114 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



wliich, as has been remarked in tlie essay, is more valuable 

 than the rye itself, at present prices. These plains upon the 

 Quinnebaug river are particularly adapted to rye, and where 

 the farmers keep flocks of sheep to run upon those plains, 

 they will produce very fair crops once in three years, with 

 very little expenditure of labor and capital. I consider my 

 rye crop as valuable as any I raise. The common rye is the 

 kind that is usually sown. Tliere was a kind introduced 

 called white rye, which seemed to take for a year or two, but 

 it has entirely gone out of use now. 



Question. How many bushels to the acre are usually 

 raised ? 



Mr. Sanger. Not far from ten bushels to the acre. I 

 should say that I had a good crop if I got ten bushels to the 

 acre. 



Question. Don't you sometimes get a good deal more ? 



Mr. Sanger. Well, I think we do. My father used to 

 sow a field that is owned now by our family, from which he 

 used to get one hundred busliels from eight acres, and he 

 thought that was a fine crop, as it was. 



These lands that we sow rye upon are situated so far from 

 our houses that it is difficult to manure them ; but sometimes 

 we plant corn or potatoes upon our plains, and manure, and 

 then we sow rye after taking off the crop. In such cases we 

 can realize more from a crop of rye than from potatoes or 

 corn. Rye is always benefited by the cultivatioi> of the 

 ground with a hoed crop. In all this region we have acres of 

 plain land which is nearly worthless. Since sheep have gone 

 > out of fashion among our farmers those lands have been run- 

 ning down. Now, I believe that if every farmer who has 

 such lands would have a flock of slieep, adapted to his extent 

 of territory, he would find that the sheep were the surest and 

 cheapest way of improving those lands. I regard my flock 

 of sheep as the most profitable stock I have, and they will 

 live, as is well known, where no other farm stock can get a 

 living. A neighbor of mine has a plain upon the Quinne- 

 baug of some fifty or sixty acres. It is a very barren-looking 

 field, but he will summer sixty or seventy sheep upon that 

 plain, froMfi the last of April until cold weather comes. You 



