THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



85 



, December 7lh, 1840. 



Dear Sir— S'mcc the couversalioii we haii in 

 relation lo liie profits upon capital invested in 

 Jarminji, I have reflected upon the suhjecl, and 

 now present you a more accurate estiniaie of my 

 experience on that subject. 



I have, in my larm,'450 acres, oC whicli about 



300 are cleared. I estimate the land lo be worth, 



m crtsA, filty dollars per acre, - - §22.500 



5 nei^'ro men at §800, - - - 4,000 



3 negio women, (one old,) - - - 1500 



3 boys Irom two lo six years old, - - 1,01)0 



8 work horses and mules, at §70, - - 500 



3 carriage and ridini; horses, at §S0, - 210 



30 c^itiie of all a^es,"ai §15, - - - 450 



350 Merino sheep, at 83, - - - 1,050 



65 younjif sows, shoais and | igs, at §2, - 130 



(A part ol my Uiiling hogs lijr next year, 

 will be (Vom pigs yet to come.) 



Farming implements— 2 wagons and 



light carl, 250 



Ploughs, harrows, &c., including gear 



l()r hwrses, 150 



Poultry, Sic, (including omissions,) say - 170 



Total amount ofcapital, - - - 



Legal interest on capital, (.^.32,000,) 

 ai 6 per cent. - - - - 



§32,000 



- 81,920 



price by holding on to my crop a year or two, 

 when it gets below that price. 

 60 acres of hemp, averaging one year 



with another 20 tons, at §120, ^2,400 



CO acres o( corn, intended Ibr liieding 



stock and lor bread, . . - QOO 



350 sheep, average at the present low 



price oC wool, §1 per not fleece, - 350 

 Value of coarse parts of wool and in- 

 crease of flock, - - - - 50 

 Sale of hogs, bacon and lard, average - 400 

 Sale of milch cows and beef cattle, say - 100 



Of the cleared land I cultivate, say 60 acres in 

 hemp ; 60 in corn ; 3 in seed hemp ; and 7 in 

 pumpkins, beets, potatoes, &c., includins garden, 

 total of piough-lund in cultivation, 130 acres. 

 After planting corn two years on the same grounil, 

 I have been in the practice of sowing it down 

 in rye Ibr leeding ott'to stock, and permitting it to 

 remain in r^e two years ; consequently^, f have in 

 crop, in addition lo the 130 acres, say 60 acres in 

 rye, 25 in meadow and orchard, and every other 

 j'ear about 10 acres of rye Ibr seed, makinir an 

 average ol about 220 acres in crop. The residue 

 of the cleared land, about 80 acres, is in pasture ; 

 and all my wood-land is enclosed, and about three- 

 fourths of it well cleaned up and set in blue grass, 

 and I am annually progressing in cleaning up and 

 setting the reniainder in grass, so that I have 

 plenty of permanent pasture, including my rye. 



My rotation of corn and rye was adopted when 

 I was engaged in raising mules; but having quitted 

 that business, 1 intend to make the rotation in fu- 

 ture, corn and clover, two years earh ; and as a 

 preparation lor clover, to sow down my ground 

 [in wheat] every second year, and sow clover on 

 the wheat in February Ibllowing. 



I have, as yet, practised no rotation in relation 

 to my hemp ground, but this may be conveniently 

 done, by sowing hemp in a field on which two 

 crops of clover have grown, and converting an 

 equal quantity of hemp land into corn ground ; 

 and after two years, sowing it in wheat in the fall, 

 and clover in February, and after two years return 

 again to the hemp crop.* 



Havingr iluis given you a general outline of iny 

 mode of farming, I will now state the value oi'my 

 average products, premising that I have estimated 

 hemp at §120 per ton, because it will average that 



' Hemp, if an exhauster o ' soil, is a very slow one. 

 Deterioration can scarce be perceived in the last of ten 

 successive crops on the same field. — T. B. S. 



Total, §3,300 



My cattle are of the old fashioned Teeswater 

 and Patton stock. Though excellent for the rich- 

 ness and abundance of their milk, they will sell 

 ordinarily for only §25 or §30 per head, grass-fed. 

 After reserving what is necessary Ibr our own use 

 and consumption, my sales will not average more 

 than the above sum. 



To the above, the following additions should be 

 made ; 



Within the three last years I have .=o!d 

 55 mules, and have added those to 

 my working stock, which have fully 

 kept up their value. The increased 

 value of these mules, (2 and 3 years 

 years old when sold,) 1 estimate at 

 §35 each, making a total of §1,925, 

 and a profit for each of those years, of - 622 



the followinfj 



From the above, _ 



should be made : 

 Wages of a young man to work 

 and superintend the negro la- 

 borers, . - . - §200 

 Cash lor culling and breaking hemp, 200 

 Clothing and lax for 5 men and 3 

 women, .. . . - 

 Tax en land and other properly, 

 Blacksmith's and wagon-ma- 

 ker's account, average 



§3,922 

 dexluctiona 



160 



- 30 



- 60 



§650 



But from this amount, should be deducted what 

 is saved in family expenses by living on a farm ; 

 such as house-rent, fuel, bread, bacon, vegetables, 

 poultry, fresh meal, butter, milk, &c.. which may 

 be estimated at §500, leaving §150 to be deducted 

 from the above sum of §3,922, and making the 

 profit on the whole sum invested, §3,722. 



1 may have omitted some small items of ex- 

 pense which have not occurred to ine, but these 

 will be more than covered by several small items 

 of profit ; such as hay, cord-wood, hides of cattle 

 and sheep, potatoes, apples, and other vegetables, 

 butter, &c. I throw them in to balance any pos- 

 sible omissions 1 may have made on the other 

 side. 



1 have allowed nothing for expense and fax on 

 young negroes, because their increased annual 

 value will fully pay for such expense, and also 

 keep up the number of hands by supplying losses 

 by death. Nor have I made any allowance for 

 ihe annual increase in value of 1,500 or 2,000 

 young locust trees, an item of no little importance 

 io my judgment, and which might lairly be esti- 

 mated as a part of the annual profits of my farm 



