The American Agriculturist. Vol. II. No. XI, December 1843: Designed to Improve the Planter, the Farmer, the Stock-breeder, and the HorticulturistVarious
Science
The American Agriculturist. Vol. II. No. XI, December 1843: Designed to Improve the Planter, the Farmer, the Stock-breeder, and the Horticulturist
Various
Agriculture -- Periodicals; Agriculture -- United States -- Periodicals
loads of marl per acre. The corn is large 12-row yellow, and the stalks
are about 10 feet high. The corn-blades never curled during the late
drought, while other fields all curled. The corn was worked with the
hand-harrow once, with the cultivator twice, and was hoed twice. No
plowing between the hills. Mr. M. thinks that in dry weather it is
very injurious to run the plow through, for it cuts the smaller roots
of the corn. He has tried 25 bushels of hickory ashes, against 25 of
anthracite coal ashes, and found no perceptible difference in the
result.
The general effect of this red marl is perceptible in almost every
plant and tree in that vicinity. Fruit-trees are especially vigorous
and free from disease. Flowering shrubs, roses particularly, seem not
to have been touched by any insect. I pulled up a mullein stalk growing
on a naked mound of this marl, which measures nine feet in height, and
the flower stem, which is covered with buds, is four feet in extent.
The trees, excepting peach alone, are more thriving than those I have
anywhere seen. The peach-trees have the yellows. Moss roses growing
in rich grass are remarkably strong; Mr. M. finds that they do better
closely surrounded by grass than in clear ground. He has ten kinds of
healthy cherry-trees, including the red and white ox-heart, and the
bull's eye. He has freely given, and wishes to distribute buds and
grafts to all those who ask for them. Mr. M. has very healthy apricots,
which have yielded fine fruit. _He smoked the blossoms with sulphur and
pitch_, and all the fruit was perfect. _This smoking was done in the
evening._
Some of the fields had never been but partially cultivated, on account
of being so swamped that cattle mired in them. He made in one four-acre
field a drain ten rods long, and three feet deep, filled in with coarse
stone. This drain formed a _perpetual spring for his cattle_, and this
barren field has now buckwheat of at least _thirty bushels per acre_.
_One and a half bushels_ of seed was sowed per acre. No manure needed.
This drain cost $1.75. Twelve acres were drained in the same style at a
cost of $150; this field is now fine, and asks for no manure from New
York, or Nyack marl. He prefers the same amount of marl to best New
York city manure for all grains and grapes.
Mr. M. has the old English yew thriving in open air in winter. The
European mountain ash, white and red linden, red maple, weeping ash,
weeping beech, weeping elm, Madeira nut, (one five years old bearing
fruit,) Spanish chestnut now in fruit, (this tree has also some
blossoms on it at this time.) Apricots grafted on plum stock are very
thrifty.
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