m iiiJiii mm' MAiiuiL— J 



*^1)C jTarmcr's itlontl)ln bieitor* 



163 



niniiilis iIk! tou^'li lifiiil soil, lliat iei|iiires tivt- 

 yoke of cimlu to lirc:lk it, is easily liloilglieil six 

 to sevoii iiiclit-s iluc'ii willi a I'.iir ol' linrses. As 

 . to till' first lime of hiL-iiliiii:.', iC llio snd lias liuopi 

 tiaiu|ic(i, liliii; j;i-!i!>s siiriiius rip, aiid llie fOnis ol 

 oiijiiia! swanl liegiii lo pciisli, ami il is' ol' l(!ss 

 c'oiisecjiii'iice wlicii sucli soil is hroUen. \s ii'S* 

 |iecls ori-jilial touyli |)iairr#' Mini, tliis shoiilil iiol 

 liu iiloiiylicd until tlic ;.'i'a.ss lias liiirly stalled, say 

 ill I\lay or .liiiic, uiid.lnly; il' liroki'ii (i|t iiiiii'li 

 earlier lliaii May, or later tliaii .Inly, tin' sod docs 

 uot dicay so ycjoii. Il is usual tliroui;lioiit tin- 

 wpst to liicak II]) llio sod during lliose iiioiulis, 

 and soiniliiiK's e\cii later ; and in jSe(iteiii- 

 bcr and Ortoliir' 10 iiarrrtw in the wljciil 

 for tlio first d'op. Another mode J lisSfe, 

 ill eoniinuii uiili some otiiers, |>iirsui<il with grcni 

 success, viz: to raise,a "sod i'ro|i." This process 

 lo easlorn lariners needs expl.ui.-ition. In every 

 third or Iburth liirrow corn is dnipped at the out- 

 er side of the Ihrrow, coinp'iiiiiii; Iroin the land 

 side. This is liurieil up hy the succeeding' fur- 

 row, and lliH corn springs up ilnou^di the partial 

 crevice ; and if perehauce the; sod lies fi.a upon 

 tlie corn, it will ^iMierally in its jjrowlh force its 

 Way through tlii; solid tnrlj siranj;e as il may 

 sei;iii. Tiie land tlius pimiijhed is reniarkahly 

 free Iroiii weeils, and the corn in onlinary seasons 

 jrriHVs rapidly. No hoeiiij;- is needed, and nolh- 

 inj; is done to the crops niilil llio lime ol gallier- 

 iiii: arrives, when ol'teu Irom thirty lo sixty hnsli- 

 cls of good corn is ohiamed. 'I'lie cost of drop- 

 ping ilie corn is ten cents pef a<Te;Siie small 

 Tioy attends three ploughs My sud crop this year 

 was not so great as lh.it ol' .some ol my lu-igli- 

 hors, who <;hose a more propitious moiiient for 

 planting. From one hundred acres, iiowever, I 

 estimate tny crops at an aveiage of thirty hnshe-ls 

 of ahelli^d corn per acre ; some raised as high as 

 sixty biislicds of soil corn, heing the full .■imoniil 

 of the yield ol' cmn cominoiily tilled on good 

 soil. My friends froii) the east were greatly sur- 

 prised at finiliiigu croji of three thousand linsRlqifs 

 of corn trom ohe hniulred acres of laud, wiihunt 

 tillage. The sod ciop may he coii>idered almost 

 clear gain, since the shade alliiided hy the grow- 

 ing corn is rather iM.'iiefici.-il than injurious to lhi> 

 tlec.iy of the soil ibr a wheat crop in the I'all. For 

 il" the sod crop is piifin e.n ly, il uaii he cut oil' in 

 the liill in suliieii.'iit time to harrow in a crop of 

 wheat: this is done wiliioul any fnrlher ploni;li- 

 ing, and gives gi-iierglly the largest and liesi 

 wl4j;at crop raisril oilthe land. Jl i.s thus seen 

 how easily .1 settler iMii siijiply himself with loud 

 for his tinnily in a new home in the west. While 

 piissirig through the lields near my own, I w.-is 

 struck with the culture ol' heaiis pl-inted in the 

 Baiiie manner as sod corn ; and these grew also 

 withoiil any suhsei|uent cnllivatioii, anjj yielded 

 :i good crop, Nny was my atleiilion less arrested 

 by a- crop of corn and heaiis growing together, 

 the stalks of corn serving as poles; all uerc 

 planted together in common gn/iind. The ex- 

 traordinary product induced me to Inipiire for the 

 .nvner of ihe lield, .-md I found him to he an in- 



•liigent farmer, ftlr. AlcAllisler, w ho saiil he had 

 . ied the .-iaiiie thing with like success hel'ure, 



.ithno hoeing, liaiely plonglhng. lie thought 

 le should get eighty hushels of corn and tliirly 

 Ijjishels of heaiis per acre. I requesteil him lo 

 measure the ground and the crop, and give me 

 ihe result in the fall. !Ie»did so, and his certili- 

 catp, to which he is ready to make oath, is now 

 on file in my olfice. His product, hy his state- 

 oieiil, was one hnndrcd hushels of shelled corn 

 and filiy hushels of heans per acre! From the- 

 small (piantity of laml mi;asured,and the manner 

 of enclosing within his liijes the hills of corn, i 

 have made a liher.ii allowance, and place the cro|j 

 with certainly at eighty hushels of corn and thir- 

 ty-live hushels of heans per acre; and all this 

 without hoeing or any other culture than the 

 I)assing the plough or harrow three or four times 

 between th<! rows, Jt may appear rather sloveii- 

 iy to omit hoeing, hut such is the practice, — 

 On one of my- plaiilations, in which are one 

 llioiisand acreis in cultivation, I have not secy. a 

 hoe used (luring the summer,* 1 think more cjire 

 and attention would he rewarded ; sjftll the land 

 )ii:lds upon an average liliy husiicls per acre, .111- 

 nually, w iihont hoVing or manure, 1 was olfer- 

 ed sixiei'ii Imshels of corn as rent, per acre, in- 

 stead ol one-tliird of the i-rnp, which is the usu- 

 al sh.ire fir the landlord. I pnNirred, however, 

 the oiie-thinl and got Iv/eiity hushels ; the season 



heiiiw very favorable, atld the land yielding sixty 

 hushels anil some as high as eighty bushels pi.-r 

 acre; fifty hushels however is a good ciop; and 

 'when the hazards of the .season are considered 

 sixteen bushels per acre may he called .1 good 

 rent. With this conviction- 1 have renteil. one 

 thousand acres of ground lijr sixteen thousand 

 bushels of shelled corn delivered in the crib. 



