182 [Senate 



At the proper time, the stalks are cut up at the surface of the 

 ground, and put into small stooks, and when the corn is husked, the 

 stalks are drawn at once into the barn, without being again set up. 

 In this way they are kept m good condition, and labor saved, 



Oats or barley is sown the next spring, on this corn stubble. Of 

 each of these grains, three bushels of seed is put upon an acre. As 

 soon as the grain is up, sulphate of lime is sown. These grains are 

 also sowed on sod land. The reason of this is, I cannot command the 

 manual labor necessary to cultivate one-fifth of my land in corn, and 

 secure it at the proper season. The rotation of crops I attempt to 

 pursue, is — first corn, second oats or barley, third wheat on the oat or 

 barley stubble, fourth clover and herds grass pasture — the seed sown 

 on the wheat — fifth meadow. But inasmuch as certain portions of my 

 farm are not suited to raising wheat^ and as I cannot command the 

 force necessary to cultivate the proportion of corn, lam compelled to 

 modify ; but T come as near to this rotation as I can. 



The usual time of sowing barley is as soon as the ground is settled — 

 commonly by the twentieth of April. The oats are sowed later — gene- 

 rally early in May. 



The yield of the crops for this year has already been given, and I 

 thmk I am safe in saying, that the average of one year with another, 

 upon the system of rotation before given, comes up to that of this year. 

 The pasture will sustain two cows upon an acre, and the hay will 

 generally "yield two tons to the acre. 



13. This interrogatory has been so far anticipated, that it is only 

 necessary to add, that sometimes manure that it is not convenient to 

 draw in the spring, is put upon the corn stubble and upon wheat. 



14. This interrogatory has been anticipated, in part. My reasons 

 for applying my manure to corn, are, that I have better means of 

 destroying the seeds of weeds, and from the belief that corn is the best 

 crop to take up that part of the manure that the first crop can use, and 

 that the manure is thus prepared for the crops that follow. Experi- 

 ments that I have made, go to show that, coarse manure benefits the 

 second crop as much as it does the first — and the third crop cannot but 

 receive great benefit from it. The fourth and fifth crops probably do 

 not impoverish the soil. By this rotation, three crops are had for three 

 plowings ; and my experience proves that the soil increases in fertility 

 under this management. 



