Civilian & telegraph., 1860-05-10
a.. Garmers' Ntpattmeat.
Manureing Pastures and Meadow

81. " e uOid ~ " NC HaAHtR wv way VI
enricting land to apply the fertilizer, of
whatever sort it may be, to the sur face,
what would be termed top-drcssing
We are aware this is debatable ground,
and shall not presume to enter the lists,
but simply give facts, as seen by US, and
by all who, ''having eyes, see f"
The annual fall of leaves, decay of
grass and other hcrbage, with the depo-
sits caused by overflow, and The decay
Of the many forms of vegetation, are the
sources of fertility and its annual in
erase, The soil which retains any
considerable portion, or all that grows
npon fought to increase in fertility. For
this increase there are two great sources
the growth above the soil, from the
root; and the growth in the soil, of the
root itself. The one is an application
of a fcrtilizlng property to the surface
tho other tthe root IN the soil. The
quantity Of available plant food thus fur
Nishcd by varied vegetable growth is
widely different. Whoever thought of
making soil richer by growing IN it a
crop of wheat roots, while a crop of clo-
vcr roots viii increase its fertility Won
acrfully. The same is true of timothy,
and, in fact, of any of the tough sward-
ing grasses. All the farmer has to do
to manure his soil well, is to produce
heavy, thick sward, the roots of which.
when killed, in deeaying, give out the
constituent elements of series of great
crops and leave the soil the better for be-
ing in grass.
But how to produce this thick sward,
is the question, on farm where the
huge, wandering roots of the old forest
trees are all decaycd and extracted from
the soil, in the form of product and
sold, how to get good coating of
grass, IA good tough sward, and its ad-
juncts, where the soil is run poor, aud
will hardly grow either root or stalk.
We answer, mix your grass seed, using
varieties suited to the soil, and then
serve the product as the young dandics
do their coaxcd moustachcs" "---nurse,
care for, treat with outward applications,
&c,, until it grows, and when once
stiff sward is formed, m,kc Il ri,h Jy
mhat lou PIT on 1t, aud it will make you
gich by what grows an and on it. That
soil which will not, nor cannot, be made
to produce growth ofroots for the sup
port of plants, is worthless We plow,
hoe, and mellow the soil, that these
may spread, and to these we should
look, the great source of fertility and
means Of fcrtIizing our soils As the
chief end of our labor, we should en-
dcavor to make root-growing soil---thc
root being the soursc of all or any share
OF success. How?
A poor soil may be fcrtilizcd by the ap-
plication OF manure upon it --plowed in
ify,u will, ,--or by irrigation with water,
bearing sediment. But soil which had
been rendered poor, poor is better
word here than sterile, by too long crop
ping from the same class of roots, we
should seek TO fcrtiize by change fpro,
duct. And here we have to say that a soil
in grass, we'll swarded, is not poor, even
ifthc crop is too thin and scanty to pay
for gathering ---any soil filled with grass
roofs is like loaded gun. Its ready to
make n report But If it has been, LAS
is the case with too many Western New
York soils ---cultivated in cxhausting
crops, or those the roots of which die
each year, instead of certing on manure
and blowing in to be thrown out and
carted off again the next year in spas
modic or forced, or Joaghtca, crop, we
should adopt the seeding down practice,
with rcd and white clover, timothy, and
red-top or blue grass, and then cart on
the manure, what an increase of fertility
we should observe. Onc bushcl of plas-
ter, and few cords Of manure, on even
an exhausted soil stimulate to the pro
lucion Of a paying crop, with the soil
better, instead OF worse for it is left
filled with more cart-loads Of rertilizing
grass-roots than were added TO it in the
top-dressing. An ther, and another
wear. but adds to the triumph and rem
tcrs certain the victory
From the above We are inclined to
ofass farm crops as the fertilzing and
non-fcrtiIang. Grain and all annually
sown crops, only requiring roots to per-
feet few weeks growth, return to, or
leave in the soil, much less than is cx-
tracted while grass crops, continuing
in growing state for considerable
portion of the year, give much greater
proportionatc return TO the soil, and are
less cxhausting. Hence, one of the
celebrated of fertility Of the Western
prairics, and also Of the celebrated recu-
perative powers for The SOIL is by dcpas-
turing with sheep.
We have witnessed much upon this
subject in the practice of the Hon. a.
- htat,pcop who fVtnt ,t,,,
purchased several farms, more or less cx.
haustcd. His business being keeping
sheep and lattening, in pasture, cattle
for the New York market, he kept these
farm seeded in grass for several years,
and, applying annurlly bushcl ofplas-
ter per acre, let them receive as a top.
dressing the droppings of the animals
and ungathered hcrbage The result
was, sward was SOON made which took
power to draw plow through it, and
the productive capacity of the soil was
increased fully three-fold. We have
seen whole hill-sides which had annual
" been shron of their product until in
his possession, and were so much ex-
hausted as to be seeded with difficulty,
after lying in grass five years, as pasture
broken and give a yield of oats worthy
any soil in the State.
It use to be the maxim of the neigh.
Dor Moses, NOW gone from earth, Ito
seed no more than he could give dres-
sing Of manure, at the time of seeding,
with the crop grown This we consider
poor policy, if the grass crop is sought
TO bs benefited, az it will produce lar.
1x.arIL &C cIrn.r "a nraaILa. 4La