*-^acJgBfeM B.lJ-L 



58 



^\)t farmer's ittontl)li) bisitor. 



of Kr;rlit-ri)vvi!il j'f How corn. It was lioeil twice, 

 niirl li.iiioued, (miinber of tiiiiis nut staleil,) be- 

 tween tlie rows. The yellow eifjiii-rowcd corn 

 Wiis cljoseii for |>laiitin;; in prL-fereiice to the 

 "Blown Corn," so culled, liecimse llio Ibrnii'r vviis 

 thoiiiflit to he enrlier. The corn was wiij,'lied at 

 fifty-six pounds to the hushfl, and the cohs 

 vv(ii;hed 14 Ihs. to the hnshel of shelled corti. 



Lewis 13. and Edwar'l A. I'owell, of Madison 

 county, N.y. received n preniinm for a crop of 

 105 bushels atxl 2') pounds to an acre. This 

 crop iirew on land which had been pastured for 

 six year.'* previous— the soil gravelly. It wns 

 |)lowed the first of iMay, harrowed and furrowed 

 lor rows, si.x to the rod, (or to 2 feet 9 inches 

 apart.) The corn was ptanled on the 7th of 

 Slay, in hills 18 inches apart in the row. Seven- 

 teen loads of nianiire (quaniiiy lo the load not 

 stated) had been put on the fjround the previous 

 November. The corti was hoed three times. 



Benjuiriin Eno,», in ihe same county, obtained 

 n premium for a crop of 111 bushels and 53 

 pounds on an acre. The crop grew on land 

 u'hich had been mowed for the last five years — 

 without manure dnr'mg that time — the soil grav- 

 elly loanr. The whole lot in which it grew con- 

 tained 2 1-5 acres. In the fall of 184.5, 20 loads 

 of manure were put on the lot. and left In large 

 heaps ; and in the following s|)riiig 80 loads more 

 of coarse manure were put on, and it was all 

 spread and ploughed in about the first week in 

 May. Afier ploughing, 80 loads of fine manure 

 from sheep-shed.s, was spread on the field, and it 

 was then thoroughly harrowed. It was furrowed 

 slightly for the rows, three feet a|iart, noilh and 

 south, and hills made at distances of 14 inches 

 in the row. It was planted the IStli of i\!ay, 

 with the " large white-flint eight-rowed corn." 

 .\ cidlivator was passed through tlie rows as 

 soon as the corn was large enough to follow the 

 rows, and it was hoed, and two bushels of plas- 

 ter applied per acre. It was also worked with 

 llie cidlivalor, and hoed about the 20th of June 

 and on the 7tli of July. 



Barley. — Hen'y Brewer, of Tompkins coun- 

 ty, N.Y. raised, last year, a crop of two-rowed 

 barley which yielded at the rale of ,50 boshels 

 per acre, 48 pounds to the bushel, nn<l also a 

 crop of Emir or skinless barley which yielded at 

 the rate of about 40 bushels per acre, and weigh- 

 ing UO lbs. to the bushel ; cpianlity of land, about 

 one acre each. These crops grew on a soil des- 

 cribed as "a sandy loam, mixed wiili shite grav- 

 el." It is called " a very ilry, warm soil, hut hail 

 been hard rim for the last ten years." The crop 

 on the ground the previous year, was corn, to 

 whicii 20 loails of barn-yard niaiiiire had been 

 applied. For till! harlcy, thr* ground was plough- 

 ed once, and harrowed, and a biishel ot piaster 

 applied per acie. Three bushels of liinir barley 

 were sown per aciTr, lot it is staled lo have been 

 too iiincli, m.'ikiiii: rhe stalks too much crow iled. 

 Two and a hall' hii^hels of the two-rowed barley 

 were sown per acre. 



E. S. Salishiiry, of JclTerson comity, N. Y. ob- 

 tained a premium for a crop of 5 acres and 24 

 rods of barley, which yielded at I he average rate 

 of .55 bushels anil 20 qiinris per acre, weighing 

 48 lbs. to the biisliel. 'i'he soil where this crop 

 grew is said lo have been "a iiiixiiire of cl.iy and 

 sandy loam." The previous crop iiad been win- 

 ter wheat on a siinmier fallow, willioiil any ma- 

 nure. On Ihe 5lb of Mav last, it is well' harrow- 

 ed, before being ploughed; it bad been ploii^'hed 

 to Ihe depth of ei;;lit inches, in the nioinli of 

 Noveiiihcr previous. It was ploughed on Ihcliih 

 and 7lh of Alay last, ;inil harrowed ag liii before 

 sowing the bailey, winch was sowed on the 8lli 

 of IM.-iy, at the rati? of 3i buslieis of the two 

 rowed var'tly lo the acre. No manure was ap- 

 )ilied lo the barley, 



I HriiiNO W'ur.AT. — Hart Wiissey, of Jeflerson 

 coimly, N. V. olilaliied 2;t bushels of spring 

 wheat from an acre, llioiigli he stales ihal he harf 

 '• sliaw siiflicient lo have given 40 hnsliels per 

 acre, hut was reduced by ihe weevil [Vrcidniiiijiit 

 /ridVi'] lo 23 bushels." The bind had been in 

 corn tlie previous year, lo w liich a " inodeiali,' 

