Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1850-06-14
From the American Farmer

From the American Farmer.
Agricultural Truths.
l. Unless the farmer feeds his land it will not feed
him.
g All qret lands should be drained By draining
them, the most stiff and intractable soils may be
changed into friabe ones the labor OF culture will
be reduced the quantity of products increased and
their quality improved while the health of the place
will also be improved.
! 3. Wet lands, which may need it, should always
be drained before application of lime or marl and
time should be allowed for the soil to become
parativey dry before being poughed, or the lime or
mari applied.
4. Lands which may have been drained by covered
drains, should be poughed crosswise the drains
til the soil which surmounts them shall have become
settled and firm.
| 5. It may be assumed as fact, that lands which
may have been in culture for long series of years,
without being lined will derive benefit from dres-
sing of lime mari
6. Stiff lands will bear heavier dressings of lime
or mari, than sandy ones. Stiff lands, which may
have been in grass, will bear than those where
on grass or clover had not been cultivated. First
applications of lime or mari, to thin sandy lands
should always be small ones, preceded by nutritive
manures; second applications of lime or mari not to
be repeated unless after such lands shall have been
in grass clover received large dressings of ma
nures comprising much organic matters.
7. Deep filth is conducive to fruitfuness in crops
but possibly may be safest to increase the depth
gradually manure with free and liberal hand, and
to apply lime each time the soil may be deepened ;
which should never exceed more than one or two
inches of the hard pan, in any year that to be
regulated by the character of the subso to be turn
ed up. Such deepenings should always be made in
the fall to give the inverted soil the benefit of the
neutralizing effects of the lime, and the dsintegra-
ting influence of the winters frosts. Twenty five
bushels of freshly slaked lime per acre, spread
the upturned earth, would answer for such purpose
8. AS to what is nutritive manure, it may be de-
fined to be- any animal substance the excretions Of
animals any vegetable substances-as anything
which has had life has the power of reproduction
| g. All lands which may have been lined or marl-
ed should be speedily thereafter set in clover or
grass permanent improvement cannot be effected
without the soil be so treated to keep up stock
OF organic matter therein to be wrought into food
| by the decomposing action of the lime mari The
cacareous element in each, which is the great prin-
ciple in either that renders it effective requiring
Wherewithal to work with.
10. AS the late Judge Peters said -Farmers should
value manure as miser does his strong box-should
grasp after and hoard it eagerly and anxiously
a covetous man accumulates treasure
| IL. One of the best methods of applying lime to
| light sandy lands is to make compost of lime and
clay: work it over WELL several times so as to mix
the lime intimately with the clay topdress the land
with the mixture after being ploughed, and then
harrow the compost in Ten loads of clay, and twen-
ty-fve bushels of lme thus treated, would form an
excellent dressing for of such land and would
have the double effect of supplying the soil with the
necessary calcareous principle, and of amending its
texture.
/ IL Orchards to ensure continued fruitfuness and
fair fruit, should be periodically MANFRED, in order
that the food carried off annually in the fruit should
be restored to the soil. Six parts peat and two of
lime, or six parts marsh mud and two of mari would
form excellent dressing in the proportion of 20
loads to the acre; the cost of which might be
ed by growing crop of cora potatoes, other roots
thereon, the year of any such application.
Is. Orchards should not be kept permanently in
grass it for harbor for vermin, while il
robs the trees of the food that should be appropra
ted to them.
STUMP ExrRAcToR.-The Lynchburg Republi
can, of the LIST April has the suboined account of
+ machine then being exhibited in Lynchburg, Va. L
cheap, durable, and effective know of no recent
r invention more needed. We should like to see 6
more minute and particular description given of it,
price, the power required to work it in the extraction
of the largest stumps the mode of applying the pow
er and all else calculated to convey clear and de
finite idea of the machine not emitting the number
of stumps it is capable of removing per hour day
There is being exhibited in this place. a machine
for removing stumps from the EARTH and even pull
- ing up trees Several performances have been made
: which astonished every body who witnessed then,
as they pull up with the largest of our Oak ant
Chestnut trees and stumps. 1t is constructed entire
ly the Lever principle that two horses are abb
!, to draw the largest stumps. Some say this is
= age of progress, and when people enabled t.
snatch the sturdy oak from the soil with ease doe
q certainly appear to confirm the assertion"
t Culture of Ruta Baga.
AS this is the month when this root should be pm
in, shall lay before readers an extract from
l. communication in the Albany Cultvator, from tn
= pen of J. W. Brewster, Esquire of Oneida Co. New
York giving his experience and mode in the cultiva
l. ton of this excellent root
d THE ground planted part sward, and par
D. where potatoes had grown the preceding year
d Those where potatoes had grown were the best
i measured from end of the patch twenty squar
n rods from which we got 154k bushels or 1886 bu
shells to the acre. SIS lbs to the bushel The groun
was ploughed but once, threw into ridges* 3 fee
ID apart man sent ahead with hoe to level the top
lie of the ridges, following myself with tin caniste
n with two small holes in it, with the seed in. Thi
canister shook over the ridge, passing nearly on
ID common walk, a boy following with garden rake
to cover the seed, and it was done. The seed cam
70 up WELL required little thinning in some places an
of filling up in others" He sowed on the 7th of June
which not too early for the latitude of New York
r. He estimates the cost of cultivation at $23-th
value of 1886 bushels of roots at 20 cts per bushe
ID $247.2O-proft per acre S22420.
IF The Ruta Baga is an excellent turnip for tabl
re use particularly in the spring of the year-cu
10 fine and mixed with straw hay it is good food fo
horses oxen and CATTLE generally-and it is particu
lary adapted to the feeding of sheep and store hog
e. in the winter and spring.
An of land that will bring so bushels of corr
~ it is said, will bring thousand bushels of Rut
&c Baga-the grain of that number of bushels of cor
~ will make 400 eds-the roots of the thousan
. bushels of Ruta Baga, (when added to cut straw G
&c hay) will make $500 feeds at 10 lbs feed or 275
- feeds at 20 lbs. the feed-we allude to horses an
~ cattle,-and we should think it will not require muc
of arthmetician, to tell which will go farthest
- Ba~Let those whose cattle died for want of Orc
vender this last spring. think seriously upon the Dol
Sc cy, as we'll the humanity of providing crop