50 On Corn. 
circa 
ed them to leave a portion of the field ; they left ground 
in it, without ashes. 
At harvest, the ground manured with ashes, produced 
two or three times the quantity of the better land which 
I had neglected.— The one yielding, I should say, as 
much as fifty bushels per acre, the other not more than 
twenty. Ashes sprinkled on land lately turned up from 
sward, are most decidedly the most productive manure 
which I have tried. After Indian corn, ashes are most 
useful fn ensuring a good crop of flax, both harl and 
seed. In laying land down to grass I have found barley 
the best crop. It is early off the ground, and gives great 
facilities to the tender clover to gain a firm root before 
winter. Flax has. commonly been preferred,* as the 
crop with which to sow clover, but it comes of the 
eround late ; it is spread on the ground and imprisons 
the clover still longer ; and the pulling of the flax rends 
and disturbs the roots of clover and exposes it to death 
the next winter. 
I do not know sir, that I have met your wishes in 
this letter.—If I have exceeded those wishes by the in- 
troduction of extraneous matter, you will be candid 
enough to excuse it and to carry it to the account of 
my sincere desire to promote the beneficial purposes 
of your institution. 
With due esteem I am sir, 
Your humble servant, 
JoserpH Lyman. 
Dr. James MEaseE. 
Secretary of the Agric. Soc. Philad. 
* This alludes to his own vicinity. 
