g^^»«ga6JiiSTOggsg jE-jK» 



72 



S K 3 a a «M Wffaaw 



^i)£ Javuicr'0 illonti|ln Xn'sitor. 



the furrow in iiiiil-vviiitor, nor the liairow turned 

 up in a diiugeioiis position nuiiiiij^t a fence, nor 

 carts and waj^ons standiu:; out at all tijncs, ami 

 liOL't!, slioviils, and dinig links sculieretl litre, 

 ihere, and every vvliero. 



19. To lake cnie ,;.'ood airiii-ulinraj anil liorti- 

 cnltnral paper In ilu; cunnlry in wlii.li iliuy live 

 first, anil then, it'ihey uant to extend tli.'ir knowl- 

 edge hi^yond llial, the lici-t jienorni paper llicy 

 can hear of at ;i <listaiiri'. To do this with ;i 

 \iew to a progressive improvement, and to learn 

 what is {^oina- on in (he way of the host enltme. 

 kinds and preparation ofniunnrcs, good and riew 

 tweeds, first rate varieiins of fre.its and vegelalilcs, 

 &,c., so as to keep np, to the hest of their means, 

 with their neigiihors and the uorld at lar;.'e. 



Froin tlie Report of Hon. II. L. Elisworlli, C(imniiss.iorii.-r 



of I'jteiiis, mnrie lu Congress at its prcociit session. 



Hay. 



The weather, uliicli proved so injnrions to 

 many of the preceding crops in the early season, 

 appears to have hecn favorable to that "of prass, 

 so that the product of hay is larger than nsnnl, 

 and in many cases is spokeii of as of very fine 

 cpialily. 'J'he amount gathered in New Enjilaiid 

 the last year, (.<rohahly reached nearlv a qnarter 

 more than in 18i3. hi .Elaine, in several sec- 

 tions, it Js oslim.ittd .at "one-third heavier; the 

 quality Ts also good, as the weather wa.s Ibvora- 

 l.'le." .Again, the esiimite by another is '■ one- 

 third more — not injrred by the early wet season, 

 and harvested beiore the" latter la'ins ;" anil by 

 another still, '*oiie-ihird more; the rains of las't 

 tall set the hay and gra.«s imcommunlv well ; the 

 snows jn-cvemod any winter or spiing killing." 

 Jn another section the estimate is less, as it'^is 

 said "as good as last year, and may be JO per 

 cent, better." On the whole, ii is llioni-ht it will 

 be near the truth to fix the average for "the whole 

 State at 55 per cent. 



The bay crop of New IJampsliire was ninch 

 Inrger than in lo'lO, and the rale of iticrease nuiv 

 he estimated for the Slate at SO per rent. Tli'e 

 notices respecting it in diirerenl .seclions speak 

 ofitns "very abundant— nevoi- more .so, and of 

 very good qiriliiy. Oue-fonrib moie was cut 

 this year than the last ;" ".'JO to ^5 percent, more 

 in qnanliiy, caused by lute snows and a wetsnm- 

 mer;" 'SiJ per cent, more;"' ''agood 

 crease 10 per cent." 



A similar account is given of tlie crop of buy 

 in Mas.sacimselts. .<ome of the noliees of it at 

 uifierent imies tun tlais: -'Good, in som<> parts- 

 ill most, nfhklling-except the soil isii"ht; lar-cr 

 than usual and than in 18'1'>; very abundant 

 where ihe Inn.l is in a good conditio'n; the sea- 

 son remarkably favoiable for securing ii ;" '• in 

 Worcester county imnsually fine;" " The quality 

 i.s lar better (in thi.< |„ug spell of dry Wralher) 

 loan ihat grown in the rain; there is a richer 

 green on the stalk, that is .savory and nouri.shiu"- 

 lor the c.aile. .Such hay, so grown and harvest- 

 ed, leels heavy when it is dry, and a fiir le«s 

 quantity suffices thi.n in olher case.a. Tiio co«t 

 ol harvesting is also very gieaily reduced." fn 

 t!ie southeastern section of the State it is thought 

 '• not lo have been .so hu'ge .-is in 1S-!'.J— pcrlcqis 

 15 or 20 per cent, l.-s in .pnmlity, but belter in 

 quality. li, nnother section it is monounced to 

 be 'a good yield, but n liiilo le.-^s 'than in J84;>" 

