The Hillsborough recorder. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1820-1879, 1853-08-10

harses N i plssed ander and lightly
narrowed. The Geld Is then ready % /
receive the wheat. No one can d"aoi
the stility and profit Of this system.
when followed in a wheat growing re-
gia1. Bat the opinion entertained os
farmers that ssils mar grow wheat i"r
sny time, however long, Is fsllaeieas.
Now the Genessee farmers are shresd
men, they are thinking and reading
men still. fhey hare fallen into very
natural errnr, Tor their lands are very
rich and well adapted 20 the growth 81
wheat. and probably long time : re-
ally required 10 exhaust their salls.
When this is coupled with the TACT that
the rotten shsles beneath are constant
" plsughed up and are made to con.
tribute annually . new supply oil sail,
we see az once how their opinians are
supported. ID Is injurious TO a farm
erss interest 10 entertain the belief that
his soils are ine1haustible 10 iertllizins
matter il is as injurious rs the bethel
Of many farmers in this State, that their
old fields are NOT worth retaining. and
that 1t is more profitable 10 move To
Texas or clear up new fields. than to
resusitate their old ones. Ii should be
remembered BY those Who pursue the
clover system, that they are never add
ing fertiliziRg matter 10 the snil. or In
creasing the stock Of the must expen-
sive elements Of growth. phosphate Of
lime, potash. snda or lime, except the
lime which is in combination with the
sulphuric acid.
The theory Of the operation of plas-
ter is interesting aud beautiful, as Civ
en- to the world by Baron Liebig. lie,
as you are well aware, maintains the
doctrine that plaster absorbs ammonia
from the atmosphere. that then the sal.
pharic acid combines with the ammo
mia and fornsa sulphate ef ammonia /:
the lime, being thus set free. combines
with carbonic acid of the atmosphere. or
I, that which exists in the soil, and FORMS
carbonate of lime. Now this theory
seems to be sustained by facts. Ammo-
MA does exist IN the atmosphere, and am
monla will act upon gypsum as I.iebeg
maintains. Ina stable. where much am.
monia niten floats in the atmosphere. il
combines with the plaster when strew.
ed upon the floor. 50 if >trewed upon
the ground, no doubt. " there a particle
OF ammonia and plaster find each other,
they may mutually react upon each
other. Sulphate Of ammonia, which is
supposed to be formed in the way
have described, is really m active fer
tilizer, aud contributes largely to the
growth OF the cereals when applied "a
them. OF the truth Of The Theory which
was advanced many years ago by the
DISTINGUISHED Individual I have refer.
rcd 10, lam not fully satisfied, no,with.
standing the facts | have Just stated.
II the chemical change actually takes
place or sulphate Of apmania being
formed, why is not plaster a direct fer
tillxcr for wheati Sulphate Of ammo.
mia would he fariFed and srend its nc
iinn upon the crop when applied to il.
Plaster, repeat, does not usually in
crease the wheat crop when applied di-
rectly to it; it is necessary to make a
clover crop FIRST, hence the want Of el-
feet under the circumstances have
stated, seems to disprove the view
which .itbig take. of the question.
But il is Of little consequence what our
theory is in this particular case, pro-
vitlcd we know the conditions required
to secure the best ELECTS Of plaster
We will not discard the use of plaster
because we are ignorant Of its modus
operandi.
An Improvement which NAV proper.
ly be spoken, I in this connection, is
the system Of drill husbandry. When
wheat is snwn broad cast, experience
and observation prove that much Of il
IS lost and never takes root. When
seed, however, are drilled in BY the
machine, most Of the seed grow. There
IS, therefore, Q saving Of seed. and il is
estimated that the saving resulting
alone from drilling in the seed, will
pay fora machine in few wears. This
saving amounts nearly to q peck per
acre, though two farmers light differ
as to the quantity Of seed it is best To
SOW some maintaining that thick SOW
ing is the best-oihers go for thin SAM
ing. But the sowing of seed is not the
whole gain resulting from the drill.
The drill deposits the seed in a. light
|urrow, in this fqrrow it issprnperly
covered, and hence every seed sown
will probably grow !; but, again, il often
happens IN our windy climate that the
surface of a wheat field is exposed
. the sweeping influence of this ele-
nent, aud hence, il is often uproot-
d aud killed during the winter. Its
lIso less likely to be killed by frosts.
These facts put together are strong re.
concentrations for the adoption Of tho
lrllling system in tins State. The face
t the fields are better adapted to the
sc of the drill than at the North, where
is becoming general; it is also adapt.
q to the labnrers employed.