404 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



clayey as to be used with advantage Tor bricks. 

 In some cases, on the uplands, il is so strongly 

 clayey as to be cold and heavy, and unlavoraUle 

 to any grain crop and difficult and discourai^ing in 

 the culiivaiion. The be>-t soils are undoubiedly 

 those o( a gravelly nature, with clay enough to 

 render them tenacious, and lull at the same lime 

 of email and finely comminuted stones, which are 

 supposed 10 be limesione, though as well as I 

 couid learn no exact chemical analysis has been 

 made in any case. This kind of soil prevails in 

 Wheatland, Caledonia, York and other places, 

 and is eminently productive. On Mr. Wads- 

 worth's farm in Geneseo, I found a marly sub- 

 stance composed of lime and clay, which readily 

 effervesced with acids, indicating the presence o( 

 carbonic acid. In the hilly poitions of Mount 

 Morris, the crops were later than in the valley 

 region, but promised most abundantly. Here, it 

 was staled to me, no lime is found. These lands, 

 however, have been much more recently brought 

 under cultivation than those which I have belbre 

 adverted to. The best crop of wheat which 

 I found in my whole journey, though by no means 

 the most extensive, that which promised best in 

 respect to its evenness, cleanness and fulness, was 

 in this part of the country, on the farm of James 

 Conklin of Mount Morris. It was of the red 

 chaff varietJ^ None of these soils as yet, how- 

 ever, exhibit any diminution of their product, 

 though in some cases the cropping is severe and 

 often without manure. 



Crops. — The crops cultivated in the county are 

 almost wholly wheat, oats, and gras?. Wheat 

 every where predominates, and is the article on 

 which the farmers mainly depend lor their cash 

 returns. On the alluvial meadows herds-grass, 

 red top, and various natural grasses prevail : on 

 other lands, subjected oftener to the plough, clover 

 is mainly cultivated. 



Ol' all the crops, wheat claims the principal at- 

 tention of the farmer. The average crop, as rated 

 almost unanimously by the intelligent farmers 

 whom I consulted, does not exceed twenty bush- 

 els, which is certainly very much below what the 

 land is capable of producing. Where the error 

 or deficiency lies, if error or deficiency exi^t, is 

 not readily perceived ; but if possible it is most 

 desirable that it should be ascertained. The 

 quantity per acre of seed sown is about \\ or 1| 

 bushel, and the general practice is to wash in 

 brine, and lime the seed belbre sowing. The time 

 of sowing is from the first to the loih Sep'ember. 

 One or two farmers spoke of the advantage ol 

 putting in their seed the last part of August. 

 .: Much larger crops are sometimes obtained, and 

 1 saw several fields of large extent, which might 

 safely be put down at thirty bushels per acre. 

 Mr. Sheffer, near Scottsville, one of the earliest 

 settlers in the country and the owner of a magni- 

 ficent farm origmally of 700 acres, in Monroe 

 county and intersected by the canal, in the early 

 settlement of the country obtained from forty 

 acres of land in a single field, 2500 bushels of 

 wheat, which was at the rate of 62|^ bushels per 

 acre. Within a few years, Mr. Hall, in the 

 centre of Wheatland, on 12 contiguous acres of 

 land, obtained 648 bushels, or 54 bushels per acre. 

 A neighbor of his, Mr. Blackmir, obtained in one 

 case 63 bushels per acre. 



Not having had the pleasure of an introduction 



to either of these farmers, I could not ascertain 

 what particular circumstances of soil or culture 

 enabled the m to produce crops so extraordinary. 

 No such results are matter of accident, or, as it is 

 olten ternifd, luck, and must in a great degree 

 depend on some peculiar superiority in the condi- 

 tion, cuhivaiion, or management of the soil. The 

 best culiivaiion in England and Scotland produces 

 50 and 60 bushels ol wheat to the acre. Now 

 there is no circumstance connected with our cli- 

 mate, soil or condition, which should prevent the 

 wheat liirmers in the Genesee valley from pro- 

 ducing U8 much as can be grown by any farmer 

 on any land in the world ; and the difference be- 

 tween 20 and 50 and 60 bushels in the produce of a 

 field certainly deserves all consideration. The 

 crops ot VVrn. Garbul of Wheatland, whose farm, 

 lor its condition and crops, strongly attracted my 

 attention, usually average tvventy-iive bushels per 

 acre. 'I'here certainly is no reason why our 

 liiends Garbut, or Harmon, two ol the best liirm- 

 ers in the country, should allow themselves to be 

 outdone by any farmers in any country. 



Mr. Harmon ol Wheatland, has taken great 

 pains in the cultivation of wheat, and made ex- 

 periment with seveial kinds of wheat, having 

 cultivated them separately with a view to ascer- 

 tain their comparative limes of ripening, their 

 hardiness, their proof against or freedom horn 

 injury either by insect, rust or mildew. He is still 

 pursuing these experiments with great care. At 

 the Monroe Agricultural show lie exhibited 

 twelve dilieienl kinds in grain and in shealj with 

 a view to attract the attention of the farmers to 

 this impuriant subject. He has now growing 

 several ol the bald and bearded varieties, among 

 which ate the Talavera, the Provence, the Vir- 

 ginia May, the red chaff, the Hutchii son, and the 

 Crate, besides others ; and of the comparative 

 result he has kmdiy promised a full account. 



He desires me likewise to say, tliat if larmers 

 will apply to him Ibr seed, they may rely upon 

 that which is clean and genuine, I can have no 

 doubt that this warranty may be entirely relied on. 



Oals are here a remarkable crop. 1 have never 

 seen heavier crops any where. The oat usually 

 cultivated is the common branching oat, and 

 weighs 32 pounds per bushel, and yields ordinarily 

 forty bushels and upward^? per acre. 1 saw one 

 field ol the Tartarian or horse mane oaf, so called 

 from the panicles hanging all on one side. This 

 1 think was at the Shaker settlement in Groveland, 

 and in their cultivation usually yielded from 40 to 

 60 bushels per acre. The largest growth of the 

 common oat 1 saw on the rich meadows of Mr. 

 Cuyler, in Leicester; they were nearly five leet high 

 throughout the field. Their yield, though it must 

 be matter of conjecture, would probably not be 

 less than 60 to 80 bushels per acre. But by I'ar 

 the best field of oats which came under my notice, 

 was on the well managed farm ol R. Harmon in 

 Wheatland. It was the Scotch potato oat, weigh- 

 ing ordinarily 44 lbs. per bushel, and must yield a 

 very large crop. This oat is said to degenerate 

 alter the first year's culiivaiion. It would be well 

 to inquire what occasions this degeneracy. 



The amount of seed sowed is 2^ bushels per 

 acre. Mr. Harmon informed me that in one in- 

 stance he obtained 40 bushels from 15 quarts 

 sown. I Ibund some farmers who were accus- 

 tomed to BOW three bushels per acre. The black 



