No. 63.J ^ ^ 201 



and walnuts, chestnut, beech, birch, dog-wootl, white-wootl, gum, 

 &c. Where the timber has been cut, and the land left uncultivated, 

 the red cedar has come in and occupied the ground to its disadvan- 

 tage, as the resinous foliage of that tree does not readily decay and 

 form a soil like the leaves of other trees. There is also something 

 uncongenial in the shade of that evergreen, as a cedar woods atfords 

 no o-rass or pickings for cattle. The trees however are valuable for 

 fencing, and if they were not so slow of growth, they would be worth 

 cultivating for their timber. The cedar plums, or seeds of the tree, 

 are eaten by birds, and dropped along fences and in neglected places, 

 where they grow without care. 



Fencing materials are scarce on the island, both for posts and rails. 

 These are made of oak, chestnut and red cedar, as far as the limited 

 supply here will go. White cedar rails are now extensively used, and 

 procured from the swamps in New-Jersey about Egg-Harbor, at from $6 

 to $8 per 100. There are some yellow locust trees in this county which 

 furnish lasting posts for garden fences; but it is observable that the trees 

 are attacked by insects, and do not thrive as they do in the lighter , 

 soil of New-Jersey, on the opposite side of Raritan Bay. The writer 

 attempted to raise them from the seed, but the young trees do not 

 appear to thrive here in a stiff clayey soil. 



PLOWS, HARROWS, &C. 



Plows, harrows and other farming implements are procured in 

 New-York, w^here those of the most approved kinds are selected. 

 Some are also made on the island, as well as car^s and wagons. The 

 size of farm wagons and ox-carts is not uniform; and in speaking of 

 a load, the quantity would not be definite. The subscriber, in mea- 

 suring his two carls and wagon, found that the wagon and one cart 

 made at Bergen, in New-Jersey, measured within the body of the 

 box, something over twenty-seven bushels; and the other cart, made 

 at Poughkeepsie, over thirty bushels. The latter he had reduced to 

 the size of the others. 



FARM OR BARN- YARDS. 



Farm yards should have a southern aspect, with a wing to the barn 

 to protect the cattle from the northeasterly storms This may be 

 partially done by board fences on the north and east, or by a row of 

 barracks containing hay or cornstalks. Hay being a staple and bulky 

 article, is generally housed in barracks, as a cheap and convenient 

 method of securing it. If these were erected on the northeasterly 

 side of a barn-yard, the hay intended for domestic use would keep off 

 the cold winds in the winter; be' handy for foddering the cattle, and 

 answer the purpose of more costly structures. Very little attention, 

 however, has heretofore been pai<l to the position of farm-yards, some 

 of which have unfavorable aspects, are unsheltered, or on sloping 

 grounds, and lose all the liquid parts of the manure. 



Cattle, in this county, require to be sheltered in winter but not hous- 

 ed. Hovels or sheds, in which they may have a dry place to lay 

 down, are necessary for their comfort and health. A farmer having 



[Senate No. 63.] A* 



