206 



Premiums on Crops. 



Vol. VI. 



mittee, for such distinction as your judgment 

 may see fit to award. 



Potatoes. — The field in which these were 

 planted was intended for corn. Late in the 

 season of 1840 it was ploughed, but the frost 

 and snow setting in before finished, left the 

 remainder to be ploughed as opportunity 

 might serve, which was done in January, du- 

 ring a thaw. The thinness and poverty of 

 the soil led me to abandon the idea of corn, 

 and to substitute potatoes, in hopes the crop 

 would pay for the present labour, and the suc- 

 ceeding crops of grain and grass remunerate 

 for the manure applied to the field. But to 

 this there were obstacles. The stiff old sod 

 laid down was not rotted, and owing to the 

 frost, and the stones which lay in several 

 places very thick and near the surface, the 

 ploughing was by no means deep enough. 

 Then to cross-plough would throw up the old 

 sward to the top ; to not do it, would leave 

 the stones in possession, without soil enough 

 to cover tlie potatoes. I concluded upon a 

 thorough ploughing. Accordingly as soon as 

 the frost was out, I started to cross-plough, 

 with an extra hand to follow the plough with 

 crowbar and grub, to take out the stone. This 

 performed, the harrow was put in requisition 

 to tear the sods, but with little effect, they 

 were only a little shaken and brought to the 

 Burface. The roller was applied with the 

 view of making them compact, so that when 

 I began to plant they might cut into furrow ; 

 but in this I was disappointed, for in the lat- 

 ter part of April, when the planting look 

 place, the sods yielded before the plough, 

 pushing on all sides, so that when the pota- 

 toes were planted the field presented a rough 

 surface of sod of various hues, black, brown, 

 and green — the green predominating. Some 

 of my neighbours, who I fear forgot their own 

 work in the interest they seemed to take in 

 mine, encouraged me to hope at least for a 

 good crop of blue grass. Appearances, I 

 confess, were rather favourable to their views. 

 The soil was finely pulverized and well ma- 

 nured. The frequent heavy rains had em- 

 bedded the grass roots, and the cool moist 

 weather was favourable to their vegetating. 

 By the middle of May, before tlse potatoes 

 were up, there were several fine dry days — 

 cold winds and scorching suns — from 11 A.M. 

 till 3 P.M. the sun was terrible. The har- 

 row was started occasionally at these periods, 

 and the grass disappeared instanter in the 

 withering sun. A cleaner patch of about five 

 acres of potatoes, during all their growth, 

 could nowhere be seen. 



The soil light sandy, parts approaching to 

 sandy clay, all intermixed with mica. The 

 manure was stable yard, applied broad-cast, 

 with 50 bushels of lime to the acre. The 

 seed was the Mercer of my own raising. 



They were not worked with the plough. 

 About two acres first planted between the 

 22d of April and the 1st of May, was dressed 

 but once with the cultivator, the remaining 

 three acres planted from 1st of May till 5th, 

 had two dressings ; and a ridge or pitch of a 

 hill in this section was once hoed by hand, to 

 deepen the earth around the plants, to protect 

 from drought. These three acres, I have no 

 doubt, yielded 250 bushels to the acre. The 

 whole patch, not quite five acres, yielded over 

 1000 bushels large potatoes of a superior 

 quality for table use. 



Parsneps. — 40 rows of sugar parsneps two 

 feet apart — in length 384 feet ; about five- 

 eighths of an acre, sown on the 17th of May 

 by hand, produced 480 bushels — at the rate 

 of 768 bushels to the acre. 



Carrots. — 50 rows of carrots two feet apart 

 — length 384 feet; about seven-eighths of an 

 acre, produced 12 to 13 bushels to the row- 

 assuming 12 — product 600 bushels, at the rate 

 of 688 bushels to the acre. These were 

 sown on the 17th and 18th of May. 



Sugar Beet. — H acres of sugar beet, sown 

 on the 19th and 20th of May, in rows two 

 feet six inches apart — yield only 830 bushels. 

 This was owing to the severe drought be- 

 tween the 18th and 24th of June, which, for 

 severity, while it continued, has no parallel 

 in my recollection. The beets encountered 

 this when they had made their first rapid 

 growth. After they had partially recovered, 

 a violent tornado of wind and hail tore them 

 to tatters — the next growth of leaves were 

 devoured by the caterpillars. 



Turnips. — About six to seven acres of tur- 

 nips, .sown broad-cast with orchard grass and 

 clover, on the 10th of August. The heaviest 

 rain of the whole season was on the night of 

 the 10th — it was a perfect deluge, and did 

 great injury to my newly-sown field, yet I 

 gathered upwards of 3000 bushels of the finest 

 turnips, and left the field as finely set with 

 young orchard grass and clover as any one 

 could desire to see. The land on which the 

 turnips were sown was under corn last year 

 in part — about two acres in turnips afler 

 hay. 



The ground in carrots, parsnips, and beets 

 under same culture last season — manure 

 broad-cast, soil sandy, with much mica. Ma- 

 nure did not e.xceed the quantity which 

 would be required for potatoes. 



RECAPITULATION. 



PotatORS herein described, 1,000 bushels ) , r/«» 



Do. another patch, 500 " | " ^•^"" 



Parsneps 400 



Carrots 600 



Beets 830 



Turnips 3,000 



Total 6,330 



Land employed in this culture, 16 acres. 

 Equal to 169 tons, U cwt., 8 lbs. 



