606 ^ [Assembly 



Argyle, Dec. ith, 1853. 

 Dear Sir — In compliance with your request,! send you a state- 

 ment of the chief products of tlie town of Argyle, as follows : 



No. acres. No. bushels. Estimated value. 



Corn, 2,000 60,000 $40 000 



Potatoes, 1,100 100,000 35 000 



Oats, 2,000 75,000 30 000 



Wheat, 500 10,000 10 000 



Rye, 500 8,000 6 000 



Hay, 5,000 tons. §50 000 



Butter, 250,000 pounds. 50 000 



Pork, 600,000 " 45 000 



Above, yon will see the number of acres under cultivation for 

 each crop, and the quantity produced, and the quality is very 

 good ; beside the above, we raise a small quantity of barley, 

 buckwheat, white beans, carrots and flax, the quantity of which 

 1 have not been able to make any just estimate. Our hay crop is not 

 over one-half the usual quantity, owing to the long and severe 

 drouth through the summer ; the corn crop was rather light. Po- 

 tatoes vejy good during the last year ; there has been quite an in- 

 crease in the cultivation of potatoes, and a large decrease in 

 wheat and rye ; there has been also an increased excitement in 

 the scientific mode of farming, in plowing our clay soil deep, and 

 doing it in the fall season, that the frost may pulverize it, and fit 

 it for the reception of the seed early in the spring ; in manuring, 

 by making composts of muck, marl, lime, gypsum, and barn-yard 

 manure, such composts mixed thoroughly, and put on our gra- 

 velly and sandy loam soils, has operated very beneficially, increa- 

 sing the crop to double the usual quantity. We are using con- 

 siderable quantities of plaster on our farms, and it pays well ; also 

 there has been great attention paid to draining of late, which 

 has increased the value of our farms greatly. The number of 

 acres under tillage, for all agricultural purposes^in our town, has 

 increased greatly for the last four or five years. 



# 



There has been a very great excitement in the town of Argylo 

 for the last ten years, in regardto the rearing of horses, but it is 

 now somewhat abated, in consequence of a thing that has lately 



