282 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



and Church Pastures, about 70 acres manured on 

 each, or/arm-pen and stable manure at the above 

 rate, besides the summer cow-pens. 



Distemper of cattle.— The mysierious and 

 deadly disease of caiiie called "distemper," pre- 

 vailed to such an extent in or about 1830, that 

 54 head ofcattle, died with it on the estate in one 

 season. The cattle that died were in <,'ood order 

 — which is one of the peculiarities ol this disease, 

 the fat animals being more apt to be injected than 

 the poor. Since then, cases have only occat-ionally 

 occurred, Mr, Harrison thinks that the mixture 

 of tar, sulphur and salt, kept always in the pens 

 during summer, and which the catile will lick, 

 has been the preventive against this leriible dis- 

 ease. He was advised to use this remedy by 

 Mr. Fielding Lewis, who, as usual, was resorted 

 to as the best source from whence to obiain in- 

 formation and judicious advice. When recom- 

 mending the use of this medicine, IVlr, Lewis 

 Btated that, belbre using it himsell, lie had Ibrmer- 

 \y lost some lew cattle almost every year ; but 

 since keeping it regularly in the cattle pens, he 

 had never lost one of his stock by distemper, ex- 

 cept a bull, which, by being confined separately, 

 waa debarred from access to ihe mixture. 



Laboring force of teams and hands.— On the two 

 farms of the lower estate, there are 38 to 40 

 horses and mules for the plough and other farm 

 labor, and about 48 oxen. On Upper Brandon 

 there are 18 working horses and mules, and 15 

 on Upper Quarter, and about 48 oxen on both 

 these larms also. The small oxen raised here 

 are more hardy, and bear labor with less fatigue, 

 than the much larger oxen of the upper country. 



On both farms of Lower Brandon, there are 

 70 field hands of all ages and kinds. There are 

 also 6 oiher men, who are carpenter?, sawyers, 

 and black-smiths. There is also a saw- mill there 

 to provide timber and plank lor the buildings and 

 other constructions of the estate. On the two 

 farms of the upper estate, there are 60 field 

 hands, besides 8 mechancis, who are not employ- 

 ed in field labor. No domestic servants are ui- 

 ciuded, nor has any reference heretofore been 

 made to any thing of either labor or expenditure 

 except matters appertaining to the farming opera- 

 tions. The splendid mansion houses and beauiilLil 

 gardens and ornamental grounds, of both the 

 estates, and every thing connected therewith, 

 however admirable or delightful, are not proper 

 subjects for larm reports. 



Agricultural implements and machines. — The 

 ploughs used lor turning in clover to sow wheat, 

 are the lour-horse and three-horse McCormick 

 ploughs. Two-horse ploughs, of same paitern, 

 are used for ploughing the corn land lor wheat. 

 For breaking up land for corn, the three-horse 

 ploughs are used. All there are made by William 

 Palmer of Kichmond. 



For tillage of corn or other horse-hoed crops, 

 on flushed land, the two-horse double-shovel- 

 ploughs are used and preferred to all oihers. Sin- 

 gle-horse turning ploughs, used lor the water-lur- 

 row row (or interval) of bedded corn-land. No 

 cultivators used. At Lower Brandon, the X 

 plough, a kind of cultivator, is sometimes used lor 

 covering seed-wheat and oats. But if the land 

 be in good order, the linked harrows are used lor 

 that purpose. Mr. Harrison has heavier har- 

 rows, but prefers the fighter linked harrows. 



A marker is used to mark off rows to plant 

 corn. It is like a horse-rake, except that instead 

 of the many rake-teeth, there are 3 small iron 

 hoes, 60 formed and set as to make a plain but 

 shallow mark, as the implement is drawn across 

 the ploughed land. One ol the oiit-side hoes runs 

 in the last marked row, (il on level ploughed land) 

 and the two oiher leeih mark new rows. This 

 simple implement, which the reporier saw here, 

 and adopied its use, with some modification, long 

 ago, oHers a great saving of labor over ihegeneral 

 mode of laying off rows, by setting up poles to 

 direct the course of the plough. 



There is at Lower Branilon a good horse ma- 

 chine to gather clover seed, by combing off the 

 ripe heads, but too costly. At Upper Brandon 

 there is a rough and simple one, such as can be 

 constructed by any farm carpenter- — and which 

 will serve the purpose well enough. 



Hussey's reaping machine was here first tried 

 last harvest and approved, (See F. R,, vol, ix, p. 

 434,) and it will be herealter used lor part of the 

 reaping, unless superseded by a belter, 



Parker's thrnshing machine, (or 8 horses, is 

 used. It has not yet thrashed out but 'rom 300 

 to 400 bushels of wheat a day. But if properly 

 fixed, and properly 6up[)lied and worked, it is 

 thought that il might thrash 700 or 800 bushels 

 in a day. 



The straw-cutters used are Parker's, 



A corn sheller, worked by 4 horses is used — 

 and shells Irom 250 to 300 barrels of corn a day. 



A mill which was designed by its consiructor to 

 crush and grind ears ol' corn for home food, is 

 used to crush and grind lump gypsum, for ma- 

 nure. It will grind 40 bushels a day, with two 

 horses, but is heavy labor, 



The hand utensils are not different from those 

 used on most other farms. 



THE TIMES OF THE RIPENING OF WHEAT 

 IN DIFFERENT PLACES. 



For the Farmers' Register. 



It is desirable lo know the period of harvest in 

 the different parts of the United States, and I am 

 not informed of any tables of comparative sea- 

 sons that have been published. 



There is an interval of many weeks between its 

 commencement in the southern and northern por- 

 tions of our wheat growing country. The harvest 

 begins two months or more earlier in the southern 

 counties of England than in Scotland. The interval 

 may not be so great here, on account of the heat 

 of our summers even in the northern states, but 

 yet it is so considerable (hat the season may ope- 

 rate very differently or. the crops at distant points 

 of the union. 



If the editors of the several agricultural papers 

 would make notes of the time of beginning to 

 cut wheal in their respective viciniiies it would 

 be both interesting and useful. It would enable 

 us lo make a calculation of the effect of the wea- 

 ther on the crops on an extended scale, and a 

 more general estimate might be made of the har- 

 vest than when the liirmer's knowledge is con- 

 fined to his own neighborhood. We should also 

 know when to expect that the new crop from dif- 

 ferent parts of the country would be received in 

 the market. 



