the soil is light, mucky, sandy, or gravelly, 
 plowing maybe done at almost any period. But it is far better 
 to let teams stand idle, and' plowmen do nothing, than to plow 
 heavy soils too early in the spring, when a spring crop is to be 
 put in without plowing a second time. I am familiav with many 
 kinds of soil that may be plowed with decided benefit as soon as 
 the frost is out, before it has settled, if it is to be plowed again 
 before seed time. I will mention instances in point, and the ad- 
 vantage. On the slopes of many of our lakes, where there is a 
 large proportion of gravelly, calcareous clay, if it be plowed be- 
 fore it settles it will turn up mellow — if there is not an excess of 
 water — and the plow cau be run at a more uniform depth than if 
 the soil had settled. Then, just before the crop is put in, plow 
 again. I have always observed that soils of this character, when 
 managed in this way, would continue mellow much longer, and 
 produce better crops than when plowed but once either early or 
 late in the spring. 
 
 ABOUT TEMPERING PLOW IRONS- 
 
 430. The ignorance and credulity of farmers are often im- 
 posed upon in the most outrageous manner by blacksmiths, who 
 temper plow coulters and steel points, as well as by manufacturers 
 who make cast-iron shares. In the 1st vol., p. 325, I discussed 
 the merits of cast-iron points. Here I shall expatiate on steel 
 points. 
 
 431. S ome manufacturers use a very poor quality of American 
 steel on points on their steel plows, and give them a low temper 
 also. Consequently the points wear out almost as soon as if they 
 were made of wrought iron. No plow will run well with a dull 
 point except in very soft ground. Furthermore, when plow points 
 are resharpeued with poor steel, and not tempered properly, it be- 
 comes necessary t;) sharpen them quite often, which is somewhat 
 expensive. Cast-iron plow points, if made of hard iron, with the 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 217 
 
 edges cold-chilled, as directed, Yol. I., p. 325, will wear better 
 and be less expensive than steel. But when a farmer has 
 concluded to use steel points, he should procure good English 
 Blister, and have the blacksmith use charcoal instead of mineral 
 coal for heating it, and stand by him and see that he gives it a 
 hard temper, (See How to Temper Edge Tools, Vol. I., p. 3T1.) 
 Tiie correct temper for a plow point and coulter is as hard as a 
 stone-cutter's tools for drilling and dressing granite. Then they 
 will wear well. A man can temper such things himself by 
 following the directions in Yol. I., 532. A sky-blue temper is too 
 soft for plow points. It should be of a straw color, and if a 
 point is rather thick, the color may be a little higher than straw 
 color — merging into white, or the lightest color. 
 
 432. The reason why charcoal is superior to mineral coal for 
 heating steel is, it does not furnish so intense heat as mineral coal, 
 as the latter will often burn steel before it is sufficiently heated 
 tb.rough and thrt)ugh. A charcoal fire heats thick pieces of steel 
 gradually without burning the surface. Put a plow coulter or 
 l)oint in the cook stove, when blacksmiths are at a distance, and 
 as soon as it exhibits a red heat plunge it into cold water till cool. 
 Apply a file to it, and if the file cuts it, heat it a little hotter, and 
 cool as before. Some steel requires more heat than others. There- 
 fore if the temper is not right, heat the steel again and cool it 
 initil it is hard enough. 
 
 BREAKING PRAIRIE. 
 
 "Now, the strong plow, among the jngged roots, 
 Oft stalled with difficulty, turns beueith 
 The black and antique mould." Read's New Pastoral. 
 
 433. The chief point of difference between pioneers of our 
 western world, with reference to breaking prairie, is the; lime 
 when it is best to plow, and the most suitable depth. One man 
 contends that it is best to use a strong team and plow deep; 
 while another, whose authority is equally good, maintains that 
 it is better to plow shallow. My own opinion ou this suliject is, 
 that when prairie is broken in the spring, and a crop is to be raised 
 
218 THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 Oil it immediately, sliallow i)lo\ving' is best, because the o^rass h 
 speedily killed at the top, and the lower roots are smothered. If, af- 
 ter taking a summer corn crop from this, it is turned deep under, the 
 new soil brought up is ameliorated by winter freezing, and is then 
 ready for spring crop. If the deeper new soil that has long lain 
 below the free access of air be turned up and planted to corn, 
 it will not do well. If plowed deep in early summer, and left thus, 
 it will be moderately fitted for autumn or spring wheat, and the 
 slowly decaying sod beneath will furnish a good seed bed as well 
 as food for the wheat roots. We should therefore say, that the 
 question depends very much upon the relative importance of the first 
 season's corn crop as compared with that of the following wheat 
 crop. If a good yield of corn is imperatively necessary to a 
 new settler, let him break shallow at first and deeper afterward. 
 If he can wait for the wheat, and also to get the best possible 
 fuUbre condition of the soil, let him at once mix the surface sod 
 with the lower soil, some of it at least as deeply as possible. 
 
 434, A correspondent of the American Agriculturist, who 
 professes to have had much experience, says: " Breaking prairie 
 is a work accompanying pioneer life, and as oxen are the best 
 teams for pioneers, they are best to break up prairies. Horses, 
 to do much at the business, must have a good supply of grain or 
 they will run down, and grain is a costly article with pioneers, 
 while prairie grass is most abundant. Strong ox teams may be 
 hurried throughout the proper season of breaking (say from fifty 
 to sixty days, commcnchig as soon as thore is a full bite of grass 
 for the teams) and yet increase in flesh. I have broken 15 acres 
 by the week, with five and six yoke, without reducing the condi- 
 tion of my team. To do a first -rate business at breaking in 
 timber lands or *' barrens," much of the team should have horns, 
 because in all such places the plow should go as near a foot deep 
 as possible. Two pioneers being neighbors, and having between 
 them four yoke of good cattle and some steers, may unite their 
 forces, and break more and far better, with such a team, and the 
 right kind of aploiv, than three men, each plowing with a span 
 of horses, would be at all likely to break. Some dozen years aijo 
 
THE YOrNO farmer's 5TAXUAL. 219 
 
 I remarked to a friend, who was breaking in " the barrens," with 
 rather a light team, thit he had better increase his tea n, so as to 
 break his ground fully twice as deep. After debating the ques- 
 tion at length, he added six head to his team, and broke accord- 
 ingly. Several years afterwards, that friend assured me that the 
 line where the depth of breaking was doubled, had been manifest 
 in every crop he had grown upon it since. 
 
 435. Experience and observation justify me in saying to all 
 who can open farms, where the soil and climate are similar to 
 that of Illinois, break or plow all the rich loams at least one foot 
 deep. This is imperative, if they would grow abundant crops of 
 corn. No good farmer should aim at less than 70 or 80 bushels 
 to the acre, which is more than twice what Illinois farmers com- 
 monly get. If any one will manage his corn field "first ratii" 
 in all respects, I will add 20 bushels to the above, as whit he 
 may reasonably aim to secure without using a hoe after planting. 
 Such plowing will also very much increase the yield of most of 
 other crops, small grains and grass. In light, sandy soils, turn- 
 ing up the ground 12 inches deep, might not only faij to pay 
 well, but might be in some cases deleterious on account of let- 
 ting fertilizers sink too deep into the ground. Let me further 
 say to the pioneer who is constrained to break shallow, and as 
 late as in the month of June, to grow a crop of sod corn: Get 
 for seed either Canada flint, Rhode Island premium, squaw 
 corn, or some kind which will mature in sixty days. I have put 
 out such as I got fj-om the Indians, called squaw corn. The 
 ground was broken as late as the 12th of June, less than two 
 inches deep, and the yield was very good. It ripened fully in 
 August. Still, had July and August of that year been as dry 
 as those months often are, it is not likely I should have got my 
 Gced back. Twenty year.:; ago I deemed that the best breaking 
 which was the shallowest, and boasted that I could cut and 
 cover at less depth than two inches. Even now, I have no doubt 
 this depth is about right for the special purpose of putting in a 
 crop of icheat the same season, before the autumnal equinox. Yet 
 even then, I thought it well to go three or four times as deep in 
 
220 THE YOUXG FARMER^S MANUAL. 
 
 cross-plowing the ground for corn." John E. Darby, Muscatine 
 Co., Iowa, writes: " The first point of importance is the season 
 of the year for breaking, this may vary slightly in different years, 
 but as a general rule, the very best is the month of June. Th'j 
 operation may be commenced as soon as the young grass is 
 sufficiently started for pasturage, and be continued until harvest. 
 This gives a range of time from the middle of May until the 
 middle of July, If done earlier, weeds sprout up through the sod ; 
 tlie grass also comes up, and renders it tough to work the next 
 year. If later, the -sod does not rot sufficiently for wheat, though 
 it generally lies clean and brings good corn. I can see no dif- 
 ference in the rotting, whether left smooth or rough ; but it is 
 far pleasanter working smooth ; and a plow laying a smooth 
 furrow runs lighter. New sod is good for almost any field 
 crop, and gives the surest chance for spring whaat, wiiich is 
 never or rarely injured by chinch-bug or rust, and less liable to 
 smut. Wheat is sown on the sod as soon as possible in the 
 spring, always without stirring, but thoroughly harrowing, which 
 is easily done if the sod has been properly broken, and at the right 
 time. For corn, tiie sod must be re-plowed in the spring. This 
 is easily done, if the sod is well rotted, and it generally will be 
 if broken in June; but if the sod is a little tough or raw, a rolling 
 cutter is of great use. Plow an inch or two deeper than the 
 breaking, and proceed as on sward in the east. Another thing 
 of importance is, to break as shallow as possible; 2^ to 3 
 inclies is suffiiiient, the sod rolling better than when broken 
 deep. In " roughs" or bushy land, it must necessarily be broken 
 deeper. Another point is, to have the lani freshly burned, if 
 possible; mark it off, burn the old grass, and break immediately. 
 If the grass gets too high, the sod does not rot so well. 
 
 436. " A word as to mode. Breaking prairie was formerly 
 almost exclusively done with ox teams, from 3 to 6 yok^js to a 
 plow, the plow cutting from 18 to 28 inches. Tiiis mide it 
 necessary to employ regular * breakers,' as not every one could 
 afford to keep such a team; but now, smooth prairie is frequently 
 broken with two or thrco good horses — if three, worked abreast. 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER's MANUAL. 221 
 
 A plow of 10 to 12 inches cut, and of sharp wetlTre-like form, is 
 used, and some prefer this kind of breaking. I have done con- 
 siderable in this way, and with two medium horses can break 
 from 1 to 3 acres per day. A poor man can thus make a farm 
 with little expense beyond his own labor." 
 
 437. Mr. John W. Barrett, Pierce Co., Wisconsin, writes: 
 ''The best time, or 1 might say the only time to break up prairie 
 land, is from the 1st day of June to the 20th of July. The reason 
 is, that broken before June, the grass does not get a good start, 
 and it will turn and grow through the breaking. If it is June 
 and July, the grass has a start, and when breaking is done 
 witii a hot sun on it, is sure to rot. Have the sod all turned 
 over, and let it be as rough as possible to make it, as when in this 
 condition it is more easily torn up and prepared for seed harrow- 
 ing in the spring. Wheat is preferable for the first crop, and 
 also for the second. My own practice is to break my land in 
 June, then sow turnips or ruta baga seed, which usually pays 
 for the breaking. The following s})ring I use a large cultivator, 
 dragging it over twice again, which is sufficient if the land is 
 broken at the right time. The sod rots better when rough than 
 when laid smooth and even." 
 
 438. " Why will not ' wild ' prairie sod rot like that of ' tame * 
 grasses at the west and east ?" is a question we repeatedly 
 asked, and received the response that the roots of wild grasses 
 and weeds are so tenacious of life that they cannot be effectually 
 killed and the sods made to decay if turned under deep. In 
 opposition to this view we have a single fact to present, and our 
 prairie readers may draw their own conclusions. Mr. Theodore 
 Gexxekt, of Livingston County, Illinois, plowed the land for his 
 beets and for a considerable corn-field to the depth of 10 or 12 
 inches, the latter l)eing reached whenever practicable. Double 
 ]Miehignn plows were used, and the to]) paring of sod was cover^^d 
 with 9 iiiclies of mould. Mr. G 's beets were the only good field 
 crop we saw in Northern Illinois in October, and his corn, though 
 "sod corn," and somewhat damaged by the frost, was by far 
 better than any corn raised ou old land which we saw in that 
 
222 
 
 region. It stood tlic dronj^lit woll, and a large portion of tlie 
 crop was so far matured as to be nninjurcd by the frosts of 
 August and September. 
 
 WIDE PS. NARROW FUUROW SLICES. 
 
 439. Every good plowman knows that it requires so:noti:n3S 
 twice the amount of force to draw a plow to cut the fifst furow 
 than is necessary after one furrow has been made. The reason of 
 tiiis is, the first slice must be cut out of the solid ground, and the 
 whole of it raised as high as the plow runs in depth; and the side 
 pressure on the land side and mould board, besides the friction 
 arising from other sources, is sometimes equal to the power of one 
 horse. This is especially true when turning the first furrow slic3 
 in sod ground that is hard and dry. The writer has often been 
 obliged to run the plow three times across the field in one 
 place, before one furrow could be made of the desired depth. 
 This was because the ground was so hard and dry, a team could 
 draw the plow only a few inches deep. But after one furrow 
 was made, the team could cut a furrow the desired depth with 
 comparative ease, by adjusting the plow to take a slice only a 
 few inciies wide. When a plow cuts a wide furrow slice, the 
 draught is increased with the width, until the same amount of 
 force is required that is essential to plow the first furrow through 
 unbroken ground. For this reason, when the ground is hard 
 and dry, unless a plow is set to cut very narrow slice-:, more team 
 must be employed. But by using a short ox yoke, or a short 
 double whiffletree, so that the plow may be made to cut only 
 four or six inches wide, and by having a sharp coulter on the 
 plow set as far back towards the throat or standard of the plow 
 as it can be conveniently, a single team can plow hard and dry 
 ground as deep as a double team, but not so fast. Still, tho 
 pulverization would be much more complete. When a double 
 team is employed to jdow hard and dry ground, if there is only 
 a limited proportion of clay in it, the slices will frequent ly tm-u 
 up in large clods, and require much rolling and harrowmo- to 
 pulverize them. But by using a good coulter, set back of the 
 
THE YOUXG farrier's MANUAL. 223 
 
 plow point, and plowing about org third of an acre per day, the 
 work may be performed of a uniform depth ; and the pulveriza- 
 tion will be more complete than if the same soil were spaded. 
 If the coulter be placed forward of the plow point, as it usually 
 is for ordinary plowing, it will keep the plow from entering the 
 hard ground readily. The plow point should enter three or four 
 inches first, so as to make the plow run steadily. If the coulter 
 be sharp, and in the correct position, it will shave off and pul- 
 verize a few inches in width more effectually than the plow alone. 
 We have known farmers to plow heavy dry soils in this manner 
 ten and twelve inches deep, cutting slices only three inches wide, 
 with a single team. 
 
 POOR PLOWING IN AMERICA. 
 
 440. The first thought of a good farmer from Europe, when 
 he sees how we plow in America, is, "what wretched work !*' 
 A Canadian farmer attending one of our State Fairs went to 
 the plowing match with a view of witnessing a specimen of nice 
 work; and the prize plowing was so much inferior to the ordi- 
 nary plowing wliere he had resided, that he exclaimed with no 
 little astonishment: " You don't call that premium plowhig ?" 
 
 441. It is a shameful reproach to American farmers that they 
 are such poor plowmen. For the most part, the plowing is per- 
 formed in a most shabby mangier. If the plow runs in nearly beam 
 deep, or only two inches deep, or if it cut a wide or narrow furrow 
 slice, it is all the same. And if they are as crooked as a 
 doubled-and-twisted ram's horn — ** all right. Crops will grow 
 just as well as if every furrrow were as straight as a mathematical 
 line.^ This is the reasoning of American farmers, as a class. 
 
 442. Some of the reasons why we see so much poor plowing 
 in America are, the plowmen possess little skill and no ambi- 
 tion to excel in performing a piece of work in a neat and thorough 
 manner. This is the main reason Another reason is, the sur- 
 face of the soil is left so rough and uneven, that it is impracti- 
 cable for a good plowman to do the work well. Furthermore, 
 many plows are not at all adapted to the kind of plowing; are 
 
22-i THE YOU>^fi farmer's MAXUAL. 
 
 not properly adjusted; the team is not hitchel right to them; 
 and tliey are seldom in good running order. All these iniper- 
 fections operating together against good plowing, are the mean^ 
 of performing the work in a very unskillful, and many times 
 inefficient manner. 
 
 THE ORIGINAL FORM OF THE PLOW. 
 
 443. The shape of the mould board has elicited much discus- 
 sion on the part of manufacturers. The original form of the plow 
 was such as to simply loosen a few inches in depth of a portion 
 of the surface, without any reference to inverting the sod. Then 
 the thought was conceived of a form of plow that would not only 
 break up, but move the entire soil just as it would be if a plow 
 were to simply slide the furrow slices sidewise without turning 
 them over. After this a piece of hard wood was dressed out in 
 the form of a mould board, and attached to the wooden block, 
 which subserved the use of the land side, and both were covered 
 with narrow plates of iron; but somotimes there was no iron at 
 all on the mould board. As the mould board was made of hard 
 wood, having but little twist, it would last many years, as there 
 was not much friction between it and the furrow slice. Specimens 
 of this kind of plow are preserved in the New York State Ag- 
 ricultural Hall, at Albany. The standard of this wooden plow 
 consisted of a strip of tough, hard wood, about four or five inches 
 wide and an inch and a quarter thick, passing through the beam 
 and the block of wood for the land side, with a &tr mg iron bolt 
 forward of it. The point of this style of plows was laid with 
 steel, and I have often heard plowmen remark that the point was 
 taken every day, while the team was eating, sometimes three 
 miles to the blacksmith's shop to be sharp3uel. With such rude 
 implements as this our fithers plowed the soil for crop?. 
 
 THE PEACOCK PLOW. 
 
 444. Yankee invention soon supplanted the wooien plow al- 
 luded to in the preceding paragraph, by introducing an iron plow 
 having a mould board and landside of thick laud iron hannnered 
 
THE YOUXG farmer's MANUAL. 225 
 
 out in a very rude manner. Farmers looked upon this plow, when 
 compared with the wooden " Bull Piow/' as the height of per- 
 fectibility in this kind of implement. The standard of this plow 
 consisted of a strong- iron bolt, passing through ears or flanges on 
 the mould board and landside, and up through the beam, with a 
 nut on the up[)er end above the beam. Such pluvrs were used 
 only where the fields were free from obstructions, such as stumps, 
 fast stones, and strong roots. 
 
 wood's improvement. 
 
 445. I have often heard it remarked that Jethro Wood was 
 a " whittling Yaiikee." He would whittle potatoes hour after 
 hour in the form of miniature plows. At length he disclosed the 
 idea of having a cast iron mould board and cast-iron standard in 
 one unbroken piece of metal. His potato plow showed our im- 
 proved plows in embryo. It was one of the best inventions ever 
 made. It would be interesting to read the difficulties he en- 
 countered, and the obstacles he surmounted, in getting his patterns 
 made; and, after they were made, how he persevered against a 
 torrent of opposition to get them moulded and cast. Sometimes 
 he found it necessary to give the moulders a bonus before he 
 could induce them to attempt to mould them. Moulders, at that 
 time, did not possess that degree of skill which is now manifested. 
 Kow mechanics can mould and cast almost any form. Then, if a 
 man coiild mould patterns as straight as sleigh shoes, he thought 
 himself ** wondrous smart." The cast-iron standard was Mr. 
 Wood's invention, and secured to him by Letters Patent. 
 
 HUTCHINSON'S IMPROVEMENT. 
 
 446. IMathias Hutchinson, Genoa, Cayuga Co., N Y., in 
 about 1855 brought out a plow with the cast-iron standard 
 and landside in one whole piece, as represented by the accompany- 
 ing illustration. The excellence of this invention consists in hav- 
 ing a large, open throat, which effectually prevents clogging. I 
 have used one of this kind of plow on my own farm, and I liked 
 it very much. When plowing under coarse manure we would 
 
 10* 
 
226 TiTR Youxcx farmer's MVN'L\VL, 
 
 often approach a lot of stubble and straw, which, one would 
 think, would surely clog the plow, but it would always slip one 
 
 A MOULD -BOARD VrEW OF HUTCHINSON'S PLOW. 
 
 side as soon as the plow began to feel it. I never met with a 
 plow that would run deep and shallow, cut narrow and wide, 
 turn sod and stnbble, without carrying earth on the mould board, 
 and perform work as well as this plow. Still there may be better 
 plows than this, I witnessed its operation at a plowing match at 
 Auburn, N. Y., in 1862. I was chairman of the committee. We 
 selected a hard, calcareous, stony soil, where a plowman would 
 often be taken clcai' from the ground by the jostling of the plow. 
 Some of the plowmen " backed out" after they had commenced, 
 A celebrated steel plow, working on the next land to this plow, 
 did very satisfactory work. But Hutchinson's plow surpassed 
 everything on the ground, and plowed its assigned task in a most 
 superior manner. 1 have no pecuniary interest at stake which 
 mduces me to commend this plow. The inventor says in a private 
 letter to me, which 1 take the libevty to insert here: " No patent 
 has ever been issued on said improvements. The inventor desires 
 them to ha free to all. A caveat was fded and model sent to the 
 Patent Office in 1855. Said plow was intended for deep plow- 
 ing in sward land. Five years afterwards he made a plow of all 
 work, intended to turn stubble as well as sward. This is not so 
 long, spreads wider, and is lighter than the fii'st pattern. The 
 mould board is constructed on the principle of the screw and 
 wedge combined. The forward part approaches the form of the 
 
THE YOUN'G FARMER S MAXUAL, 
 
 22T 
 
 wedgp, and rises and spreads at nearly the same angle; but the 
 greater part is a section of a screw, slightly increasing towards 
 the extreme wing. 
 
 447. One distingnisliing feature of tin's plow is, the attach- 
 meut of the standard to the land side, as represented in the cut, 
 
 LAiroSIDE VIEW OF HUTCHINSON S PLOW. 
 
 which prevents it from being choked out of the ground by 
 stubble. It is of light draft, and is easily guided in proportion to 
 the amount of ground it moves. It breaks the furrow less than 
 some plows, and carries no 
 dirt on the mould board, even 
 in mucky ground, after being 
 scoured smooth. This, how- 
 ever, is the testimony of those 
 who have used it most. Being 
 long and *' clipper built," it is 
 well adapted to turning a deep 
 furrow in stiff clayey lands. 
 The edge, including the point, 
 is nearly twenty inches long, 
 and cuts, when new, over 
 twelve inches wide. This is 
 useful in cutting off Canada 
 thistle, clover, and other deep 
 roots, as it lessens the draft of the plow and apsists in turning the 
 
 FKONX VIEW OF KXTTCHrNSON'S PLOW. 
 
228 THE YOUNG FARMER*S MANUAL. 
 
 furrow in sward, it being more easy to cut than to tear off the 
 bottom of tlie furrow slice, especially wliou full of roots." The 
 inventor, M. Hutciiixson, King's Ferry, P. 0., Cayuga Co., N.Y., 
 lias been accustomed to forward a set of castings to be fitted up 
 for patterns, to any one who desires to manufacture this kind of 
 plow. 
 
 THE BEST FOIIM OF PLOW FOR HEAVY SOILS. 
 
 448. The Mark Lane Express suggests, by way of interro- 
 gatory, how is it that the round, ragged, shapeless furrow-slice 
 produces a liner crop than the finely-formed rectangular one ? 
 How is the fact to be accounted for, that the squeezed sod is less 
 fertile than the one whose appearance is less promising, in the 
 estimation of amateurs, whose knowledge is more confined to 
 book routine than the results of seed time and harvest ? And 
 since the fertility of the land is more a chemical than a mechanical 
 question, how, again, on the other hand, do we account for the 
 opposite result — that the sod which gets the greatest amount of 
 shaking, breaking, frittering, and meclianical teasing, yields the 
 largest amount of the best quality of corn ? In fine, as two 
 questions are obviously involved, and, therefore, are raised for 
 solution, viz., a chemical proposition and a mechanical one, what 
 is the peculiar relation that exists between them ? If it be the 
 fact that the primary object of cultivation for the production of 
 the various agricultural crops is a well pulverized soil and porous 
 subsoil, then the farmers ought to draw out the ingenuity of our 
 agricultural mechanics by giving prizes for those plows that will 
 invert without smoothing and smearing the under strata, and 
 most effectually pulverize the greatest quantity of land a given 
 depth with the least amount of power, instead, as the present 
 practice is by all our agricultural societies, awarding prizes to 
 those plows that cut out a furrow with all three of its cut sides 
 well smoothed and smeared up, and turned over in as unbroken a 
 state as possible, so that it will shine from one end to the other, 
 like a well-moulded piece of concrete, and the bottom of the fur- 
 row well polished by the friction of a broad soled landside and 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 229 
 
 wrest, thus rendering the under strata almost impervious to air 
 or water. If we could have a plow so made that it would, in 
 the act of inverting the furrow slice, break it into pieces, and pass 
 over the bottom of the furrow without the friction of any smooth 
 surface of iron or other material being drawn over, closing up all 
 the pores and fissures in the under strata, I think there is little 
 doubt but such a plow's cultivation would approach (when per- 
 formed at equal depths) fork cultivation. There are a great 
 many of the best farmers who are of opinion that it is a great 
 advantage to have the furrows turned as completely over as pos- 
 sible. But the great evil is, that when the plow is set to turn 
 the furrow thus, they require so much harrowing to prepare the 
 land for the dibble or the drill; but such would not be the case 
 if we had plows that, in the act of turning over the furrow, 
 would well crack, rend, and break it, and completely invert it, 
 and cut it up from the under strata witliout smoothing the bottom 
 of the furrow, and closing all the pores and fissures." 
 
 449. Returning to the first proposition, all the interrogations 
 may be answered by the remarks in paragraph 320. The me- 
 chanical operation must always precede the chemical. The chemi- 
 cal is, in a great degree, dependent on the mechanical. Conse- 
 quently, if the mechanical part be poorly performed, it is impos- 
 sible for the elements of nature to complete the chemical portion. 
 
 450. Taking a philosophical view of the operation of jilowing, 
 the mind dwells on three distinct points, viz.: — cutting the furrow 
 slice loose, turning it over, and pulverizing it. The great pro- 
 portion of power is consumed in cutting the slices loose, not only 
 on the side, but the bottom of the slice. After it is cut loose 
 very little power is required to invert it. Now, in order to ac- 
 complish this with the least force, the point and wing of the 
 share must rest as flat on the ground as is practicable. In thii 
 position tlie plow enters much easier than if the furrow slice 
 must begin to rise as soon as the share com nencos entering the 
 soil. On this single portion of the plow, inventors have mani- 
 fested a great want of underst.inding of correct mechanical prin- 
 ciples. Most of the plows of our country are defective in this 
 
230 
 
 THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 respect. The Aving- of the sliare stands so steep that the furrow 
 slice mast beg'hi to rise before the sliare has entered a single 
 inch. Any schoolboy can perceive at a glance that this is a great 
 imperfection in the most desirable fi)rm of a plow. The fur;ow 
 sh"ce ought to be separated at least two inches before it rises 
 much. If a plow were of such a form we should often be sur- 
 prised to see what a small force would cut a furrow six inches 
 deep in a heavy soil. 
 
 mead's conical plow. 
 
 451. The accompanying iliustraticn of a plow represents a 
 recent improvement made in the form of the common plow, which 
 approximates tlie nearest to the correct form of a plow of any 
 plow within my knowledge. It will be seen by the figure that 
 
 ., / N 
 
 head's cokical plow— application of the cone. 
 
 the mould board is made to fit the frustrum of a cone, as shown 
 by the dotted lines, with the large end of the cone foiw ird. A 
 log of wood turned round, of the form shown by the dotted 
 lines, will fit closely to the surface of the mould board, from the 
 highest point to within about two inches of the cutting edge of 
 the wing of the share. The lower dotted line represents tho 
 
THE YOUXG PWRMERS MANUAL. 
 
 231 
 
 point where the furrow slice be.i^ins to rise. Th? first two inches 
 above the lower dotted linu rises but little. Tnerefore several 
 inches of the furrow slice are separated completely before it rises 
 much. 
 
 452. Another perfect point in the correct form of this plow is, 
 the surface is neither concnvo nor convex. Consequently, the 
 friction between the mould board and furrow slice is uniform. It 
 
 MEAD S CONICAL PLOW COMPLETE. 
 
 is no greater in one place than in another. AVIien a mould board 
 is concave, as a large proportion of them are made, when plow- 
 ing light soils the moist earth is very liable to adhere in the 
 lowest place, and prevent the slice from slipping well. When the 
 mould board is made convex, the greatest pressure of the slice 
 comes on the most prominent portion, while light earth is liable 
 to stick to certain parts of the mould board. 
 
 453. Tiie inventor, Mr. Solomon Mead, who is a practical 
 plowman, describes liis improvement thus: "The Conical Plow 
 receives its name from the mtithematical principles on which it is 
 constructed — the concave or turning surface of the mould board 
 being made to fit the surface of a cone, as represented above — 
 the dotted lines showing the outline of the cone. The hroad end 
 of the cone being to tho front, gives au ccisy separation and very 
 gradual elevation to the fiu'row slice at the first — -which is 
 usually the hardest part of plowing- — while the decreased size of 
 
232 
 
 T^E YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 tlie cone, and the consequent increased curvature of the mould 
 board to the rear, serves to act conthiually on the turnhig furrow, 
 increasing the rapidity of turuing as the power required to ac- 
 complish it diminishes. An examination of the 'principles of this 
 plow must convince all, tliat in this conical mould hoard the adjust- 
 ment and distribution of power for overcoming the friction of 
 raising and turning a furrow is completely balanced. I'he points 
 of merit sought and secured by this plan of construction are — 
 superiority of -work in completeness of turning, thorough pulveriza- 
 tion of the soil, leaving the surface even and mellow, and ease of 
 draft for the work done^ There are several sizes of this conical 
 plow , and it appears to be admirably adapted to the wants of far- 
 mers who like a short, easy-holding, and light-draft plow. As it 
 is very short on the sole, it is better adapted to stony ground than 
 plows with a long sole. 
 
 ALLEN'S CYLINDER PLOW. 
 
 454. This illustration represents a recent improvement in 
 plows, brought out and manufactured by R. H. Allen, who de- 
 scribes it thus : 
 
 ALLEN'S PATENT CYLINDER PLOW. 
 
 " This plow derives its name from the form of the mould board, 
 which is a segment of a perfect cylinder, with its ends cut in the 
 style of ordinary mould boards. Its lines are thus always horizontal 
 
THE YOUNG FARMEr's MANUAL. 233 
 
 to the surface of the land, and consequently it turns the furrow 
 slice with the same unifomilty as a wheel on its axle, and with 
 the least possible friction. The friction is still further reduced 
 by the peculiar arrangement of the point or share, and landside, 
 which, comI:)ined with its other improvement-, reduces the drauglit 
 from one-fourth to one-third less than that required by the best 
 class of plows now in general u^e. For lightness of draught, 
 snnplicity of construction, ease of holding, and certainty of turn- 
 Jng all soils of any required depth and width, it far surpasses any 
 other plow. The capacities of the several sizes of the Cylinder 
 Plow are as follows : The No. is a one-horse or very light two- 
 horse plow, and will turn a furrow from 10 to 12 inches wide, 
 and from 4 to t inches deep. No. 1 has one plain and one cutter 
 share, both of which will cut a furrow 12 to 14 inches wide, by 5 
 to 8 inches deep. This size is designed for rougher land and 
 deeper tillage than the No. 0, and is a strong two-horse plow. 
 No. 2 is larger, and similar to No 1, bat is easily drawn by two 
 liorses; will cut a furrow 14 to 16 inches wide, and 6 to 9 inches 
 deep. No. 3 has the mould board of No. 2, with a deep tiller 
 landside, and a wide cutting share. It is a heavier plow, and 
 more strongly wooded than No. 2, and can easily turn a furrow 
 slice 16 to 18 inches wide, by 8 to 11 inches deep. All the above 
 plows are capable of turning either flat or lap furrows, of any 
 required lap, by using shares suited to various widths, all of 
 which can be supplied; and every furrow miy be left concave on 
 the under and convex on the uppsr side, which gives the lightest 
 and most friable condition to the soil, admitting of easy and 
 thorough pulverization by a light harrow or cultivator. The ad- 
 dition of a .^KiM or FRONT PLOW, attached to the beam in front of 
 the main plow, secures the deposit of all the sod or turf under 
 the upturned soil, which, besides effectually covering all the 
 grass, leaves the ground sufficiently light for sowing even without 
 the use of the harrow. This may be attached to either of the 
 foregoing plows." 
 
234 THE YOUNG farmer's manual. 
 
 EARLY FALL PLOWI>fG V3. LATE FALL rLOWING, 
 
 455. Mr. J. W. Clarke, an intelligent correspondent of tho 
 Country Gcntletmn, penned the following siigj;estions on this 
 subject; and I copy them to sliow wluit miy bd \7ritten in favor of 
 plowing early in autum.i. My own opinion is, that plowing so 
 early as August or S3pte.nb3L- will op3rate 0:1 the fcL-tility of th3 
 soil too much like a sumii3r fallow, which should be practised 
 only in certain instances for the eradication of noxious weeds, or 
 for more effectually decomposing the vegetable matter, where 
 there is a largo quantity of it in the soil. Every farm3r should 
 look to the future eifects of a given system of agriculture, and 
 not to that course which will mika the soil yield a large crop 
 the next year, and lighter crops the year following. Mf. Clarke 
 writes: " Passing by light sanly and blowing soils, and such as 
 have but little vegetable or org.inic mould in the composition, we 
 state it as a general rule, that every description of soil, from a 
 light loam down through medium, strong and heavy loams, to 
 stiff clay, is and of necessity must be far more beneiitted by being 
 plowed early than late in the autumn. 
 
 45G. We farm near the 44th degree N". L., and plow in S3p- 
 tember. Our early plowed ten acre field luay have influenced 
 those who have seen it, otherwise noL But what has had a far 
 greater influence, was the fact that years of continuous cropping, 
 with but very little manure returned to the soil, began to pro- 
 duce serious symptoms of a decline in fertility. Tliis excited in- 
 quiry; and a number of observing farmer.s, who had noticed that 
 the earliest plowed ground produced — almost without an exception 
 — rare exceptions being the result of bad after treatment — the 
 earliest and bjst crops, began to consider the matter more tho- 
 roughly. Tne idea, consequently, was supported of plowing still 
 earlier; and in my town, which is composed of about one-third 
 light loam, another third m3dium loam, and the renuaining third 
 black mucky soil, not less than '2,000 acres were plowed before 
 the lirst of October 1 ist, and this in consequence of the benefits 
 known to have accrued to those farmers with like soil who plowed 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER's MANUAL. 235 
 
 early in previous years. But tliis can be r#o example to tliose 
 who have not seen it, except through the instrumentality of tho 
 Agricultural Press; but this lever of advancement can make such 
 cases of as much value to agriculturists in M wne or Nebraska as 
 to those of an adjoining district or farm. 
 
 45t. If, now, we look into the main subject a littb further, 
 we find that the same general influences that promote rapid 
 growth or recombination, when applying in fit proportions, 
 namely, heat, air, and moisture— passing over light as implied in 
 certain circumstances — promote also separation or decombination. 
 Every farmer knows that his manure heap must have these in 
 suitable proportions to effect its decomposition. Too much wet 
 would stop the process of disorganization or decomposition, by re- 
 ducing the temperature to a too low state ; too much heat would 
 arrest decay by carrying out the moisture by evaporation, and 
 too much exposure to air would result in drying the heap so as 
 to prevent fermentation. And, what is very important, too little 
 time would not admit of any combination of natural agencies ef- 
 fecting the decomposition of the mass for its intended purpose of 
 manure. Now, applying this illustration to the decombination of 
 the soil, we shall see wherein the great advantage of early fall 
 plowing consists. 
 
 458. Prof. S. W. Johnson, of Yale College, says (and we 
 have repeatedly advocated the same views in the Country Gen- 
 tleman) — "The food of the plant must enter it in a state of 
 solution, or, if undissolved, the 'par tides must he smaller than we 
 can discover with the best optical aids; because the pores of the 
 roots — and we say of leaves, also — of plants, are not discernible 
 by any microscope." Consequently, particles of plant food must 
 be made, by some means, so minute as to be even smaller than 
 the pores of the roots and leaves themselves. Hence the neces- 
 sity of pulverization and separation 
 
 459. The question here occurs, why will early fall plowing 
 promote this object much more effectively than plowing a month 
 — more or less — later ? The aiiswer is, because more time, and 
 a larger duration of the action of influential decomposing coudi- 
 
236 THE Youi^G farmkr's manual. 
 
 tions do, iind must secure, to early plowed ground, a larger ef- 
 fective result in the proportion that it is longer subject to their 
 action, in preference to and comparison with soil that is plowed 
 in the latter and colder part of the season. In short, supposing 
 late fall weatiier w^^re even equally eifjctivo — though it is not — 
 in decomposing the surface mould — ready for food for the next 
 crop — it is clearly impossible for this to be done in as large a 
 measure in only one month as in two. For the natural elements 
 do not work spasmo.lically, but with steidy regularity. Nature 
 not only does not do two days' work in a day, but she always 
 does her work in a season. She does not mistake heat for cold, 
 nor her September work for that of November. As in the case 
 of the manure heap, she decomposes the surface soil most rapidly 
 and eifectively when heat, air, and moisture are present in such 
 measure and proportion as to effectually promote that result; 
 and wise are her ways. 
 
 460. It frequently happens that some part of tl>e autumn is 
 dry; at whatever time the soil is too dry it decombines very 
 slowly. If it be moist enough late in the fall for heat to rend the 
 small clods and particles, by combining with and expanding their 
 contained moisture, then there is too little heat to do this effect- 
 ively. Bui if there be sufficient heat late in the autumn, there is 
 not sufficient time for heat and water to do their work of expand- 
 ing and separating. They cannot do a whole fall's work in a 
 month. But in all our later autumnal weather there is always 
 insufficient heat for the purpose of decomposition, as compared 
 with the warmer weather of early autumn. 
 
 461. Bat if arible grourid be plowed in September or earlier, 
 it not only has sufficient time — ratiier than only half enough — but 
 is put in a state for the most effectual combinations of heat, air, 
 and moisture, to work out their joint functions in reducing it to 
 a state of powder ''smaller than any nnicroscope can discern." 
 Wherefore the chances are at least three to one in favor of 
 an early plowed soil having its surface mould made fit to feed any 
 crop that may be i)lantcd in it the ensuing spring, as comi^arcd 
 with the more precarious chances of late plowed soils. 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER's MANUAL. 23T 
 
 462. Furthermore, the closer, fiuer aad heavier soils are iu 
 their composition, the more time and power, whether natural or 
 mechanical, must be consumad in reducing them to a state of 
 very minute fineness or impalpable powder, tit to feed plants with 
 what they need. And clay and clay loams being more difficult of 
 reduction to the minute state of impalpable particles fit for the 
 ready absorption of plants than any more friable or lighter soils, 
 it follows that clays and heavy soils generally need more time and 
 natural and mechanical power to effect their reduction than such 
 as are lighter and more easily cultivated. Early fall plowing 
 affords not only more time, but more eff"ective and certain results* 
 Hence, while all but the lightest are much benefitted by it, clayey, 
 compact, adhesive soils are naturally and beyond doubt more im- 
 proved in the conditions most important to growing crops than 
 thoee of any other description." 
 
 CRUSHING CLODS. 
 
 463. If a farmer could plow all his land at just the right time 
 to crumble down to best advantage, there would be no use for clod 
 crushers. Where there are several acres to plow, and the 
 weather continues dry from day to day, much of it will become 
 
 •so dry that it will often turn up in large clods, in spite of all 
 that can be done. When this is the case, it becomes necessary 
 to make use of the roller and harrow alternately, until the hard 
 lumps are reduced so fine that the rain will disintegrate them. 
 If manure be hauled out in the spring, when the ground is wet, 
 wherever the team poaches the wet soil — if it is a heavy loam, 
 on calcareous clay — there will be more or less clods; as soon as 
 the soil is plowed, and where the team passes sevcL-al times iu 
 one place, there will often be so much lumpy earth, that it will 
 hardly l)y practicable to get mellow dirt enough to cover a hill 
 of corn. But the fault is not iu the farmer. His teams and 
 vehicles must travel over t!ie soil, whether it is wet o;* dry. And 
 even when the soil is thoroughly underdrained, and in a higli state 
 of fei'tility, it will plow up in lumps. It is sometimes utterly im- 
 practicable to plow a large field at the best time. Therefore, 
 
238 
 
 since clods and lumps are unavoidable, we must adopt the most 
 effectual and economical way to pulverize them. When they 
 are hard and dry, tliey are hard to crush with any implement. 
 Bnt soon after a heavy shower of rain, when the soil has dried 
 sufficiently to prevent adhering to the roller or crusher, they miy 
 be reduced to powder very effectually. Let a harrow follow 
 the roller to bring up those that are partially burned, and roll 
 the second time. If the roller be applied at the correct time, 
 clods will give but little trouble. Where there are clods between 
 rows of corn or potatoes, the best way to dispose of them is to 
 turn out all hands with axes, clubs or mauls, and crusli them. 
 A blow applied with the flat side of an ax will do the business 
 as effectually as anything. When weeds and grass are small, we 
 have found this practice almost equal to a dressing with hand 
 hoes. When a field is not underdrained, and is excessively wet, 
 and heavy animals have been allowed to travel over it, we can- 
 not expect much else but hard lumps when it is plowed, 
 
 464. I herewith copy whit a corresi)ondent of the Country 
 Gentleman thinks about clods, simply to show that a man 
 who has never worked on a clayey soil, thinks that if he sees a 
 farmer managing differently on heavy soils from the usual custom 
 with light soils, he don't know how to cultivate a soil properly. 
 I would like to have the writer of the following suggestions 
 manage a clayey farm a few years, and be obliged to haul out 
 his manure, or not do it at all, when the ground is too wet to 
 plow. Then I would like to have him read this specimen of 
 ranting braggadocioism ; and then see if he could tell how to 
 avoid that "mistake" he alludes to, by having 'Mumps to 
 crush." He writes: "This is a bad business — bad because 
 it is necessitated. Any man who has lumps to crush has 
 made a mistake. There may be slight exceptions to tliis 
 in severe drought; but on the whole, lumps have no business 
 on a farm. A rich soil, properly and tivn'hj tilled, will never 
 be lumpy. We, therefore, always look with suspicion upon the 
 man who cultivates lumi)s. * But, you may crush them.' Ay I 
 crush them ? You can xmwQY crush them. You can reduce the 
 
THE Yorxc farmer'3 maxual. 239 
 
 large clods to smaller ones; but they are still clods, little 
 brick-bats, and are worth about as much as sand to your crop 
 — hardly as mucli, as sand will warm your soil (where that 
 is necessary) — whereas lumps are so much absolutely dead 
 matter on your land — so much foreign or intruding matter which 
 small stones and sj,nd are not. Plow wet, ordinary or poor soil, 
 and you are pretty sui'e of ' lmb3.' The harrow will rattle them 
 nicely along for you — and it will do this not only one year, but 
 several at the least — and if the wet plowing is continued, your 
 soil will be pretty well spoiled. Only deep plowing, the action 
 of manure, and the effect of frost — all in the absence of further 
 wet plowing — will restore your soil — and then it will take years. 
 It is one of the most painfal things in farming to see a man crush- 
 ing clods. We will have no clod-crusher on our farm. Rather 
 let your land lie unturned than work wet, or when hard and 
 cracked after a long drought — which, however, is preferable to 
 wet plowing. We do not half enough consider this matter. 
 Not only plowing, but harrowing and cultivating are open to the 
 same objection — but not to the same extent as plowing. Some 
 soils are more readily drained than others. These are also less 
 influenced by wet cultivation. Clay is the objectionable soil. A 
 lumpy soil will not produce, and is a loss to a man greater than he 
 imagines." 
 
 ROLLING LIGHT SOILS. 
 
 465. As many farmers discard the use of a roller for any kind 
 of soil; and as I have alluded to the manner of using it on heavy 
 soils, I here quote from the Country Gentleman a few thoughts 
 on the management of the light soils in connection with a roller. 
 To countervail the injurious effects of drouth on the hght soils, 
 there is practically nothing so effectual as the inversion of a close 
 compact sod. The plow to be used for this purpose should be 
 one which completely inverts and shuts in the furrow slice. The 
 plowing should be followed by a heavy roller; there is little 
 danger of getting the sod too compact, for it keeps the rising 
 moisture below it from escaping— the decaying vegetable matter 
 
240 THE YOUNG FABMER's MANUAL. 
 
 of the sod, spong'O-like, retaining the moisture. The roots of the 
 grain, grasses, or other crops upon the inverted soil, will pene- 
 trate the moist sod and keep tlie plants fresh and green, while 
 the same plants on similar soils destitute of the inverted sod, will 
 suffer severely for lack of moisture. To obtain a close sod, red 
 top and June grasses are the best. Some years ago we read 
 in the New-England Farmer, some account of the great sticcess 
 attending the cultivation of large tracts of poor worn-out pine 
 lands in Northampton, by Col. W. Clarke, Jr. About that time 
 we wrote to him upon the subject; in return, he kindly furnished 
 the desired information. His course of culture was — " In the 
 latter part of August and early part of September, with a good 
 plow to completely invert the sod, if there was any, then press 
 down the furrows with a heavy roller; harrow the ground and 
 sow with timothy and red-top seed, and then again used the 
 roller." He remarked, *' without the use of a heavij roller in the 
 culture of these light soils, 1 consider them of little vahie; lut 
 with its use, I think them the most profitable lands we have, ex- 
 cept some of the alluvial soils, that annually or of:;cncr receive 
 by freshets rich deposits of sedimentary matters.'' 
 
 HOW LONG TO MAKE PLOW BEAMS. 
 
 466. While there is a difference among some mannfactnrers 
 of plows for determining the correct length of a beam,, many 
 plow-makers have no regular rule for determining the length., and 
 every beam is made " by guess." If a beam looks too long, it is 
 cut off. There is a correct length for every plow beam, and if 
 that length be increased or diminished, the draft or "balance" 
 of the plow will be incorrect. We have ever maintained, that if 
 a plow is constructed on correct philosophical and mathe- 
 matical principles, with the beam of the right length, and the 
 draught properly adjusted at the clevis, it will run alone and 
 plow well, unless a stone or some obstruction throws it out. We 
 have- made inquiry of manufacturers for more than twenty years, 
 concerning the correct length for plow beams, and found it all 
 guess work iu every instance but tlie following. Solomon Mead, 
 
TIIR YOUNG FAHMEk's MANUAL. 241 
 
 a practical plowman, communicates to us a rule wliich he has 
 adopted in determining the length of beams for his conical mould- 
 board plows. In order to pat this principle to a correct test, we 
 visited his farm, and had his N'o. 6 adjusted to run about 5 or 6 
 inches deep, and to cut 10 or 11 inches in width. The drau2:ht 
 ring was fixed at the middle of the end of the beam. Having 
 adjusted it as nearly right as practicable we let it rua alone, and 
 plowed around the laud some six or eight times in succession, 
 without toucliing either of the handles, except at the ends of the 
 land, in turning out and setting in. As the rule is not covered 
 by a patent, any one can adopt it. This is the rule: Hold one 
 end of a ten-foot pole, with no sag in it, on the share or mould- 
 board at the supposed centre of resistance, a point 2 inches 
 higher than the sole or bottom of the plow, and elevate the other 
 end 4 feet and 2 inches, about the height of a horse's shoulders. 
 If the beam is of correct length, a produced horizontal line (say 
 the edge of a 2-foot rule) crowning the end of the beam will 
 touch the edge of the pole held as above. If the length of the 
 beam is increased, the forward end must be elevated, in order to 
 be in the correct line of draught. When a plow is properly 
 balanced, it will run as straight as the team travels, without 
 holding. But wlien it turns quickly aside, either to the right or 
 left, and the plowman is required to hold it constantly in posi- 
 tion, it is a certain evidence that there is an imperfection in the 
 mechanical construction of some part of the plow, or it is incor- 
 rectly adjusted as to the clevis, guage wheel, length of traces, or 
 draught chain. 
 
