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AGRICULTURAL.
V; LATASTB, Editor.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 1863.
We would be pleased to hear from our arti
sans, with some accounts of their inventions,
so far as they tend to facilitate the operations
of agriculture.
—>«■»-
THE VEGETABLE GARDEN.
No great deal can be done this month in the
way of sowing; but, in the way of preparing
for the coming spring, he is a bad manager
who lets this month pass without doing any
thing. You may sow peas, cabbage, radish,
lettuce, beats and carrots—some may be de
stroyed by the cold, but let not that deter you
from planting, as you will have earlier vegeta
bles should they survive. If you have.a hot.
bed —and all good gardeners should have one
or more—it is now a good time to plant it in
cabbage and lettuce seed. By thus iorcing
these vegetables you may have them several
days earlier than those planted in the open
ground. Now is the season to give the aspara
gus bed its winter dressing. Remove all the
stalks, end give the bed a good boating of
manure, not less than two inches in depth;
over this spread to the same thickness a good
vegetable mould, any quantity of which you
may rake up in the surrounding forests. When
there is *o longer any danger of frost, tnese
two coatings are to be well incorporated with
a fork, taking the greatest care not to injure
tho crowns. Now is the time to collect manure
and form compost heaps. The quantity that is
wasted about a house is astonishing. If the
compost heap was made the receptacle of all
that is thrown away *in the shape of aßhes,
soap suda, cleanings from the yard and kitchen,
you would have better gardens, leaving out
the saving to the purse.
— >
Agricultural resources are unbounded ; and
it is a remarkable fact that we are of toner in
debted to chance than to scientific investiga
tions for many of the truths that now com
prise our agricultural knowledge. Thus we
are indebted to a mere child for the information
that a crop of peas and potatoes can be curious
ly produced. It occurred in this way. A
child of O’Brien David, Ireland, while engaged
in planting potatoes, for the purpose of amuse
ment inserted a pea in one of the tubers. The
following year, Mr. David planted an acre of
potatoes thus inoculated, and expresses him
self highly satisfied with the result of his arable
crop.
EXTRACT FROM A PRIVATE LETTER.
Front a private letter, written by a practical
lrieud in Virginia, we make the following ex
tracts, with the hope that it may encourage
others to do likewise:
“Will you be kind enough to let me know
how to separate the seed of the Osage orange
lrom the pulp? I have a good many of these
oranges, but do nos know how to separate
them. I read your paper with a good deal of
interest, and am only sorry it does not come
ol'tener, and have more of “The Field” in it. I
am often laughed at about book or paper farm
ing, but care nothing for that. I intend to
take an agricultural paper so long as I can
raise tb e means to pay for one. I hope I shall
get out this week, and be able once more to
attend to matters about my little farm, if I
may so call it.
V e have quite au extensive business here
in tho broom making, by Judge Wm. Daniel,
ot the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia.—
His farm is close by. This year he raised
about twenty-five acres in broom corn, which
he is now having made into brooms by ma
chinery. One of his servants, who has a wife
at my house, is working one of the machines.—
They are very good; equal in fact, superior in
j strength, to the best Northern brooms. He
also made this year about 5,000 pounds of mus
tard, the same advertised in your paper by
" ra - Daniel & Irby, of this place. He also
made quite a crop of flax, which he is having
spun into thread for stitching his brooms after
they have been turned out of the machine,
where are made round into one for pres-
Sln g them fiat, and for making his negro
shoes. The seed he designs for oil I made
sora® hroom corn this year, but not enough to
justify tn e j n purchasing a machine. I am
makmg it a t night into small hand brooms, such
as are used by house servants. I had but few
good seed, or would have raised more. The
brush of this is very long, much of it over two
' fbet in length, and hardly any under fifteen
inches. lam raising a little pork this year,
THE SOUTHERN FIELD AND FIRESIDE^
but shall be troubled to get salt, which sold
here yesterday at 70 cents per lb.”
The Osage orange seed can be easily sepa
rated from the palp by first peeling the fruit,
but very carefully so as not to cut the seed;
after this put iu a box and let them remain
till they are well rotted. The next operation is
to mash up and wash the seed through a sieve,
of sufficient coarseness to allow the passage c/
the pulp, but not the seed.
Why we have not manufactured our own
mustard has ever been a mystery with us. We
have been content to use the miserable stuff,
prepared for us by the Yankees, when we
have it in our power to make a pure and whole
some article.
