1869. 



NEW ENGLAND FARIVIER. 



121 



prospect of ever getting out of debt ? I an- 

 swer, that according to my experience, it 

 would be up-hill work and require a lifetime 

 to do it. Better buy good land and pay 

 double or tbribble for it, and buy less. But 

 the man who owns such land and is clear of 

 debt can permanently enrich it in this manner ; 

 but whether he can do so at less expense in 

 this way than in some other remains to be 

 seen. Hereafter we may discuss the cost of 

 other methods. J. 



Oak Hill. N. Y., Jan., 1868. 



For the New England Farmer, 



PLOUGHING,— SEEDING.— HABHOW- 

 INQ. 



Westminster, Vt., Farmers' Club, Jan. 11, 1869 — 

 Topic — "Preparation of the soil for the reception of 

 agricultural seed, best kind of seed to be used, and 

 the naode of cultivation until matured." 



Mr. Geo. Metcalf . I believe that in plough- 

 ing, the wider the furrow, if well turned, the 

 better for the crop, leaving the sod less liable 

 to be turned up by the harrow, more nicely 

 mellowed and pulverized, and preventing 

 grass getting so much the start at first hoeing. 



E. Lord. I am satisfied that the narrower 

 the furrows the better, even partly set up 

 edge ways. The "Eagle Plough" will do it. 

 Plough about eight inches wide and four deep 

 for corn, when the manure is to be turned 

 under, and the next spring plough the same 

 ground six inches for sowing. I don't like flat 

 turning. 



Octavius Fisher. I endorse Mr. Lord's 

 depth of ploughing. I use the "Cylinder 

 Plough" No. 1. Furrows some ten inches 

 wide. 



W. R. Kimball. I recommend the "Tele- 

 graph Plough" No. 3, manufactured at White 

 River Junction, Vt., not only for the execu- 

 tion of the work, but ease of draft, as the 

 plough for our locality. 



Austin Goodrich. I would like to inquire 

 if fine tooth harrows pulverize the soil better 

 than a medium number of teeth. 



Mr. Lord. Not if the coarse tooth harrow 

 is more often applied. 



Austin Goodrich. I would recommend the 

 sowing of cereal grain in drills. I have ob- 

 served in the West that where sown in drills 

 it did not lodge as badly. 



Mr. Fisher. I am confident that corn sown 

 in drills would produce a larger crop than in 

 hills, but in this "witch grass" section might 

 be more labor to cultivate. 



M. W. Davis. In this "witch grass" re- 

 gion I would turn the furrow in ploughing as 

 flat as possible, and in reference to the use of 

 the old straight tooth harrow, I had the pre- 

 sumption, if you may so call it, two years ago, 

 to tell these farmers that these harrows were 

 going out of use ; that the effect of their use 

 was to patk and make solid the land ; whereas 

 we wanted something to loosen, throw up and 



leave the soil light, on the plough and cultivator 

 principle. 



Robert Farr. In selecting seed corn I would 

 have it eight-rowed, firmly packed on the cob ; 

 the butt end of the cob no larger than the tip, 

 or not much, and plant all the kernels that 

 grow upon the ear. Would not object to 

 shelling it in "corn-sheller." The "II olden 

 Corn," the variety used mostly here; is the 

 best I know of. 



Mr. Lord. I discard the kernels from both 

 ends of ear, and plant the middle. My corn 

 fills out well. I think marmre plenty makes 

 corn fill out well. 



Mr. Goodrich. I plant a kind of corn pro- 

 duced by mixing the Holden and a longer- 

 eared eight-rowed variety I obtained from 

 Brandon, Vt. Many of the ears are twelve 

 to fourteen inches long, well filled out. The 

 first of this month I marketed some, and it 

 weighed 03^ lbs. to the bushel. I hill up and 

 get a better crop than when I kept the ground 

 level. Hilling up corn endorsed by all pres- 

 ent, though contrary to former practice. 



Mr. Kimball. I recommend sending to the 

 North paH of the State for seed corn, oats, 

 and timothy seed, occasionally, but I would 

 send down South for clover seed, getting a 

 smaller and earlier variety, producing a 

 sweeter kind of hay. I have experimented 

 with phosphate and with good results, — fodder 

 stands up better. 



Mr. Lord. The trouble in using phosphate 

 is people are not careful in keeping it from 

 the roots of corn. I would sow broad cast. 



Chas. Nutting. I have used phosphate and 

 had rather have so much manure. Same sub- 

 ject continued. M. W. Davis, Sec'y. 



Bellows Falls, Vt., Jan. 12, 18G9. 



Reaction in the Sheep Trade. — As 

 certainly as the sunrise always follows the set- 

 ting of that luminary, so surely will there be 

 a rise in the price of sheep ere long, and in 

 all probability it will be a healthy, steady and 

 lasting one — at least, it will only vary with the 

 rise and fall of other agricultural productions. 

 City people have commenced to use mutton to 

 vary with beef, pork, &c., so that the demand 

 will be regular, as butchers will feel com- 

 pelled always to have some on hand, and those 

 who supply the best families must have good 

 quality ; consequently "mutton sheep," as they 

 are sometimes called, will be in request. 



This is the time for "long-headed" men to 

 consider the subject and take advantage of 

 the low price of store sheep, for besides the 

 demand for the supplying of the regular mar- 

 ket, there is beginning to be felt a conviction 

 among enlightened men that sheep are really 

 necessary on farms of respectable dimensions, 

 to assist in keeping up the fertility of the soil, 

 which knowledge will soon make good flocks 

 the rule instead of the exception, as is the 

 case through the country now. — Co. Gen. 



