Vol 6, 



GENESEE FARMER. 



43 



cing- wheat, having- lost its fermentative quality, 

 and, by rotting-, plowing-, and working, has become 

 ■thoroughly divided and ir-ixed with the soil, and is in 

 a better state to promote the production of the wheat 

 berry than in any other shape that it can be applied- 

 So much of the summer crop and enough of the 

 ^rass in pasture to make aboii^. one-third of the ara- 

 ble land, comes into Vv^heat each year„ This course 

 of cropping gives but a small portion of mowilig 

 ■iand, after providing pasturage for the sheep and 

 neat stock ; yet, with the judicious use of the Toot 

 ■crops, and the straw from the wheat and oats, a very 

 small quantity of hay need be used before the first 

 •of April, and yet the whole farm stock be kept in as 

 ■good order as those to which is fed a ton and half 

 per head ; by which course a great amount of land is 

 relieved, for the grand desideratuiri of ihe v/heat 

 crop. 



The meadows and part of the pasture of this year, 

 become the summer fallow of the next ; and this 

 year's stubble, properly seeded, becom.es the meadow 

 and pasture of the succeeding season. 



This course 3''our committee consider the best, sa- 

 fest, and most profitable, taking into consideration 

 the importance of keeping the soil in good heart and 

 productiveness, and in a state of improvement, ra- 

 ther than impoverishing it. Yet there are some 

 good and judicious farmers who, occasionally, where 

 a field throws heavy to straw, follow v^^ith two or 

 more crops of wheat alternately ; when clover sue 

 ceeds well, and the ground is free fiom weeds and 

 :?oul grasses, v/e have known this course to succeed 

 well, even with once plowing, but it is a course, 

 generally speaking, more to be deprecated than 

 praised. 



Another course is pursued, by some of our best 

 'farmers, who prefer to let all the manured summer- 

 crop land lie over to the next season, and take off a 

 crop of barley or peas, and follow with wheat. 

 The Committee incline to the opinion, that this 

 ■course must neatly or -quite e?:haust and neutralize 

 all the virtue of the previouG year's manuring, and 

 have a tendency to keep the land in a situatioB not 

 improved for the wheat crop, if not losing m its qua- 

 iificutions to produce, for any length of time, a cer- 

 tain and profitable return. 



Another course, pursued by equally judicious farm- 

 ers, is to take a four-year course rotation, by allow- 

 ing all the seeded ground to lie two full years in clo- 

 ver. The first year it is mowed and pastured, and 

 the second year it is mowed or pastured till about 

 the first of June, then plastered, and at the proper 

 time cut for clover seed ; the year after, mowed or 

 ■pastured till the first week in Juno, when it is turn- 

 ed under for the summer fallow, for wheat. This 

 course, on large farms, with a heavy stock of cattle 

 and sheep, (as it allows more hay and pasture than 

 the three-year course,) is a very successful method: 

 and even for those of a medium size, may suit well 

 for some particular soils ; and perhaps in those ca- 

 ses where the management for saving and increasing 

 the manure is not skilfully and judiciously perform- 

 ed, this is a safe course, if one-quarter of the arable 

 land gives a sufficient quantity of acres in wheat: 

 The three-year course in three divisions — Field A. 



1841 • ..^. in wheat, seeded. 



184-2 ...... in meadov/, pasture and summer crops. 



1843-4 in wheat. 



The four-year course, in four divisions — Field A. 



1840 • »» in wheat, seeded. 



1841 ...,.■......» ..T.,.0 . in meadow and pasture. 



1842 •• in meadow, clover-seed, and summer crops. 



1843-4 • • .-^ •■« • • • • •» again in wheat. 



Eut whatever course an cnterprizing and thinking 

 farmer may pursue, if he has a system and p'an of 

 proceeding; and pursues it constantly, he will soon 

 come to a result as to what process is best adapted 

 to his soil. Without regularit)-, system, and a<;odo 

 of rules and reasons, no -course will succeed, nor any 

 valuable result be reached. It is said, that bad hab- 

 its, regularly followed, are not so pernicious to the 

 human system as an irregular and mixed course of 

 life ; and the remark is peculiarly applicable to the 

 arts of husbandry. We say — system ! system ! sys- 

 tem :' aHd follow it. good or bad, and conviction must 

 follow, by comparison with others pursuing a differ- 

 ent course. 



The Committee can conceive of no better system 

 of fanning than -that of 100 acres of arable land, (or 

 double or treble that arnount, if you please,) of 

 which one- third, say 33 acres, is put into wheat 

 producing from 800 to I,OCO bushels : with 100 to 

 150 fine-woolcd sheep, prodircing from SQO to 600 

 pounds of wool, worth from 40 to 50 cents per pound; 

 and the balance of the land in grass and summer 

 crops, every item of vvhich should be consumed on 

 the farm, to subsist the family, hired help, and farm, 

 stocks, and, perhaps, to help to pay mechanics ; all 

 the ofi'al, hay, straw, and roots, going to increase 

 the manure heap, which, with a plentiful use of 

 plaster and clover, will more than compensate for 

 the wheat and wool subtracted from the soil, and 

 sold. 



The Committee, in awarding their premiums, 

 have selected those who, in the Words of their 

 instructions, came the nearest to their standard of 

 excellence — " reference being had to the general sj/s- 

 icm of management, and the profit ohtained: rather 

 than to natural advantages or expensive improve- 

 ments. 



Elisiia Harmon, of Wheatland, to whom was 

 awarded the first premium, cultivated a farm of 400 

 acres, 306 of which are improved ; has been settled 

 40 vears ; the soil a sandy loam, inclining to gravel, 

 abundantly filled with a limestone shale ; on a part 

 of which are beds of plaster, which are opened, and 

 manufactured for use and sale, averaging i,9S-0 tons 

 per year. This tract was originally ah oak opening, 

 with gentle undulations, and is, altogether, a splen- 

 did wheat farm. The dwelling-house, baras, and 

 out-houses, are of a superior construction and fin- 

 ish. He has this year over 92 acres of wheat, yield- 

 ing over 2000 bushels — has raised an average of 50 

 bushels of clover-seed for the last 15 years — usually 

 alternates his crops, by wheat one year and clover 

 two years, but has one field that has produced wheat 

 every other year for 15 years past, without any de- 

 terioration of the land. Plowing commences, for 

 the summer fallowing, on the first v/eek m June 

 and second week in September, using his sheep and 

 the wheat cultivator intermediately between the 

 plowings— sows from the 12th to the 20th of Sc])- 

 tember, 5 pecks to the acre, of pure White Flint. 

 His stock consists of 400 sheep and 106 lambs, 

 Saxon and Merino. His clip of wool this year was 

 1,600 lbs., which sold in market for 40 cents ; 7 

 cows, 12 horses and colts, and 30 hogs, a part of 

 them fine Loicesters : and what particularly com- 

 mended itself to this Committee was, over four miles 

 of stone fence. His summer crops were 8 or 10 

 acres of corn and oats each, root crops, pota- 

 toes, &0v ^10 and Vol. Transactions. 



