No. 85.] 163 



MR. WATSOn's statement. 



Statement of Matthew Watson, of Ontario county, relative to his 

 crop of wheat, yielding 215 bushels on 4 acres and 12 perches, or at 

 the rate of 52 J bushels per acre, as fully attested by surveyor and 

 witnesses, and which received the State premium of $15. 



The ground was seeded with clover on wheat in the spring of 1840, 

 and kept for pasture till December 1842, when it was plowed. In 

 June 1843, in August 1843, and about the first of September 1843, it 

 was plowed and harrowed each time. It was sowed by hand on the 

 11th of September, with eight bushels of red chaff-bald wheat. 



The soil is black loam mixed with some clay and gravel — no other 

 manure used than what might result from pasturing and clover roots. 

 It was harvested about the last of July, and threshed in the lot with 

 a machine and cleaner attached, and put once through the fanning-mill. 



The expense of plowing the ground four times, was about $18.00 



" harrowing, was about 6 . 00 



" seed and sowing, 3 .75 



" harvesting and stacking, 8 . 00 



" threshing and cleaning, 17 .33 



Whole expense, $53 .08 



MR. SELOVEr's statement. 



The following statement was made to the Tompkins County Agri- 

 cultural Society, by John Selover, of that county. A fuller authen- 

 tication by affidavits would have been more satisfactory to many : 



Wheat Crop. — From 7J acres on my farm, in Ithaca, I raised 285 

 bushels of winter wheat, a fair sample of which is herewith exhibited. 

 From 2 acres less 10 rods of which, (and which I measured off accu- 

 rately) I raised, harvested and thrashed 115 bushels by weight at 60 

 lbs. to the bushel or about 59 i bushels to the acre. The soil is a 

 clayey loam, naturally wet, but greatly improved by an under drain 

 or blind ditch, cut several years since. Before the wheat crop, the 

 ground for four years had been sodded with clover and timothy and 

 used as pasture for cattle and hogs. The only manure the ground 

 received previous to the crop, was the droppings of the cattle and 

 hogs in pasturing, and soakings from my barn-yard, which was near 

 by — no manure was carted or drawn upon the ground. About the 

 last of May 1843, I carefully turned under the sod. During the 

 summer I plowed the ground three times and harrowed it thoroughly 

 intermediate each plowing. By this process I entirly subdued the 

 Canada thistles, with which it was infested. I sowed the wheat 1| 

 bushels to the acre, on the 5th of September and harrowed it in. The 

 wheat is the kind known as the Hutchinson wheat, with a slight mix- 

 ture of the red chaffed bald. I harvested the crop July 18, 1844, and 

 drawed it into the barn and thrashed it out about the 1st of August. 



