riaifciittasi iM-tim: t^.'ii 



sjacuauat-^B^flBateafcar^Kg 



^\]t laxmas iHoutl)ii) llisitor. 



IS 



have not liKcii kcjit in ciiliivaiioii. The (iirii! is 

 divided into lield.s of D'oiu tilxly uci'ea to lots o! 

 twelve liPies. No tiiutfji.d Ciiii snr|iass tlie liinc- 

 .sloMO for temping; iu>i\ on tliis Ihriii tljej'c lire 

 nlioiit ihi'oo miles in len^illi of the iiei^t iind hand- 

 Roiiiest slone fence lii;it 1 have ever seen. Scat- 

 tered |)i'oiniseuoii.-l_v over the fields me great 

 niiiiiliei',* of loi'iust trees, wliieh spring up spoii- 

 taneoo^ly ami fjrow ki.xnri.uilly. The oak, in u 

 field, has a v> iiiierinu; inflnenee nnon veiretiiiioii 

 uiiirin ils shade. Not .so with tiie l;]eii>.I. The 

 client jrenerally yrows a.'* richly under tjie locn.si 

 11^ in (ilher pbrL-s of (he field. Niitnlier.s of llietn 

 are therefore periliitted to grow in every field, 

 where lliey serve thr shade to storU an<l restinj; 

 plae.'s liDr lahorer.s, and fiirijii^h Hlininiunce of ilie 

 )(io.-it ihi'-;drle liuib-.M' for posts and Ibr oiiior pur- 

 poses. 



more than once, and hills tlie corn no Dioro than 

 what the |ilongh will hill it. When the coi-ri is 

 so nearly ripe that it will nialure in the stock, he 

 cuts it up close to the roots and .stacks it, anil im- 

 mediately puts tile •iroiiiid in wheat. SiMneliiiii-s 

 he sows the wheal first and th( n ploughs llic seed 

 in; and soineliines he fr^t ploughs the gronnd, 

 and then scatters the seed and harrows it in ; the 

 alternative depends upon the slate of thei:roiind. 

 Me is careful to have this done by the middle ol' 

 Ociidier. The stacks of corn are afterwards 

 haiili.'d in, the coin liitsked otit, and the stoi.'k.-* 

 Jed ont to the cattle, who trample the larger ones 

 under feet and make of thein a rich m.anure. 

 -After the wheat is scattered upon the ground, he 

 sows the field with clover seeii. The next year, 

 after tlie nliein is harvested, nothing is permitletl 

 to run njion the field. Tiie tielil then lies two 



Tim liind is well adapted to wheat, rye, o.ats, | >cars ll! Clover : e: 

 Indian corn, and the different (grasses; but wheat 

 and Indian corn, especially the former, are ilie 

 staples of this fiirm. The want of running 

 striaiiis of water in a limestone country is a 

 general iiiconvenio; ce, which renders it less de- 

 sirable for grazing cattle than ibr raising grain. 

 '! his di.'ft'i-t is ill a great measure oliviated bv the 

 eoiisiruclioii of artificial [londs. As tiie land is 

 midiilaiiiig, ill iiKuiy of lire field.*, 

 al the jmii-liiin of two or more fields, a plain 

 chosen at the foot of a dechvity, w here the lains 

 which (iill upon a large field are brought, by a 

 natural wash, wiliiin a small eoiiipa.-.-'. Ijeie 

 ihey excavate the earth by a gradual desceiiffrom 

 the acclivity In the depth ol three or fr,\u- leel, 

 and v\ iih Ilie exeavaii-ii earth liwm all embank- 

 ment tij'oo the iouer margin, so as to I'elain in a 

 jmol of forty or tiliy feet in ili.. meter, tho water 

 which washi-s hoiii llie higher giouiuls. Tlie.^e 

 pmids ;;eiier.illy continue In hold a full suppU' of 

 water lor stiM-k dmiiig the whole season of the 

 greatest drought ; and wh.it is remarkable,all the 

 ci'.ltle and liorses prefer this waler to that of a 

 ioniiiiig slreaiu or well. 1 believe Col. Tiiley 

 lias never known the lime when all his ponds 

 Were dry ; yet they tu'e less convenient than riin- 

 nins; streams, which inclines him and his iieigh- 



y in the sijriiig of each year 

 he .•jcallei'S over it about a liaif bushel of fine 

 pla.-tei' of Paris lo the acre, wliieli causes it gen- 

 erally to yield very heavy burdens of clover hay. 

