Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1877-01-31
Correspondence.

SCIENTIFIC ENGLIsH-"TEN ACRES ENouSh
j. r. Perry, of Waterbury, writes us
long letter, in which he gives his opinion
freely on Scientific English in connection
with agriculture, and tells us something
while promising more, about his success on
a ten acre farm. He says "Thirty years
of my life were spent as practical mechanic
and during all those years | was over anx-
ious to be farmer; thinking all the while
there was very little science in the business.
But ten years practice and experience has
taught me that all | knew about farming
could be written on a smaller sheet than it
took to write the history of Frank Pierce,
which was about two inches square. My
farm is small one, less than ten acres that
| cultivate. | sold the hay the first year,
little less than four tons, besides piece of
small corn. | saw | had an elephant on my
hands and must feed him hence | resorted
to the agricultural papers, thinking to find
out how to compound certain chemical fer
tiizers, or how to manufacture, save and
apply on common farm-yard manures
only occasionally saw something pertaining
to chemical fertilizers, and then only in
Latin terms that only one in hundred of us
understands, as chloride of sodium why
not say common salt p" sulphate of lime"
why don't you say plaster? Everybody
knows what you mean when you say plas-
ter, in connection with agriculture. Another
word commonly used by agricultural writers
is " Ammonia" What is it And so on,
from bad to worse ;-"geate of potash
"albumens," "siex," ETC., etc. So | aban-
doned, in the main, nearly all the rules laid
down by these-I like to have said asses
and let reason and common sense dictate
ain my next will tell you how | in
creased my little field from four tons of hay
to the keeping of seven cows, two two-year-
olds, two yearlings, two sheep and one horse,
all from the ten acres, with one acre to corn
and one to wheat. We cant do it by using
no more manure than we make and that in
an imperfect condition, caused by allowing
the liquid portion to waste and the solid por-
ton to lay under the caves and leach. You
who practice this leave your ashes out of
doors exposed to snow and rain, and see if
they will make soap"
We are glad TO hear from Mr. Perry, and
hope he will give us the particulars of how
he has made his ten acres carry so much
stock. 1t is good farming, and he deserves
much credit for it. In regard to the" Scien-
tifc English" we have lately expressed our
ideas about it. But as we have got these
terms in our language, and they will stay
there, hadn't we better learn them, or at
least have our children learn them? We do
not know of what trade Mr.. Perry was, be-
fore he took up farming but suppose, for
instance, it was carpentering, and he had de-
termned to become a builder and architect.
Would he not have had to learn great
many technical terms, relating to architect
ure, which are as scientific, difficult, and as
full of Latin and Greek as the terms of
scientific agriculture 7 So when common
farmer, believing that science can help him
grow larger crops and at a greater profit,
seeks to receive the benefit thereof, ought
he not to be willing to learn these terms, for
the advantage the knowledge may bring 10
him? As for ourself, knowing how few
farmers have mastered chemical, botanical,
geological or geological terms, we have gen
orally explained them when we have used
them-saying Gypsum or plaster" etc.
We have used both terms in this way,
in order to help our readers to become ia
miliar with the meaning of the scientific
terms when they meet them elsewhere and
we think all agricultural editors would do
well to follow the same practice. We hope
the time may soon come when the elements
of the natural sciences will be taught in all
our schools, and then the meaning of 4" am
monia," " chloride of sodium" phosphate of
lime" "sulphate of lime" D." Slick etc, etc.
will be as plain to our children as " diyisor
and dividend" mnuend and subtrahend,
"multiplier and multiplicand," -" integer and
decimal" are to our arithmetic classes.
HARDY FRUITS, AGAIN.
II. II. Weeden, of Cookshire, p. G., writes
al take your paper and | consider the agri
cultural department alone worth the sub
scription price, ! have taken great interest
in those articles relating to the orchard bust
ness and think they express the most com
mon sense Of anything | have read of that
nature" Mr.. Weeden has young orchard
of one hundred trees, and is meeting witt
very good success.