16 



FARMERS' REGISTER-FARMING AT WHEATLAND. 



my form is 12, of dilierent ages; this number I 

 mean to increase to 16, when the horse will be 

 banished, except for the saddle and riding carria- 

 ges, and even in this exception, a concession is 

 made by judgment in lavor of fashion. . Some 

 of those I' now have, have been 16 or 17 yef rs, 

 upon the fiu-rn, and I now value them at SgSOO 

 each. With such impressions, I trust it will not 

 be deemed impertinent that I avail myself of this 

 occasion to recommend most earnestly to the 

 society, to extend their sanction and patronage to 

 the more general introduction of the mule, by suit- 

 able premiums, or such other provisions as their 

 wisdom may approve; being convinced that there 

 is no object more in accordance with the interest 

 of agriculture and the furtherance of their patrio- 

 tic design. 



"I should have mentioned in the foregoing part 

 of this brief aud hasty memoir, that it is my cus- 

 tom to cut and stack in the fields as much of my 

 corn as I am able to haul into the farm-pens dur- 

 ing winter; by this means the mass of manure is 

 greatly increased, and its quality improved, the 

 stalk acting as an absorbent to arrest the fertilizmg 

 fluids which would otherwise in a great measure 

 escape. The whole of my corn is shucked in the 

 field on the stalk; besides other obvious advanta- 

 ges, by this method, there is an important saving 

 in time — my corn is generally housed by the mid- 

 dle of November. 



"Exclusive of the six fields above spoken of, 

 I have another containing 70 acres, (a late pur- 

 chase.) This has rested some yjears in clover, to 

 resuscitate from tiie exhausted state in which I 

 received it. It will now be equally divided, and 

 each half alternately cultivated, two years in 

 succession, in wheat and clover. 



"I never employ hired labor for any purpose 

 in aid of my farming operations, and with six cra- 

 dles generally complete my harvest in twelve or 

 fourteen days. 



"The foregoing outhne is deemed sufficient for 

 the present purpose; should a more minute and 

 comprehensive detail be tliought interesting, I beg 

 leave to refer to vol. 2, page 400, of tlie American 

 Farmer. Some allowance, however, will be here 

 claimed for tyjiographical errors, and other seem- 

 ing inconsistencies, all of which are susceptible of 

 satisfactory explanation." 



- It may readily be supposed, that from the fact of 

 the committee having heard much of Mr. Turner's 

 extraordinary management, they were prepared to 

 see much, and that if their expectations were in 

 the smallest degree disappointed, they sliould not 

 fail to express it to the society. Appearing at 

 Wheatland with these feelings, they were not 

 prepared to notice or give credit for little proofs of 

 good management only, but sought for and requir- 

 ed more prominent ones. They now feel it a duty 

 to state, that their highest anticipations were most 

 satisfactorily and fully realized, and that Ihey were 

 not able to discover n solitary exposure of misma- 

 nagement; on the other hand, 071 erery pari of his 

 estate, the most forcible and convincing exhibitions 

 were given of a well selected rotation, and of the 

 most mdefatigable and devoted attention to busi- 

 ness. 



Some members of the committee believing that 

 additional information to that given in his "Me- 

 moir," could be flirnished by Mr. Turner, propo- 

 sed that he should be required to answer questions 



which they were prepared to propound to him, 

 which he readily consented to do. They are pre- 

 sented, with their answers, to the societ}-, in the 

 simple garb and laconic form they first appeared; 

 in that shape they will be more acceptable to far- 

 mers. They follow in order: 



Quest. 1st. What quantity of stone-fencing have 

 you on your farm; and was it all built by your own 

 hands.^ 



j/ns. I have a feAV roods less than 700. When 

 I commenced, I emplojed a man to work with my 

 blacks, who aided in building a few roods. 



Quest. 2d. Do you ever vary your quantity of 

 seed wheat, per acre, with the different qualities of 

 the soil? 



Jj'ns. My practice is not to vary the quantity of 

 seed, in consequence of the dilierence of my soil 

 not being considerable; but were I to vary, I should 

 put a less quantity on thin land. 



Quest. 3rd. Have you of late years increased 

 your quantity of seed? 



jJns. I have, since my lands have improved; 

 having put formerly one bushel, whereas I now 

 sow from seven to eight pecks. I am of opinion 

 that thick sov\dng is preferable to thin. 



Quest. 4th. W flat is your experience on the 

 subject of seeding ^vheat as to the depth of de- 

 posited , 



xfiis. I consider the depth of deposite above 

 lour inches dangerous; if the gi'ound is well pre- 

 pared, the bare covering of the earth is sufficient. 



Quest. 5lh. Do you tlimk it desirable that the 

 ground should be much 2)i.dverized lor the recep- 

 tion of seed wheat? 



j/ns. I should be apprehensive of its baking 

 were the earth made too fine; clods of small size 

 would be preferable. 



Quest, ath. When you first took possession of 

 your farm, what was the average crop of wheat 

 and corn per acre ? 



jins. In 1804, when I first took possession, my 

 average crop of wheat was about twelve bushels 

 per acre; and of corn, five barrels in a good season 

 would have been considered a great average. 



Quest. 7th. Was the improvement which has 

 been made in your farm produced by the expendi- 

 ture of any otlier resources than those derived 

 from the production of the farm? 



jlns. By none other. 



It will appear, upon reference to question the 

 fu-st, alone, that on Mr. Turner's farm there is 

 nearly 700 roods of stone-fence. The remainder 

 of his fencing is made in the neatest manner of 

 locust stakes and rails. On the whole farm your 

 coumiittee were not able to find a paiinel that 

 would not be considered good. They were par- 

 ticularly struck with the number oi' fine gates, 

 (twenty-one,) admitting ingress and egress, (ge- 

 nerally in a direct manner,) with every field. Mr. 

 Turner's barn is a valuable one — his barn-yard 

 judiciously laid ofi— his stables are roomy and 

 comfortable. — his arrangements for the preserva- 

 tion of his grain afler it is thrashed and cleaned — • 

 his hoi'se-feed when ground, implements of hus- 

 bandry, &c. are such as afibrd strong evidences of 

 good management, and offer to every farmer va- 

 luable-hints. 



On the 24th of this month, Mr. Bushrod Tay- 

 lor, of Frederick, who had previously announced 

 liimsclf as a competitor, accompanied the.commit- 

 toe over his lai'm, and afforded them every facility 



