The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1875-10-12
agricultural department.
CONDUCTED BY ALBERT CHAPMAN,
Improving the Farm.

Ine Sclentlnc Farmer gives SOmt
valuable notes from the lectures of Pro
fessor Goessmann, of the Massachu
selts Agricultural College, the sui
stance of which we make use of ia this
article.
There are two ways of improving
soil One Is to improve its physical
condition. by drainage, tillage, subsoil.
Ing, or following. This develops til,
plant food the land already contains.
making 1t soluble by the action of til,
air, moisture and frost but it doe
not add anything to this plant-food. Ii
rather tends to exhaust 1t, because |
enables the plants TO take what they
need more rapidly than they would
otherwise get It, The other way to i'm
prove the soil is chemically, by til,
addition Of manures this,in connec-
ton with the rotation Of crops, cal
alone really enrich our lands with
plant food.
The most costly of all manurlal sub.
stances Is nitrogen, and in a rotation
the crops ought 10 he selected with
view 10 accumulate the atmospheric
nitrogen. Legumlnous plants-clover,
peas, beans and other deep rooted al d
broad-leafed plants-are known to az.
complish this object. Such vegetation
is specially lapted to absorb the nj
trogen compounds of the air, and, In
consequence gifts luxuriant leafgrowth
prevent wastefril decomposition OF
organic matter in the soil, by shading
it. Their deep roots also extract tn,
nitrogen which, as nitric acid has
found its way to the subsoil, and j.
thus beyond the reach of shallow
rooted plants such as The cereal grains
These deep-rooled plants enrich III,
surface at the expense of the sub
soil in n very economical manner.
They also fill the soil 10y means of lhel
roots, which are left, in harvesting.
with much vegetable matter, which /.
one of the best ways of storing nitro
gen ami other plant food in the land
BY the decay and shrinking of thes,
roots they also improve the mechani
Cal condition of the soil, by leaving il
open, porous or mellow.
1T has been calculated that crop o.
two tons of clover hay leaves two anc
a half tons of roots in The soil, and care
full experiment has shown that in til,
stuhble and roots of such Il crop there
are contained not less than one hun
dred aud eighty pounds of nitrogen
to the acre. We know 10y analysis Tia I
an average crop of wheat. rye, barle,
or oats, contains but thirty-eight IL
iorly-iive pounds of nitrogen per acr, |
~ that it is easily seen how abundantl, |
clover ley will provide the materia
for succeeding crop of these grains |
Therefore, it is most important tina |
clover should form a paH-of every rota
tio1 and 1t is also evident how rapid |
ly clover will aid IN restoring the bro
ductiveness Of an exhausted field.
II, In connection with this use Of
powerful accumulation Of ertilizing mat
ter, in the form of an otherwise mos
useful plant, we add sedulous econo |
my of all manurial substances abou
the farm, and especially of the liqui
eXcrement of our domestic animals. W,
have sure way OF enriching our Ian,
IN few years to its highest produc
tive power, provided that caution j, |
exercised in not selling from the farm |
the product in which much fertiliiz.
Ing matter is carried away grain |
poiatoes, hay. and common live stocl |
reared upon the farm. These shout |
never he sent off from any farm until il |
has been brought to high stale O |
productivepess, and then only in mod. |
GRAFTON, and at such prices as will adj |
nit OF our purchasing, from the pro
ceeds, some fertiliZing or feeding mate.
rial that will return an equivalent {,
the land for what has been removed. |
Upon all land under treatment for III, |
restoration of its fertility, the selling
crops should lie such as, butter cheese,
wood, fruit, beans, clover seed, onions |
fat animals. blooded stock, or some. |
thing of similar character, that car. |
fles but little fertilizing matter away |
Ia proportion to the price for whicl,
1t Is sold. Grain and grass-growing 70,
sale should he left to thore whose lands |
are nun, or those TOO foolish to Know OF |
care whether they are selling the farm
along with the crop, or not.