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ly broken up. I know one instance of forty-five bushels hav- 

 ing been obtained on the Connecticut river intervales. The av- 

 erage yield on the Deerfield meadows is twenty to twenty-five 

 bushels. About three pecks are generally sown to an acre ; — 

 but an experienced and successful farmer, of Long-meadow, 

 many years in the habit of cultivating rye, is strongly in favor 

 of sowing more than double the customary quantity of seed ; 

 and says he finds himself amply repaid for doing it. On the 

 plain lands at Bloody-brook, ten bushels are deemed a good 

 crop ; on Pine-plains, six or seven are as much as is expected. 



Rye bread constitutes, in many parts of the county, a substi- 

 tute for wheat ; and, when well made, is nutritious and agree- 

 able to most persons. Some rye is much whiter than other ; 

 and when made into bread, its color can scarcely be distinguish- 

 ed from that of wheat. I am not satisfied that the colors con- 

 stitute distinct varieties, as is maintained by some farmers ; but 

 are dependent upon the particular character of the soil, or the 

 nature of the manure applied, or the particular cultivation which 

 has preceded it. I wish this could be determined : we have 

 yet much to learn in these matters. 



A respectable farmer in Deerfield informs me that his rye crop 

 yielded him at the rate of ten dollars per acre on nine acres. — 

 The price of rye was then 92 cents per bushel. This would 

 be less than eleven bushels to the acre ; quite as much as is of- 

 ten obtained, but much less than what is deemed the general 

 average. In addition to this, he sold his straw at the rate of four 

 dollars per ton. This fully paid the expenses of threshing the 

 crop with a flail. In one case, he raised sixteen bushels to an 

 acre on a large piece. I am at a loss to understand why the 

 rye crop is so negligently treated, excepting that it will live 

 without much care, and make a decent return even on very poor 

 land. Rye has somehow got a bad reputation ; and it is in 

 such matters as in some others, public opinion or more properly 

 prejudice determines, without any reference to intrinsic and sub- 

 stantial merit. 



An eminent farmer in Worcester county has used a portion 



