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Agricultural.
Adaptation,
The study and practice of what may
be termed adaptation, is of importance,
as applied to soil, climate and locality,
as well as to the selection of the crops
to be planted, the animals to be reared,
the manures to be prepared, the build
ings to be erected; in line, to every
department of agriculture and rural
life. Neglect of this subject very
often leads to disappointment.
“A farmer reads in your “Transac
tions” of a suecesful experiment in the
production of some crop from which a
large profit is realized ; stimulated by
the expectation of like results, he de
votes his whole available land to this
crop Without any consideration as to
the relative conditions affecting his
experiment, and the successful one de
scribed. He is disappointed in his re
sults, and at once discredits the state
ments of the publication, and pro
nounces agricultural societies all hum
bugs, Another is delighted with a
fine exhibition of Short Horns, invests
largely in their purchase, and ‘with
high anticipations, puts them upon his
scanty hill side pasture, winters and
cares for them in the same negligent
manner that he has treated the hardy
stock hitherto reared. These fine but
less hardy cattle soon deteriorate under
such treatment, and Short Horns are at
once pronounced a failure. Another
reads of experiments with manures,
from the use of which a most gratifying
return in crops is reported, without
reference to the kind of soil on which
the experiment was made; a like ex
periment is tried, and the result proves
unfavorable. The statement is then
discredited, and the manures condemn
ed. Want of attentiont<j the question
of adaptation in this may greatly
lessens the usefulness (of this and
kindred societies. Whifc the solution
of the question is sometimes so palpable
as scarcely to admit of mistake, it
often requires the most caW'ul observa-
t\ \
upon mlaomvs moistene^flpdHPSlf
but other fields may be benefittea by
the application of salt: it may be, it is
true, a nice question to determine
when and where to apply it.
No one would think of planting the
gourd seed corn in Canada, bust just
how far north it is desirable to plant it,
requires intelligent experience to de
termine; so with rice, sugar, or cotton,
though these are not grown in our
State they serve for illustrations ; and
there are many questions as to products
affected by climate within the State
quite as difficult of solution, as it is to
decide where the cotton crop should be
arrested by climate. Nor are these
questions to be determined by parallels
of latitude alone ; the character of soil,
the altitude, the influence of water, and
other less obvious causes enter largely
into their solution. The corn crop
may ripen in a very short sesaon on a
well manured sand or grave! soil,
while in the immediate vicinity on a
clay or moist soil, it may require a
much longer time.
On the banks of the Crooked and
some other of our lakes, the Catawba
grape seldom fails to ripen in perfec
tion, while a few miles from these
lakes in evey direction, and for more
than a hundred miles south, this grape
seldom matures.
I might enlarge upon this subject as
it refers to climate, by considering how
far climatic difficulties may be over
come. We know that many products
under proper treatment adapt them
selves to the climate, and by observing
the proper time to plant, the proper
soil and seed, we may successfully cul
tivate in our climate many crops that
once held no place among our pro-
such as tobreeo, sweet potatoes
and many others.
But, adapting crops to climate is
a much less difficult question than their
adaptation to soils, to modes of cultlva
tiou and nature of manures. What
lands had better be devoted mainly to
grazing, and if to grazing, whether to
rearing and fattening cattle, or to dairy,
or to sheep, are nice questions to de
termine ; and it grain growing is more
suited to the soil, the kiud of grain.
Perhaps no subject requires more
intelligent study than the application
of manures to soils. In this the ex-
BANNER OF THE SOUTH AND PLANTERS’ JOURNAL.
perience of one man appears to be
the exact opposite of another's; and
we become confused in reading dif
ferent experiments that yet may be re
conciled by careful investigation.
Results are often diverse when condi
tions appear similar. An experiment
is given on a dry gravelly soil, and re
sult stated. Someone has a field ap
parently similar, on which he conducts
the same experiment with quite dif
ferent results. Were all gravel of the
same material, this difference might be
inexplicable; but there is a w ide dif
ference between gravel formed from
limestone and that formed from quartz;
so with tliat formed from granite, slate,
sandstone or other rocks. The same
of loamy, sandy and clay soils, which
are but the disintegration or decoinjiosi
tion of rocks, mingled more or less
with vegetable matter, and often so
nearly resembling each other in ap
pearance, that nothing but analysis or
experiments will detect the difference.
