No. 63.J 205 



raised among us, but it will not sell in New- York as an edible vari- 

 ety, and its cultivation is therefore principally abandoned. 



Oats. — The oats of this county are not so heavy as more northern 

 oats. They are however of a good quality, and raised in considerable 

 quantities for domestic use, and for New-York. The facility of in- 

 tercourse enables the farmer to send his oats to market when the 

 Hudson river is closed with ice, and when prices range high. The 

 crop is generally sown in April, after corn of the preceding year, 

 about two bushels to the acre. It is harvested in August, and yields 

 from twenty-five to thirty bushels the acre. 



Rye. — This is a necessary crop principally raised for county con- 

 sumption. Sown after oats, it requires manure, but not so much as 

 wheat. Part of the value of the crop is derived from the straw which 

 is of ready sale in New-York. The practice also, w^hich is very ge- 

 neral, of erecting barracks near the water to store hay for ready ship- 

 ment, gives a value to rye straw for thatching the roofs. Rye is 

 sown in September, at the rate of two bushels an acre, and is har- 

 vested in July, the succeeding year, yielding from fifteen to twenty- 

 five bushels the acre. 



Barley was formerly raised in considerable quantity for the New- 

 York brewers, both here and on Long-Island, but after the Erie canal 

 was completed the price was knocked down, and of late it has ranged 

 so low as to deter farmers from raising it. The price per bushel is 

 generally about twelve cents higher than oats, which at the time we 

 write is 38 cents for one, and 50 cents for the other. The barley 

 that is produced is still sold in New- York, or ground together with 

 corn and oats, or buckwheat, to feed horses or to fatten cattle or 

 hogs. Two bushels are sown to an acre in April, and the crop is har- 

 vested in the latter part of July, yielding twenty-five to thirty bush- 

 els the acre. 



Buckwheat. — This is not a heavy crop here. It is sown in June, 

 generally manured with fish, comes off the ground earlier than the 

 North river buckwheat, and takes the first of the market before pri- 

 ces fall by abundance on sale. When ground with corn and oats, it 

 makes good feed for horses, cattle or swine. This mixture is better 

 for hoffs when boiled. In sowing, a bushel and an half of buckwheat 

 is deemed sufficient for an acre. From fifteen to twenty bushels per 

 acre is considered a fair crop. 



MANURES. 



The expense of manuring the land in Richmond county is so great 

 that farmers cannot compete wuth the productions of the new and 

 cheap lands of the west, as to corn, wdieat, rye, oats or barley. Here 

 we must manure high or we get no crops, but the manure is not lost 

 even though the first crop does not pay for it. The manures given to 

 the soil are numerous, viz: 



Street dirt. — This article is procured in New-York from the scrap- 

 ings and sweepings of the streets, and is sold on account of the cor- 

 poration of the city, at thirty cents the city cart load, (of 14 bush- 