 IiMhe central part of ihe Stale the estimate is 

 '■2o per cent, more." Anollier good judne 

 speaking of the crop generally, says that it was 

 very gooil and well secured; )5 lu^r r,.i,t „,„,•„ 

 than in 1842." On the whole. iI.m average may 



crop in di.Oerent sections of the Siato of New 

 York. It i.-J considered, on the whole, to have 

 lieen a lair crop — "10 per r 



good ns usual;" in the Sciota valley, '-never 

 betler— il got such a start in the spring, at;d v/tia 



been a lair crop— "10 per cent, larger than in lillle injured b\ the dry weallier ;" while in the 

 lb4^', and Ihe quality unsurpassed." Inil.oval- soulbeasteru section of the Slate there was "a 

 Icy of the .Mob.iwk it is s.iid lo have been "50 

 per cent, belter" than in 1842, as "the s-eason 



was favorable ;"au.l again, in liuother Dart, "cipial 

 to that of 184|2." Jn the eastern poVlion of the 

 Slate, in different counties, the estimates vary 

 from "very good- 20 per cent, and more," " 10 

 per cent, better," lo "20 per cent. Ics.*," " half a 

 crop, owing to an early iboughi." in oilxr 

 counties, (as in Tompkins, Chenango and Yales 

 cuunlie^,) it is estimaietl to have been "a (air 

 average crop, but in some sections light." In 

 the counties lying north of these, in the central 

 part of the Stale, it is also said to have been "a 

 good croi)— full average." In the northern sec- 

 tion, likew isc, it was ''a good crop."' In a part 

 of western New York, as in ibe southwestern 



counties, the crop 



a brst-rale 



op— III- 



On the whole, the 

 be tixril at .'bout 20 jier cent. 

 In Rhode Island, by the acce 



. , , , ^ ,, ; . - --counis, the crop 



must have ndlcn ofi" /"roni SO lo 25 per cent., as 

 compan-d witli the previous year. 



In Conneelicul it was "about "an average 

 crop ; in .some parts " light along the .seashore " 

 and a very good crop in other sections. The 

 average might have been 15 per cent, belicr 



1 his crop m Yermont, in ihe northern part of 

 he Slate, was unusually good; "ihe crop very 

 arge, and its increase over that of ItJ-i his 

 been raicd as high as 50 per cent., especially in 

 newly stocked grounds. In ibo souihern sei-tion 

 It WH.salso "a liiir crop, (hough, perhaps, some- 

 v-hat injured in harvesting." Tbo general in- 

 crease fnr the Stale was prob.ibly about 25 per 



There was considoiahl. 

 the informaliun obliiincd 



divtr.-iiy according lo 

 in the amount of this 



one." lu 

 other counties in the noithwcsteru, it is said to 

 have been "nnc-lbird less than in ii4V Taken 

 as a whole, in western New York, ihe ediior of 

 an agricultural journal estimates it to have been 

 "a good crop— equal if not su|ici-ior lo that of 

 184-J." Anolher, also, speaking of tlie #liole 

 Slate, says: "I-'rom ihe dry wcaUierin the south 

 [lart of Ihe Slate, and, in (act, all alon^' Ihe At- 

 lantic, it proved a light crop, and not within 25 

 percent, of the average. West and norih the_\ 

 had n:\:is when dry here, and it proved a eooil 

 crop." ]( is probably, therefore, a fair estimate 

 for the whole State to tis it at an increase of 10 

 per cent, above the cro|) of 1842. 



In New Jersey the decrer.se of i!ie hay crop is 

 variously stated at "10 to 50 jier cent., owiii_' to 

 the (bought;" 20 per cent, less, fur Ihe average 

 of the State, wouhl appear lo be nearly correct'. 

