1838] 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



731 



will be their own. When the report of the bank [ 

 commissioners shall appear, the oldest swiiulleie | 

 will be astounded at the scenes olspeculaiion, cor- I 

 ruplion and fraud wliii^h modern banking has 

 given rise lo in this state. 



James IIaoan. 



From the Fanners' Cabinet. 

 STATEMENT OF THE CCf.TURE AND PRODUCTS 

 OF A LOT. THROUGH A SERIES OF YEARS. 



Catawissa, Chlumbia cniiniy, Pa., } 

 OcVr. 11, 1838. 5 

 Dear Sir— Knowing the dee[) interest that you 

 have taken in the promotion of aizriciihure, and 

 possessing somethinir of the same spirit, induces 

 fne tocommunicaie t<* you the manner that i have 

 pursued in larining a lot, containing three acres 

 and three (|uarler»!, adjoining our town. I have 

 also tarmed 130 -or 140 acres to very good etiect, a 

 part of" which has produced quite e(]uai to the lot 

 above mentioned. The lot is on the second rise 

 from the river Susquehanna, and was Ibrmerly co- 

 vered with yellow pine saplings — the soil is rather 

 light — I purchased it 14 or 15 years since. I liirm- 

 ed it for seven or eight years with wheat and clo- 

 ver ahemately, mowintr the first crop of clover 

 and ploughing dow« the second, and sowing 

 wheat after one ploughing, and harrowing it in. 

 I have had 40 bushels of clean wheat to the acre 

 in this way of farming, and found my land to im- 

 prove. In the autumn of 1833, I sowed timothy 

 seed shortly after my wheat, and in the spring fol- 

 lowing clover seed also, and had a good crop of 

 wheat in 1834. 



In July 1835 I cut 16| tons of excellent timothy 

 and clover hay from this piece of land, sav 

 worth SB 12 per ton, amounting to ^19S 00 



July 1836 cut 14^ tons of hav at 812 174 00 



July 1837 cut 15^ tons of hav at $12 186 00 

 Oct. 1838 had 636 bushels of corn in the 

 ear from 3^ acres of it, say 318 bush- 

 els of corn at 75c. per b. 238 50 

 Oct. 1838 had from \ of an acre of head- 

 lands of Jot, 30 bushels of potatoes at 

 75 cts, per bushel 

 Oct. 18.38 had 200 pumpkins grown 

 among corn at 1 ct. each 



Prod, of 3^ acres for 4 successive years ig821 00 

 In the statement of the corn I have not included 

 10 or 12 bushels of cars, sold or taken from the lot 

 lor boiling. The crop is rather extraordinary (or 

 the season. Last hdl 1 ploughed down the sod 

 that had been mowed /or the three previous years, 

 which sod had been well manured the sprinu be- 

 fore — early this spring it was well harrowed, and 

 at planting lime it was furrowed out three feet 

 apart each way, and tour grains put in eacii hill, 

 and two rows of potatoes planted around the lot. 

 The cultivator was principally used in dressinjr the 

 corn, and at the last dressing, one half the lot 

 was reduced to two stalks to the hill, leaving three 

 stalks in the other half, ami taking care to let the 

 thriftiest plants remain. In furrowing out, care 

 was taken not to turn up the sod. 



On exan^ination of the ears, it was found that 

 \vhere there were three plants to a hill they were 

 more numerous, but where there were two only, 



the ears appeared to be I;irgcr. It was the large 

 yellow corn that was grown, and some of the eara 

 were eight inches in circunilereiice, and many of 

 them from 13 lo 14.^ mches in lenirih. The seed 

 w;i6 taken from stalks that had two or thiee ears 

 on each, taking the upper and the best one. The 

 lot has been sown with wheat since the corn was 

 taken off; it had been topped, and as the plough- 

 iniT progressed, a ntan and boy pulled up the stalks 

 and placed them in the furrows, with the but or 

 roof end towards the plough, and in this way the 

 whole of them are cotnpletely buried, and if I mis- 

 take not, will decompose and make a good ma- 

 nure. The plouijhinii turned up the old sod which 

 had not been dist(nbed during the season, and it 

 presents at this time on the surliice the appear- 

 ance of a rich coat of manure, and I would not 

 cxchanire the chance for wheat from this piece for 

 that of any other of the same size — if I live till 

 next harvest I will let you know the result. 



I think there is an average crop of corn in the 

 valley of the Susquehanna, Iron) this to Wilks- 

 barre, say 45 miles. The crop of hay never was 

 exceeded; wheat excellent; rye and oats rather 

 liiiht, buckwheat very light, having been destroy- 

 ed in most instances by the frost in the early part 

 of September. 



Respectfully, your friend, 



Joseph Paxtopt. 



From the Library of Useful Knowledge. 

 FLEMISH HUSBANDRY. 



Of the CulUvaiinn of Nnots, Potatoes, Turnips, 

 Beets, Carrots, Parsnips, Chicory. 



If we are indebted to the Flemish for the intro- 

 duction of clover and turnips into our agriculture, 

 they are equally so to us f()r the valuable potato. 

 This root is now bei-ome a irreat suhsiitiite lor 

 corn throughout all Europe, and its influence on 

 the. population cannot be denied; when corn faila 

 potatoes arc generally nmst ahuiulant, and thus 

 prevent that distress, which is so great a check to 

 population. In Flanders potatoes form a part of 

 every rotation, the light soils being peculiarly 

 adapted to the growth of this root; and as a great 

 part of the produce is consumed by cattle, and 

 thus gives an adequate return in manure, the ob- 

 jection often made lo its extensive cultivation, 

 that it exhausts the soil and returns little to it, is 

 not well Ibundeil. Where it not for potatoes to 

 keep the cattle during the latter part of the win- 

 ter and beginning of spring, when the supply of 

 turnips fails, a much smafler number could be 

 kept; for hay is a dear fodder in most parts of 

 Flanders. 



Potatoes were at first only known as an escu- 

 lent root in gardens; and it was a long time before 

 their real value was found out. In 1740 they 

 were for the first time sold in the market of 

 Bruges, in consequence of the zeal of an individu- 

 al of that town, Mr. Verhulst, who distributed 

 some sets gratuitously to the farmers in the neigh- 

 borhood. From that time the cultivation increased 

 rapidly, and spread all over the country. Tlie va- 

 rieties which are mostly soKl in the towns are the 

 earliest and best flavored, which, a:;e chiefly raised 

 in sheltered gardeiis.. The plant beirag a native 