 HARROWING SOILS. 
 
 467. Farmers do not half harrow their ground. The harrow 
 is dragged over it; but the work of harrowing is not half per- 
 formed, except in a few instances. The work is not done thor- 
 oughly. The harrow is designed to effect a more complete pul- 
 verization of the soil than can be done with the plow. The har- 
 row is in one sense a system of small plows, cutting narrow 
 slices, and thrusting them a short distance sidewise, without 
 lifting the soil and turning it over. As a general rule, harrowing 
 
242 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MAXUAL. 
 
 is not done at the best time to pulverize tlic soil most thoroughly, 
 especially where the soil is rather heavy. It is quite as essential 
 to harrow a soil when it is between the wet and dry condition, as 
 it is to plow it when it is just dry enout^h to crumble well. I 
 was always accustomed to be more particular about harrowing 
 at the right time, than plowing at the best period to pulverize well. 
 Whenever a field was being plowed, whether in the spring, summer 
 or fall, the best time for harrowhig was closely observed; and, as 
 soon as the soil had dried sufficiently not to be sticky on the sur- 
 face, the harrow was put in motion; and all the plowed ground 
 harrowed as soon as practicable. This time would oftener occur 
 when a field was only about half plowed. But the plowing 
 would be discontinued; and the team hitched to the harrow; and 
 the seed harrowed in as far as the plowing was finished, for the 
 sake of having the harrowing performed at a time when the soil 
 would work lively and fall to pieces at a slight touch of the har- 
 row teeth. Let me reiterate the thou^-ht, that it is quite as 
 important — as far as thorough pulverization is concerned — to 
 speed the harrow when the soil is just dry enough to pulverize 
 well, as it is to plow when it is neither too wet nor too dry. 
 
 488. David Thomas, in an address in the Transactions of the 
 New York State Agricultural Society, 1842, said: "I am satis- 
 fied that we have been too saving of our hairows. Thirty years 
 ago there was a method of plowing called ' cut and cover.' It 
 was plowing not on shares, but to the halves — the furrow slice 
 covering a space where the furrow ought to have been. I am 
 apprehensive that our ideas of );arrowing were learned in the 
 same school. After grain is sowed, is it not the prevailing 
 opinion that it is harrowed enough, when it is covered ? I had 
 a narrow land harrowed sixteen times in one day; and was satis- 
 fied that the labor was well applied." Read the short Chapter 
 on Harrows and Harrowing, Vol. I., and then resolve to harrow 
 your ground more thoroughly in future. 
 
 PAYING FARMING AND PLOWING- 
 
 469. The reader may inquire what connection plowing has 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 243 
 
 with paying farming"— the prominent theme of this boolj. I an- 
 swer, good plowing lies at the very foundation of good farming. 
 If the soil is not well plowed or pulverized with some implement 
 equivalent to plowing, no farmer can expect to raise remunerating 
 crops. If a fVirmsr performs his plowing in a cufr-and-cover, slip- 
 shod manner, there is little prospsct that he will ever be arble to 
 distinguish himself as a first-rate farmer. Good plowing must 
 precede good crops If a man expects to raise abundant crops, 
 when he plows decidedly bad, his expectations will eventually 
 disappoint him. If a man is a good plowman, there is some en- 
 couragement for hoping that he will make farming pay. But 
 let me see a sleek, band-box farmer, who thinks much of nice 
 fences, buildings and beautiful surroundings, and is not particular 
 about his plowing, and I will point to a man who will eventually 
 complain that farming don't pay. Americans are proverbially 
 poor plowmen. If we see a nice piece of plowing done at our 
 plowing matches, we find that it was done almost always by an 
 Englishman or a Scotchman. We must plow better in America, 
 or we can never expect to bring our agriculture to a paying and 
 progressive cordition. 
 
 SIDE- HILL PLOWS AND PLOWING. 
 
 470. There are many different kinds of side-hill plows in exis- 
 tence, some of which are long, heavy, and disagreeable to handle^ 
 while others will not work well, except where there is a good 
 slope. Some kinds are furnished with an iron flap at the upper 
 edge of the mould-board, which prevents the loose earth from 
 falling over the mouUl-board into the bosom of the plow. Side- 
 hill plows are sometimes used for plowing level ground, by going 
 directly back and forth across the field. ' But we cannot expect 
 that a side-hill plow will turn the furrow slices as well as a plow 
 having a single mould-board and a good land-side, although it 
 may pulverize the soil quite a« well. 
 
 471. Where land is plowed with a side-hill plow, or with any 
 other plow, by turning the furrow slices down hill, in a few years 
 a ridge of good soil will be formed at the foot of the hill j while 
 
244 
 
 TIIK YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 
 
 at the top the surfiice soil will be turneJ from a wide space, leav- 
 ing the subsoil quite bare. The soil over the entire field is moved 
 downward about one foot every time a field is plowed. As it is 
 constantly working down hill, in order to keep the ground 
 smooth, an amount of soil equal to one furrow slice, should be 
 hauled, every time a field is plo\ved, from the lower to the upper 
 side. This will prevent tlie formation of a ridge at the foot, and 
 a hollow or bare place at the top of a hill. 
 
 472. The accompanying illustration represents a side-hill 
 plow, made on the conical principle (see par. 451), just invented 
 
 MEAD'S KEW CONICAI, SIDE-HIUCi PLOW. 
 
 by Solomon Mead. From the appearance of the model, this 
 side-hill plow will have no successful rival. I do not hesitate to 
 recommend it to those farmers who are required to plow hilly 
 land. 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 245 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 MANURES AND FERTILIZERS. 
 
 " The stable yields a stercoraceous heap, 
 Impregnated with quick fermenting salts, 
 And potent to resist the freezing blast." Cowpek. 
 
 473. With the exception of thorough drainage, the great want 
 — tlie thing most needed in American agriculture — is manure or 
 fertilizers of some kind. As a general rule, our cultivation is 
 better than fertilization; and much of the cultivation of the soil 
 is done in a most superior manner. And although superior culti- 
 vation of the soil is, in part, a good substitute for manure, still 
 some kinds of fertilizers are absolutely essential in order to 
 produce remunerating crops and to keep the soil in a good state 
 of fertility. And although the soil in many of our States seems 
 to possess almost inexhaustible fertility, still the time will come 
 wlien those fertile soils will fail to yield abundant crops, unless 
 some kinds of fertilizers are applied to restore those elements of 
 fertility which have been removed in the crops. 
 
 474. But it is to barnyard manure, to clover, maize, ami 
 other liome-made fertilizers, that American farmers are to \oo[i 
 for material with wliicli to keep their farms in a good state of 
 fertility, as well as for restoring those soils to agoodstjt.^ of 
 productiveness, that are naturally barren, or that have been im- 
 poverished by a long succession of exiausting crops, without 
 
246 THE TOUNG FARMER'S MAI^UATi. 
 
 there having been anything returucd to tli3 n to compensate for 
 those elements of fertihty that have produced the crops. 
 
 475. Manure is the great motive power in American agri- 
 culture, as well as in oriental countries. Without it, a farmer 
 may have the best tools and implements that can be found; may 
 drain his soils most thoroughly; and may cultivate them hi a 
 most superior manner; but if he neglects to save and to apply 
 the manure that may be made from the resources of his fann, 
 sooner or later his soil will inevitably become impoverished. 
 
 476. Therefore as manure is the great source of productive- 
 ness on the maj rity of soils ; and as American farmers must 
 depend, for the most part, not on foreign fertilizers, but on barn- 
 yard manure, to maintain the fertility of their farms, my aim will 
 be, in this chapter, to lay doAvn such rules and instructions (or 
 saving and apj^lying barnyard manure, and other fertilizers, as 
 will enable the young farmer to perform this part of agriculture 
 in the most economical, successful and farmer-like manner. 
 
 477. I will, by no means, decry foreign fertilizers, nor pen 
 anything to discourage their application to the soil. Indeed, I 
 approve highly of their use ; and shall give reliable directions 
 for applying them. But the cliief idea will be to advocate the 
 economical saving and use of the manurial resources of the farm 
 first; and then, if guano, poudrette, superphosphate, or bone- 
 dust is needed, let it be procured. 
 
 478. I do not approve of purchasing any kind of fertilizers 
 as long as a good proportion of the manure of the stables, the 
 piggery, the hennery, and the privy is allowed to go to waste, 
 either by leaching or by evaporation. And if a farmer is care- 
 ful to collect all the fertilizing materials that his farm will afford, 
 and to apply them to the soil in the most proper manner, the 
 application of foreign manure will not be so necessary as it 
 might otherwise appear to be. 
 
 VALUE OP BARNYARD MANURE. 
 
 479. Mr. John Johnston penned tlie following thoughts for 
 the Country Genilemari on this subject, which coincide well 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER^S MANUAL, 247 
 
 with my own views : — " Every farmer knows, or ought to know, 
 that barn-yard mannre furnishes all the elements of nutrition 
 that are needful for any grass or grain that is grown in the 
 northern latitudes, and, I presume, in southern also. It is true, 
 if you manure highly with barn-yard manure for a number of 
 successive years, that the straw will grow soft and weak, and 
 the grain shrink ; but this may be remedied by the application 
 of hme, at the rate of 40 to 80 or 100 bushels per acre. This 
 will give a more elastic straw, and a brighter and plumper seed. 
 But to apply only three to six bushels per acre, as recommended 
 by some chemists, would be like giving a horse or an ox a gill 
 of corn for a feed — its effect could not be perceived. The appli- 
 cation of a barrel of salt per acre, to lands thus highly manured 
 for years, will produce a similar effect, rendering the grain 
 plump, and the straw bright and elastic." 
 
 480. These observations are correct, with some qualifica- 
 tions. If barn-yard manure were all madj of the same materials 
 as Mr. Johnston is accustomed to use, which are hay, straw, 
 cornstalks, cereal grain, or meal of that grain, and oil meal in 
 abundance, these thoughts would be correct. But when barn- 
 yard manure has been made of straw, cornstalks and a little hay, 
 and a very small amount of grain, or none at all, it may be 
 valuable manure, to appearance, but in reality it will be desti- 
 tute of that amount of grain-forming substances which renders 
 Mr. Johnston's manure so valuable. 
 
 481. Manure that has been made of such materials will pro- 
 duce a luxuriant growth of straw or of grass, but the kernels 
 of grain will be sm .11. If one manures with straw, the crop of 
 straw will be increased ; but in order to increase the quantity 
 of grain, there must, of necessity, be material in the manure 
 that will form grain. Therefore the value of barn-yard mauure 
 for increasing a crop of grain will depend, in a great degree, 
 upon the amount of grain that has been consumed by the animals 
 that made it. 
 
248 THE YOUN^G farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 SAVING MANURE. 
 
 '♦ All manner of straw, that is scattered in yard. 
 Good hiisbandly husbands have daily regard ; 
 In pit, full of water, the same to bestow, 
 Where, lying to rot, thereof profit may grow," — ^Tusser. 
 
 482. Every thing that will make manure should be saved. 
 It is poor policy, indeed, to have grain thrashed in the field, as 
 thousands of farmers practice doing, and allow the straw to 
 remain in a large pile to rot down, and waste away, and never 
 distribute it over the field. It is equally bad policy to consume 
 in feeding, and us3 up for litter, in the barn-yard and stables, all 
 the products of the farm, and allow them to lie exposed to the 
 influences of the weather — rain and sunshine, sometimes from 
 year to year ; and the practice of having drains, nearly full of 
 small stone, made in the middle of a barn-yard, or of having it 
 so elevated that all liquid w'.ll be carried away — as thousands of 
 farmers do — :s a practice to be strenuously avoided, if manure 
 of the first quality is desired. In making barn-yard manure, it 
 is better to have the manure just moist enough to make it rot 
 well, and to prev^ent it from heating and becoming " fire-fanged." 
 
 LIQUID MANURE. 
 
 483. One of the most important considerations for the farmer 
 to understand well, is the action of liquid manure in promoting 
 the growth of plants. L^t us ask how manure promotes the 
 growth of plants of any kind ? and who can give a correct an- 
 swer ? Not one in ten, even among those who profess to know 
 that fertilizers are very essential for the growth of grain, grass 
 or weeds. 
 
 484. Every atom of manure must become dissolved — must 
 pass from a solid to a liquid state — before it can promote the 
 growth of any plant, excc>it the mechanical injimnces which it 
 exerts, while it is in a solid condition. Barn-yard manure must 
 have water applied to it, to dissolve and wash out the little 
 atoms of fertility, before th? roots of plants can absorb them. 
 Roots cannot t;ike up so/ id m ittor. Every thing must be in a 
 
THE YOUNG FAR:MEr's MANUAL. 240 
 
 state of liquidity. If guano, poudrette, or hen's dung be applied 
 to the soil, rain must first dissolve those substances and carry 
 them downward in the soil before they can be of any value as 
 fertilizers. Bones must first be dissolved, and the little atoms 
 must be carried into the soil, where the roots will absorb them 
 and carry them up into the leaves. Gypsum will exert no per- 
 ceptible iiiflnence on any plant until it is broken up, ground fine 
 and then dissolved, before plants can be benefitted by it as a 
 fertilizer. And so with the particles of soil, before they can pro- 
 mote the growth of any plant, they must be dissolved in atoms, 
 inconceivably small, and they must be in a liquid state. 
 
 485. We have seen, in Par. 224, how soils aie formed by 
 the disintegration of rocks. The rains and frosts are constantly 
 in operation, preparing food for plants. The process is very 
 slow, it is true ; but every shower of rain dissolves a little more, 
 and a little more. And if the soil be stirred up and worked 
 over often, this will greatly facilitate the dissolution of soHd 
 portions of it. 
 
 486. The intense heat of summer, and the rains, operate very 
 powerfully in dissolving the solid particles of fertilizing matter 
 in the soil ; and this is especially true where no crop is raised on 
 a soil, as in summer fallowing. And on this principle we are to 
 account for the fact, that a summer fallow will always produce 
 a superior crop of wheat ; because, stirring the soil in hot 
 weather, and the alternate showers and scorching sunshine pre- 
 pare a great amount of nourishment, which the roots imme- 
 diately take up ; and which promotes the growth and complete 
 development of the crops that are raised on those soils. 
 
 FERMENTATION OF LIQUID MANURE ESSENTIAL. 
 
 487. From the foregoing considerations, one might suppose 
 that if hquid manure — the urine of domestic animals, or of the 
 human specie? — were applied to plants, it would promote a very 
 luxuriant growth. But this is not so. Liquid manure, when 
 applied to pla ;ts in a recent or rare state, will often exert a 
 very injurious influence on their growth, as may be observed by 
 
250 THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 Fpots of grass in pastures, completely killed, where some animal 
 had discharged his urine ; and also by the feeble growth of 
 plants in the garden that have been sprinkled with urine. Pure 
 urine, unless it has been diluted with water, is a very poor fer- 
 tilizer for promoting the immediate growth of plants ; and even 
 then it will not be in a good condition to nourish young plants 
 until it has '' rotted." 
 
 488. The liquid manure that is washed out of unfermented 
 barn-yard manure by rains is a very raw material, very much of 
 the character of urine. And although it abounds in the best of 
 nourishment for plants, it must be decomposed — it must be de- 
 prived of its crudity by fermentation — before it will render to any 
 plants that nourishment that it is capable of imparting. And 
 if it be applied to the soil in a crude or unfermented state, it 
 must undergo more or less fermentation before it will be in a 
 condition to be taken up by the roots. 
 
 489. We cook beef, pork, potatoes, flour, and other articles 
 of food — not for the purpose of increasing the nourishment 
 which those articles contain, but to render them more available. 
 The nourishment is there, when articles are in a raw state, as 
 well as after they have been cooked. But will they nourish our 
 bodies as well without first being cooked ? So it is with recent 
 or unfermented liquid manure ; the nourishment, the fertilizing 
 matter is contained in it ; but fermentation is essential to changb 
 it into a condition in which the nourishment will be available by 
 any kind of plants. 
 
 490. Now, if raw liquid manure be applied to the soil, it will 
 undergo more or less fermentation in a short period of time. 
 And as soon as fermentation has taken place, the fertilizing 
 matter is in a condition to promote the growth of any kind of 
 crops. 
 
 PPvOFESSOU JOHNSTON ABOUT LIQUID MANURE. 
 
 491. "Of natural liquid manures, the most important and 
 valuable, though the most neglected, and the most wasted also, 
 consists of the urine of man, and of the animals which he has do- 
 
THE YOUNO farmer's MANUAL. 251 
 
 mesticated. The efficacy of ui-inc as a manure depends upon the 
 quantity of solid matter which it holds in solution, and upon the 
 nature of this solid matter, and especially upon the rapid changes 
 which the organic part of it is known to undergo. 
 
 492. It might be supposed at first that in all animals the 
 quantity of urine voided would have a close connection with the 
 quantity of water whicli each was in the habit of drinking. But 
 this is by no means the case. Thus it is the result of expeii- 
 raent, that in man the drink exceeds the amount of urine voided 
 by about one-tenth part only, while a horse that drank 35 lbs of 
 water in 24 hours gave only three pounds of urine in 24 hours. 
 A cow which drank 132 lbs. of water in 24 hours gave 18 lbs. of 
 urine and nineteen pour.ds of milk in 24 hours." 
 
 493. Every teamster who has been accustomed to drive oxen 
 and horses knows that horses void urine not very often, while 
 oxen will urinate almost iucossantly. And although each team 
 may consume an equal amount of grain and hay, there will be a 
 very great disproportion in the amount of urine which will be voided 
 by the horses and oxen. 
 
 494. Experience has sliown that recent or fresh urine exer- 
 cises in general an unfavorable action upon growing plants, and 
 that it will act most beneficially after fermentation has freely 
 begun. But the longer time we sufi'er to elapse after it has 
 reached the ripe state, the greater will be the quantity of valuable 
 manure we permit to go to waste. 
 
 495. The quantity of ammonia retained by the urine after 
 dilution was, in the same circumstances, nearly three times as 
 great as when it was allowed to ferment in the state in which it 
 came from the cow. But even by this dilution with water, the 
 whole of the ammonia will not be saved. 
 
 49G. Those, therefore, who scrupulously collect in tanks and 
 preserve the liquid manure of their stables, cow-houses, and fold 
 yardS; will see from the great loss which it undergoes by natural 
 fermentation, the propriety of occasionally washing out their cow- 
 houses with water, and by thus diluting the liquid of their tanks 
 of preserving tlie iinmediately operating constituents of their 
 
252 THE YOUNG farmer's manual. 
 
 liquid manure from escaping into the air. But even when thus 
 diluted, it is desirable to-convey it to the soil without much loss 
 of time, since even in this state there will be a constantly slow 
 escape of ammonia, by which its Talue will be daily diminished. 
 
 497. In Flanders, where liquid manure is valued highly, the 
 urine of a single cow is valued at from six to eight dollars an- 
 nually, and is frequently contracted for at that price. Let every 
 farmer, with the help of the facts above stated, make a fair cal- 
 culation of what is lost to himself and to the country by the 
 hitherto unheeded waste of his cattle ; and he will be able 
 clearly to appreciate the importance of taking some steps for 
 preserving it in future. — See Johnstcn^s Agricultural Chemistry. 
 
 LIQUID MANURE AMONG EASTERN NATIONS, 
 
 498. When we read about the practices of oriental nations, 
 we cannot repress the conviction, that the agriculture of our 
 country, so far as saving and applying manure is concerned, is 
 very far behind other countries. Indeed, as a nation, our prac- 
 tices with manure arc very slack and slovenly. Nearly the 
 whole cultivation of China, where there is about 360,000,000 of 
 inhabitants, is done by the application of sewage manure, which is 
 applied in a liquid state. Whatever may be the latitude — and 
 there is an immense range — whether the weather be cold or hot, 
 the manure is always applied to plants in a liquid state. 
 
 499. The Chinese say, that you do not require to manure or 
 fatten the soil ; but, you want to feed the plant. Therefore 
 they do not manure the soil previous to sowing seed ; but they 
 manure the growing plant. By the liberal application of fertil- 
 izing material to growing plants, while in a liquid state, the in- 
 exhaustible fertility of China is maintained at its present pitch. 
 The Chinese save what we Americans waste ; and thus keep 
 their agriculture in a progressive state. 
 
 500. The custom of the Chinese is to collect all the urinary 
 and excrementitious matter from their dwellings, daily, for man- 
 urial purposes. And the way in which they apply this sewage 
 to the soil is, they take a small quantity, and put it into a bucket 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER's MANUAL. 253 
 
 of water, and dissolve the solid portions of it by soaking and 
 stirring it. Then, this dilated liquid is sprinkled around the roots 
 of plants. The most proper time for this purpose is just as the 
 Run is setting, or previous to a shower. — {See Transactions of the 
 JSr. Y. State Ag. Society, 1862.) 
 
 501. In some localities in the Old World, we have seen it 
 stated that all the solid manure is leached at the barn yard, 
 and then carried in jjipes, underground, all over the farm ; and 
 a hand hose can bo attached to the pipes, at convenient points, 
 so that the entire field can bo sprinkled copiously with liquid 
 manure. These facts are simply adverted to for the purpose of 
 impressing the young farmer with the importance of saving and 
 applying all the liquid, as well as the solid, fertilizers of the 
 farm. 
 
 SALT AS A MANURE. 
 
 502. There are many good farmers of our country who have 
 long advocated the use of salt as a most excellent manure. But 
 we have never been able to obtain any reliable information on 
 this subject that would warrant its use. Those who have advo- 
 cated its use, say : " we think, we believe, and we knoio that salt 
 is a good manure." Still, they have never satisfied themselves 
 that it is so by any well-conducted experiments. Salt has been 
 recommended to be sown with winter wheat in autumn. But 
 those who have usod it can give nothing tangible by which the 
 young farmer could determine whether the salt w^as the rueans 
 of increasing or of diminishing the crop. 
 
 503. It has been asserted, that when a few hundred pounds 
 of salt are sown on an acre of wheat, it would make the straw 
 stiffer and brighter ; and consequently the crop of grain would 
 be better ihan if no salt had been sown on it. But when we 
 come to call for positive knowledge on this point, we find nothing 
 but shrewd guessing as to the effects of the salt. Therefore, 
 until we can have some reliable facts on this point, our advice 
 would be to young farmers, not to spend much money for salt to 
 ap})ly as a manure. 
 
 U* 
 
254 THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 504. This subject has elicited a vast amount of thought and 
 investigation in Europe. A commission, on the part of the 
 French Government, have recently reported, that '' salt, as a 
 manure, was of no value." Mr. Lawes, in a paper read before 
 the Royal Agricultural Society, detailed some very interesting 
 experiments with salt, which showed that salt was of no value at 
 all on his land, ''either in increasing the amount of straw or 
 Ip-ain." And ho did not hesitate to assert, '* that the large 
 amount of money which is expended annually on salt, as a 
 manure, throughout the British Isles, is not returned in the pro- 
 duce." 
 
 605. There are certain kinds of soils, there is no doubt, where 
 an application of three or four bushels of salt per acre will 
 benefit a crop of grain or grass more than enough to pay for 
 the salt and the labor expended in sowing it. Some farmers 
 have fancied that it has been very effectual in killing grubs, when 
 applied at the rate of three or four bushels per acre. Mr. John 
 Johnston, one of the greatest wheat growers in the country, in- 
 sists that salt is an excellent dressing for winter wheat. Many 
 others have failed to see any good results from it, or from its ap- 
 plication. 
 
 ABOUT STERCORARIE8. 
 
 506. There has been not a Utile written and pubhshed con- 
 cerning manure vaults, and liquid manure cisterns, and cellars for 
 manure, all of which have conveyed a very plausible notion about 
 saving manure ; and I know of some farmers who have been to 
 great expense in fitting up spacious cisterns — some, forty feet 
 long, nnd twenty feet or so in width, with the walls inside cov- 
 ered with a heavy coat of cement, for the purpose of holding 
 stable manure. 
 
 507. But in a country where manual labor is so very expen- 
 sive as it is with us, we cannot afford to pay a man for fussing, 
 leisurely, with barnyard manure. And, moreover, when manure 
 is deposited in such spacious vaults, it will require much hard 
 
THK YOCXG farmer's MANUAL. 255 
 
 labor to get it ont of such places on to a wagon. It is infinitely 
 easier to write out directions about forking over a pile of barn- 
 yard manure, where there is from one to two hundred loads, than 
 it is to do it, or to get it done ; and it is a very easy "task to tell 
 all about saving the liquid manure in large tanks ; and it re- 
 quires but little muscle to talk or writ3 about having all the 
 manure from the horse stables and the cattle stalls tumbled into 
 a huge cellar, with a layer of muck and a sprinkling of gypsum. 
 It is very pleasing to think that none of the valuable fertilizers 
 will be washed away from the manure when it is thus disposed of. 
 
 608. But here is a consideration that most writers have 
 overlooked, which is, the hard labor required to load the manure 
 from such places and get it into the soil without wasting but 
 little of it. Talk about forking over a hundred loads of compost 
 or barnyard manure, where it is two or three feet in depth ! We 
 can talk and write about it : but who will do it ? li will be a 
 heavy and laborious task ; and with the present prices for labor, 
 we must devise the easiest possible method of handling and man- 
 aging barnyard manure or we shall increase the cost of the 
 manure more than the profit which will be derived from it. With 
 these ideas about stercoraries, let us pen a few thoughts con- 
 cerning 
 
 THE WAY TO MAKE A BAEN-YARD. 
 
 609. The most important consideration concerning a bara- 
 yard U'here manure is to be made, is to have the building: 
 standing on a slope of land. If it were practicable, there should 
 be hill enough to admit of the stables being constructed in the 
 basement, with a sub-base beneath the stables for the manure. 
 This sub-base should be on a level with the yard, in order to 
 facilitate loading the manure when it is to be hauled to the field. 
 By hav/jg trap-doors in the stable floor through which the 
 manure can be thrown down and spread around under the stalls, 
 all the liquid will find its way among the solid manure and be 
 absorbed , and will not be lost by leaching nor evaporation. 
 
 610. We know of no better way of arranging stables and a 
 manure yard than this. If muck, or peat, or humus be used 
 
256 
 
 among the mannre, so ranch the better ; a3 it can bo thrown 
 down into the stable ; and then, with a httle labor, it can bo 
 tb.rown down into the sub-base cf the barn. A row of sheds 
 ouglit also to be erected on three sides of the rard, for tlic pur- 
 pose cf collecting and carrying off the rain. And the ground 
 ought to be excavated a foot or two in the centre, for the pur- 
 pose of collecting the wash of the yard. Of course, every roof 
 should have a good eavc-trough ; and the water which u col- 
 lected in them ought to be conducted into a spacious cistern, or 
 into a good underdrain, wJLch ought to be made entirely around 
 the yard, of sufficient depth to keep the ground dry. 
 
 511. If a farmer will construct his barn-yard according to 
 this plan, he will be sure to save all his manure — both liquid and 
 solid ; and at the same time his manure will be very accessible 
 at any season of the year. If it were desirable to let it remain 
 in the yard until autumn, it could be kept there without any ap- 
 preciable loss. And although it were under sheds, so that no 
 rain could fall on it, there would bo little or no danger that it 
 would fire-fang, if the liquid manure of the animals were deposited 
 with the solid portions. 
 
 ANOTHER WAY TO MAKE A BARN- YARD. 
 
 512. Many times a barn, or stables, must be built on level 
 gi'ound, as there is no natural hill to make a convenient place 
 for building with stables in the basement. Under such ch'cum- 
 stanccs, there could bo a basement built for the stables, with the 
 floor laid close to the ground ; and the yard and sheds around it 
 should be constructed as recommended in paragraph 509. 
 
 513. Perhaps it will bo interesting and instructive to the 
 young farmer to read a deseriplioa of the yard and stables which 
 the writer once constructed, and which gave good satisfaction. 
 The ground was nearly level. From the front side of the barn 
 to the farther side of the manure yard, perhaps tlicro was a 
 des:cent of two feet. The stables were in the basement of the 
 barn. The floor was laid close to the ground, which was a very 
 compact gravelly clay subsoil. Before the floor was laid, the 
 
THE YOUNG FARMERS MANUAL. 25t 
 
 ground was graded, so that all tbo liquid would descend to a 
 large hole, where there was a manure pump at one side of 
 the stable, for the purpose of pnmpiug up the liquid manure. 
 This earth was about on a level with the" manure yard, v>'hich 
 had sheds on three sides of it. The manure was taken from the 
 stalls on a wheelbarrow, and spread, every day, under these 
 sheds — the cattle manure and the horse manure being mingled 
 together. 
 
 514. The roofs were furnished with eaves-troughs, which con- 
 ducted the water into tile-drains, which had been made entirely 
 around the yard, two-and-a-half feet in depth. These kept the 
 soil very dry ; and none of the soluble portions of the manure 
 were washed away by heavy rains. The stalls were frequently 
 washed with a pailful or two cf water each, which carried all the 
 valuable portions of manure to the hob, where the pump would 
 bring it up, when it was conducted in light troughs to any part 
 of the yavd, where it would bo absorbed by the solid manure. In 
 this way, the most valuable portions cf tlie manure were mingled 
 with the solid portions ; and being kept damp beneath the sheds, 
 it never became fire-fanged. Here it would remain all summer, 
 without any loss. And it was very accessible at any time when 
 it was desirable to haul a little or much of it to the field. 
 
 515. Cy having the hard earth graded smoothly, and by 
 dashing water over the stable floor occasionally, all the liquid 
 was saved ; and by pumping it up it was disposed of in the most 
 economical manner. 
 
 MANAGEMLNT OF MANURE. 
 
 516. There are not a few considerations of great importance 
 in making, saving and applying manure to crops. But the great 
 idea is — where the price of labor is so high as it is with ug — to 
 save all the soluble, as well as the insoluble, portions of the 
 manure, and apply them to the soil, without losing any of it by 
 evaporation, cither in the yard or after it has been hauled to the 
 field, or without allowing any of it to be washed away by heavy 
 showers. This is the chief end to be kept in view. There are 
 
268 THE YOUNG FARMER'3 MANUAL. 
 
 other considerations, wliicli arc of no little importanc?, concern- 
 ing the manner of performing the labor, which we shall dwell 
 upon at some length, all of which will tend to the same great 
 result — saving, making and applying barnyard manure in the 
 most judicious and economical manner. 
 
 51 1. After the barn -yard has been constructed as directed, 
 (paragraphs 509, 510) if there arc cow stables and horse stables, 
 care should be exercised to have the manure from each stable 
 spread evenly over the entire surface, under the sheds, for the 
 purpose of having all the manure of a uniform quality. Too 
 many farmers allow the manure from the horse stables to be all 
 thrown in one place ; the manure from the stoblcs of neat cattle 
 to remain in another part of the yard ; and in another part of 
 the yard it will be nothing but decayed straw. This system of 
 managing barn-yard manure is a very injudicious one — which the 
 young farmer should guard against — because some portions of a 
 field would be very heavily manured, while others would receive 
 a very small amount of fertilizing matter. But if all kinds of 
 manure are mingled together, the whole mass will be of a uniform 
 quality. 
 
 MANAGEMENT OF SWINE MANURE. 
 
 518. The manure of fattening swine is, usually, very rich ia 
 fertilizing or grain-producing material. Therefore a little of it 
 wiil manure a large surface, if it be managed economically. 
 When sv/ine are fed on ungrcund grain, as they often are, they 
 extract only a small proportion of the grain. The remainder 
 goes off with the droppings — some in a liquid and some in a 
 solid condition. The reason, therefore, why swine manure will 
 produce more grain per acre than the manure of any other do- 
 mestic animal is, almost their entire food is grain ; and conse- 
 quently their ordure will be very rich in grain-producing mate- 
 rial. No one can fail to perceive and appreciate this fact. 
 
 519. Now, the grand idea is, to distribute this rich manure 
 evenly over a large surface of soil. If it be hauled to the field, 
 as it usually is, direct from the piggery, it will not be spread 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 259 
 
 economically over the field. Therefore it would be a better way 
 to haul it to the barn-yard, and mingle it evenly with the other 
 manure, before hauling it to the field. By this means it will be 
 cvculy distributed over a large surface of ground, and will pro- 
 duce much more grain than if it were applied in its concentrated 
 condition, as it usually is found at the piggery. 
 
 520. Swine manure ought always to be protected from the 
 infiuence of rain and sunshine ; because it is so rich in ammonia 
 that it will pay well to spend a little time in saving it. This may 
 be done most economically by having the manure apartment 
 outside of the pen covered with a few boards and well supplied 
 with muck, mellow soil, sawdust, or some other absorbent. By 
 this means the manure, both liquid and solid, will be deposited in 
 one place ; and no labor will be required only to shovel the ab- 
 sorbents into the pen. And if enough be shoveled in every day 
 to keep the apartment dry, a large amount of excellent manure 
 may be made by a few swine. The droppings of swine are so 
 offensive — so full of ammonia, which is the life of j^lants — and 
 tlieir habits are so neat, with respect to their voidings, that it is 
 not difjcult to keep all their manure, both solid and liquid, in a 
 body by itself, if provision is made for that purpose. 
 
 COMPOSITION OF BARN-YARD MANURE. 
 
 521. There is more diiference in the qualities of barn-yard 
 manure than there is between a delicious bow apple and one that 
 has been frozen and thawed, which no one would care to eat. 
 And this is a subject which a large proportion of American 
 farmers at the present day almost lose sight of ; and I am sorry 
 to say that this point is very imperfectly understood. 
 
 522. The excellence of bara-yard manure for increasing the 
 amount of grain of any kind depends, in a very great degree, on 
 the kind of food that the animals subsisted on while the manure 
 was being made, and on the proper management of it until it is 
 applied to the soil. The proper management of barn-yard 
 manure involves its protection from stormy from becoming fire- 
 
260 TUE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 fangecl, and from evaporation. In discussing this subject, we 
 shall treat it as if none of the soluble portions had been or would 
 be allowed to go to waste. 
 
 523. Manure raay abound in grass-producing or straw-pro* 
 dncing material, but will not increase the crop of any kind of 
 cereal grain. And why? Simply because there i:! very little 
 material in it that will produce grain. If animals Avere fed on 
 hay, straw, and cornstalks, without any grain, they may produce 
 a large amount of good manure for increasing the next crop of 
 grass, stalks, or straw. But the kernels will be small. 
 
 524. Now, when we feed a bullock twenty pounds of meal of 
 Indian corn per day, be-sides ten or fifteen pounds of hay, he will 
 extract and secrete only a small proportion of that meal in the 
 form of fat and flesh. But, what becomes of it ? Why, it 
 passes off in the ordure, and in the urine, which are as full of 
 grain-producing materials as manure can well be. Therefore 
 the manure of a fattening bullock, when his food is oil meal and 
 Indian corn meal, will produce more grain than the manure of 
 half a score of bullocks that subsist entirely on coarse fodder, 
 without grain or meal. And the fatter a bullock, sheep, horse, 
 swine, or any other animal may be, the greater will be the amount 
 of fertilizing material in the ordure and urine. 
 
 525. When swine are being fattened on Indian corn, ground 
 or unground, their ordure is composed almost entirely of the very 
 best grain-producing material. Only a limited portion of a bushel 
 of grain will be secreted in forming fat. And this grain-pro- 
 ducing material will be better fitted to promote th«^ growth of 
 grain, after having passed through the swine, than it would be 
 were the pure meal of the grain used as a fertilizer. (See para- 
 graph 4GT.) 
 
 52G. This subject may be still further illustrated by alluding 
 to the ordure of hens, and other domestic fowls. When a hen 
 lays an egg every day, she will, and necessarily must, consume 
 more food, for the purpose of extracting the albumen — which 
 composes the egg — than will be consumed by several other hens 
 that do net lay. Therefore a large quantity of grain, meat, or 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 261 
 
 other food must be consnmecl and digested, almost solely to ex- 
 tract the albumen which it contains. The remainder passes off 
 in the ordure. And this fact accounts for the excellence of hea 
 manure. The droppings of laying fowls are far richer in grain- 
 producing material than the droppings of those fowls that do not 
 lay. { 
 
 527. From these considerations we are able to understand 
 why guano {See Guano) is such an excellent fertilizer in increas- 
 ing the amount of grain and vegetables when it is properly ap- 
 plied. The birds whose droppings form guano, subsist almost 
 wholly on flesh ; and as they usually consume large quantities of 
 fish, but little of it is secreted by the birds in the form of fat 
 and flesh. 
 
 COMPAKATIVE VALUE OF THE MANURE OF FAT AND POOR, OR WELL- 
 FED AND POOBLY-FED TEAMS. 
 
 528. On this subject of the composition of barn-yard manure, 
 the North British Agriculturist contains some very sound ideas, 
 which we consider worthy of especial perusal, in order to gain a, 
 good idea of the estimate whicli other writers have placed on 
 this kind of manure. The author says : " Farm-yard manure 
 varies considerably in composition, the variations depending upon 
 the animals kept ; the manner they are housed ; the amount and 
 character of the food consumed by them ; the kind or quantity 
 of straw used as litter ; the period of the year the manure is 
 made ; and whether it is made and kept under cover or exposed. 
 The amount of water in half decomposed manure is seldom less 
 than 80 per cent. Some chemists have estimated it as low as 75 
 per cent., but this is below the quantity of moisture present in 
 ordinary farm-yard manure. The moisture is derived partly from 
 the urine of the stock : and, under ordinary conditions, a part is 
 due to the rain water absorbed. 
 
 529. ** On many farms the manure is not only exposed to 
 the direct rain-fall , but the water which collects on the roofs of 
 the buildings is allowed to saturate it. The consequence gener- 
 ally is, that a considerable portion of the soluble elements are 
 
262 THE YOUXG FARMERS MANUAL. 
 
 washed out of tlie manure, Avhich liquid stream is usually allowed 
 to escape to the nearest ditch, from a belief that it contains little 
 fertilizing matter. Tlie urine of animals generally contains nearly 
 as much fertilizing matter as the excrement ; and any liquid from 
 the dung heap contains a portion of the urine. Apart from the 
 urine present in the liquid, there are also present, in a soluble 
 state, a portion of the fertilizing elements which were in the 
 excrements, and a portion which were in the straw used as litter. 
 When it is considered that the liquid from byres, cattle courts, 
 and manure heaps is generally nearly all lost, and that this liquid 
 from the heap is not all rain water and melted snow, it should 
 be evident that a considerable waste of the fertilizing elements 
 in the farm-yard manure arises from the manner in which it is 
 produced, collected, and kept previous to its being applied to the 
 soil. Under ordinary circumstances, as to cultivation and cli- 
 mate, it is not requisite to form a tank to collect the liquid ; but 
 it is generally advisable to prevent the saturation of the manure 
 in a court by placing troughs along the eaves of the roofs. With 
 such a provision to carry off the rain water, any direct fail of 
 rain seldom washes out any fertilizing elements, the water being 
 absorbed, and part of it afterwards being removed by evapora- 
 tion. During certain periods of the year the amount of moisture 
 removed by evaporation is very considerable. It has been fre- 
 quently observed, where cattle were kept in open courts with 
 sheds attached, that in spring the quantity of straw required to 
 keep them comfortable was less than that required for the same 
 number of cattle fed in covered boxes. 
 
 WASTE AND FERMENTATION OF MANURE. 
 
 530. " Waste arises from several causes, the most common 
 being a washing out of the soluble constituents from exposure, 
 and the loss of the gaseous elements from fermentation, induced 
 by placing the manure in heaps previous to applying it to the 
 land. During the process of fermentation, a considerable portion 
 of the constituents of farm-yard manure are driven off. When 
 the manure is compressed by the treading of stock, fermentation 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER^S MANUAL. 263 
 
 proceeds much more slowly than when the manure has been 
 thrown loosely together. When the fermentation proceeds 
 slowly, moisture is the principal constituent which escapes ; but 
 when fermentation is active, with considerable heat, a portion of 
 the nitrogenous element escapes generally in the form of am- 
 monia. Beyond hastening the action of manure, and destroying 
 the vitality of the seeds of some weeds, there is nothing gained 
 by fermenting manure in a heap. On the contrary, the organic 
 fertihzing constituents are diminished in part, and the mechanical 
 action of the manure necessarily impaired. It is advantageous 
 to all soils, more particularly to argillaceous ones, to apply 
 manures in a green state at certain seasons. The cultivator of 
 the potato finds it advantageous to manure the land in autumn 
 with farm-yard manure, preparatory to the growing of the crop. 
 So also the cultivator of the Swedish turnip, and of the legumes. 
 Experiments arc much required to elucidate the action of fresh 
 farm-yard manure in and on the soil during the winter. Some 
 suppose that the constituents of plant hfe in the soil are rendered 
 more accessible to plants by being made soluble by the presence 
 of this manure in or spread on the surface of the soil, while others 
 believe that by the presence of the slowly-decomposing manure, 
 ammonia is attracted from the atmosphere and retained in the 
 soil readv to be taken up by the crop. The researches of Pro- 
 fessor Thomas Way showed that ordinary soils have the power 
 of retaining the constituents of plant life, although these are in a 
 soluble state, until the growing plants assimilate these constitu- 
 ents during their growth. 
 
 531. " Those who are familiar with the beneficial effects 
 "which arise from the spreading of farm-yard manure on the sur- 
 face, and allowing it to be exposed to the atmosphere for some 
 months, know that the fertilizing action of the manure is more 
 marked in the succeeding crop than if it had been applied during 
 "winter or spring after being fermented. The action may be 
 partly mechanical ; but it is now ascertained by the researches of 
 chemists, that during the period of exposure the nitrogenous 
 elements are increased in amount, being generally in the form of 
 
264 
 
 nitrates ; the increase being regulated in part by the temperature 
 of the atmospliere, the constituents of the nuxuui-e, and perhaps 
 also by the constituents of the soil." 
 
 TOr-DRESSING WITH UNTERMENTED MANURE. 
 
 532. By spreading fresh manure on i)astures and meadows, 
 and after exposure for some months, collecting by horse rakes 
 the manure not decomposed, a striking difference in the character 
 of the herbage is the result. Doubtless, this is mainly owing to 
 the constituents of the manures which have been washed into the 
 soil during the period the manure was exposed. Still, there is 
 some mechanical action arising from a covering of manure, for 
 upon inspection the soil is found to be more open, and the roots 
 of the plants more vigorous. The same mechanical action can 
 be observed in stubble lands, particularly Vviiere the soil is argil- 
 laceous. The soil is not only more friable, and therefore more 
 porous, but the color is partly changed, showing that the action 
 of the atmosphere has been increased by the manurial covering. 
 
 533. Those who entertain opinions strongly in favor of fer- 
 menting manure in dunghills, previous to its being applied to the 
 land, should undertake experiments by manuring portions of 
 fields intended for green crops during the next two mouths— the 
 same quantities of manure applied to the portions of the fields 
 being placed in heaps for spring application to the same extent 
 of land manured in autumn. The results will probably surprise 
 the cultivator who has hitherto only applied fermented manure 
 to the soil. Daring the spring months it is generally found to 
 be advantageous to apply manure in a state of advanced decom- 
 position, particularly where it is being applied to land intended 
 to be immediately sown with the seed of the turnip ; but during 
 summer, autumn, and winter, it will generally be found profitable 
 to apply manure direct from the cattle courts and dunghill, with- 
 out any previous turning to induce fermentation. 
 
 rilOFIT OF SHELTERING MANURE. 
 
 534. The American Agriculturist, previous to ray editorial con- 
 
THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 265 
 
 nection with it, contains a short article on this point, which I 
 consider worthy of being read by every farmer, because they all 
 need Hne upon line about sheltering manure : "It is now pretty 
 well settled by the experiments of intelligent agriculturists, that 
 manure protected from the weather is much better than that 
 which has lain for six months or more in the open yard. Every 
 farmer who has cleaned out his stable floor where there was no 
 cellar, or has used the manure made on the floor of the sheep 
 barn or shed, has had occasion to suspect as much. Crops ferti- 
 lized with such protected manure started with great vigor, show- 
 ing a dark green color, and pushed on rapidly to maturity. There 
 must be something in such manure that the unsheltered article 
 loses. 
 
 535. " An English experiment shows that manure which was 
 kept covered by nine inches of earth, produced several bushels 
 more of grain per acre than the same amount of manure applied 
 to the same extent of land, which had lain exposed to the weather 
 during the winter. Another experiment shows a difference of 
 about four tons, or nearly one hundred bushels, between the pro- 
 duce of two acres of potatoes, the one of which had 20 loads of 
 covered, and the other 20 loads of uncovered manure. A gain 
 of fifty bushels of potatoes to the acre, just from the difierence 
 in the quality of the manure, is worth looking after. It will 
 be seen that this is nearly all clear profit. There is no 
 more expense for seed, for. handling manure, or for tillage. 
 The only additional item would be the increased labor of harvest- 
 ing. The conviction that the housing of manure is good economy 
 is pretty general, and yet not a fourth part of our farmers pay 
 any attention to it. The open yard, without a barn cellar, and 
 even without sheds, is still a very common spectacle. 
 
 53G. *' The best substitute for lack of cellar is a covering of 
 earth or muck for the manure as fast as it is collected. If the 
 open yard were kept well supplied with muck, and the manure 
 were to be plowed under every month, but without draining oif, 
 it would not waste much. Where straw is plenty, as in the 
 wheat growing districts, it makes a very good covering for manure. 
 12 
 
2G6 TnE YOUNG FARlfEIl's MANUAL. 
 
 This is the practice of some of the best managers. But it requires 
 a much larger quantity of straw than most of our farmers have 
 for litter. The straw is thrown out frequently, and the yard is 
 kept nearly dry for the cattle to lie on. Muck usually costs 
 nothing, except for digging and hauling ; and rightly managed it 
 makes a good protection for manure. It should be scattered 
 frequently over the yards and under the sheds, and the heaps 
 kept well covered. 
 
 I 53t. ''A Canadian farmer complains that he has followed our 
 advice, and his manure dried up, heated, and was nearly spoiled — in 
 other words it " fire-fanged.'^ This reminds us to repeat, that while 
 no liquids should be allowed to run from the manure heap, it 
 should always he Icej^t moist. The heap should be frequently ex- 
 amined, and if found drying out, water should be added. The 
 lest plan is to pile the manure in a tight vault or excavation that 
 will hold the liquids. If not under a roof, a cover of loose boards 
 will answer, as a little rain falHng through will do no hanu. 
 Tlien, as often as needed, pump up or dip up with a bucket the 
 liquid from belovr and spread it over the heap. This liquid ma- 
 nure will hasten the decomposition of the straw and other coarse 
 materials, and all the heap will be equally rich.'^ 
 
 PROTECTING MANURE IX W^INTER. 
 
 538. In view of the fact that there is such an abundance of 
 grain-producing material in the manure of those animals that 
 subsist on grain or meal, we perceive at once the great impor- 
 tance of keeping such manure where rain will not wash it from 
 the straw and carry it off to the ocean. Protecting mianurc, by 
 erecting cheap sheds over it, is an item of labor that farmers can 
 work at in the winter very advantageously and profitably. And 
 while they do this work, they are taking a very important step 
 towards introducing a renovating system of farm management, 
 and of improving the fertility of their soil, not only for grain, 
 but for grass or vegetables. Where the water from the caves of 
 the buildings is permitted to fall on the manure yard, cave troughs 
 should be put up as soon as may be practicable, as a few heavy 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 26T 
 
 showers will often injure the value of manure enough to pay 
 I/he expense of good eave troughs to a barn. The skilful farm- 
 er's motto must be, in the winter, to save all the manure, and 
 raise large crops next season. 
 
 539. Farmers should remember that when they feed grain to 
 aiiimals that are being fattened, those animals appropriate but 
 small proportions of the grain or meal which they consume, to 
 the purpose of building up their frames and secreting fat. What, 
 then, becomes of it ? "Why, it passes off in the manure. And 
 this is the grand reason why the manure of fattening animals is 
 so much more valuable for crops than the manure of store ani- 
 mals. In a bushel of Indian corn, for instance, there are fifty- 
 eight pounds of grain, which will make, according to the circum- 
 stances and conrlition of animals, from three to twelve pounds of 
 flesh and fat. Now what becomes of the remainder of the 58 
 pounds ? A portion of it is consumed — burnt up as fire burns 
 wood — in sustaining the necessary warmth of the animal. But 
 the greater proportion is cast out in the droppings. This rule holds 
 good in fattening neat cattle, sheep, swin3, and all other domes- 
 tic animals. And herein, to a great extent, lies the real profit 
 of feeding animals on grain . The profit is in the manure. If that 
 is lost or wasted, the profit is very small, or there is no profit at 
 all. — Country Gentleman. 
 
