Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1851-08-20
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES.
CLEARING, FnNoISe AND MANUREs.

The late Henry Coleman-whose labors !
n the cause of agriculture can hardly be |
estimated too highly,-states that "the great |
and distinguished difference between Brit |
ish and American agriculture consists in
the entire freedom of the cultivated fields
OF England from rocks, and stones. Wher- |
ever they existed they have been removed,
and there is nothing to impede the progress
OF the plough. In England, too, on all the
improved and cultivated lands, there is
neatness and finish, that, at once strikes the
eve with pleasure; every thing is done, as
II were, by line and measure; the corners
and headands are thoroughly cleared; the
bitches are kept unobstructed; the crops
are drilled in straight lines, and recently
ploughed field resembles plated ruttie
from the ironing board of neat laundress."
Such exactness, he adds, is exceedingly
beautiful; and though it may appear at first
10 consume much time, it will be found
more economical in the long run, than the
slovenly way in which things are often
done in many places, which he does not
choose to mention.
Another popularity Of British farming,
which it might be well for the American
farmers to adopt, is the economy of fencing.
There are many farms in England with
scarcely subdivision. Pasture for sheep
and cattle, must, of course, be separated by
fences of some kind or other, from the cul-
tivated fields and meadows; but these seem
to be all the fences that are absolutely ne
-cessary. 1.-The loss of land (says Mr.. Cole
many by too many fences, the loss of time
in cultivating numerous small fields instead
of one or two large ones, on account of the
necessity of more frequent turniugs, and the
actual cost Of making and maintaining the
fences themselves, mot to add that they are
a shelter for weeds, and harbor for YER
min, )are serious considerations"
A most important branch of the science
Of agriculture, and one in which our knowl-
edge is more deficient than in any other, is
the art of making and preserving manure.
The earth is yoracious feeder; but still
she is @ Just and generous parent. She re-
i1ices to take that, which her children re-
jects as unfit for their sustenance, and re-
turns it in substances adapted to prolong
and comfort their existence, and in forms
and colors of the most attractive beauty
In some climates kinder than ours, she
does, indeed, produce spontaneously, the
nece ssaries and some Of the luxuries of life;
but in New England, that man has obseIv-
ed little and learned nothing from his OBJ
servation, who supposes that the ground
will always bear crops, if it never be re-
pleniShed with those ingredients which it
imparts to vegetation. Much has been
written and published on this subject, and
We find that our agricultural journals are
frequently and earnestly calling on the far
lners to manure their fields and meadows.
his not supposed that these appeals are en-
trelv UNDECIDED, or that there are not many
good husbandmen who need no admoni-
ton but may safely rely on their own in
telligence and foresight yet superficial
survey of the country would produce the
conviction that too many are like the daugh-
tiers of the horse-lcech, crying to their moth
err earth, Gjre, Give. Such unnatural chill
dren should know that the earth expects
and dem lands something in return for the
fayors she bestows. 1t is but poor apollo
gy for them to say that they have not a suf-
fcient quantity of manure to enable them to
be liberal in ITS application. If they have
not enough, let them make more and, if
they are ignorant of the process of manu-
facture, let them read agricultural works.
1t is easier to make manure than to make
excuses for want Of ii. But there are large
quantities of manures on every farm, by the
sides of highways and in the household es-
tablishment, which, if it were saved and
properly applied would be of unspeakable
value. The liquid manure, which daily
runs to waste on many farms, would richly
repay the trouble OF saving. 1t may be re-
served for some sagaclous husbandman or
ingenious mechanic to contriye plan for
the preservation Of this substance. Its val
ne is urged by almost every writer on agri-
culture, and must be apparent even to an
Indifferent observer. The rankest weeds
grow in places where the water settles
that has been filtered through dung-hill,
and the ground drinks up the wash of the
barnyard. Would not a field saturated
with the same liquid produce the stoutest
corn Look at the stream which flows from |
the sink of kitchen, and you will see its
sides lined with barn-grass, the tops of
which wave in the breeze, its stalks are as
heavy as those of the corn in an adjacent |
field. A reservoir placed under the spout |
of the sink would preserve this liquid, |
which, however filthy aud unsavory CON-
tains ingredients that, in natures laborato-
ry, can be re-modi6ed, and produced in
fruits and flowers, to regale the senses and |
contribute to the support of life Backing
HAMS address before The Franklin County
agricultural Society.
The HIGH-BUsH BLAcKBERRY.--The
~ 4 u II