342 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 6 



Jlnnual Product. 



Wheat, 



Rye, 



Corn, 



Oats, 



Barley, 



Buck-wheat, 



Potatoes, 



Other roots 



150 bushels. 



150 



250 



160 



50 



50 



200 



and 



vecreta- 



bles,* in vahie 



Black cattle, 4 

 Horses, 2 



Sheep, 6 



Hogs, 15 



Poultry, fi dozen. 



Toba-zco, a small quantity 



in own consumption. 

 Cords of wood, consumed 

 in fuel — without number. 

 Hay, 8 tons. '6 tons. 



Quantity con- 

 sumed by cat- 

 tle and poul- 

 try 



Prices. 



s. d. 



30 



200 

 60- 



160- 



busliels i.3 9 bushels 



-2 6 



- 2 



-,1 6 



-l3 9 



-il 6 



- 1 10 



50 ton. 



Wye, (on the E. Shore of Maryland, } 

 November 11, 1791. ^ 



Dear Sir : 



The method on which I proceeded on the in- 

 quiry was this: In conversations with farmers, I 

 expressed a wish to be informed of several parti- 

 culars in rural concerns, that seemed to me to have 

 been too liule thoutrht of by husbandmen. On 

 explaining my meaning, they approved of the de- 

 sign, and promised to recollect what they could of 

 those matters, and that they would communicate 

 the result to me. Having thus prepared them, I 

 some time after delivered to them printed papers, 

 containing the particulars of my inquiries, and re- 

 iquesied they would fill up the blanks in those pa- 

 pers. The last step was to wait on them at their 

 (houses. 



The information contained in the paper which I 

 liave now the honor to deliver to you, is all that 

 could be obtained. The farmers received the pa- 

 pers with hearty intentions to fill up the blanks, 

 vviihout conceiving there was any ditficulty in the 

 execution; yet the only reason of there not being 

 other answers to the questions, is solely from the 

 dithculty, to them the impossibility, of fulfilling 

 their design and promise; lor they kept no minutes, 

 land their attention to the bulk of the articles, as 

 ■they acknowledged with concern, had been trifling. 

 On this occasion, I had the pleasure to hear several 

 of the farmers declare, that being, by the inquiry, 

 led to think on the numerous particulars in the 

 paper, they had determined, in future, to make 

 some account of them, as they conceive it will be 

 considerably advantageous to ihem. 



The little introduction to the piece was meant to 

 soften it, from an appearance it might have of an 

 inventory of their eliects; and I think that if the 

 value of the things, especially of the land, can be 

 omitted, the quantities would be more readily, if 

 not also in more numerous instances, obtained; 

 and there would be less danger of a jealousy, that 

 the inquiry is meant for political purposes. In one 

 instance only, there appeared a suspicion that such 

 .a use was intended. It was in the last conversa- 

 tion I had on the subject with some liirming gen- 



* Considerable quantities of pumpkins, turnips, &,c. 

 ■whose value I cannot ascertain. 



tlemen. "It may be said, by some people, that 

 Mr. B. is a politician, and that he wants to know 

 the value oi' country estates, that they may be 

 taxed." 



The value of lands, as reported by the proprie- 

 tors, probably is less to be depended on, than if it 

 was collected from conversations with people from 

 the several states. Ask any man what his land 

 would sell lor, or is worth, he cannot find a moder- 

 ate rate. The land, in the present case, is fully 

 worth the sum it is rated at; but yet, in my opin- 

 ion, it could not now be sold, on time, lor that 

 price. 



No article is so slow of sale as land, at this 

 time. 



I have the honor to be, &c., 

 The Hon. Mr. Hamilion. 



The following account is of a farm in Talbot 

 county (state of Maryland,) oi' middling good- 

 ! ness, with the medium produce of its last four 

 I years crops. It contains about 450 acres, of which 

 1 180 are woodland, 270 arable, and of this 110 are 

 I pasture. The value of the whole, as it might be 

 I expected to sell on time, according to present opin- 

 I ion, is 2.500/.* (5(52/. at 4s. 6d.) 

 I Its produce, in common, the medium of four 

 years, Ibllows: 



Wheat, 

 Rye, 



Corn, _ . - 



Oats, 



Barley, . _ - 



Buck-wheat, 



Potatoes, with fruit, other roots, 



and vegetables, in value, 

 Tobacco, - . . 



Wood for fuel (cords) 

 Hay (tons) - - _ 



Pulse (peas, &.c.) 

 Hemp, - - . - 

 Flax, - - - . 



Wool, . - - - 



Butter, - . _ . 

 Cotton, cheese, fruit, 

 Cattle 35, annually raised 

 Horses 25, colts do. do. 

 Sheep SO, lambs do. do. 

 Hogs, annually killed or sold 

 Poultry per year, dunghill, 

 Turkies 100, ducks 90. 



The quantities and values are generally in round 

 numbers, which has a suspicious appearance. 

 But the worthy farmers, after considering well 

 each article, stated them partly from memory, part- 

 ly from notes, or scraps of paper, and thought it 

 best to omit fractional quanlities and sums, as he 

 had not perfect minutes. It is the account of an 

 honest candid man, who would not have given it 

 if he had not believed it to be generally just. 



MR. PETERS TO COL. HAMILTON. 



Belmont, (within six miles of Philadelphia,) ? 

 21th Jugust, 1791. 5 



Dear Sir : 



I send you the best answers to your inquiries on 



* The same as Pennsylvania money, dollar being 

 7s. 6d. 