 In this way he once raised from two aeres of 

 land eighty' bushels of wheat; and from a field 

 of twenty acr* s he raised a fraction over thirty- 

 three basliels per acre. From a field of sixty 

 acres lie avwaged more than thirty-one bushels 

 nd fretpienllv to the acre; and as he receiveil the miller's re- 

 ■ " ciipt fir tiie (piantity, there (oidd be no. ii,ii>lake 

 as to the amount, lie has also, in. this way, n\is- 

 ed from a field of thirty acres, si.tty-live bushels 

 of sludled corn to tijc acre. These, it is true, 

 are imeoimiionly large crops: but tliey show the 

 exc(-llen( ipiality of the land and give some io'ea 

 of the beamy of this lai m when nature is lavish- 

 ing upon it her hjvely ci.iiile.s. Tliongh the clover 

 and plaster are the principal sources of improve- 

 ment to the' soil, "yei Cul. Tiiley is careful never 



)ois more to the riiltiiaiioii of grain than to the 



raising of large stocks of cattle for market. 



I doubt whether lliere is a region of country in 

 Americ.i where the baud of nature has been 

 more profuse of her gitis to the farmer, than 

 this; and in all my travels I have never seen a 

 n;oie be.iutilid or a more desirable farm than 

 that of Col.Tuley. I5nt iiHprovements lieiiendly, 

 in iliese (laits, have been greatly negltcied, till 

 wilhiii a very f«w years.. The hue John Kerliiol, 

 v.'jio-died iir itj-fi, owned a (arm of five or six 

 hundred aciiyisailjoming that of Col. Tiiley's, and 

 iiiiglii be regarded as the first person who gave 

 a spur lo the iiuprovement of the land. He be- 

 caii the world wijlmnl a cent ; anil when advanced 

 in years, he reaped the fiiiit of honest industry 

 and (iradeiit economy. By firming alone he was 

 Slide lo ('(siribiite about seventy llion.>and dol|,-ns 

 Jiiiioiig hi.-- children, and at the time of his de- 

 tnise he stii/ retainetl properly worth jdioiil seV- 

 «;iity or eight;' ihoiisand dollaiv. While doiii^' 

 this, he always snstiiined the character of a lib" 

 ei'al man, a geiiei.-'iis indijtbin:, aiwi an e.vijmpla- 

 ry christian. This circmK.-Hanee alone demon- 

 Btrales, not only the ijood liiriner,, hui a gooil 

 tanning ooiintry. 



Col. Tidey, as before reniarketr, is now con- 

 snlered the best farmer in ihe neighborhood. 

 The Hiiumer olcidtivation which he pi-j/Wrs, is as 

 follows: Take a field which ha.s been. twit year.s 

 in clover, and (iillow it by ti.rniiig over ibe sod I 

 with ;i phmgh in the monih of -Aoi'iist. or earlv I 

 in September. JBelweeii ihe nlih and fifteeiiih of 

 October, sow it with wheal, about a iinshel and a 

 half to the acre, imd harrow it in. 1'hc next 

 year, after the wheat is cul, lei it lie, and it be- 

 comes covered will, a thick and .strong mo wth of 

 nig-weeil. The followie.g spiini; turn it np wiiii 

 the ploni.di and plain it wkll' kuliaii corn helbie 

 the mi.hlle of April. The corn he piaiiis in hills 

 fonr feet apart each way, and eiylit or ten kernels 

 in a hill. As soon as ihe corn is up, he be.rins 

 cultivating u with ihe plom-li, and ploimh.s it both 

 Ways about (■.ii,r times in the ivHtrse of 'he sea- 

 son. Alter ploughing it (be first lime, ami. when 

 going over it the .■cecoiid time, ihe pjomdi is fol- 

 lowc.l by the hoc, when be Ihins the corn bv 

 pulling up Ihe surplus plants, and leavms; bu"l 

 two Blocks to the hill. He seldom uses th 



hoe 



lo suffer a panicle of manure to be wasled. H 

 miilormly makes l.irge quantilics of it, ami al- 

 ways spreads it iipoji the highest parts of ijie 

 fields, lie fiiid*llm tuniiiig of it in much lielfer 

 lor the laud than top-dressing, as the benefit is 

 more periMaiieuI, much ol'ilie top-dressing being 

 exhausted hy evaporalion. 



