No. 105.] 193 



FARM OF WILLIAM GARBUTT. 



Luther Tucker, Esq. 



Dear Sir — In endeavoring to answer the numerous questions which 

 are required of the competitors on farms, I will be as short and con- 

 cise as possible; many of them will be easiest answered under the 

 head of general farm arrangement. 



It is necessary to make some introductory explanations so as to 

 be distinctly understood. 



There are not names in common use, to convey a correct idea of 

 the numerous varieties of soils, their fertility or barrenness; from the 

 sterile clay to the barren sand, we have but four names to distinguish 

 them by, viz : clay, sand, clay loam, sandy loam, and the same in- 

 convenience exists to a certain extent with all other varieties of soils. 



And it is equally so with what is termed coarse or green manure; 

 the droppings of animals when lightly mixed with litter, is very dif- 

 ferent manure from dried vegetables lightly mixed with animal drop- 

 pings or only saturated with water, yet they are all termed coarse 

 manure when they are unfermented. 



It is also difficult to estimate the skill of the cultivator or the pro- 

 ductiveness of his farm from one season's productions, so numerous 

 and varied are the causes which regulate the productions of the soil 

 and the profit of the farmer, that one season, or even two, are not 

 sufficient to make an accurate estimate. And the same inconve- 

 nience exists in ascertaining the exact profit of any one particular 

 crop, for there are numerous items of outlay and expense which has 

 to be paid from the farm, that cannot be accurately estimated in the 

 expenses of a single crop, or even season. 



My farm contains 246 acres, 46 of it in wood. The timber prin- 

 cipally oak and hickory. Allen's creek passes through it from S. W. 

 to N. E. on which there is a mill dam that overflows 10 acres, and 

 renders it of little value, excepting as pasture in autumn or very dry 

 seasons ; and six acres are occupied by roads and yards, and 184 of 

 arable ground all capable of wheat culture. 



The soil varies from a clay loam to a sandy loam, with a small por- 

 tion of calcareous, (under which there is a plaster rock) all of it ca- 

 pable of producing wheat, but much of it too stiff for corn. 



[Senate, No. 105.] 13 