While corn is so e.isily raised, it may be asked, 

 wli:(t is its value.' Ai present, Ihe price at La- 

 liiyettfais ahunl 'iO lo '.J.'i cenis lor expoiiatimi 10 

 New *y'ork ivVi the lake-s to Waha-hand I'aie 

 canal, or to New Orleans via the Wabash, Oliio, 

 and Mississippi rivers. Considerable shipmenls 

 .-ire also m.-ide lo Canada. It is hoped that the 

 ."^late of N'ew York will further ri-diice the tolls 

 on her canal so as to insure an outlet for the corn 

 and oats raised in the western States At pres- 

 ent these articles of produce are not shipped 

 tJiroiigh thai channel. If ihe lolls v\cre reduced, 

 a l.irger liatiic (which would he clear gain to the 

 caiiat) woulM he obt;tined, and also full freight for 

 the boats in the " slack season," if the corn is 

 fed out to eatde or hogs, (tor beef and pork,) at 

 present prices it is worth Irom iJO to 25 cts. per 

 bushel^ 



Since j^lr, Ellsworth mtide this commuuiealion, 

 the gieat opening of a market in Europe lor the 

 bread stuffs and other agricultural prodnclions in 

 America has beei effected ; and the fact of a 

 general scjy-city, espiicially in the British islands, 

 comes in at once to aid in the periiianeut deitiand 

 for that Am<'ri(;an grain whic-h can he produced, 

 with little lahof^ in ;in almost boundless profus- 

 ion lor ihoii.s.inds of miles near navigable waters 

 ready to float ilown lo a place of shipment thou- 

 sands and miliions of hushels. It had bcpu thought 

 thai, as perishable articles, the wheal, fionr and 

 corn could be of little value to he shipped to dis- 

 lantconntrie.--, since it was supposed these articles 

 mu.-^ siilii-r injury, if not perish on the way. On 

 this point, Mr, Ellsworth two years ago exhibited 

 to the editor of the Visitor .samples of flour, from 

 which the perishable portion had been extracted, 

 and wliich he then consiilered as establishing be- 

 yond ilouhl the easy liiciliiy v\iih which the sta- 

 ple article might he preserved to be sent to all 

 parts of the world. W the great productions of 

 the Americiin soil can be thus secured, how im- 

 portnut lo the fcouiitry must be ,1 lyiowledge of 

 ihe liicts conlained in that partof Mr. Ellswortii's 

 comnituiicalion lo the Commi.ssioner contained 

 in the following extract ? 



KILN-DRIED MEAL AND FLOUR. 