 The same cause produced n similar "deliciencj 

 in rennsylvania, which, as will be seen by re/L-r- 

 enee lo the report for 1842, had then a huge in- 

 crease above themrmer year, in ihe souihcast- 

 eru .section llie decrease is eslimated at "."W per 

 cent., as the spring w-,-.s wet and i-ohl, follo-.ved 

 by drought, and Ihe ground became hi-.nl and 

 rigid." Jn the central eouiuies, hindering on the 

 Susquehanna rne", it was " JO per cent. less, as 

 there was too niui-h dry weather;" while cii the 

 Juniata river, and further west, it is thoughl to 

 have been "equal to the croj) of 1842." In the 

 nortiicastcrn section there was lliought lo have 

 been " an inci-ea.se of about JO p-V ceiii." In 

 the eastern coimlies, on the jjelawai-e and Le- 

 high, lbs deficiency is set as high as "50 per 

 cent." The croj! of Lancaster 'connly is thus 

 desi-ribed in an agricnliur.-d paper in Au"ust 

 l.ist: "Grasses, (especially clover,) niiusmilk 

 light: not more than one half the quanliiy cut, 

 hut made in a lino ccnditiuii ;" "not more" than 

 two-thirds or lluee-lonrths of an av.iagc crop."" 

 One wliose oppoi tunilies of jii(l;;ii.;; are bi.ller 

 than usual, while admitting That" t!.^. qualily is 

 superior, estimates the croj) of the last year" for 

 the w bole State at 20 per cent, less than lliat of 

 1812;" which is probably correi-t. 



The .'=_anie esllmate wi"ll correspnnd to the ac- 

 coutits tVoui Delaware; for, though in some sec- 

 lion.s if is thought to have been an averaiie crop, 

 yet in olher.s, the crop of bay is sujiposed to 

 have been " vi ry short;" "one-ihird less:" "half 

 a crop;" "generally short-one foiirih to one 

 third." 



The an-n.nnt of bay raised iu a]ar\land, Vir- 

 fiiiiia, and Norlh Carolina, was [uobably an in- 

 crease of 10 per cent, over the crop of 1842. In 

 Soiilh Carolina, Georgia, Alabam.-i, Alississippi 

 and Louisiana, it form.s comparatively a small 

 crop, and the increase was not over 5 per cent. 

 The accounts from 'j'eiinessee represent it to 

 b.-iVG been imusnally fmc— "the meadows yield- 

 ing superabundant crops of the best hay;" so 

 ihal tlie ady.-iiire may bo estimated at abont 25 

 per cent. A, similar intelligence conies lo us 

 respecting ibis crop the past year in Kentuckv. 

 where the estimates speak of "a medium ciop," 

 |-as iu 1842," and even "one-third more." The 

 increase may be fixed at 25 per cent. fi;r the av- 

 erage of ihe whole Slate. Jn Ohio, where it is 

 a larger erop than in most of the Slates, the ac- 

 cotints inform us that, in the seciion lying on Ihe 

 weslcrn end of Like I'.iie, there \vas 10 percent, 

 more ; while still fiirllier west there was a lidliifg 

 of}" of ,-ibont the same per cenlagc. On the bei^ 

 der of Illinois, it yvas an "average 



cro)i, 



full average crop, ,-md harvested in the best or- 

 der." l!y Olher estimates, the Slate is thought 

 lo have yielded at least "a usual crop;" proba- 

 bly there might have been an advance of JO per 

 cent. 



'J'lie grain of ihis crop in ludiana may be esti- 

 mated, iu view of all the information 'oblaiiied, 

 at IS per cent. The crop of hay on ihe l.-raneli- 

 es of Ihe While river is'said lo b'ave been " nineli 

 as in 1842;" and northward, on the \"v'abasli 

 "above ihe average." In the souiheasicrn jiart 

 (d' the State, "30 per cent, better"— "20 per cent, 

 above the average." The average increase lor 

 the whole Slate may have been J5 per cent. 



