562 ANNUAL REPORT OF NEW-YORK 



rolled until sundowiij and by the middle of August the leaves 

 would frequently remain rolled all night, especially on gravelly 

 knolls; in consequence of the corn coming up so poor, and the 

 great drought many fields were not half a crop. In all probabil- 

 ity the yield is not more than twenty bushels per acre; a few 

 fields on the river flats yielded 60 bushels per acre, while others 

 not more than ten. The principal varieties raised are the large 

 and small Button, Red glazed eight rowed corn, Evans' eight rowed 

 yellow, small yellow Canada, Canada white flint, Delaware white, 

 and two or three other kinds of white corn. 



5th. Buckwheat. — A large quantity of this grain was sov;n, but 

 in consequence of the great drought, a large portion did not come 

 up, especially on hilly land, where a majority of the Buckwheat 

 is raised. I saw a number of fields five weeks after being sown, 

 and they appeared, with the exception of a few spots, as if not 

 sown; such fields did not yield over five bushels per acre, and 

 some not that. I prefer to sow from the tenth to the twelfth of 

 July, for I w^ould rather risk the frost than sow earlier and have 

 the crop scorched by the sun, and I never fail of a fine crop. My 

 crop of 1856 was on a diluvial formation, and very stony and 

 dry, and yielded as much as 31 bushels per acre; the yield for 

 the county was not over 14 bushels per acre. 



6th. Oats. — In consequence of the cold wet May, and the very 

 dry summer, the oat crop was lighter than before in a number of 

 years; some fields of four or five acres were drawn in at one 

 load, and in a number of fields, the straw was so short that it was 

 difficult binding; in some cases long straw had to be carried for 

 that purpose. I regret to say that it is the practice of some far- 

 mers to sow a field two and even three years in succession with 

 oats; such a course causes the last crop to be light. I con- 

 clude the average of the county to be not over 18 bushels per 

 acre; a few early sown fields along streams, yielded 40 to 50 

 bushels per acre. 



7th. Beans and Peas, as far as I can ascertain, are not raised 

 to much amount, every farmer generally raises a small patch of 

 both, and they, like all other vegetables, suffered with the drought. 



8th. Grass and Hay. — Of the grass crop there w^as plenty till 

 the middle of July, and from that time until the end of the year 

 it was of the shortest kind; by the 10th of August the fields 



