146 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



March 



planted on the twenty-fifth or twenty-seventh of 

 May, dropped dry, and plaster dropped on it be- 

 fore covering, and then plastered again as soon 

 as up. 



When I could see the rows, it was cultivated 

 both ways, and in a few days cultivated again and 

 hoed, which was all that was done for it until it 

 ■was large enough to hill, when it was plowed both 

 •ways, two furrows in a row, and hilled up a very 

 little. It was furrowed three feet apart, making 

 just 22 rows on each plot or acre. As soon as it 

 was ripe it was cut up at the hill, and well set up 

 in small shocks, so that the corn might dry as 

 soon as possible, and the latter part of October 

 it was husked, each plot by itself, and accurately 

 measured in the ear as it was put in the bin. The 

 poor corn I made no account of. The following 

 18 the result : 



Plot 1, 84 bushels of ears. 

 Plot 2, 90 " " 

 Plot 3, 99 " " 



Plot 4, 95 bushels of ears. 

 Plot 6, 68 " " 



From this I conclude, that, for present profit, 

 manuring in the hill is the best, as the plot ma- 

 nured with barn-yard manure in the hill gave 15 

 bushels more than the long manure plowed in, 

 and 31 over the one without manure. 



The result is also in favor of spreading the ma- 

 nure on top of the ground instead of plowing 

 under for the first crop ; but how this will affect 

 the succeeding crops remains to be seen. This 

 year it was sowed to oats and I have kept them 

 in separate parcels, and as soon as I get them all 

 thrashed, I can tell how much each plot produces 

 and their weight per bushel. It is now sown to 

 rye, and this crop will in a measure determine 

 which method will give the most permanent ben- 

 efit. James Baker. 



Oah mil, Jan., 1859. 



Remarks. — We accept the proposition made 

 in your private note. 



tkamsactions of the norfolk ag- 

 biouijTUBaij society. 



This handsome pamphlet of 120 pages pre- 

 sents one feature, such as we have never before 

 ■witnessed, capable of being imitated in every so- 

 ciety of the Commonwealth. The supervisory 

 committee framed a series of questions, embrac- 

 ing the essentials of farm management, and ad- 

 dressed them to intelligent cultivators. In this 

 way they elicited the actual experience of the 

 best cultivators of the county. Several of these 

 papers contain the essence of good farming. 

 There is one gentleman, page 38, who states how 

 he has grown, year after year, crops of Indian 

 corn, amounting to one hundred bushels to the 

 acre, no mistake, and no fictitious measui'e. This 

 is good doings, better by one-half than most far- 

 mers do. We venture the assertion, that the crop 

 usually raised throughout the State does not ex- 

 ceed forty bushels, fair measure. We think there 

 is great need of some uniform rule of harvesting, 

 curing and measuring this crop, so that the crops 

 in different sections can be compared one with 



another. We hold that corn is not fit to be meas- 

 ured, until it is dry enough to be ground, and 

 that the statute should define the number of 

 pounds to constitute a bushel at this time. 



One gentleman (p. 35) speaks of growing three 

 or four hundred bushels of currants to the acre, 

 in his orchard, in addition to the fruit of the 

 trees. This is a valuable crop indeed, for we pre- 

 sume such currants will readily command half a 

 dollar a bushel. They are a palatable and 

 wholesome berry. 



We are pleased to see that these Norfolk far- 

 mers stir their soil from seven to ten inches deep, 

 and that they are not sparing of their manure, 

 applying from eight to twelve cords to the acre. 

 No man can expect a full crop, who feeds skrim- 

 pingly. The liberal donor shall be rewarded ac- 

 cordingly. We think we should prefer Mr. Rob- 

 inson's instructions about draining and seeding 

 land, to those of old Father Elliot, who lived 

 more than one hundred years ago. We think 

 we trace on many of the pages of this volume, 

 the industry and good sense of our old friend 

 SewcU — and have no doubt he will do as much 

 good in his day and generation, by his labors on 

 the farm, and among farmers, as he ever did in 

 the pulpit. 



AN EXPERIMENT IN DRAINING. 



When we witness the change of a sterile soil 

 into a fertile one through the influence of drain- 

 ing, it is conclusive evidence of the value of la- 

 bor so applied. Such has recently come to our 

 notice, and we shall recall it for our readers. 



It not unfrequently happens in hilly or gently 

 undulating districts, that intervals and damp, 

 springy soils abound, requiring draining before 

 it can be brought into profitable cultivation. The 

 instance in question, was a field of fair surface, 

 quite free from stone, but receiving from more 

 elevated land a continual supply of clear, cold, 

 soft spring water, which ran over nearly the 

 whole surface. The owner, faithless of reclaim- 

 ing the lot, was yet desirous of collecting the 

 water to supply a reservoir for cattle. This was 

 mainly accomplished by cutting a drain across 

 the slope of land near the upper side of the field, 

 for about a hundred rods in length, which did so 

 much for draining the surface that other ditches 

 were cut completing the work. The drains were 

 finished with the flat stone usual in such districts, 

 carefully laid and covered with a good coat of 

 straw, before replacing the dirt. Now of the 

 change produced. 



A crop never grew upon this lot from the 

 time it was cleared until after it was drained. 

 Water grasses and weeds were the only product ; 

 but since draining, it has produced annually over 

 two tons of good hay per acre, without any ma- 

 nure. The appearance of the soil is wholly 

 changed, from a tenacious blue clay, adhering to 

 one's boots like tar — it has become a clear, black, 

 clay loam — ^just such a soil as always produces 

 remunerative crops to the farmer. — Country Gen- 

 tleman. 