 RED CLOVER AS A FERTILIZER. 
 
 540. Red clover ( Trifolium Pratense,) on certain kinds of 
 soil, is one of the most convenient, economical and eO'ectual fer- 
 tilizers that can be employed for improving the fertility of an 
 impoverished soil. And its excellence and importance as a fer- 
 tilizer is not half appreciated, except by a few of our best farm- 
 ers. Most farmers who have succeeded in raising a good crop 
 of clover, are quite too apt to think that they had better make 
 hay of it, after all ; or that it will be as well to pasture it off 
 and raise a crop of seed as to plow it under. But the great 
 difficulty always is, in such instances, every thing continues to 
 
268 THE YOUNG farmer's maxual. 
 
 be carried off the soil ; and nothing is left nor returned to it 
 for the purpose of keeping up its fertility. 
 
 541. Red clover, and lime, and gypsum, in connection with 
 nil the barn yard manure a farmer can make conveniently, will 
 constitute the most economical fertilizers, for most kinds of soils, 
 that a farmer can use. Red clover, with a light sprinkling of 
 gypsum, on some kinds of soil, and lime on others, will grow 
 luxuriantly where many other kinds of grass would never flourish 
 at all ; and on many barren hills and slopes, where the soil has 
 always been very poor and the herbage small, thin, and of a 
 sickly appearance, red clover, with good cultivation, if plowed 
 under as a fertilizer, will eflfect a change in the character and 
 productiveness of the soil which could not be produced as cheap- 
 ly and expeditiously by the use of any other fertilizer. 
 
 642. The excellence of red clover as a fertilizer consists in 
 its peculiar character and habit. It throws long tap roots down- 
 ward into the subsoil, which, of course, absorb fertilizing ma- 
 terial which has long rested too far below the surface to aid 
 vegetation ; and it brings it up for the purpose of forming the 
 stems and leaves. Of course these tap roots will render the soil 
 more porous than it was before. Then, when the roots decay, 
 they furnish a large amount of vegetable matter, which will be 
 readily taken up by the roots of other plants growing where 
 these large tap roots have decayed. 
 
 543. Red clover reminds us, in its operations on the soil, of 
 the good effects of earth worms in working over and reducing it 
 to a very fine condition. AVe have no other plant which will 
 exert such an ameliorating effect on soil as red clover. The 
 roots often extend far below the line where the plow has turned 
 up the earth ; and thus they operate in a measure like a sub- 
 soil plow, by loosening the subsoil without throw^ing it to the 
 surface. 
 
 544. Then here is another important consideration concern- 
 ing red clover as a fertilizer. Its large leaves absorb a large 
 quantity of ammonia — which is the very life of all the cereals — 
 from the atmosphere. By this means, a greater number of tons 
 
TRE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 269 
 
 of the best fertilizing material is obtained, whicli will greatly 
 improve the fertility of the soil, providing it be plowed under at 
 the proper time. 
 
 545. R. L. Allen, in the Ain. Farm Book, says on this sub- 
 ject : " The roots of red clover exert a power on the soil beyond 
 any other known agents, either of manure or of art. Their 
 minute fibres are brought in contact with the elements of the 
 soil, and they act upon them with a force peculiar to themselves. 
 
 546. " Red clover, and most other plants with broad leaves, 
 draw largely for their sustenance from the air, especially when 
 aided by gypsum. By its long tap roots, clover also draws much 
 from the subsoil. The amount of carbon drawn from the air in 
 the state of carbonic acid, under favorable circumstances of soil 
 and crop, is usually very great, and when these elements of fertili- 
 ty have been buried beneath the surface of the soil, they are 
 saved, and thus yield their fertility to the land ; while such vege- 
 tation as decays on the surface will lose much of its value by 
 evaporation and drainage. Red clover, when plowed under in 
 its green state, will ferment very soon. Therefore by resolving 
 the matter of plants into their elements, the soil will be well 
 fitted for a succeeding crop of almost any grass or grain.'' (See 
 Red Clover in the Chapter on Grasses, hereafter.) 
 
 lion. Geo. Geddes, in his Report of the Agriculture of 
 Onondaga Co., !N". Y., says, in relation to clover ns a fertilizer in 
 that county : ** The Agriculture of Onondaga Co. is based on 
 the red clover plant, ( Trifolium Fralense.) It is used for pasture, 
 for hay and for manure. Strike th s plant out of existence, and a 
 revolution would follow that would make it necessary for us to 
 learn everything anew in regard to cultivating our lands. What 
 the value of our soils would be without red clover we will not 
 attempt to conjecture. We have this most valuable treasure, 
 and we appreciate it. The large kind is cultivated with us but 
 little, and is considered of less value than any of the small 
 kinds, both for hay and for pasture. But where it is wanted 
 for manure only, it is sometimes preferred, on account of its heavy 
 growth. The roots run deep into the soil, so that a single per- 
 
270 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 
 
 feet plowing will bring it into the most satisfactory condition. 
 Some of our best farmers plow their fields deep once in a few 
 years ; and then shallower plowing of this clover sod will show 
 the long tap roots that have been pulled up from the sub-soil 
 by the plow, which will project above the surface all over the 
 field, looking quite like dead w^eeds. These roots have trans- 
 ferred the fertilizing matters of the lower soil to the snrf.ce. 
 When our fields need improving, we turn the clover crop under ; 
 and repeat the operation until tliere is sufficient fertility to al- 
 low us to carry the clover off the field. The oftener we can 
 fill the soil with roots and plow the tops under, the sooner we 
 expect to get our land in a condition to crop with grain. A 
 very considerable part of the cultivated 1 md of this county has 
 never had any other manuring than this clover and gypsum. 
 And yet its fertility is not diminishing. Fields tliat are distant 
 from the barn are rarely treated to anything but clover and 
 gypsum. These fields are not cropped with grain as often as 
 those that have the benefit of barn yard manure are. But they 
 are manured at a much less expense. We sell our liei'd's gi'ass, 
 {Phleum Pratense,) and feed onr clover. The reasons for this 
 are, the city buyers will pay more per ton for herd's grass than 
 for clover. And we long ago come to think the clover worth 
 quite as much as the herd's grass to feed. This system of manur- 
 ing with clover and gypsum has been carried on more than sixty 
 years, apparently without any iiijurious effects on the soil, from 
 which wheat, Indian corn, barley, oats, hay and pasture had 
 been constantly removed during that period of time." 
 
 THE MOST PROrER TIME TO PLOW CLOVER UNDEI^. 
 
 547. Some farmers contend that the best time to turn under 
 a crop of red clover is when it is in full bloom. Tiie reason 
 assigned for this period is, a larger amount of fertilizing material 
 in the stems and leaves at that stage in the growth of the clo- 
 ver than at any other period. But there have been objections 
 urged on this point. And one is, that although there may bo 
 a greater amount of fertilizing material in the stems at that 
 
THE YOUXG farmer's MAXUAL. 271 
 
 jicriod, still there is sucli a large proportion of saccharine matter 
 in tlie stems at that stage of its growth, that its decomposition 
 has a tendency to increase the acidity of the soil or make it sour, 
 which is very unfavorable to the luxuriant growth of any kind 
 of cereal grain. 
 
 548. On the other hand, it is contended that it will be best 
 to allow the clover to arrive at as complete maturity as possible, 
 without losing any of its substance, before it is plowed under. 
 And we feel assured that all good farmers who will investigate 
 this subject thoughtfully and scientifically, will coincide with this 
 theory. The reasons for it arc both cogent a^id philosophical. 
 
 549. When red clover is allowed to stand until the seed is 
 formed and the blossoms begin to change in color, there is then 
 as much substance — and perhaps more — in the stems than there 
 is at any other period in the growth of the plant. And reason 
 teaches us that there has been a large amount of the very best 
 fertilizing matter drawn from the soil to form the seed, which, 
 when it has been turned under the soil and decayed, will be bet- 
 ter for promoting the luxuriant growth of grain or grass tlian 
 the best manure that can be applied to the soil. And by allow- 
 ing the clover to stand until it has matured to that degree, the 
 saccharine matter will have underGrone so much chan^:?, that 
 there will be no danger arising from its rendering the soil sour. 
 And it has always been a question w'.th myself, whether this 
 acidity or sourness, to which writers allude so frequently, is not 
 more imaginary than real. It will require a far greater amount 
 of green vegetable matter to produce any perceptible acidity in 
 the soil than we are accustomed to suppose. And, furthermore, 
 it does not look very reasonable that an amount of vegetable 
 matter so small as would be turned under the soil, in one crop 
 of red clover, could possibly, during its gradual decomposition, 
 cause any perceptible acidity, unless the soil were already very 
 sour. Let farmers raise red clover as large as it can grow ; and 
 turn it under the soil. And if it be done at the period just 
 mentioned, they need have no fears concerning injurious acidity 
 arising from the decaying clover. (Read Par. G19.) 
 
272 THE YOUNG FARilER's MANUAL. 
 
 VALUE OF WOOD ASHES. 
 
 550. DIlFcrcnt kinds of wood, when burned, will ^n'oduce 
 ashes of quite different value, not only for promoting the growth 
 and fructification of crops, but for culinary purposes. And if 
 farmers only knew their value as a fertilizer, there would be no 
 ashes wasted, neither would there be any for sale, exL^ept by those 
 people who have no soils to improve or crops to raise. 
 
 551. A distinguished writer on agricultural chemistry, in a 
 communication to the CuUivator, says : " Several salts are neces- 
 sary for a full growth and maturity of a wheat crop. I:i usiug 
 the superphosphate of lime, the farmer uses but one of the salts 
 necessary for the perfection of the wheat crop. But in the use 
 of ashes, the farmer applies to his land, besides several salts of 
 potash, more or less of several otlier salts, no less valuable, ac- 
 cording to the kind of timber from which the ashes were pro- 
 duced. Ashes from beech contain nearly twenty per cent, of 
 the salts of phosplioric acid. According to the analysis of Do 
 Saussure, one hundred pounds of ashes would bo sufficient for 
 the production of 3,820 pounds of straw. Bat besides the other 
 salts of potash, the ashes either furnish, ready prepared or pro- 
 duce after being put upon the land, a good supply of the silicate 
 of potash — a salt as nccassary as any other salts of potasli, or even 
 cs any salt of phosphoric acid. But the ashes, besides furnishing 
 several important salts, may perform another office in the ccono- 
 my of agriculture no less important. In the preparation of 
 compost they may be used as a solvent, to convert into important 
 manures many other things useless without being dissolved. And 
 this too without destroying any of their efficacy as salts. They 
 give compactness to light sandy soils, and render heavy clay soils 
 light and friable. They serve, too, to neutralize whatever super- 
 abundance of acids there may b^ i:i any soil.'^ 
 
 552. Every observing farmer has noticed how luxuriantly grass 
 or grain of any kind usually grows where a brush heap or log 
 heap has been burned ; and also how superior the grain usually 
 is, both in quality and quantity, which has grown on snch places. 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 273 
 
 This consideration establishes, beyond a doubt, tlic fact that un- 
 leacbed wood ashes arc excellent fertilizers ; and are of more real 
 value to a good farmer, when they are applied to a crop, than when 
 they arq sold for the purpose of making potash. 
 
 553. Unleached ashes are far superior to leached ashes ; be- 
 cause they furnish a large supply of fertilizing material, w^hich 
 makes the straw more stiff than it otherwise v»^ould be. There- 
 fore if the straw of cereal grain can be rendered much more 
 stiff by sowing a few bushels of wood ashes per acre, of course 
 there will be a much greater yield of grain if the straw can be 
 liopt erect, than there would be if the straw is so limber that 
 it falls down before the grain is harvested. 
 
 554. Ashes, wdiether leached oi unleached, arc very valuable 
 for promoting the growth of any kind of grass", when they are 
 sowed broadcast over the fields ; and Prof. Liebig recommends 
 sowing ashes on meadows, for the purpose of increasing the 
 quantity of grass for hay. On some soils, ashes appear to exert 
 almost a rnagical influence, in promoting the growth of cereal 
 grain, as well as the growth of the grasses. 
 
 EXIIAUSTIXG CHARACTER OF ASHES. 
 
 555. Wood ashes, either leached or fresh, in some places can 
 be obtained in large quantities and at reasonable rates, especial- 
 ly at the pot and pearl ash factories. Leached ashes contain but 
 little potash compared with the unleached ; yet they have in 
 their composition all the inorganic or ash constitutents of our 
 cultivated crops, and their application to light dry soils general- 
 ly exhibits very favorable and marked effects, much improving 
 their moisture-retaining qualities, and highly favoring the growth 
 of corn, grain, &c. But farmers should always bear in mind 
 that the tendency of ashes, lime, plaster, or even guano, when 
 applied alone, is to hasten the exhaustion of tillage land — or 
 rather, it is the increased "crops," or what is taken off the soil in 
 the removed crops, that exhaust it. Therefore their use should al- 
 ways be accompanied with farmyard manure, prepared muck, or 
 the turning in of green manure, such as clover, buckwheat and 
 oats. 
 
274 THE YOUNG farmer's manual. 
 
 556. I recently met with an instance in New England where 
 a farmer had brought liis land to a high state of productiveness 
 by applying large quantities of leached and unlcached ashes. 
 But he recently told me that he had discontinued the practice 
 of appl}^ng ashes, as they appeared to exert no influence on his 
 crops. lie had grown little but hay for market for several years ; 
 but it was evident that the ashes would not maintain the fertili- 
 ty of his soil without tlie aid of some other manure. 
 
 THE QUANTITY OF ASHES PER ACRE. 
 
 551. There is no definite quantity of either leached or nn- 
 leached ashes wliich may bo set dowu as the proper amount to 
 be applied on an acre. There is no danger of sowing too much 
 of either leached or uuleached ashes. But when they are scat- 
 tered on young turnips or on young plants, there is danger of 
 applying so much, that the potash in them will destroy every 
 leaf that it may como in contact with. 
 
 558. Leached ashes are often liauled from a distnnt potash- 
 ery when they are quite wet. If not spread out immediately, 
 they should be under cover until they are dry enough to be 
 sowed. Some farmers haul them when they are quite wet, and 
 spread them with shovels. But more time will be required to 
 spread them uniformly in this way than it would require to dry 
 them first ; and, more than this, their effect will not be as good 
 on the crop when they arc spread wet as it would be if they 
 were sowed, unless great care were exercised to spread them very 
 evenly. 
 
 THE WAY TO SAVE WOOD ASHES. 
 
 559. There is great danger from fire breaking out from ashes, 
 wherever they come in contact with wood of any kind. Some- 
 times a whole pile, barrel, or bin of ashes will burn over the sec- 
 ond time, if they have not already been burned twice while they 
 were in the stove. For this reason, when a lot of ashes contain- 
 ing live coals are deposited among cold ashes, combustion of the 
 ashes often takes place, and the fire reaches the wood. 
 
THE YOUNG FAUMER's MANUAL. 275 
 
 560. Asbcs should never be deposited in wooden pails, boxes 
 or barrels until more than a week after they have been remov- 
 ed from the fire-place. Many people deposit them in okl sugar 
 hogsheads, barrels, or wooden boxes, or make a bin by the side 
 of the fence for them. But thousands of people have lost then- 
 dwellings by such an unwise practice. Where one has spare 
 room in a dry cellar, there is no better place than that for keep- 
 ing wood ashes, by pouring them in a conical heap on the flag- 
 ging, or in one corner, or against the wall. A bin with brick or 
 stone sides, in a stone or brick smoke house, is also a good place, 
 but rather expensive. Some people are accustomed to make a 
 conical heap of wood ashes on the ground in a back yard ; and 
 to erect a shelter of loose boards over them, to carry off the rain. 
 But unless the surface be sprinkled with water occasionally, 
 high winds will blow many of them away. It matters not how 
 or where wood ashes are kept, if they arc not allowed to leach, 
 blow away, or to communicate fire to buildings. 
 
 THEORY OF THE ACTION OF ASHES. 
 
 561. Sprengel, a writer on agricultm'al chemistry, remarks, 
 that *' The action of all ashes is two-fold, partly due to the 
 soluble, and partly to the insoluble. The chloride of sodium, or 
 common salt, the carbonate and sulphate of potash are soluble, 
 and produce immediate effect on tha crop ; but the phosphates 
 and the silicates, as well as carbonate of lime, require time to 
 dissolve and benefit the crop. (See Liquid Manure, par. 480.) 
 Ilence, it has been observed, that some lands arc permanently 
 improved by ashes, and some crops are immodiatoly benefitted by 
 them. 
 
 562. It is to the silicates, as well as to the large quantity of 
 lime, magnesia, and phosphoric acid which it contains, that com- 
 mon wood ashes owe the more permanent effects upon the soil, 
 wiiich it is known to have produced. The two-fold action of 
 ashes may be more familiarly expressed by saying that the ac- 
 tion is nedianical as well as chemical; although the mechanical 
 action of ashes on a soil is so infinitely small, that we are scarce- 
 
276 THE YOUNG FARMER's MANUAL. 
 
 ]y able to perceive any benefit at all arising from its source. AU 
 the insoluble portions of any kind of fertilizers, exert a mecliani- 
 cul influence on soils. But as soon as those insoluble atoms 
 become dissolved by being exposed to the influence of the weath- 
 er, they arc ia a proper condition to perform their ofiice in a 
 chemical manner when they come in contact with the roots of 
 plants. 
 
 VALUE OF LEACHED ASHES- 
 
 5G3. The idea is very prevalent among most farmers, that 
 leached ashes are of little or no value as fertilizers. But nothing 
 is more erroneous. The leaching process only deprives the ashes 
 of the portions whicli are soluble while that process is going on. 
 After the ashes have been thrown from the leach, the insoluble 
 portions continue to dissolve for a long time after they have 
 been leached. Therefore leached ashes very frequently have 
 been known to exert almost as good an influence in promoting 
 the growth of plants, immediately after having been applied to a 
 crop, as if they had never been leached. And the reason for 
 this was, the phosphates, silicates, and carbonate of lime contin- 
 ued to dissolve after they were thrown away as valueless. 
 Farmers should always remember that ashes are valuable as 
 fertilizers even after they have been leached for a long period of 
 time. The sooner leached ashes can be removed from the leach 
 to the soil, the more valuable they will be in promoting the growth 
 of any kind of crops. 
 
 FIRE-FANGED MANURE. 
 
 564. There is such a large amount of ammonia, and so little 
 water in the manure from horse stables, that it will heat and 
 become lire-fanged, in a few days, if it is not kept wet with 
 water, or liquid manure. As long as manure is kept wet, it will 
 not fire-fang. That manure which has been allowed to remain 
 ill a body, until it has become fire-fanged and mouldy, is little 
 better than a lot of com cobs. All the fertilizing material has 
 escaped from it. Thousands of farmers throw the manure from 
 their horse stables in a large heap, instead of spreading it around 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 2*11 
 
 the yard as it should be, wlicre it will be mingled with the ma- 
 nure ; and before it is hauled to the field it is almost worthless, 
 because it has become fire-fanged. And it is a most surprising 
 fact, that thousands of very intelligent men, in other respects, do 
 not know that it injures manure to become fire-fanged, I have 
 met with many men who said they had always supposed that it 
 was good for manure to undergo such a process of fermentation. 
 665. The manure of neat cattle is not very liable to fire-fang ; 
 but sheep manure, under close sheds, will often become lire- 
 fanged, unless it is kept moist by the application of water 
 or liquid manure. The true reason why horse stable manure 
 heats so soon is, that horses usually consume much more grain 
 — generally oats — than any other animals. Therefore there is a 
 greater amount of nitrogen or azotized material in it than there 
 would be if they consumed nothing but hay. There is also less 
 moisture in it than there is in the droppings of other animals, 
 which facilitates rapid decomposition, soon resulting in fire-fanged, 
 or almost worthless manure. When horses are kept on hay and 
 roots, their manure will not heat very much sooner than the 
 manure of sheep and neat cattle. 
 
 566. Horse manure from the stables of hotels and large 
 liveries will almost always fire-fang before it can be removed 
 from the yard. And as it is hauled along the street, the ferti- 
 lizing gasses may be seen escaping in the form of steam. The 
 manure of such stables is very rich in grain-producing material ; 
 because the horses are kept on unground oats, from which they 
 seldom extract half the nourishment. But in order to keep the 
 fertilizing substances from escaping, such manure should be spread 
 thin with cattle manure, or muck or mellow earth should be 
 mingled with it to absorb the rich gasses. 
 
 567. Farmers should remember that this pungent odor, which 
 is perceived in horse stables, which often makes his eyes fill with 
 tears, and which makes him sneeze as if he had taken a pinch of 
 snufl^", is ammonia, which is one of the very best fertilizers in the 
 world for any kind of plants. And when the manure heap, or 
 
278 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 
 
 the inaimrc cf liis stables imparts this odor, he may thiuk that 
 he is losing money faster than he is earning it. 
 
 now TO PREVENT THE ESCAPE OF AMMONIA. 
 
 568. Water or dampness is the best absorbent of ammonia 
 that the farmer can avail himself of. So long as manure is kept 
 wet, there will be no danger of losing any portion of the fertiliz- 
 ing material by its escaping in the form of gas. If water be ap- 
 plied to a pile of horse manure that may be sending out a cloud 
 of vapor during its decomposition, it will immediately arrest the 
 decomposition, and no more of the fertilizing material will escape 
 in a gaseous state. But care should be exercised in applying 
 water to manure, not to apply more than it will retain by absorp- 
 tion. If too much be applied, of course the fertilizing salts, or 
 ammonia, will be carried away in the liquid that may llovv^ from 
 the heap of solid manure. 
 
 669. The stables of horses arc sometimes sprinkled with gyp- 
 sum, for the purpose of retaining the ammonia. But a largo 
 quantity of gypsum would be required to absorb as much as 
 would be retained by a little water ; because gypsum will not 
 absorb but very little until it has been dissolved. And by re- 
 ferring to Gypsum, paragraph 580, it will be seen that it requires 
 about 040 times its weight of water to dissolve it before it can 
 absorb ammonia. Gypsum is no better to absorb the ammonia 
 of manure than any other powdered substance until it has first 
 been dissolved. 
 
 570. This fact will account for the disappointment that many 
 farmers have met with when they have applied gypsum to their 
 manure for the purpose of absorbing the volatile ammonia, and 
 to retain it until the manure should be deposited where it could 
 promote the growth of plants. (See Gypsum as a Disinfectant, 
 par. 587.) Water is the best and most convenient absorbent of 
 offensive odors, which are highly charged with ammonia, emitted 
 from the evacuation of sick people who are unable to leave their 
 rooms. By putting two or three quarts of water into the vessel 
 that is to receive the evacuation, every unpleasant odor will bo 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 279 
 
 retained in the water. Whereas if the vessel contains no water, 
 the room will often be filled with ahuost an intolerable stench. 
 So it is with stables. If stables be scraped clean, and then 
 drenched with a pail of water, it will cleanse and pnrify them, 
 and absorb more ammonia than a liberal sprinkling of gypsum, 
 lime or any other disinfectant in the form of powder. 
 
 571. Vegetable mould, peat, muck and Fuch like substances 
 are excellent absorbents of ammonia, if there bo a proper amount 
 of moisture, not in the dry powder, but with the liquid to be 
 absorbed. There may be tons of dry muck in the stable ; but 
 it will not absorb the ammonia unless the ammonia be first min- 
 gled with some liquid and brought in contact with the muck. 
 For this reason, dry muck, or finely pulverized peat, or clay, 
 when in the state of a dry powder, will absorb a vast amount of 
 ammonia when it is deposited where it will absorb liquid manure. 
 
 672. Every good farmer knows that a thin covering of damp 
 — not wet — soil on a pile of any offensive substance will absorb 
 all the offensive odors arising from it, and thus fertilize the soil. 
 A few inches in depth of damp soil will absorb the stench emit- 
 ted from carrion, which would fill the air with miwholesome efflu- 
 via for a good distance from it. But dry soil will not absorb 
 the volatile substances unless they be first united with a liquid. 
 Therefore water, or a liquid which is for the most part water, is 
 very essential — indeed it is absolutely necessary — in order to ab- 
 sorb and retain the fertilizing volatile ingredients of a stercoi'a- 
 ry or stable. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS FROM LIFE, CONCERNING AMMONIA. 
 
 573. "Wo read in Deuteronomy, 23:13, what command the 
 Creator gave to the Jews for the purpose of keeping the atmos- 
 phere jiure, where there was such a vast host of people encamped 
 in a body which occupied the entire ground for several miles in 
 circumference : "And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon ; 
 and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt 
 dig therewith ; and shalt turn back and cover (with earth) that 
 which cometh from thee." 
 
280 THE YOUNG farmer's manual. 
 
 574. In the above instance, we can see and appreciate the 
 efficacy cf a thin sprinkling of earth in absorbing nocuous and 
 oflfeusive odor — for the most part ammonia — whicli would have 
 rendered the whole atmosphere unhealthy had this precaution 
 not been observed. Another instance which is familiar to almost 
 everybody is, the manner in which cats dispose of their ordure, 
 by excavating a small hole in the ground and covering it with 
 earth, which effectually absorbs the ammonia, which always renders 
 the droppings of such animals so exceedingly offensive to our nasal 
 organs. Another instance, which is familiar to most farmers, is 
 that of sprinkling the foulest and most offensive slop holes, near 
 the back door of some dwellings, with a thin stratum of mellow 
 earth, which will absorb all the offensive efluvia. 
 
 THE VALUE OF SOFT SOAP. 
 
 575. How much fertilizing matter may we suppose there is in 
 a barrel of soft soap ? It is true that the quality of soft soap 
 may differ in chemical constituents quite as much as two differ- 
 ent kinds of soil may differ in fertilizing matter. But in a bar- 
 rel of good soft soap, which has been made with potash and 
 good grease, there is enough soluble fertilizing matter to produce 
 at least half a ton of good hay, or several bushels of good grain, 
 were it properly applied to the soil. 
 
 576. We would think it a very wasteful practice to throw 
 away all the soap that may be used in the family of a farmer 
 during one season. Still, how many there are who have prac- 
 ticed this very thing for many years in succession ! -How many 
 have been to the expense of making costly drains lo carry off to 
 some stream their soft soap, for which their crops have suffered, 
 more or less, every season. 
 
 577. After a barrel of soap has been through the wash tub, 
 it is more valuable as a fertilizer than it would be before it was 
 diluted for the purpose of washing clothes. "Were soft soap, or 
 hard soap cither, applied to tlic soil, it must necessarily be 
 thoroughly dissolved with rain water before it could promote 
 the growth of plants. Therefore after it has been dissolved in 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 281 
 
 the wash tub, it is in the very best condition to be applied to 
 the soil for the purpose of promoting the growth of grass or of 
 cereal grain. The value of soap will depend on the amount of 
 potash and grease of which it has been made. Bath of these 
 will be found to be very valuable fertih'zers, whether they arc 
 applied to grape vines, fruit trees, to grass, grain, or vegetables 
 in the kitchen garden. 
 
 HOW TO USE SOFT SOAP AS A FERTILIZER. 
 
 578. There are a number of methods of applying the fertiliz- 
 ing matter in soap suds to the soil, cither of which may be adopt- 
 ed. The chief idea is, to get the potash and grease, after wash- 
 ing with the soap, into the soil, where it will promote the growth 
 of plants ; and to do it in the most feasible and economical man- 
 ner. Some farmers place a molasses hogshead on a stone boat 
 near the kitchen, where all the suds will be conducted into the 
 bung hole ; and when it is full, a team is hitched to the stone 
 boat, and it is drawn where it is needed ; and two or three 
 plugs arc pulled out of the end, and while the team is moving, 
 the liquid flows out. 
 
 579. Another way to dispose of it is to carry it away in 
 large pails. Another way is to conduct it from the kitchen to a 
 heap of muck or compost. Still another good way, which we 
 have practiced with our soap suds is, to conduct all the slops to 
 a large hogshead set in the ground in the garden, when the fluid 
 is applied to the plants broadcast, with a garden engine, or with 
 a hydropult, or with a watering pot. When applied to vege- 
 tables, it makes them very fair and tender, and will usually pro- 
 mote a very large growth. It will have the same effect on grass 
 and grain that unleached ashes does — it will increase the quality 
 and the quantity of the crop. (See Ashes, par. 550 ) 
 
 GYPSUM— PLASTER — SULPHATE OF LIME. 
 
 580. Gypsum, or as it is more popularly denominated, plaster, 
 is found in vast quarries like limestone. It is broken into frag- 
 ments weighing a pound or so, with heavy hammers, and then 
 
282 TUE YOUNG FARMEU'S MANUAL. 
 
 mil tlirough an iron cracker which reduces it to smiiU chunks 
 like gravel, after which it is ground into powder with mill stones, 
 very much as grain is ground into meal. Sometimes it is ground 
 very fine, as it always should bo ; and sometimes it is very 
 coarse, which is very objectionable. When it is ground fiuc, it 
 v.-ill act imuicdiately on the crop ; whereas if it be coarse, it will 
 l^encfit the crop next season far more than the one that may be 
 growing v/hen it is sowed. 
 
 581. The young farmer should understand that gypsum, or 
 plaster, must be dissolved before it can promote the growth of 
 any pljnt. Therefore the finer it is ground the sooner it will 
 be dissolved by rain and moisture; and thus bo prepared to aid the 
 growth of his crops. As soon as it has been dissolved, the parti- 
 cles which are in a liquid state will be carried down by the rain 
 to the roots of grain or grass. Now, who does not p rccivc, at 
 a glance, the groat importance of having it ground as fine as 
 may bo practicable before it is sowed ? 
 
 now GYPSUM OPERATES. 
 
 582. Almost every chemist who has written about the action 
 of gypsum has advocated a different mode of action. Therefore 
 it is rational to conclude, that but very little is really known about 
 the matter ; and what little they profess to know is more guess- 
 work tiian anything else. But I believe that the theory of its 
 action, which is most approved, is, it absorbs and fixes the vola- 
 tile ammonia, which substance enters largely into the formation 
 of plants, and which always promotes a very luxuriant growth. 
 
 583. It is a consideration of little importance, however, as 
 to the manner of the operation of gypsum. If it produces good 
 effects on crops, it is not worth while to trouble our brains too 
 much in inquiring how it acts. If we give i)roper attention to 
 such considerations and circumstances as will aid its action, as 
 well as those which prevent its action, we shall be better prepared 
 to use it, as a fertilizer, understandingly, and with good effects 
 on crops. 
 
 584. It requires from four to five hundred times its own 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER^S MANUAL. 283 
 
 weight of p:irc rain water to dissolve it before it will bo pre- 
 pared to produce any effect on plants. Then, after the powder 
 has been dissolved, it must be carried down to the roots by rains, 
 before it can exert any influence in promoting the growth of any 
 plant. We are not in doubt about this matter — chemistry or no 
 chemistry. (See Liquid Manure ; Par. 480.) These considera- 
 tions will teach us more of the importance of having gypsum re- 
 duced to the very finest powder ; because these little coarse 
 grains of gyps-um will require a long time to dissolve. 
 
 THE WAY TO APPLY GYPSUM. 
 
 585. The roots of plants will not come to the surface of the soil 
 after the gypsum. It must be carried down to the roots ; or be 
 placed where the rootlets could reach it. Therefore when a 
 handful of gypsum is thrown down in a heap — as it usually is ap- 
 l)lied — near a hill of corn, all the fertilizing material will be found 
 within the compass of only a few square inches. And a moment's 
 reflection will convince one, that if the handful were s^^read thin 
 all around the hill, the roots on every side of the stem 
 absorb tlic fertilizing substances when they are carried down by 
 rain. If a handful to a hill were spread evenly over a space one 
 foot in diameter, before the seed is dropped, the roots would 
 come immediately in contact with the plaster ; and it would pro- 
 duce more than twice or thrice the good effect that the same 
 amount will if it were simply dropped in a heap on the surface 
 of the soil. 
 
 586. One good reason why gypsum exerts such a marked in- 
 fluence in promoting the growth of young clover is, the seed 
 vegetates near the surface of the soil ; and as soon as the roots 
 begin to spread, they come directly in contact with this fertiliz- 
 ing material, which the gypsum has prepared for the growth of 
 young plants. Therefore the young farmer should understand 
 that the gypsum must be deposited where the roots can have ac- 
 cess to it. Where it is applied to grass or grain that has been 
 sown broadcast, the gypsum should bo scattered broadcast also. 
 But where the grain is in hills, it wijl be best to sprinkle it around 
 
284 THE YOUXG FAEMEr's MANUAL. 
 
 tliem, and not sow it broadcast. And it is important to spread 
 it thinly over a large surrace ; because if it be deposited in 
 heaps, as it sometimes is, only a limited portion of the roots -will 
 be benefitted by it. 
 
 GYPSUM AS A DISINFECTANT. 
 
 587. Gypsum has often been recommended as an excellent 
 deodorizer or disinfectant. In order that any substance may 
 operate as a disinfectant or a deodorize-r it must be in a fluid 
 or gaseous state. Deodorizers and disinfectants must either ab- 
 sorb or neutralize in some manner those odors that are offensive 
 to the smell. Solid substances — like gypsum — cannot absorb 
 but a very limited amount of ammonia until it has been dissolved 
 with water. 
 
 588. Therefore when gypsum is strewed in stables, for the 
 purpose of absorbing the ammonia, it cannot absorb but very 
 little of it while it remains in a powdered condition. But if it 
 comes in contact with water or other liquid enough to dissolve 
 it, then it will be fitted to absorb any offensive odors within its 
 reach. 
 
 589. Many years ago chemists directed farmers to strew 
 gypsum in their privies, for the purpose of absorbing the am- 
 monia, and thus keep the air sweet and pure. Therefore many 
 l)eople erected their privies contiguous to their dwelling houses, 
 confidently flattering themselves that a little sprinkling of gyp- 
 sum would keep their apartments pure and sweet. But they 
 soon found that there was but little efficacy in gypsum for such 
 a purpose. The reason for it was, the gypsum was not first 
 dissolved. 
 
 PLASTER OF PARIS. 
 
 590. The question is frequently asked, what is the difference 
 between " Plaster of Paris and Gypsum ?" Chemically spoaldng, 
 there is no essential difference between the two kinds. Plaster 
 of Paris is usually white: while gyiDsum is of a daik greyish 
 color. But their chemical constituents arc the same ; and they 
 
THE YOUNG FARMEr's ilAXUAL. 285 
 
 would operate exactly alike when applied to the soil. Plaster 
 of Paris is au article of commerce which is used in the arts for 
 taking casts and for plastering houses. In Paris, France, where 
 originally it was extensively used for making mortar, for plaster- 
 ing houses, it goes by the name of plaster. Bat mother parts of 
 the continent it is called gypsum. And the more common name 
 for it in America is f.aster. Nova Scotia plaster is the same 
 thing, with the exception of certain impurities in it. 
 
 PROF. S. W. JOHNSTOX ABOUT PLASTER. 
 
 501. " The character of the soil must necessarily greatly afifect 
 the operation of gypsum as a fertilizer. A soil that is already 
 rich in sulphate of lime, or gyi3sum, of course cannot be greatly 
 benefitted by the addition of more. A poor, light cr exhausted 
 soil, deficient in mineral plant food, as phosphoric acid, potash, 
 &c., cannot be expected to become fertile by the application of 
 gypsum ; because this substance cannot supply those matters 
 which are v»ranting ; and without which no plant can flourish. 
 Cold, wet, heavy and impermeable soils are usually almost un- 
 affected by gypsum ; and sometimes its use has been apparently 
 disadvantageous on them. But porous soils, either sandy or 
 loamy, which readily dry after rains, and which are well dunged, 
 experience the most benefit from plastering. Excess of moisture 
 and poverty of the soil arc the chief hindrances to the action of 
 
 gypsum." 
 
 DOES PLASTER EXHAUST THE SOLL ? 
 
 592. Bees 'plaster exhaust the soil ? This frequently asked 
 question is easily answered by the word no. A soil is never ex- 
 hausted by what is added to it. But always by what is removed. 
 But a little explanation is needed, for although plaster cannot 
 exhaust the soil, plastering usually {^followed by exhaustion, and 
 for the simple reason that by its use nothing but sulphate of lime 
 is addtd, while phosphoric acid, potash, silica, &c., are removed. 
 A purse soon gets empty if eaj,des are constantly Uiken out, 
 though cents be now and then put in. Tiie crops which plaster 
 enables the farmer to remove from the soil exhiut it. Sup- 
 
286 THE YOUNG farmer's manual. 
 
 pose that a few bushels of plaster raise the yield of clover upon 
 a field 10 per ct. ; then 10 per ct. more of phosphoric acid, pot- 
 ash, &c., pass from the soil into the crop than would have pass- 
 ed had no plaster been used. If plaster onljr be added, then 
 the field will be exhausted in one-tenth less time than if nothing 
 at all had been applied. In both cases the total amount of 
 vegetation produced until exhaustion supervenes will be the 
 same, and the amount of exhaustion the same. In the one in- 
 stance the final result might be reached in 10 years ; in the other 
 in 9 years. The difference is merely one of time. If benefit is 
 to be derived from the use of plaster, it must be accompanied 
 with other manure, or its action, however good at first, will ulti- 
 mately cease. Manuring a poor soil with nothing but plaster is 
 attempting to sustain vegetation on plaster alone ; and this, like 
 feeding children on little else than arrow-root, is a stupendous 
 folly. It is trying to build brick houses without brick. Plants 
 cannot be made of sulphate of lime any more than men can be 
 made out of starch. " Out of nothing, nothing comes." 
 
 IMPORTANCE OF TEXTURE. 
 
 J. J. Thomas, in an excellent article on the " Eff*ective Action 
 of Manures," says : 
 
 " Far more important than the mere presence of fertilizing 
 ingredients, or even the chemical condition of those ingredients, 
 m many cases, is their mechanical texture and degree of pulver- 
 ization. We have elsewhere given an instance, furnished by 
 one of the most eminent scientific and practical cultivators of 
 our country, where the complete crushing of the clods of an 
 adhesive soil, and the grinding together with them into powder 
 the manure applied to the land, produced an effect upon the 
 subsequent crop five times as great as the ordinary operation of 
 manure. How absurd it must be to make strict calculations on 
 the result of a given quantity of yard manure, without ever 
 inquiring into the mode of application — whether, on the one 
 hand, by spreading in large, unbroken lumps, carelessly and im- 
 perfectly plowed under, and in a condition wholly useless for 
 
THE TOUNQ fakmeh's manual. 287 
 
 plants, or even detrimental in case of drouth — or, on the other, 
 by a thorough harrowing of the soil and manure together, be- 
 fore turning under and a repetition of the operation when 
 necessary afterward for complete intermixture. We have 
 known the most admirable results by this practice, where noth- 
 ing but fresh, coarse manure could be obtained for. succulent 
 garden crops, and nearly a total fliilure under like circumstances 
 without its performance. Even the time of year that manure 
 has been carted on the land, has sometimes had an injurious 
 bearing on the success of its application, simply by the packing 
 and hardening resulting from traveling over its surface when 
 in a wet and adhesive condition. It is a perfectly self-evident 
 truth, that a mixture of unburned bricks and clods of manure 
 would afford immeasurably less sustenance to the fine and deli- 
 cate fibers of growing plants, than the same mixture ground 
 down together into a fine powder. Hence it may be reasonably 
 believed that the general introduction and free use of pulver- 
 izers, as the most effective harrows, clod-crushers, and subsoilers, 
 assisted by tile-draining, may be of greater benefit to the whole 
 country than the importation of a million tons of guano." 
 
 LIME OXIDE OF CALCIUM. 
 
 " The use of lime without manure 
 Will always make the farmer poor." 
 
 593. Properly speaking, lime is composed of calcium and oxy- 
 gen^ which is denominated the oxide of calcium. Calcium is a 
 white shining metal, and the oxygen is a gas which exists in the 
 atmosphere and in all solid and liquid substances. Oxide of 
 calcium, or lime, is obtained by heating limestone in a kiln for 
 several days to a bright red heat, for the purpose of driving off 
 the carbonic acid which is in the limestone. Therefore, when 
 we speak of lime, the correct idea is, that substance which re- 
 mains after limestone has been burned sufficiently to expel the 
 carbonic acid. This is called quick-lime, or unslacked lime. 
 After water has been applied to unslacked lime, it will evolve a 
 great heat, and be reduced to a fine powder. In this state it is 
 properly called caustic lime, or hydrate of lime. When lime has 
 
288 THE YOUNG '/aiimer's manual. 
 
 been exposed to the air, it will absorb moisture, which will slack 
 it. L'.nie iu this condition is called partly a hydrate, and partly 
 a carbonate of lime. Lime that has been air-slacked for a 
 few months will lose much of its fertilizing properties. Therefore 
 the sooner it can be applied to the soil and covered with a sprink- 
 ling of earth, the more effective it will prove in promoting the 
 growth of crops. 
 
 WHAT KIND OP SOILS MAY BE BENEFITTED BY LIME. 
 
 594. Chemists tell us, that soils known to be fertile, and in a 
 high state of productiveness, ''may contain no more than one five 
 hundredth part of lime ; " or a very critical analysis of such soil 
 would detect only a trace of lime ; and that according to this 
 computation an acre of soil six inches deep would contain from 
 one to two tons of lime. Those soils that are deficient in potash 
 may be greatly improved by the application of a good sprinkling 
 of lime. When there is a large amount of vegetable matter in 
 the soil, lime may be applied with good effect. When the soil is 
 of a granitic character, and has been cultivated for many suc- 
 cessive years, a sprinkling of lime will exert a beneficial influence 
 on its productiveness. 
 
 595. The correct way for ascertaining whether a soil may be 
 benefitted by the application of lime is to experiment with a few 
 small plots in various parts of the farm. In this way a farmer can 
 satisfy himself beyond a doubt, whether lime will render his soil 
 any more productive or not. On clayey soils, or those of a peaty 
 character, lime will usually have a good cifect. Farmers need 
 apprehend no danger of applying too mucli lime to any sod. If 
 it will not improve its fertility, it will not injure its productiveness. 
 
 HOW MUCH LIME PER ACRE. 
 
 596. Some writers have recommended to sow from one hun- 
 dred to five or six hundred bushels of lime per a^re ; while others, 
 under quite different circumstances, have stated that from ten 
 
 -^ sixty bushels will be found the most proper amount for an 
 ^icrc. My own views on this subject are, t!iat if a soil really 
 
289 
 
 needs a heavy coat of lime, and it is at hand, Lt it be applied in 
 a bountiful manner. But if lime is not plenty, and is quite ex- 
 pensive, it will be found better to apply, say six or eight bushels 
 per acre every year, than to sow a very large quantity at one 
 time. 
 
 591. When large quantities of lime are applied at one time, 
 very much of the effect which it is designed to produce will be 
 lost on the crop. But if a given quantity be applied to the soil 
 for promoting the growth of each crop, the application will be 
 much more judicious and the effects on the crops more apparent. 
 There can only a small quantity of lime act upon a crop in one 
 season ; and if a large quantity be applied, its effects may be 
 lost, or it may have no good effect on the soil. The skillful 
 farmer must exercise some good judgment of his own on this 
 point ; and not be led to adopt an erroneous practice in the ap- 
 plication of limo to his soil. 
 
 EFFECTS OF LIME, AND MANNER OF OPERATION. 
 
 598. Chemists tell us that "lime assists in pulverizing the 
 soil by acting chemically on the silicates therein, dissolving out a 
 portion of the silica and liberating potash and soda." For this 
 cause, heavy applications of lime on some granitic soils that 
 were not very productive have increased the productiveness to 
 a great extent. J. Hvatt says : " The beneficial effects of Hme 
 depend very considerably on the assistance which is rendered by 
 the carbonic acid of the atmosphere and of the light rains. It 
 acts both chemically and mechanically. It acts mechanically, 
 by rendering heavy, clayey soils more light, and by diminishing 
 their tenacity, thus rendering them more friable and porous. 
 When it is applied in large quantities, it will assist the decompo- 
 sition of organic matter in the soil. 
 
 599. When there is an undue amount of acidity of any kind 
 in a soil, a good sprinkling of lime will rectify it, and thus fur- 
 nish a large supply of food for plants. Lime may be applied to 
 potatoes with good effect on almost every kind of soil ; and when 
 the soil is very tenacious, if it be well drained, the lime will exert a 
 
 13 
 
290 
 
 very good influence in promoting a healthy growth ; and ^ill 
 render the potatoes more heulthy and mealy than they usually 
 are when they huve grown on tenacious and heavy soils. 
 
 GOO. When there is such a large proportion of vegetable 
 matter in a soil that crops of cereal grain will be all straw, and 
 so large that it falls down before the grain has matured, a top, 
 dressing of lime will exert a chemical influence on the soil, by 
 which the straw will be rendered more inflexible or stifTcr ; and 
 at the same time it will act on the grain — forming material in 
 the soil, and thus increase the quantity of grain. 
 
 GOl. Lime will also improve the qttallty of cereal gmin by 
 furnishing nourishment for the plants that will mako kernels of a 
 more clear color, having thinner skin and more and better flour. 
 This wdll be found particularly true where the soil is of a kind 
 that will produce a great growth of straw, sucli as some kinds of 
 swampy table land or river bottoms, which are very deep and 
 destitute of sand, gravel and clay. 
 
 602, Lime will have a very good effect almost al\va\ s on 
 old pastures ; and the experience of many reliable firraers ou 
 this subject is, that lime will improve both the quantity and 
 quality of the grasses which grow on them, and thus greatly im- 
 prove the prcducts of the dairy, whether for butter or cheese. 
 There are but very few soils, in pasture or in grass, that may not 
 be improved more or less by sowing on them lime and wood ashes. 
 And those fertilizers will usually be found very valuable on our 
 western prairies, that have been cultivated for many years in close 
 succession, 
 
 GAS LIME. 
 
 Gb03. Large quantities of caustic lime are used at the gas 
 works of our cities in making gas, which is really worth more 
 for agricultural purposes as a fertilizer, after it has performed its 
 office at the gas works, than it was before it was Uwsed in the 
 purifier's. But farmers have not learned this fact. Therefore 
 vast quantities of it are thrown away and wasted at the works, 
 which might be used, with much profit, in promoting the growth 
 
THE YOUXG farmer's MANUAL. 291 
 
 of crops, which in most instances would cost only the expense of 
 haul'ng. 
 
 604. It is thrown out of the purifiers in a powdered condition, 
 usually charged to its highest capacity with ammonia. An 
 officer in the Edinburgh Gas Company, Scotland, says : " I 
 believe that waste gas lime is equal in efficiency to fresh lime for 
 most of the purposes aimed at in its use in farm lands. I sold all 
 the lime thus produced at a gas work in Forfarshire for sixteen 
 years to several farmers,who uniformly expressed their satisfaction 
 therewith. One very usual application of it was its mixture with 
 the 'wrack' — viz., the large piles of weeds and tangled roots of 
 grass cleared off the fields annually. On being composted in this 
 way, the lime gradually killed all the vitality of these weeds, and 
 returned them to the land in way of manure. It also served the 
 purpose of opening up stiff clay soil, being first spread over the 
 surface and then plowed down. But the chief and most beneficial 
 use of gas lime is found in its admixture with farm-yard manure 
 at the time it is applied to the fields. This is explained by the 
 fact that the lime from gas-works, while retaining all its original 
 properties as a hydrate of lime, hns acquired, in addition, a large 
 amount of sulphur, much of which is free, and when openly ex- 
 posed is taken up readily by the oxygen of the atmosphere. 
 This sulphur, so readily parting from the lime, enters into com- 
 bination with the volatile ammoniacal elements of the fresh manure, 
 retaining them in the form of sulphate of ammonia, to be after- 
 wards taken up gradually by the crop to which it has thus been 
 applied. It is in the first and last mentioned application that gas 
 lime has proved most beneficial in those cases coming within my 
 own knowledge. It is not equal to newly burned lime shells for 
 breaking up stiff clays." 
 
 LIME— THE BASIS OP GOOD HUSBANDRY. 
 
