1S37] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



365 



f^niij-grnnnd rotation. 



For the low-trmimd, (two hundred nnd thirtj'- 

 five acres.) tlic first rnlation adopted, and which 

 was adhered to tor twelve years, was as follows. 



1st year, com — 



2d year wiicat, and clover seed sown thereon, 

 in the pprinir — 



3d year, clover, the first crop of which was 

 mown for hay, and the second t()r .«eed — and 



4ih year, wheat, on a fallow of clover stnbhle — 

 after which the same course was recommenced 

 the next year, with corn on wheat stubhie. 



Gypsura was re2;ularly ffiven to the clover — 

 and this was the only manure ever applied to this 

 land, then or since — with the exception of about 

 pix acres. It has always acted well. This 

 course of cronpinrj ijave five crops (that is, three 

 of ofrain, one of hay and one of clover seed,) in 

 every four \-ears — and certainly was so scour- 

 ^inij a rotation, that no soil, but one of almostinex- 

 haustible power could have improved under it, as 

 this did. Deep and excellent plouirhing, howe- 

 ver, had been iriveri, for the f?rst time, and hns 

 been adhered to on every occasion of bieakinjr up 

 for corn, or of clover fallow fjr wheat. Four- 

 horse (or mule) ploughs are used for this purpose, 

 or three-horse plo>)o;hs, when they are found sulfi- 

 cient — and, in either case, the flirrow-slice is cut as 

 deep, and turned as well, as is possible to be 

 expculi^l by a good team, drawing good ploughs. 



But tlionrfh no sign of failure w;is seen in this 

 time. Mr. S. was ah-aid of the lands becoming 

 •'clover-sick," and refusinir to reproduce good 

 crops of that grass; or that he was pushing too 

 far the continued stimulus of gypsum. He. 

 therefore, eiffht years ago, threw about oiie-(i)urih 

 nl' his low-ffround into permanent tmiothy mea- 

 dow, for mowing, and took away one year of the 

 lenijth of the course, and the IJillow crop of wheat. 



the preferable succession for the product of wheat, 

 on interior, though very fine land elsewhere — ) be- 

 ca.i.cc Its greater luxuriance would cause the 

 wheat to lodge generally, and both the hazard of 

 the crop while ripeninu:. and the labor of saving it, 

 to be greatly increased. Even afier corn, tlie 

 wheal frequently lodges along the midillea of the 

 beds, and other of the richest part?. 



Corn tillage on the low-grounds. 



When Mr. Sampson first took possession of 

 this fiirnn, his laboring force was not at all equal to 

 the demands on it, and therefore the economy of 

 labor was the mo.st important object sought in" all 

 his operations; and this plan of using as little la- 

 bor as can be made efficient for the purpose, lias 

 continued to be pursued. But it requires but a 

 slight glance at tlie farm to show to the obser- 

 ver that by this economy of labor \\\e proprietor 

 does not mean the slighting the performance, or 

 lessening the efficiency of any essential operation. 

 On the contrary he saves labor, in the end, hv 

 preparator}' processes so laborious and costly, that 

 they would li'iirhten many cultivators who think 

 they save labor by slighting their work, and who, 

 in fact, are theref)y li^rced to work harder, and for 

 less profit, than a different mode would cause. 

 The economy of labor, in Mr. Sampson's sense, 

 is the motive of many of his operations, and the 

 ke}' to the reasoning which first prompted them. 



The breaking up of the clover sod for corn 

 (which had been mown early in August f()rseed,) 

 is done as soon as possible aller the heavy job of 

 wheat-sowing has been completed ; and" this 

 breakinix up is always finished belijre the end of 

 December. The land is in beds of 16 feet width, 

 which are reversed by iiiur-horse ploughs, as be- 

 fore stated, as deeply and in as perfect a manner 

 as possible. There is then time to spare, and as 

 much as may be necessary is spared, to afford the 



fi-om his rotation ; thus makingit, the three-field j most perfect execution oi" this important part of 

 course, of 1st. corn, 2nd wheat, and 3d, clover, | the corn culture. No harrowing is then jriven as 

 plastered, and mown twice, as before, on the best j it is jireferred that the surface shall not lie made 



parts of tlie fields only, and leavinir the clover 

 on much the greater part of the land, for its im- 

 provement. Except this clover, there has been 

 ro other manure, except the deposite of mud by 

 freshets on the lowest places, where it is least 

 or not at all wanted, and where its (greatest hene- 



more smooth, at first, than as left by the plough. 

 To lessen the danger of insects, and other disas- 

 ters, and to have a more equal and regular "stand" 

 of corn, it is not planted as early as is usual with 

 many good farmers. A li^w days before the plant- 

 ing is designed to be commenced, two-horse har- 



fits are more than counterbalanced by the wash- i rows (such as are commonly used to cover wheat ) 



inir from t e higher and poorer parts, and by tlif 

 gen'^ral bad state mto which such a soaking puts 

 the I'lnd. Some res; has t)een given, and what 

 also may be considered manunn2, involuntarily 

 however, by some entire losses of crops. Such 

 was the total loss of the crop of wheat, of 1835, 

 by hail, after it was in head, and of which scarce-, 

 ly any was left standing, and neither a head or 

 f!talk was saved, or removed ; and a freshet, next 

 year, so muddied the clover, as to render it unfit 

 to be mown. No grazing is permitted on the low- 

 grounds ; Avhich prohibition is made necessary by 

 there being no fences separatinor the lowgrounds 

 of adjoininfr proprietors. And this is the only 

 Jand on the farm that is not grazed whenever un- 

 der ffrasg. 



Under this system, the low-grround of this farm 

 has become capable of producing 50 bushels of 

 corn to the acre, and 30 of wheat, thoush after 

 corn. It is not desirable, but the reverse, to h;ive 

 the wheat after the clover — (which is so much 



are passed over twice, and across, as well as in the 

 direction of the beds. If made necessary by the 

 state of the ground, the harrows are made" heavier 

 by weights, and more than two harrowings are 

 •liven on the most intractable spots. The two 

 harrowinss generally suffice to put the surfiice 

 into a state fine enough for a garden, or seed bed. 

 'JMiree shallow furrows are marked off on each 

 bed, five feet apart on the bed, and six feet width, 

 of course, is left between the two outside rows of 

 adjoining beds — the additional foot being needed 

 for the water-furrow. The corn is strewed by 

 hand thickly along the seed furrows, (at the rate 

 of a bushel of seed to three acres,) and neatly cov- 

 ered by an implement drawn by one horse. This is 

 made by two coulters or shanks, turning towards 

 each other, in a frame, running close to each side of 

 the fiirrow, so as to throw on it a neat little ridge of 

 fine mould. Shallov/ covering is desired, and no 

 danger apprehended from its being loo shallow. 

 Should a freshet or heavy rain cause the land to 



