FARMS. 73 



lightly furrowed ; a small quantity of super-phosphate placed 

 in each hill — on a portion of the field the barnyard manure 

 was also used in the hill — and the corn was planted from May 

 24 to May 30. During the summer a few spots suffered from 

 water, and larger patches were destroyed by the wircworm. 

 But where the corn escaped these evils, its yield was seventy- 

 five bushels to the acre ; and the fodder was very heavy. A 

 portion of the field, which contains in all sixteen acres, was 

 planted with potatoes and cabbages. 



The whole expense of clearing this land and preparing it for 

 the corn crop was as follows : — 



In October, 1861, with 8 men and 4 yoke of oxen, 

 144 days' work, 



Blasting boulders, 10 days' work, .... 



Lime, ......... 



Tiles, 



Composting lime and muck, 15 days, 



Ditching, spreading compost and harrowing in spring, 

 1862, 30 days, 



1275 50 



After this the expense was what usually attends raising the corn 

 crop. 



Of the small grains, barley is to me the most profitable. My 

 land yields readily fifty bushels to the acre, when it is in condi- 

 tion to be seeded down to grass. Barley always finds a good 

 market, and the straw is valuable fodder for store cattle. 



Root Crops. — It is not proposed to discuss here the value of 

 root crops. It is enough to say that I have raised from four to 

 seven thousand bushels annually for the last five years — last 

 year sixty-five hundred bushels — this year forty-three luindred 

 and twenty-six bushels. The roots raised are the mangel 

 wurzel, carrot, ruta-baga and English turnip. The seed used 

 for the last four years has been imported by the Massachusetts 

 Society for Promoting Agriculture. For mangel wurzel, 

 strong, rich, clayey loam is best, manured with eight cords 

 of barnyard manure, well rotted, to the acre, about as much 

 more applied in the drills, with the addition of twelve or fifteen 



10 