 C05. J. J. TnoMAS writes in the Country Gentleman: *'Lime 
 possesses other properties, however, besides that of neutralizing 
 acids. One of the most remarkable is the power to absorb 
 putrescent manures, and to hold the fertilizing essence till it is 
 
292 THE YOUNG farmer's manual. 
 
 wanterl for the crop, through every vicissitude of the season?^, and 
 through indefiuite periods of time. There it is locked up ; and 
 nothing at common temperatures but the energy of a growing 
 plant can unlock it. Lime lias therefore been styled the basis of 
 all good husbandry. It stores up the manure that is not im- 
 mediately wanted for future use — a kind of save-all, AVlien the 
 suppUcs from the barn-yard arc spread and plowed into a soil that 
 is nearly destitute of lime, the growing crop catches a part of its 
 virtue; but a very large part escapes, and very little will be left 
 for the benefit of those that succeed. I had been used to such 
 soils until I removed to n^y present farm ; and was then agi'eeably 
 surprised to see how much more dm^ble were the effects of stable 
 manure. My fields were limed by the dd'ige. Unwholesome 
 vapors and villainous smells are also absorbed by lime; and some 
 places once remarkable for insalubrity have been changed in 
 1 heir character by liming or marling the fields around them. 
 Nuisances arc converted into manures. A striking illustration of 
 this principle is contained in the following account from the 
 Essay on Calcareous Manures. 
 
 606. ''A carcase of a. cow, killed by iictident late in the spring, 
 was laid en the ground and covered by about 25 bushels of broken 
 shell-, with 45 bushels of earth, chiefly silicious. After the rains 
 had settled the heap, it v/as only six inches thick over the highest 
 part of the carcase. The process of putrefaction was so slow, that 
 several wcek.i passed before- it was over ; nor was it ever so 
 violent as to throw off any effluvia that the calcareous earth d'd 
 not intercept in its escape, so that no offensive smell was ever per- 
 ceived. In October, the whole heap was carried out and applied 
 to one-sixth of an acre of wheat ; and the effect produced fiir ex- 
 ceeded that of the calcareous manure alone, which was applied at 
 the same time on surrounding land. The same valnablo work 
 conta'ns a caution to the fanner which may save him from a 
 dangerous error. ' lie is not to suppose that calcareous earth 
 can enrich a soil by direct means. It destroys the worst foe of 
 productiveness, [acidity,] and uses to the greatest advantage the 
 fertilizing powers of other manures ; hit of itself it gives no fer- 
 
THE YOUXG farmer's MANUAL. 29o 
 
 iility to soils, nor fnrnislies the least food to growing plants.' In 
 other words it is the strong box for treasure, but not the treasure 
 itself. Lime also possesses the property of making sandy soils 
 closer and firmer, and clayey soils lighter. It is a mean between 
 these extremes." 
 
 PRECAUTIONS IN USLNG LIME. 
 
 60 1. As lime is of a very caustic nature, and will destroy the 
 leaves of plants when it is brought in contact with them ; and as 
 it will injure the germs of seed, it is very important that the young 
 farmer should understand how to use it in an intelligent manner. 
 When lime is applied to growing potatoes, or young Indian corn 
 in the hill, or to turnips, or any other plants, it is important 
 tliat it should not be deposited on the leaves, or in the sheaths of- 
 the plants, as it will soon destroy the leaves, and thus injure them 
 more than they will be benefitted by its application. The correct 
 way to apply it, is, to sprinkle it thinly, on the soil, about the 
 yourg plants. If it be thrown in small heaps near them, it will 
 be liable to do more injury than it will do good. 
 
 LIME SHOULD BE KEPT NEAR THE SURFACE. 
 
 COS. Mr. J. IIyatt, in an Essay on Agricultural Uses of Lime, 
 has said : " Highly caustic lime [or lime that is just slacked] 
 should not be introduced into direct contact with seed in the hill 
 or in the drill. Caustic lime should not be applied with yard- 
 manure, nor with any manure that contains much nitrogen. Yery 
 coarse, unfermented manure is not so liable to be injured by it, 
 especially if it be covered with earth or muck which will absorb 
 nny liberated gases. Lime should not be used in a wet state ; 
 nor should water be applied too fast when it is being slacked, as 
 it will make lumps of paste of the slacked portions, which will not 
 spread readily when it is sowed. Uuslacked lime should not be 
 ap[)lied to the soil, as it will be liable to unite with the soil and 
 form hard lumps of mortar. If a soil is not well drained, either 
 naturally or artificially, lime will not exert any marked influence 
 in promoting the growth of a crop ; and if a dressing of lime 
 
294 THE YOUNG farmer's manual. 
 
 were applied to a wet soil of clay, it would do mncli more injury 
 than good. Lime is used to purify privies, aul other foul places; 
 but as it liberates tlie ammonia, it destroys the excelleuce of 
 substances that are d3signGa for manures. For tliis reason lira3 
 should never be used in making poudrette." 
 
 609. It should be borne in mind, that lime must not bo buried 
 deep in the soil ; therefore it is a wrong practice to plow it under. 
 Where a large quantity is app'ijdto the soil at one time, it may 
 be well to harrow it in. But, as a general rule, it is best to sow 
 it, and let the rain wash it into the soil. R. L. Allen, in the 
 American Farm Book, says: "To give lime its fullest effect it 
 should be kept as near the surface as possible ; and for this reason 
 it is well to spread it after plowing, taking care to harrow it well 
 in. Then it should be allowed to reniain in grass as long as may 
 be profitable. The weight of lime, and its minuteness, give it a 
 tendency to sink into the soil. Therefore, after a few years of 
 cultivation, a large portion of it will be found to have got beyond 
 the depth of its most cQicient action. When lime is used, tliis 
 tendency gives additional value to the system of under draining 
 and subsoil plowing, which enables the atmosphere and roots 
 of plants to follow the lime, thus prolonging its effects and great- 
 ly augmenting the benefit to crops. It should be spread on the 
 soil immediately after taking off the last crop, so as to allow the 
 longest time for its action before the next crop." 
 
 PPEPARINQ LIME FOR SOWING. 
 
 GIO. When it is to be applied in large quantities, it may be 
 dropped in small heaps in the field, and allowed to slack in air, 
 rain and dews, when it may be spread with shovels. But when 
 only a few bushels are to be applied per acre, it is quite important 
 to have it all thoroughly slacked, so that it will not clog t!ie 
 machine when it is being sov.^ed, or will not remain in lumps if it 
 be sowed by hand. 
 
 611. The best way that I am familiar with for preparing 
 lime to be sowed is, to spread it on the cellar bottom, or under 
 some shed, or in some building, about one foot deep, 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER^S MANUAL. 295 
 
 where the wind will not blow it after it is shacked. A cellar is 
 the best plac^, as it will be a little damp. There will be no dan- 
 ger of its producing fire if it is not more than a foot deep. lu 
 this place let it air-slack for several weeks. Once in a few days 
 let it be forked over, for the purpose of bringing the large lumps 
 to the surface. Sometimes large chunks will need a little s;:)rinl>- 
 ling of water to aid the slacking process. IP it has been well 
 burned, it will slack well. But when it has been poorly burned, 
 and when there is much flint and other impurities in the stone, 
 they may be raked out with a fine-toothed iron rake if the lime 
 is to be sowed with a machine ; or if it is to be sowed by hand, 
 these impurities will do no harm. 
 
 612. Lime should be sowed in a damp, lowry day, when there 
 is no wind to blow ii away from the place wiiere it is desirable 
 to have it fall. And if it be slacked in a damp place, it will ab- 
 sorb moisture enough to prevent its flying at every breath of air; 
 and at the same time it will be in a bettor condition to be applied 
 to the soil than if it were in a caustic state — ^just slacked. 
 
 LIME AS A MANURE. 
 
 613. J. J. Thomas in the Annual Register of Luther Tucker 
 and Son, when alluding to **lime as a mxnure," says : 'As the 
 effects of lime last several years, it makes very little difference at 
 what season it is applied, provided it is well pulverized, so that it 
 may be evenly spread, and not in lumps, which can be of very 
 little use. It cannot evaporate — it may sink into the soil, if 
 copious and long continued rains occur before it becomes convert- 
 ed to a carbonate, which, must be in a few days at furthest. Af- 
 ter that, the carbonic acid brought down in rain may dissolve it 
 very slowly, and in almost infinitesimal portions. The fact that 
 the effect of a dressing of lime is sometimes known to last twenty 
 years, shows that it is not easily carried off. If sown on grass, 
 nothing further is necessary ; if on plowed land, harrowing may 
 SfiTYc to mix it with the soil." 
 
296 THR YOUNG FARMER'S MANrAL. 
 
 EXAMPLE OF SUCCESS IN LIMING. 
 
 614. Tlie Genesee Farmer gives an account of a farm in Lan- 
 caster county, Pennsylvania, wbicli has been one bnndred years un- 
 der cultivation, and during the last fifty years has been limed every 
 ten years. It was much exhausted when the use of lime was first 
 resorted to for its renovation ; but the application of ten bush- 
 els per acre developed elements cf fertility before unavailable in 
 the growth of crops. After the lapse of ten years, the good effect 
 of the lime disappeared, and a new dose of ten bushels per acre 
 was again administered. The soil is a gravelly loam, and yields, 
 with liming, thirty bushels of wheat per acre. Clover, a plant 
 which feeds very largely on lime, is grown in rotation with the 
 wheat, and is either turned with the plow or fed to animals who^'^^e 
 manure is applied to the land. This is one of the most successful 
 examples of liming that has met our notice; and on other soils 
 the result might be quite different. 
 
 615. After penning the foregoing paragraphs,! met with a good 
 article in the American Agriculturist, written previous to my con- 
 nection with that paper, which says : " The precise action or use 
 of lime is not as yet a settled question. Theoreiicnl agricultural 
 chemists have claimed that, since lime is found in the ashes of 
 most crops, it is one of the most essential constituents, and must 
 theref"ore be found in the soil, or must be applied, if not already 
 there, in order to supply the elements of the plants. A single il- 
 lustration is conclusive on that question. The farm on which we 
 were brouglit up, though a diluvial or loam soil on the surface, is 
 literally filled with limestones, and rests on limestone rocks, which 
 often protrude through the surface. The well and spring water 
 is so saturated with lime as to yield a thick coat of it upon the 
 toa-lcettle in a brief time. Yet burned lime and plaster (sulphate 
 of lime,) have always been favorite fertilizers, because their ap- 
 plication has proved to be profitable. Many thousands of bushels 
 of lime have been burned from stones gathered upon the surface, 
 and the burned lime has been applied right among the unburned 
 stones with excellent results. The water flowing from the soil 
 
'THE YOUXCx farmer's MANUAL. 29t 
 
 is abundantly saturated witli lime in a soluUe CGudition, so that 
 there can be no possible lack of this element for the use of the 
 plants. On this point it may also be added, that in the analysis 
 of many samples of water from wells and springs in all kinds and 
 qualities of soils, and from various sections of the country, we 
 have never yet found a specimen of water that did not contain 
 lime enouirh to meet the wants of any crop. 
 
 616. The burning limestone simply drves off its carbonic acid, 
 and reduces it to a fine or powdered condition, so that it is easily 
 mingled with the soil. Simply grinding limestone would not re- 
 move its acid and render it caustic ; this is only accomplished 
 by great heat. No rule can be given for judging as to whether 
 any particular soil will be benefitted by lime. Experience has 
 proved that it is often useful both on clays and on very sandy 
 loams where there is but a very limited supply of lime naturally 
 in the soil : and that it is equally beneficial on soils half made up 
 of limestone, pebbles, shells, and organic petrifications, which are 
 composed chiefly of lime. Actual trials are the only sure tests of 
 its utility or non-utility upon any ]iarticular soil. Moderate ap- 
 plications, at frequent intervals, seem to be preferable to heavy 
 coatings at long intervals. A cold, heavy, sour soil may receive 
 30, 50, or even 100 bushels per acre at one time ; but on lighter 
 soils, 15 to 25 bushels are usually an abundant supply. To apply 
 50 or more bushels per acre on a light soil may decompose and 
 use up all the organic matters in the first year, and render it 
 sterile ; while 15 bushels may prepare enough organic material to 
 benefit the first crop ; and the roots and leaves of that crop will 
 add more organic matter for a succeeding crop. This may explain 
 why lime has after a time been condemned where it was at first 
 in great favor. We know one instance where the soil of a neigh- 
 borhood was light and sandy. Lime was hauled 30 miles by 
 teams, and very moderately applied — 10 to 20 bushels per acre. 
 The opening of a railway reduced the cost to 8 cents per bushel, 
 and one farmer applied 500 bushels to five acres at once, expect- 
 ing great results. The first crop was a good one, but the field 
 13* 
 
298 THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 was rained until a heavy coat of manure was applied to restore 
 organic matter. 
 
 Git. Large applications of lime on a heavy soil, and not 
 thorongbiy diffused throngh it, as when it is spread on the surface 
 and plowed under, often settles in a layer and forms a compact 
 bed throngh which the roots will not penetrate freely. We have 
 seen many such instances, and nothing would grow well until a 
 l)low was run below to throw it upon the surface, and then the 
 harrow used freely to break up and commingle the hard layer with 
 the rest of the soil. Lime is perhaps the most important fertili- 
 zer we have, aside from barn-yard manure. It is useful on a large 
 proportion of all the farms in the country, and may well be tried 
 where it has not been used. Its effects, the best modes of appli- 
 cation, and the rationale of its operation, should be carefully ob- 
 served and studied by cultivators generally. 
 
 MODE OF USING LIME. 
 
 618. The best form of application is to sow fresh slaked 
 
 lime in the finest condition possible, and immediately mix it 
 
 thoroughly with the soil by harrowing and plowing. S ome spi-ead 
 
 it upon the surfiice, and plow it in. The better way is to first 
 
 plow the land, then sow the lime, and immediately harrow it in 
 
 well. When spread in heaps, and left for days or weeks, it absorbs 
 
 carbonic acid from the atmosphere, and is then far loss active upon 
 
 the vegetable material within the soil. When fresh slaked with 
 
 water, it is an almost impalpable powder, and can be much more 
 
 thoroughly scattered and diffused throngh the soil. If it lay in 
 
 heaps upon the field, or is air-slacked, it becomes carbonated, 
 
 and though still friable or in a powdered condition, the particles 
 
 are a thousand times less minute. Sown as a top-dressing, it acts 
 
 upon a little of the surface, and some of it is washed into the soil ; 
 
 and we have seen good results from this practice, but the elfect 
 
 is far less than when sown fresh and immediately worked into the 
 
 soil. 
 
 cooper's lime spreader. 
 
 619. The illustration herewith given represents a lime spread- 
 
THE YOUNG FARMEr's MANUAL. 299 
 
 er, used extensively in some pai ts of Pennsylvania, and other 
 States, and is considered to be a very effectual and easily 
 mannged implement. The advantages 
 claimed foi- it are, that it saves labor 
 and time, and does its work with inimit- 
 able evenness. It is an entire machine 
 in itself, to which a pnir of horses, oxen, 
 or mules maybe hitched, and a load car- 
 ried, without waste, to the place where it 
 
 ' . '■ COOPEE'S LIIIE OPKEADER 
 
 IS to be used, where it may bo put into op- 
 eration in half a minute, and will evenly distribute any desired 
 qnantity to the acre. It weighs no more than a common ox-cart, 
 and will carry as large a load. It feeds itself, crushes and pul- 
 verizes all hard lumps except core. With it one man and team 
 can do at least as much work as four men and two teams without 
 it, while the evenness with which the work is clone can in no other 
 way be equalled. The machinery is simple and strong, not liable 
 to get out of order, and very durable — the working parts being 
 all made of iron. This machme is said to sow plaster and ashes 
 equally well. 
 
 COMPARATIVE VALUE OF COMMERCIAL TERTILIZERS. 
 
 620. The inquiry is constantly being made as to the value of 
 poudrette, nightsoil, superphosphate, and other commercial fer- 
 tilizers, which are sold by the sack or barrel. If a person can 
 obtain a genuine article, the good effect on crops resulting from 
 the fertihzing hifluence of such manure will be readily seen. But 
 manufacturers are so anxious to make a fortune in any such en- 
 terprize, that they often sell thousands of dollars worth of stuff 
 for genuine fertilizing material that will promote the growth of 
 crops no more than the same amount of street dirt. Indeed, it has 
 repeatedly been reported by those who were good authority, that 
 a large proportion of the commercial fertilizers that is sold in 
 barrels is nothing but street dirt. An untold number of farmers 
 have purchased a few tons of such manure ; and after a year have 
 reported that they have never been able to perceive any benefit 
 
300 
 
 at all from its application. Such testimony shows conclusively 
 that it is adulterated with an abundance of cheap and worthless 
 material that is uo better than common soil to promote the 
 growth of crops. 
 
 G21. Samuel Church wrote to the editor of the American 
 Agriculturist, soon after I commenced my editorial career with 
 that paper, that he saw it stated that stove pipe and water 
 buckets were taken from night soil before it was prepared forpou- 
 drette. He then says : " I found in a barrel of poudrettc a year 
 or two ago, the following articles : coal cinders, ashes, burnt and 
 uiiburnt bones and shells, pieces of earthen, stone, glass and china- 
 ware, pieces of window and looking glass, pieces of black, blue, 
 green and white bottle glass, pieces of tobacco pipes, bricks, lime 
 and cement, shirt and other buttons, nails, feathers, rosin, peanut 
 shells, piece of lobster's claw, pins, piece of comb, a dress hook, 
 hair pins, shavings and pieces of bark, isinglass, a pair of sleeve 
 buttons, a hog's tooth, a marble, whalebone, rattan, straw, fish 
 scales, pieces of springs of hoop skirts, wire, leather, rags, ^gg 
 shells, piece of slate, a carpet tack, matches, corn, oats, seeds of 
 dates, oranges, watermelons, mnskmelons, and raisins, two kinds 
 of seeds name not known, cherry stones, saltpetre, a child's toy 
 of turned wood, dead leaves, etc., etc., etc.'' A curious compost 
 truly I And such stuff — yes, such worthless stuff as this, wiiich 
 is not worth hauling from the barn yard to the nearest field, far- 
 mers purchase at an exorbitant price, simply because some one 
 has used a good article with excellent results. It is infinitely 
 better for the farm, and more profitable for farmers, to feed out 
 their coarse grain and make mutton, beef and barn yard manure, 
 which they know will produce a good crop, than to sell it and 
 purchase worthless street dirt, old tobacco pipes and jiieccs of 
 lager beer glasses. Let me reiterate the thought, that farmers 
 should aim to make their own manure ; and never purchase the 
 worthless stuff of commorco, unless they have some good assurance 
 that they will receive a fair equivalent for their money. 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER's MANUAL. 301 
 
 DOCTOIl VOELCKER'S TESTIMONY. 
 
 622. Dr. VoELciiER, makes use of the following language in 
 exposing *' the tricks of the trade." 
 
 C23. "If there ever was a time when the agriculturist had need 
 to exercise especial caution in purchasing artificial manures, that 
 time is the present ; for the practice of adulterating artificial fer- 
 tilizers, such as guano, superphosphate of lime, nitrate of soda, &c., 
 has reached an alarming point. The increasing demand for these 
 manures, their inadequate supply, the general favor in which 
 artificial fertilizers are now held by farmers, the deficiencies of 
 natural sources from which a really valuable manure can be pre- 
 pared ; disregard for the difference of the practical effects of a 
 manure and its real money value ; the difficulty of arriving in a 
 single season at a positive conclusion with regard to its eflBcacy, 
 and other similar circumstances, are fruitful causes of the shameful 
 adulterations in artificials of recognised value, and of the many 
 inferior or worthless new compounds which are found in the 
 manure-market at the present time. It is well known, moreover, 
 to all who have watched this state of the manure-market, how 
 easily testimonials can be obtained even from high agricultural 
 authorities, notwithstanding the comparative inferiority of the 
 manure. These testimonials are often fictitious, and even when 
 genuine, cannot be relied upon in estimating the real money valu3 
 of a manure. Under favorable circumstances, the application of 
 the most worthless manure occasionally is attended with 
 an abundant crop ; and as the dealer or manufacturer takes good 
 care to select for publication only those opinions which are favor- 
 able to the sale of the manufactured article, and does not tell us 
 how many exjn-essions of opinion he has received, wdiich, when 
 published, w^ould damage his business, it is evident that little de- 
 pendence can be placed on printed testimonials. Indeed, the deal- 
 er or manufactnrer has so many chances to reap a large profit for 
 ii season from the sale of an all but worthless article, that it is not 
 sarprisi-ig to find so many unscrupulous persons engaged in a 
 CDiu-v? of fraudulent pursuits. Whilst thus, on the one hand, the 
 
302 THE YOUNG farmer's manual. 
 
 iinsui^pccting farmer is swindled out of his money, and runs the 
 risk of losing his crops too ; on the other hand, enterprising, well 
 qualified, and honest persons arc deterred from employing their 
 capital, energy and skill in an undertaking which, under more 
 favorable conditions, could not fail to benefit alike the manu- 
 factui'er and purchaser." 
 
 BARN-YARD MANURE THE BEST. 
 
 G24. Hon. A. B. Dickinson, a noted farmer of Steuben 
 County, Now- York, said, in an address to a certain agricultural 
 society : " With regard to manures, I lay it down as an axiom not 
 to be gainsayed, that barn-yard is the best. It warms cold land, 
 moistens dry, and dries wet land. It makes stifT, compact clay 
 land mellow, and compresses and makes light soils productive. 
 Every farmer should, therefore, not only make all be can, and 
 save all he makes, but use it to the best advantage. It is neces- 
 sary for every farmer to plow in a portion of his manure for roots, 
 and in almost all cases on stiff clay soils, for corn. If plowed in 
 for these crops, I would advise the use of a subsoil plow to follow 
 after the common plow, — throwing manure in after the rubsoil 
 plow, — an 1 then the plow need only run deep enough to get at 
 the best of the surface soil, for the top soil, whether it be three 
 inches or six, is the very best you have, and should be where your 
 seeds are planted. If your land has been deei>plowed previously, 
 and is sufQcicutly rich and deep enough for carrots, parsnips, or 
 for corn roots, then the use of the subsoil plow can be dispensed 
 with. (Sec par. 394 to 391.) 
 
 G25. *'No farmer can afford to plow in all his manure, and the 
 less the better, as one load will enrich the soil, if spread on its sur- 
 face, more than two loads will if plowed in. On this point I 
 wish to be distinctly understood, as I am not only at variance 
 with chemists and the professors of agricultural colleges, but 
 also with government trial fields in Great Britain and on the Con- 
 tinent, and with some practical farmers nearer home. Yet I 
 shall give my views with as much confidence as though no others 
 were anywhere entertained; for if there is any one suhject that I 
 
THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 303 
 
 think I understand, it is that of fertilizing the land. But I do 
 not desire any man to take my say so, if I cannot give good 
 and substantial reasons for " the faith that is in me," to inspire 
 bim also with confidence in it. A fair trial of my views is very 
 simple. Take a field where the soil is as nearly equal as possible; 
 divide it by furrows into lands of exactly equal size ; plow 
 in just double the number of loads of manure on the one that you 
 spread on the surface of the next, and so alternate through the 
 field. 
 
 626. The lands being struck out straight, and exactly the same 
 size, seed down with some crop so that your grass seed will be sure 
 to take. The next year when you mow it, cure the product and put 
 it on the scales, and you will find that the one-half wliere the 
 manure was spread on the surface, will give you as much or more 
 hay than the other half. But this is not all ; after the field has 
 laid in grass for eight or ten years, tho surface-manured portions 
 will give you a much thicker and richer sod to plow under than 
 those where double the amount of manure was plowed in. The 
 reason is simply that top-dressing mulches and feeds the roots. 
 And, as instances rendering my theory still stronger, let me tell 
 yon what I know. You may take sufficient of your poorest clay 
 soil to spread one inch thick on a fijld, and plow that in. You 
 would not perceive the least benefit from this, whilst an eighth or 
 a sixteenth of an inch spread on the grass lands that have been 
 impoverished by raising grain, would increasa the crop of hay from 
 one-eighth to one-fourth, and in ten years would make an increase 
 in the thickness of the soil.'^ 
 
 BLOOD, AND ITS MANAGEMENT. 
 
 627. The chemical composition of blood is nearly the same 
 as lean flesh. There are saline substances, albumen, fibrin and 
 other materials in it, of a highly fertilizing character. When 
 employed as a manure, it exhales large quantities of ammonia, 
 which promotes the growth of all kinds of crops. 
 
 628. The most convenient and economical way of saving it is, 
 to have it absorbed by dry muck, saw dust, tan bark, or any 
 
304 THE YOUXG farmer's MINUAL. 
 
 other absorbent that will retain it until it can be deposited in 
 the soil. "When it can be collected in large quantities at slaughter 
 houses, the most convenient way is to let it run into a tight 
 trough, from the floor where the animals are killed ; and then 
 remove it with a scoop shovel or pails to the muck bed. This 
 should be under shelter, and quite dry, as dam;) muck will not 
 al)Sorb as much as dry. Spread the blood around on the muck, 
 and shovel dry muck on it, until it is all absorbed. A bushel of 
 gypsum to tliirty bushels of muck may be mingled with it. As 
 it dries out, it should be shoveled over several times, and kept 
 from heating so as to injure it. In a few months it will be suf- 
 ficiently dry to put in barrels or boxes ; or it may be deposited 
 in the basement of any building on a dry floor. The more char- 
 coal there is mingled with it the better. When blood is man- 
 aged in this way, it will make an excellent fertilizer for Indian 
 corn, or almost any other crop ; and after reducing it fm^ by 
 crushing or running through a threshing machine, it may be ap- 
 plied broadcast or to hills by sprinkling it thin over an area of 
 a foot or more in diameter where the plants are growing, or aro 
 to grow. This kind of fertilizer should always be covered with 
 a thin layer of soil as soon as it is distributed, to prevent the 
 loss of the ammonia in it. Whenever this compost emits an 
 odor, as it often does when it is heating, the mass should be 
 shoveled over and the lumps crushed. A sprinkling of water 
 will prevent its heating. 
 
 VALUE OF SPENT TAN BARK. 
 
 029. The great excellence of spent tan bark consists, for the 
 most part, in the mechanical influence which it exerts on the pro- 
 ductiveness of the soil, and also in its great capacity to absorb the 
 liquid manure of animals, which would otherwise never be saved 
 and carried to the field. When pure tan bark is mingled with soils 
 that are very compact, or in which pure clay or gravelly clay 
 predominates, it makes them more porous and mellow, and in- 
 creases their productiveness. But when it is mingled with soils 
 that are already too light and porous, it has an injurious influence 
 
THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 303 
 
 on the productiveness of the soil. Therefore the young farmer 
 will be able to decide, with almost unerring certainty, whether 
 spent tan bark will or will not promote the productiveness of 
 his soil. On moist farms, it will pay to haul it one or two miles, 
 providing it is properly managed. 
 
 THE TRUE WAY TO USE SPENT TAN BARK. 
 
 GoO. If wet tan bark be spread in a stable or yard for the 
 purpose of absorbing the liquid portions of manure, we shall find 
 that it will take up but very little of it, because it is already 
 so full of water that there is no room for any liquid manure. 
 Therefore, unless it is nearly dry, before it is spread in the stable 
 or yard, it may as well be spread directly on the soil, and thus 
 save handling over twice. Spent tan bark ought always to be 
 deposited in an open shed, w^here it will dry out before it is need- 
 ed in the stable or piggery. Dry tan bark will absorb a great 
 quantity of liquid manure, which will rectify the acidity of the 
 bark ; and at the same time hasten its decomposition as soon 
 as it has been mingled with the soil. 
 
 G31. Dry tan bark will make excellent bidding for any kind 
 of animals ; and it will retain what it has absorbed much bet- 
 ter than any kind of straw. When it is used for beddia^-, a few 
 bushels should be spread on the llooi beneath the animal ; and 
 as soon as it is well saturated with liquid manure, it should be 
 removed, and a fresh supply placed beneath them. If tan bark 
 be used for littering sheep, it should bo covered with damp straw, 
 to prevent its getting into their wool. Dry tan bark is valuable 
 in a piggery, as it will increase the bulk of swine manure, and 
 thus make the manure go farther, when it is mingled with the 
 soil, or when it is used as a top dressing for gi'aia or grass, 
 which is very desirable, and important also, in distributing ma- 
 nure that is as concentrated as are the droppings of fattening 
 swine. The manure that is made when spent tan bark is used 
 will be a very excellent fertilizer to apply to the soil when it is 
 being prepared for a crop of roots of any kind, as it supplies the 
 plants V ith an abundance of those salts which are essential for 
 
306 THE YOUNG FARMKR's MANUAL. 
 
 promoting their luxuriant growth. What has been said of spent 
 tan bark is equally true of saw dust, turning shavings, and short 
 shavings of planing mills ; and they should all be used in the 
 same manner. But if they be wet they cannot absorb liquid 
 manure. 
 
 THE nUSBANDINQ OP MANURES. 
 
 632. The New York State Agricultural S oclety discussed 
 the subject of manures at one of their winter meetings ; and the 
 following extracts arc a summary of the discussion. It shows 
 that American farmers are beginning to appreciate the value of 
 manure. Farmers must first see and feel the importance of an 
 object before they are prepared to act correctly and understand* 
 ingly on the subject : 
 
 " I. Where suQicient has been reserved for arable lands, barn- 
 yard manure may be spread upon pastures and meadows undor 
 the following restrictions : 
 
 a. ''If spread early in the spring on pastures designed for 
 immediate use, it should not be the droppings of that species of 
 domestic animals intended to be placed in the pastures. 
 
 h. "It should never be spread upon meadows in the spring, 
 as the coarser parts will be caught by the hay-rake and mixed 
 with the hay, imparting to it a musty smell, if not tainting and 
 poisoning it with fungus. 
 
 c. "It may be evenly spread on meadows at any time after har- 
 vest and lightly harrowed or bushed, especially if the after-math 
 is heavy, so that the grass may not be smothered. 
 
 d. "The weather should indicate the absence of high winds, 
 the approacii of moderate rains, or the presence of copious dews, 
 so that the ammoniacal portion of the manure may not be lost. 
 
 e. "On rapidly sloping lands, a heavier top-dressing should 
 be applied near the summit, unless furrows such as are necessary 
 in irrigation are made, so as to prevent the manure being washed 
 with heavy rains to the bottom. 
 
 /. " In winter no manure should be spread on either pastures 
 or meadows when hard frozen, even when most of the atmos- 
 
301 
 
 plicric conditions above alluded to are present, unless the surface 
 is or soon will be covered with snow, and then only on j^round 
 cither level or gently rolling, so that in case of a thaw the melt- 
 ing snows may not render the distribution of the manure com- 
 paratively useless. 
 
 II. " Under a system of rotation of crops, as supposed in the 
 question, the husbanding of manure is indispensable to thrift iu 
 farming, and is to be regulated according to the supply of litter 
 and the method of feeding adopted. 
 
 III. '' On farms whose principal staple is grain, the amount 
 of straw is not unfrequently in excess of the feeding material re- 
 served, and in such case it is necessary to spread it profusely over 
 the barnyard, that it may be trodden down by cattle and 
 sheep, and mixed with their droppings. In such cases it is suf- 
 ficient that the barnyard should be dished or provided with one 
 or more tanks for the holding of the drainage of the mass ; that 
 fermentation should be allowed to proceed until the straw is 
 disintegrated sufficiently either to turn the mass into heaps (into 
 which the liquid contents of the tanks arc to be conveyed by 
 pump and troughs,) or drawn out into the fields for spring and 
 fall crops — of which method, as generally in all departments of 
 the farm service, the labor that can be applied is the discriminat- 
 ing test. 
 
 IV. *' Where from the scarcity of straw upon a farm, its high 
 price in neighboring markets, or its being an element of food pre- 
 pared for stock, it is necessary to economize its use, the system of 
 box or stall feeding is to be resorted to, and husbanding of ma- 
 nures is determined as the feeding is either of animals to be fat- 
 tened or reared. 
 
 V. " In the former case, neat cattle may be placed in boxes 
 not less than 8 by 10 feet, the bottoms slightly dished with a 
 view to drainage or being filled with muck or other absorbents, 
 and the animals wintered with slight additions of cut straw as 
 litter, so as to prevent the loss of hair and other cutaneous affec- 
 tions, (which proceed from the heating of straw if too liberally 
 
308 THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 supplied,) and the whole mass of droppings, &c., left until re* 
 moved to the fields. 
 
 VI. " In the latter case, that of the rearing of young animals, 
 a like method may be pursued, but if their value will admit of a 
 greater regard being paid to cleanliness, &c., the box should have 
 a slatted floor of oak or other durable strips 1| inches thick, 3 
 inches wide, and J an inch apart, over a paved, clayed or cemen- 
 ted floor, inclined so as to carry the drainage of the box into 
 gutters leading to a tank, and the manure removed as often at 
 least as once in six weeks, placed under cover of a roof, either 
 permanent or of boards battened, turning on pins, and moved 
 by a long lever, as in sheds for drying of brick, the liquid ma- 
 nure (if not used separately ) being pumped from the tank and 
 conveyed by troughs over the mass so as to prevent fire-fanging. 
 If used separately, the sheds are to be opened to occasional rains 
 for the same purpose. 
 
 VII. '*The manure from animals stabled in the ordinary way 
 is to be treated as last described, and it is desirable that the ma- 
 nure shed should be constructed with access to it from a level 
 below that on which the manure is deposited, so that in winter 
 the manure may be carted out upon lands plowed in the fall, the 
 fresh masses placed on top, preserving thos3 underlying from be- 
 ing thoroughly frozen. 
 
 VIII. " When sheep are alone raised, they should be kept 
 under sheds, with small yards connected therewith, and their 
 droppings may be treated either as in the case of fattening or 
 growing animals, in the discretion of the owner. 
 
 IX. ' ' Where no portion of the manure is designed for top 
 dressings of pastures, that of horses and neat cattle may be al- 
 ways advantageously placed under tho samo cjver, their different 
 capacities for developing heat operating favorably against over 
 heating. 
 
 X. " As the value of straw as an article of food if cut up, 
 mixed with feed, thoroughly wetted and allowed to stand in mass 
 for a few hours, so as to dcvelope heat, or if steamed, is at its 
 lowest price worth at least twice as much for food as for the 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 309 
 
 manure resulting from its use as litter ; where beds of muck or 
 peat exist on a farm they should be ditched, and afterwards 
 pared, so that by the use of these materials when dried, the 
 straw may be used as an article of food, a greater number of 
 animals kept on the farm, and greater masses of manure made, 
 and with a material more valuable that straw as an absorbent 
 and fertilizer, and for the prevention of the droppings of cattle 
 at a more uniform rate of temperature." 
 
 EXrERIMENTS WITn SURFACE I\rANURING. 
 
 G33. James M. Garnett, a Virginia farmer, an excellent 
 writer on agriculture, says : " I began penning my cattle late in 
 the spring, and continued it until frost, in pens of the same size, 
 moved at regular intervals of time, and containing the same 
 number of cattle during the whole period. These pens were al- 
 ternately plowed and left unplowed until the following spring, 
 when all were planted in corn, immediately followed by wheat. 
 The superiority of both crops on all the pens which had remained 
 unplowed for so many months after the cattle had manured them, 
 was just as distinctly marked as if the dividing fences had contin- 
 ued standing ; it was too plain even to admit of the slightest 
 doubt. A near neighbor, a young farmer, had made the same 
 experiment on somewhat different soil the year before, but with 
 results precisely the same. Similar trials I have made and seen 
 made by others with dry straw alternately plowed in as soon as 
 spread, and left on the surface until the next spring. In every 
 case the last method proved best, as far as the following crop 
 would prove it. The same experiment has been made by myself 
 and others of my acquaintance, with manure from the horse 
 stables and winter farm pens, consisting of much unrotted corn 
 offal, and without a solitary exception, either seen by me or 
 heard of, the surface application, after the corn was planted, pro- 
 duced most manifestly the best crop. Upon these numerous 
 concurrent and undeniable facts my opinion has been founded, 
 that ii is best to apply mamirc on the surface of the landP 
 
 634. Mr. Garnett contends that no loss of ammonia en- 
 
310 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 
 
 sues from surface manuring; and in support of this fact asserts 
 that if such were the case, such land as had been used as summer 
 cow-pens, when plowed up and the dressings turned under, would 
 have produced better crops than that which was left unplowed; 
 but that in no instance did it do so. As a further argument, he 
 reasons that the fertilizing elements of manure being soluble in 
 water, more probably pass down into the soil, as well from their 
 own gravity as from its possessing a greater attraction than does 
 the atmosphere, and asks if plant food be subjected to loss by 
 evaporation, and as this evaporation is constantly going on even 
 when below the surface, why it does not impoverish the soil with- 
 out any cultivation whatever ? He claims — and ho is certainly 
 right in saying this — that it is only incessant culture without 
 manure that produces either partial or total barrenness. We, 
 too, believe in the superior advantage to bo derived from surface 
 manuring, but only when it is practiced within certain limits 
 and under certain conditions of soil. On all light sands, and on 
 sandy and gravelly loams, lands manured on the surface in the 
 fall of the year, on fields that are level or nearly so, and before 
 the frost imposes an impenetrable barrier in the descent of the 
 soluble portions of manure, the crops so top-dressed will be de- 
 cidedly benefitted. But on all soils containing a large admixture 
 of clay, on all slopes and hillsides where the water passes olf easi'y 
 and rapidly in heavy rains, but little, if any, advantage will ac- 
 crue. In all these latter cases the manure, to retain its fertiliz- 
 ing properties, must be plowed under. 
 
 635. In surface manuring, a distinction should be mado 
 between green long manure and that which has been well rotted. 
 The former requires the chemical action that is constantly going 
 on in the soil, in order to reduce to a condition that shall render 
 it perfectly adapted to the nourishment of the growing crop. 
 The latter, by fermentation, has already become sufficiently sol- 
 uble for this purpose. Moreover, long manure, when plowed 
 under, has also a mechanical effect on the texture of heavy soils ; 
 it renders such soils lighter, more porous ; facilitates the perco- 
 lation of rain water through them ; renders them more retentive 
 
 1 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 311 
 
 of moisture, and at the same time allows a free circulation of air. 
 Quite a number of j^ears ago, but subsequently to the experiments 
 which Mr. GARNiiiT describes, we also endeavored to test the 
 merits of what might then have been styled the new theory of 
 surface manuring. The soil was a poor gravelly loam which, as 
 it fronted on a turnpike that was much travelled, we were par- 
 ticularly desirous of getting down to grass. It was hillside land, 
 sloping with a tolerably easy grade to the north and east. Dur- 
 ing the latter part of summer a quantity of manure had been 
 hauled out and piled up in a heap ready for distribution when 
 the time for putting in the wheat crop should arrive. As the 
 field was quite an extensive one, and needed very heavy manur- 
 ing, the amount which had been collected when the period for 
 plowing commenced was not more than sufficient to cover one- 
 half of it at the rate of fifteen two-horse cart loads to the acre. 
 Upon one-half of it the manure was spread accordingly, the re- 
 mainder being plowed and seeded to wheat and grass at the 
 same time. Immediately after this work had been completed, 
 we pushed forward teams daily to the neighboring city to haul 
 our additional manures for the purpose of top-dressing the re- 
 maining half. As fast as the manure was brought from town, it 
 was carted over the land and spread. Although due diligence 
 was exercised, a considerable breadth of soil was left uncovered 
 when the heavy frosts set in and locked everything up. The 
 work of manuring went on nevertheless, until, finally, the entire 
 field had received the quantity per acre allotted to it. We now 
 awaited the result. It turned out after harvest as follows : — 
 That half of the field where the manure had been plowed under 
 produced a fine crop of wheat ; but it was greatly injured by the 
 rust — the grass, however, was tolerably well set, though rather 
 thin. On that portion which was manured on the surface, be- 
 fore the heavy frosts came on, the stand of wheat was also good, 
 and was less affected by the rust. The stand of grass was bet- 
 tor than on the half on which the manure had been plowed under. 
 On the remaining portion of the field, which was top-dressed dur- 
 ing the winter, the wheat produced badly, and the grass did not 
 
812 
 
 come up quite so well. After the lapse of two years, the follow- 
 ing were the results : The grass on that part of the field where 
 the manure was plowed under stood thick and grew well, and 
 produced really good crops for that kind of soil. The grass on 
 the two-thirds of the remaining half that was surface-manured 
 before the winter set in, was gradually dwindling out, and yielded 
 but poorly ; \\hilst on the third of the half of the field that was 
 top-dressed during the winter, there was scarcely any grass at all. 
 We give these facts as they occurred in our own experience. 
 
 636. J. W. Clark says : " Practically considered, surface 
 manuring or top-dressing has many considerations to recommend 
 it. One of these is, that it enables us to draw the manure 
 out of the way, and out of the room or place that we require for 
 muking new mixings in. Another is, that we can do this at a 
 time, namely, after fall plowing is — and generally all plowing 
 should be — done ; and frequently when frost renders it impracti- 
 cable to plow at all. Small or large quantities of manure can be 
 drawn at much less cost in the value of time at such season than 
 iu the spring. The manure itself is also dryer, less weighty, and 
 bulk for bulk can be much more rapidly and cheaply handled 
 late in the fall than in the spring : besides the saving that is ef- 
 fected by preventing waste, by washing and soakage, that in too 
 many yards depletes the dung of its most valuable ingredients, if 
 left to be got out in spring. Add to this the advantage of 
 spreading directly from the wagon or cart on all fall plowed 
 ground intended for early spring sowing with oats, wheat, bar- 
 ley, &c , and by this means saving the labor of heaping, and its 
 necessary consequent, much more unequal distribution, than is 
 incident to spreading from the load ; and thus preventing the 
 unnecessary occupation of busy spring time with work that 
 properly belongs to the fall, and we have a pretty strong array 
 of economical considerations in favor of manuring on the surfac^c 
 in the fall, thus following the course and example of nature, cither 
 as to manner or time." 
 
THE YOUiVG farmer's MANUAL. 313 
 
 DEPTH FOR BURYING MANURE. 
 
 63 Y. Men arc divided as to the proper depth of burying ma- 
 nure. Some hold that it sinks in the soil, is washed downward 
 by the leaching rains, and should therefore be applied near or 
 at the surface. Others assert that its volatile and most valuable 
 parts rise by fermentation; and that, consequently, it should be 
 buried deep. Kow, it usually happens when doctors disagree that 
 both are partly right and partly wrong ; but in the present in- 
 stance they are both a little in the right, and a great deal in the 
 wrong. Manure usually stays very nearly where it is put. If 
 buried near the surface, it remains near the surface ; if buried 
 deep, there it remains ; if jDlowed under in large lumps, it has but 
 little power to rise, sink, or in any other way to intermix itself, 
 and hence the reason that a thorough pulverization or harrowing 
 before manure is turned under, gives a result in large crops. 
 
 638. The power which clay has to absorb the fertilizing por- 
 tions of manure is very great. Soils which possess a medium 
 amount of clay or loam with a medium degree of tenacity will 
 absorb all that is valuable in ordinary yard manure, equal nearly 
 to their own bulk. Forty loads of manure to the acre form a heavy 
 coating ; yet this is only one load to four square rods, constitut- 
 ing a depth, when spread, of only one third of an inch. Conse- 
 quently, when a coating of forty loads to the acre is plowed un- 
 der, the volatile parts have only to pass one third of an inch or 
 so before they are all absorbed by the soil. Hence the error of 
 supposing that they can possibly, in ordinary soils, rise or sink 
 to any practicable depth. And hence also the great importance 
 of mixing manures very intimately through all parts of the soil, if 
 plants are to get their full benefit, and not be over-fed at one part 
 of their roots and starved at the other, 
 
 639. There are many proofs of the correctness of the position 
 here taken. We have made large piles of compost, consistuig of 
 one third rich stable manure and two thirds of loam and turf, yet 
 all the odor was completely retained, and not the slightest portion 
 passing off could be perceived by the smell. We have buried 
 
 14 
 
314 THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 large dead animals with a coating of only six inches of loana ; not 
 the faintest indication of the decomposition below ever reached 
 tlie surface. On the other hand, the soil which forms the bottom 
 of manure yards is not found even within a few inches of the 
 surface to be at all enriched by the piles of fertility which rest 
 upon it. The true rule for burying manure is to j^lace it just at 
 such depth in the soil as the roots of the crop usually extend,which 
 will vary with different plants. Some of the grasses, for instance, 
 form a turf very near the surface, and hence an autumn top-dress- 
 ing will soak in enough to benefit them essentially. Clover roots 
 run deeper, and this crop is consequently but little benefitted by 
 top-dressings when of much size, except so far as they operate iii 
 keeping the surface moist. The roots of fruit trees are still deeper, 
 and they derive but little advantage, except from manures well 
 spaded or worked in. They, however, possess an important ad- 
 vantage over annuals and perennial rooted plants ; by continuing 
 in growth for successive years, those roots wdiich happen to run 
 into the region of fertility soon throw out numerous fibres, and 
 secure an amount of nourishment of which annual plants, in con- 
 sequence of their more limited powers of extension, are not able 
 to avail themselves. 
 
 640. There are, however, not many crops which do not need 
 the full depth afforded by ordinary plowing ; and hence the 
 best practice for nearly all kinds of culture is to spread the 
 manure well, harrow it most thoroughly, in order to break it as 
 finely as possible, and at the same time to mix it intimately with 
 the surface ; then turn it under by ordinary plowing, and the lower 
 half of the inverted earth will furnish a thoroughly enriched bed 
 for the roots to penetrate. If a greater depth of fertility is need- 
 ed than ordinary plowing affords, the coat of harrowed manure 
 may be thrown under ten or twelve inches by means of a double 
 mouldboard or Michigan plow ; ( See par. 355,) and then another 
 coat of manure spread, han'owed and plowed under by a light or 
 p^ang-plow. The young plants of the crop are thrown rapidly 
 forward by the upper stratum of manure, and at a later stage of 
 growth are equally stimulated by the lower stratum. ( See Country 
 Gentleman.^ 
 
THE YOUNCf rxUlMER's MANUAL. 315 
 
 LIGHT CROPS AND ABUNDANT MANURING. 
 
 G41. Farmers frequently complain that they have been greatly 
 disappointed in tlie quantity of grain per acre, after having ap« 
 plied such liberal dressing of barn-yard manure; and they often 
 inquire why it should be so, even when a soil is well drained and 
 has not been impoverished by a long succession of exhausting crops. 
 As a general rule this subject may be explained in the following 
 manner : A liberal dressing of manure that has been made by 
 animals that have consumed little or no coarse grain during the 
 foddering season, will increase the quantity of grain but little. 
 When a farmer has fattened a good lot of mutton or beef on 
 coarse gram and oil meal, and has taken proper care of the manure, 
 we never hear him complain tliat he manured highly and harvest- 
 ed a light crop of grain. The disappointment usually is in har- 
 vesting much more than was anticipated when manure is used 
 which was made from fattening animals. 
 
 642. If we use the manure of milch cows, for example, which 
 have subsisted on nothing but hay and roots, and a httlo buck- 
 w^heat bran, their droppings will produce good crops of hay or of 
 cornstalks ; but the manure will be lacking in that material which 
 will produce large kernels. Then tliere is another weighty con- 
 sideration on this point. The manure may have been of the most 
 .excellent quality once; but by having been exposed to storms and 
 sunshine in the yard, or by having been spread in the field for 
 several hot and drying days in the spring, a large portion of the 
 fertilizing material has evaporated. Although chemists assure m 
 that there is a large quantity of oil in a ton of straw, still if far- 
 mers manure their land with it, that oil, Avhich many suppose will 
 increase the amount of grain, only promotes a good growth of 
 straw. In the spring of 1863 I purchased a lot of manure — 
 almost pure ordure — which was made by milch cows. The Indian 
 corn and potatoes which grew where that manure was applied 
 were unusually small, while the stalks and tops were exceedingly 
 large. Many of the hills of potato tops, when stretched up, 
 ^vould reach six or eight inches higher than my head — five feet 
 
316 THE YOUXG FARMEPw's MANUAL. 
 
 nine inelics. If wc manure with grain, we shall get grain in re- 
 turn. If we manure with grass, hay and straw, we need not ex- 
 pect a very abundant crop of grain. I think farmers will find this 
 correct the world over. 
 
 BONES, AND THEIR UTILITY. 
 
