Glasgow weekly times. (Glasgow, Mo.) 1848-1861, 1849-05-10
What i know Of Farming,
BY PROF. j. J. MAPEs.
From the New York Tribune.

letters descriptive of my progress in
farming, is received, and it gives me
pleasure to comply with your request.
10 detail all that might be useful 10
others who may wish TO avail themselves
of my experience, would be difficult
but SO large as The allotted space will
permit, | shall endeavor to meet your
wishes.
When looking for proper locality,
| could not but observe that the ridge
between Newark and Elizabeth town
possessed peculiar advantages for NV
purposes-,he land, although fully sus-
cepIlble of improvement, had borne an
unenviable reputation, and had ever
proved Improbable to its owners.
AT the foot of this ridge commences
the great salt meadows, the surface of
which is composed of organic matter,
not IN state Of decay; and this organ
&c matter is evidently the washings of
the high land gradually deposited until
the surface has risen far above high wa
ter mark.
There are 10000 acres of these
meadows within sight Of the very high
lands which have been robbed of their
soluble and lighter surface particles, to
form them; and, therefore, | could no,
but desire TO remove part of these fer
tlllsing materials, back ,rhere then came
from. 1t was evident enough from the
experiments of others, that meadow
muck could be decomposed, and rem.
dered available as a manure; but il had
not been used with any effect in this
part of New Jersey. A few farmers
had carted the muck upon their land,
without previously decomposing it, and
from not having found immediate ben
eficial effects, had abandoned its use.
Here, then, was fine field for one who
was anxious 10 apply Chemistry to Ag-
riculture, and who was constrained by
circumstances to get a, profitable re-
suits with but little outlay. Newark,
too, was near by, and the offal of its
Tanneries, Soap, Glue, Gas, and other
manufactures all added TO the desira-
bleness of locality; spent lye, spent ash
es, chambers greaves, bone and horn
turnings, spent tan, leather chips, hair,
hide clippings, hen and pigeon dung af.
ter having been used by morocco dress.
ers, furriers' wastes, &c. &c. &c. were
all to be had at moderate prices, and
many of them for the cariing. The
slight use that had been made of these
articles by agriculturists, was in mos,
cases from mere guessings as to their
utility. and not from their chemical
aptitude 10 special crops or composts;
and, as in all cases where fertilizins
materials are improperly or improvi.
IDENTIFY used, their qualities as fertli
GERS were doubted. These advantages
added TO the ready means of finding
market for products, decided my
choice.
The surface soil of the farm | now
occupy is clayey loan, underlaid with
sub'soil of red kellis (decomposed
sandstone,) and occasionally stratum
of Clay, A to 8 inches thick, Interye.
ming between the sub and surface soils
Much of the land isspringy. and con.
sequently unfit for cultivation, unless
thoroughly underdrained and sub-soil-
ed. This has been done on part of the
farm, and with tho most signal success
lcommenced operations in the month
of October, lS47, and had only time
before severe fros, prevented, to under
drain and sub-soil part of the land
leaving the surface ridged, to be rem
dered pulvurent by the freezngs ano
thawngs before Spring. In the Spring
of 1913, the whole farm was deer
plowed and sub-soiled, and during the
Summer a large portion was under
drained, the whole farm being left ridg
ed again in the Fall of ls4s, and thus
at this time March ls49,] the soil i:
in finely pulverulent state, and capa
BILE of producing crops entirely .upe
rior to those of last year.
From Oct. ls47, to this time, SOC
loads of muck have been brought from
the meadows, converted into available
manure and plowed into the land; il
addition to which, large amounts o.
| falls from factories have been used 49,