The Natal Almanac and Yearly Register (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1868 edition. Excerpt: ...Tobacco plants must be dressed every ten days. Hoe between mealies and pumpkins. Earth up potatoes. Cut grass for hay upon its becoming nearly ripe. (See also separate paper on "Making Hay from Natural Grasses," in Register for 1ss7.) ' Wheat, barley, and oats are sown in autumn in the up-country, and irrigated occasionally. The main conditions required to be fulfilled in cultivation are: -1. A thorough pulvcrisation of the soil; 2. A progressive chemical disintegration or liberation of insoluble ingredients; and 3. A renewal, by means of some kind of manure, of those substances which have been removed from the soil by previous crops. The art of cultivation consists in aiding Nature to accomplish these conditions with greater celerity than, unaided, would be attained. By means of the spade, rake, plough, and harrow, a soil is mechanically pulverised, and fresh surfaces are exposed to the disintegra ting action of the atmosphere. Many soils, especially clayey varieties, contain a very large amount of alkalies, which, by the action of carbonic acid, are liberated, and become soluble. In such cases, it is more economical to depend upon the vast magazine of supply for the necessary alkalies, than to import them at first in the form of manures. But, as the disintegration of the soil, and liberation of the ingredients proceed with slowness, it is necessary not only to oifer every facility by increasing the surfaces of the ground, but also to admit the air and fresh supplies of rain water, so as to render the treasures available within the prescribed period, and this is effected by surface or by under drainage, digging, ploughing, &c. The spade and plough are both mechanically and chemically advantageous; they are...