 043. Bones are the very cream, the life, the source of fertility 
 of our best soils. Let all the bone-producing material be removed 
 from our soils, and we could raise no grain, no grass, no cattle, no 
 vegetables, no nothing ; and the liusbandman would toil without 
 any assurance of even a poor compensation. Cattle, horses, sheep, 
 and all other domestic animals, and even wild animals, arc con- 
 stantly picking the substance of which bone is made oat of the 
 soil ; and farmers are annually carrying it away to market ; and 
 in many localities they have been picking for so many years, that 
 bone has become "djspot scace," as my old grandmother used to 
 say, so that it hardly pays — and in many places does not pay to 
 get it into an available shape for either the advantages of home 
 or foreign trade. Tons upon tons of bone-producing substance 
 are removed from our soils every season, not only in our beef 
 cattle, pork, mutton, and other anim.ils, but in milk, butter and 
 cheese ; and every ounce of it that is carried away impoverishes 
 the soil. 
 
 644. In the cities of Chicago, Cleveland, Buffalo, New- York, 
 and even in South America, bones are collected and bought and 
 sold by the ton, and shipped to New- York, where they are sawed 
 lip, and crushed up, and then sacked and barreled up, and scatter- 
 ed all over the world. Old bones, new bones, and bones of all 
 kinds are collected and assorted, and sold at prices according to 
 kind and quality. The knuckle bones and fragments are all thrown 
 into one pile, and sell for so much per ton ; and the long shin 
 bones and thigh bones are kept separate, and command a greater 
 price than tlie knuckle bones, as the latter are worked up into 
 buttons ; and the fragments and pithy portions are crushed and 
 nsed as a fertilizer of the soil. 
 
 645. Farmers in America are not half awake to the importance 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER's MANUAL. 317 
 
 of saying tlic bones that arc wasted on tlieir farms during tlio 
 year, and of applying them to their soils. Every one hundred 
 pounds of bones are worth not less than fifty cents when applied to 
 the soil ; and if the soil is well drained, they will be still more 
 valuable. It will, no doubt, be interesting to farmers to know, not 
 only how bone is employed as a fertilizer, but how they are used 
 in some of the arts, and how they are prepared for agricultural 
 purposes. 
 
 HOW BONE BUTTONS ARE MADE. 
 
 64 G. In most bone mills is a button manufactory, where all 
 the bones that are sound enough are used up in the manufacture 
 of buttons. All bones that have not been bleached to death in 
 the weather are boiled to death in large kettles, to diive out all 
 the grease and render them softer, so that the bpne dust will not 
 produce so much grain or grass ; and farmers will be obliged to 
 purchase more of it, and they will not wear out so many saws 
 and drills in fitting them up; and then dried so that they will break 
 to pieces sooner after we have sewed them on our garments. 
 Vast quantities of bone-grease are sold at the bone mills, which 
 would render the buttons much more durable, and the bone dust 
 much more valuable as a fertilizer. If one good boiling does not 
 appear to be enough, they are boiled again and again. 
 
 G47. On one side of the shop are a number of circular saws, 
 about eight inches in diameter, having very fine teeth, which are 
 all hung over a water-trough, and the lower side of the saws re- 
 volve with a frightful velocity while hanging in the water. Bones 
 are so hard that saws would be heated so hot in a few minutes as 
 to spoil them, did they not run in water. The large ends of the 
 bones arc first sawed off, and then the long straight pieces are slit 
 up into bone slabs, as logs are sawed into boards, about one- 
 eighth or one-fourth of an inch thick, according to the kind of 
 buttons to be made. One hand will saw about a barrelful of 
 slabs per day. The slabs are then held in button lathes, and blank 
 buttons are cut out of these slabs by a kind of centre-bit, some- 
 what like cutting wheels out of a plank. Now about a half 
 bushel of these buttons are put in a polishing barrel, where they 
 
318 THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 rre kept revolving for a few days, when they arc carrlcLl to tlio 
 drill presses, and one button at a time is placed under the drills, 
 and two, three or any desired number of holes drilled in them at 
 once, and almost instantaneously. After the holes are all drilled, 
 about half a busliel of tliemare put into a polishing barrel, which 
 revolves slowly, where they roll and tumble over each other for 
 about a week, which polishes them completely, when some of them 
 are colored and carried to the assorting room, where nimble fingers 
 of children assort them and put them in papers. 
 
 G48. All the saw dust, drill dust, and polishing dust is col- 
 lected and barreled for market for fertilizing purposes; and iftlie 
 saw dust which is collected in the water is taken out and dried 
 properly before it begins to decompose, it is not injured by hav. 
 ing been wet ; but it is frequently rendered almost worthless by 
 being allowed to remain wet until it has become nearly rotten. 
 All the big joints and fragments are then run through the crush- 
 ers, which arc very strong-toothed cylinders of cast iron revolv- 
 ing together, between which the bones pass, ripping, cracking 
 and snapping ; and are carried in elevators to the story above, 
 where all fragments that will not pass through sieves are brouglit 
 back to the hopper, to be run through again and again, until 
 they are all reduced to a given degree of fineness. The coarsest 
 quality of ground bone is about like large kernels of rye and wheat. 
 This quality of ground bone is usually put in barrels, while the 
 liner qualities of bone are put in large sacks made of very coarse 
 material. 
 
 ADULTERATION OF GROUND BONE. 
 
 G49. Any way to cheat the farmers 1 Clara shells, oyster shells, 
 and many other kinds of shells, which are of little or no value 
 when compared with ground bone, arc often worked in, which in- 
 creases the profit of the bone dust dealer and diminishes the 
 value of ground bone as a fertilizer. It is rather difiicult, how- 
 ever, to work in much of such substances in ground bone of the 
 coarsest quality, because it can very readily be detected ; but 
 among that which is ground very fine, a vast deal of aslies, plaster, 
 and even dirt and loam and sand are worked in to increase the 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANXAL. 319 
 
 weight, without much expense. Of course this has a great ten- 
 dency to bring ground bone, and bone dust, and bone for fer- 
 tilizers of any form, into disrepute. 
 
 650. Ground clam shells and oyster shells are of little value 
 as a fertilizer when campared with good bones ; and when bone 
 has been boiled until it is as poor us bone can be, and one-fourth 
 of it is clam or other shells, those who purchase it as a fertilizer 
 receive a very small compensation for their expense and efforts 
 towards enriching their soil. 
 
 651, Bones are sometimes dissolved with sulphuric acid ; and 
 then plaster, some ashes, loam and sand, or muck are mingled 
 with them and worked over and over, until the mass is reduced 
 to nearly dry powder, which is sold for about sixty dollars per 
 ton. Could farmers procure acid at a reasonable compensation, 
 and dissolve their bones at home, it would be a consideration 
 worthy of their notice. But at the present prices for bones and 
 labor it will hardly pay ; and for a farmer to pay sixty dollars 
 per ton — the price demanded for this kind of fertilizer— and to 
 pay freight on it and cartage, and the profits of an agent or two, 
 will never pay. 
 
 G52. On this subject of adulterating fertilizers, the editor of 
 the Rural Advertiser says : *' The articles which we know of 
 having been m'xed with so-cilled superpho*?phate of lime were 
 " powdered anthracite coal," "anthracite coal ashes," and "Jersey 
 marl." We have recently made another discovery of two articles, 
 introduced into hone dust, and which could not be told by outward 
 inspection. We do not give names, neither do we know where 
 these adulterated artlcjes are to be found, but that they are and 
 have been Offered for sale in Philadelphia there is no doubt. In 
 one case, a friend of ours, who uses a considerable quantity of 
 qitartz-sand of a certain degree of fineness, was told by the party 
 selling to him, that the finer grade of sand he was in the habit of 
 selling to the manufacturers of hone dust, the demand for it being 
 a steady one. Here was a rich development, truly. In another 
 case, within a few days, a person came into an agricultural ware- 
 house in this city to sell ground oyster shells. lie brought a 
 
320 THE YOUXG farmer's MAXUAL. 
 
 sample to sliow, and we have it now in our store, for inspection 
 by the curious. Its color and fineness would allow it to be mixed 
 with bone dust without detection, from external appearance. 
 He offered it at eleven dollars per ton, and said lie^^ri hccn selling 
 it to hone manufacturers, but expressed a great desire to prevent 
 til is being known by the farmers. lie said it was important to 
 keep it from them; but that at the present price of bone dust it 
 could be mixed with great profit. 
 
 DISSOLVING BONES IN ASHES. 
 
 653 There has been not a little said and written, in years past, 
 about dissolving bones by putting them in damp uuleached ashes. 
 Thousands of farmers have made an effort to use up their bones 
 in this way ; but have almost always failed. Ashes will seldom 
 dissolve old bones ; and, as a general rule, old bones will remain 
 in wet ashes as long as a piece of granita without being dissolved. 
 This is particularly true of old bones that have been bleached in 
 the weather for several years. If the bones of very young 
 animals be placed in a barrel of best kind of wood ashes — the 
 ashes from hickory or sugar maple for example — and kept in a 
 warm place, most of them will, in a few mouths, become a soft 
 pulpy mass, when dry muck or loam may be mingled with it, 
 which will make an excellent fertilizer for any kind of grain or 
 grass. But in case the ashes are made of bark or old pieces of 
 rails or soft wood, a much longer time will be required to dissolve 
 even fresh bones, if they are the bones of young animals, than 
 most farmers will have patience to wait for. If a farmer must 
 necessarily expend as much in preparing any kind of fertilizer as 
 the extra amount of grain is worth which it will produce, he had 
 better by far use some other substance which will cost less, and 
 produce less grain, grass, or anything else, than to attempt to 
 use crushed bones, notwithstanding their value as a fertilizer, 
 when reduced to a fine powder. 
 
 BURNING BONES. 
 
 C54. It is the practice with many farmers to put all the bones 
 
THE YOUNG farmer's MAXUAL. 321 
 
 wliicli they can collect into their stoves and burn them until 
 they will fall to pieces. But this is a very objectionable practice; 
 because about one-third part of fresh bones consists of animal 
 matter, which would promote a very luxuriant growth of plants 
 as soon as it may be placed where the roots would come in con- 
 tact with it. But burning the bones drives off all this valuable 
 part into the atmosphere ; and it is lost to the proprietor ; and 
 nothing will remain but the lime and some other ingredients 
 which are not the best fertilizers. 
 
 (J55. Pulverized bones, after they have been burned, will be 
 a tolerable good fertilizer on some soils ; but their chief excellence 
 has been burned up. Consequently the effect on whatever crop 
 they may be applied to will be hardly perceptible ; and their 
 efficacy as a fertilizer will not be half as lasting as if they had 
 not been burned. 
 
 THE WAY TO SAVE AND MANAGE BONES. 
 
 65G. Every farmer should procure a large tub, or molasses 
 hogshead, and place it at some convenient nook, and cover tlie 
 bottom with two or three inclies of muck or fine soil. Now, 
 spread on leached or unleached aslies, two or three inches deep, 
 Then let all the bones from the kitchen be thrown into this hogs- 
 head. Large shin bones and knuckle bones ought to be broken 
 in pieces before they are put in. When there is a layer about 
 six inches thick, cover them with a few inches in depth of ashes. 
 Then spread on two inches of fine soil or muck, then one peck 
 of gypsum. Now, let the mass be wet with soap suds occasion- 
 ally. This mode of managing bones will answer on a limited 
 scale. But where there are several tons of large bones, and a 
 lot of horn piths, the only reliable way will be to crush them by 
 machinery. If kept in ashes, dogs will not carry them away. In 
 the course of a few months of warm weather, most of the small 
 bones will be reduced to a soft, pulpy mass, when they should be 
 shoveled out and mingled thoroughly with dry muck and 
 gypsum, when it will be ready for use. The hard chunks that 
 will not dissolve may be put into another batch. The alkali of 
 - 14* 
 
322 TnE YOUNG i'armer's manual. 
 
 the asliC3 is llic cliicf agent in dissolving the bones ; and the muck 
 and gypsnm will absorb the gases that might escape. 
 
 C57. In many of our large cities and villages, many tons of 
 excellent bones might be collected for one-fourth their value. If 
 a sugar hogshead — which would cost twenty-five cents — were 
 placed near every slaughter-house, butchers would be willing to 
 fill it with skulls and other bones in a short time, for a reasonable 
 compensation. Poor boys would collect bones from house to house 
 — as they do in our most populous cities — for about twenty-Gvo 
 or thirty cents per hundred pounds. 
 
 658. Horn piths may often be collected in large quantities, 
 at tanneries, for a trifling sum ; and many times tanners are 
 pleased to have them taken away for nothing. Horn piths are 
 not as good as some kinds of bone. But they are an excellent 
 fertilizer ; and are much better than some bones. If they have 
 become very dry, they must be cut to pieces with an ax and 
 ground, as ashes will not dissolve them. 
 
 EXPERIMENT IN GRINDING BONES. 
 
 G59. Having one of Joice's S tarr grain mills, I collected a 
 'lot of bones which had lain in the woods more than two years, 
 and put the mill in operation with two horses hitched to the 
 lever. There were some large shin and thigh bones which appear- 
 ed strong enough to break the mill to fragments ; but they snap- 
 ped and fell to pieces almost as readily as if they had been ears 
 of Indian corn. I then put in jaw bones, teeth and all, and 
 an entire skull, and they went through with very little power, I 
 think not half as much as is required to grind Indian corn. I 
 then took a very large new bone, from which the beef had just 
 been removed, and it was reduced to small fragments as if it had 
 been a piece of half-rotten wood. I then adjusted the mill to 
 grind about as fine as bark is usually ground at tanneries. There 
 is so much marrow and oleaginous matter in bones, that it would 
 not be ])ossible to get them through were the mill adjusted to 
 grind them as fine as coarse meal. It is not necessary that bones 
 should be reduced to a very fine powder, although the finer they 
 
THE YOUNG FAUMEll's MANUAL. 323 
 
 are ground, the greater the effect will be immediately on any crop. 
 If they are ground coarse, their fertilizing influence will be felt 
 on crops for years to come ; and therefore nothing will be lost in 
 the end by not having them reduced very fine. After a lot of 
 bones have been run through the mill, the largest fragments can 
 be run through the second time, and thus reduced as fine as de- 
 sirable. I found that there is a great amount of marrow in large 
 bones, even after they have lain bleaching in the weather for 
 several years ; and this has a tendency to cause the mill to clog ; 
 although mine never clogged but once in consequence of it, and 
 then by letting up a little on the set screw the bones passed 
 through freely. 
 
 660. " Will it pay to grind bones in this manner V^ Most 
 assuredly it will. I have not had a sufficient amount of bones to 
 experiment with as I desire ; but I have ground enough to satisfy 
 myself that a span of horses will grind more than one hundred 
 pounds in an hour with case ; and it could be performed when 
 teams and hands would be idle, or by boys, for whom it would 
 be fine amusement to see them reduced to fragments. And, more 
 than all, one hundred pounds of such bones as farmers would col- 
 lect and grind up would be worth more than twice as much 
 as the ground bone of commerce. This that I have ground smells 
 very strong, and is very rich in fertilizing material. 
 
 COMPOSITION OF BONE. 
 
 661. It has been shown by accurate examinations of animal 
 bodies, that the blood, bones, hair, &c., as well as all the organs, 
 contain a certain quantity of mineral substance, v;lthout the pre- 
 sence of which in the food these tissues could not be formed. 
 Blood contains potash and soda in combination with phosphoric 
 acid. The bile is rich in alkalies and sulphur. The blood glo- 
 bules contain iron. The principal ingredient of bones is phos- 
 phate of lime. Nervous and cerebral substance contains phos- 
 ])horic acid and alkaline phosphates ; and the gastric juice 
 contains free muriatic acid. 
 
 662. The importance of manuring with bones must be obvious 
 
324 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 
 
 to all. The bones of man and animals in general have their 
 origin from apatite ( phosphate of lime) which is never absent from 
 fertile land. The bone earth passes from the soil into hay, straw 
 and other kinds of food, which h afterwards consumed by 
 animals. Now, when wo consider that bones contain 55 per cent, 
 of the phosphates cJT lime and magnesia, and if we assume that 
 hay contains the same quantity of these salts as wheat straw, 
 then it follows that 8 lbs. of bones contain as much phosphate 
 of lime as 1,000 lbs. of hay or wheat straw; and 20 lbs. asmucli 
 phosphoric acid as 1,000 lbs. of the grahi of wheat or oats. By 
 manuring an acre of land with 60 lbs. of fresh bones we 
 furnish sufiicient manure to supply three crops (mangel wurzol, 
 wheat and rye) with phosphates. But the form in which they 
 are restored to a soil does not appear to be a matter of in- 
 difference. For the more fmely the bones are reduced to powder, 
 and the more intimately they are mixed with the soil, the more 
 easily arc they assimilated. 
 
 nature's manner op fertilization. 
 
 663. It is contended by many theorists that nature applies 
 all manure on the surface of the soil, without being covered ; and 
 consequently that must be the better way to apply manure, as 
 rMture never makes any mistakes or docs things wrong. If 
 nature were to drive a vast system of huge plows over our hills 
 and dales and through our dense forests, turning furrow slices 
 two or three hundred feet wide and a hundred or more feet deep 
 for the purpose of burying all vegetable matter, would not these 
 very abettors of such a theory conclude that manure should be 
 buried in the soil ? As the fertilizing substances must be taken 
 up by the roots of plants, common sense would seem to argue 
 that manure should bo slightly covered with earth, so that the fer- 
 tilizing substances may be carried downwards by the rains, where 
 they can be taken up by tho roots of plants. Every good farmer 
 knows that when manure is buried in the bottom of deep furrows, 
 when Indian corn is to be pbnted, the corn grows slowly until 
 the roots have reached the bottom of the furrows where t!ie 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 325 
 
 manure is deposited. There is no very great objection to spread- 
 ing manure on the surface in late autumn ; for the damp 
 weather and rains will leach most of the fertilizing substances 
 into the soil. But even then, the effect would be far greater, 
 and much more lasting, could the manure be covered with a thin 
 stratum of earth. Nature does not plow and sow, nor reap and 
 mow; because there is no necessity for it. But nature J<ye5 prac- 
 tise fertihzation on a grand scale, all over the country ; and the 
 TTwdus ojptrandi is worthy of the highest regard of those farmers 
 who apply their manure in the spring as a top-dressing. Nature 
 never applies her fertilizing material in the spring, except as it is 
 brought down by April showers. Nature spreads the leaves of 
 trees and all other vegetable matter in autumn. And although 
 it is not plowed under, the decaying vegetable matter is carried 
 into the soil by rains as fast as it is washed out of the organized 
 bodies that have retained it during the hot weather. Were the 
 leaves of trees and other decaying vegetable matter spread out 
 in the spring, the hot weather and drying winds would carry 
 away a large proportion of the fertilizing matter. But '' nature " 
 does not spread her fertilizing vegetable matter till autumn, when 
 every thing is tending into the earth. 
 
 BOUSSINGAULT'S ANALYSIS OF MANURE. 
 
 664. According to the analysis of manures by Messrs. Payne 
 AND BoussiNGAULT, barn-yard manure of all kinds contains more 
 water than any thing else. Thus 100 lbs. of solid cow dung con- 
 tains 86 lbs. of water. 100 lbs. of cow's urine contains 88 lbs. 
 of water. 100 lbs. of horse dung contains 15.4 lbs. of water. 
 Urine of horses contains 79 lbs. of water. Pig dung, 100 lbs., 
 contains 81.4 lbs. of water. Sheep dung, 63 lbs. of water in 100 
 lbs. They compute 125 lbs. of solid cow dung to be equal to 
 a 100 lbs. of farm yard manure, and equal to 73 lbs. of horse 
 dung. 15 lbs. of horse urine is equal to 125 lbs. of cow dung, or 
 91 lbs. of cow urine. From these figures, the young farmer will 
 discover how important it is to save the liquid manure of the 
 gtables. 08 lbs. of dung water, as it flows from the manure yard, 
 
32G 
 
 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 
 
 is equal to 100 lbs. of farm yard manure in its wet state. 1G7 
 lbs. of wet wheat straw, or G50 lbs. of dry wheat straw, is equal 
 to 100 lbs. of farm yard manure. 83 lbs. of wet buckwheat 
 sti-aw, or 361 lbs. of dry, is equal to 100 lbs, of dry farm yard 
 manure. Wheat chaff" is much more valuable for manure than 
 wlieat straw. T i lbs. of oak saw dust, dried in the air, is equal 
 to 235 lbs. of wet wheat straw. Some kinds of saw dust is more 
 valuable than oak saw dust. G8 lbs. of cider-apple refuse, dried 
 in air, is equal to 100 lbs. of wet farm yard manure [this is doubt- 
 ful.] Such manure is excellent when mingled with the soil 
 around fruit trees. ]3J lbs. of liquid blood is equivalent to 650 
 lbs. of dry wheat straw. 6 J lbs. of good bones, not heated, arc 
 equivalent to 109 lbs. of wet farm yard manure. If these figures 
 approximate only to one half of this computed value, all such 
 substances are worth saving for manure. 
 
 HOW TO PITCn MANURE EASILY. 
 
 GGo. As pitching manure is laborious work, it is important 
 to render the labor as easy as possible by the exercise of skill in 
 handlmg the fork or shovel. The accompanying illustration of 
 
 a laborer pitching ma- 
 nure with a long-handled 
 fork, will illustrate the 
 manner of performing 
 easily with skill what is 
 usually done by main 
 strength. To pitch easi- 
 ly, thrust the fork into 
 the manure, and make a 
 fulcrum of one knee for 
 the handle to rest on. 
 Then a thrust downward 
 with the right arm will 
 detach the forkful from 
 the mass of manure, and 
 gh, by the expenditure of littlo 
 
 PIXCIITNG MAXUKE. 
 
 elevate it from one to two feet 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER's MANUAL. 327 
 
 muscular force. By using a fork like a lever, as here represented, 
 a man can pitch larger forkfuls, and more of them, with far less 
 fatigue than he can without resting the handle across his knee. 
 When manure is pitched with a short-handled fork, the force re- 
 quired to separate the forkfuls from the mass, as well as for lifting 
 it on the cart, must be applied by the muscles alone. This often 
 renders it fatiguing and back-aching labor. Moreover, when a man 
 pitches with a short-handled fork, he applies his force at a very 
 great disadvantage, as he is required not only to lift the entire 
 forkful with one hand, but to thrust downward with the other 
 one sufficiently hard to balance the force expended in detaching 
 and elevating the forkful of manure. Consequently the arm 
 nearest the manure must expend muscular force sufficient to raise 
 the weight, say, of two forkfuls. This principle is quite as applic- 
 able in using the shovel as the fork. By resting the long handle 
 across one knee when shoveling, keeping the arms stiff, the body 
 erect and straight, a slight thrust of the body and knee will 
 force the shovel into the earth with the expenditure of little 
 force. These suggestion?, and the illustration, will enable any 
 one to expend his muscular force to the best possible advantage 
 in using both manure-forks and shovels. (Sec How to Handle 
 Shovels, Vol. I., p. 244.) 
 
 rORKLNG BARN-YARD MANURE OVER. 
 
 CGG. This is essential to rotting well. When corn-stalks, 
 straw and ordure of animals are all trod down firmly during the 
 winter and spring, the air is effectually excluded ; and the mate- 
 rial will not rot until it has been forked over, were it to remain 
 there for a year or more. If it is loosened up, so that the air 
 can circulate among it, the entire mass will decay in a few weeks, 
 so that it will be easy to pitch and spread it. 
 
 66T. Now, the most expeditious way of pitching manure up 
 clean from the bottom is, to do the greater proportion of it with 
 a strong horse-fork. Set up three long poles, as for pitching 
 hay on a round stack, and make a hole down to the bottom of 
 the manure first ; then thrust the tines of the horse-fork under 
 
328 THE YOUNG FARMER''S MANUAL. 
 
 the manure, and turn it up in large rolls, and tear it to pieces 
 with hand forks. Horse forks are of great service where the 
 manure is very long. After it has rotted, a man, or two men 
 can pitch mucli faster by hand. If barn-yard manure remains in 
 the yard all summer, it should always be forked over to facilitate 
 the decay of corn-stalks and coarse straw. But it should be 
 protected. Some farmers pitch long manure on the wagon with 
 horse-forks ; but I never could perceive that the practice would 
 pay ; because a horse-fork will not hold as much as a horse is 
 capable of elevating. It is easy for any one to try the experi- 
 ment, which will soon satisfy all anticipations or doubts on this 
 sabj cct. 
 
 DISTRIBUTING MANURE IX THE FIELD. 
 
 G68. Some farmers dump a whole load in a place, with the 
 heaps two or more rods apart. S uch a distribution of manure 
 makes double work in spreading it, when it is spread as it should 
 be. (See Spreading, par. 669.) My practice always was to make 
 calculations first, how large a surface my manure will cover of 
 a given depth. After one ro\V of heaps is distributed about 
 eight feet from one side of a field, drop the rows just five paces 
 apart, and the heaps but a few feet apart in th3 rows. It is far 
 better to make many small heaps than a few large ones ; be- 
 cause the manure will be more evenly distributed, aixl will re- 
 quire much less time to spread it. The rows of heap^ should 
 never be placed more than one rod apart. There arc just 160 
 square rods in one acre. Therefore it is easy to calculate how 
 many loads to apply to every acre. When coarse manure is hauled 
 to a field in autumn, or during the winter, and is not to be plowed 
 in until the next spring, the heaps should b3 made of a conical 
 or pyramidal shape, so that less surface will be exposed to the 
 rain and snow. The practice of hauling manure on a field , and 
 allowing it to remain in broad heaps, bleaching for six months, 
 as thousands of farmers do, who would lose their equanimity if 
 told that such a practice is not in keeping with successful and 
 thrifty farmers, deserves the severest denunciation. 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 829 
 
 SPREADING MANURE. 
 
 " He lightly shakes it, Avith an agile hand. 
 From tho full fork, the saturated straw." Cowper. 
 
 669. Most laborers make very slow progress at sprcadin.p: 
 manure; and handle their forks most stupidly awkward. A fork 
 with a short handle like a spade is better for spreading manure 
 than one with a long handle. As a forkful is thrown, the fork 
 should be skilfully shook, in order to separate the manure as fine 
 as possible as it leaves the fork. When a laborer pitches the 
 manure from the heaps, and then goes and knocks the forkfuls to 
 pieces, more time will be consumed in spreading it than most 
 farmers are willing to devote to so small a job. Whether manure 
 is applied very bountifully or rather sparingly, the young farmer 
 should see that it is spread very evenly over the whole ground, 
 and not left in large bunches, nor twice as thick as it should be, 
 where the heaps were made. If the manure is fine, the proprie- 
 tor should see that a laborer uses a shovel to remove t^he fine 
 manure at the bottom of the heaps. Disinterested laborers will 
 often leave so much manure where the heaps were made, that the 
 crops will grow so large at these spots as to fall down and not 
 mature well, because there was too much manure ; while not ten 
 f^et distant the soil was so poor that the crops are barely vrorth 
 harvesting. See that every square foot of ground has a uniform 
 sprinkhng. If the manure has lain in heaps for a long time, re- 
 move the entire heaps, as enough will have been carried down 
 by the rain to fertilize the soil where the heaps have lain. When 
 manure is to be plowed in, spread it no faster than the ground is 
 plowed, as much of it will waste by evaporation. 
 
 670. A good farmer penned the following thoughts for the 
 Country Gentleman : " The man that spreads it must have brains, 
 as there will be some portions of the field that need more than 
 others to make the meadow even. He should stand on the load 
 while spreading, as he can see much better from that position 
 v.here and hov.' to spread the manure ; and besides he can spread 
 it faster in this way than when it is unloaded in piles about the 
 
330 THE YOUNG FARMEU'a MANUAL. 
 
 field. I never permit a man to unload in piles for tlio purpose 
 of making haste for dinner, rain or night. He may uahitcli from 
 bis wagon to make haste for anything, but manure is too precious 
 for top-dressing to be piled up in the field. No man can apply 
 it to grass as it should be, after it is unloaded in piles, for the rea- 
 son that all that is loft in the pile must be spread ; and if not 
 sufficient, must answer ; and still worse, the fine which would bo 
 left in the bottom of the wagon is pulled off into the i)ile, instead 
 of being taken as it should be to some portion of the field where 
 strawberries, moss, or some other pernicious things are trying to 
 run the grass out ; which latter course is as much preferaljle to 
 harrowing and scarifying the meadow as it would be to feed the 
 proper food to stunted, scurvy cattle whose hides have grown 
 fast to their bones from starvation, instead of scarifying their 
 hides to give them a start. I never saw a skillful top-dresscr 
 whose meadows ' run out ;' and I never saw a man, or one t!iat 
 had ever seen one of that class of farmers, whose sheep had ' run 
 out' or deteriorated in his hands. 
 
 After the manure has been spread from the wagon, it should 
 be spread over again after a rain. Eight tons to the acre are not 
 sufficient to cover the whole surface ; but the manure can bo spread 
 much more nicely when wet than when dry. There arc two ob- 
 jections, however, to drawing when wet. One is, the manure is 
 then much heavier to handle ; and the other, which is by far the 
 greatest, is, that it cuts up and injures some soils almost as much 
 as the manure does good. The second spreading should be made 
 to touch every place which was not reached the first time, even if 
 some places have to be slightly uncovered to do it, as the rain will 
 have washed out enough to give all the plants a taste, where it 
 lay in the first place. It is better to spread small quantities of 
 manure often over the surface of the whole farm than to put 
 lai-gc quantities on some places, letting other portions go without 
 any, except for a few crops, which require quick rich soils before 
 the farmer has time to enrich his soil sufficiently by the slower 
 process. This I know is against the teachings of Licbig and AV\ay, 
 as well as most of the agricultural writers of ancient and modern 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 33l 
 
 times. But I have the practical experience of our own country 
 to sustain me, which after all is the surest teacher." 
 
 EXPERIMENT WITH PROTECTED AND UNPROTECTED MANLRE. 
 
 6T1. Lord Kinnaird instituted the following experiments to 
 show the difference in value of protected and unprotected 
 manure ; and the difference in the result would have erected suit- 
 able sheds for protecting much more manure than was used in the 
 experiment. A field of 20 acres, of very equal quality, being a 
 rich loam, naturally dry and in good heart, was selected for the 
 experiment, and divided into two equal portions. The manure 
 was applisd at the rate of 20 cart-loads per acre. The whole 
 field was planted with potatoes ; the seed all of one kind. All 
 showed no difference in growth till the first week of July, 
 when a decided superiority began to manifest itself in the half of 
 the field manured out of the covered yards. The vines on the 
 portions of the field manured from the exposed yards began to 
 decay by tho latter end of July, while the other portion of the 
 field still retained its strong dark green. The crops were taken 
 up on the 1st to 4th of October, and after careful measurement 
 and weighing of two separate portions in each division the result 
 was as follows : — 
 
 With Uncovered Manure. 
 
 tonf. cwts. lbs. 
 
 tst measurement — 1 acre produced 7 G 8 of potatoes. 
 2d plot Ido do 7 18 99 do 
 
 With Covered Manure. 
 
 tons cwfs. lbs. 
 
 Isfc measurement — I acre produced 11 17 56 of potatoes. 
 2d plot 1 do do 11 12 26 do 
 
 As soon as possible after the potatoes were harvested, the field 
 was cleaned, plowed, and w^heat drilled in, at the rate of 3 bush- 
 els per acre. As soon as the weather was suitable in the spring, 
 the whole field got a dressing of 3 cwt. of Peruvian guano to the 
 acre. During the winter very little difference was apparent ; but 
 shortly after the application of the guano, the wheat on that 
 
332 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 
 
 portion manured by the covered dung took a decided lead, which 
 it retained all summer. The whole field was cut on the 26th of 
 August, 1852 ; the portion manured by the uncovered dung being 
 at least four days earlier than the other. As before, the two 
 separate jjortions in each half of the field were measured, cut and 
 stroked separately. On the 4th of Septcn:b r, each portion was 
 thrashed, the grain carefully measured, and the straw weighed. 
 On account of a wet season, the grain was of lighter weight than 
 usual The result of the experiment was as follows : — 
 
 
 
 fFith Uncovered Manure, 
 
 
 Produce in ( 
 
 Irain. 
 
 Weight per Bush. 
 
 Produce in Straw. 
 
 acre. bush. 
 
 lbs. 
 
 lbs. 
 
 i tones, lbs. 
 
 1st 41 
 
 19 
 
 m 
 
 152 of 22 
 
 2d 42 
 
 38 
 
 do 
 mth Covered Manure^ 
 
 160 do 
 
 1st 55 
 
 5 
 
 61 
 
 220 of 22 
 
 2a 53 
 
 47 
 
 61 
 
 210 do 
 
 These and similar experiments have satisfied Lord Kinnaird of 
 the advantages to be derived from having farm-yard manures put 
 under cover. They seem so conclusive and instructive on this 
 point as to deserve to be brought before the farming classes of 
 this country. It will require but a few minutes to determine the 
 probable profits of protecting any certain amount of yard-manure. 
 It appears from the above results that Lord Kinnaird got about 
 125 bushels of wheat more, from the 10 acres manured with 
 covensd dung, than from the 10 acres which had been manured 
 with the uncovered. 
 
 MANURING DISTANT FIELDS WITH BARN-YARO MANURE. 
 
 G72. Fields that arc at a considerable distance from the barn 
 are liable to be cultivated without receiving as much manure as 
 those near the barn ; because it is attended with so much ex- 
 pense to haul coarse manure a great distance, when the ground 
 is soft. And sometimes it seems utterly impracticable to haul out 
 any manur;j for a spring crop, on account of wet weather and 
 wet ground. It injures most soils to drive over them very much 
 
THE YOUNG FAR^IEr's MANUAL. 333 
 
 with teams and loaded vehicles when they arc so saturated with 
 water that the aninjals sink several inches deep ; and clayey soils 
 do not recover from such tramping and poaching in one season, 
 unless tliey have been plowed in the fall and exposed to the rains 
 and frosts of winter. Therefore a farmer must calculate to haul 
 coarse manure to distant fields when the ground is hard, or in 
 the winter on a sleigh, and put it in conical heaps ; or to spread 
 it as he draws it out ; or to use guano, or some other manure, 
 less bulky ; or to plow under clover or Indian corn. If distant 
 fields have an abundance of vegetable matter in the soil, it will be 
 more advisable to apply guano, poudrette, dried blood, bone 
 dust, &c., or some of each kind if they are not too expensive. 
 When the soil is rather destitute of vegetable matter, however, 
 before a farmer expends his cash for manure of any kind, unless 
 it can be obtained at a very reasonable price, he should plow un- 
 der clover or Indian corn. Some farmers contend that clover 
 plowed under is the cheapest manure that can be made. It is a 
 great fertilizer ; but I believe that a soil can be renovated sooner, 
 and at a less expense, with Indian corn than ^\ith clover ; be- 
 cause a much larger quantity is turned under yearly of corn 
 than of clover. By being expeditious in business when a crop 
 of wheat, oats, or barley is taken off early in July, as they are 
 many times, if the soil is plowed immediately and Indian corn 
 sowed, it will grow large enough in ordinary seasons, before the 
 autumnal frosts, to plow under. But when clover is raised, no 
 other crop can be grown the same season. 
 
 GUANO— WHAT IT IS. 
 
 673. Guano has always been called the excrementitious mat- 
 ter of birds living in the islands of the sea and subsisting on 
 fish. As there is seldom any rain on those islands to wash away 
 the fecal matter, it has been accumulating for ages after ages, un- 
 til it is of unknown depth in some places. The moisture in that 
 just dropped so^on disappears ; and the whole shortly becomes a 
 dry ina^^s, not unhke dry hen manure. Vessels go to these islands 
 on purpose for a load of guano. It is shoveled into wheel- 
 
334 THE YOUNG FARMEll's MANUAL. 
 
 barrows and wheeled on board of ships ; and thus becomes a very 
 valuable commercial manure, when it is not adulterated by dealers. 
 
 674. The following brief account will be read with interest: 
 "It is now 22 or 23 years since the first crop of guano was im- 
 ported from tiie Chiucha Islands, on the coast of Peru. These 
 islands comprise three rocks, the joint area of which is under 3,000 
 statute acres ; and the quantity of guano still upon the rocks is 
 commonly estimated at 15 millions of tons, valued at more than 
 100 miUions of money. The account of these islands is totally 
 diflfcrent from any I have ever yet seen published ; for instead of 
 the guano being exhausted in eight or ten years, which most 
 writers assert, the supply, comparatively speaking, is inexhaustible; 
 the beds of guano being in many places more than 100 feet thick, 
 and two of the three priucipal islands being yet untouched. On 
 climbing the cliffs an innumerable quantity of skeletons of large 
 marine animals were presented to view, sucli as those of the seal 
 and walrus, or sea-horse, striking up out of the surface in such 
 quantities that the place appeared to be completely white all over. 
 Passing along over the island we could scarcely take a step with- 
 out our feet breaking throujh into a hole in which the guano bird 
 makes its nest. These holes extend 5 or 6 yards into the bed of 
 the guano ; and the birds are continually occupied in fetching 
 fish from the sea to feed their young ones. The number is so im- 
 mense that the air seems completely alive with them. By this 
 account it seems that guano is not all cxcrementitious matter, as 
 we have hitherto been led to suppose ; but consists of a consider- 
 able amount of decomposed animal matter in addition to the ex- 
 crement of birds. It is evident from this sketch, that the supply 
 of guano will be, at present, by no means limited." 
 
 MANNEn OF APPLYING GUANO. 
 
 675. Guano is a fertilizer of great strength ; and if allowed 
 to come in close contact with the tender roots and germs of young 
 plants, they camiot grow much better than they would in embers. 
 The true way to apply it is, to sprinkle a handful over an area of 
 at least eighteen inches in diameter, where the hills are to stand j 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 335 
 
 and after spreading on a thin stratum of dirt over the guano, drop 
 the seed and cover it with mellow soil. By spreading the guano 
 over such a large area, it will not injure the roots of young 
 plants ; and they will absorb the fertilizing matter that is dis- 
 solved by the rain more readily. When guano is correctly ai> 
 plied, there is no more danger in using it than there is in apply- 
 ing gypsum or lime. It is decidedly wrong to simply throw it 
 down in a heap, thinking that it will promote the growth 
 of a hill of corn when it is confined to such a limited area of 
 ground, Tiie roots of Indian corn often spread two feet on each 
 side of the hill. Now, if a handful of fertilizer be spread on an 
 area of six inches in diameter, are we to suppose that the limited 
 amount of roots in that space will take up a large proportion of 
 the available nourishment ? Nothing is more palpably absurd. 
 
 676. The improper manner in which guano has frequently 
 been applied to Indian corn and some other crops, has brought it 
 into great disrepute as a fertilizer. Indeed, such have been its 
 injurious effects on Indian corn, that it is no uncommon thing to 
 hear it denounced as a very dangerous manure. And I must 
 confess, considering the manner in which it has been applied, it is 
 not at all strange that it should have worked such injury. But 
 let it be applied as directed, and its good effects will be really 
 surprising, if the guano has not been adulterated. If more than 
 a small handful be applied to a hill, cover the seed about half 
 deep enough ; then sprinkle the guano over an area as large as 
 above directed, with the seed near the centre, and cover it light- 
 ly. As much of the fertilizing matter in the guano is some- 
 what volatile, it should be covered with a thin stratum of earth 
 as soon as applied to the hills. A thin stratum will absorb all the 
 volatile matter, as well as if it w^ere an inch or more deep, and 
 the rain will carry it down to the roots. It is important to apply 
 it so thin that the roots may spread laterally in every direction in 
 the soil, and not be enveloped in guano so thickly that they 
 cannot enter mellow earth without passing through the stim- 
 ulatiup: fertilizer. 
 
336 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 
 
 APPLYING GUANO IN A LIQUID STATE- 
 
 677. The best and safest way of applying guano, or any 
 other manure, in which there is such a great abundance of soluble 
 fertilizing matter, is to put a few pounds iu a large tub o;- bar- 
 rel filled with water, where it can hi allowed to soak for several 
 days. During the time it should be stirred up occasionally. This 
 liquid can be applied with a cup or dipper, sprinkling about one 
 pint to a hill. Or it may be sprinkled around hills of corn, or 
 anything else, with a water pot. It must not bo applied to the 
 leaves. 
 
 678. The great, practical question which every farmer desires 
 to have answered is, will it pay to purchase guano, at sixty 
 dollars per ton — the present price ? It certainly will not, if guano 
 is adulterated as some other commercial matures are. (Read par. 
 621.) As pure guano contains such a large quantity of plant- 
 forming and grain-producing material, a few hundred pounds will 
 manure a large breadth of ground. Four or five hundred pounds 
 of unadulterated guano per acre will produce as good crops as 
 twenty-five loads of ordinary barn-yard manure. When it has 
 been greatly adulterated, four or five tons are needed. Every far- 
 mer can compute tho cost of purchasing and applying five hundred 
 pounds of guano to an acre of Indian corn, |)otatoes, or wheat. 
 Good guano is an excellent manure for wheat, as it contains a 
 large proportion of nitrogenous matter. It may be sowed broad- 
 cast with a machine or by hand, and harrowed in with the grain 
 after the ground has been harrowed once to render it smooth. 
 When the price of guano is not more than thirty dollars per ton, 
 if a farmer has only a limited supply of barn-yard manure, it would, 
 no doubt, pay to apply four or five hundred pounds to an acre, 
 especially to fields at a long distance from the manure yard. It 
 is difficult to determine when guano is adulterated. But growing 
 crops cannot be deceived. If there arc lumps, the whole should 
 be reduced to a fine powder before it is sowed. 
 
 HEN MANURE AND ITS MANAGEMENT. 
 
 679. The value of hen, goose, duck and turkey droppings is 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER's MANUAL. 337 
 
 usually overlooked by most farmers. A very few understand that 
 such fecal matter is often equal to the best Peruvian gun no. 
 Such men save and apply it to their soil. Otliers allow their 
 fowls to rcost on trees, fences, or any otlier places, where their 
 droppings are wasted. Every farmer who keeps fowls should 
 provide good places for them to roost. Then remove all coarse 
 rubbish, and keep the floor beneath the roosts well littered with 
 fine muck. This will mingle with half-fluid dropping.-:, and render 
 the mass less ofi'ensive to handle. Fine sawdust will increase its 
 bulk and absorb ammonia. The very fact that hen manure when 
 first dropped is so offensive shows that it is very valuable as a 
 fertilizer. 
 
 680. In order to prepare it for use, spread it on a thin layer 
 of muck on a barn floor : and then, with flails, or by running it 
 through a threshing machine, reduce it to a flue condition. It 
 may now be sowed broad-cast, or applied by hand to crops in drills 
 or hills. I have known good farmers to practice this method, and 
 havo done it myself, with good results. The manure was applied 
 to Indian corn at the time of planting. A good farmer writes : 
 ** I have a field of corn which grew very slowly, and the prospect 
 for a crop was very discouraging. A neighbor offered me the 
 droppings of his hen roost. His offer was gladly accepted ; and 
 two large wagon loads of manure was the result. This was 
 liberally applied — a handful to a hill — as far as it would go. Two 
 weeks after this application there was a great difference between 
 the manured and uumauured portion ; the manured part was much 
 larger than the yellow, sick-looking, uumanured portion. At 
 length many good farmers expressed great wonder at the vast 
 difference between the two portions. The part manured yielded 
 three times as much as the unmanured per acre, and of much 
 superior quality." 
 
 MANURIAL VALUE OF DEAD ANIMALS. 
 
 681. Domestic animals will sicken and die sometimes even 
 when they have the best of care. We always expect to make 
 beef of old oxen and cows. Therefore we do not calculate on any 
 
 15 
 
o38 THE YOUNG farmer's manual. 
 
 inainire from their flesh. Bat, old horses must die. Younq; ones 
 are not exempt from death. Marcs, valuable cows, sows and ewes 
 often die when in good condition. Their flesh is a nuisance if left 
 nuburied Some contend that a horse or cow is worth twenty- 
 dollars for manure. This is cxccedhigly doubtful. Still, such 
 animals are worth saving, by working their flesh into compost;al- 
 lowing the horse to weigh 1,000 [)ouu:ls, and the muck and labor to 
 be worth ten dollars, this would make the carcass worth ten 
 dollars, at one cent a pound. It might not be advisable for a far- 
 mer to buy carcasses at this rate, while it would pay largely to 
 save everything of the kind upon his farm or within his reach. It 
 is not necessary to attain results entirely accurate to show the 
 economy of saving all these wastes. The muck heap and com- 
 posted, dead animals are a source of profit, and pay largely for the 
 labor. We want the crows to prey on grubs and insects, and not 
 on dead animals. We can put these to a better use. Every 
 pound of flesh, rightly used, gives a peck of potatoes. Let them 
 be saved. Place three or four loads of sods or muck in a con- 
 venient out-of-the-way place, yet within sight, so that dogs can 
 bo watched ; and if they manifest too great a regard for the old 
 horse, a well-directed bullet may introduce them to a still closer 
 companionship. Then the horse is taken upon the heap, killed, 
 and the skin removed, which more than pays for the job. With- 
 out further ceremony, five or six cart-loads of muck and soil are 
 thrown over the carcass, and it is left six months or a year, accord- 
 ing to the season, a certain amount of warm weather being neces- 
 sary, and it not being agreeable to overhaul the heap in the heat 
 of summer. Then fork it over, throwing out the bones, which 
 will then be well freed from flesh ; sprinkle over the heap a peck 
 or two of plaster, and add perhaps a little fresh muck or soil upon 
 the surface. Let it lie a month ; then fork it over again, and it 
 is fit for use, an excellent manure — worth more than an equal 
 bulk of good barn-yard manure. Spread it very thin, and iiar- 
 row it in. Or it may be applied to corn or potatoes in the hill. 
 G82. I am acquainted with a good farmer who pays ten 
 dollars each for all the old horses he can purchase ; and composts 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S JfANUAT,. 339 
 
 them ; and applies the material as a top-dressing for wlieat. All 
 the hard bones are crushed in a bone mill. By this excellent 
 system of management of returning to the soil all the flesh-form- 
 ing and bone-producing material that had been picked up by 
 grazing animals, his soil is kept improving ; and he makes every 
 branch of farming pay well. 
 
 PLOWING IN GREEN CROPS FOR MANURE. 
 
 683. One of the most economical ways of improving the fer- 
 tility of an impoverished soil, or of renovating a barren one, is by 
 plowing under some kind of green crop. Farmers have relied 
 chiefly on red clover for this purpose, and there are thousands of 
 acres of soil naturally unproductive that have been brought to 
 an excellent state of fertility by applying gypsum to the clover 
 crop and turning it under as green manure. Indian corn, buck- 
 wheat, and some other plants are employed for the same purpose, 
 as are also marrowfat peas, sown thick in drills, between rows of 
 early sweet corn, as soon as tho corn is cultivated and hoed tho 
 last time. Then, as soon as tho ears are gathered, every thing is 
 turned under by plowing crosswise of the rows. In those districts 
 where Ijroom corn is raised, tho portion that remains after the 
 brush has been gatlicred, is usually plowed in to enrich tho soil. 
 The same thing is practiced, in some instances, by farmers on our 
 Western prairies. Sometimes tall weeds take almost entire pos- 
 session of a field, which, when they arc plowed in, furnish much 
 vegetable matter for improving the fertility of the soil. 
 
 684. The usual means employed for turning under such 
 materials consist of a log chain or large tarred rope having one 
 end attached to the outer end of the whiffletree of the ofiside 
 horse, and the other end bitched around the beam of the plow, 
 near the standard, as represented by the illustration herewith 
 given. The chain sliould always be long enough to draw the tops 
 of whatever is being plowed in along in the furrow, just in timy 
 to allow the furrow slice when turning to fall en it. If the chain 
 is a few inches too long, the furrow shoe will /all upon it and bo 
 broken and displaced as the chain draws out. Take a " rolling 
 
340 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 
 
 hitch " around the beam of the plow, and tlicn adjust th.c length 
 of the chain until the bight of it will remain on the turning fur- 
 row slice only two or three inches forward of the point where it 
 
 ATTACHMENT FOB TUKNING IN WEEDS. 
 
 comes to rest. This will draw the tops of weeds, grass, Canada 
 thistles, and cornstalks completely beneath the falling earth : 
 whereas without such a contrivance the tops would extend above 
 ground, and if not already matured, would continue to grow some- 
 times quite as well as if they had not been plowed in. Sometimes 
 weeds and cornstalks are first mowed close to the ground, and 
 hauled into the furrows as the plowing is in progress. But in 
 this practice t'.ie green material is not distributed as evenly as it is 
 when plowed in without being mowed. 
 