LAYING OUT A KITCHEN GARDEN.
Every succeeding month, and in anticipation
of seeding and planting, we have given, and
shall continue to give, practical directions for
producing at the earliest possible day all the
vegetables that are usually grown in our
kitchen gardens. But these directions pre-sup
pose that every person residing in the country
either has a garden laid out, or knows how to
make one in the best manner. Such, however,
we are satisfied, is not the fact; and we, there
fore, now propose to give as briefly, but as
clearly as the subject- will admit of, those
points of information which may be regarded
as most valuable, and upon which a large pro
portion of the success attendant upon skillful
garden culture will be found to depend.
The primary conditions that go to constitute
a superior kitchen garden, are a good soil; a
favorable exposition; an abundant supply of
water, and fences of sufficient strength and
height to turn cattle and to keep domestic
fowls from flying over and disturbing the
growing plants.
With regard to soil, the best of all is a moist
loam, deep, rich and friable ; and when a choice
of situation is to be had, the garden should
have an inclination to the South and East.
The size of a kitchen garden must be deter-'
mined by the number of persons it is designed
to furnish with a copious supply of vegetables.
Where the family consists of but four or five
individuals, a quarter of an acre will suffice;
but where, including servants, it is quite large,
a full acre devoted to this purpose will not be
too much. But whatever may be the space it
is desirable that the garden should occupy, it
should never be larger than can be well and
thoroughly cultivated, for nothing detracts
more from the appearance of a place than a
kitchen, garden indifferently tilled. Again,
wherever the character of the soil and the na
ture of the ground will admit of it, the garden
should be convenient of aceess to the kitchen
of the house. In point of shape, it may be
either a parallelogram or a square, because
these forms are most convenient for dividing
into beds. Every garden, when it is first laid
off, should either be well trenched with the
spade at least two spits deep, or should be
thorongbly plowed and subeoiied, and every
stone that exceeds two ounces in weight should
be carefully picked off. Os the two modes of
preparation thus indicated, we need Dot say
that trenching, though more costly at Uie be
ginning, is by far the most satisfactory. In
either case, the first thing to be done is to
heavily manure the land, either with the best
that the barn yard contains, or with its equi
valent in portable fertilizers. But whether
trenched or subsoiled, tbe same operation
should be renewed every fifth year, on all the
beds that are available. If it is concluded to
trench the gardeD, the best method to be fol
lowed is to commence at one end of tbe ground
by marking off a strip, say three feet wide.—
Remove the surface soil on this strip entirely,
to the depth of a foot, and deposit it on one
side of the trench. Now loosen well the sub
soil and free it of stones. Wheu this is done,
commence upon another strip, and throw the
top earth from this into the first trench, dig
well down into, and pulverize the subsoil as
before, and so continue until tbe work is com
pleted, taking the soil deposited by tbe side of
the first trench to fill .up the vacancy that will
thus be left in the trench which is dug the last
of aIL
If the garden is trenched in the above man
ner, the various beds should be laid off pre
viously, leaving the walks and road way un
touched ; but if it is ploughed and subsoiied, it
will be necessary to mark out the beds and
walks subsequently. It is scarcely possible to
give precise directions as to the manner in
which the garden should be divided, for much
will depend upon the formation of the land,
and something also upon individual taste. But
in every garden, whether in shape a parallelo
gram or a square, there should be a border
next to the fence, of from five to ten feet wide
—according to the size of the plot—which
should be separated from central beds by a
walk four feet in width. There should also be
in large gardens, one road at least eight feet
wide, to be entered by a gateway of sufficient
width to allow of manure being carted on to
the land, and winter store of vegetables to be
carried off. When the paths have been marked
out, the surface soil upou them should be taken
off a foot deep, and scattered over fte adjacent
beds, and all the stones which have been
gathered during the operation of ploughing or
subsoiling, should then be spread OTer the
walks and roadway, placing the largest at the
bottom, the smallest above, and finishing off
with a good coating of pit gravel, if it can be
readily obtained, or tko ashes of anthracite
coal, wherever that species of fuel is freely
burned.
