Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1846-10-22
BY HON. JACOB SCOTT.
(Conclu d e d J

vesting capital in unproductive lands, we now
pass to notice, in the second place, TIlIage'-
And here we may say, that there Is such Varl-
ETY. of soils, that it is impossible to lay down any
rule which will apply in all cases we must
therefore suggest some general ones, and leave
it to the judgment of the farmer to apply NO
modern writer could lay down more correct and
comprehensive axioms than Cato did, in the fol-
lowing words and whoever strictly obeys them,
will never be ranked among the ignorant of the
art. "What is good tillage?" says this old
est of the Roman teachers of Agriculture. "To
plough What is the second To plough."-
And if we were to add the third, we would say,
deep plOughing. | know we meet with objec-
tions here, but prejudice is fast giving way UNI
der the influence of experiments and reason
PIiny informs US that the Romans ploughed gen
orally three times before sowing, and in stiff
soils as many as nine times; and the first plough
ing was nine inches deep. And when they STIR
red the ground three inches only, it was called
semrifcation But Cato adds, the third is, to
manure. The other part of tillage is, to choose
your seed cautiously; to SOW pentitully, and re-
mOFG DIS luduy WGGuo dS tIOoolplC III hhC HN"0O'i'
One word more, and we leave this point.
Let farmers plough as deep, pulverize as tho
roughly, and manure as high in their fields, as
they do in their gardens, and l pledge myself to
answer for all the loss sustained.
5. We now come to consider a subject con-
nected with farm management, of more mpor-
lance to the farmer than any other. Demosthe-
mes declared that the three first essentials of
oratory were, action! action! acton With no
greater limitation to his definition than was de-
signed by this celebrated master of oratory, we
may say that the three first acquisitions for sue
cessiul farm management, are, manure! manure!
manure With these, existing naturally in the
soil, or artihcially supplied, every thing can be
done; without them nothing. But we Can do
but little more in this short essay than to name
some of the different kinds of manure, and urge
their Importance upon the cultigators ofthe soil.
OF all fertilizers, the most universal and the most
valuable to the farmer, and yet the most gener-
ally mismanaged, is farmyard manure; which
has been often well described as the farmer IS
sheet anchor 1t is the earliest mentioned of all
manures, and is considered of the most impor-
tancc by the earliest agricultural writer's
"Study," says Cato, "to have large dunghill.
The farmer should remember that every crop he
takes from his land has made draft upon its
strength, and unless that is repaired by some
kind of manure, his farm is the poorer for it..
His farm yard should be his bank, where he can
obtain any quantity that is required for any Of
al EoIJ h,l h. Il
with that Indifference and careless neglect man
ifested by some of our farmers
In our system we should initiate the Flemish
husbandmen, They have three points to which
they devote their efforts, namely, the accumuIa-
ton of manure, deep pulverization of the soil
and the destruction of weeds. They were the
first among the moderDs to raise crops for the
sake of ploughing them in whilst growing; and
they continue the practice more extensively than
any other nation. Every fragment of animal
and vegetable matter is preserved by them. So
it should be with us Xenophon recommends
green crops to be poughed in, and even crops
to be raised for that purpose for these, says he
enrich the soil as much as the dungheap. He
also recommends earth that has long been under
water to be put upon land to enrich it, and the
stubble at reaping-t,me, to be left long, if the
straw is abundant, and this, if burned upon the
land, will enrich it very much. The burning
of straw upon tillage land, no doubt, is benef-
cial; but whether it is better to dispose of it in
this manner, or convert it into manure in the
compost heap, we leave the farmer to Judge
Ashes, no doubt, are among the very best kinds
of manure.
Experiments made upon wheat, oats, aud up
on grass land with ashes as topdresslng, show
most conclusively their value as a manure and
the farmer, instead of selling his ashes at nine
pence bushel had better buy hundred bush
els to use on his own farm, even if he had tc
borrow money to pay for them.
Every farmer who has the advantage of a
muck-swamp should see to it that enough muck
is annually carted into his farm yard TO Absorb
all the liquid that falls thereon. The aIluvia
deposits found in marsh mud, must of course
contain more or less of the ingredients of the
soils of the neighboring uplands
The chemical examinations of marsh-muC
cannot fail to prove that its use by the farme
would be attended with abundant success Lime
gypsum, or plaster, guano, bones, or bone-dust
salt, saltpeter SCOT, charcoal, either in a sepa
rate or mixed state, with host of other things
should be made use Of by the farmer.
Aud upon the accumulation and application
of manure to the soil, in proper quantities, ant
in proper manner, the success of the cultva
tor depends. Another item of importance t.
the farmer, and one which he should regard al
intimately connected with his success, is seeds
inasmuch as it is written, what man soweth
that shall he also reap" The choice of seed
intended to be sown by the farmer, is an obec
of greater Importance than many seem to ina
CINE. The selection should be made of what
ever kind it may be, of the cleanest, the mos
full, sound and healthy And this practice il
still more obvious from the circumstance of it
being, in some measure, the same with plants
as with animals, that the produce is in degree
similar to that from which it originated