 G85. A piece of half-inch round iron, bent in the form of a 
 letter U, is used instead of a chain for drawing under red clover 
 or other crops. But as a chain is more Uexiblc than an iron bow, 
 it has been found more convenient. When the plow is drawn by 
 oxen, t]ie chain is attached to a stick about 20 inches long, 
 bolted to the upper side of a beam, as shown by the prec(!ding 
 engraving. If hitched to the forward end of the plow beam, tlie 
 chain will not always run far enough to the right side of the fur- 
 row to draw in the tops of all the stalks. However, if the chain 
 is adjusted correctly as to length, the work can be {)erformed 
 ouito satisfactorily. 
 
THE YOUN'G FARMER'^ MANUAL 341 
 
 686. Coino plowmen liave considered it essential to pass a 
 lieavy roller, and sometimes a harrow, over corn stalks and weed:s. 
 Bat we have always found it unnecessary, as the part of the team 
 that travels on the unplowed ground will always tread it down as 
 fast as it is plowed in ; and they will also bend it over in the right 
 direction. We have plowed in green corn stalks, the average 
 height of which was eight feet over the entire field, witiiont using 
 a roller or harrow to lay it down, as the nearside horse and 
 whiffle trees broke it down in the most desirable manner. 
 
 KILMERS* IMPROVED ATTACHMENT. 
 
 687. Plowmen exp rience some difBculty in keep'ng the bight 
 of the chain back in its proper place on the turning furrow slice. 
 For this reason they are not able to draw every thing under 
 the slices, as is desirable. To obviate this diflficully, J. & A. 
 Kilmer, Barnerville, Schoharie Co., N. Y., have recently invent- 
 ed and patented an improvement by which the drag chain is kept 
 in the place desired. 
 
 688. The accompanying illustration will furnish a gocd idea 
 of Messrs. Kilmers' chain, passing from the main chain to the 
 plow-round or handle, which can be adjusted at pleasure. The en- 
 graving needs no further explanation. I saw it tested in plowing in 
 weeds,and it operated in a most satisfactory manner. It is strange, 
 indeed, that such a simple and good contrivance should not have 
 been thought of before. The improvement can be attached to any 
 plow. The device has just been secured by letters patent. 
 Many old farmers have declared that they have used this con- 
 trivance for 25 years. Therefore they maintain that it is 
 public property. Unless it can be shown that Messrs. Kilmer were 
 not the inventors, and that they had seen or heard of it, the law 
 would be on the side of the inventors. The safest way is not tc 
 use it ; or to pay a few dimes royalty to the patentees. 
 
;42 
 
 THE YOUNG FARMERS MANUAIi. 
 
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THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 343 
 
 FlSn MANURE— FISn GU.VNO. 
 
 689. One of the means wc have of getting back from the sea 
 the fertility which flows on every hill-side and meadow, from every 
 country ditch and city sewer, is to use the fish for manure. The 
 time will never come when so little fish food will flow into the 
 sea from our rivers and harbors, that fish will not multiply pro- 
 digiously aloug our coasts. Though it is true that in many parts 
 of Europe, where there used to be good fishing in stre.-ms, the 
 Sportsmen complain that since the farmers have taken to thorough- 
 draining, an J scrupulously saving the wastes of the farm, tho good 
 fish have nearly, if not quite, all disappeared. 
 
 690. First among the fish used principally for manure in this 
 country, is the alosa Tmnhaden — commonly called Bony fish. Men- 
 haden White fish, Moss Bunker. From time immemorial they 
 have been taken in very large quantities along oar coast, carted 
 directly upon the fields, spread broadcast and plowed in, dropped 
 in or on tlie hill for corn, composted in various ways, and snb- 
 sequently applied in quantities of 7,000 to 15,000 to the acre. 
 More recently the price of oil has made it profitable to take them 
 for this product; and hundreds of factories have sprung up on the 
 shore of New- Jersey, in many of the bays and inlets of the S ound, 
 and further east. The fish decay very soon after coming from the 
 w^ater; hence these fish-oil establishments load the breezj with 
 unpleasant odors. 
 
 691. A correspondent from SouthoLl, L. I., communicates to 
 the American Agriculturist t!ie following facts on the subject of 
 this industry. "Some eight or ten factories on the east end of 
 Long Island work up yearly thirty and forty miUions of these fish, 
 which appear in the bays of the Sound generally from May until 
 October. Caught with seines, they are brought to the factories, 
 and generally throv>^n in large wooden tanks, from 8,000 to 12,000, 
 according to size of tanks, heated by steam, though some parties 
 cook in iron cylinders. When cooked, the water is drawn off ; 
 and the mass undergoes a powerful hydraulic pressure. After 
 extracting all the oil possible, the residue is partly dried and run 
 through a picker, a revolving cylinder with iron teeth cutting it 
 
344 THE YOUxVG farmer's manual. 
 
 fine, then wheeled to a sheltered building in large heaps. Some 
 years ago sulphuric acid was sprinkled over, but farmers objectinsj 
 to it the practice was discontinued. Farmers speak highly of 
 this fisli fertilizer. The most valuable is turned over three or 
 four times to evaporate the moisture, giving the buyer the most 
 of the fertilizing substance ; it is used in drills for corn, or sown 
 broadcast for wheat and oats. It looks but reasonable that this fish 
 fertilizer should be very similar to Peruvian guano, the latter 
 being the deposit of seabirds living mostly if not entirely on fish. 
 The manure contains a great deal of phosphate of lime and much 
 ammonia, either ready formed or remaining in the meaty part. 
 
 692. It is a query whether fish are turned to their greatest 
 possible account as manure. It would seem that by good manage- 
 ment they might be made to fertilize a large part of the barren 
 sands which line the sea-shore. And what more just than that 
 the sea should render back some of the fertility which has been 
 washed into it from the land. Prof. Johnson happily remarks, 
 " Guano is an indirect contribution of the ocean to Agriculture. 
 The sea-fowl manufacture it from tho fish with which the sea is 
 everywhere teeming." Analysis shows that fish abound in nitro- 
 genous and phosphatic elements ; and experience shows that they 
 are very useful in bringing up lands otherwise quite unfertile. 
 Indeed, we have known farmers to cart them fifteen or twenty 
 miles distant from tide water, and to find the labor rtmunerative. 
 Yet the slovenly practice of spreading fish on the surface of land, 
 or imperfectly covering it for the benefit of growing crops, is one 
 to be condemned. It is wasteful, and exceedingly offensive, if 
 not unhealthy, to all the region filled with the foul effluvia. We 
 would advise vseaboard farmers to use all the fish they can get, in 
 their own way. They can profitably be laid up with muck in 
 heaps, to decay. A barrel offish composted with muck or loam 
 will make a rich dressing for any crop. For Indian corn and 
 potatoes, plow them in, or apply them to the hill. American 
 fainiers must economize wilh reference to labor in handling 
 manure. Fish will produce just as ijood an effect on a crop if 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 345 
 
 buried in the soil, and allowed to decompose there, as the same 
 amount will produce it composted. In the first instance, the soil 
 holds all the fertilizing matter; in the second, it is retained in com- 
 post muck. In either case, prrowing plants will find it. Still, 
 where a farmer has muck, and his soil is very porous, with but 
 little clay or mould in it, to retain fertilizing matter from decom- 
 posed fish, it might be more economical to compost them previous 
 to applying the material to the soil. 
 
 KING-CRAB OR SPIDER. 
 
 693. In some localities on the sea coast the Horse-foot, Kinjr- 
 crab, and Sea-spider — the polijpheimts occidentalis of the naturalists 
 — is common on all our Atlantic coast; ; but it seems to find a 
 particularly congenial location in the lower part of the Delaware 
 Bay. It comes to the shore to deposit its eggs in the sand in the 
 early part of summer ; the largest number, it is said, in the old 
 of the moon in June, though they are abundant for several weeks 
 before and after that time. They come in such numbers that the 
 beach is literally covered with them for nearly forty miles up the 
 bay-shore, from Town Bank, in Cape May County. They weigh, 
 on the average, about four pounds each ; and at a very moderate 
 calculation, a million of them could be picked up on a mile of 
 beach in one season. They are used in great numbers as feed for 
 hogs ; and their eggs are shovelled up in wagon-loads and car- 
 ried off to feed chickens. Many of the Cape May farmers have 
 thrown them up in piles and composted them with earth, as a 
 manure for wheat ; and the etfects they produce are remarkable. 
 The poorest soils that can be found, by a dressing of from 2,000 
 to 4,000 on an acre, it is said, will produce twenty or twenty-five 
 bushels of wheat ; and thirty bushels is not an uncommon crop. 
 This testimony in regard to their fertilizing action is confirmed 
 by the experience of a number of farmers of whom I have inquired; 
 and yet there is a singular prejudice against them. It is said that 
 corn or clover will not thrive on the soil where they have been 
 used ; and that they bring on sorrel. This latter fact has l)een 
 mentioned by several ; but I am inclined to think it a difliculty 
 
340 THE YOUNG FAKMEU's MANUAL. 
 
 of bnt little moment. Indeed, I can perceive no reason at all for 
 such effects following the application of such fertilizers. And I 
 do not believe it. I believe the more of such material one can 
 apply to his soil the better. 
 
 HORN PITHS— now TO USE THEM. 
 
 694. In many places, horn-piths can be had at the tanneries 
 by cartloads ; and in those sections of the country where there 
 are no mills for crushing bones, they are not considered of much 
 value. But, " pound for pound," they are worth as much as largo 
 solid bones ; because the piths, from their more open, porous 
 structure, decompose much sooner in the soil than the more flinty 
 solid bonas of animals ; and consequently are more readily avail- 
 able as a manure. We kaow a farmer who has uF;ed several 
 cartloads of horn^piths the two past seasons for manuring his 
 potatoes i:i the hill — a pith in each hill at the time of planting — ■ 
 more than d()ii1)ling the crop over those rows having no manure. 
 As the potatoes are dug, the piihs are thrown into heaps, and 
 afterwards carted off and deposited in a safe place for the next 
 year's use. Tlicy will last f6r this purpose many years. The 
 farmer pays about one dollar and lifty cents a cartload. lie 
 also occasionally obtains from tlie same yard the lime, after 
 having being used for starting the hair on the hides and skins, 
 as well also as some of the fleshings and poor quality of hair. 
 These are made into compost by mixing with loam or rauck ; and 
 make a good and lasting manure ; and at a much cheaper rate 
 than he could procure stable manure. Horn-piths may be ground 
 as bones are, and applied in the same way. 
 
 WAST.T OP WOOLEN MILLS. 
 
 695. Tlie waste wool from woolen factories and carding ma- 
 cliines can be some times had at a trifling cost. Wool and 
 woolen rags contain a large per cent, of nitrogen, and al)ont five 
 p(;r cent, of sulphur. One hundred pounds of wool contain about 
 seventeen pounds of nitrogen — as much as there is in the very 
 best guano, and more than there is in thirty hundred pounds of 
 
THE YCUXG farmer's MANUAL. 347 
 
 fresli cow dung. Wool and woolen rap:s decompose very slowly 
 in wet, stiff soils. Therefore, if used in their natural state, they 
 should be spread upon sandy, or light, warm, loamy land, and 
 plowed in. On such land they are vLiluabloand lasting manures. 
 Great quantities of waste wool and woolen rags are used to ma 
 nure the hop grounds in England ; and the liop-growers there 
 readily pay from twenty five to fifty dollars per ton for them as 
 manure for tlieir hop grounds. From the slow decay of wool and 
 rap-s, they probably can be most economica;ly employed when 
 previously rotted, by being made into a compost, and then ai> 
 plied to the wlieat crop. I am not prepared to say exactly what 
 our firmers could afford to pay per pound or ton for waste 
 wool and rags. As far as nitrogen is valuable in guano or other 
 manure, wool is one of tlie most valuable ; and the farmer per- 
 haps would not be running a great risk in paying one cent, per 
 pound for waste woolen rags. 
 
 696. I am acquainted with a large farmer who purchases 
 thousands of bushels of such material at fifty cents per load of 
 about fifty bushels, and hauls it over two miles. It is usually 
 spread in his stables and yards, where it becomes thoroughly 
 mingled witii barn-yard and stable manure. It produces large 
 crops of wheat, or any other grain. 
 
 HOW TO USE LEATHER SCRAP. 
 
 697. They make an excellent road and sidewalks about the 
 village ; and after they are well trodden down and have been 
 rained on a few times, they make a soft, dry, clastic walk , free 
 from dust and mud. Then, too, they make excellent fuel, provid- 
 ed there is a strong draft in the chimney. These are common 
 ways of disposing of this article. As fuel, its worth is estimated by 
 some shoemakers and leatherworkers as nearly or quite equal to an- 
 thracite coal, ton for ton. The only trouble is it decomposes very 
 slowly. Dry skhis, before they are tanned, contain about eighteen 
 per cent, of nitrogen, which, if it could be made available to plants 
 in the form of ammonia (which is not difficult), would make the 
 value of raw hide scraps about twenty dollars per ton. In the 
 
348 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 
 
 process of tanning, many changes take place in the hide. Some 
 h*mc becomes incorporated with it, and a large amount of tanning 
 is absorbed. 
 
 698. The editor of the GcTiesee Farmer writes : " The 
 largest crop of potatoes we ever saw raised was upon land which 
 had received a liberal dressing of old, well rotted manure belong- 
 ing to a saddler who kept a horse and cow, and who was in the 
 habit of throwing all his old scraps of leather on the manure heap; 
 and proceeds to quote from a correspondent, who says that he 
 offered the boys in his town twenty- five cents a cwt. for all the old 
 shoes they could collect. " He procured in this way several 
 hundred pounds, roasted them in an oven heated to double the 
 heat required to bake bread ; and they became sufficiently brittle 
 to be readily ground in a bone mill. The leather dust was put 
 on potatoes in the row, along side of bone-dust ; and the differ- 
 ence wos in favor of the leather manure, it being mncli finer, and 
 consequently having more immediate effect ; the usefulness of 
 bones, however, was also distinctly seen from a distance. On 
 each side a liberal supply of barn-yard manure was used ; but the 
 difference was very plainly shown m favor of the former two fer- 
 tilizers. The ground was put in with wheat after the potato 
 crop was taken up ; and now no difference can be seen between 
 the leather and bone manure ; but a very marked difference, at a 
 distance, where those fertilizers and the barn-yard manure were 
 applied — the former leaving a dark green streak through the field, 
 with tall and well-stocked grain. 
 
 699. The most econom.ical way for farmers to dispose of 
 leather scraps and hide shavings is to haul t!iem directly to the 
 field and harrow or plow them in. This saves labor ; and grow- 
 ing crops will find the nourishment afforded by such substanccp,. 
 Perhaps three or four years after they have been spread on a field, 
 the good effects will appear. Let such material bo applied to any 
 kind of soil ; and spread very thin. They are more valuable ou 
 heavy than on light soils. 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MAXUAL. 349 
 
 VALUE AND USE OP CHARCOAL. 
 
 100. The virtue of charcoal mainly consists in its absorbing 
 power. The purity of the air around a charcoal pit has long 
 been known ; and the collieis notwithstanding their smutty ap- 
 pearance, are robust men. The secret of this purity of the air and 
 the health of the colliers lies in the fact that charcoal absorbs 
 from the air the ammonia and other noxious gases unsuited for 
 our lungs, but just the food for plants. Every good housekeeper 
 knows that if her boiling meat gives forth an unsavory odor, a 
 piece of fresh charcoal put into the pot will not only sweeten the 
 air, but will remedy the taint of the meat. In the same manner 
 it acts when applied to the land. It absorbs from the air those 
 gases offensive to our nostrils, but the main food of plants. 
 Where an old coal-pit has been burned, the land never seems to 
 wear out ; and the first settlers point to the coal bottoms that are 
 fifty years old, still by their exuberant vegetation marking well 
 the spot where the wood was converted into coal. A fertilizer so 
 lasting is well worth some expense at the outset. But where can 
 wo get it, some may ask. If any charcoal pits are burned in your 
 vicinity, the bottoms will furnish three or four loads of refuse 
 charcoal mingled with burnt soil. The latter is highly valued 
 also as an absorbent. Around furnaces and blacksmith shops 
 the waste charcoal also accumulates, and in many instances may 
 be had for the carting. It may be found also around engine 
 houses, thrown out from locomotives. If none of these resources 
 are at hand, then use the best substitute possible, which is muck 
 or swamp mud ; and double the manure heap by composting; and 
 if the crops are not doubled, then my experienc3 is vain. 
 
 701. A correspondent writes : "For two years past I have 
 used some fifty loads each season of refuse charcoal, and being 
 fully convinced that it pays, I wish to recommend it to my brotlicr 
 farmers. I have tried it on grass, corn and jiotatoes — have 
 tried it alone, and in the compost heap, and in all situations it has 
 proved faithful to its trust. As a top-dressing for grass, it gives 
 a green color and luxuriant growth. Applied to half an acre of 
 
3"0 THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 onrly iiotatoes the last summer, the yield was seventy-five l)ii,slie!a 
 of as fine healthy potatoes as could be desired, that sold I'cadily 
 for one dollar per bushel, aud yielded the best profit of anything 
 raised on the farm." 
 
 702. Finely pulverized charcoal is an excellent fertilizer for 
 grass, grain, vegetables and fruit trees. If it is coarse, it will pay 
 to run it through a corn mill, to reduce it as fine as possible. 
 Let it be sowed or spread on land, the more abundant the better. 
 Charcoal dust ought not to be mixed with manure, in the hog-pen, 
 in the privy or anywhere. If the substance be mixed first with 
 charcoal, and then covered with soil or muck, little loss will take 
 place, and the coal will be a real benefit. Mechanically and chemi- 
 cally, charcoal is often of great benefit to the soil. 
 
 BITTERNS— REFUSE OP SALT WATER. 
 
 103. Chemists inform us that the hittcrns, as they are called, 
 v/hich constitute ihe sediment taken from the boiling brine, consist 
 essentially of plaster. The scale whicli forms in the kettles, called 
 Uoddng, and which is taken out when they are cooled down, is a 
 mixture of plaster and salt, varying in the proportions of the in- 
 gredients with the thickness of the scale — the thickest being 
 nearly all salt, and the thinnest containing forty or fifty per cent, 
 of plaster. The sediment taken from the lime-rooms, in the solar 
 fields, is plaster. Tue most valuable manure about the salt works 
 is the wood ashes. There 5:re perhaps 200,000 cords of wood 
 consumed annually in making salt atSahna, Syracuse, Liverpool, 
 and Geddes. These ashes usually liave some salt mixed with 
 them, which spoils them for making potashes, but does not 
 diminish their value for manure. They are perquisites of 
 the salt-boilers, and are sold at a nominal price. Some farmers 
 think them valuable as a fertilizer. Others esteem them worth- 
 less. The true way to use them is to try an experiment with 
 them on a small scale. This will satisfy any one as to their 
 value. 
 
 VALUE OF SAWDUST— HOW USED. 
 
 704. In some parts of the country, immense quantities of saw- 
 dust, turning and planing shavings, may be collected in warm 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER's MANUAL. 351 
 
 weather for littering stables. When dry, it will absorb and re- 
 tain much liquid manure ; and as soon as it is plowed under or 
 spread on the surface it decays quickly, and the roots of plants 
 take care of the fertilizing material contained in it. I have known 
 farmers haul saw dust and planing-mill shaving two miles, to be 
 ujed as absorbents in the stable ; and the manure thus made pro- 
 duced excellent results. H. Lewis, of Frankfort, N. Y., stated 
 that " he had twenty-five acres of meadow that would yield an- 
 nually a quantity of hay sufiQcient for the winter keep of fifty head 
 of cattle. Some of his grass had already lodged early iu the 
 season, and he thought would not come up again. He should 
 commence his hay harvest in about three weeks. Tliis extraordi- 
 nary fertility of soil and growth of grass had been effected by un- 
 der draining and top-dressing the soil with sawdust, in which was 
 absorbed the liquid manure from his stock. lie regarded the 
 liquid manure of more value than the solid excrements of the 
 animal. The conclusion had been arrived at by experiments, and 
 from observation. Stakes had been set in pastures and meadows 
 to note the effects of liquid and solid manures, and the growth of 
 grass was in favor of those spots where the animals left liquid 
 manures. Some few years since he commenced using sawdust for 
 the absorption of liquid manures and spreading the compost on his 
 grass lands, the soil responding in a most remarkable manner. 
 Latterly he had been using the dust at the rate of sixty bushels 
 per week. The manure is hauled upon the land and spread as 
 evenly as possible with a shovel or fork ; it is then brushed and 
 completely broken up, and distributed in fine particles. This 
 division and fineness of manure is regarded of peculiar advantage, 
 since the plants are better able to appropriate their food, and it 
 reaches a great number. About half of the meadow is under- 
 drained with horse-shoe tile, the drains being sunk three and a half 
 feet deep. On this portion of the meadow grows the largest grass." 
 
 VALUE OF SOOT. 
 
 705. This, though generally thrown into the street and wasted, 
 is one of the best manures. It is extensively used in England, and 
 
352 THE YOUNG FARMER S MANUAL. 
 
 when only fifteen or twenty bushels arc applied to the acre, in- 
 duces the most hixuriaiit crops of wheat and other grains. It 
 contains, in small compass, almost all the ingredients of the ccal 
 or wood used for fuel. It also contains several salts of ammonia, 
 magnesia, and muriatic acid. Its comi)onents arc the natural 
 food or stimulants of i)lants, and it can bo used to great advantage 
 as a concentrated fertilizer, to stimulate germinating seeds ia the 
 drill. It is not only sown broadcast with the grain, but it is ap- 
 ])lied to the root crops with the best results. Potatoes and car- 
 rots especially arc benefitted by it. Six quarts of soot to a hogs- 
 head of water make an excellent liquid manure for the garden. It 
 can be applied with safety to all garden crops, and wdll pay for 
 saving. In putting the stoves, furnaces, and fireplaces in order 
 for winter, bear it in mind that soot is valuable, and will be 
 wanted for spring use One, two, three or more barrels can be 
 s ivcd, ia most families, espocially where wood is burned. Instead 
 of allowing Lirgc chimnies to burn out, thus endangering the 
 dwelling, remove the soot with a long-handled scraper. 
 
 BENEFICIAL EFFECT OF FERTILIZERS. 
 
 706. The New England Farmer says on this subject : " Fer- 
 tilizers have a two-fold effect: nutritious effect on plauts ; and the 
 effect of modifying tne soil. Ojrtain substances are -csseutial to 
 the growth of plauts, which the manures must furnish, if the 
 soil is deficient in them. And these are all the ingredients 
 of plants, except silica and soda. Soil, however, is seldom de- 
 ficient in certain other substances, as iron, chlorine, magnesia, 
 lime. Whatever nutritious element of soil is deficient, becomes 
 most important in fertilizing. The absence of any one essential 
 ingredient renders the presence of all the others of no account. 
 Manure may act directly or indirectly, in the process of feeding 
 plants. The elements of manure may be taken up at once by the 
 plant, and may act precisely as the elements of the soil wdi'.ch arc 
 available to feed the plant. If we tukj a barren soil, in which a 
 plant will reach a small growth, the addition of l}one ashes or the 
 ashes of wood will make the development of vegetation luxuriant ; 
 
THE YOUNG. FARMER's MANUAL. 353 
 
 and if the quantity of these fertilizing materials is properly chosen, 
 we may prove by analysis of the plant that it has absorbed these 
 matters almost completely from the soil. This shows that under 
 sucli circumstances the fertilizing matter passes at once into the 
 plant. 
 
 Tot. Then there are manures operating indirectly by acting 
 on the soil : not on the plant immediately. The application of 
 lime, in large doses, to the soils already charged with lime is 
 beneficial in this way ; by acting on the soil it liberates matter 
 already existing there, but in an insoluble state. It would liber- 
 ate the alkalies, like potash ; and if long manured with animal 
 manures, it will liberate the inert nitrogen. Lime often has the 
 same effect as guano, by liberating potash, as the solution of 
 guano in the soil does. The action of plaster and common salt is 
 undoubtedly owing to this indirect effect we speak of — the pre- 
 paration of the soil for nutrition. Eecent experiments have de- 
 monstrated that a solution of plaster liberates from many soils 
 potash and magnesia. It has been lound by comparing the effect 
 of pure water and a solution of plaster en soils benefitted or not 
 by plaster, that in the former case potash and magnesia are liber- 
 ated in considerable quantities ; in the latter not at all. Certain 
 minerals which contain silica, alumina, &c., analogous to the com- 
 position of soil, and which being formed under conditions analo- 
 gous to the composition of the soil may be supposed to exist in 
 the soil, when subjected to the action of saline solution undergo 
 chemical changes which throw some light on this indirect 
 action of fertilizers. Minerals of this kind containing lime, sub- 
 jected to a solution of common salt, will part with the lime, and 
 hold the soda and salt in fixed combination. 
 
 708. This new compound, treated with a solution of potash, 
 will lose a portion of its soda and acquire potash. A solution of 
 magnesia will displace the potash again. And, in general, the 
 effect of any one alkali in solution will be to displace a quantity 
 of some other held in the combination. Manures exert a physical 
 effect on the soil. Peat or vegetable matter will often act favor- 
 ably on soil by altering the texture. The extremes of dryness or 
 
354 
 
 wetness in lii^ht or lieaYV lands are bronght by it to a proper me* 
 dium, altliougli this is not its only action. 
 
 709. The effect of lime on clay is physical to a great degree, 
 as was found by the Lusatian farmers in liming their clay lands to 
 bring them into tillal)le condition. They found that under-drain- 
 ing produced the same effect. Lime is foum1, when mixed with 
 moist clay, to increase its bulk and change its texture. Nearly 
 all fertilizers, when applied in large quantifes, as stable manure, 
 ashes, &c., produce greater or less alterations in the texture of 
 soil which are advantageous. These three modes of action are all 
 depc.dent one on another, and each fertiUzer exerts them all to a 
 greater or less degree. It may happen that many fertilizers which 
 act chiefly to supply food to the plant, in other cases may act by 
 improving the texture of the soil. On many rich soils stable ma- 
 nure does more good by the physical action of the litter than it 
 does by the fertilizing materials which it adds. 
 
 710. The action of manures is influenced by the peculiarities 
 of the soil. Some soils are benefitted by plaster and salt, while 
 others are indifferent to these fertilizers. It is probable that the 
 testimony of practical men, asserting that some soils are 
 damaged by these fertilizers, is correct. If plaster acts by liber- 
 ating potash, its effect would not be manifest on a soil furnishing 
 an abundance of potash to the crops, and large doses of plaster, 
 by increasing the solubility, already sufficient, might waste the 
 resources of the soil. 
 
 711. Soils undergo modifications from year to year by tillage, 
 cropping, <fec., and thus become subject to new requirements. We 
 often find a course of manuring which has been efficacious for 
 years lose its value and efficacy, and other fertilizers that had been 
 in disrepute are found to be advantageous. On the shores of 
 Long Island Sound fish have long been employed, and have at 
 last proved to have lost their beneficial effects ; and on such 
 lands snper-phosphate of lime has operated with good effect. 
 
 712. Generally such partial fertilizers as fish, guano, lime and 
 plaster are liable to fail after many years, and something else is 
 necessary. Peculiarities of the plant also influence the action of 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 355 
 
 fertilizers. Much cxperieuc3 seems to prove that turnips arc 
 specially fond of super-pliosphates. Clover grows readily after an 
 application of ashes or plaster, a fact accounted for, perhaps^ by 
 the supply of potash which they give. 
 
 now BARREN SOILS HAVE BEEN RENOVATED IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, 
 
 T13. J. W. Proctor, in an addi'ess, alludes to the renovation 
 of a barren farm that had for a long period been considered 
 hardly worth cultivation, an extract from which will, no doubt, 
 encourage many disheartened farmers to make and apply more 
 manure to their poor fields. He writes: " Within the list ten 
 years I have watched with much interest the growing of this crop, 
 (rye) on the town farm in Danvers, where it has varied from 
 thirty to forty-five bushels to the acre ; at no time less than thirty. 
 This too, on a sterile soil, composed chiefly of yellow dirt and 
 gravel stones, with as little capacity to retain the manure applied 
 as a sieve has to hold water. Do you ask how these crops have 
 been raised ? My answer is, by thorough culture and manure. 
 At each and all the plowings the plow has been sunk as deep as 
 it could conveniently be drawn by two pairs of full grown and 
 full led oxen, (none others being thought fit to be used on a farm 
 where cattle are hoiight, not reared,) and the manure applied has 
 thus been thoroughly mingled with the soil. Upon a stratum 
 thus prepared the crop has started and been supported, and sel- 
 dom impaired by drouth — the greatest obstacle to be encountered 
 on any soil. On this farm, containing about sixty acres of land 
 under cultivation, exclusive of wet meadows and wood-land, there 
 are annually made two hundred cords, or five hundred loads of 
 manure, chiefly from material taken from the peat meadows, and 
 from the offal collected from the slaughter-houses of the village, 
 by the aid of sixty swine, constantly kept, and changed twice a 
 year. Thus the natural ste ility of the land is in a good measure 
 corrected, and at a moderate expenditure, crops rivalling those on 
 our best farms arc produced. It is within my recollection when 
 it was seriously contemplated to abandon this farm, as not IjKing 
 worth purposes of cultivation." 
 
356 THE Youj^G farmer's manual. 
 
 IMPROVEMENT OP COLD SOIL IN MANURE. 
 
 114. A correspondent of the Mairic Farmer gives an account 
 of the manner in which a neighbor of his brought a lot of 
 three acres into profitable cultivation. He says : "■ Said land 
 was mostly a cold, clay soil, partly covered with alders ; one end 
 of the lot stony — so poor that the former owner said it would not 
 produce weeds. His first operation was to cut drains sixteen to 
 twenty feet apart, three feet deep, and two and a half wide at the 
 top. These were filled with small stones from the stony por- 
 tion — next ploweJ — (in the fall) ton inches deep. Next spring 
 hauled about ten cords green manure on one acre ; plowed 
 again shoal; harrowed in a part of the dressing, (which he thinks 
 preferable to plowing in,) then furrowed and manured in the hill 
 with a shovelful of old yard manure, and then threw a spoonful 
 of phosphate lime on the top. Planted with corn on the 1st of 
 June. The clayey soil baked so hard after a rain followed by 
 drouth as to prevent the corn from coming up readily ; so he 
 went over it with an iron rake, breaking the crust over each hill. 
 Now for the result : he harvested a crop from one aero, which, 
 on being measured, and having the cubical contents reduced to 
 bushels, was allowed to be one hundred hushels of bright corn, 
 and this too in the cold Schoodic county, where there was frost 
 every summer month. In addition to this large crop, he raised 
 on the remaining land one hundred bushels potatoes, over two 
 Imndred bushels of turnips, four bushels peas, twelve bushels 
 beans, and a quantity of pumpkins, beets and cabbage. 
 
 715. Another writer says: "Within the present month we have 
 walked over fields which a few years ago were exhausted in the 
 ordinary sens) to the last degree— that is, they gave no crops of 
 anything. Left to themselves they had had no sod, and the only 
 vegetation on them was a sparse covering of weeds. Some of 
 the adjoining fields more exposed to winds are to-day blowing 
 vsands. These fields are now well sodded, and have yielded the 
 present season a good burden of grass. Three years is sufficient 
 to renovate them The first year one bushel of gypsum, and 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 35t 
 
 nothing else was applied per acre. Tills simple application start- 
 ed clover ; cattle were allowed to eat it off. The next year the 
 same dose was given, and the animals were up to their bellies in 
 feed. Now this sod being broken up, corn, wheat or rye will 
 give a fair crop. With a little good manure, large yields may be 
 obtained, and under pro[)cr management there is no end to this 
 increased fertility." I have quoted the foregoing extracts to en- 
 courage the doubting to make and apply more manure. 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OP MANURING IN AUTUMN. 
 
 116, The philosophy of applying manure as a top-dressing 
 in late autumn may be thus explained. The growing year is 
 over. Everything is tending back to the ground from whence it 
 came. Earth is to be resolved back to its mother dust. Grass, 
 leaves, stubble, and all other vegetable substances, decay and go 
 downward into the soil, where their substance will form new 
 plants the next season. The temparature of the weather grows 
 cooler and cooler almost every day ; and the various gases in the 
 soil do not rise to promote vegetation as they do in the spring of 
 the year. Therefore when manure is applied in late autumn, 
 almost the entire strength is carried down into the soil, and there re- 
 tained as food for plants until the next spring, when new life of 
 plants begins, and long and warm days increase the temperature 
 of the soil ; and thus those manurial substances — grass and salts 
 — which promote the growth of plants, are brought up, and 
 taken up by the roots of whatever is allowed to grow upon 
 the soil. But when manure is spread on the surface in the spring 
 of the year, only a small proportion of the salts and gases of the 
 manure ever enter the soil ; but are swept away upon every 
 breeze, and almost wholly lost in their efficacy of the crops on him 
 who claims those substances as his own. 
 
 tlT. I have observed, for many years past, that they who 
 spread their manure on the surface in th^; spring of the year, pro- 
 niote the growth of their neighbors' grass about as much as they 
 do their own ; while, on the contrary, those farmers who spread it 
 in the fall, derive all the benefit that the manure can impart in 
 
358 THE YOUNG FARMEr's MANCAI. 
 
 heavier and better crops the next season. A thin sprinkling of 
 the scrapings of the barn-yard and sheds applied in November to 
 grass land, will often increase the crop more than twice the usual 
 amount. This I have often tested, and have never known it to 
 fail. On the contrary, I have never been able to perceive but 
 little benefit from manuring grass land in spring. I have my mind 
 on the meadow of a neighbor, to which there was applied a 
 heavy dressing of good manure in April; and I vvatclied it until the 
 grass was mowed ; and I am compelled to acknowledge that 1 
 could perceive little or no benefit at all arising from the top-dress- 
 ing. The grass was very light, and yielded, as I judged, not more 
 than one and a half tons of hay per acre. Had that quantity of 
 manure been applied in autumn, no doubt the grass would have 
 yielded more than three tons per acre. 
 
 LIQUID MANURE, AND PUMP FOR USINQ IT. 
 
 718. Although a large per centage of liquid manure is water, 
 it is yet very valuable for promoting the growth of all kinds of 
 crops, and often more so than the solid portions. Of course its 
 value diminishes in proportion as it is diluted with water. When 
 animals are fed on grain, the liquid which leaches from their 
 droppings or is collected beneath the stables abounds in more 
 fertilizing matter than that which flows from a pile of strawy 
 manure. In the Old World the liquid manure of animals is saved 
 with far more care than in America ; and it has been stated by 
 reliable authority^ that iu B3lgiu n liquid manure is valued so 
 highly, that the urine of a single cow commands over eight dol- 
 lars per annum. P.irtlei pui'c'.i.ise it expressly for increasing the 
 productiveness of their soils. If it is so valuable in other parts 
 of the world, it certainly is worth saving in America. The great 
 difficulty iu collecting liquid manure is a suitable pump. There 
 is usually more or less sediment among it, which would clog an 
 ordinary water pump. We give herewith an illustration of a 
 portion of a very cheap liquid manure pump, which wo have 
 found to be very convenient and effective. Any one who can 
 joint a board straight and square will be able to make one with 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'rf MANUAL. 
 
 359 
 
 little or iio difficulty. Four piec(3S of tiiick board are required, 
 from six to ten feet long. Two of them must b3 just four iuches 
 wide, and two others six inches wide. The latter two are nailed 
 firmly on the edges of the others. This will make a penstock 
 whose hollow is four inches square from end 
 to end. Now fit a block in the lower end, 
 and bore a two-inch hole through it, and fast- 
 en a valve over the hole to open upwards, and 
 nail the block in place. The larger the hole 
 the bstter, if the valve closes it well. The 
 next thing is to make the piston, which is re- 
 presented by the accompanying illustration, 
 fig, 1. This should be of hard wood, three 
 and three-quarter inches wide, and one inch 
 thick at the lower end, fitting well but work- 
 ing easily. This will allow a piece of leather 
 one-eighth of an inch thick to be nailed on each 
 edge of the piston rod. Procure two pieces 
 of leather, of the form shown in fig. 2, eight 
 inches long from F to e, six inches broad at 
 F, and five inches wide at e. These two pieces 
 are shown nailed to the piston rod, fig. 1, c, c. 
 At A, the rod is shown in two pieces, to in- 
 dicate an indefinite length. B, is the handle 
 to pump with. After the narrow ends of the 
 leather have been nailed securely to the lower 
 end of the rod A, place the edges of the 
 leather together, on the edge of the piston 
 rod, and nail them firmly with lath nails. As 
 the piston is thrust downward, the leather will 
 fold together, as represented by the angular 
 lines, c, c, and allow the liquid to rise above 
 it. But as soon as the piston rod is lifted, the leather spreads out 
 to the sides and corners, and raises all the liquid above it, and the 
 liquid rushes through the valve m the lower end of the penstock, 
 following the piston upwards. A spout can be made near to the 
 
 FIO. 1, 
 
360 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 
 
 top to conduct the liquid where it is desired. Pieces of cobs, 
 blocks of wood or chaff, will not. obstruct the free working of 
 this kind of pump. Such a pump will be found usjfid for pump- 
 ing sediment from cesspools, or for emptying the vaults of privies, 
 where most of the fecil matter is in a fluid and semi-fluid state. 
 Paper will not obstruct the valve or piston. Such a pump will 
 draw water out of a shallow well very fast. The deeper the well, 
 the more power will be required to work it. (See pars. 498, 
 500.) 
 
 THE LAST WORD ABOUT MANURE. 
 
 119. I have spun out this chapter mu3h against my own in- 
 clinations. But I know well what is lacking in American agri- 
 culture. It is manure — m.anure, and fertilizers. American farmers 
 need line upon line about manure. They waste too much. They 
 need exhorting, entreating, and beseeching to save with care, and 
 apply more manure. Grood cultivation and abundant manuring 
 are thj crowning concomitants in American agriculture. Farming 
 cannot be made to pay for any considerable length of time with- 
 out manure. On many kinds of soil it is folly to attempt to raise 
 any kind of crops without a good dressing of manure. The 
 sooner American farmers learn that by means of fertilizers only 
 they are to make farming pay, the sooner our agriculture will be 
 of a progressive and paying character. 
 
THE \^OUNG farmer's MANUAL, 361 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 NOXIOUS PLANTS AND THEIR ERADICATION. 
 
 " Now rid your fielt's of one year's seeding, 
 And save the toil of seven years' weeding." 
 
 t20. That farmer has a task before him, by no means pleas- 
 ant, on whose fields noxious weeds have been allowed to go to 
 seed for a number of seasons, or even for one season. Seeds of 
 almost all kinds of noxious weeds will remain in the soil for many 
 years — no one is able to determiue how long — and not lose their 
 vitality. Noxious weeds, of several different kinds, have veget- 
 ated in places on my farm which we knew had lain in the soil 
 for more than thirty years. Before such seeds will vegetate they 
 must be brought nearly to the surface of the ground. From 
 what I have experienced in eradicating field mustard, winter 
 cress, mulleins, and some other noxious wee Is, I have no hesitancy 
 in saying, that the seeds of such plants will not lose their vitality 
 for centuries when buried in the soil. If they will vegetate after 
 having lain in the soil for thirty years, as I know they will, 
 they will not, probably, lose their vitality in one hundred, or five 
 hundred years. Farmers should be exceedingly careful to allow 
 no noxious weeds to go to seed where it can possibly be 
 avoided "When a crop of grain is harvested, with noxious weeds 
 among it, never allow any of the seeds to find their way to the 
 manure heap when it can be prevented. Fanning mills are made 
 so perfect, at the present day, that there is no excuse for saving 
 foul seed, with any crop, with the exception of grass seeds. 
 "While a farmer is careful to manure his soil highly and cultivate 
 
302 THE YOUNG farmer's manual. 
 
 it well, he must not neglect the complete extermination of pestif- 
 erous plants that are ever ready to choke his crops. High 
 manuring and good cultivation are the first important steps 
 towar-ls the complete extermination of any plant. Better to 
 abandon the cultivation of half one's farm, than to allow weeds 
 to grow with crops, maturing th' ir seed, and scattering it again 
 in the field or at the barn. 
 
 721. The first step towards the complete eradication of weeds 
 is to prevent their seeding, or at least casting any seed on the 
 ground. If every weed is cut down before the seed is formed, 
 an excellent beginning will have been made in a good direction. 
 The next thing is an understanding of tlie k%hit of the plants to 
 eradicate ; otherwise all efforts will be unavailing. A farmer 
 should know whether a plant be an annual, biennial^ or perennial. 
 Plants of different habit require ve^'y different treatnieiit in erad- 
 icating them. Annual plants need a diflferent system of manage- 
 ment from perennials or biennials. 
 
 THE CANADA THISTLE — (Cii'sium Arvensc.) 
 
 722. The Canada Thistle, a cut of which is herewith given, 
 is a po'eiiniid plant. It is propagated by seed and by its roots. 
 The seeds are attached to a downy pappus, not unlike the com- 
 mon thistle or milkweed, by which they are scattered — there is 
 no telling how far. Wlien they are flying in the air, if they come 
 in contact with the tops of forest trees they fall to the ground, 
 and as soon as the timber is cut off, they will vegetate. The seeds 
 will vegetate, if in a favorable place, any time from early in the 
 spring to late in the autumn. If they vegetate in the former part 
 of the season, they will not produce seed daring that season, but 
 will throw out lateral roots in every direction, and will send up 
 a plant every few inche-;, and so near each other that in rieli 
 soils the leaves will cover the whole ground. In mellow soils 
 and in wet seasons they spread very rapidly, and will soon take 
 
TITR YOUNG FARMERS MANUAL. 
 
 3G3 
 
 possession of a wliole field. But instead of being a curse to 
 farmers, Canada thistles are a rich blessing in disguise. They 
 have been the cause of raising very many noble crops of all kinds 
 
 THE CANADA THISTLE. 
 
 of grain ; and they are a great source of wealth to slack, thriftr 
 less farmers : because had it not been for the thistles, such farm- 
 
364 
 
 ers would not half cultivate their soil ; and consequently not 
 half a crop would have been produced. Canada thistles flourish 
 best in a very rich, friable soil, although they will grow on almost 
 any soil, if it is not too wet. It is fir more difficult to eradicate 
 them from a poor, worn-out soil than from a very rich soil. If 
 a farmer cultivates and manures his soil well, raising those crops 
 which will return him t1ie most profit, Canada thistles will soon 
 be among the rare specimens of exotics. 
 
 723. The roots of the Canada thistle strike very deep, and 
 are exceedingly tenacious of life. Tliere was a small patch where 
 1 once dug the cellar for a hous?, and although the subsoil, clear 
 to the bottom of the cellar, was most complete hcird pun, the 
 roots extended below the bottom, and thistles sprang from them 
 all over the cellar the next season after the house was erected. 
 Canada thistles exhaust a soil but very little when compared 
 with other plants ; and if a farmer pursues the most proper 
 course in extermiuating them, they may be eradicated most 
 effectively, with little labor, in one season. But if the labor 
 expended in endeavoring to eradicate them is not applied at the 
 proper season, according to a certain stage in the growth of the 
 plant, they may be plowed and hoed throagh the entire season, 
 and the next season they will appear as numerous and herilthy as 
 if they had not been molested. 
 
 724. Although they may be smothered in one season with 
 any substance, or be completely eradicated with a hoe, or by 
 pulling them, still, when they have taken complete possession of 
 a field, the labor of extermination must be performed with the 
 plow. Three times plowing on a rich soil will most effectively 
 eradicate them, providing the plowing is performed at a certain 
 sta^-e in the growth of the plants, anl the soil all plowed up 
 with narrow furrows and no balks made. The reason why so 
 many fail in their efforts to eradicate noxious weeds by plowing 
 is, the plowing is only half done. A poor team, a poor, disin- 
 terested, unskillful plowman, with a poor plow and dull point, 
 will scarify the soil just enough to make the thistles grow well 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 365 
 
 the next season. I liavo known instances where farmors com- 
 menced plowing thistles early in the spring, and kept them well 
 plowed — four or five times— all the season, when on th3 next 
 season a few thistles appeared ; and on the second and third 
 seasons they were as numerous as ever. And I have known 
 farmers delay plowing them until they were in blossom, when 
 they would plow them three times, and destroy completely every 
 root in the soil, but the next year they would appear from the 
 subsoil as numerous as ever. 
 
 t25. From these facts we learn that, in order to eradicate 
 them thoroughly in one season by plowing, they must be plowed 
 at a certain stage in the growth of the plant ; and the times of 
 plowing must not be too far apart, nor succeed each other too 
 soon. They must be " grown to death." If they are plowed in 
 spring or summer, before they have attained a good growth, we 
 may abandon the idea of eradicating them during that season. 
 If the soil where they are growing is a sod, let it be plowed in 
 autumn. On the next season, when the thistles begin to lieacl, 
 if they are so large that a team does not like tc travel among 
 them, mow them and plow the ground thoroughly. Let no balks 
 be made. If they are not very large, they need not be mowed, 
 but the tops may be drawn under with a chain. (See How to 
 Do it, par. 68-1-.) The tops of thistles will not turn to roots, as 
 many people have stated, imless a portion of the top is left un- 
 buried. See that the tops are completely covered with earth, 
 not less than two inches deep, otherwise they will continue to 
 grow. After plowing, harrow, with a heavy harrow or culti- 
 vator, in order to draw out as many roots as possible. In not 
 less than four weeks plow again, and then again in about five or 
 six weeks. The thistles should have sufficient tunc to grow, to 
 exhaust the roots ; and they should not be allowed to grow so 
 long between the plowings, that the roots will begin to spread 
 or to acquire any strength. If the plowings are properly done, 
 four ]->lowings, at proper intervals, will eradicate any patch of 
 Canada thistles. But if the soil is stony, and many balks are 
 made, they will not all be eradicated in one season. 
 
3GG THE YOUNG farmer's manual. 
 
 726. If tliorc arc but few thistles in a field, plant some hoed 
 crop, and manure higlily ; and cut every tJiistle with a broad line, 
 or })ull them once in four or five weeks; anl if tlie work is 
 thoroughly done, none will appear tlie next season. But if some 
 of them arc left uncut, and some are bent down and bruised a 
 little, there will be lots of them the next year. Pulling them is 
 more efFoctual than hoeing, if every nm of them is 'pulled. Let a 
 few only be left, and you will always have thistles. In pastures, 
 let them be mowed close to the ground as soon as they are larnre 
 enough. One mowing in the former part of tlie season will sub- 
 due them more than two mowings after they have blossomed. 
 If they are allowed to grow unmolested until they blossom before 
 they are mowed, as a general rule it will not subdue them 
 enough to pay for mowing, althougli I have known instances, on 
 very rich soil, when thistles wore four, and even five feet high, 
 with large hollow stems, where they were mowed before a heavy 
 shower, so that the stubble was filled with water, which produced 
 stagnation of the sap, and every root died. (See Prize Essay, 
 by the Author, in "Transactions of the IS'ew York State Agri- 
 cultural Society," 1846. 
 
 CANADA THISTLES AMONG CROPS. 
 
 127. When they appear among early red clover that is to be 
 cut for hay, the clover will be fit to cut before the thistles have 
 matured sufficiently to go to seed. When they are among other 
 grass, let it be mowed before the seed is ripe. When they grow 
 taller than oats and barley, when such crops arc about one foot 
 high, mow off all the tops of the thistles. Then they will injure 
 the growth of grain but little. Keep them from going to seed. 
 In many sections of our country, as soon as the timber is cut off, 
 Canada thistles spring up. In late autumn, take up every little 
 thistle with a spade. They will be found, one in a place, just 
 sprung from the seed. The roots have not yet spread only a 
 few inches, and a spade will take them up root and branch. But 
 if these solitary plants be left till next season, they will soon 
 
THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 36T 
 
 spread over the entire ground. If there are ma.iy thistles, seed 
 the land thickly with Kentucky blue grass, orchard grass and 
 timothy ; then mow them three times each year, until the stumps 
 of trees are rotted, so that the entire ground can be plowed. 
 This is a reliable manner of subduing this pest when the ground 
 cannot be plowed. I have been accustomed to pull them with 
 wooden tongs when the plants were few and scattering, and 
 the ground soft ; and have often drawn out roots eighteen inches 
 long. Water will settle into the holes where the roots grew, 
 and retard the growth of the remaining roots. My experience is 
 that hands with leather mittens on are better for pulling than 
 wooden pincers or tongs. 
 
