THE FAUMER'S MAGAZINE. 



aud the product ia not over thirty bushels to the acre. 

 The twelve inches beneath the four that have been 

 disturbed is quite as good soil as the upper stratum, 

 and only needs loosening to yield up its plant-food. 

 On many of these acres, ten, fifteen, aud twenty bushels 

 may be added to the yield per acre by deep ploughing 

 alone. It will cost but a little more to do this ; and 

 the increased yield is nearly all profit to the farmer. 

 Deep ploughing would not answer tn thin soils unless 

 accompanied with high manuring ; but every cultiva- 

 tor may safely go down an inch or two deeper than usual, 

 and if his soil be prairie or bottomland he may as well 

 plough four or six inches deeper as two." The cost of 

 cultivation, and the product of Indian corn per acre, 

 varies much in the several states. The average of the 

 whole country, according to the last census statistics, 

 was only about 25 bushels per acrej and for the 

 western corn-growing states not far from 27 bushels 

 per acre : the highest average, 40 bushels to the acre, 

 was in Connecticut, a state in no wise remarkable for 



the fertility of its soil. Accordmg to statements in the 

 Patent-Office Report, some crops of this grain reached 

 130 bushels per acre. Of 35 acres offered in Massa- 

 chusetts for premium, the average yield was 93 bushels 

 per acre — the largest crop was ]38| bushels. These 

 are certainly good yields to bring from the sterile 

 bosom of New England soil ; but they are far inferior 

 to what might be raised upon the prairies and " bot- 

 tom-land" of the West, with , the same skill in culti- 

 vation. These results are mainly owing to deep 

 ploughing and thorough mechanical preparation of the 

 soil, manuring, and after-treatment. 



In addition, then, to our home experience, we have 

 here a voice from across the Atlantic testifying to the 

 economy and advantage of deeper-working among the 

 mineral riches constituting the soil. Let us hope that 

 with these considerations before us, the exertions of 

 inventors in the improvement of field-implements and 

 the accomplishment of steam-tfllage will meet with the 

 encouragement they well deserve. 



HIGHLAND AND AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



July 8. — The following report by the Council on Agricul- 

 tural Education was read by Mr. Hall Maxwell. 



" The Couucil consider that, in organizing the proposed 

 system of education, there are two leading points to be attended 

 to : 1st, The offer of every proper encouragement and facility 

 to induce and enable agricultural students to become candi- 

 dates for the society's diploma; 2ndly, The enforcement of 

 stringent precautions to guard against the possibility of the 

 powers created by the charter being abused, or the diploma 

 being conferred on insufficient grounds. The committee con- 

 ceive that a well-defined curriculum will serve as a guide to the 

 young agriculturist, both as regards the subjects of study and 

 the order in which they are to be pursued ; and that its ob- 

 servance will afford the best guarantee for an education worthy 

 of the diploma. This education must be of a twofold charac- 

 ter, scientific and practical — the one to be acquired in the class, 

 the other on the farm ; and the sufficiency of both should be 

 tested — Ist, by evidence of attendance for prescribed periods 

 in the class and on the farm ; 2ndly, by a rigid and searching 

 examination after the required attendance has been completed, 

 In addition to a perfect knowledge ot the principles of hus- 

 bandry, and of the details of practical farming, a candidate 

 should be conversant with those departments of the following 

 branches of study which bear upon agriculture : — 1. Chemistry, 

 scientific and applied; 2. Natural history, including the prin- 

 ciples of zoology and geology; 3. Botany; 4. Veterinary 

 medicine and surgery ; 5. Technology, or industrial science in 

 its bearings on agriculture; 6. Field engineering and survey- 

 ing ; 7. Mechanics and architecture, in so far as regards a 

 knowledge of their use and application to the operations and 

 buildings of the farm ; 8. Book-keeping and accounts. While 

 candidates are not tied down to any particular college or semi- 

 nary, they should be required to exhibit certificates of attend- 

 ance for prescribed periods at tlia following classes in some 

 educational institution, approved of and recognized by the 

 examiners as sufficient : — Agriculture, chemistry, natural his- 

 tory, botany, and veterinary medicine and surgery. Acquire- 

 ments in technology, field engineering ai.d survfyin^, farm 

 mechanics and architecture, aud book-keepin^', may be es- 



tablished by examination, vfithout certificate of attendance, 

 but students should nevertheless take advantage of whatever 

 classes may be available for these branches. Students should 



not be restricted in their attendance to any particular part 

 of the country or style of farming; but power should be 

 reserved for the examinators to judge of the sufhciency of 

 the certificate produced, and of the competency of the party 

 granting it. The whole course of study should embrace 

 not less than four years— two at classes and two at the 

 farm ; and students should be strongly recommended to 

 pass throngh the scientific departments first, so as to enter 

 on the practical part with the advantages and the aids de- 

 rivable from a proper education. When the scientific 

 course is preferred in point of time, a student may he ex- 

 amined upon it before going to the farm. A student may 

 take alternate years of the classes and of the farm, hut it 

 should not be permissable to devote to either less than an 

 entire year at a time. No part of the course should com- 

 mence until the student is 17 years of age, and consequently 

 a diploma cannot be granted until he is 21. The following 

 appears to be a suitable arrangement for the scientific 

 course: Ist year, summer, natural history three months, 

 botany three months ; winter, agriculture six months, che- 

 mistry six months, veterinary surgery six months. 2nd 

 year, summer, natural history three months, analytical che- 

 mistry three months ; winter, agriculture six months, tech- 

 nology six months, agricultural engineering, architecture, 

 and surveying six months. This arrangement is merely 

 suggested as providing a proper course of study and succes- 

 sion of subjects, but the student need not he prohibited 

 from adopting another order provided he proves attendance, 

 for the prescribed periods at the specified classes. By 

 adopting the arrangement indicated, he gains the convenience 

 of being taken upon examination immediately at the close 

 of his course or the termination of a winter session ; and he 

 has the advantage of carrying to the agricultural class the 

 knowledge of botany and natural history acquired in the first 

 summer. It is recommended that two winters should be 

 devoted to the agricultural class. The course has hitherto 



