Delaware weekly Republican. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1841-188?, 1857-11-26
Agrioultural.s
For the peIsware RepublIcan.

In nv last communication, made some all III
aston to the proper condition OF a productive ia
bill. showed you that an acre Of ground to VI
ield 30 bushels Of wheat, must furnish to the IS
traw of that wheat 1871 pounds OF soluble silica.
also stated, that this was one OF the hardest A
hings the soil had to do. |;
We will now lay before you, some oil the Z;
yAys and means OF assisting nature. to produce IL
. luxuriant harvest. Let us make plain ahd e
lear statement Of the case. We must accumu- D
ate and preserve ammonia, and all the min 7,
raj clements which are necessary as food for :
render soluble all that are not ,
sasily dissolved in water. How are these
things TO be accomplished2 There are many a
WAYS. But there are but two ways, whicn
stand out, high, and prominent, and paramount I
above all the rest. The first is tillage. Flow,
harrow, drain, roll, grind, pulyeri5e the
soil
The second great principle is cover the land.
The carbonic acid, ammonia, oxygen and mols-
tnre OF the air must penetrate the ground
Omen it, and let them in. They knock at the
door every hour Of the day and night for ad- I
mittance. How admirable, this arrangement OF
Infinite Wisdom, that just in proportion 10 the {
amount of labor you bestow upon the soil shall
be your reward What an ample provision
for dense population
Yes, II ten men will properly till yon Held,
which is now only scratched little by lazy
brother, 1t will yield them sufficient nourish-
ment. although the present occupant, can
scarcely live upon the product OF that same
groundl
Now for the second great principle. Cover.
ing tho surface. This has precisely the same
effect upon the land as tillage. 1t retains the
ammonia. 1t disintegrates the soil. bousslh-
gault found ten times more ammonia, In snow
which had lain SO hours on rich garden soil,
| than he found in the same fall OF snow lying
on stone terrace.
Flo iuat
was escaping from the ground and was arrest
| ed by the snow. And is it not an old saying, |
4 that snow is the poor mans manuref
| Travellers tell us, that the monuments oil
Egypt, executed thousands Of years ago, have
all the freshness and newness Of appearance,
| presented by works which were finished but
yesterday. This is owing to thedryness Of the
air from the great desert. Yet when some oil
these monuments were brought to France, they
soon began to show symptoms OF decay, and
had to be coated with a preparation that
would shield them from the corrodng influence
of the damp air OF Paris.
Hence, by keeping the soil moist, 1t will
continually disintegrIte. That is, 1t will rot
and moulder down into a soluble condition.
Ground will not decay while 1t remains dry
Bury log of wood, so that no air, no mois-
ture can reach it, and 1t will not rot in thou
sand years.
, The oxygen of tho air, assisted by moisture
|
| the works of Art and Nature. 1t ~ the antago.
mist of all life, 1t consumes, and burus and
grinds to powder almost every thing around
! us. II crumbles the hardest rocks into SAND
S and clay. II eats into the very heart Of iron
and turns 1t intoyellow dust. 1t is its peculiar
, office to attack the giant oak, the moment life
n has departed, and to monlder 1t down, agalI
i to become food for the young forest beneath
f it. There is no sink, however fcul and dis
: gushing that It cannot purify and make clean
!. There is no collection Of manure, of any kind
!, that it will not turn into gases and water, Z
u float away upon the air, or sink into the ground
till nothing is left in its place but pile O
N ashes. What useful lesson should we learn
is from this sleepless and irresistible power O
ID oxygen7 Is il wise to leave the fast rottin
straw, and other vegetable matters, for week
~ and months, in aud around your stables, to b.
o, daily converted into gas, to be waited away b
~ the ever changing air Certainly Eot. Bu
: what will you do Let me tell you. once
ar week, fit be possible for you TO do IL, hau
10 out all your manure and spread it on yor
fields of grass You may spread it upon you
q, wheat during the Winter, In case you hav
I'd provided enough of soubleassiica in the sol
!" to balance the crude and gaseous matters.
However, as soon as the manure is out an
10 spread, wherever you may scatter 1t npo
% your farm, it is so much money put out at il
, terest. As long as 1t remains in the barnyart
Sc you arc not only getting no interest for
" but You are losing part of the princip
10 n,,asy day.
s Ohe ton of barnyard manure contains elev,
~ pounds of ammonia. The liquid portions ha'
" the mast of i. hpd- an a farm which is not vol
tile, at least the greater part Is not, till ferme
ii tation and putrifaction have converted it int
er the carbonate of ammonia which is soon dissip
ted in the air. When spread upon the So
IL before these changes take place, the ammon
e- having strong affinity for water, is absorbt
- and retained by the moist and shaded earth :
A. But remember this, tho preservation of tn
ei volatile alkali, is not the most prominent o
ject which we have in view, in putting out Il
on manure on the surface Of tho ground. III
90 greater benefit to be derived from IL, is Il
rotting of the soil, as tho vegetable matt
Z, hourly decays. Therefore, do not pillow it IL
Il. der for year, II you can do without it.
ct lfthis advice be'sound philosophy, then y
hi should always have your growing wheat &C
cred with something during the Winter.
Fe very cheap and good way, il to SOW buckwhe
broadcast when you drill or harrow in yo
= wheat. 1t will often grow two feet hight /
ms fore the frost kills it, twill catch the drivi
=. SHOWS, and prevent the winds from sweep
III III the earth away from the tender roots. IL v
er prevent the frosts from throwing out the crt
ID, and when Spring returns, it will rot down, a
ire assist to nourish the young plant when 1t m
l6s needs IL.
y. This application of buckwheat, is not an
a. tried experiment. 1t was followed, and stroi
i's ly recommended, nearly 20 years ago, by
,va Gaskins, who published aluable little wo
va in defence Of this practice. q. H
he Wilmington, Del.
full DoN'T LEAVE FARMINa.-Men are consta
he ly leaving the farm for other pursuits. Su
nd persons have history, which, in many, p
he haps most cases, would be an instruct
ed warning.
NH Mr. A haarJ of tl,a frnfifs nf tho ,narcb