 AVINTER CRESS— SCURVY GRASS— ( Barbarea Vulgaris.) 
 
 728. Winter Cress is twin brother of Field Mustard. The 
 seed of mustard and winter cress look alike, taste alike, and 
 possess equal vitality. Winter cress flourishes well in b\v, wet 
 places, or on the dry upland. It never matures its seed in one 
 season. The young plants will live during the winter like muUeinis 
 and bull thistles, and after fructification the neit season the 
 roots will die. It never matures its seed among spring crops, 
 unless the plants are allowed to vegetate the previous autumn, 
 and are not well plowed under in the previous spring. When it 
 appears in the spring among winter cro[)S, it must be pulled or 
 cut off near the ground, wliich is quite as well as to pull it. In 
 case there is much seed in the soil plow it, harrow it, or cultivate 
 it often, and grow it out, as recommended for mustard. The 
 next season, after a field is seeded with grass or early clover, if 
 there should b3 much of it, as it matures before clover is fit to 
 cut, the field should be pastured, so that the grass can be mowu 
 whin it is in blossom. 
 
 729. The difference b^'tween Winter Cress and Field Mustard 
 is, the mustard has rough, jagged leaves, and blossoms of a 
 lighter color than cress and is an annual, while cress has smooth, 
 dark green leaves, and is a biennial. Dr. Darlington's " Agri- 
 cultural Botany " says : " It is called Early Barharca, Early 
 
368 
 
 THE YOUNG FARMER's MANUAL. 
 
 Winter Cress, and Scurvy Grass. Roots biennial, stem nine to 
 fifteen inches high. [I have raised it three ^eet high. Author] 
 Leaves smooth, lower ones three or four inches long ; petals 
 yellow ; siliques two or throe inches long and slender. In seme 
 of the gardens near Philadelphia it is cultivated under the name 
 of Scurvy Grass, as the leaves afford a medium salad." The 
 kind alluded to, I think, is Barharca Praecox. The weed which 
 appears in many of our gi'ain-growing districts is Barharea Vul- 
 gar is, 
 
 ERADICATIN^a PIGEON W3ED, OR RED ROOT. 
 
 130. Pigeon Weed, 
 wliich is sometimes cal- 
 led LUhospsnmom , or 
 Stonij Sczi, is a bien- 
 nial plant, and flourish- 
 es only where winter 
 crops arc raised. Al- 
 though it is a very 
 noxious weed, as its 
 seeds possess great vi- 
 tality, and the stom- 
 achs of animals will 
 not digest them when 
 they are not crushed, 
 nor will they be ground 
 in the gizzards of fowls, 
 still one acre of mus- 
 tard or winter cress 
 is incomparably more 
 uifQcult to exterminate 
 than ten acres of pig- 
 eon weed. The seed 
 of pigeon weed fur- 
 nishes oil similar to 
 
 PiaEON ^VEED, OR RET> ROOT. 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER' S MANUAL. 369 
 
 linseed oil ; but it exhausts a good soil more than a crop of flax- 
 seed will. By cultivating a rotation of spring crops, and by 
 plowing and harrowing the ground in autumn, in order to pro- 
 mote the vegetation of the seeds, pigeon weed can be emdicated 
 in two or three seasons, even if it has taken complete possession 
 of the soil. Pigeon weed, like winter wheat, must iiave two 
 seasons to mature in. For this reason it is never seen among 
 spring wheat, oats, Indian corn, and barley, except in the fall 
 after corn is cut up. 
 
 731. As some birds have the power of disgorging the con- 
 tents of their crops, pigeons have been known to empty their 
 crops of certain kinds of seed on recently sowed wheat fields, 
 and fill themselves with wheat. No doubt pigeon weed seed is 
 often brought to wheat fields in this manner from a great dis- 
 tance, as the young plants frequently appear where no such weeds 
 have ever been seen before. When there is but little of it, let it 
 be pulled in the spring or summer. Great care should be 
 exercised that none of the seed h thrown among birnyard 
 manure, or where fowls will eat it, as they will drop it araDng 
 the manure. In this way the seed is sure to be carried to some 
 cultivated field. Birds of the air often drop the seed in mellow 
 places, where they go daily to roll. Let such plants always be 
 pulled early in the season. When wheat is put in with a drill, 
 men can travel between the drills to pull noxious weeds with- 
 out tra i.pling down the growing wheat. 
 
 OX-EYE DAISIES — CLeMcanfAemM/y* Vulgare.) --now to eradicats. 
 
 ♦' For who but he who arched the skies. 
 And pours the day-spring's living flood ; 
 Wondrous ahke in all he tries, 
 Could rear the daisy's i^urple bud ?" — T. M. Goon. 
 
 732. The Daisy is a perennial plant, and will root out grass, 
 until it obtains complete ascendency over all other plants. It is 
 propagated by the spreading of its roots and by the seed. The 
 seed will vegetate if dropped anywhere on a tough sod ; and 
 when daisies abound in a pasture field, and are allowed to 
 
370 
 
 THF, YOUNf; FARMER S MANUAL 
 
 mature tlu'ir seed, cattle will cat the Leads, and scatter the seed 
 ill their droppings over the whole farm in one season. They 
 may be easily exterminated by cultivating a rotation of spring 
 crops lor four seasons, allowing no seed to mature. When a 
 hoed cop is raised, every stool or bunch of daisies must bo 
 
 pulled or hoed up and 
 the dust shook off, and 
 when the soil is plowed 
 the next season every 
 stool or bunch must 
 be buried not less than 
 tvro inches deep. Pull 
 them in the nooks of 
 fences when the soil 
 is wet, and throw them 
 in heaps, or remove the 
 fences, and plow them. 
 If a winter crop is 
 grown on the soil 
 where they exist, they 
 will vegetate in Aut- 
 umn and mature their 
 seed the next season, 
 before a crop of grain 
 is ripe. Sometimes 
 timothy seed is full of 
 daisy seed, and as the 
 seeds are so small, it 
 is difficult to perceive 
 ox-F.vB DAISIES. tlicm. Drlcd daisies for 
 
 fodder arc about as nutrltia:r> as an equal quantity of line brush. 
 Pity the sorrows of a poor ainm.il that is compelled to subsist on 
 daisy hay ! One crop of daisies will exhaust a soil more than 
 two crops of clover. 
 
 7o3. Somatlmes very careful fiirraers meet vvith bunches of 
 daisies in their meadows or pasture where no other weed can be 
 
THE YOUN'G FARifER'^ AIAXUAL. 37 1 
 
 fount!. Where do they come from ? Cattle brought the seed. 
 I have ill mind a neat farmer who kept a drove of cattle one 
 night, whicii had been fed on hay, among which there was daisy 
 seed. Wherever those cattle left droppings, a bunch of luxuriant 
 daisies sprang up nearly two years afterwards. It was a mys- 
 tery he coul 1 not solve, that tliey should not appear till so long 
 a time had elapsed. The seed was dropped in January. The 
 next spring they vegetated, and grew all the season without 
 sending up any seed stems. Of course, daisies would hardly be 
 noticed that season while the young plants were getting well 
 rooted. But the next season the tall stems and Inrge white 
 blossoms marked the spots where the strange cattle dropped th3 
 seeds. This is one of the ways that the ox-eye daisy becomes 
 scattered over clean meadows and pastures. Another common 
 way is by purchashig manure and hay, and sowing grass seed, in 
 which there is daisy seed. When there is but a Httle m a place, 
 pull or dig it up before the seed is matured. That man who 
 feeds liay with daisies in it will soon have it in every field on his 
 farm. Most writers afi&rm that no seed will ever germinate 
 after it has been through sheep. Although sheep grind their 
 feed fine, I am satisfied they do not crush all the seed. 
 
 734. J. J. Thomas, writes : — " Many portions of the 
 State of New York and Pennsylvania are infested with this 
 weed. In many places we may observe the clear white of its 
 abundant blossoms contrasting with the deep green of surround- 
 ing vegetation. It is hardy, and seems to flourish where other 
 plants are starved; while on fertile soils it vies with the most 
 luxuriant, endeavoring to outstrip every cultivated crop, and 
 tims exhibiting to the passer-by the unthrift of every farmer who 
 suffers its existence upon his soil. It is a very prolific weed, 
 each root throwing up from sixty to seventy-five main stalks, 
 each with half a dozen side branches, and not one without its 
 seed head well filled with fully-developed germs for future crops 
 of this pest of the farm. Upon stumpy land it is very difficult to 
 eradicate the white daisy. But on land which can all be plowed 
 while they are in early blossom, just deep enough to cover them 
 
372 THE YOUNG FARMKr's MANUAL. 
 
 well, they can soon be eradicated. After the first plowing, allow 
 the roots to dry for a few days, and then, in dry weather, plow 
 again, being careful to plow well, and follow with v. thorough 
 harrowing. When the proper season arrives for sowing buck- 
 wheat, plow and harrow again, and sow thickly with this grain, 
 and the daisy will be destroyed if the work has been thoroughly 
 done. Th3 importance of bringing the soil into full cultivation 
 while the daisy is in blossom cannot be overstated. Turn the 
 weeds all undsr before the seeds begin to ripen, and with the 
 harrow keep the plants from taking root, and they will soon give 
 np the contest. The seed product of the white daisy is enormous. 
 There arc not often less than one hundred and fifty heads to the 
 single root — often five times that number, and each full to over- 
 flowing with seeds. We have found, by actual count, over four 
 hundred; and placing the estimate at one half that number for the 
 lowest number of seed heads per plant, we have thirty thousand 
 seeds from one. At that rate of increase, the soil upon which 
 they are allowed to grow will soon have room for nothing besides. 
 PulUng them by hand, we need only undertake after a soaking 
 rain. Their roots, so numerous and so strongly fixed to the soil, 
 will not come up at any time without a strong pull; and when 
 the ground is dry, the plants will break before they will loose their 
 hold. One of the best ways to keep clear of them is to use 
 great caution about sowing them. Every farmer should bo able 
 to detect all kinds of foul seeds at a glance. The white daisy 
 has a seed considerably larj;er than timothy seed, shaped some- 
 what like the seed of the carrot, but smooth and destitute of fuzz. 
 Its color is light drab and brown, in parallel stripes, running from 
 one end of the seed to the other. When once known it is easily 
 detected." 
 
 HORSE SORREL, SHEEP SORREL, AND WOOD SORREL. 
 
 735. Botanists have arranged the field sorrel under the head 
 of Rumex Acetosella and Oxalis Acetosella. And although most 
 practical farmers are accustomed to speak of sorrel as sheep 
 sorrel, horse sorrel or wood sorrel, I have not been able to find 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 373 
 
 in any botany a plant described as horse sorrel. What is most 
 commonly called horse sorrel, Dr. Darlington describes as sheep 
 sorrel, and some other botanists call it common wood sorrel. 
 
 736. There are so many kinds of sorrel that it is not con- 
 sidered important for my purpose in this treatise to give a 
 botanical description of them. The horse sorrel, which is often 
 called field sorrel and wood sorrel, and sometimes sheep sorrel, 
 may be known by its large, long leaves, of a lanceolate, hastate 
 shape, or of a shape somewhat like a lance and spear combined. 
 There is, usually, a kind of hook or projection on each side near 
 the base of each leaf, which are always long and narrow. On 
 rich soils I have often seen them three inches long. The leaves 
 are usually very tender, and .children as well as adults eat them 
 with avidity ; although too much of them would be injurious, on 
 account of the large quantity of oxalic acid which chemists tell 
 us exists in the leaves of sorrel. 
 
 731. What is commonly called sheep sorrel has leaves very 
 much like sweet clover, and the leaves are very tender, and are 
 relished much better than the other kind of sorrel, as the acid 
 taste is more delicate. This kind of sorrel is often met with when 
 harvesting spring wheat, oats or barley. It grows in little tufts, 
 and at first sight looks a little like a tuft of young and tender 
 clover. 
 
 738. Both kinds are found along fences where the soil is 
 mellow and the grass has run out ; and sometimes tliey are 
 about the only herbage that will grow in certain portions of a 
 cultivated field. Sometimes large stems will be sent up from one 
 to two feet high, full of seed, which, if allowed to mature nnd 
 fall to the ground, will remain in the soil for many years, unless 
 it is so near the surface that the moisture andhe[»t are just right 
 to cause it to vegetate. Sorrel is by no means a troublesome 
 weed, providing one understands its habit and knows how to 
 eradicate it. 
 
 739. Sometimes when soils have been impoverished by a bad 
 system of management, so that it is difficult to seed it down with 
 any kind of grass, sorrel will take complete possession. It is a 
 
374 THE YOTIT^G farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 very iianly plant, and will flourish on barren places where no 
 other green thing will attempt to grow, 
 
 HOW TO ERADICATE IT. 
 
 740. In the first place, keep it frona going to seeJ. Then 
 cultivate the soil well, and manure it abundantly for a few suc- 
 cessive seasons, and sorrel will give no farther trouble. Sorrel 
 never flourishes luxurmntly on a soil that will yield three tons of 
 hay per acre, or thirty bushels of wheat, or eighty bushels of 
 oats, or eighty bushels of shelled Indian corn p?r acre ; because 
 cultivated plants will soon supplant it;. Red clover, for example, 
 and orchard grass will grow so quickly, if the soil is not too 
 barren, that sorrel will be efTectually choked out. 
 
 741. Now, suppose there is more sorrel in a field than there 
 is anything else. Haul on as much barn-yard manure as can be 
 plowed under conveniently, and plant it with Indian corn, and 
 cultivate it well, letting none go to seed. Should it come up 
 thickly in autumn, and ba forward enough to go to seed before 
 winter, let the ground be plowed next spring, and about the first 
 of June plow the ground again, and on a dry day harrow it 
 thoroughly. About the first of July plow again, and sow buck- 
 wheat, lu autumn give another oat of manure, if the soil is 
 not already rich enough, and the following spring plow again, 
 and sow spring rye, and seed down with red clover and orchard 
 grass. Sorrel will give no more trouble, if treated in this way, 
 until the grass has begun to fail, Tiiis is a rare plant on a farm, 
 where a g.ood rotation system has been aJopt3d. 
 
 EXTIRPATING SORREL BY APPLYING LIME. 
 
 142. The scientific remedy for killing sorrel is an application 
 of lime to the soil where it grows. The agricultural 
 chemistry of this lofty philosophy is, that there is ox.ilic acid in 
 the sorrel, and there is an excess of it in the soil. Iherefore an 
 alkali (there is alkali in lime) must be applied to the soil for 
 the purpose of neutralizing this oxalic acid, which is found only 
 
THE YOUNG FAKMER's MANUAL. 315 
 
 in the sorrel. Distinguished agricultural chemists have recom- 
 mended this practice for the certain extirpation of sorrel from the 
 soil ! And credulous and honest farmers, who thought them- 
 selves very ignorant, have applied lime bountifully for that 
 purpose ; and editors of agricultural papers have reiterated this 
 remedy as the only infallible panacea for the extirpation of 
 sorrel ! 
 
 743. If an old superannuated grandmother, who never saw- 
 any books except her Bible and the Babes in the Woods, could 
 not give a more philosophical and practical remedy for the extir- 
 pation of sorrel than the application of lime for the purpose of 
 neutralizing the oxalic acid that might be formed in the sorrel, 
 any one might be justified in denominating her a demented old 
 dotard. One might, with the samo propriety, apply lime to the 
 roots of currant bushes, for the purpose of neutralizing the acid 
 that we taste in currants. 
 
 744. It is indeed passing strange that wise chemists should 
 have fallen into such a blunder as this. Oxalic acid docs not 
 exist in the soil. Therefore what folly to apply an alkali to 
 neutralize an acid that is not there. It is no evidence of a sour- 
 ness in a soil because it produces sour and bitter plants. The 
 acid is formed in the growing plant. It is not absorbed from 
 the soil by the roots of sorrel and conveyed up into the leaves ; 
 and it is ridiculously absurd to assume that lime may be ajiplied 
 as a remedy for the extirpation of sorrel. 
 
 _745. This position is well substantiated by tlic fact that sorrel 
 has often been seen to grow luxuriantly in close proximity to 
 lime kilns, where lime had been applied at the rate of several 
 thousands of bushels per acre. All the effect lim:3 can have in 
 extirpating sorrel will be produced by preparing the soil b-y way 
 of fertilizing it for other plants which will overgrow and supplant 
 the sorrel. 
 
 746. Since writing the foregoing paragraplis, I was i)leascd 
 to meet with the folio w.ng remarks in the A?nericcni Agriculturist, 
 previous to my editorial connection with it : — * Lirao is often 
 recommended to kill out sorrel : the alleged reason being that 
 
376 THE YOUNG FAR.ME.VS MANUAL. 
 
 the oxalic acid in the sorrel shows that the soil is sour, and to 
 remedy this we must apply an alkali, like lime. Doubtless good 
 often comes from such application of lime, but not for the reason 
 here given. 
 
 T47. The presence of oxalic acid in sorrel is no better proof 
 that the land is sour, than is the acidity of the npple or of the 
 rhubarb plant. The same ground which grows a sour apple will 
 grow a sweet one ; the two often grow on the same tree. The 
 vegetable acids (of v/liich oxalic is one) are producel ia the 
 organism of the tree or plant, and not in the land. True, the 
 elements of the acid are gathered from the soil and air ; but they 
 do not exist in the acid form which we find in the plants. These 
 very elements, when taken up by* a potatoe plant, form starch. 
 When taken up by a corn plant, form sugar, and when taken up 
 by a "Tape vine, form tartaric acid. If the soil itself be as closely 
 examined as science will permit, there will be found neither the 
 starch of the potatoe, the sugar of the corn, the cream of tartar 
 of grapes, nor the oxalic acid of sorrel. In view of these facts, 
 then, it is useless to apply an alkali to the soil to neutralize an 
 acid which does not exist there. But is there, then, no way of 
 eradicating sorrel? Yes. It spreads like quack-grass and 
 Canada thistles, chiefly by underground stems with numerous 
 joints, each of which will form a plant. Break up the land in 
 July and August and put in a crop of buckwheat or rutabagas ; 
 and the intruder will be pretty well simbbed out. A corn crop, 
 or other hoed crop, if well drilled in mid-sunmier, will answer a 
 good purpose. Dressings of the soil are also very important. 
 Ai)plications of lime are useful to decompose vegetable matter, 
 and so to ' warm up' the land and quicken the growth of plants. 
 Chief of all in value is barn-yard manure applied copiously and 
 well worked in. This gives strong food for the vigorous growth 
 of other plants than sorrels ; and when they occupy the land, 
 this badge of an impoverished soil will disappear." 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL 
 
 sn 
 
 THE SHEEP LAUREL.— CXa/mia Angustifolia. ) 
 
 U8. This plant, which 
 is commou on hill sides and 
 in pastures, is Iznown by 
 the names Sheep Laurel, 
 Lambkill, and Dwarf Lau- 
 rel. It is a small ever- 
 green shrub, about two feet 
 high with slender branches. 
 Tlie leaves arc light-green, 
 pale on the under side, and 
 of the size and shape shown 
 In the engraving, which re- 
 presents a flowering branch 
 of the natural size. The 
 flowers are crimson, and 
 though not particularly- 
 showy, are, upon close in- 
 spection, curious and beau- 
 tiful. I notice this shrub 
 on account of its alleged 
 poisonous effects w^hen eat- 
 en by sheep. The very 
 general impression that it 
 possesses poisonous quali- 
 ties is indicated by two of 
 the popular names quoted 
 above ; but after a pretty 
 diligent search for authen- 
 tic statements in regard to 
 its deleterious qualities, I 
 find the accounts vaguo 
 and unsatisfactory. 
 
 149. Mr. L. A. Morrell, 
 author of the Americaii 
 Sfmphercl, states that it is poisonous 
 
 THE SHEEP LAUEEIi. 
 
 From the antidotes pub- 
 
378 THE YOUNG FARMEr's MANUAL. 
 
 lishcd from time to time b}^ the agricultural papers, I infer that 
 it is at most a weak poison. 
 
 750. The best manner of exterminating it is to mow' it c'.oso 
 to the ground early in the season, and as often afterwards as it 
 is large enough to be mowed. This will subdue it in pastures 
 and meadows until the ground can be jjlovved and hoed. One 
 four-years rotation of crops will exterminate the last vestige of 
 it, if the work be well performed. 
 
 TOAD-FLAX. 
 
 751. Within the remembrance of many of our readers there 
 was a plant cultivated in gardens as an ornament which bore 
 the popular name of " Butter and Eggs." It has quite disap- 
 peared from our gardens, but has taken up its abode in fijlds 
 and meadows, and along the roadside, where it not only flourishes 
 without any care, but strongly resists the efforts made to get rid 
 of it. The engraving shows the upper part of a stem with the 
 flowers — the wliole stem being from one to three feet liigh, and 
 bearing below long and narrow leaves, like those shown in the 
 figure. The structure of the flower is quite curious, and will 
 repay examination. The four stamens and the pistil are quite 
 hidden within the flower. The pod, instead of splitting Vv lien 
 ripe, opens one or two holes in its sides to allow the seed to fall 
 out. The leaves are of a pale green, the flowers of a light yellow 
 color, except the palate, which is of a bright orange. Tliis con- 
 trast of colors doubtless gave origin to the name " Butter and 
 Eggs." But the most important part of the plant is the root, 
 which is woody, creeping, and very tenacious of life, — qualities 
 which render it a troublesome weed. In some places the notion 
 prevails that the more its destruction is attempted, the faster 
 it spreads ; and with this view patches are sometimes left in the 
 fields for fear of making matters worse by disturbing them. This 
 belief has some foundation in fact, and there is no doubt that 
 plowing and harrowing will break and scatter the roots, every 
 piece of which will start and form a plant. But a field infested 
 
THE YOUXG FARMERS' MANUAL. 
 
 319 
 
 with this, or simllai* weeds, should be kept ia hoed crops until 
 the evil is exterminated. 
 In Pennsylvania, the 
 plant is known as Ran= 
 stead-weed, on account, 
 it is said, of its introduc- 
 tion there by a Mr. Ran- 
 stead, who, many years 
 ago, cultivated it in his 
 garden. The name Toad- 
 flax is the one by which 
 the plant is known in 
 England ; and as it is 
 very desirable to pre- 
 serve uniformity in popu- 
 lar as well as botanical 
 names, we give it the 
 preference over the 
 others. To eradicate, 
 never let a plant go to 
 seed. Mow it in past- 
 ures and meadows, and 
 plant Indian corn one 
 year, and sow buckwheat 
 the next. This will des- 
 troy it. 
 
 Wneu single plants 
 first appear, pull them 
 before they blossom. 
 When mowing grass, if 
 any has matured its seed, 
 cut it up with cnre, and 
 burn it or destroy it. 
 
 When this plant appears in old pastures, i)low the ground, 
 manure well, and seed with orchard grass and Kentucky blue 
 grass and red clover. 
 
 TOAD FLAX. 
 
380 TOR YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 CHESS OR CHEAT. — Bromus SccaliflUS. 
 
 752. I doubt wliethcr there is another plant in the world 
 
THE YOUNG FARMEli's MANUAL. 381 
 
 that has elicited so much discussion as this. It is ray purpose tc 
 show what chess is, how it may be identified when seen, and how 
 exterminated. Thousands of good farmers do not even know it 
 when they meet with it. The ilUistration re[)resents the full 
 size of a large panicle of the grain. By comparing this re- 
 presentation with a growing specimen, any one will be able tc 
 recognize it. The little awn, or bristle to tlie chaff of each grain, 
 varies much in length, being sometimes longer than is shown in 
 the engraving. Although the chess grows luxuriantly, it can 
 not be considered other than as a worthless weed, which should 
 be carefully eradicated. An attempt was made some years ago 
 to introduce it under the name of Willard's Bromus It was 
 found to yield a large quantity of fodder, but its quahty was 
 shown by direct experiment to be poor. Cows having equally 
 free access to the bromus, or chess, and swale hay and corn- 
 stalks, invariably neglected the chess. 
 
 TRANSMUTATION OF WHEAT TO CHESS. 
 
 153. There is a mystery about the phenomena that farmers 
 some times meet with concerning chess. Some men have scouted 
 at the idea that wheat will ever produce chess. Editors of 
 agricultural papers have denounced intelligent farmers as con- 
 summate ninnies b'jcause they have sometimes been induced to 
 believe that the wheat plant has sometimes produced chess ; and 
 I suppose I shall be denounced as an ignoramus for appearing to 
 acknowledge any thing of the kind. But facts are stubborn 
 things. I cannot afi&rm that wheat never does produce chess. 
 I have seen chess produced where, had it not been for my 
 knowledge ot botany, I would not hesitate for a moment to 
 say that the chess sprang irom wheat. My botanical knowledge 
 assures me that wheat never produces chess. And I th.nk that 
 is correct : 
 
 Query. — An ox broke into a field of wheat early in the 
 spring and cropped off tlu spears for several feet square where 
 he entered the enclosure. Wherever he ate off the wheat, large 
 chess appeared. The ground was quite soft where he walked 
 
382 THE YOUNG FARMER's MANUAL. 
 
 across the field ; and stems of chess grew around every track ; 
 and no chess could be found any where else in the field. "Who 
 will explaui to me whence came the chess ? In another instance, 
 there was a hollow in the field where wheat was sowed, which 
 covered an area of several square rods. Water would often 
 stand several inches deep in this hollow, and freeze and thaw 
 until it had all evaporated. Good wheat grew up to the point 
 where the water covered the ground. Below the water-mark, 
 nothing but chess appeared. If this is not a poser for botanists, 
 I am no judge of wheat and chess. I ask, where did it come 
 from ? You say, and I also say, that it never sprang from wheat. 
 It was never sowed there. Has any one ever sowed chess, for a 
 succession of years, to produce wheat ? With all .ly knowledge 
 of botany, I dare not afiirm that nice wheat may not be pro- 
 duced from chess I It is said that our peach es originated from 
 almonds. Is it any more incredible that wheat should have 
 sprung from chess ? Who can deny it? and at the same time 
 give us indubitable assurance that it is not so ? 
 
 754. If we let some kind of turnips remain in the ground all 
 winter and go to seed the next season, the product will be 
 nothing but tops. It may not always be so. But I have 
 always found this not to fail. This is a fact. Now , then, I ask 
 botanists to explain it on philosophical principles. 
 
 755. Botanists agree, that as chess belongs to a distinct 
 genus from wheat, the possibility of its ever changing from one 
 to the other is effectually excluded. Chess is very prolific; One 
 seed will often bring forth a thousand- fold. The kernels will 
 pass through the stomachs of animals, the gizzards of birds 
 and domestic fowls without losing their vitality. They will 
 often remain in the ground for years, and then grow when it is 
 brought near the surface of the ground. J. J. Thomas affirms 
 in the Annual Register, that " chess will often grow not more 
 than two inches high, and perfect the seed," which seems almost 
 incrediljlc. It is easily eradicated by raising none but spring 
 crops, and sowing none of the seed with winter grain. A good 
 fainiiug mill will blow it all out, as it is much lighter than wheat 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 383 
 
 or rye. Then, do not f<jed it to fowls or stock until it is 
 ground or boiled. There is so little nourishment in it, that it is 
 hardly worth grinding into meal. 
 
 T^VRiyocK— {Lappa Major.) 
 
 151. No good farmer will allow this coarse and disagreeable 
 weed to flourish on his farm. After a few plants have been 
 allowed to go to seed, a long time will elapse before they can 
 be exterminated. As burdock is a biennial plant, the seeds ger- 
 minate one season, and produce seed the next season. After 
 this, the root and all dies. Eurdock is seldom seen in cultivated 
 fields. In neglected nooks, where the ground is rich and bare, 
 burdock will supplant every thing else. 
 
 758. The best way to eradicate the plants is to cut them with 
 sharp hoes, two or more inches below the surface of the ground, 
 late in autumn, when the water will enter the roots and destroy 
 them. If the ground where they grow can bo plowed, they may 
 be easily exterminated, unless there is much seed in the soil, 
 which a few years of cultivation will destroy by vegetation. 
 
 WILD MUSTARD — CHARLOCK. — {Sinnpis Afvensis.) 
 
 159. A branching, annual plant, two to six feet high. Lower 
 leaves deeply lobed, and varying much in their shape, the upper 
 ones not lobed, but toothed or notched. Stem and leaves rough 
 with scattered hairs, which generally point backwards. Flowers 
 bright yellow, numerous, appearing from June till August, con- 
 sisting of four small sepals and four large yellow petals, the lat- 
 ter narrowed into a long claw at the base, the other end ovate, 
 with generally a slight notch in the end. Pods one to one and- 
 a-half inches long, tipped with the dried style of the flower. Seeds 
 numerous, round and black. Plant varies much in different 
 situations. In some places it is six or seven feet high, very 
 branching, and producing thousands of seeds ; and in dry, hard 
 soils I have seen it but a few inches high, tipped with a single 
 flower. Most abundant in the central and western part of the 
 state of New York, where it is a great nuisance. 
 
384 TH?. YOUNG FA.RMER'3 MANUAL. 
 
 We know of no weed in the j^rain-^rowing districts of New 
 York that is so difficult to exterminate as this. Canada thistles, 
 daisies, and dock can be eradicated with f^icility, compared with 
 this. Field mustard is an annual plant, having leaves like tlie 
 turnip, and bright yellow flowers. It starts from the seed at 
 any time between early spring and late autumn. The plants grow 
 rapidly, and produce a large immber of seeds in a short time. 
 In ordinary seasons, two crops will mature on the same field, but 
 winter kills every plant. The seeds will remain in the ground a 
 life time without losing their vitality. We have cultivated a 
 field sixteen successive seasons, allowing no mustard to go to 
 seed ; but deep plowing brought seed to the surface the seven- 
 teenth year, so that the ground was nearly covered with the young 
 plants. 
 
 When wheat, rye, barley, oats, flax, and such crops are raised, 
 if there is mustard seed in the soil it will appear, and will ripen 
 its seed before the crops. Much of the seed will shell out while 
 the grain is being harvested. If it should not be covered with 
 earth sufficiently deep to promote vegetation, it will remain until 
 the next season, or until the moisture and heat happen to be just 
 right to cause germination. 
 
 There are two things indispensably necessary to exterminate 
 mustard. One is to allow no seed to mature ; and the other is, 
 to cultivate sucli crops as will induce all the seed to vegetate, 
 that the plants may be destroyed before they go to seed. Grain 
 having mustard seed among it should never be fed to stock until 
 after it is ground into meal. 
 
 When mustard comes up very thick, harrow the ground 
 thoroughly, as soon as the crop of grain has been removed. 
 After a few weeks have elapsed, harrow it again. This will 
 destroy most of the young plants in the seed leaf. After this, 
 use a cultivator instead of a harrow. These repeated scarify- 
 ings will cover the seed and bring others near the surface, so that 
 a large proportion vegetates and dies before winter. The next 
 season harrow the ground early in the spring, so as to start a new 
 crop of the seed. Plow it soon after the time for plowing for 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 385 
 
 Indian corn. Harrow again in about two weeks. After an- 
 other fortnight, plow and sow buck-wheat ; as soon as the buck- 
 wheat is harvested, harrow the ground again. The next season 
 manure well, and raise a hoed crop ; and allow no mustard to 
 go to seed. Next sow a crop of winter grain. The mustard 
 may now appear quite thick, but none of it will have time to 
 r'^^en before winter, when every plant will die. A limited 
 number of plants will appear the next season among the stand- 
 ing grain. When they are in full blossom, let every one be pull- 
 ed. A careful, faithful man will be able to pull all the mustard 
 in a day that will appear on several acres, after the soil has been 
 treated in the manner recommended. After this, any kind of 
 grain may be raised. But for more than twenty years mustard 
 will come up every season, and must be pulled up before it ripens. 
 This is the only way that our cultivatable fields can be rid of this 
 pestiferous plant. Incessant vigilance from year to year will ex- 
 terminate it effectually. 
 
 THB DANDELION ITS USES HOW CULTIVATED AND EXTERMINATED. 
 
 TOO. This ai tide was prepared for the Am. Ayriculturist. 
 *' Most persons look upon the dandelion as a weed to be exter- 
 minated rather than as a plant to be cultivated. Every meadow 
 and grass plot is studded with its bright yellow blossoms in 
 spring. The dandelion is so common a plant that we are ac- 
 customed to overlook its beauty ; yet our engraving shows that 
 its leaves are not inelegant, while its flowers arc quite as pretty 
 as many we cultivate for ornament. Each little one-seeded fruit 
 has a delicate, little, long handled parasol made up of hairs at- 
 tached to it — a contrivance well adapted to aid in its distribution 
 by the winds. The leaves vary greatly according to the situation 
 in which the p'ant grows ; but they are all marked with strong 
 tooth-like notches, which suggested one of the French names of 
 the plant. Dent de lion (lion's tooth), from which is derived our 
 word dandelion. The leaves of the dandelion are much used 
 as greens ; and when blanched, they foriu a salad like endive. 
 
THE YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 THE DANDELION. 
 
 ,1 
 
 I 
 
THE YOUNG FARMEr's MANUAL. 38t 
 
 The root is employed medicinally, and is one of the many articles 
 used as substitutes for or to mix with coffee. The plant is 
 botanically related to both chicory and endive, and is used in a 
 similar way. Those who value it for greens will find it much 
 better to cultivate the plants than to depend upon those which 
 grow spontaneously, as they are superior, and are always at 
 hand. When the root is required, it sliould always be taken up 
 in the fall, as then it contains most of the milky juice upon which 
 its properties depend. The seed is sown in May or June, in well 
 prepared ground, in drills twelve or fifteen inches apart. Thin 
 to three or four inches, and keep the plants well cultivated 
 through the season, and they will be fit for use in the following 
 spring. According to Burr, if the dandelion is cultivated for its 
 root, the sowing is done in October, the plants thinned the fol- 
 lowing June, and kept free from weeds during summer, and the 
 roots harvested the next October by plowing them out. The 
 roots are prepared for market by washing, slicing and drying 
 them." As the dandelion is a perennial plant, and springs from 
 the seed, it is only necessary to cultivate land well, with a three 
 or four-years rotation of crops, to efi"ectually exterminate it. 
 
 M\YW£ED — DOG'-S FENNEL — STINKING CHAMOMILE — CMarM^a Cotula.) 
 
 7G1. Stems very branching, six to sixteen inches high, smooth 
 or somewhat grooved. Root lives but one year. Tiie leaves are 
 much divided into very narrow divisions. The ends of the 
 branches are leafless, striated and terminated by the heads. 
 These are about half to one inch in diameter, and consist of 
 about a dozen strap-shaped white rays, and a convex or sugar- 
 loaf-shaped yellow disk. The rays have generally a slight notch 
 in the end, the wider ones sometimes two, and at first spread 
 horizontally, but turn back towards the stem as the flower ma- 
 tures. The disk, which is generally a quarter to three-eighths of 
 an inch in diameter, is composed of numerous small yellow tubular 
 flowers, each surmounting a smooth ribbed or grooved seed. 
 The heads produce from a small number to two hundred seeds 
 each; ordinary sized ones about one hundred and forty. The 
 whole plant is strongly scented. 
 
388 THK YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 
 
 7G2. Linnaeus says that " it is grateful to toad^, drives away 
 fleas, and is annoying to flies." It blossoms from June to Sep- 
 tember. Originally introduced from Europe. It is abundant by 
 road sides, in waste places, &c., presenting a whitish surface 
 when in bloom. It varies greatly according to the circumstances 
 under which it grows. I have seen it of large size, producing 
 three hundred and fifty heads and many tiiousands ot seeds when 
 it grew in a good locality ; and on the other hand, when under 
 less favorable conditions, but an inch liigh ; in one case but three- 
 eighths of an inch, producing but a single small head. Many 
 ftirmers think that it exerts, by its odor, or more probably by the 
 pollen of its flowers, a positively injurious or blighting influence 
 on wheat ; but the majority maintain that in this respect it is 
 harmless. It is easily eradicated by thorough cultivation. — 
 W. H. B., in Coimb-y Gentleman. 
 
 763. In some of our wheat-growing districts thcro is a per- 
 nicious weed similar to this May Weed, whose seeds vegetate in 
 autumn ; and the next year the plants grow very large and thick, 
 some times one and a half feet high, rendering it almost impossi- 
 ble to cradle the grain unless it is cut above this weed. What- 
 ever may be the name of the weed, it may be easily exterminated 
 by raising nothing but spring crops, as it will not mixture seed 
 unless the young plants start the previous autumn. 
 
 MILK WEED — (Asclepias Cornuti.) 
 
 764. Milk weed is a perennial plant. It is much more dif- 
 ficult to exterminate than Canada thistles, on account of its run- 
 n*Dg roots, which strike deep in the soil, often extending two or 
 three feet below the surface. They are also very tenacious of 
 life, sometimes sending up strong stems two or three years after 
 they were all thought to be exterminated. When milk weed is 
 cured with hay, all kinds of animals like to eat of them for a 
 variety ; but they soon lose their relish for them. 
 
 765. This weed may be recognized by its straight, erect and 
 smooth stem, and large, smooth leaves, out of which a white 
 juice exudes when any part is cut or pulled asunder. The stems 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 389 
 
 often grow four or five feet higli on rich land, and nearly one iucli 
 in diameter. The flowers are greenish purple, in umbels, and 
 quite numerous. The seed vessel is a follicle or large pod, se- 
 veral inches long and an inch or more in diameter, on large stems. 
 The seeds are very light, and are attached to a fine, hair-liko 
 substance, which bears them up in the wind as they are wafted 
 over the fields. 
 
 766. The most eff'ectual way to eradicate this weed is to 
 manure highly and cultivate some hoed crops for two or three 
 successive seasons, allowing none to blossom. If they are al- 
 lowed to blossom, the roots acquire new life and strength to send 
 up stems the next season. When they cannot be cut up with 
 hoes, let them be pulled. By keeping them subdued for a few 
 years, they will be so fcA^and scattering as to do little harm. 
 
 COCKLE— CORN COCKLE- {Agrostemma Githago.) 
 
 " Of these the husbandman takes certain note, 
 And in the propar season disinters 
 Their baneful roots ; and to the sun expo sed, 
 Leaves them to perish in the noonday."— Read. 
 
 767. This plant is said, by professional botanists, to be both 
 an annual and a biennial. I have been familiar with it for forty 
 years, and never have known it to mature in one season. It was 
 always found among winter grain ; and n^ver with sprirg grain. 
 The seed germinates late in the summer, or in autumn, and the 
 plants mature the next season. The Fig. given in next page re- 
 presents a portion of the plant in blossom. At the left side of the 
 figure a portion of a capsule is shown, cut in two parts. One of 
 the seeds is represented between the capsule and the plant. The 
 seeds arc black, and sometimes almost round ; and it is difficult to 
 separate them from wheat, unless the kernels are very large, as 
 small grains of wheat will pass through a sieve that will take out 
 ihe cockle seed. It is not difficult to exterminate. If no seed is 
 sowed with grain, there will seldom be any cockle. When it does 
 appear in the spring, as soon as the plants are about one foot high, 
 let them be pulled up. Should any escape notice till harvest. 
 
390 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MAXUAL. 
 
 tliej nioy be separated readily from tbo straw o1 the grain before 
 
 COCKLE — CORN COCKLE. 
 
 the seed shells out. Such black seeds detract from the appear, 
 ancc of the cleaned grain more than they injure the flour. 
 
 FLEA BANE — (Erigeron Strigosum.) 
 
 7G8. This worthless weed appears sometimes in meadows and 
 pastures, gi owing thick and tall, often rooting out the grass, so 
 that it is not worth mowino;. Some l)otanists call it an annr.ai. 
 
THE YOUxVG farmer's MANUAL. 391 
 
 But it is not, as I have frequently seen the young plants start 
 one season where there was not a plant to be seen ; and the next 
 season the meadow would be white with the tall weeds i-:! blossom. 
 169. It grows from two to four feet high, on a tall, slender 
 stem with white blossoms at the top, somewhat like the blossoms 
 of the daisy, but much smaller. (See Darlington's Ag. Botany) 
 The true way to eradicate it is to let none go to seed. Before 
 grass is fit to cut, clip off all the flowers of this weed as soon as 
 they blossom. Mow them in pastures, and let none of the seed 
 be scattered on the ground, nor gathered with hay-seed, or find 
 its way amo;!g manure into cultivated fields, and it will shortly 
 disappear from the farm. The seed of the plant is often sowed 
 v/ith red top and Kentucky blue grass seed. Tliose farmers who 
 raise their own grass seed with care, and who cultivate their land 
 thoroughly, will never be troubled with flea bane. 
 
 770. When it appears among early rod clover and orchard 
 grass, they will be fit to mow long before the flea bane has 
 matured the seed. When it grows among timothy grasj, most of 
 its seed will ripen before the timothy is fit to cut. Should there 
 be but a limited number of plants, it would be best to cut them 
 all out of the standing grass. Sometimes a second crop of this 
 weed appears in meadows. This is apt to be the case when the 
 weeds were cut before they were in full bloom. Let them grow 
 till the blossoms are well developed, then mow them and rake the 
 stalks in large heaps. If left where they grew, many of them 
 will mature the seed even after they are cut down. Treat them 
 in the same manner when they grow in pasture fields. 
 
 DOCK — SOUR DOCK^-CURLED DOCK — {Curled Rumex)- BITTER DOCK — 
 BROAD-LEAVED DOCK — (Obtuse-Ieaved Rumex.) 
 
 711. For the botanical description of the diiferent kinds of 
 dock, see Gray's Botany or Darlington's Ag. Botany. It is dif- 
 ficult to describe the different kinds of dock 30 that beginners will 
 readily perceive the difference between them. Dock of any kind 
 ■is a pernicious weod. Professional botanists say the root is per- 
 ennial. It is not always. I have known it to be a biennial and 
 
392 TIIR YOUNG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 triennial, and rarely a porcni.i.il. The large, lon;^ tap roots are 
 very tenacions of life. If pulled np and dropped on the ground 
 m damp weather, they will all take root and grow rapidly. Good 
 cultivation will soon exterminate it. L2t none go to seed, and it 
 will not survive many years. When it grows among grain, the 
 best way to exterminate it is to pull it, when the soil is very wet, 
 throwing the stalks in large heaps. Mowing it twice a year in 
 pastures, if cut before the seed has ripened, will usually destroy 
 it till the ground is again ])lowed, when a new crop may appear 
 should there be seed in the ground. 
 
 *I72. Sometimes young dock will come up very thick among 
 Indian corn and other hoed crops. Root them up witli cultiva- 
 tors and hoes, late in the fall and the next spring [)low them well 
 under, with deep furrows. All that are buried deep will die. 
 Those that are near the surface will live, and nuist be pulled up 
 at any time before they go to seed. Mr. T. W. Colburn, a Ver- 
 mont farmer, writes of Yellow Dock: It is ai)out twelve years 
 since they made tlieir appearance in my fields. At first I paid but 
 little attention to them, for they did not increase fast ; but after 
 getting the seed into the manure, they began to multiply rapidly, 
 and in making some effort to subdue them I found they spread and 
 propagated from the root as well as the seed. I began to feel 
 alarmed, for they were becoming very numerous in all my grass 
 lands, and how to get rid of them I did not know, but formed a 
 resolution three years ago to wage a war of extermination in -^ome 
 way. I purchased a pair of stiff heavy plate subsoil spades, six- 
 teen inches in length ; I ground down the lower edge sharp, and 
 after the haying season was over, put two men at work in the 
 field.^, cutting thein off from six to ten inches below the surface, 
 and then pulling up the part of the root thus separated with the 
 fingers, and after letting them lay upon the ground until wilted, 
 put them into a pile on the side of the highway. I employed 
 these men for the most part of three weeks in this operation, and 
 gathered a large quantity of these roots which have rotted down 
 on the roadside, and they have never appeared above the surface 
 where thej- wire cut in the ground. Some small ones escaped 
 
THE YOUNG FARMEr's MANUAL. 393 
 
 the eye of the workers, and seed was in tlie hay of that year so 
 that I must repeat the operation this year, but there is not one 
 now where tliere were five before I ent them three years ag;o. I 
 beheve if they arc cut off six inches below the surface, jmlled np 
 and removed from the field, it will stop them ; they will not spi-out 
 or vegetate from the part of the root left in the soil. The part 
 left is too far below warmth, light and air to start into life anew. 
 7t3. Such weeds should never be carried to the highway, as 
 they will make good manure. If Mr. Colburn had cut the dock 
 alluded to, only two inches below the sinface with broad hoes, the 
 roots would have died as effectually as if cut with spades ; and 
 the labor would have been very much less. 
 
 THE COMMON THISTLE— BULL THLSTLE— ( G>si?*7/i Lanccolatum) 
 
 t74. This repulsive weed is a biennial. Tiic seed is scattered 
 by the wind over the country, in the latter part of summer vnd 
 autumn ; and if it falls on sod ground it may vegetate, but will 
 not take root. But when it fall^ on broken soil or ground where 
 winter grain has been put in, the young plants appear with the 
 wheat in autumn , and the next season there will be large, well 
 matured thistles among the standing grain. If a field is stocked 
 down to grass, large thistles Vvill be found among the grass. But 
 the roots always die after they have survived one winter and the 
 ioUowing summer. 
 
 775. This thistle always starts from the seed, and never from 
 spreading roots. As every seed is attached to a downy pappus, 
 which subserves the use of wings, the farmer who is exceedingly 
 careful not to allow one to go to seed on his farm, has no security 
 against this thistle appearing among his winter grain or new 
 meadows. The best and most eflfectual way to eradicate them is 
 to put on leather mittens, and pull them, late in the fall, in the 
 winter or spring, when the ground is soft. This will be the end 
 of them. Should the ground be firm, and the roots strike so deep 
 as to make them pull hard, cut them off with a sharp spade or 
 sharp mattock having a broad blade, at least three inches below 
 the surface. T'hen the roots will die. If the tops only be cut 
 
394 THE YOU>fG FARM3r'3 MANUAL. 
 
 off, the roots will often sprout agaia. After the buds arc form- 
 ed, mow them, and let none go to seed. But when they are 
 cut up by the roots th(n-e will be none to mow. This kind of 
 thistle may be exterminated in the winter as well as summer. — 
 See botanical description of this thistle in Dr. Darlington's Ag. 
 Botany.) — ^Besides this thistle there are the Yellow Thistle 
 (Cirsium Horrid idiim) nnd {Cirsm??i Pumiluvi), none of which 
 are half so prolific as the Cirsium Lanccolatum. They are all 
 biennial plants, and may be exterminated in the same manner as 
 detailed in the preceding paragraph. The Yelhw Thistle is seen 
 so seldom that it appears more like a curiosity than a noxious 
 weed to be exterminated. 
 
 POISON HEMLOCK— (Co»m;» Mucalatum.) 
 
 776. The accompanying figure represents a stalk of Poison 
 Hemlock, sometimes called Conium or Conicv. At A, is one of 
 the panicies. B, represents a seed recqitacla. At C, a trans- 
 verse section of a seed is shown. This is by no means a diffi- 
 cult weed to exterminate, althougli some farmers dread it far 
 more than the Canada thistle. It grows only in waste, neglected 
 and uncultivated ground. It is a perennial plant. 
 
 When this weed is about two feet high, it sometimes has the 
 appearance of Sweet Cicely. I have frequently heard of chddren 
 who, having mistaken this root for Sweet Cicely, have eaten it, 
 and were badly poisoned by it. When the two plants grow in 
 close proximity, they should be placed side by side, and the 
 botanical points of difference closely noted. In this way even 
 children will easily perceive the real difference, and will he able 
 to recognize it without any hesitancy. The fragrance of the roots 
 of Sweet Cicely is always a certain index of one great difference 
 between the two plants. The seed of poison heiidock (Conium) 
 as well as Sweet Cicely is scattered by birds in the forest; and 
 as soon as the timber is cut away, the young plants appear. 
 Let every plant be taken up with a spade when they have grown 
 one season, or they will cover the entire field before stumps are 
 rotted so that the ground can be plowed. 
 
THE YOUNG F IRMER's MANUAL. 
 
 395 
 
 Mowing close to the ground, as often as it grows large enough to 
 blossom, will destroy it in two seasons. By plowing the ground, 
 planting a hoed crop, and cultivating well for one season, it will 
 effectually be exterminated. 
 
