New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-08-29
WHAT I KNOW OF FARMING.
nv HORACE GREELEY.
XXXII.
A LESSON OF TO-DAY.

Cured within the cycle Of their experience Hardy
anything else is easily 30 speedily forgotten as
extremes of temperatureo incemencies OF weather
after they have passed away. presume there nave
been six TO ten Summers since the beginning OF TINS
century as hot and as dry az the present yet the
fact remains that throughout the Eastern section OF
our country TO say nothing Of the rest the heat and
drouth of the current Summer nave peen
quite remarkable. For two months past counting
from the 10th of June, nearly every Gay
has been a hot one with blazing sunshine through
out, rarely interrupted and slightly modihed by IN
frequent and inadequate showers; and, as general
result of this tropical fervor, the earth is parched
and baked from ten to forty inches from the surface
streams and ponds are dried up or shrunk to their
lowest dimensions; forests are often ravaged ana
desoated by fires; our pastures are dry and brown
while crops of Hay. Oats, Potatoes, Buckwheat, DC,
either have proved, certainly must prove, dlsap-
pOintment to the hopes Of the growers i estimate
the average product for 1870 Of the farms OF New
England, eastern New-York and New-Jersey, as
not more than two-thirds Of q full harvest; WINE
the earth remains at this moment 30 baked and IN
ersted that several days rain IL needed TO mt 1t for
Fall blowing and the sowing Of Winter Grain.
Such seasons must not be regarded az extraordin-
ary The Summer of 1854 was nearly OF quite as dry
as this and presume or two such have inter-
yened since that time. The heat Of 1870 Is remarka-
BILE for its persistence rather than its intensity.
Every Summer has its heated term that OF 1871
has been longer in this region than any before III
that can remember, though doubtless the recolec-
ton of Others might supply its perfect counterpart.
Nearly every Summer has its drouth the present is
peculiar rather for its early commencement than
its extreme duration As our country is more and
more denuded of it's primitive forests, drouths
longer and severer even than this may naturally be
expected. What our farmers have TO do is to pre-
pare for and provide against them.
Such seasons are disastrous TO those only who farm
as if none such were TO be expected Those who
plow deeply, fertihze beautifully and cultivate
thoroughly need not fear them, fields of Hay and
Oats already harvested, and of Corn and Potatoes
now Fastening to maturity in almost every township
the suffering region, abundantly attest. i doubt
that more luxurant crops of Corn, Tobacco, or
Onions, were grown on the bottom lands of the
Connecticut Valley than may be there to-day,
with failures all about them, and under drOuth so
fierce that Blackberres and Whortleberries are
withered when half grown; even the bushes III some
cases perishing for lack of moisture.
Ny last trip took me along the banks of the upper
Hudson through the rugged county of Warren, n.
Y The narrow irregular intervale of this mountain
stream appears to have been cultivated for the last
fifty or sixty years by hardy race, who look mainly
TO the timber of the wild region north of them for
subsistence. In such district whatever ministers
to the susenance of man beast bears high price;
and Corn, Rye, Oats, Buekwheat, Apples and Grass,
are grown wherever the soil is not too rugged or too
sterile for culture presume half crop of Hay has
been secured throughout this valley, with perhaps
full crop of Rye where Rye was sown but of Oats the
yield will be considerably less than that, while of
Corn and Buckwheat it will range from ten bushels
IN L.
passed through spacious field after field of Corn in
Virginia that would not mature a single ear, spoke
of il as something unknown at the North but there
are fields planted to Corn in the upper valley OF the
Hudson that viii not produce single sound ear,
nor one bushel even of the shortest and poorest
"nubbns:n and alongside ofithese acres of Buck
wheat blossoming at an average hight of four
inches and not likely to get two inches higher.
Now if this land were so poor or 30 rocky that
good crops could not be extracted from IT, far be 1t
from me to disparage the agriculture whereof the
results are meager; but am speaking of river
intervale Of considerable natural fertility from
which deep and thorough cultivation would insure
ample harvests subject only TO the contingency of
early frosts in Autumn Were these lands fertlized
and cultivated as they might be, and as mine are,
they would yield 30 bushels of Rye or 80 of Indian
Corn per acre, and would richly repay the husband
mans outlay and efforts. Now, l venture to say
that all the Grain ] saw growing i'll the valley of
the Hudson through Warren County will not return
the farmers - cents for each days labor expended
thereon allowing nothing for the use of the land.
But how shall we obtain fertilizers :" i am often
asked 1--WE are poor; we can afford 10 keep but few
cattle: Guano Phosphate, Bones, Lime, &c, are be-
yond our means Even if we could pay for them, the
cost of transportation 10 our Out-Of-the-way hooks
would he heavy. We cannot deal with our lands so
bountifuly as you do, but must be content TO do
We cam
To all which make answer: No man ever lacked
fertilizers who kept his eyes wide open and devoted
two months Of each Fall and Winter to collecting
and preparing them. Wherever swamp muck may
be had, wherever boys exist flags PUSHES grow,
there are materials which carted into the barn yard
in Autumn OF Winter may be drawn out fertilizers in
season for complaining next Spnng. Wherever
pond OF slough dries up in Summer Autumn, there
is material that may be prohtably transformed into
next years grass or grain. In the absence Of all
these-and they are seldom very far from one who
knows how TO look for them-rank weeds of all sorts,
if cut while green and tender, or forest leaves,
gathered in the Fall, used for litter III
the stable and thence thrown into the yard, will
serve an excellent purpose. Nay more / am conf
dent that the farmer who lacks these but has
TO bed bank Of simple clay. may cart 200 loads of
il in November into ordinary farm-yard, have
il trampled into and mixed with his manure in the
Winter and draw il out in the Spring, excelently
fitted 10 enrich his sandy or gravelly land. and in
sure him. in connection with deep Snd thorough cul-
ture, generous yield of Corn even in such season
as the present. DR.. George B. Loring the most
cessful farmer in Massachusetts,, uses naked beach
sand in abundance litter for his 80 cows mixes il
with his manure throughout the Winter, and draws
out the compound 10 fertilize his clay meadows in
the Spring, with most satisfactory results Depend
on IL, no man need lack fertilizers who begins in