 This subject is of deep interest to the wesl, 

 since corn meal is worth .s|7 the piineheoii (bOO 

 pounds) in New Vork, and Hour, from which the 

 wateiv is ex|ielled, is so much more easily pre- 

 served, ] visited the estalilishmeiit of Messrs, 

 Gills, at All, I'hrusant, Ohio, and w.i.s, hy their 

 irunrtesy, (uot granted lo olhe^',) permitted to ex- 

 amine niinulely the whole operation of their ve- 

 ry interesting :md successful experiments. Here 

 1 found ;^ barrels of meal and lionr, put up for me 

 two years since ; both were exposed, in an up- 

 per loft, to the heat of two summers. The casks 

 were opened hy my.-*eltj and both meal and flour 

 were found 10 he perfectly sweel. 1 look sam- 

 ples of both, wlii(-li I beg to leave in j our office ti)r 

 exhibition. 'J'here are some peculiarities in tlie 

 machiuery and process of the i\lessrs. Gills, 

 which they do not wish to disclose until their pa- 

 tent is secured. 1 will stale, Iiowever, that the 

 meal aiii! flour an; both dried, after being bolted, 

 by means of hot air. The same tliim; has been 

 attempted by other persons, but not witii so much 

 success, to toy ■ knowledge. From a barrel of 

 flour l"2 lo 11) pounds of water are extracled, and 

 a liitio more from a barrel of meal. Flour dried 

 in this way has remained in New Orleans ami 

 Kio Jaueiio liming the hot summer inonths, and 

 kept sweet, while cargoes of common flour were 

 spoiled. 'I'hnre may seem to be a loss of Id to 

 Ui pounds of flour ; but wherever tbe flour so 

 treated is made into bread, it re-absorbs, as might 

 he expected, Vi lo IG pounds more water than 

 eomiiiou flour ; making in a cargo not a small 



saving in duties niid freight, when sent to for- 

 eign markets. As staves are cheap at the west, 

 I do not sei^ w hy we c.-miiot cnior into a success- 

 I'ld eompetiiion wiih the easiern inaniifactiirers 

 of corn meal, who have 10 purehasi; bulb corn 

 and casks at compaiaiively lii^h rates, somewhat 

 greater than Ihe dilleienco of freight. Meal 

 dried hy hot air, basal'mther artvaiitage. No 

 change of taste in the flour is observed, «or is 

 the hull of the corn mixed wiih the ineul, as 

 must be the ca-^e whenever the corn is parched, 

 as then the bull is ground so fine as to pass tho 

 sieve. If European ports are ever opened to 

 our breadstulls, we can send them Indian meal, 

 llie cheapest food li)r llieir laboring classes — in 

 .1 perfect slate. At present ihe prejudices of 

 ihe English people are proverbial ag.-iinst both 

 Indian corn and meal. ,Xliis pnjndice will 

 wear away ; and as an evidence of this I would 

 mentiou Iheclieerfiil relinipiishiiieut by the En- 

 glish, Irish, and Scotch, who migrtile to this coun- 

 try, of their oat meal, if they c.-iu get our good 

 sweet Indian meal. Indian meal reipiii^s par- 

 tiiMilar cooking, 10 be good, even here. Heiiee 

 \\i: need not wonder at the nnhivorahle impies- 

 sioii created by bard, clammy, dark, sour Iniliaii 

 meal bre.id from Hritish ovens. in n late le.-id 

 iiig journal, published in England, live editor says 

