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EXCERPTS FROM WASHINGTON'S FARM DIARIES 



One of Washington's early experiments with various ferti- 

 lizers is described in the following entry from 

 his Diary for April 1760. 



Monday, 14. Fine warm day. Wind So'ly and clear till the Even'g 

 when it clouded; No Fish were to be catchd to day neither. 



Mixd my Composts in a box with ten Apartments in the following 

 manner, viz: in No. 1 is three pecks of the Earth brought from below 

 the Hill out of the 46 Acre Field without any mixture; in No. 2 is 

 two pecks of the said Earth and one of Marie taken out of the said 

 Field, which Marie seemed a little Inclinable to Sand; 



3. Has 2 Pecks of sd. Earth and 1 of Riverside Sand; 



4. Has a Peck of Horse Dung; 



5. Has mud taken out of the Creek; 



6. Has Cow Dung; 



7. Marie from the Gullys on the Hill side, wch, seeemd to be purer 



than the other; 



8. Sheep Dung; 



9. Black Mould taken out of the Pocoson on the Creek side; 

 10. Clay got just below the Garden. 



All mixd with the same quantity and sort of Earth in the most ef- 

 fectual manner by reducing the whole to a tolerable degree of fineness 

 and ju[m]bling them well together in a Cloth. 



In each of these divisions were planted three grains of Wheat, 

 3 of Oats and as many of Barley — all at equal distances in Rows, 

 and of equal depth (done by a machine made for the purpose). 



The Wheat Rows are next the Numberd side, the Oats in the Middle 

 and the Barley on that side next the upper part of the Garden. 



Two or three hours after sowing in this manner, and about an hour 

 before Sunset I waterd them all equally alike with water that had 

 been standing in a Tub abt . two hours exposed to the Sun. . . . 



Finishd Harrowing the Clover Field, and began rsharrowing of it. 

 Got a new harrow made of smaller, and closer Tinings for Harrowing in \, 

 Grain — the other being more proper for preparing the Ground for sowing. 



Cook Jack's plow was stopd he being employd in setting the Lime 

 Kiln. - J. C. Fitzpatrick, ed.. The D iaries of GeorRO Washington, 1748-1799, 

 1:153-154 (Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1925). 



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