thereby resisting the inroads upon it of the 

 " Hessian fly," the great pest and destroyer of 

 this valuable grain — all which facts are re- 

 spectfully submitted on behalf of the Delaware 

 friends of "Drill Husbandry ; " and permit me 

 to say and prophesy that upon fair trial they 

 will be corroborated by our brother American 

 farmers after having fully tested the Drill. 



The attention of our farmers has been also di- 

 rected to the utility and importance of the 

 "Reapin^-Machine." I can only say here, that 

 both those of Hussey and McCormick are duly 

 appreciated by our Newcastle County Farmers, 

 and that the seed which Sawdon & Penuock's 

 Drills sow are, or will be. generally reaped by 

 Humphrey's and McCormick's Reaping Ma- 

 chines. 



I will only add, in conclusion, that these 

 Drilling-Machines will plant ^vheat, corn, rj-e. 

 oats, barley and grass-seeds, with all the pul- 

 verized and concentrated manures at ojie and 

 the same time.' Lime is best and most equallj' 

 spread by the lime-cart invented and patented 

 for the purpose, and familiar to your readers. 

 The subjoined letter of Maj. Jones goes more 

 into detail, and is valuable for the facts it con- 

 tains. 



Veiy truly and sincerely your friend, 



JAS. W. THOM.?ON. 



Wheatland, 12th May, 184G. 



Dear Sir: I frequently receive letters of in- 

 quiry fi-om agriculturists residing in difForent 

 sections of the Union, on the subject of the 

 . Drill, or Seed and Grain Planter. These inqui- 

 ries generally are as to its utility, economy and 

 mode of operation, and whether they could be 

 so constructed that the concentrated manures, 

 guano, poudrette, a-shes or plaster, may be 

 sowed vi-ith them at the same time of sowing 

 the various kinds of grain, and also grass-seeds. 



Presuming that you have received letters on 

 the same subject, I take pleasure in giving you 

 my opinion of its worth, so far as my experience 

 goes ; and you have within your reach much 

 better authority — that of Francis Sawdon, who 

 is justly regarded as the founder of the Drill 

 Husbandry in this State, having imported a 

 Drill from England some two jears ago, and 

 u.sed it with great success ever since. 



My own experience has been with the 

 American Drill, or Seed and Grain Planter, 

 (which is an improvement upon the .Tethro Tull 

 Drill,) made and patented by Mo.ses Pennock in 

 1841. 1 have used it for sowing five crops of 

 wheat, three of oats, and three of com. As it is 

 now made, it is not adapted to sowing grass- 

 seeds, or plaster, or any of the manures. The 

 rollers are pierced for sowing turnip-seed, but I 

 have not used them for that purpose. As the 



— > Not " as now made.' 

 a246) 



See next letter. 



Drills are now fixed, they may be easily regu- 

 lated so as to sow from one bushel of wheat or 

 oats to two bu.shels to the acre. Ten acres' sow- 

 ing may be regarded as a good average day's 

 work. I have on one occasion sown eighteen 

 acres, but the rows were long and land well 

 prepared, and men and horses active. I gene- 

 rally drive two horses — some drive ihree — when 

 sowing either wheat or oat.s. Peunock's ma- 

 chine sows 7 rows, each 9 inches apart. The 

 outside drills, being 4 feet 6 inches asunder, are 

 used for planting com. To prepare for com, 

 after we have flushed and harrowed the ground 

 u-ell,* we run a furrow or horse-path every 9 

 feet, in which the horse (one is enough for plant- 

 ing com) walks, drawing the Drill after him, 

 and planting two rows at a trip, dropping about 

 a quarter of a bu.shel per acre. I try to thin this 

 out, so that it stands at about one foot apart, one 

 stalk in the hill, giving at that rate about 4| su- 

 perficial feet to each stalk in the field, and each 

 .stalk separate and not choked up by another of 

 its kind. The oats and com pass through the 

 same holes in the roller. The wheat roUer or 

 holes would do for rye also. I plow, haiTow, 

 and sow, always lengthwise of the land. 



I believe the wheat crop has been increased 

 at least twenty-five per cent, where the Drill 

 has been used. The measurement of the lots of 

 Doctor C. Noble shows a greater result I as- 

 sisted in the measurement of those lots, and I 

 think the account may be regarded as an ave- 

 rage result, as given in the wheat crop. For 

 particulars see the letter of Dr. C. Noble, as pub- 

 lished in Mr. Ellsworth's Eeport, which in part 

 is as follows : One acre so'tvn broadcast, 2 bush- 

 els to the acre, yield 27| bushels; one acre 

 drilled, 1| bushel seed per acre, yielded 35 bush- 

 els per acre — difference in favor of the Drill. 

 8 bushels. Add a quarter of a bushel saved by 

 drilling or in seed, and we have eight bushels 

 and one peck per acre in favor of the Drill 



It is true, both ot those lots of land were good, 

 the land well prepared, and the seed well put 

 in [as every good farmer's will be]. / believe 

 that thin lands put in with the Drill will pro- 

 duce corresponding re.sults in favor of the Drill. 

 I have not proved those results by measurement 

 on my own land ; the reason why, is because it 

 was poor, and I did not wish to show the pov- 

 erty of my poor old, worn-out farm. 



As the best evidence I can offer of the utility 

 of the Drill, our keen, cautious farmers have 

 watched the wheat as it grew, after the two 

 first Drills u.sed by Mr. Sawdon and myself, and 

 have so far become satisfied with the results 

 that Drills have been purchased in St. George's 



* Here is one evidence of the thorough manner in 

 which these Delawarians do their work : "After re 

 have flushed avd harrowed the ground well " — young 

 farmers, do hear that '. [Ed. Farm. Lib. 



