NO. I. 



THE FARMERS CABINET. 



u 



whicli the harrow is attached, and flutter my- 

 tself that the method devised will prove far 

 superior to that of so\vin<^ hy hand, so that 1 

 now call the iinplenient Revolving- Harrow 

 and Seed cart, calculated to sow the grain, 

 harrow it in, and cast it into drills of 2^ inches 

 apart at one operation. 



Since having patented my invention, I 

 have been at much expense in travelling with 

 the im|)leincnt, and have discovered to my 

 surprise a great want of agricultural s-jjiril 

 wherever I have been, say from Albany, N. 

 Y., to Norfolk, Va. It is a fact that our 

 farmers, generally speaking, forget the old 

 adage tiiat, "that which is well done is 

 twice done." And it is astonishing to me 

 that 19 out of 20 are averse to deep plough- 

 ing, tor 1 tiiid tlic average depth to be live 

 inches, and in many instances not four, par- 

 ticularly on the eastern shore of Maryland. 

 The reason assigned by many for shallow 

 ploughing is, that they are afraid to brmg 

 to the surface the clay soil. In my humble 

 opinion, 1 would say plough six inches deep, 

 clay or no clay. Would it not be wiser to 

 cover the good soil by bringing the clay on 

 the top, so that it would be protected from 

 the heat of the sun, and the roots of the 

 grain which naturally shoot downwards will 

 then come in contact with a soil far better 

 calculated to nourish them than that of the 

 clay which they cannot penetrate, and which 

 in shallow ploughing they must inevitable 

 have to contend with. 



Another reason which 1 would suggest 

 in favor of turning the clay soil on the sur- 

 face is, that the heat of the sun, the atmos- 

 phere and rain, &c., will have a tendency to 

 convert it into a soil of some nourishment. I 

 am persuaded that any soil will be soon worn 

 out by shallow ploughing, or more proper- 

 ly speaking, by skimming over the surface 

 as is generally done. There is in my opin- 

 ion a very wide field open for improvement 

 in agriculture. The common harrow or drag, 

 moving no faster than the horse which pro- 

 pels it, is poorly calculated to pulverize the 

 rarth ; and it is the poor opinion I have ever 

 had of the implement, which caused me to 

 view it as a halt-and-half kind of an article; 

 its effect on the earth I consider very decep- 

 tive, as it leaves the surtace fair to the eye, 

 so much so, that farmers are apt to think the 

 ■work is well done, when at the same time 

 beneath this smooth surface there are clods 

 without number hid from their view. This 

 cannot possibly be the case with my Revolv- 

 ing Harrow, which certainly pulverizes the 

 eartti honestly, or in other words, as deep as 

 the ground is ploughed. 



In using the drag for turning in grain, a 

 great quantity is lost by the number of clods 

 which. are upset on clusters that cannot move 



the clods nor force their way through it. I 

 am decidedly of opinion that eight bushels 

 of grain turned in with my harrow will pro- 

 duce more in the crop than ten put in with 

 the drag. And why? Because the earth is 

 well pulverized, and the grain uniformly 

 sown in drills, which admit of a circulation 

 of air calculated to prevent the stalks from 

 mill dew. 



I have remarked that those who are the 

 least indebted are the best cultivators, as 

 they are compelled in a measure to make the 

 most of what they possess. Having wit- 

 nessed the effect of the drag very closely 

 since my harrow has been in operation, and 

 without the least disposition to boast of my 

 improvement in harrowing, I do say that the 

 drafr is a drag, and not a harrow; but my 

 Revolving Harrow, which revolutionizes 

 every thing it comes in contact with, may 

 with propriety be called a harrow. 



Permit me to remark, that I have recently 

 received a letter of some length from the 

 President of an Agricultural Society in Eas- 

 ton, on the eastern shore of Maryland, who 

 appears to take great interest in any improve- 

 ments in agriculture, having offered me every 

 facility in their power to get my improved 

 harrow introduced among the farmers in that 

 neighbourhood. 



In my reply to that letter, I could not re- 

 frain from tendering my thanks to the Socie- 

 ty for the encouragement offered therein. — 

 When travelling through the country, I 

 looked for and expected to find societies es- 

 tablished for the benefit and promotion of 

 agriculture, but found none until I received 

 the very welcome letter which I did from the 

 Hon. Robert H. Goldsborough, President of 

 the Society above alluded to. It is true 

 there are many Societies formed on paper 

 which prove of but little benefit. 



The foregoing remarks 1 hope will prove 

 of some service in having a tendency to re- 

 vive the spirit of agriculture which not only 

 interests the farmer, but the community at 

 large. " Bread is the staff" of life." 

 Respectfully, your ob't servant, 



James D. Woodsidk. 



Washington, Jan. llth, 1830. 



The Corn Planter. 



A machine of this name, for which a pa- 

 tent has been obtained by Henry Blair, a free 

 man of color, of an adjoining county of Mary- 

 land, is now exhibiting in the Capitol. 



It is a very simple and ingenious machine, 

 which, as moved by a horse, opens the fur- 

 rows, drops (at proper intervals, and in an 

 exact and suitable quantity) the corn, covers 

 it, and levels the earth so as, in fact, to plant 

 the corn as rapidly as a horse can draw a 



