Edwardsville spectator. [volume] (Edwardsville, Ill.) 1819-1826, 1824-01-20

Or comfortable building and fixture ab5u,
the farm. TINS, think, must be adj
United 10 be no wise disbursement of the
means OF an agricu ltnrallst. | he waste
that is commonly sustained in our crops
alter we have toiled the whole season 10
make them, as well as 10 the FREQUENT
loss IN the lives and manner OF subslst.
ing our live stock, tor the want Of good
barns and stables, is, | am convinced,
much greater than is imagined Indeed
l doubt not, but that OH an accurate eX-
pertinent, II would be found hest losses
In few years would deiray the expenses
incident 10 the erection of convenient
sheds, II not OF good barns anu slabllng.
As TO the great uulny OF good out
houses on A tdrtn, there can exist no d.
versity OF opinion. The most important
aspect IN which this subject al this mo
ment presents itself TO my mind, is, thai
we generally postpone their erection I'll
the last moment, whereas, they should
receive the earliest attention q every
1ddicious farmer, and lttreby secure an
annual saving, al which he himself vii
be astonlshed. Beitrc | pass ON iron.
this subject, there is Owe species OF build
ing or IlXture that | would mention, and
which is scarcely to be found on any
larm IN The western country. THIS Is i
pig stye, or, as we call Il, bog pen, es.
pecially for the feeding and attenlng oi
hogs. 1t is worthy of the serious con-
sideration of tie farmer, whether in d
close pen Of Sufficient dimensions, well
hoored and covered, (Which every FAR
mer can easily construc) his hogs will
not be more healthy, consequently better
meat and iatttn on half the food they
consume and waste when fed in the ordl-
nary manner, in a large lot, or open pei,
with neither floor or covering. II las
inc line to think Is the tact) this should
prove 10 be correct, | hope this sublecl
will not be deemed OF too TRIVIAL nature
10 be admitted into an address to The ell.
lighted farmers OF Missouri. 1t would
doub less be subscribing, in no small de.
gree, the pubic interest, Tor some OF oar
members 10 make tn experimcct fairly
with three or more hogs, led ID such
manner, and communicate the result It
the society.
The fourth and last object to which
intend TO cali the attention of the society
Is the necessity o. attending to proper
succession or rotation Of crops. Ii ap.
pears hitherto to have been the practice
of the Missouri farmers TO devo mos
OF their time and labor to the caiture o
corn. The principal motive 10 lhis,
have no doubt, is to be found in the con-
venlence oil the crop for Immediate use.
Every farmer knows that WIN the ex-
ceptlon OF tobacco, hax aid hucii.uhea
corn crop Is more eXhaus,ins TO The
soil thao almost any other raised in our
climate. II may be assumed as a fact
in agriculture, that those crops winch
require most labog to maauia ture them,
are The creates exbausters oil the soil
and if 50, it may be asked why are flax,
bnck-whea, and oats considered more
exhausting to land, than wheat, rye and
barley? To this inquiry without hest
lallon admit, tina, my very linhca know.
ledge OF agriculture, as we'll as the nature
and history of plants, furnishes me with
no Satisfactory answer--especlaily since
II appears TO be admitted by all growers
OF hemp, that that plant does not sensibly
exhaust the soil. To superficial OBJ
server the fax and hemp crops appear
SO similar that he is lett at a loss 10 &C.
count tor this great difference in their
effects on the soil. | aliude here to
common report--for 10 most If not all al
you, it is well known | have 10 claim
to any knowledge from actual experience
that great and only certain store house
whence the mind must be enriched with
positive knowledge Oh these, The primi
tive concerns OF man. Is it then tac1
that fax, oats and buck -whea, are quick
cxhausters, whilst on the other hand
hemp really contributes rather to fer.
tiiize the soil that produces it, If SC
what are the great operating causes,
which produce these opposite results
Can it in relation to hemp and flax be ex-
planned on the principle Of the difference
in he growth, of the two plants, the
hemp sheltering the ground much more
than the flax from the action of the sun
But it is fact that the action of the sun
or heat in general improves the earth
and to what extent will any piece OF
ground KEEP, entirely clean Of vegetation
and wilhou, being cultivated, be render
ed less fertile, compared with one upon
which crop has been raised. 1t is a
well known fact that burnt clay makes
an excellent manure. But without a
long course of experimental knowledge
on these subjects, an intimate acquain-
lance with the principles of chemistry is
perhaps the only true road to truth