184 



A Gentleman Farmer. — Large and Small Farms. 



Vol. VI. 



No trial made with soot, which is to be re- 

 gretted, but bones, cow-dung, and street- 

 dirt, were applied to a quarter of an acre, 

 at the cost of jCl 9 1 



One quarter acre manured with bone-dust and 

 street-dirt, sifted, 11 



The turnips manured with a mixture of 

 cow-diing and street-dirt and bones, were de- 

 cidedly the best of the whole ; those sown 

 with bone-dust and street-dirt, were next 

 best, although not equal. Those sown with the 

 artificial manures came up very quickly, and 

 for a time maintained a degree of superiority 

 in appearance ; but by the beginning of har- 

 vest, their leaves began to turn yellow, and 

 were left behind all the others ; those, how- 

 ever, from Owen's and Poittevin's compost 

 being better than those raised from Clark's 

 and Lance's. 



The oats, when threshed, measured as fol- 

 lows : — 



Bushels. 



After soot, 24 



" cow and horse-dung, 19 



" street-dirt 16 



" bones, 12i 



" Poittevin's compost, 15 



" Clark's " 14i 



" Lance's " 13 



*' Owen's " 10 



It may be proper to mention that the seed, 

 when sown, weighed 4^3 lbs. per bushel, and 

 that the produce, when threshed, weighed 

 from 41 to 42 lbs. per bushel. The grain 

 raised by the street-dirt and cow and horse- 

 dung being the weightiest, and that raised 

 from the soot and Clark's compost being the 

 lightest." 



The circumstance of the seed gathered 

 from land thiis highly manured being lighter 

 in weight, and inferior in quality, to that 

 which had been sown — the most stimulating, 

 soot, producing the lightest grain — speaks to 

 us a volume on the oft-repeated remark, that 

 all manures are improper when applied im- 

 mediately to grain crops; these dressings 

 should be given to the grass and corn-crops, 

 where they might be used to any degree and 

 in any state, with perfect impunity ; nay, with 

 most certain and beneficial results. — J. B. 



A Gentleman Farmer. 



Mr. Derby gave, at a late agricultural 

 meeting, a sketch of a farm he owns on an 

 island in Winnipissiogee Lake — a region 

 where one would hardly expect the state of 

 things he described. This farm includes 500 

 acres ; 170 acres in wood, 280 acres in pas- 

 turage, .50 acres in mowing and tillage; usu- 

 ally eight or ten acres under the plough. 

 There are now 37 cows, and sometimes 44. 

 The original cost of the farm and stock was 

 S4,200. The sales in 1838 had amounted to 

 Sl,968; this year, Sf?l,.300: the falling off 

 being attributable to the decline in the prices. 

 The sales consist of butter, cheese, and pork. 



The cows and swine gave him abundant re- 

 sources for manure, which he applied liberally ; 

 on cultivated grounds, from 33 to 40 loads per 

 acre. Mr. D. had, this year, ten acres under 

 the plough: two in potatoes, one in wheat, 

 one in oats, and six in Indian-corn. His six 

 in corn produced him 400 bushels. One acre 

 of this corn gave him 131 bushels, and he ap- 

 plied to the agricultural society of that county 

 for a premium, but was defeated by a compe- 

 titor, who claimed it for 132 bushels. Mr. D. 

 stated that one ground of his success was, that 

 his farm-manager was himself directly inte- 

 rested in the results. 



In the first place, he has what he needs 

 from the farm for the support of his family. 

 In addition to this, he had in cash Sh300 a 

 year, and on his sales was allowed, when his 

 butter sold at 30 cents per pound, four cents 

 per pound ; on cheese sold, 1^ cent ; on pork, 

 1^ cent. This gave the farmer nearly fj^O 

 per year. His sales the last year were, new 

 milk cheese, 5900 lbs. ; butter, 2350 lbs. ; 

 pork, 2600, besides reserving enough for the 

 consumption of the family ; the male labour 

 on the farm consisting of the farmer and two 

 hired men. The female department is filled 

 by one woman, the wife of the manager, who 

 performs all the household work and makes 

 all the butter and cheese. Under this ma- 

 nagement, Mr. Derby has received from his 

 farm an income of 15 per cent, on the ori- 

 ginal investment, and the farm is in a course 

 of improvement. — Carolina Planter. 



Large and Small Farms. 



If those who have poor farms of large size 

 were to curtail the dimensions of their fields 

 fifty per cent., and expend the amount they 

 receive in labour in manure, they would be 

 enabled, in a few years devoted to such policy, 

 to improve all their arable lands, and bring 

 their entire estates into a condition of profit- 

 able fertility; and while this would be going 

 on, they would find, by the increase of ma- 

 nure applied to their corn-land, and attention 

 to its culture, that their crops would increase. 

 The great fault with us is, that we attempt 

 to achieve too much ; and owing to that cir- 

 cumstance, fail of achieving anything worthy 

 of the character of good farmers. Large 

 corn-fields unmanured and half tended, re- 

 flect no credit, and give no profit to their 

 owners. — Am. Far. 



We have to notice the publication of " The Diary" 

 for 1842, a book of memorandmn which no farmer ought 

 to be without. It is for sale at the Farmers' Cabinet 

 office. No. 50 north Fourth street : price 50 cents. It 

 contains an almanack, and 144 pap;os ruled and headed 

 with the day of the week and month, inviting a regular 

 entry of the weather, the daily occurrences that take 

 place, with other memoranda that might form a valu- 

 able record for future examination and reference.— Ed. 



