ggg ASHTABULA COUNTY, OUIU. 



Ashtabula county, Oliio, on the eastern limits of the Western 

 Reserve, (a celebrated grass region, the soil being about 

 twelve inches loam with a hard chay sub-soil,) and when I 

 assumed charge it Avas receiving bub fifteen hundred dollars a 

 year for sale of products, with little or no profit on that. At the 

 end of the second year my books showed sales of eleven thou- 

 sand dollars, with a profit of five thousand dollars ; which could 

 liave been steadily increased, until the full benefit of the com- 

 plete rotation of crops (four years) should have been attained. 

 The farm and its business Avas in every way run down, having 

 but one farm team, one light road team, one extra horse, four 

 colts (of breaking age), two old wagons, no reaper, mower, or 

 drill, an entire deficiency in all farm implements and those ou 

 hand exposed to the weather. Buildings, fences, etc., were dil- 

 aj^idated in appearance, rubbish scattered everywhere, fence 

 rows full of weeds, and the whole face of things looked badly 

 enough. jPart of the farm was not being used at all, but 

 growing iip in weeds, and a small portion rented to shiftless 

 tenants, growing poor crops. The remaining five hundred acres 

 were in forest, the timber of which was mainly only fit for fire 

 wood, and was being cut at the rate of a few hundred cords 

 each Winter and sold to a neighboring railroad. The problem 

 first presented was, to bring order out of all this confusion, put 

 the farm under a good state of cultivation and appearance, 

 with as little expense as possible, and make it pav while 

 doing it ; which Avas most satisfactorily and practically carried 

 out in the following manner : 



First, resuming control of all rented land, I laid out 

 a regular and systematic rotation of crops to follow each other 

 annually. The best rotation for such land I found to be corn, 

 oats, wheat, meadow, the ground finally on the fourth year (fol- 

 lowing the third year's Avheat), going into meadow to remain 

 such for three years, after which it Avould begin to fail 

 or run out, and could be used for one year to supply pasture, 

 before plowing up for corn again, in the rotation. There being 

 five liundred acres plow-land, this system of rotation required 

 the annual plowing of about sixty acres for each of the three 