 ihessingof uiauiire had been ginMi. 'J'he wheal 

 v.as sown llie fore part of May, I) liiishcls lo the 

 acre. Four bushels of salt were also sown lo 

 the acre, and harrowed in willi the wheal." lie 

 stales that he Icli a small piiM:e on which im salt 

 was sown, and thai ihc wheat on llic sailed por- 

 tion cuuie lip most lieallhy and cmiliuued so till 



harvest, when it was heavier and tlio heads lon- 

 ger than that from the portion without salt. He 

 has not been able lo ascerlain at what time 

 wheat should be sown to escape the "weevil." 



E. D. Allen, of the county last named, obtain- 

 ed 255 bushels per acre. The previous crop had 

 been corn and potatoes, on "green sward," wiih 

 ten loads chip and barn-yard manure." Eight 

 loads of barn-yard nitinure were applied lo the 

 pooiest [lart of the piece before sowing the 

 wheat, it was sown on the 28tli of April, 2i 

 bushels of the Black Sea variety, per acre. 



Elias Bates, of Windsor county, Vermont, ob- 

 tained a premium for a crop of 35 bushels on 

 one acre and 29 rods. The land had been mow- 

 ed for " a number" of years previous to 1844. 

 In that year it was planted to corn, manurerl 

 with 20 loads of barn-yard manure, and 5 loads 

 of (Inst from a coal-pit bed. 12 hnsliels of ashes 

 were also put on the corn after it was up. The 

 piece was ploughed for wheat about the first of 

 May, and a bushel and a half of seed, washed in 

 strong brine, and afterwards dried off with 

 slacked lime, was sown per acre, the first week 

 ill May. 



Hints to Farmers. — The farmer's life is 

 shunned by many because it seems one of mind- 

 less drudgery. It ought not to be so. If our 

 farmers would study and reflect more they might 

 do less hard labor, and yet accomplish more in 

 the course of the year. Ten hours' work in 

 summer, and eight in winter, ought with good 

 management, to give any man a good living. 

 He who works so hard that he cannot reflect af- 

 ter the labors of the day are over, because of 

 fatigue, does not plan wisely. Let no man slum 

 work when work should be done— delve, delve 

 forever, is not the end of man's life. The farm- 

 er's evenings should be devoted to mental actpii- 

 silion. To sip and lunible into bed is a bog's lash- 

 ion, and highly injurious to health. But let a 

 farmer have about him the choicest woi ks of his 

 own an.xiliaiy avocations— let these form the 

 subject of study and conversation at least two 

 evenings in a week, while the newspapers, the 

 newest and oldest volume, such have their allot- 

 ted seasons. Two or three dollars contributed 

 by each family in a neighborhood or school dis- 

 trict, would go a great way in the purchase of 

 slaiiilard books at modern prices. These are 

 but liiiils which each reader will moilifv as his 

 jiidgiiieiit shall suggest. I plead only for the 

 essenii.d thing of making home pleasant, and its 

 hours of instruction also. — //. Gnelcy. 



Keetlng Farm Accounts. — Let any farmer 

 make Ihe experiment, and he will find it as in- 

 leresling as it is useful, and bolli inleresling and 

 useful, to know from year lo year Ihe acliial pro- 

 duce of his farm. Let everything, therelore, 

 which can he measured and weighed, he mea- 

 sured and weighed; and let that vvliieh cannot 

 be brought to all exact slaiidard, be cslimated as 

 if lie himself were about lo sell or purchase it. 

 Let him likewise, as near as possible, measure 

 llie ground which be plants, the ipiainily of seed 

 which he uses, and the tiianiire which lis ap- 

 plies. The labor of doing this is iiolhing com- 

 pared wilh llie salisliiclion of having done it, 

 and the benefits which must arise from it. Con- 

 jecliire, ill these cases, is perteclly wild and mi- 

 certain, varx ing ofleii with iliHerent individuals, 

 aliiiost a hun(ircd per cent. Exactness enables 

 a man to form conclusions, which may most es- 

 seiilially, and in innumerable ways, avail to his 

 advantage. It is that alone which can give any 

 value lo his experience. It is that which will 

 make his experience ihe sure basis of improve- 

 ment ; it will put i-t in his power to give safe 

 counsel to his f'l ieiufs, and it is the only ground 

 on which he can securely jiluce confidence him- 

 self — jYonislown Herald. 



Vr.'Tii Ilic Albnny C'lijlivjilnr. 

 Drniiiing niid Fcucing. 

