NO. 19. 



THE farmers' cabinet. 



299 



much system for a number of years; now 

 some of it is in tolerable cultivation, thougli 

 very little in a high state. I shall now pro- 

 ceed to give the items of produce and their 

 estimate. I am thus particular, that every 

 reader may see for himself, and imitate the 

 example it he thinks proper, and communi- 

 cate the same for the beuetit of others. 



J,08.-s lbs. of maple sugar, at $10 per cwt. $108 80 



Mulberry trees sold fur c:isli, 1'13 "5 



:)5 lbs, of wool, at 5U c enls per lb. 17 51) 



4 veal calves, at $i 50 |)tr bead, 10 OH 

 1 killed at four d.iys old, skin sold for •'>(1 



5 lambs raised, at ^-i pir head, 10 On 



5 calves raised, $1 per bead. -0 00 



6 pii;s so'd yoim^'. at SI l>er head, Oil 

 8 pigs raised, at $1 per liead, ' 24 00 

 50 tons (if hay, at $7 per ion, 350 00 



1 ton of hemp, 1 1 ''■i 

 16 bu?hels of peas, at $1 per bushel, 10 00 

 59 bushel:! of rye, at $1 per bu.shel, 5!) (lO 

 CHi bushels of barley, at 6'Ji cents per bushol, 4'i 81 

 70 bushels.of wheal, at $1 50 per bushel, 105 i 

 h'la.v in the bundle and seed, C7 OH 

 80 buslinls of .T|iples, at -.'5 cents per bushel, '-iO (lO 

 1,535; llis. of cheese, at .18 p<;rcvvt. 12=i 82 

 2-0 bushels (if potatncs. at 2) cents per bushel, 70 no 

 200 hush, of rula haga turneps, at 25 cts. per bu. 50 00 

 2011 busli. of ears (if poor corn, at 25 elf; |ier bush. 50 00 



2 bushels of white beans, at $1 50 per liushel, 3 Oil 



3 bushels of onions, at 75 cents per bushel, 2 25 

 200 bushels ol oats, at ,50 cents per bushel, lOn 00 

 1,482 lbs. of pork, at 1S7 per cwt. 103 74 

 ]08J lbs, of butler, sold at ,J|8 per cwt. 19 54 

 Growth often heads of two years old cattle, 80 00 

 Growth of five heads year old cattle, 25 00 



Total, $1,()39 Op 



I would remark, that my young cattle, 

 with the exception of one, has pastured on 

 the commons ; but as an offset, I have pas- 

 tured a span of horses, till about the 10th of 

 June, three cows and thirteen sheep all sum- 

 mer, two pair of o.xen and one cow about one 

 month; all the butter and cheese eaten in the 

 family, the butter on hand, garden vegetables, 

 &.C. not brought into this account. And I 

 consider my mulberry yard worth as much 

 as it was last spring before the sale of trees. 

 i am aware that various opinions will be 

 manifested by those who peruse this state- 

 ment. Some will think it falls short of what 

 it ought to be, while others may think it ex- 

 travagantly large. The fact is, my wheat 

 crop was no more than half a good crop, and 

 my corn almost wholly lost, my beans, onions 

 and peas poor, flax not so good as usual. The 

 loss of my wheat and corn, I attribute in a 

 great measure to bad management. My 

 wheat ground fitted too wet, my seed corn 

 bad and planted too late, which left it wholly 

 exposed to the early frosts. 



There are other substantial reasons why 

 farmers ought to know the value of their pro- 

 ducts; in this way they may ascertain the 

 value of their lands. It is commonly sup- 

 posed that land is worth as much as money, 

 therefore, if your land will pay for cultivating 

 and the interest, that is the real value of your 

 land. For instance, you value your farm at 

 sixty dollara per acre, it must pay the cultiva- 



tion and repairs, and produce an income of 

 seven per cent. Another reason i.s that we 

 may know what branches of farming are the 

 most profitable. Dairymen commonly know 

 very nearly tiieir produce, wljile those who 

 have tillage of various kinds, are ignorant of 

 the value of their products, and coiise(]uently 

 suppose tlioir neighbors are going ajiead of 

 tliom, anrl ihey lose no time in converting a 

 good tillage farm to grass wholly, either for 

 the dairy or ehecp entire. 1 would query, is 

 not this one reason of the scarcity and high 

 price of bread stiifls? And under existing 

 circumstances, whether we had not better 

 put the best of our tillage lands in high cul- 

 tivation, and piirbue the culture of wheat, 

 corn, roots, &c. wiiich will support our cows, 

 and our sheep, and our families, vvhile our 

 cows, sheep, and young cattle will support 

 our farms ] Asa Carter. 



Champiuii, Jefferson Co. N. Y. Dec. Io30. 



Communicated. 



Cotton Seed Oil. 



Among the many discoveries and improve- 

 ments in the arts of the present age, is 

 that of manufacturing oil from the cotton 

 seed as a substitute for sperm oil. The seed 

 is first hulled and then pressed out, and the 

 oil is then clarified. This oil has been tested 

 in Philadelphia and Burlington, and found to 

 be superior in more than one respect, to the 

 sperm oil. It burns with a clear brilliant 

 light, without odor, and is less affected by 

 cold than the oils generally used. It has 

 also been found to be good for" paint oil. The 

 oil bran is very valuable for feed, and thought 

 to be equal to the linseed bran or oil cake. 

 A charter has been obtained from the Legis- 

 lature of New Jersey, and it is expected that 

 an establishment for manufacturing the oil 

 will go into operation the ensuing summer, 

 either in Burlington or Gloucester county. 



Burlington Co. N. J., April 6, 1837. 



Raising Sweet Potatoes. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Cabinet. 



My method of raising sweet potatoes is, 

 (and the best method I have ever found,) in 

 ridges instead of hills. But I do not plant 

 the potatoes. I put them in hot beds and 

 sprout them, then set the sprouts in the ridges 

 about fifteen or sixteen inches apart. There 

 is not only a very great saving of seed, but a 

 much greater yield. In a few days after you 

 have taken up the first sprouts, you will have 

 as many more from the same bed, and then 

 again in a few days, as many more. I am 

 persuaded that those who try this method, 

 will prefer it to planting them in hills. 



Henry A. Thompson. 



Monmouth county, N. J, 



