364 



F A II IVl E R « = 11 E a I S T E it . 



land, and about 15 acres of grass land too cla^-ey 

 lor easy lillaj^e. 1 have 30 acres ol'salt and blade 

 ^'rass meadow: the remainder is pasture and 

 woodland, rontaininjj in the whole abuiii llOacrea 

 — on which has been raised the present season 

 200 bushels of corn on about five acres, manured 

 in the hill. I think thai the siorm of the 28ih of 

 August, destroyed one tilth ol the crop. Six acres 

 planied with potatoes, manured partly in hills and 

 partly ploughed in, produced 1500 bushels. One 

 acre and three quarters o!" onions, 740 bushels ; 

 one acre of winter rye, 2G bushels; three acres 

 barley, 100 bushels ; one acre of oats, 75 bushels 

 one other acre cut lor fodder, not thrashed. The 

 oais were raised on pasture land never ploughed 

 out once, and planted with potatoes the last year 

 and manured in hills, this year harrowed, and 200 

 bushels of leached ashes spread on. I have 40 

 tons of English hay, cut the present season; 16 

 tons of black grass hay, 15 tons of salt and fresh 

 hay, 60 barrels of winter ap|)les, 11 barrels of ci- 

 der, 40 bushels of beets and carrots, some pears, 

 peaches, grapes and plums. 1 keep 1 horse, 4 

 oxen, 9 cows ; calves sold 50 dollars ; milk sold at 

 the house 1500 gallons at 14 cents ; and nuide 

 some cheese in the hot weather. I have a son 

 who takes the principal care of the farming. We 

 hire two men seven months, at 17 and 18 dollars 

 per month. We buy manure in Newburyport at 

 SI 75 and $2 per load of half a cord or more ; 

 ashes 6 cents a bushel. I sell hay at S14 per ton. 

 Onions are sold at 60 cents a bushel. Onion 

 ground we manure with about 12 loads to the 

 acre; plough it in the fall; about loth of April 

 plough it again and sow when the ground is fit. 

 1 sow in rows 16 inches apart, three pounds 

 of seed to the acre ; two pounds are enough if we 

 were sure all would be right: I think if we have 

 plenty of manure it is best to plough it in ; if we 

 have not a plenty, make the best of it and put it in 

 the hills ; then we shall not miss unless a very dry 

 eeaeon. To cultivate an acre of onions on my 

 ground, would cost about 25 days' labor. 



Summary of the above. 



No. of acres, 110 



Products. — Indian corn, on 5 acres, 200 bushels. 



Potatoes, 6 acres, 1500 bushels. 



Onions, 1| acre, 740 ' 



lieets and carrots, 40 ' 



Wmter rye, one acre, 26 ' 



Barley, 3 acres, 100 * 



Oats, 1 acre, 75 ' 



English hay, 40 ' 



Black grass, 16 ' 



Salt and fresh hay, 15 ' 



Winter apples, l>arrels 60 ' 



Cider, « 11 ' 



Milk sold at the house at 14 cts. per gall., 1500 

 gallons. 



Calves sold, 50 dollars. 



I raise plenty of peas, beans, cabbages, turnips, 

 squashes, &c. 



1 should like to find some machine to dig pota- 

 toes with oxen or horses. 



^otjm6ar 28, 1839. 



WIRE WORM. 



from tlio TliJrd Report of the Aariculture of Maasacliusetts. 



Wheat, besides being subject to various dis- 

 eases, hag enemies to conieni! with among the 

 insect tribes, which are (brmidable arxl often ile- 

 slructive. The wire worm is well known to larn>- 

 ers ; and several cases of injury from his ravages 

 are mentioned in the reports. These are princi- 

 pally found in lands which have been some time 

 m grass, and newly broken up. On this account 

 where they abound, to sow wheat on green-sward 

 plou<rhed up, would not be advisable. A farmer 

 in Williamstown, vvho<e land was much inlested 

 with these worms, and whose corn crop always 

 suii'ered severely from them when it v/as planted 

 upon grass land newly broken up, found great aci- 

 vantages in ploughing his land in the fall, by 

 which operation he thought many worms were 

 destroyed by the Irosl ; and then taking a crop of 

 oats, which they were not likely to injure, belbre 

 he took any other crop. This was followed by 

 corn, and then by wheat. They are not disposed 

 to stay in cultivated land, but prefer that which is 

 in grass. Another larmer in Templeton, whose 

 staiemenfs seemed entitled to confidence, is in the 

 habit of getting some salt in the compost heap, 

 with which he manured hiscorn. He says in this 

 way his corn has escaped the depredations of the 

 wire-worm, while his neighbors' corn over the 

 (ence would suffer severely. He has been accus- 

 tomed to do this (or several years, but could give 

 me no definite rule as to the proportion of salt used 

 in the heap. As well as I could gather Irom his 

 statements, however, it was not large. To all 

 soft-skinned worms, such as slugs, &c., the appli- 

 cation of caustic or quick lime, if a small amount 

 comes in contact with them, will prove destruc- 

 tive; but this does not seem to be the case with 

 those which are encased in an armor of horn. 

 The application of liiBe, therelbre, in the hill with 

 corn, is not found a preventive against the injury 

 finm the wire worm. 



E. Phinney, of Lexington, whose authority is 

 entitled to the highest respect, "advises in the 

 ploughing of green sward to turn over in the 

 s|)ring, say from the first to the middle of JMay^ 

 after the grass shall have started a Jew inches. 

 The reasons are, that generally a greater quantity 

 of vegetable matter is turneil under; the sod will 

 turn over smoother in the spring than in the au- 

 tumn, the grass is much less likely to spring up> 

 between the furrow slices, which materially injures 

 the crop; and lastly, the worms which commonly 

 abound in grass ground, are less likely to injure (he 

 crop. The reason must be obvious. Finding no 

 green substance in land turned over in the fall 

 to leed upon, they invariably seize upon the grow- 

 ing crop. Where the green sward has been thus 

 turned over in the spring,afier the grass has started, 

 it is affirmed upon experience that injury from the 

 worm does not occur, but when this is done in au- 

 tumn, it is rarely otherwise." 



N. Bennet, of Farmingham, thinks "turning 

 over green sward in August, a perfect remedy for 

 the corn or cut-worm, which is the wire-worm 

 here referred to. By ploughing so early in the 

 season, the grass has time to spring up and grow 

 before winter between the furiovvs ; and when he 

 cross-ploughs in the spring, the young grass fur- 

 nishes a sufficiency oflbod !br the worms, and theye-- 