 POISON HEMLOCK. 
 
 777. This weed is frequently mistaken for Ciatta, which goes 
 
396 
 
 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 
 
 by llie names of Beaver Poison, Musquash-root and Spotted 
 Cow Bane. Some knowledge of botany is essential to understand 
 the difference between these two weeds. They arc both very 
 poisonous. I have frequently read of children being poisoned to 
 death by eating the roots, supposing they were Sweet Cicely. 
 When the leaves or stems are cut or bruised they emit a very 
 si'.'kening and offensive smell. Gray's Botany will enable one to 
 perceive the difference between the two plants by examining a 
 specimen nf each and comparing them. 
 
 JOHN'S WORT— (Hypericum Perforatum.) 
 
 7t8. The illustration herewith given shows a portion of a 
 stem of John's Wort. A, is a blossom, which is yellow or 
 orange-colored. B, is a ripened receptacle of seed. C, repre- 
 sents a cross section of a seed vessel. This weed is a perennial, 
 growing froni one to three feet high in meadows and pasture 
 
 JOHN'S WOBT. 
 
 fields. It is easily exterminated by good cultivation, and not 
 allowing any to go to seed. When allowed to mature the seed 
 in pastures, cattle will sometimes swallow more or less seed and 
 drop it about the fields. When mowed with grass, the seed all 
 goes among the manure, or a portion of it is sowed with grass 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 
 
 :9T 
 
 seed. Let none go to seed : cultivate the soil well, and John's 
 Wort will give no trouble. 
 
 THE FIELD HORSE-TAiL. — {Equisetum Arvense.) 
 
 7*19. Under the name of Pine- Wood and Low-Pine, the 
 Field Horse-Tail has been, of late, considera])ly 
 discussed by agricultural journals and inquired 
 about. The interest in the matter arises from 
 the fatal effects upon horses which have been 
 ascribed to it. As some of those who have writ- 
 ten upon the subject have been talking about 
 a widely different plant, the Mare's-Tail, I give 
 figures of the one in question, Equisetum Arvense, 
 the Field Horse-Tail. The common name in 
 this case is a translation of the botanical one. 
 Equisetum is from the Latin, Equus, a horse, and 
 seta, a bristle, and refers to the hair-like charac- 
 ter of the branches of some species. The 
 Horse-Tails are \7hat botanists call cryptogamous, 
 or flowerless plants, as, like the fern, mosses, 
 etc., they have no true flower with stamens 
 and pistils, and they do not produce seed ; but, 
 in its place, spores, which are very small round 
 bodies, like dust, by means of which tlie plants 
 are multiplied. The species under consideration 
 presents two forms which an ordinary obser- 
 ver would never take to belong to the same 
 plant. In damp places, in April and May, are 
 found numerous simple stems like fig. 1 ; they 
 are hollow, grooved, of a light brown color, 
 having at each joint a sort of sheath of a darker 
 color. At the top of the stem is a head, shaped 
 like a pine-cone, made up of scales, which bear 
 the spores on their inner surface. After the 
 stems above described have shed their spores, 
 they die away ; and later in the season the 
 barren ones appear, which are greon, of the shape of 
 
 FIG. 1. 
 
398 
 
 THE YOUNG FARMRR'S MANUAL. 
 
 fia\ 2, an(] are eight to twelve inches or more liig-h. These, as 
 well as the fertile ones, are gTooved and liollovv, and bear at 
 
 THE FIELD HOBSE TAIL. FIG. 2. 
 
 the joints slender and loni^ branches, tlie whole having so much 
 
THE YOUNG FARMEr's MANUAL. 399 
 
 the appearance of a miniature pine tree as to sugp^est the popu- 
 lar names of Low-pine and Ground-pine. With regard to the 
 poisonous qualities of this plant, we are in the same uncertainty 
 as we are respecting the Sheep-Laurel, noticed in a-^other article. 
 
 The testimony is most conflicting, some saying that it is 
 harmless to all domestic animals except horses, others that it 
 harms only cattle or sheep, and others again that it furnishes, in 
 some places, the chief forage. With regard to the poisoning of 
 animals, I am inclined to be a little skeptical, as their instinct 
 generally leads them to avoid injunous plants. If a certain- 
 plant is poisonous, its effects should be studied, and its proper 
 antidote known ; then the farmer would not be harboring a 
 poisonous plant, nor suspecting an innocent one as the cause of 
 every fit of indigestion \n^ animals happen to have, and he would 
 not waste his time and the animal's strength by trying various 
 foolisli and empyrical remedies. 
 
 t80. I remember well, when a small boy, that in one of my 
 father's meadows numerous weeds appeared every summer, which 
 wei-e cut with the grass and made into hay. They were called 
 by the men, " Pine-Weed." For many years the grass of that 
 meadow was made into hay with countless numbers of this weed- 
 I never heard, until recently, that anyone even supposed that 
 this weed was poisonous. Our horses, neat cattle and sheep eat 
 the hay and the pine-weed without injury. This weed is usually 
 found on low grounds, where it is rather wet. Drahiing and 
 good cultivation will soon exterminate it. 
 
 RAG- WEED OR BITTER WEED.— (Ambrosia Tfificla.) 
 
 781. There are two species of ihis pernicious weed. The 
 Ambrosia Artemesiae folia is so near like the Ambrosia Trifida 
 that it is sometimes difiicult for those who are not familiar with 
 plants to distinguish the difference between them. But as they 
 are both annuals, the same treatment will exterminate cither. 
 Rag-weed does not do much injury till haying and harvest, when 
 it springs up in the stubble, and in meadows wlicn a tough sod 
 Joes not cover the entire ground ; and sometimes grows so rapid- 
 
400 
 
 TIIK YOUXG farmer's MANUAL. 
 
 ly that there is notliiii:?: l)ut a heavy growtli of this weed to be 
 seen. After the last hooin,i^ of potatoes and Indian corn, Rag- 
 weed spreads its branches so that every other weed and grass is 
 over-topped, and choked down. 
 
 BAG-WEED OK BLTTER WEED. 
 
 782. It is not difficult to eradicate. Let none go to seed. 
 Mow it in meadows and pastures as soon as it is in blossom, 
 when the stalks are wet, and rake it in large heaps, where seed 
 and all will rot. In corn fields it must be pulled or mowed and 
 
THE YOUXG farmer's MANrjAL. 401 
 
 ga'„hered into large piles, or the seed will be scattered on the mel- 
 low soil, and will not vegetate, unless in a favorable place in the 
 soil, in less than ten or twenty years. 
 
 788. When it appears in wheat or barley stubble, either 
 plough the ground or cultivate it a few inches deep, so as to root 
 up every plant. This plant never spreads from the roots. There- 
 fore when a stem appears let it be pulled. Let men go through 
 corn fields and pull the scattering plants before it has taken 
 possession of a field. By this precaution it may be kept out of 
 cultivated fields with little difficuliy. But let the solitary plants, 
 which are seen at first far apart, mature their seed and scatter 
 it over the ground, and there will be weeding enough for many 
 years. 
 
 COMMON MULLEIN — (^Verhascum Thapsus.) 
 
 784. No good farmer is troubled with mulleins. The seed pos- 
 sesses great vitality. When nothing else occupies the soil, mul- 
 leins appear. I well remember plowing a piece of sod ground 
 which I knew had not been broken up for over thirty years ; and 
 mullein plants covered the ground with their large leaves before 
 autumn. The next season, aftei* there is a good system of leaves 
 and roots formed, they send up a tall, shm stem, from one to seven 
 feet high, with no branches. It is the most prolific plant I ever 
 met with. The seeds are very small^ and numerous as the divis- 
 ions in the eye of a horse fly. Mulleins cannot mature their seed 
 where spring crops are grown. If they have been allowed to live 
 during the winter, pull or cut them below the surface of the 
 ground. But let none go to seed. If mulleins ever spring up in 
 cultivated fields, where there is but little herbage, if the soil be 
 heavy, plow it deep in autumn, and the next spring sow three 
 bushels of Indian corn for a crop of green manure. (See Para- 
 graphs 683 and 684.) 
 
 QUACK GRASS — COUCH GRASS— QUITCH GRASS— {THticum Repens.) 
 
 785. As this plant is one of the grasses, it ought properly 
 to be noticed in a Chapter on Grasses and l^or ^e Plants. 
 
402 THE YOUNG FARMER S MANUAL. 
 
 Still, as it is far more important to know how to exterminate 
 than to cultivate such a pest of our grain farms, I have ranked 
 it among noxious weeds. I have nothin2: to p^n in favor of sncli 
 grass. It is a coarse, ugly, disagreeable grass for stock ; and 
 it makes very inferior hay. The common name accepted by Euro- 
 pean and American authorities is Couch-grass, and though in 
 some localities it is called by other names, such as Quack, Quicki 
 Quitch, we prefer to adhere to the establ'shed name, Conch-grass 
 Tritlcum Repens. 
 
 78G. It is a perennial, and spreads rapidly by its numerous 
 roots, which increase so fast as to supplant everything else, often 
 becoming such a tangled and dense mass in the soil that it is 
 difficult to plow the ground, unless the plow is provided with 
 a sharp coulter and share, and driven below most of the roots. 
 It is also propagated by the seed. Some farmers, fancying that 
 it would be an excellent grass to cultivate, have sowed the seed 
 and made hay of the grass, after which the seed has been scatter- 
 ed in the manure over many fields. Although quack is exceed- 
 ingly difficult to exterminate, still it may be killed in one season, 
 if faithfully uttended to at the proper time. 
 
 787. When there is but a limited amount of it in small plots 
 in various parts of a field, the best mode of exterminating it is 
 to plant Indim corn two years in succession ; and the first season 
 cultivate and hoe it every two weeks, and haul out all the roots 
 that are loosened by the horse hoe, and knock the earth off them, 
 leaving them to die on the surface. The next season, wlien the 
 ground is plowed, should there be any live roots in the ground, 
 let one or two hands follow with potato hooks, and haul out 
 every root, and gather them in a large heap to decay. A little 
 labor with hoes and potato hooks will c )mpletely destroy it. 
 
 788. In those fields where it has taken complete possession of 
 the soil, plow the land deep in autum.i, turning the quack com- 
 pletely under. This plowing must be well performed, or the ex- 
 periment will fail. The next season, as soon as the young grass 
 has appeared, like wheat about two weeks old, cultivate the 
 grounrl, or go over it with a gang plow, having sharp edges, so 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 
 
 403 
 
 as to cut off every young plant. Conthiuo to cultivate until the 
 time arrives for sowing buck-wheat. As soon as the buck-wheat 
 is cut and set up in stooks, cultivate the ground twice, thoroughly, 
 and continue to do so till winter as often as the grass grows 3 or 
 4 inches high. The stocks of buckwheat may best be remove:! 
 from the cultivated ground in order to keep the- grass subdued 
 wliilc the buck-wheat is curing. The next season, if much re- 
 mains in the soil, summer fallow the ground, and rake out the 
 roots with a couch-grass rake. This treatment will subdue it 
 so effectually, that the next year the ground should be sum- 
 mer fallowed. The plowing should be done with narrow fur 
 rows, and the roots raked out and gathered in heaps. Some far- 
 mers put two horses, tandem, before a sulkey hay rake, and 
 rake the mellow soil, leaving the roots in rows. Others make a 
 Btrong iron-toothed rake, represented by the illustration, having a 
 
 ^^"-V--- 7^^ 
 
 COUCH-GKASS EAKE. 
 
 Lead about four feet long, and four by four inches square of hard 
 
404 THE YOUNG farmer's manual. 
 
 wood, with strong iron teeth fastened in the head, guided by a 
 tongue, and drawn by two horses. The teeth arc about six inches 
 apart and ten long, and made of the best Swedish iron, l^ inches 
 wide, by f of an inch tliick, dr.iwa to a point, and hammered to 
 a coulter edge on the forward side. The upper ends are made 
 with a strong nut and shoulder-brace, as represented by the en- 
 larged figure of a tooth, at the right hand sid,? of the engraving. 
 The teeth are about ten inches long below the Head. The holes 
 for the shank should be bored three-quarters of an inch from the 
 forward side of the head, and the holes to receive the rounded end 
 of the tooth brace shouhl be only 1 inch deep, so that the ends 
 of the braces will extend to the bottom against the solid wood. It 
 there are roots of trees and stumps, or fast stones in a field, the 
 teeth may be heavier ; although with careful usage, the size de- 
 signated will make the rake heavy enough and sufficiently strong. 
 The hilts of the handles should be so low that a man can stand 
 erect and just grasp them with his hands while the teeth are in 
 the ground and the end of the tongue as high as the neck-yoke. 
 If the handles are too high, it will be much harder work to hold 
 the rake and to lift it when the mass of roots is to bo dropped. 
 Two handles serve to lift it from the roots, as well as to make it 
 run at the desired depth. Ordinary harrows w'.ll loosen the 
 roots, but not bring them to the surface. The rake just describ- 
 ed will haul them along to the row of roots, when they may be 
 released on the top of the ground. 
 
 189. I have frequently heard farmers complain tliat they 
 could never succeed in utterly exterminating this weed. The true 
 reason of this is, as soon as the quack is so far subdued as to not 
 retard growing crops, all effort to eradicate it is abandoned ; and 
 in a few months, during the former part of the growing season, 
 the roots spread with astonishing rapidity. When it appears to 
 be almost exterminated, then is the time, quite as much as at any 
 other, to apply the hoe and the rake, and cut up, or pull up the 
 last vestige of root and branch. This is the only way of elTectual 
 extermination. 
 
THE YOCXG FAKMEr's MAXUAL. 405 
 
 BUTTEKCUP— CROWFOOT.— (/JaMUnCtt/MS AcHs.) 
 
 790. Botanists mention, besides the Ranunculus Aeris, the 
 White Water Crowfoot, (Ranunculus Aquatilis); tlie Yellow 
 Water Crowfoot, (R. Purshii); the Sea-side Crowfoot, (R. 
 Rhoniboldeus); the Small-flowered Crowfoot, (R. Ahortivus); 
 the Cursed Crowfoor,, (R. Saueratus); the Hooked Crowfoot, 
 (R. Recurvatus); the Bristly Crowfoot, (R. Pennsylvankus); 
 the Early Crowfoot, (R. Fasdcularis); the Creeping Crowfoot, 
 (R. Repens); and the Bulbous Crowfoot, (R. Bulhosus). A 
 person will need a liberal smattering of botany to be able to 
 distinguish the small botanical difference between these weeds. 
 
 791. The Ranunculus Acris is a very pernicious weed. It 
 appears abundantly in pastures and old meadows all over New 
 England, Central and Western New York, Ohio, some parts of 
 Canada, Pennsylvania and other States. It may be easily 
 distinguished l)y its bright yellow flowers on the ends of tall 
 stems. It is not a poisonous plant ; cattle frequently eat the 
 seeds and drop them on different parts of the farm, as was 
 mentioned under the head of Daisies, par. 732. When the 
 weeds are dried with grass for hay, the seeds are carried in the 
 manure to cultivated fields. 
 
 792. Many farmers contend that this weed will make good 
 hay, as animals will eat it with avidity. So they will eat bur- 
 dock leaves, thistles, and other pernicious weeds found among 
 hay, simply because they are fond of a variety. But such plants 
 are unlit for good hay; and besides this, more than twice as 
 many pounds of timothy hay will grow on a foot square as can 
 be made of this weed. I know a farmer who kept a drove of 
 cattle over night in the winter, and the animals left the seid of 
 the Ranunculus Acris all over his meadow, in their droppings ; 
 and the second summer afterwards, the Crowfoot appeared in 
 vast numbers. 
 
 793. Mow the grpss where this weed appears, before it has 
 matured the seed. Then plow the ground and cultivate a hoed 
 crop, and follow this with spring crops for two seasons. This 
 
406 
 
 THE YOUNG FAUilEIi^ MANUAL, 
 
 plant is a perennial ; therefore winter crops should not be 
 raised where it exists until evcr}^ plant is exterminated witli 
 Spring crops. (Read parogra})li 730. ) 
 
 FALSE FLAX — ( Camelina Sativa.) 
 
 194. This noxious weed h 
 an annunl, which always springs 
 from the seed in the former parr, 
 of the growing season, and die^:, 
 root and branch, dnrhig winter. 
 Many farmers insist that it is 
 a kind of degenerate flax, which 
 is no more probable than, the 
 theory of tiie transmutation of 
 wheat to chess. This weed is 
 not at all troublesome, if land is 
 well cultivated, as a few heavy 
 crops will cliokc and effectually 
 exterminate it. Let none go to 
 seed. Then, if the plants ap- 
 pear, the seed must be grown 
 out of the soil, as directed for 
 exterminating mustard or char- 
 lock, par. 759. Mow it when in 
 blossom in pastures and mea- 
 dows, and put it in heaps, and 
 let none of the seed be scattered 
 FALSE PLAx. amcnfj* manure. 
 
 FOX-TAIL GRASS.— CSetoria.j 
 
 795. There are two species of this grass represented by the 
 illustration, which are so nearly alike that it is difficult to distin- 
 guish the difference, unless the plants are placed side by side. 
 They are both annuals, and yield an abundant seed, which ren- 
 ders gardens, Indian corn fields, and some other cultivated 
 ground extremely grassy. One seed produces sometimes forty or 
 
THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 
 
 40t 
 
 more long seed-stalkf?, loaded with seed. After hoed crops hav(j 
 been dressed for the hist time, tussocks of fox-tail grass frequently 
 appqar in great abund- 
 ance, which are palled 
 np and twisted into 
 bands for binding stooks 
 and bundles of corn- 
 stalks. Ill this way the 
 seed is scattered among 
 tlie manure and carried 
 to cultivated fields. This 
 kind of grass sometimes 
 appears after wheat, oats 
 and barley have been har 
 vested, producing a heavy 
 crop of feed before win- 
 ter, when allowed to 
 grow without interrup- 
 tion. 
 
 19Q. The best way 
 to manage with the grass, 
 when it appears after har- 
 vest, is to collect a large 
 number of sheep into one 
 field and let them eat it 
 close to the ground. 
 Should it appear again 
 before winter, feed it off 
 again. Or, as soon as 
 the blossoms are formed, 
 plow it all under, when 
 the seeds will decay if 
 
 they have not ripened. Every plant will die during the winter. 
 Therefore it is only necessary to prevent any going to seed for a 
 few seasons, in order to exterminate it effectually. Wlien large 
 tussocks are formed among Indian corn and potatoes, better pull 
 
 FOX-TAIL GBAS3. 
 
408 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 
 
 them and throw in large heaps, where seed and stem.s will decay, 
 unless dead ripe, than to allow the seed to fall where it grew. 
 This kind of grass gives more trouble, sometimes, than any. other 
 weed, in flower and vegetable gardens. In such places, hoe it 
 up or let it grow till it appears in bunches, when it can be pulled 
 up with little labor. It never gives any trouble on sod ground, 
 as the cultivated grasses choke and supplant it. 
 
I N ID E X, 
 
 Analyses of soils, 
 AjErriculture, progressive, 
 
 scientific, 
 
 wLat it is, , 
 Ashes, value of. 
 
 exhausting character of. 
 
 quantity per acre, 
 
 way to save ashes 
 
 theory of the action of. 
 
 vcluc of leached, 
 Ammonia, how to save, 
 
 illustrations about, 
 Animals, dead, value of, 
 
 Beginning wrong and ending right. 
 Beams, plow, how long to make. 
 Barnyard, how to make, , 
 
 another way to make, 
 Brace and bits, . . 
 
 Bolts, for carriages, 
 
 for tires, 
 
 for plows, .... 
 Blood ?nd its management. 
 Bones and their utility, 
 
 bone buttons, how madr. 
 
 ground bone — adulttrition of, 
 
 dissolving in ashes. 
 
 PARAGBAPH 
 
 12 
 
 PAGB 
 6 
 
 . 14 
 
 7 
 
 28 
 30 
 
 l3 
 11 
 
 550 
 
 272 
 
 . 555 
 
 273 
 
 557 
 . 555 
 
 561 
 . 563 
 
 274 
 274 
 275 
 
 276 
 
 568 
 
 278 
 
 . 573 
 
 279 
 
 681 
 
 337 
 
 66 
 
 31 
 
 466 
 
 240 
 
 509 
 
 255 
 
 512 
 
 256 
 
 209 
 
 103 
 
 210 
 
 104 
 
 211 
 
 li»4 
 
 213 
 
 105 
 
 627 
 
 303 
 
 643 
 
 31G 
 
 646 
 
 317 
 
 649 
 
 318 
 
 653 
 
 320 
 
410 
 
 Boi:c8, burning, 
 
 how to save and manage, 
 experiments in grinding, 
 composition of bones, . 
 Bitterns, refuse of salt works, 
 Bardocl\, (xtern;ination, 
 Bane, flea, extermination. 
 Buttercup, crowfoot, 
 
 INDEX 
 
 PAKAGRAPH 
 
 PAC.B 
 
 . G54 
 
 320 
 
 C56 
 
 321 
 
 . 659 
 
 322 
 
 631 
 
 323 
 
 . 703 
 
 350 
 
 757 
 
 383 
 
 . 768 
 
 390 
 
 790 
 
 405 
 
 Chemistry, agricultural, 
 Chess, or cheat, transmutation of, 
 Capital in farming, . . . . 
 Cattle and sheep, rearing and fatting, 
 
 pasturing together, 
 Charcoal, vahio of, . . , 
 Cottercls, washers, . . . . 
 
 Clay 
 
 Cluds, crushing of, . 
 Clover, red, as manure, 
 
 Av hen to plow under, 
 Cress, winter, extermination of, . 
 CharlocL-, mustard, . . . . 
 
 Coclile, extermination of, . • • 
 
 Crops, adapted to the soil, • • . • 
 
 Crab, king, for manure, . . . • 
 
 Crowfoot, buttercup, 790 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 352 
 
 380 
 
 39 
 
 19 
 
 64 
 
 32 
 
 71 
 
 36 
 
 700 
 
 349 
 
 216 
 
 106 
 
 235 
 
 115 
 
 463 
 
 237 
 
 540 
 
 237 
 
 547 
 
 270 
 
 728 
 
 367 
 
 759 
 
 383 
 
 767 
 
 389 
 
 292 
 
 146 
 
 693 
 
 345 
 
 790 
 
 405 
 
 Debts, pay as you go, - . . 
 Debt, running into for land, . 
 
 Daisies, ox eye, how to eradicate, 
 Dau'lelion, to cultivate and exterminate, 
 Dock, extermination of. 
 Dog's Fennel, or May weed. 
 Draining, importance of, . 
 
 40 
 
 19 
 
 46 
 
 22 
 
 732 
 
 369 
 
 760 
 
 385 
 
 771 
 
 391 
 
 761 
 
 387 
 
 301 
 
 153 
 
INDEX. 
 
 411 
 
 Farm, general management of, 
 Fertilizers, beneficial effect of, 
 Farming, paying, defined, 
 
 why it pays no better, 
 Fanner must be a consumer, . 
 Farms, poor of New England, 
 
 when and how to examine, 
 Farming, how to commence, 
 
 beginning farming operations, 
 
 Fruit 
 
 Farmer, what a small may do. 
 Farm — large vs. small, 
 
 small farms, better citizens, 
 
 incapabilities of farmers, . 
 Farmer's requisite summed up, 
 
 maxims for young. 
 Farm, how to rent, . 
 
 how to renovate poor. 
 Fertilizers, value of, 
 
 nature's way to fertilize, 
 Fhx. toad, .... 
 FlaX; false, how exterminated, 
 Foxtail grass, extermination of, 
 
 PABAGBAPH 
 
 1 
 
 706 
 18 
 24 
 34 
 
 64 
 
 55 
 
 58 
 
 82 
 
 82 
 
 135 
 
 136 
 
 140 
 
 145 
 
 156 
 
 160 
 
 172 
 
 300 
 
 620 
 
 G63 
 
 751 
 
 704 
 
 795 
 
 PAGE 
 1 
 
 352 
 
 9 
 
 12 
 
 16 
 
 26 
 
 27 
 
 29 
 
 41 
 
 41 
 
 63 
 
 66 
 
 68 
 
 77 
 
 78 
 
 80 
 
 88 
 
 152 
 
 295 
 
 324 
 
 378 
 
 406 
 
 406 
 
 G- 
 
 Guano, what it is, 673 333 
 
 manner of applying it, 675 334 
 
 in a liquid state, G77 336 
 
 hen manure, C79 336 
 
 Gypsum, siilphatc ot lime, . ; 580 281 
 
 how it operates, 5S2 282 
 
 how to apply it 585 2.S3 
 
 as a disinfectant, 587 284 
 
 Grain, best kind for dairy farms, . • . . . 314 159 
 
 H 
 
 llusb.-viidryjmixed, . 
 
 rotation in connection with. 
 
 62 
 
 29 
 31 
 
412 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 PAEAGBAPH TACR 
 
 Iloipcs vs, oxen, 101 49 
 
 their excellences compared, . • . . . 102 50 
 
 Horses, we must have, • 127 G2 
 
 malio them work, 129 C3 
 
 Horn piths, how to use, ...'... 694 346 
 
 Hemlock, poison 776 304 
 
 Horsetail, or pine weed, ..,,... 779 397 
 
 Humus in Soils, 238 117 
 
 operation oi, 239 1 18 
 
 I 
 
 Improvements, watching for, ...... 159 79 
 
 John's wort, how exterminated, 
 
 778 396 
 
 L 
 
 Land, good and poor, 50 
 
 renovating worn out, ...... 290 
 
 Leather scraps — how to use, 697 
 
 Laurel, sheep, 748 
 
 Lime, oxide of calcium, 593 
 
 what soils henefited by, , . .... 534 
 
 how much per acre, 596 
 
 effects of lime and operation, .... 688 
 
 gas, 603 
 
 the basis of good husbandry, .... GC5 
 
 precautions in using, 617 
 
 should be kept near the surface, . . . . Ck6 
 
 preparing lime for sowing, 010 
 
 as a manure, 613 
 
 success in liming, ....,,. 014 
 
 how to use, . ...,«.. 618 
 
 Cooper's lime spreader, (cut) . . » . . 619 
 
 M 
 
 Manures and fertilizers, ....##. 473 
 
 maxims for farmers 160 
 
 24 
 
 145 
 347 
 
 C77 
 286 
 288 
 288 
 289 
 290 
 291 
 293 
 293 
 294 
 295 
 200 
 298 
 298 
 
 245 
 80 
 
INDEX. 
 
 413 
 
 
 PAIUGKAPH 
 
 PACE 
 
 Manure, management of, 
 
 5IG 
 
 257 
 
 barnyaid, value of, 
 
 . 479 
 
 246 
 
 saving manure, 
 
 482 
 
 248 
 
 liquid niaiiure, 
 
 . 483 
 
 248 
 
 ferinentotion of )iquid, .... 
 
 487 
 
 249 
 
 Prof. J«.MinRton on liquid, .... 
 
 . 491 
 
 250 
 
 liquid iiiauure among other nations, 
 
 . . 498 
 
 252 
 
 sail as a manure, 
 
 . 502 
 
 253 
 
 swine manure. 
 
 518 
 
 258 
 
 composition ol barnyard, .... 
 
 . 521 
 
 259 
 
 value of fat and lean manure, 
 
 52S 
 
 261 
 
 vpaste and fermentation of, ... 
 
 . 530 
 
 262 
 
 top dressing with unfermented, 
 
 532 
 
 264 
 
 profit of sheltering, ... 
 
 . 534 
 
 264 
 
 protecting manure in winter, 
 
 538 
 
 266 
 
 fire-fanged, ...... 
 
 . 564 
 
 276 
 
 how to save ammonia, .... 
 
 . 568 
 
 278 
 
 barnyard manure best, .... 
 
 . 624 
 
 302 
 
 blood and its management, 
 
 627 
 
 3C3 
 
 husbanding of manures, .... 
 
 .- . 632 
 
 306 
 
 surface manuring, 
 
 . 633 
 
 809 
 
 depth to cover 
 
 . . 637 
 
 313 
 
 abundant manuring, .... 
 
 . . 641 
 
 315 
 
 Boussingauli's Analysis of, . , . 
 
 . . 664 
 
 325 
 
 how to pitch easily, .... 
 
 . 665 
 
 326 
 
 forking manure over, .... 
 
 . em 
 
 327 
 
 distributing in the field. 
 
 . 668 
 
 328 
 
 spreading uianure, 
 
 . 669 
 
 329 
 
 protected and unprotected, . . . , 
 
 671 
 
 831 
 
 manuring distant fields, .... 
 
 . . 672 
 
 332 
 
 philosophy of manuring in autumn, 
 
 716 
 
 357 
 
 liquid mar.ure, 
 
 . . 718 
 
 358 
 
 last words about manure. 
 
 . 719 
 
 360 
 
 Machinery, balancing, 
 
 . 198 
 
 99 
 
 momentum, advantages of, . 
 
 162 
 
 82 
 
 machii.ery, fitting up. .... 
 
 . . 179 
 
 91 
 
 journals of, 
 
 182 
 
 92 
 
 fitting up bearings of. .... 
 
 . 183 
 
 93 
 
 fitting SDiall journals to large hole, 
 
 189 
 
 96 
 
 importance of balancing, . , 
 
 . . 200 
 
 103 
 
414 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 ]?.IiIkvvee(L oxteriDiihitioii of, 
 JVIuDLin, common, 
 Mules vs. horses and oxen, 
 Mustard, extermination of. 
 
 PARAGRAfK 
 
 J ur:, 
 
 704 
 
 388 
 
 . 784 
 
 401 
 
 125 
 
 Gl 
 
 . 759 
 
 383 
 
 N 
 
 Nails, how to make wrought, 
 
 217 
 
 1(6 
 
 o 
 
 Oxeucs. horses, • 101 49 
 
 Oxen cannot endure heat, 1J2 55 
 
 expense of each team, 113 55 
 
 trafficking in oxen, 315 56 
 
 ultimate value of, 116 57 
 
 Oxen slow, 108 53 
 
 Price of Imd too high, 
 
 . 47 
 
 23 
 
 Paradise of a farmer, 
 
 142 
 
 69 
 
 Pastures, how to improve, 
 
 . 303 
 
 154 
 
 to impiove without plowing, 
 
 305 
 
 155 
 
 how impoverished, how improved, 
 
 . 308 
 
 156 
 
 management of, 
 
 309 
 
 157 
 
 Plows and plowing, 
 
 . 31S 
 
 162 
 
 why do we plow? .... 
 
 320 
 
 163 
 
 philosophy of deep plowing, 
 
 .330 
 
 167 
 
 deep vs. shallow plowing, 
 
 331 
 
 163 
 
 pulverizing agents, 
 
 . 336 
 
 171 
 
 different kinds of— how done, 
 
 338 
 
 172 
 
 how to plow With lapped slices, 
 
 . 339 
 
 172 
 
 with double plow, 
 
 343 
 
 175 
 
 flat furrow slices, 
 
 . 344 
 
 176 
 
 treuch plowing, 
 
 346 
 
 178 
 
 sod and sub-soil plowing, 
 
 • 355- 
 
 182 
 
INDEX. 
 
 415 
 
 Plows — Michigan sod plow, 
 
 eflfects of deep plowing, 
 
 ill effects oi deep, 
 
 practical effects of deep, . 
 
 experiments in deep, 
 
 deep plowing m New England, 
 
 deep plowing in Pennsylvania; 
 
 fall and winter plowing, 
 
 object of fall plowing, . 
 
 effect illustrated. 
 
 experience of other men, 
 
 suggestions against, . 
 
 erroneous theory refuted, 
 
 sub-s )il plow, with cut, 
 
 how to sub- soil, 
 
 effects of sub soiling, . 
 
 subsoiling wet ground, . 
 
 subsoiling skinned land, 
 
 surface subsoil plowing, 
 
 plowing light soil, 
 
 heavy soil in stubble, 
 
 how to plow wet in autumn, 
 
 lapped furrow slices, 
 
 gODd plowman, 
 
 draught of heavy vs. light plows, 
 
 how to test draught of plows, 
 
 how to temper plow irons. 
 
 Kilmer's attachment (cut), 
 
 poor plowing in America, . 
 
 original form of plow, 
 
 the peacock plow, 
 
 Wood's improvement, 
 
 Hutchinson's improvement, 
 
 best form of for heavy soils, . 
 
 Meade's Conical plow, 
 
 plow beams, how^ long to make, 
 
 side-hill plowing and plow (cut), 
 
 Pulverizers, frost and rain, 
 
 Prairie, breaking, 
 
 furrow slices, widei-s. narrow 
 
 Plaster of Paris (see Gypsum), . 
 
 PARAGRAPH 
 
 PAGE 
 
 855 
 
 183 
 
 . 356 
 
 184 
 
 360 
 
 185 
 
 . 36 J 
 
 187 
 
 366 
 
 188 
 
 . 376 
 
 191 
 
 378 
 
 192 
 
 . 382 
 
 193 
 
 384 
 
 194 
 
 . 387 
 
 lOG 
 
 388 
 
 197 
 
 . 390 
 
 198 
 
 393 
 
 200 
 
 . 394 
 
 201 
 
 395 
 
 203 
 
 . 393 
 
 203 
 
 403 
 
 205 
 
 . 404 
 
 205 
 
 408 
 
 207 
 
 . 410 
 
 207 
 
 411 
 
 208 
 
 . 414 
 
 209 
 
 417 
 
 2J0 
 
 . 418 
 
 211 
 
 421 
 
 213 
 
 . 423 
 
 214 
 
 430 
 
 216 
 
 . 687 
 
 341 
 
 . 440 
 
 223 
 
 443 
 
 224 
 
 . 444 
 
 224 
 
 445 
 
 225 
 
 . 446 
 
 225 
 
 448 
 
 228 
 
 - 451 
 
 230 
 
 466 
 
 240 
 
 . 470 
 
 243 
 
 . 412 
 
 208 
 
 . 433 
 
 217 
 
 . 439 
 
 222 
 
 . 590 
 
 234 
 
410 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 PARAGRAPH PAGE 
 
 Prof. S. W. Johnson about, 491 285 
 
 Plaster exhausting 592 285 
 
 Plaster Sower— Seymour's, 592 285 
 
 Pump for liquid manure, ....... 718 358 
 
 Q 
 
 Quack grass, extermination of, . • . • • . 785 401 
 
 R 
 
 Remedy applied, 148 73 
 
 Rake for Couch grass, 788 ' 403 
 
 s 
 
 Soils, analysis of, 
 
 Stock, what kind to keep, . . . , . 
 
 on dairy farms, 
 
 rearing improved, ...... 
 
 Soil, confidence in, 
 
 Sermon, agricultural, 
 
 Soil, duty of keeping good, .... 
 
 Screws, gimlet pointed, 
 
 Sand and sandy soils, 
 
 Sheep vs. cattle, 
 
 their expenses and profits compared. 
 Soils, unproductive, 
 
 management of different soils, 
 
 how to renovate barren soils, 
 
 complete pulverizatio i of, . . 
 
 succesa depends on management, 
 
 Swine, fattening, 
 
 Soils and their management, .... 
 
 how formed, 
 
 diflference in soil, ..... 
 
 Ktill further defined, . ... 
 
 how distinguished, 
 
 prairie soils, 
 
 
 9 
 . 73 
 
 84 
 
 . 132 
 
 . 139 
 
 . 169 
 
 171 
 
 . .214 
 
 . 241 
 
 . 70 
 
 79 
 
 . 296 
 
 . 297 
 
 . 298 
 
 302 
 
 . 153 
 
 68 
 
 . 221 
 
 224 
 
 . 226 
 
 228 
 
 . 229 
 
 233 
 
 'o 
 
 37 
 
 42 
 
 64 
 
 67 
 
 86 
 
 88 
 
 106 
 
 119 
 
 39 
 
 40 
 
 148 
 
 149 
 
 150 
 
 153 
 
 76 
 
 35 
 
 108 
 
 109 
 
 110 
 
 111 
 
 112 
 
 113 
 
INDEX. 
 
 417 
 
 Soils, chemical classification of, 
 
 clay soils, .... 
 preparation for top dressing, 
 I'ertiliy of soils, 
 
 Subsoils, errors in cultivating, , 
 
 their character, . . , 
 how should be culdvated, 
 keep best on surface, 
 how to maintain fertility of, 
 mixing different soils, 
 experience in mixing, 
 removing with wheelbarrow, 
 mucky soils, .... 
 sandy and gravely soils, 
 directions for mixing soils, 
 mixing in New England, 
 mixing in New York, 
 improving sandy, with clay, . 
 eflfects of clay, . . , 
 
 hard-baked — culture of, 
 keeping stock off where wet, 
 
 Soils, thorough pulverization of, 
 
 pulverization of wet impracticable 
 plowing too early in spring, 
 rolling ligbt soils, 
 harrowing soils, 
 
 Salt as a manure, .... 
 
 Scercoraries, 
 
 Soap, value of soft, .... 
 ho 7 to use for manure, . 
 
 Sawdust, how used, .... 
 
 Soot, value of, .... 
 
 Soils, barren, how improved, 
 cold soils improved, 
 
 Sorrel, extermination of, , . . 
 
 PAKAGRAPH 
 
 . 234 
 235 
 237 
 243 
 245 
 246 
 248 
 250 
 253 
 255 
 257 
 259 
 261 
 232 
 237 
 271 
 273 
 276 
 279 
 285 
 287 
 326 
 328 
 423 
 465 
 467 
 502 
 
 5:6 
 
 575 
 578 
 704 
 705 
 713 
 714 
 735 
 
 PAGE 
 
 114 
 115 
 116 
 123 
 321 
 123 
 124 
 125 
 123 
 123 
 129 
 130 
 13) 
 131 
 133 
 134 
 135 
 133 
 141 
 143 
 144 
 160 
 I69 
 214 
 239 
 241 
 253 
 251 
 280 
 281 
 350 
 353 
 355 
 353 
 372 
 
 Theory and practice, 4 3 
 
 Tools, selecting, g7 43 
 
 rules for selecting, ....... 90 44 
 
 Teams, wbat kind to avoid, .,,... 121 CO 
 
418 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Teams, mares vs, geldings, 
 
 heavy teams best, 
 T. ams for agricultural purposes, 
 Trinkets, farmers' 
 Tan bark, value of, . 
 
 how to use. 
 Thistle, bull or common, . 
 Tools, why they need protection, 
 
 keeping in order, . 
 
 construction of, 
 
 weight of and implements, 
 Thidles, Canada, 
 
 among crops, 
 
 PARAGRAPH PAGE 
 
 123 CO 
 
 . 119 
 
 118 
 . 207 
 
 G29 
 . C30 
 
 774 
 . 93 
 95 
 
 1G4 
 
 1G7 
 
 722 
 
 727 
 
 59 
 
 58 
 
 103 
 
 304 
 
 305 
 
 393 
 
 40 
 
 47 
 
 83 
 
 85 
 
 332 
 
 306 
 
 W 
 
 Work, how much is a day's ? 
 
 going to the field to work. 
 
 Waste of woollen mills. 
 
 Weeds and eradication of, 
 
 Weed, pigeon, eradication of, 
 
 May weed, extermination of, 
 milk weed, extermination of, 
 flea bane, extermination of, 
 dock, sour, curled, bitter, . 
 
 150 
 
 74 
 
 155 
 
 77 
 
 G95 
 
 346 
 
 720 
 
 361 
 
 730 
 
 338 
 
 701 
 
 387 
 
 767 
 
 388 
 
 768 
 
 390 
 
 771 
 
 391 
 
wit H@iptttmltmrtit, 
 
 TWEi\TY-T2IIlll) ANXUAL VOLUMi:, 1868. 
 A Monthly Magazine, Devoted to 
 
 HORTICULTURE AND AGRICULTURE. 
 
 400 Boyal Octavo Pages Annually — Ably 
 Edited and Hplendldly Illustrated, 
 
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 TERMS, FOR 1868, ARE AS FOLLOWS : 
 
 One Copy - $2 50 
 
 Three Copies 5 00 
 
 Ten Copies 15 00 
 
 Vols. 1867, bound and post-paid, and Nos. 1868 - - - 4 00 
 
 Vols. 1866 and 1867, bound and post-paid, and Nos. 1868 - 5 50 
 
 Vols. 1865, 1866, and 1867, bound and post-paid, and Nos. 1868 7 00 
 
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 for three new subscribers. 
 
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HORTICULTURE & AGRICULTURE, 
 
 NEW AND TRACTICAL STANDARD PUBLICATIONS OK 
 
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 THE ILLUSTRATED HORTICULTURIST ALMANAC FOR 
 
 1868. Ready in October. With illustrations and descriptions of all the best 
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Grapes and Wine. 
 
 THE 
 
 CULTURE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Native Grape 
 
 AND 
 
 MANUFACTURE 
 
 OF 
 
 American Wine, 
 
 By GEO. HUSMANN, 
 
 OF MISSOURI. 
 
 A NEW AND PRACTICAL BOOK 
 
 FULLY ILLZS THAT JED, 
 
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 Seed, Cuttings, Layers, and by 
 Grafting. Location and Mode 
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 of Varieties, and full descrip- 
 tion of all the leading sorts. 
 Mode of Planting. Treatment of the Vine, first, second, third, and 
 fourth years. All Methods of Training and Pruning. Diseases. 
 Insects. Birds. Pests. Girdling. Manuring. Thinning of Fruit. 
 Renewing Old Vines. Gathering and Preserving the Fruit. The 
 AVine Cellar. Apparatus for Wine Making. Grape Mill and Press 
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 of Wine. Use of Husks and Lees. Dr. Gall's and Petoil's Method. 
 Must Scale. Acidimeter. Wiue-making Made Easy 
 
 micii: SI 5 o— post-pa ia. 
 
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F U T, L E R ' t^ 
 
 FOREST TREE CULTURIST. 
 
 ON THE CULTIVATION OF 
 
 AMEEICAN FOREST TREES, 
 
 AVITH 
 
 NOTES ON THE MOST VALUABLE SPECIES. 
 By ANDREW S. FULLER, 
 
 Author of the " Grape CuUurint.'' 
 
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 Where to obtain Seeds. 
 
 Growing from Cuttings. 
 
 Budding, Grafting, etc. 
 
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 Pruning of Forest Trees. 
 Pruning Evergreens. 
 Time to Prune. 
 Time to cut Timber. 
 Description of Varieties of De- 
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 Small Deciduous Treet^. 
 Evergreen Trees — Varieties. 
 Evergreen Shrubs — Varieties. 
 
 Depth to Plant Trees. 
 
 Sent, post-i>aicl, I'ox^ Si i50. 
 
 F. W. IVOOD^VARO, Piil>ai««lier, 
 
 37 Park Row, New York 
 
THE 
 
 YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL: 
 
 DETAILING THE 
 
 MANIPULATIONS OF THE FARM IN A PLAIN 
 AND INTELLIGIBLE :\L\NNER. 
 
 WITH PRACTICAL DIUECTIONS FOR 
 
 LAYING OUT A rAiOl AND ERFCTIXG BUILDINGS, FENCES. AND FARM GATES 
 
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 THE YOUNG FAEMER'S WORKSHOP: 
 
 rCLL DIRECTIONS FOR THK 8KLECTION OF GOOD FARM AND RIIOP TOOIiS, TIIF.IR USE ANI 
 
 JIANUFACTIRE, WITH NUMEROUS ORIGINAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF FBSCES, GATES, 
 
 TOt S, ETC., AND FOR I'EUFORMING NEARLY EVICRY UUAXCll OF 
 
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 By S. EDWARDS TODD. 
 
 VOLUME I. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 F. W. WOODWARD, PUBLISHER, 37 PARK ROW, 
 
 Offick of " The Horticulturist." 
 18C7. 
 
Soit post-paid J'or O^ic. Dolldv* 
 
 THE FAKM 
 
 A MANUAL 
 
 OK 
 
 ^radical l^griciiltiire; 
 
 OU, UOW TO CILTIVATB 
 
 ALL THE FIELD CROPS: 
 
 EMURACING 
 
 A TIIOEOUGII EXPOSITION OF THE NATURE AND ACTION OF BOILS AND MANURKS 
 THE PRINCIPLES OF ROTATION IN CROPPINO ; DIRECTIONS FOR IRRIGATING, 
 DRAININC, SiritSOlLINO, FEXCIXd, AN1» I'LANTINd UKDCiKS; DESCRIP- 
 TIONS OF AURIOUI.TI'RAL IMl'I.KM KNTB ; I SSI RrcIIONS IN TUB 
 CILTIVATION (/F TlIK VARIOUS KIKl.O Ci:v>P3, OIIOIIARDS, 
 ETC., ElO. ; 
 
 WITH A MUST VALUAliLK 
 
 (Kjsiisiai) 0U |ium pauiui^nuut. 
 
 Bv D. JI. JACQUES, 
 Author of ''Tin: Garden," "Tiif. House," " Domf.stic Animals," "IIow 
 
 TO DO BlSINESS," "lIuW TO BeUAVF^" ETC. 
 
 To rentier agriculture more iiroduclive nnd benefiriitl to all, it is necessary th*t Its principles should 
 i« better unJerslooil, and tlml we slioulJ protit move from ilie uxjierience of each other. 
 
 Judos Burl. 
 
 l\tm Dork: 
 F. W. WOODWARD, PUBLISHER, 
 
 No. '57 Park Row, Office of " The IIorticui.turist." 
 1807. 
 
Sent post-pdUl for One Dollar, 
 
 THE aAEDE:N': 
 
 A MANUAL 
 
 OF 
 
 ^f radical Porlicttltiire; 
 
 OR, HOW TO CULTIVATE 
 
 VEGETABLES, FRUITS, AND FLOWERS. 
 
 EMBRACING 
 
 an kxp08iti0x of the nature and action of soils an'd manures and tul 
 stkirctl'lte and orowtii of plants; direftions foe the forming a 
 oakukn; uesckh'tion of implements and fixtures; instruc- 
 tions FOR SOWING, transplanting, BUDDING, GRAFTING, A.ND 
 CULTIVATING VKGETABLES, FRUITS, AND FLOWERS; 
 
 WITU A CHAPTER ON 
 
 By D. II. JACQUES, 
 
 AuTUOR OF "The Farm," "The House," "Tob Barn-Yard," "How 
 
 TO DO Blsiness," " How TO Behave," eto. 
 
 Qardenlng wai Ihe primiiive eniplovment of the/frtt man ; i\n>\ \.)\e firtt of mtn, nmowg lili deflcen- 
 dttdlt, bftve ever been allftrbed to tliiit orcupnlion. Indeed, we can Iiiirdly form au idea of huDi«« 
 (•llrlt>, hi wbich a gardeu it aot onu ul' tU must proniincDt cbaracleristics. — T. U. Fkssendbm. 
 
 N e uj Work: 
 F. W. WOODWARD, PUBLISHER, 
 
 No, 37 Pauk Kow. Office of -'The Horticulturist." 
 18(37. 
 
Sent 2)ost-paid for One Dollar, 
 
 THE BARN-YARD: 
 
 A MANUAL 
 
 OF 
 
 Ciittlc, |)orse itnb Sljctp Diisbimbrn, 
 
 OW, now TO BREED AND REAU 
 
 THE VARIOUS SPECIES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS: 
 
 EMBRACING 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOK THE UKKEPING, REAKING, AND GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF 
 HOUSES, Ml'LFS, CATTLE, SHEEP, SWIME AND PiiUI-TRY; THE GKNEEAL 
 LAWS, PAKKNTAGE, AND IlKRIIUTARY DESCENT, APPLIFD TO ANI- 
 MALS, AND now BREEDS MAY BE IMPROVED ; HOW TO INSURK 
 THE HEALTH OF ANIMALS; AND HOW TO TREAT THEM 
 FOR DISEASES WITHOUT THE USE OF DRUGS; 
 
 wirii A 
 
 By D. II. JACQUES, 
 
 AimioR OF "The IIomf," "The Garden," "The Farm," "How to Wuitb,' 
 " How TO Do Business," etc. 
 
 Our power over the lower aninmis, if rightly exercised, redounils to their ilevatioii nnd happln 
 DO less than to our convenience and prolit. — The Author. 
 
 !Ceto lOork : 
 F. W. WOODWARD, PUBLISHER, 
 
 No. :!T I'AltK Row, OFKirF. op "TUE lI(HtTICl'LTURl9T." 
 
 1867. 
 
 /^ 
 
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