Assuming then, that a border has been laid
out around the whole garden, and that the cen
tral space has been divided into squares, we
will first speak of the uses to which the outer
borders should be”put The three sides which
have an Eastern, Southern and Western expo
sure, should be devoted to the raising of the
earliest fruits—small fruits, of course—and
vegetables, while the border exposed to the
North should be reserved for such plants, and
herbs, and enttings, as grow best in cool and
shady situations. Strictly speaking, none of
your standard fruit trees should be suffered to
grow in a garden devoted to the raising of
vegetables; but where circumstances render
it necessary to violate this rule, they should be
introduced sparingly, and only planted in such
positions on the outer borders, where they
will be least injurious to the growing plants.
We have now only to speak of the central
squares. These, of course, occupy by far the
largest portion of the space allotted to garden
purposes, and it is to these divisions that the
various kinds of vegetables are to be grown
for the main crops. But a strip of land, some
three or four feet wide, around the outer edge
of each square should always be reserved for
gooseberries and currants, and for pot and
medicinal herbs. One of the principal squares
should, however, be broken up into smaller
beds for permanent plantations of rhubarb and
asparagus, and also for raspberries and straw
berries, unless the two last named fruits occupy
a portion of the outer borders. Grape vines
may also be planted along, and close to that
portion of the fence which faces the South, and
which will form an admirable trellis for the
support of the vines.
- ———
DRAINING FARM LANDS.
The benefits resulting from the underdraw
ing of farm lands has been a settled question
for many years in those countries of the old
world distinguished for science and skill in
practical agriculture. It is also a settled ques
tion with some of our edterprisin* farmers,
but with the mass of them* it is a new subject,
so far as their own practice is concerned. A
healthful general interest is uow felt in this
matter by our agriculturists; and this, we
think, must eveutuate in good results.
Underdraining consists in cutting deep nar
row trenches on lands, for the purpose of tap
ping undersprings near the surface, and also
for carrying off rain water that would other
wise collect and stagnate near the roots of the
plants. that underdrains should
also embfuce the feature of admitting air and
ventilating the under surface of soils. This
question should never be touched upon in this
connection; the removal of the surplus and
stagnant water is the main object of draining.
Uoderdrains are covered and placed at such a
depth from the surface as not to interefere with
the plowing or with other mechanicai'operations
in the field.
There are differences of opinion among practi
cal men as to the proper depth,and the requisite
distance apart at which drains should b 6 laid.
This arrangement must depend in a great meas
ure on circumstances. Deep draius are far
more expensive to cut than shallow ones, but
then a smaller number are required in each
field. At one period two-and-a-half feet drains
were common in Britain, now five feet drains
are becoming more general. Four-feet drains*
situated forty feet apart will afford effectual
drainage to any field, but the proper depth de
pends almost entirely upon the nature of the
land. If the cutting is through hardpan, three
feet draius situated thirty-five feet apart will
be the cheapest, and answer perhaps as well.
They must be placed beyond the reach of frost
as an imperative condition; when this is se
cured, they can be cut deep or shallow, ac
cording to the nature of the ground, so long
as they are able to carry off the surplus and
stagnant water.
The material of which the drains are made is
an important feature. The oldest drains were
formed by cutting to the proper depth, laying
up the cuts with a layer of cobble or loose
stones, then placing some brush-wood or
straw over these, and filling up with the soil.—
These drains soon choke up with mud, and
they have been mostly superseded by open
drains, formed of unglazed tile or earthenware
tubes, molded and burned like brick, and hav
ing joints or collars where the ends join. They
are the most expensive drains at first, but the
cheapest in the end. One kind of title consist
of a fiat bottom, with a semi-tubular top. —
They are laid down m such a manner as to lie
in perfect line, with a slope of about one foot
in the one hundred feet; this fall is sufficient
to carry off the. water. Tubes of about one
and a half inches in diameter answer for the
lateral drains ; these should lead into one gen
eral or main discharging drain of largo diame
ter. Where flat stones are abundant, very
good open drains may be made by laying them
on edge to form the sides, then covering them
on the top with flat caps. Loose stones, if
they can be obtained, should be laid upon the
top of covered drains before the soil is filled
in.
Considerable engineering skill is required in
laying out a field for proper drainage, so as to
give all the drains the proper incline, and
carry off the water by the natural slope of the
land. As there are elevations and depressions
in most fields, no particular directions can be
given for laying out all the drains in them — they
must be planned according to the circumstances
of the case. There are few of onr farmers who
have not sufficient ingenuity to engineer their
own fields and lay out their own drains, if they
apply themselves to the work.
