1825.] 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



each other, and to such a dptfree in some in- 

 stances, as to cro!is tlieir fore lesjs, :inil destroy 

 their power and greatly impede lh(Mr pro^res'. 

 1 once owneil a pair in:ule totally useless hy 

 this hahit, and af:erward* entirely corrected by 

 the application of a yoke of IS inches more 

 length. A short yoke is necessary only in snon 

 paths, ivherc cattle would olheruise crowd 

 against cacli other, the oj posite (•( hiniliiig, hnt 

 of the same nnischievous ellect. In resjject to 

 what oxen mav he made to do in a short time, 

 or as an experiment upon their strength,! miis! 

 refer j'ou to the results of onr plonghina: 

 matches and trials of strength. \Vith us they 

 are but little used upon the road, except in tlie 

 transportation of heavy loads fur shoit distan- 

 ces in the same toivn, or between neighboring: 

 (owns. One reason why horses are preferred 

 for waggoning on the road, may be, that they 

 can be made to travel qnirker, and that from 

 the construction of the hooi'they are less liable 

 to lameness, than the cloven-Cooled ox, by be- 

 coming foot sore. On the other h.-ind the pa- 

 tient and steady labour of the ox finds no substi- 

 tute in the horse for the service of the farm, 

 and the latter is seldom seen there exce|it in 

 occasional aid of the ox team, or with the light 

 plough between the rows of corn. The value 

 of a yoke of oxen, or a paii' of horses, for use 

 in all the business ofn farm admits of no com- 

 parison. So decided is the preference for the 

 former, that I do not believe a single farmer 

 can be found in this extensive agricultural coun- 

 ty who perlbrms his labour by horses without 

 oxen, while there are /iimJcrrfs, 1 had almost 

 said thuusiinijs, who make no'tother use of hers 

 es in husbandry than to I'urrliw for planting, 

 and plough among their (||rri<l'or hoeing. Our 

 oxen also, to answer anolnfcr'part of your jn- 

 (|uiry, are kept in a cheap*r siid loss expensive 

 manner, than horses. In the summer they are 

 uniformly grazed in the pastures. In the cold 

 and winter seasons, they are put into the barns, 

 and led upon the stock hay, as it is called, that 

 • which grows in meadows, and upon the' fodder 

 of corn stalks, husks, &c. unless indeed they 

 are more severely worked than usual, when 

 hay of better quality is given them ; and in all 

 cases, as the spring advances, their keeping is 

 improved, and with better hay, some grain is 

 added. 1 speak of the general practice of far- 

 mers. There are some who keep their oxen 

 more generously, and others more hardily tlian 

 I have mentioned. But «'ith a clean and warm 

 stable, the daily application of the currycomb 

 or card, and coarse food, without severe labor, 

 the best farmers will at all times exhibit teams 

 of most vigorous and powerful cattle, and their 

 best hay and their grain will be saved in their 

 beef and pork, and in the produce of their dai- 

 ries, for the market. 



The culture ot hditin Corn is much attended 

 to by the farmers of New England, and most 

 wonderful crops have been obtained here as well 

 as in Now York and elsewhere. Forty bushels 

 of sound grain is quite as much as the average 

 quantity to the acre, in the common mode of 

 cultivation. By extraordinary attention, my 

 crops have usually exceeded this, varying from 

 60 to 80 bushels on good ground. I\Iy course 

 has been usually, and as I believe most profita- 

 bly, to break up the pasture lands, or old mow- 

 ing lots, as soon as possible after liaying, cross 

 plough and harrow about the 1st of September, 

 and sow \vinter rve at the rate of a bushel and 



a hilf of seed to the acre. In th> manner I have 

 never failed of a crop of from 15 to 20 hu-=hels 

 the next season. After reaping, the stubble and 

 grass are turned in ; and the next year the liel,d 

 is well manured from the stable and yanl, and 

 the corn planted in hills, and hoed three time's 

 in the course of the season. The top-stalks are 

 cut after the corn begins to harden and before 

 the frosts of the tall ; and the corn is harvested 

 in October, when perfectly dry and sound. The 

 stalks of corn are, in my estimation, so valuable 

 fodder for cattle, that I cannot but particidarly 

 advise to their careful [ireservation. When cut 

 in the proper state and in good weather, they 

 may he put the sciiiie, or the -next daij, into small 

 bundles, and should be carried immediately un- 

 der sheds, or hung upon rails or poles to cure 

 and dry. Thus secured, they have a delightful 

 flavor, and are eaten by every sj)ecies of stock 

 with the utmost greediness ; and in value I think 

 are equal to their weight of the best hay. The 

 practice of stacking them for a long time in the 

 field is both uhnecessary and wasteful, and can 

 only he pursued by those who are ignorant of 

 their value. 



Potatoes reqniie much less labour in cultiva 

 tion than Indian corn. They are a liiie, improv- 

 ing and ameliorating crop I'or the soil, leaving 

 it mellow and in cxceUcnt tilth. They are usu- 

 ally cultivated on rough land, with oi' without 

 manure, and hoeil once or at most twice. I 

 think they pay for the expense bestOHcd upon 

 them better than any other root crop. When 

 manure is ap[died, the coarsest, even half-rot- 

 ted straw and litter from the yard, is to be jire- 

 ferred. Potatoes are much used in the fatten- 

 ing of cattle, and boiled and steamed in the 

 makirrg of pork. 1 iu)iformly feed them to all 

 my stock through the winter. 



