1838] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



299 



From tlie N. K. Fanner. 



[We Imve tlie pleasure to present to tlic agrirul- 

 tural public ll~:e siulijoined lii<rlily valuable, coiii- 

 muiiication ; and acUnowledire our.<eive.s much 

 inilebleil to the kindness ol'this intelligent and 

 sldllul cullivalor for having at our request pre- 

 seiiled it. Our atlention in passin-r on the road 

 from Pawtucket to Providence had been always 

 particularlv attracted to the improvements goinfj on 

 on this farm, and the order and neatness which 

 marked the premises. The last sprin^r, on a visit 

 to some relatives, we had the pleasure of exa- 

 minintj the excellent manasremeul pursued at the 

 establishment. The cultivator, it will he seen from 

 the style ot' address, is a Friend. This most exem- 

 plary Christian sect are always remarkable for 

 their neatness and order, qualities which are so 

 valuable, and produce so much comfort in life. 

 "Thou shall be neat and clean, and systematic 

 and orderly in thy person and in all thy dealings," 

 is a commandment, which, if they have not actu- 

 ally added it to the decalogue, seems to have with 

 them almost as high an authority. A slovenly 

 Quaker is a "rare bird;" an anomaly seldom oc- 

 curring. We cannot too much commend them 

 for this. "Order is Heaven's first law." Neat- 

 ness, as a friend was accustomed to remark, is 

 next to godliness ; it is essential to good manners, 

 and almost equall}' so to good morals ; its opposite 

 is certainly a violation of^ what are called the mi- 

 nor morals of society. H. C. 



North Providence, &ino. 4, 1838. 

 Respected Friend, Henry Colman: — 



I have never known more profitable results 

 from the application of any manure to light and 

 steril soils, whether loamy, sandy, or gravelly, 

 than from leeched or unleeched ashes. They 

 have long been used in Rhode Island with great 

 euccess, especially in the growing of barley and 

 clover, to which they seem peculiarly adapted. — 

 As evidence of the estimation in which they are 

 held by the farmers of the Island, ten cents per 

 bushel have been paid for them in Newport for 

 the last twenty years and upwards, and though 

 considerable quantities have been furnished from 

 different places on the sea-board, the demand for 

 them has always exceeded the supply. They are 

 generally used at the time of seeding, spread on 

 an even surface and harrowed in lightly with the 

 grain and grass seed. The quantity varying from 

 50 to 100 bushels per acre. 



In 1833. a lot of land falling under my manage- 

 ment which had then recently been purchased 

 at .930 per acre, seven acres of it and perhaps the 

 least valuable part, which in my opinion never 

 possessed fertility, though it is usually called worn 

 out land, being a sandy plain, gravelly subsoil, 

 were ploughed and rolled m order to secure for 

 the benefit of the crop what little vegetable matter 

 had been turned under; about 1600 bushels leech- 

 ed ashes were then spread on the lot, and it was 

 sowed with 10 quarts millet and 16 lbs. southern 

 or small clover seed to the acre. The season 

 proved dry and the seed took badly, the crop of 

 millet was 10 tons by estimation; anJd was sold for 



■^180. 19 tons clover were supposed to have 

 been obtained the two succeediiiir years at four 

 cutting.?; this too was sold for .9316. The clover 

 having nearly all perished in tlie winterof 1835-6 

 it was pastured the season following, and last year 

 1136 bushels ashes having been applied to it, it 

 was again sowed with millet, atul stocked as be- 

 fore with southern clover, 20 lbs. to the acre. — 

 The product was 13 tons millet, lor which I cre- 

 dited the owner $221, retaining it for my own use. 

 Like results have been obtained fi-om similar 

 treatment of the same description of soil in vari- 

 ous instances, this not having been selected be- 

 cause the most striking, but because the amount 

 for which the crops sold fixes their value, without 

 knowing exactly the quantity produced, which in 

 each case has been supposed. The labor bestow- 

 ed on the lot was more or less blended with other 

 business of the farm ; it is therefore difficult at this 

 period of time to ascertain the amount charged. 

 I believe however it did not exceed the charge in 

 the subjoined account. 



Cost of land, ^210 00 



" Ashes for both dressings, 215 54 



Seed for do. 41 25 



Ploufrhintr 10 1-2 days, 21 00 



Rolling .3 1-2 do. 7 00 



Harrowing 3 1-2 do. 7 00 



Carting outside furrows, 7 50 



Sowing 3 days, 3 00 



Carting and spreading ashes, 54 00 



Cutting, curing, and housing 41 tons millet 



and clover, 123 00 



5 years' taxes, 2 10 



Interest accruing on transaction, 46 00 



Cr. 



By Produce sold, amounting to 



Value of pasturage. 



Value of lot in its present condition, 



$737,39 



8717 00 



15 00 



385 00 



^1117 00 

 737 39 



$379 61 

 There is reason to suppose from present ap- 

 pearances that the lot in question will cut two 

 tons clover this season per acre ; it will therefore 

 be seen that my valuation is not a high one. A 

 repetition of the treatment it has received, would 

 no doubt improve still more the texture of the 

 soil, but I am inclined to think there might be a 

 falling off instead of an advancement in the amount 

 of its productions, by subsequent ashings. Should 

 this be the case it would indicate a suitable con- 

 diiion for more permanent improvement by ma- 

 nuring. 



There is but one instance in which I can make 

 out the exact quantity of milk sold in a year. It 

 amounts to 11,131 1-2 gallons, this is exclusive of 

 a supply for the fiimliy, and was produced by I 

 suppose an average of20 cows. There have been 

 seasons when I Think a larger quantity has been 

 produced in proportion to the number of cows 

 kept, but the manner in which my books have been 

 kept, hardly ever specifying more than the amount 

 received for the article sold, does not enable me to 

 determine with accuracy the quantity sold in any 

 other year. In the instance given the milk was 

 disposed of to one person at a certain rate, which 



