Vermont telegraph. [volume] (Brandon [Vt.]) 1828-1843, 1843-07-19
Old EnrnlS.

Mr.. George w. Cum;nins, Of Smyr.
na, Delaware, purchased tarn near that
place, coutAlning abou. 2OO acres. The
land had been under cultivation Tor hail
century or more, AMI is soll so conpte,t-
ly exhausted as not to be capable Of COM
pensat;ng for the labor and seed expended
uuon crors. 1t had, nevertheless, been
rented, up 10 the time OF purchase, and
one Of the conditions was the payment,
annually, Of two 6tlhs OF the Indian corn
crop. From 4 thirty acre field, the rent
paid the las. year was only about 30 bush
elsl Clover refused to grow upon This
land, anC wheat would not yield much
more than the seed sown. The soil was
a sandy loan. The fist step taken b.
Mr.. Cammins for The restoration OF this
land to fertility, was, TO sow one buShel
of ground plaster 30 the acre, flush up
ia The sp,ing, and spread uPoh ll70 bush
els Of siakel lime per acre. OltS were
then sown at the Tate OF 2 or bushels
10 the acre, and in Jul Y, when nearly I'll
fJr harves, the straw b-ing partly yellow
and partly green, they were plowed under,
an ox-chdin having been rugged IN front
of the &C ullef, SO as 10 turn them down
before The pillow Previous to this plow-
ing, / IA bushel more Of ground plas-
ter of Paris was sprlnk!ed oulhe ground.
A second crop OF oats sprung up in u
thick mat from those p!owed under, ana
about the first OF O:to5er, th'se were
turned down by the plow Ilhe the first
growth. Wheat was GoW s0Wn, about |
l-2 buSheI to the acre, and narrowed IN
followed by clover early In he spring
The crop If wheat averaged about s
bushels To the acre, and this, It will be OF
served, without shoveiful Of stable any
other kind of snInal manure. The clover
had bushel of ground plaster sprinkle1
on it in the spring, anl yield d, Ihe sec
oud season Of lis growth, about ton per
acre al the first moving. Thus, land
from which the vegetable mould had teen
entirely exhausted, was, in comparatively
short lime, AMI without the assistance oil
barn.yard or any other kind Of animal
manure, brought into condition 10 yield
compen salIng crops OF wheat, corn, and
vigorous clover. BY the assistance of The
ordinary quantity of 1arn-yard manure
! the produce of wheat would average a.
bout % basaelS, aud Of Indian corn 40 OF
| so bushels per acre. The whole ex-
| peases incurred by Mr. CumminS pfepar.
atory 10 the wheat AMI clover crops, u,
mouu;ed to Sl3 10; AMI as the whea
raised was about s bushels, and sold fol
| 81 so, and the clover mown about tor
per acre, worth about 8 or 10 dollars the
/ ton, the EXPENSES were abunddntly repaid
| by the fl ST crops, and the land left IN gooc
I heart for future profitable tlilage.
When farms are situated near towns
animal manures can generally be obtain
ed at fair prices, and hence the usual pro
| ductiveneSS exhibited BY lots and fields II
the proximity Of towns. Rut with large
farms siru lteJ at too great distances iron
such places TO admit OF the Transportation
of stable manure or street dirt al fair prl
! ces, the ftr.aers are left TO the feGtlilzine
substances att hand, or to the purchase 0
Concentrated manure that will bear the COS
of transportation, such as lime, ashes, SCOT
plaster, crushed bones, prondrete PrePar
ed from night soil, &C., the salts oil nitre
soda, ammonia, etc. Those who live
near enough to marl-beds 10 admit Of lht
hauling Of such heavy substances att
fair cost, are indeed fortunate Tter
there are the manures or compoSs prepaI
ed from peat, bv the addition of ashes
the salts of potash, soda, &c, the merits o
all which can readily be ascerlalnee
from the results Of actual experiments, re
! ported IN numerous recent publications
upon agricultural matters, and especia!l
in that highly valuable little treatise b,
Dr. Dana, Tine Muck Manual. = Far
mer's Encyclopedia.