No. 3. Ploughing Match. — Thaer^s Principles of .Agriculture. 



93 



Ploughing Match of the fiew Castle 

 Couuty Agricultural Society. 



We the undersigned, appointed judges of 

 the Ploughing Match that took place on the 

 18th instant, on the farm of Mr. Jacob Ly- 

 man, near Wilmington, Delaware, Report: 

 That we were deprived of the pleasure of 

 witnessing the match, having been request- 

 ed to go out of view of the diiferont com- 

 petitors, so that our decision could not fail 

 but be impartial. The committee when 

 called to view the ground, were struck with 

 admiration at the regularity of the plough- 

 ing, and owing to the slight difference in 

 much of it, were at some loss to decide. 

 There were ten competitors, who entered 

 in the following order: Thomas Sawdon, 

 land No. 1 ; F. Sawdon, land No. 2 ; David 

 Morgan, land No. 3; James N. Cleland, land 

 No 4; John Bradford, land No. 5; William 

 Banks, land No. 6 ; Robert Fountain, land 

 No. 7; John Eveson, land No. 8; Charles 

 Carter, land No. 9 ; and Richard Carter, 

 land No. 10 ; the committee after viewing 

 the ground carefully, and taking into consi- 

 deration the unevenness of the different 

 lands, decided that James N. Cleland, who 

 ploughed with J. B. Moore's plough. No. 8, 

 is entitled to the first premium; T. Sawdon, 

 who ploughed land No. 1, with J. B. Moore's 

 plough, No. 8, is entitled to the second pre- 

 mium; Richard Carter, who ploughed land 

 No. 10, Prouty plough, the third premium, 

 and Charles Carter, who ploughed land No. 

 9, J. B. Moore's plough, is entitled to the 

 fourth premium. 



The committee were highly pleased with 

 the boys. There were eight competitors, 

 and nobly did they contend for the prize. 

 They entered as follows: A. Janvier, land 

 No. 1 ; J. Sawdon, land No. 2 ; T. Jackson, 

 land No. 3; G. Jackson, land No. 4; J. Brad- 

 ford, land No. .5 ; William Quinn, land No. 

 6; D. Flinn, land No. 7; and J. Young, land 

 No. 8. We are of opinion that A. Janvier 

 is entitled to the first premium, and G. Jack- 

 son to the second, who was well rewarded 

 by the liberality of Mr. Prouty, who had 

 provided a handsome silver watch for the 

 winner of the second premium. No doubt 

 the little fellow when he pulls out his watch, 

 years hence, will remember with gratitude, 

 his old friend Prouty, who the committee 

 think deserves the thanks of the Society for 

 his liberality. 



D. W. Gemmill, 

 John Richardson, 

 George Janvier, 



Committee. 

 September 18th, 1845. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 



Thaer's Priuciples ol Agriculture. — On 



Manuring the Soil. 



Mr. Editor, — As you appear to think 

 Von Thaer may be of use to your readers, I 

 will continue my condensation of his re- 

 marks, and go on with the chapter on Ma- 

 nuring the Soil. It is very long and very 

 minute in its details, and it will therefore, 

 take both time and labour to make that kind 

 of abstract which will do full justice to the 

 author, and be adapted to the circumstances 

 of our farmers. " Skimming the cream," 

 whether in literature or the dairy, is an ope- 

 ration of some delicacy; the product must 

 be rich that will bear being thinned, and yet 

 leave nourishing aliment. In the last com- 

 munication, the author had gone through the 

 various manures, their natures, applicability 

 to various soils, &.C., each one in course, ex- 

 cept night soil. Of this, our farmers, at 

 least many of them, are aware of the great 

 utility; but there is a strong, almost invinci- 

 ble repugnance to its use, which will last 

 perhaps until necessity forces them, as it has 

 done the farmers of Europe, to make use of 

 every material they can get for improving 

 their lands. Our people may now, and for 

 some years to come, let prejudices have full 

 sway. They have vast territories, on which 

 they may light like a flock of birds, take 

 what they want, and be off to some yet more 

 distant region. But this condition of things 

 will not last, and our now wasteful, prodigal, 

 and careless modes of farming, will cease 

 with the growth of our population, and our 

 cultivators be driven, like those of many 

 parts of Europe, to yield a sensitive nicety 

 to a stern necessity. In the neighbourhood 

 of Philadelphia, this material is used largely 

 by the gardeners, but so far as I know, very 

 little of it at all by the farmers ; however, 

 its advantages are well known, and Von 

 Thaer offers nothing new upon the subject. 

 On the important point of storing and pre- 

 serving the manure; there is no sug'gestion 

 that is not already known or practised by 

 our best farmers, except one — that the ma- 

 nure should be lefl in the stable a week or 

 two before being removed to the dung heap. 

 It has by this time gone through a certain 

 stage of fermentation, in which evaporation 

 goes on with the greatest rapidity; but the 

 adopting of this course must be governed by 

 a matter of more importance, that of keep- 

 ing the stables dry and clean. The manure 

 may be increased in value, but this is all 

 lost by the risk and injury to the health of 

 your stock. The farmer has very little 

 choice as to where he shall deposit his ma- 