 a great de.il against our niaizi' ami Indian corn 

 nie.il. He " sluteJ from nutliorili/ lliid il wiis ddc- 

 ten'ous lo man and infuriou-i lo lullle ;" nor have I 

 seen this statement contradicted there, Ceilain- 

 ly, if corn meal oHt;rs to us, in this coimir\, Mich 

 a salisliictory repast, there can be no indignity in 

 recommending it lo those who arc so neeessiloiis, 

 ami even clamorous, lor breadslidls abroad. — 

 BiiK-e Indian corn cannot be grown in England, 

 and hence will not come into mucli imiiiedi.ilo 

 conipetiiion wiih the wheat crops of landed pro- 

 prietors, there is more hope of its inlroduction 

 free of duty, or at least on more I'avoiahle terms. 

 I think the lime is not fiir distant when Inilian 

 corn will be mvch more consumed by man and 

 beast in the IJiiiisli dominions. This new mode 

 of preparing flour and iiie:il is beiieljcial lo the 

 government, which annually lo.-eu such siinij 

 from damaged breadstiills. Both the army and 

 navy, I am happy to say, will try experimenls 

 with the dried flour, and the Messrs. Gil) Are 

 confident that it will keep perfectly sweet for 

 two years, in any climate, if the arliele is pre- 

 served from dam|)ness. The extraction of this 

 dampness has given lo it its great superiority, 

 and this can only be obtained by preventing it 

 from falling back again to its natural state. 



Raising: Hogs ;it (lie West. 



Mr. Ellsworlh estimates the cost of a crop of 

 corn in Indiana, exclusive of rent or use of the 

 land to be no more than five or six cents the 

 bushel befoi'e it is gathered. To save the ex- 

 penses of gathering, cattle and hogs are turned 

 into the grown corn-fields directly. He says, 

 "several farmers (in his neighborhood) have liit- 

 tened as many as 1.500 hogs, and made most ex- 

 cellent pork. One and two hundred are consid- 

 ered an ordinary number. Hogs are usually kil- 

 led at about 18 months old, and weigh from 200 

 to oOO |j0iinds. They are fed on clover in tlio 

 summer, and are sutVered lo remain in the woods ; 

 in the winter, if the mast is liivorable, they live 

 in the limber ; if not they are fed with a lew 

 ears of corn, each." 



"There is," (he s.nys,) much encouragement 

 for ibe western farmers, and the reduction on 

 the tolls, oce.isioned hy the eompetiiion on the 

 same and ilifiiM-ent routes, will make the encour- 

 agement greater still. Pork, il will be admitted, 

 is very easily raised. We are now enabled 10 

 contract lor its delivery in barrels, via. the canals, 

 from Lafaye'te lo New York, for §12,50 per ton, 

 or five-eights of a cent per pound. Il may bo 

 asked if this rich soil will not soon be cxhunsled ? 

 !l hail been supposed that it must, hiit_ large 

 lields have been cultivated this year, (being the 

 sixleentlvyear in corn,) and yielded 50 bushels 

 per acre, Theie is, however, a gradual diininii- 

 tion of the ipiantity, and hereafier the farmers 

 will be willing to save manure, which is now 

 thrown away, I was surprised to Mud hundreds 

 of loads, carted at uu expense of 12i to 20 cent.'. 



