Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1859-02-18


turned to the soil, il would 90 much toward
keeping up the fertility Of tho waste Of the
soil BY grain crops. Carrying OF all the
growth Of wheat crop, year after year.
will soon render tho soil incapable oc pro-
ducing wheat Wheat Is decreasing and
ryo increasing as compared with acres cul-
tiyatcd in former years. Corn, too, is largo
ly increasing, and we are exporting consid-
erable quantities, and Of course, carrying
away the needed fertility OF future crops.
The oat crop is one Of our most important
crops, because it is principally consumed at
home. Barley, too, is usually consumed at
home, and both barley and oats, as well as
corn, grow through a wide range Of lati-
tude, and do not deteriorate soil like wheat
Tobacco, SO largely grown and used in this
country, is an undoubted exhauster of the
! soil, and its expectation carries away an
immense quantity Of fertilizing material /;
and no crop ever exhausted soil more rapid
" than tobacco, for every part Of the plant
is removed from the land where il grows
1t requires a strong soil or an immense
quantity Of manure to raise tobacco. The
loss of fertility by the expectation Of crops
is matter Of calculation, and tables read
! BY Mr. Pell show the proportion Of all and
the great amount of fcrtiizing materials
from actual analysis Of such crops, Com
parative tables also show how much moro
rapidly lands must deteriorate by growing
and exporting grain and ether crops than by
eeowing bullocks and sheep, or BY consun-
ing tho grain and grass crops on the farm.
WIN. LAwToN inquired if there could not
be created from the soil and air power Of
recuperatiou to balance the loss of fertility
by the expectation Of grain aud other prod
uets. He said; / believe that simple
process would restore fertility to waste places.
lie even thought Canada thistles blessing
rather than curse, and that a growth of
them would serve to restore fertility to worn
out fclds aud whom necessary to eradicate
them il could easily be done with salt.
ANDREW S. FuLLER-I believe that it is
a principle of nature for all plants TO depos-
it upon tho earth enough TO keep up fertil-
ity. Look at forests. The first growth
was upon sterile land, and continuous
growth has enriched the earth If we will
keep and apply all the straw to the land,
VIC can take away the grain. The excre-
ment Of any animal will produce more than
the animal can consume. This has been
proved by experiments, and so it has in the
growth Of trees. / think we can export all
that others will take from us, if we take
the proper means to keep up the fertility Of
our land.
The SECRETARY said that lands in Vir.
ginia and North Carolina that had been
rendered barren by sending off all the crops
and restored by merely restoring the straw
TO the land, and carrying of thirty bushels
Of wheat per acre.
r. G. PARDEE--Oue of the practical
points Of this discussion is, how can We best
retain the waste, or useless parts Of crops,
to the soil Is it BY eompacting the straw,
or consuming it by cattle, or by what means I
Which is the best coursel
Mr.. VREpsR--Every resource that is at
hand | find important and necessary to ap-
ply to keep up fcrtility--everyIhing to in
crease the bulk of manure. Quantity is
porc important than the time Of application
Any vegetable matter added TO the man
ure I find profitable. So dig much from
the swamp, and have made an aecumula-
ton Of nearly three feet deep Of good com
post in my barn yard. In soma sandy soils
I plants can fiad no substance to live upon,
yet will grow well when the necessary pab-
ulum is added. Then is it not worth while
to transfer the muck from worthless swamps
to worthless sandy plains, To enable them to
produce useful vegetation.
BENJAMIN T. PIKE-I have used all the
muck and scrapings that can obtain TO in
crease my compost in my barn yard, and l
collect all the drainage water from the road
that can, and hold il in a cistern to mois-
ten my compost heap. The overHowiug
waters Of the ci4tern convey to pond,
the sediment all being retained 10 the els
tern, and is pumped up on to the manure
heaps, and nny excess rms back again into
the same reservoir, so that nothing is lost.
By my pump, too, can irrigate my farm
with this LIQUID manure, the value Of which
am web satisfied Of, having used it for
many years. l have never seen as good
asparagus anywhere as have grown by
the use of liquid manure. have also
found great advantage from irrigation from
mountain stream. One Advantage Of my
eistern, supplied by open drain, is that it
washes in great many seeds Of weeds
which are there destroyed.
Mrs, ELIZABETH LAEeDoS Of Long Island
who owns over 500 acres at Thompson
gave little OF her experience in farming
She stated tnat she had broken up 81 acres
scrub-oak land, and tried to demonstrate
what woman could do at farming.
planted pears and other fruit trees, and
have succeeded admirably. / find no diff
Guilty in growing anything that wish. Ny
grapes are doing very well, and so are all
small fruits, particularly the Lawton black.
berry. Ny potatoes have done well on the
scrub-oak lanl, cleared in the February be
fore planting the crop. Clover grows beau.
tifally, and so do all kinds of grass. A.
soon as the oak roots are rotten use tho
subsoil pIow. In plowing out the roots,
use large plow, that runs near foot aud
half deep. My great object has been to
show that a woman can live upon a farm
and conduct her own affairs, and that thess