The method above described is called the five 

 years' shift; aiul ihougb most a|iproved, is neces- 

 sarily ireiiuently departed from in so'.ue of li») 

 field.s, as oals and oilier things are '.leces-siiry to 

 be raised on a farm like this. 11< rai.si'S in^V fe>v 

 calile more than are necessary for bis own llsB.' 

 His dairy is large, having g'^iierally from fifteen 

 lo twenty milch cows; hiii. ho does not keep a 

 market dairy, lie genei-ally kills from eighty to 

 a hundred lings i:i h season", and keep's a flock fff 

 upwards of a hmiured sheep. He cominoi.lv 

 rais( s ahmit fifty or sixty turkeys a year; bill „V 

 you know' he is Kind erf'the good thiiiKs of t|ji;> 

 life, and abni'daiit in liospit.dii;«, be keeps tliei., 

 liir himself i.nd bi^ friends. CMj this fiirtii fi-erv. 

 tiling is iieeessardy condiicteif ffpoii ;m e.Weilsive 

 scale. He lias this (all sowed in ijie ground six 

 hundred and filiy bushels of seed wheat, fi-om 

 which he may anticipate a harvest of manvthon, 

 sands ol bushels. ' 



On tiie whole, this |)lace approaches as near lo 

 an earthly I'aradise as the depraved state of man, 

 under the cnise wbiul^wu has brought uimn the 

 world, will possibi;.- i.'iluiii. Had voii taken the 

 lime to make the Colonel avisil.'when last in 

 \Vashin:.'ton, and while nature was in full bloom, 

 tl:e pleasure which you would have t'finti] in the 

 gentlemanly and cordial reception von wonlil 

 have received; theagreeableness of his excellent 

 lady, and the satisfaction of viewing the luxuries 

 I'f nature in her richest blonin, o»i ikisenchaiit- 

 in^' spot, would not have left room Ibr mia re- 

 gret. 



1 have tiie bono 



orchards have auffered seveicly (iom the winler 

 ilepredatioiis of these vermin. 



Now it is said that casloj- oil beans jdaiiled in 

 a garden will prevent the allacks of mice, and 

 also drive o(f mob s from the vicinity where the 

 beans are planted, if so, would not a composi- 

 tion made of lliesc be.in.s, and spread on cloth to 

 bind around the trmik, be a preveiitiv ; against 

 the evii complained oi ? Would the beans in 

 this way not be as rdfensivr as w ben planted ? 

 Would the eppiicalion ol' ilie oil (castor oil) to 

 the balk not priveiit llie attacks? 



An answer to these (juestioiis, or any other sug- 

 gestions, would oblige one imeresled. 



HAZLEWOOD. 



.\Vi:i York, .\'nv. SO, 1843. 



Hon. Isaac Uill 



inor to Ire, vary respectfully, 

 Vour obedient servant, 



O. B. B. 



To PRESERVE FrUItTkF.es rRO.M THE ATTACKS 



OF Mice.— A correspondeiit of the Albany Culti- 

 vator makes the following suggestions "ui;, this 

 subject: — 



EniTOKS OF TUF CULTIVATOR: — I observed all 

 article in yonr paper sometiine since, liom a 

 writer who inquired how ha was to preserve 

 young fruit trees tiom ibe atlricl<s of mice in the 

 winter, as they gnaw the Iwirk beneath tf>e snow 

 or crust, ami thus destroy She tree. I have also 

 heard this complaint from western farmers, par- 

 ticularly liom Wiskousin, where ninny young 



From tlir London :i iM f-'aji-i Observer. 

 The (stales of the American Tjiiion. 