Much of the success of Hnglish
husbandry is due to the application of
this rule of adaptation. The English
breeder suits his stock to the pastures
on which they graze; hence the Short
Horns are found in one district, the
Devons in another, the Herefords,
Ayrshires and Jerseys each in their
own; ami by this system of breeding
for locality, and by careful selection,
there has been a constant improve
ment m each variety. Their applica
tion of the same rule to cultivating
crops and applying manures has led to
an increasing yield; while with us,
from a failure to study and apply this
principle of adaptation, in most cases,
the best breeds of cattle actually de
teriorate, and from the same cause the
yield per acre of crops is growing
gradually less, instead of increasing.
It is a safe rule to govern the farmer
when he finds any crop failing in pro
ductiveness, after proper experiments
by manures and cultivation, to conclude
that the crop is not adapted to his
soil In like manner if any breed of
cattle or sheep with proper care and
feeding, and proper selection in breed
ing is found to ilotorinrntfl-nvp.ii in jIU-
WnnTlcst degree, it is safe to conclude
that the breeds is not adapted to the
locality. On the other h and when a
farmer is constantly increasing the
yield and quality of his crop and con
sequently the productiveness of his
farm, and when the animals reared are
improving, it is safe for him to con
clude that he is right in the selection
of his crops, and in the breeds of his
animals, ami he should be verv cau
tious how he is lured from this pro
gressive course by descriptions or in
spections of more profitable crops, or
more admired breeds, in other locali
ties.
This principle applies to grasses
fruits, vegetables, and all the produc
tions of the soil, as well as to fences,
buildings and improvements. What
shocking abuse of architectural tasta do
we everywhere meet in farm-houses
and buildings; some showy expendi
ture, ridiculously out of place, having
no reference to convenience or comfort.
How very much might the whole
aspect of the country be changed by a
little attention to architectural rules in
farm buildings, from the duelling
house to the pig sty, with no increase
of expense, and how much might the
work of house-keeping be lightened
by careful attention to the arrange
ment of houses, while the labor in
caring for stock and waste of fodder
may be greatly lessened by proper ar
rangement of buildings!
There is another subject of much
importance to which I desire to direct
the attention of farmers. It is one
that has been often discussed, though
with but little effect. I allude to the
cultivation of too many acres for the
labor employed.
I verily believe that, if all the labor
that Li bestowed upon all the acres cul
tivated in this State were bestowed
upon one-half of such acres, the pro
duce ot the State would be greater
than now r . Cultivate the best of your
land thoroughly, and let the remainder
grow orchards and forests. It will in
crease in value in that shape more
than under negligent culture, and
imagine how much would be added to
the beauty of the country if one-half
the bald and poorly cultivated fields
were converted into beautiful forests.
—Journal of 2f. II State Agricul
tural Society.
Rotation of Crops.
That a rotation of crops is of great
| value to the farmer, must be admitted
jby all, for it is an uncontroverted fact
that those who bClieve in and practice
rotation are the most successful, accom-
I plishing by their forethought here what
would m other channels have required
much time, money and hard labor. It
must be evident to any thinking man
I hat land must naturally wear down
when cropped heavily, year after year,
with the same kind of crop, even if ma
nure be applied, the latter item of
which, I am sorry to say, is not as often
attended to as it should' be, and in some
cases entirely neglected. Take, for in
strauce, wheat, rye, or oats, or corn
either, and sow or plant for several suc
cessive years in the same piece of
ground, and the yield will gradually
“grow small and beautifully less” every
year, until the yield is so meagre as to
preclude the possibility of their being
I any profit. The field is then turned
out to run wild in order to, iu some
measure, recuperate its lost energies and
fertility. There is scarcely a farm in
the South but what has one or more of
these self-same fields, and it is a good
thing for them that they have enough
spare land to enable them to do so, tor
the inevitable result would, otherwise,
he very serious. The most successful
agriculturists, rule, and with a rare
exception, are those who are advocates
of, and practice what is known as
mixed husbandry; and, no doubt, many
of ourcotton planters are already willing
to cultivate other productions' besides
that which was once known as the king
of Southern products. llow well do
these same planters know that they, by
successive cropping of cotton only, have
less and less every- year, despite their
patent manure, phosphates, superphos
phates, etc.
There are many reasons, and strong
ones, too, why rotation is valuable to
the farmer or plantsr, prominent
amongst which we might name that it
preserves and also increases the fertili
ty ; it gets thesoil in better condition<
Spread of weals’ for what one crop
might foster, another or the succeeding
one may destroy : thus, of itself in this
item, materially furthering the interests
of those who desire dean farms. The
more equal distribution of labor which
a rotation of crops entails, is. by no
means the least forcible argument; for,
when several men are hired on the
place, it is quite an object to keep them
steadily and profitably employed.
