140 [Senate 



method of raising them. I have raised a great many cattle on my 

 farm, but not with that care and attention that others have, having 

 turned my attention principally to raising grain for 38 years in the 

 town where I now live. I have generally summer fallowed my 

 ground, but have raised some wheat after barley, and that is the case 

 with most of our farmers in the north part of the county. The south 

 part used formerly to raise large quantitiesof wheat, but have not of late 

 raised as much. For information in relation to the south part of the 

 county, I would refer you to Humphrey Howland, Esq. near Aurora. 

 In feeding hogs, I have used potatoes boiled with barley and apples 

 to good advantage; and in fatening cattle I have used corn ground in the 

 cob. Our principal grasses are clover and timothy. Our rotation 

 of crops is wheat from sward ground, corn after wheat, then sow^ed 

 to barley or oats, then the land suffered to lay one year, and then sow 

 to wheat and seed down. I have raised wheat every other year on two 

 pieces of land on my farm for 24 years. I sow clover and timothy seed 

 each spring after my wheat is sown, about 8 lbs. to the acre, and put 

 on some stable manure. On one piece of 60 acres I have grown wheat 

 as stated above, and used no stable manure. I use some lime, ashes 

 and plaster on corn ground. Equal parts put in the hill when plant- 

 ing, about a gill in each hill, and the second hoeing put on about the 

 same quantity. I have sowed lime on my meadows, but not enough 

 to test the utility of it. I have also sowed it on my wheat in the 

 spring. Our principal manure is from our straw and barn-yard ma- 

 nure, which in my opinion is best. Our most profitable roots are 

 potatoes. The worm or fly takes our ruta baga and beets. They 

 have destroyed 2^ acres of roots for me this season, which 1 had to 

 put to buck-wheat, which I call a sorry crop on our valuable wheat 

 lands. I will give my opinion as to the quantity of the wheat crop, 

 in our part of the county this season: it is about k short of what we 

 expected. On the 1st of July it appeared considerably shrunk; corn 

 backward and rather thin; perhaps not more than I of a crop. Oats 

 are fine, barley pretty good, potatoes excellent, and grass an ordinary 

 crop. Our farmers are seeding this fall about their usual quantity of 

 ground, but it is badly prepared, on account of the wet season. Not 

 more than one-half is now sown, and the ground is uncommonly wet. 

 As to wintering cattle, I would say that I have found it decidedly 

 best to stable them. For some years I have stabled all my cattle, 

 from 35 to 50 head, by tying them up at night, giving them hay, and 

 putting them in the yard to straw stacks in the day time. I think I 

 save a vast deal of fodder, and my cattle winter well. My sheep I 

 put in a large yard, with good shelter, made for them by putting up 

 posts and long poles on them, and rails for a roof, and covering them 

 with straw. I have troughs made with boards nailed together, to feed 

 oats, potatoes, or other roots in, and I let them go to water when they 

 wish. I like the Merino, crossed with South Downs, better than any 

 I have seen. But little butter and cheese are made for market in 

 the north part of this county. 



Our swine are the Berkshire mixed with the Leicestershire; and 

 those we have in our vicinity are a good breed of hogs. 