 AIh. F.imtor : — ,\llhougli the aiKalilages of 

 draining are almost niiiveisally conceded, yel, 

 how rare it is, to si'C in our liavels hi this coiiii- 

 liy,well drained or ihoroughly reclaimed swamps, 

 or wet, low lainls. Such lands, aliounding in al- 

 most every disliici, when iiej;lected, are not only 

 unprodiiclive and unprofitable, subtracting mate- 

 rially lioni the value of a farm, but arc unsightly, 

 and more or Ictsv prejiidiciul to health. Oil tho 



contrary, when reclaimed, such lands, of all oth- 

 ers, are the most interesting and productive. Thty 

 have been depositories for freshets and flooils for 

 ages, and have received more or less of the ma- 

 nure and siirtiice soil gradually carried from Ihe 

 snrronnding knoll? and h'^ll side:'. When tho- 

 roughly drained ami slirred up by proper cultiva- 

 tion, and the inert vegetable substance brought 

 into action by the application of the usual de- 

 composing agents, such lands are distinguished 

 for ilieir enduring fertility. 



Much money, however, is fruitlessly expended 

 in the operation of draining. Very few of our 

 native American farmers are skilled in the an, 

 and like every oilier branch of farming, it will 

 pa;j best when well performed. It is by no means 

 necessary that a bog or siTamp should have n 

 " great fall " or inclination, to be well drained, h 

 is customary to dig the ditches down to the grav- 

 el, instead of digging three or four inches in 

 depth into the gravel stratum, which, by-the-by, i« 

 one great secret in the business of draining. — 

 Where sjirings aboitnd, either above or below the 

 surface, they must, of course, all be let doim into 

 under drains. An expert ditcher will not often 

 be deceived about the location or source of blin4 

 springs, under ihe surface, which generally do 

 most mischief. Such springs develope them- 

 selves by the peculiar character of the vegetation 

 which covers lliem, or can be discovered by the 

 tread. The location of drains is of the utmost 

 importance. Twenty-four to thirty inches will 

 in most places be found a sufficient depth. Thir- 

 ty inches wide at the top, sloped to eighteen at 

 :lie botiom, are ihe common dimensions of a goor^ 

 ditch ; but if llie gravel substratum be more or 

 less shallow, ihe depth should always be deter- 

 mined by it. Siones, for many reasons, form the 

 best nubterial for filling such drains. After shov- 

 elling ihe bottom of the drain entirely clean of 

 gravel or mud, the first layer of stone for a foot 

 in depth, should be set in a vertical position, 

 leaving 110 opening or culvert; the stone after- 

 wards may be levelled promiscuously within eight 

 inches of the surface, reserving the smallest stoiio 

 for the lop ; lliVs done, cover the stone, first, wiili 

 the inverted sod, carefully cut from the snrfiire of 

 the dilch, and preserved for this purpose. LasN 

 ly, fill in over the sod all the earth thrown out by 

 tligging, which will elevate the surface, but it w ill 

 settle down in due time. This inelhoi of drain- 

 ing 1 have practiced, and prefer it to all oiheis. 

 Alt inexperienced farmer would profit by em- 

 ploying an experienced ditcher, from Scotland or 

 Ireland. 



Fences have become as diversified and various 

 as they are necessary and useful : the address of 

 the lale N. Bidille, Esip of Philadelphia, to the 

 contrary notwiilistaiiiling. He pr<inounced tlieiii 

 uhsutiilc niii.sances, and ai; annual lax upon the 

 liirmers of Pennsylvania of 810,000,069, and re- 

 commends tho European system, dispensing en- 

 tirely with fences, using landmarks, shepherds 

 and dogs, in lieu of ihem. 



The common worm fence, with slake and ri- 

 iler, is in almwst general use in the interior of 

 this Slate. This fence \a nia.-le eight rails to n 

 panel, Ihe wdrm four feet « ide, sUikcssct okHwo 

 iect at the corners ; one foot inori; may be added 

 which caniiut be ploughed, making ten feet of 

 land ill all, occupied by the fence. Such a fence, 

 on a farm of one hundred acres, divided into 

 fields of ten acres each, with a lane ihrougb llio 

 centre, will occupy about six acres of land. Capl. 

 Hall, llie English loiuisi, described our worm 

 fences as tig-ii/g, and ihe most unsighlly and dis- 

 gracelnl looking things he ever saw. The scar- 

 ciiy of rail linilicr, however, will make this kind 

 of leuco give way to somclhVug more neat and 

 economical. 



Locust posis and five chcsliiut rails ronstitulo 

 one of our best fences. Since iron has deprecia- 

 ted, some of our enterprising furnace proprielois 

 have cast a neat nrlicle, with live holes, designed 

 fur post.", which promises fair to t/ike with our 

 li»rmers. Posts made from white oak. or chest- 

 nut wood, lacking in diirabilily, are troublcsomo 

 and expensive. The liirmers of Salem coiiiily. 

 New Jersey, are now partial lo a kind of wcirni 

 fi'iice, willioul slakes and riders; they insert an 

 iron rod three eighths of an inch thick, through 

 the corners ; Ihe rod is turned at ibti bottom, and 

 bent over the top rail so tight as to make the 

 fence withstand a tempest. In this fence, there 

 is periiaps inoru economy than any other now in 