It is false economy to crop hard, and
attempt to do so without manure, etc.,
for the purpose of raising a little extra
money to meet some urgent demand,
for there is no harder task master to go
in debt to than the farm, as all must be
paid back, and with heavy interest, too,
the payments to be made, in the shape
of increased hard lubor, and augmented
expenditures of money, the very things
they wish to avoid in'the first instance.
Some products naturally require less
fertilizing matter, or rather some ex
haust the soil less than others ; so, if
we follow some great exhauster with
one which exhausts much less, the soil
naturally has a comparative degree of
rest, at the same time returning you a
crop. One crop may take away certain
quantities of a valuable constituent of
the soil, while another one may not,
and, therefore, this constituent has a
good opportunity to increase, and so ou
through the entire list. Rotation is
virtually improvement, and improve
ment means profit, and as such is the
case, by all means rotate your crops.
By adopting rotation, you are in a
fair way of getting rid of the many
weeds which so trouble and annoy al
most all tillers of the soil. Those
weeds which spread from the roots
principally, or readily grow from the
roots, such as the Canada thistle and a
few others, : re best killed by cultivating
hoed crops; or, if they are very trouble
some, by adopting the system of naked
fallow, which rarely fails to accomplish
the object. Now, while wheat, rye,
oats, etc., may eradicate or smother
out many varieties of weeds, these
same crops also favor the growth of
many others, suck as cockle, chess, and
some others ; and when you raise these
crops successively on the same piece
for several years, you give the weeds
the finest possible kind of a chance to
multiply, each succeeding year making
it much more difficult to eradicate
them. By growing first one crop and
then another, you give all the weeds a
check, so severe in some cases as to
amount to extermination.
Not only do you gain by the de
struction of weeds, but destructive in
sects are prevented from having full
possession and undisputed sway. Take,
for instance, the wire worms or cut
worms, which are very troublesome.
They have cut up a field of corn, aud
you, to drive them out of the field, put
in some crop that they are not fond of,
when they leave it, and often do not
return for some time.
When a number of men are employed
upon a place, it is very important, * in
deed, so to arrange the labors, or rather
croppings, as to give a continuous
round ot labor throughout the season,
not being part of the time so crowded
with work as to prevent you from doing
it justice, nor yet at another time being
so short of work that your hands have
very little, if anything, to do, for
scarcely anything is so prolific of losses
as this. To guard agaiest this, we
must have all our operations systema
tized as much as possible the year be
fore, here making brains do tiie work
of hard labor and expense, so as to
make it easy to go on from the login
ning of the season to the end, with
enough work to engage the attention
and time ot all hands. Adhering to
specialties will not do this, except in
isolated cases, where capital gives it the
necessary strength. But permit me to
say that the rotation for one section
may not be all suited for another; so
use judgment and discretion in adopt
ing a rotation ; and it is on this account
I have been diffident about giving any
plan of rotating, although I may do so
hereafter. David Z. Evans* Jn.,
in Rural Alabamian.
Analysis of Soils.
Much interest is manifested by ag
riculturists regarding the value of soil
analysis, and are often solicited to ex-i
press views upon this jvoint. Careful
experiment and observation have led
positiv e knowledge is gained by WnalJ'-1
sis of soils than many suppose. We
entered upon the work ten years ago \
with much enthusiasm, and expected
to be unerringly guided in our farm
operations by the results attained. It
was found that while we had no diffi
culty in learning the exact ingredients
of our soils, we could not ascertain in
what states of combination they existed.
Many soils examined w r ere found to be
quite similar in chemical composition,
but they differed widely in their pro
ductive powers; and also, soils which
were found to contain in rich abundance
all the elements of plant nutrition, did
not grow crops ashe had reason to
expect Soil analysis fails to throw
light upon the mechanical or physical
conditions which have a most impor
tant bearing upon crops, and the growth
of every kind of plants.