The infoiinaiion obtained res|ieciiiig this crop, 

 also, in Illinois, re|)resenis it to have bad "a 

 small advance— perhaps 10 per cent." It is call- 

 ed "a good crop," and said lo be "betler than 

 usual" — "a lillle more than in 1842;" "same as 

 last year;" "rather lighter than usual, though a 

 good crop." The same ralio will probably indi- 

 cate the crop of hay in iViissouri, and a some- 

 what less increase in .Arkansas; while in Michi- 

 gan there was a gain on Ihecro)) of J843 of prob- 

 ably 23 per cenl. The notices fioni this latter 

 Skite represent it ns reaching, in some seclious, 

 as high as "50 per cent.;" and it is said that " iho 

 nioiiib of ?,Iay wiis cold and wet, and it grew 

 Ibick and strong, and then the dry -.veather did 

 not much injure it." Tlieie was, probably, a 

 small ailvance iu Florida and in ihc Dislriet of 

 Columbia; an increase of perha|'S 10 per cent, 

 iji Wisconsin and Iowa. The whole croj) of hay 

 for the United Statts, as it appears in the tabh-, 

 is I.5,41!),807 tons. 



Some varieties of grass are mciiiiuned as wor- 

 thy the Hiieiilion of (1 irmers or planters in difl"er- 

 cnt sections of llie couuliy. Tlie miisquito L'rass 

 is recommended iu an agriciiliural paper at ihe 

 south, as promising to be of value in furnisbiiiu' 

 a green pasture for winter, and in making hay in 

 Louisiana and in the warm laliludes. The ac- 

 count given of il i.-*, that it is said to have been 

 brought from Texas — originally a utitive of SdiiIIj 

 America. TIk- advaniagcs of it are, that il grows 

 to a great heigiit, continues to grow all the^ye.-u, 

 and ->\ill ilomis!) on any soil. 



Of the fcaiim grys.s, it is said that its green 

 crop is "from J,5,000 to 20,CG0 l!>s. lo the acre; 

 that it is most excellent for milch cows, causing 

 them to produce n.ilk and butter; that it is used 

 as a soiling crop, and cut every thirty days; and 

 from 4 to 5 (-ultiugs may hi, oblaincd'in a season, 

 from 3tj to 42 inches high." 



The tussnc grass was found in the Falkland 

 islands. I'y the accounts given of it, it tippcars 

 to be a giganlic sedgy gras.--, the blades of tthicli 

 aver.-ige 7 leet in leiigib, and three-quarters of an 

 inchinwidih — the pi. mis growing in hunches; 

 250 roots springing liom one bunch. Anolher 

 spe<-ies, called the crinirfo grass, is also spoken of. 

 Professor Dewey slates ihat there are moie 

 Ibaii JSOO species of" grass, which have been de- 

 scribed by hotanisis: ol" which more than 300 

 are ascribi il loNoiih America, and more ihen 

 200 are Ibiiiid in ihe State of New York. Some 

 fine varieties common in Eiighmd have, as yet, 

 been only partially introduced into this couiury. 

 Experiineiils v\ere mado under the palroniige of 

 the Duke of Bedford, by G. Sinclair, Esq., on 

 more than iOO varimies or speci-s of grass; the 

 results of which were |iublished, and these have 

 leirmed llie basis ol" ihe improved cullure ol"gra,is- 

 es in Ihat country. Some of tlie species which 

 are lecommeuded for trial more fiil'y in ibis 

 country, are the orchard grass, perennkil rja 

 gras.---, Italian rye, meadow fox-tail, meadow" li's- 

 cue, tall fescue, and tall oats, and sweet scouted 

 grasses. 



rOr. Sanders, of Keutucky, in reply to a h iter 

 of Judge Beattly, commends the orchard gress 

 very highly. He say s the seed should bo sown 

 "early in the spring, as soon as the ground can 

 be prcjiared, after ii is freed from the liosl. If 

 sown iu the fall, Ihmigh it may como oil" well, it 

 maybe killed by frost the first winter. One 

 bushel of seed, uniformly cast over Ihe ground, 

 is sufiicient for an acre. The second summer it 

 yields a good crop ol" feed — from 10 lo 15 bush- 

 els |ier jicre, and often more." Some of the ad- 

 vantages of il arc, that "orcliurd grass pasture, 