Upon the subject of " Dmton^s"' progeny, I 

 should fear to wi'ite to any one, less observing 

 and sanguine than yourself. With nineteen of 

 them, of different grades and ages in my pos- 

 session, 1 can safely say, that my most confident 

 anticipations have been entirely answered. 1 

 have now seven heifers in railk, four of them 

 3 yer.rs, and three 2 years old, and for richness 

 and quality and abundance in quantifv, they are 

 not excelled by the very best cows of any ere. 

 of the native slock.. A heifer of three years, 

 with her second calf, has not been dry since she 

 dropped her ia'st, having given four quarts on 

 the morning of her second calving. Next to 

 the Merino sheep, 1 consider the introduction 

 of the short horns, in the blond of Demon, as the 

 richest acquisition to the connlry which ao-ri- 

 cullure has received. For the dairy and the 

 stall 1 speak with the utmost conlidence of their 

 pre-eminence. From my three years old hei- 

 t'ers 1 have calves of the most promising ap- 

 pearance, and greatly excelling any I have be- 

 fore seen. One of the heil'ers gives from 16 

 to 20 quarts of the richest milk, by the day 

 since calving ; the others little les=, from the 

 circumstance of having been in milk continu- 

 ally for more than a year, but her milk is in no 

 degree inferior in quality. The last season she 

 gave eleven quarts at a milking with 'grass on- 

 ly, and this not unfrequently. They keep as 

 easily as the native stork, and are as hardy. 

 I ■nave this year a three-fouiths heifer calf 

 from a half blood of Denton by Admirnl, the fa- 

 mous bull sent out by Sir Isaac Collin last year 

 to the Massachusetts Agricultural Society, and 

 two others by the celebrated bull " Cwlels,''' on 



Z>ert<on's half klood. They are fine prnmisinff 

 animals, although in no respect superior to tha 

 three-fourths of T)e:\tnn. I have no knowledge 

 of the ])roperties of this stock for labor, never 

 having altered but one of the male«. 1 cannot 

 however perceive any reason to doubt their 

 value in this particular. Their form indicates 

 great power, and they have much quietness 

 and docility. 



It will give me pleasure at all times to hear 

 from you ; and I beg that this tardy and imper- 

 fect reply, too long to correct by any opportu- 

 nity I have to transcribe it, may not discourage 

 your very interesting and highly esteemed com- 

 munications. 



Most respectfully, and with great esteem, 

 Your obedient servant, 



LEVI LINCOLN. 



P. S. — Since writing the foregoing letter, in 

 conversation with Major Davis, a professional 

 and agricultural friend, whom you will doubt- 

 less Well recollect, he informs me. that a prac- 

 tical farmer, speaking of the stock of Denton, 

 told him, that so decidedly superior were the 

 calves in his neighbnuihood, from a cross of the 

 native stock with a bull of the half blood, that 

 the victuallers would most readily distinguisli 

 and select them for the shambles in preference 

 to all others, and that the farmers could well 

 afford to pay an additional price for the use of 

 a bull for this purpose. I am also indebted to 

 the same gentleman for a confirmation of my 

 iiccount of this stock from his personal obser- 

 vation and ex[ierience. He has himself bred 

 line animals from Demon. Upon the subject of 

 the keeping and working of oui" oxen, he has 

 lemioded me of the greul^superiority of their 

 application by the yoke to the cart, over horses 

 attached to a waggon. The greater weight 

 which may be carried by the former, and the 

 facility with which it is removed by lippingup, 

 are of most striking advantage, in the ordinary 

 business of a farm. It is said that a cord of 

 green oak or hickory wood is not an unusual 

 load for a yoke of oxen to bring into our mar- 

 ket upon a cart, while it would certainly re- 

 quire the power of three horses on a waggon. 

 The estimate of the relative expenses of keep- 

 ing a pair of horses and of oxen, is in the pro- 

 portion of 3 for the former to 2 for the latter, 

 and to this is to be added the value of the ox 

 lor beelvvhen his strength fails tor labor. If 

 your farmers should once be induced to substi- 

 tute the ox for the horse in their ordinary busi- 

 ness, it could not fail most essentially to ad- 

 vance their interests. ' 

 Respectfully, 



L. LINCOLN. 



Water. — The Philadelphians have laid thir- 

 teen miles of " iron main and pipes'' and under 

 the new system, the committee states, thaf'if 

 tiie city requires twelve millions of gallons of 

 water, or even more, it can readily be supplied, 

 at an annual expense of less than |;2b00, ft hilst 

 the same quantity, by the system of steam engines 

 would require an annual expenditure of " 200, 

 000 !" The committee add the important fact, 

 that " iftwelve millions ufgallonsperday sbould 

 be disposed of, at the same rate which the 

 quantity at present taken by the citizens pro- 

 duces, to wit, 27,292 per year, the annual in- 

 come will be glGO,000." 