Simple analysis of top-covering,
without taking into account the nature
of subsoils, location, mechanical con
ditions, etc., is not be relied upon as a
certain guide in the management of
lands. Nevertheless, chemistry, di
rectly and indirectly, affords great aid
in soil cultivation, and in some cases
soil analysis may be valuable. For
instance, if lime or potash be wanting
in soils, it will inform us of the fact,
and we can supply these important
substances with great benefit A
single analysis of the soil ot a wheat
or potato-field may show the absence
of someone of the elements of food
upon which the plant depends, and if
it were not supplied the crop would be
a failure. Soils come from the rocks,
and their character depends upon the
nature of the ro.ks from which they
have resulted. Some are rich in
potash, others in lime; and a soil rich
in one or the other of these ingredients
is not benefited by their application.
Thus, analysis teaches us how to
prevent loss in two ways; loss of crops,
by supplying needed plant-food; and
loss in using unnecessary manure upon
lands where it exists in abundance. It
also teaches us that certain lands are
naturally barren, and cannot be re
claimed with profit, and that others
have soluble salts in such large propor
tions that they cannot grow crops.
There are a large number of enigmas
in soil cultivation which chemistry has
thus far failed to explain. It is known,
for instance, that superphosphate
greatly benefits a turnip-field, and yet
analysis of the plant reveals the fact
that bet little phosphoric acid enters
the plaut; and also, it is probable that
potash and other salts may exist in
such peculiar combination in soils as
notto be readily detected by chemical
tests, as we find that potatoes, which
require much potash, will sometimes
grow upon soils in which we fail to de
tect this agent.— Roston Journal of
Chemistry.
Analysis of Corn Cobs-
Considerable discussion has recently
arisen in agricultural journals and at
fanners’ meetings upon the nutritive
value of corn cobs when ground and
fed to animals. It is a very common
practice among farmers to grind the
whole care of corn, and feed the pro
duct to milch cows, working oxen, and
often to horses. This plan we have
adopted to a considerable extent at our
own farm, but we have had some mis
givings as to the utility or advisability
of the practice. With the view of
ascertaining as nearly as practicable the
exact nutritive value of cobs, we se
lected a nice ear of Lakesine corn from
hanging in our counting
room, and removing the kernels,
subjected the cob to analysis. It gave
of—
■ Water 7.4s
Crude fibre 30.95
Ash 1 10
Carbohydrates, fat aud albuminoids.. 60 41
100.00
The amount of fat was not aecnmtaly
determined, but it was proved to be
more than one per eeift. The amount
of water is probably smaller than it
would have been had the corn been
taken directly from the grain house,
instead of the warm room in which it
had been hanging for some weeks.
The result of the analysis prove that
there is iif com cobs a considerable
amount on fat-producing and flesh
lent. ofaßarbohydrates, albuminoids,
Vive nuje'ifve value, and in order that
we may obtVun some idea ot its com
parative vol th, let 11s contrast it w ith
the dry straw of some grains. Wheat
straw contsflns about 30 per cent, of
carbohydrates, 2 per cent, of albumi
noids, and l£ per cent, of fat; oat
strrw, 38 j»er cent, of the first named
substances, 2£ of the second, and 2 of
the third; rye straw, 27 of the first, l£
of the second, and 1 3 10 of the third.
It is shown that cobs have a higher
value than wheat or rye stray, and they
equal in nutritive constituents the best
quality of oat straw. These results
indicate the utility of feeding them to
onr animals, provided there are no
objections of a strictly physical nature,
or objections arising from’the bulk and
difficulty of reducing the cob to a
sufficiently fine powder. It is not
probable that cob-meal can be perfectly
digested unless comminution is carried
to an extreme point; and therefore,
the finer the cobs are ground, the
higher the value, and the less the
liability of gastric disturbance. It is
certain we do not give sufficient atten
tion to the matter of grinding any of
the grains fed to our animals. They
should be ground as fine as possible,
in order that they may be easy of
digestion, and iu order that the nutri
tive substances may be fully utilized.
There is a positive loss in feeding out
coarsely-ground grains of any kind,
and in grinding the cob with the corn,
give special attention to the work of
comminution. The corn in the ear
should be thoroughly dry before it is
carried to mill, and there will be less
difficulty in reducing it to a fine pow
der.—Roston Journal of Chemistry.
Ruta Baga or Swedish Turnips.
The experience of last year will
doubtless induce a more general atten
tion to this and similar crops, this sea
son, for the supply of food to stock of
every description ; in England this is
their great stand by, and very- largely
by its aid, her agriculture has been
brought up to the present high stand
ard, perhaps not excelled even by that
of Holland and Belgium—but with us,
although a very important adjunct, in
stall feeding, still for the same purpose,
we have the Indian corn, which the
English have not, aud it answers our