Pecuniary m.itters have juusenied so alarming 

 an aspect in the United .■States fiir the last two 

 years, that the holders of ilie bonds of llie indi- 

 vidual .States in Kurope, wiihout receiving their 

 interest regularly, have learned that the priiici- 

 p.al was giea.ily endangered, and ill the enil WdiiUI 

 probably be entirely lost. 1 bat they have bad 

 sutficient (tanse lo be tii^hleiied on account of 

 the odious doctrine of " Rc/iudialion" engender- 

 ed in Mississijipi, will not fie ipiestioiied. but that 

 this cause any longer exists cannot l(>r a moment 

 be rationally believed, except »* lar as rel.ite:; lo 

 the solitary slate from w liicli it emanated, in the 

 extraordinary crisis through which the States 

 have pas.-'ed, in monetary affairs, there is some 

 apology for those in arrears w hich have evinced 

 a delerininaiioii faithfully and bonesily to comply 

 with their obligations, so soon us they can avail 

 themselves of ample mean.%. From their high 

 stale Oi' apparent prosiierify ifeey liecoine siiil- 

 ileiily involved in diifi.-idttes, which the most 

 .sagacious nfmd could not f iresee. It was a ca- 

 lamity to ibemselves, atrecimg most seriously 

 tin; fupiiali.-,ls and oiher.s i>f Europe, but it eoiilil 

 ilot lie branded with crime, where the piirpoaB 

 was inflexible to repair ibe injury at the earliest 

 possible periodi {l»;a.soi!able persons are alwavs 

 iiitUiUeiit ill c.ises of inabilily to euiuply wiib an 

 eiigMgcment,.l!Owever grievous the inconvenieiic.e 

 which iii.iy be occasioned, whiui imaccoinpanied 

 ,;bv. fraHduU;iU.iiile:4limis.. States as well as iiidi- 

 .wUtsis can only fall from tijeir po.-iiion in iho 

 esiitlialion of their coiileiiiporaries by a depar- 

 I tm-e from tiie principles of justice >";;', 'i'.,,,. ,|^y|. 

 I ing. Tne objut of tllis pimlication is to make 

 a candid exposition of the finaiiirial eondiiioii 

 ' and resources of each of the sovei"'-" ■ ■ ■ 



Bellas its prevailing ^.e.mmenr/i;;"';;;;;;;"; ^ 

 '- public mdel.tedne.ss, ,.((.., etc. Tho.e I'v 

 American Confe.leracy w.as Ibrmed 

 m.ii..;ed m ihe order that ihev 

 were orr.gmaliyset.ied; and' the others as ihev 

 were admiiied into the Lmion after the adoi„i,.n 

 of the Oonst|t,,tion of the United Stales in US') 

 ViRGi.MA.— Settled in .U;u7 by Knglish j ton- 

 lainsa popidali-m of 1,->7.'>,(jlI0 while mhabiianis 

 and 4dO,000 negroes; extent of terriforv (i4.0C0 

 Em;bsli sipiare miles; general election in April • 

 voters, citizens, freeholders of value of tij dols.' 

 and hon.se keepers one \um-; Legishilnre meet 

 first Hlonday in December ; nielropoJis, Riclj- 

 mond : annual expense of slate institutions, 

 .^80,000 dols.; nieuibers in ibe National Hoii.se of 

 Representatives 15; capital emploved in li.ieitMl 

 tr.ide 4,-39'J,500 dols.; in manufiictnres, ]2,75-J,251 

 dols.; crop of 1842 estimated at 85,000,000 bn-h- 

 els of cereal grain ; 4,000,000 lb. cotion ; and 87- 

 000,000 lb. tobjicco; public debt 7,40y,l(i6 dols'.; 

 ample provision made during the last session of 

 Ibe Legislature, by dii'd iaxalion, \h\- mainlen- 

 ance of credit. Interested in Imiik.s, of nndnijbt- 

 ed solvency, to the amount of about ^000,000 

 dol-s.; and in 1.50 miles of canal, 225 railroad, and 

 about 1,000 earthen and iM'Adamized turnpike, 

 to the v.-diie of the rem.iiniler of the money bor- 

 rowed. A '• Repiidiator" has never darkened the 

 threshold of the public coimcil.s. 



Nf.w York.— Settled Il)14 by Dutch; contains 

 a popiilaiion ol' 2,550,000^ inhabitants; extent of 

 terrilojiy 4t>;200 Knglish sqiinre miles ; general 

 election 1st Alonday in November; voters citi- 

 zens 21 years of age, inhabitants of the slate for 

 one year; hejjislalnre meet first Tiiesilay in Jun- 

 uary ; metropoli.s, .Albany; annual expense of 

 state iiistilntions 1120,000 dols.; members in the 

 national House of Repieseiitaiives, 34 ; capital 



W'Jlil 



in !7: 



ihe 

 ■ wJU.bi 