All stiff and springy soils should be drained,
and especially those which have clay subsoils,
as these retain the water and form under
springs which injure the 'roots of the plants.—
One great object of drains is to tap shallow
springs, and another is to carry the rain water
down through the soil, and prevent so much
surface evaporation, as it carries off the heat,
and reduces the temperature of the plants and
ground. Sandy soils with gravely under strata
do not require drains, as they afford good
drainage from their very constitution.
A recent number of the Mark Lane Express
(London) contains an article from its American
correspondent—Mr. Henry S. Olcott, of this
city—a scientific agriculturist and able writer
on such subjects, which affords some very use
ul information on underdrawing. He describes
the case of Mr. John Johnstone, an intelligent
farmer who resides near Geneva, N. Y., as an
instance of great success in draining farm
lands. He commenced operations about nine
teen years ago, and has laid about forty-seven
miles of drains upon his farm. During one
season, when six of hi* neighbors raised only
seven bushels of wheat to the acre, his fields
yielded twenty-nine bushels. This case is
cited as positive proof in favor of the profits
which may result to every farmer who under
drains his lands thoroughly. We know that
the great majority of our farmers have not a
sufficient amount of capital to carry out such a
system of improved agriculture, but we think
that most of them can do something, however
little, to introduce and commence the work of
progress in this department of practical agri
culture.—Scientific American.
Fall, Ploughing. —All stiff clays are greatly
benefitted by ploughing them in this month
and leaving them in rough ridges to be acted
upon by the frost, which disintegrates the soil,
loosened and pulverizes it, and by the fine
divisiou of its particles adapts it to the delicate
fibres of the young plants as soon as they have
been started by the warm weather of spring.
Light soils, however, in which sand predomi
nates, should never be subjected to a winter
fallow. All such lands are injured rather than
benefitted by Fall ploughing. They become as
it were inert, sod the chemical processes that
are constantly going on in all soils that have
been freshly plowed are sensibly retarded. It
is ODly heavy clays and stiff loams that require
to be broken down and mellowed by the winter
frosts, but it is an error to suppose that because
lands that are close and compact are thus ben
efited, those that nre light and easily worked
at all seasons of the year will be benefited like
wise. In ploughing heavy soils, however, even •
at this season, it is essential that they should
not be wet. This, however, cannot always be
avoided, and there is a thick sod to turn under,
as very frequently happens to be the case,
and if the land is ridged iDto beds with deep
water furrows between, it would still be deci
dedly advisable that the work should os done.
In the Spring run a heavy harrow over the
field aud drag all down as nearly to a level as
possible Next cross plough carefully aud har
row again. The extra labor will be amply
repaid by the extra crops.
—
Care of Horses. —I have been laboring
and studying for three years or more to pro
mote the usefulness of the horse in agriculture
by an improvement in the harness, aud now I
discover that there should also be au improve
ment in the training and treatment of the horse
in order to be successful.
First, the colt. I think it a wrong idea to
fat up colts for premiums, as many are in the
habit oi doing. It spoils them for life. To
make good, durable horses, a blanket ougut
never to be put on them till they begin to work.
Give them a yard by themselves with a good
sbed aud plenty to eat and drink, at their liber
ty. Halter break-them when one y ear old.
Have a strong halter to tie them with, for if
they break it once, they will try harder next
time, and will never forget it. Use the whip
sparingly, crive them light loads to begin
with, if you do not want balky horses Heavy
loading and drawing too far up hill before
stopping has made many a balky horse, aud
the whip will not cure them. A better way is
to confine the horse to the spot where he
balks and keep him there till he is pretty well
starved: I think this will help him.
-
Materials for Composts. —ln many situa
tions where straw is scarce, and even under
certain circumstances, where it is abundant, a
good manager will go into his woods and fence
corners and rake up leaves and woods-mould
and dig swamp muck and the turf of head
lands. These earted oft’ to the barn yard and
the stables and intermixed with the manure
already ou hand or collected during the wiuter
will by proper attention add largely to the sup
ply, and will be found to be equal, load for 1
load, to the contents of the barn yard proper.
Wherever there is a deficiency of straw, leaves
for bedding.make an excellent substitute, and
should be gathered under cover to answer lor ;
litter during the winter. * )
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