No. 1. James Gowen's Crops. — Straivherries — Kerc Varieties. 



33 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 



Report of Crops raised by James Gowen 

 iu 1845. 



Ten acres of corn in a field divided into 

 two plats by an under drain, terminating- in 

 an open ditch, on one side of which was laid 

 off seven acres, and on the other side three 

 acres for corn — intermediate land including 

 drain and ditch, reserved for ruta baga. In 

 the seven acre plat there were 158 rows, 

 three and a half feet apart, running north 

 and south. In the three-acre plat, 67 rows, 

 three and a half feet apart, running east and 

 west, planted in drills or rows, first week in 

 May. The field had been in grass since 

 1839 — had no manure since, until broken 

 up for corn, when one ton of guano at $40, 

 was applied. Before husking the whole, a 

 number of rows were taken while the corn 

 was yet standing, in difl^erent sections, com- 

 prising a fair sample, to furnish a proper 

 average. The rows designated were husked 

 and measured under the supervision of dis- 

 interested persons. The 158 rows in large 

 plat, averaged eight and a quarter bushels. 

 The 67 rows in small plat, nine bushels, 

 measured according to usage, so as every 

 two bushels of ears should be equal to one 

 bushel of shelled corn — the whole making 

 1,9065 bushels of ears, equal to 953 bushel 

 of shelled corn, averaging 95 bushels shelled 

 corn to the acre. The seed was dr(^ed 

 twelve inches apart continuously in the 

 drill, was of course worked but one way, 

 and though an old grass field, I might chal- 

 lenge the whole country for a piece of corn 

 land so free from grass and weeds ; and this 

 condition was by no means owing to e.xtra 

 work while the crop was growing, but mainly 

 to judicious harrowing while preparing the 

 land for the seed. Prevention is tar belter 

 than cure. 



In consequence of the Resolution of the 

 Society debarring those who had been award- 

 ed premiums in two previous years, from 

 competing with similar crops the succeeding 

 year, I resolved never again to present any 

 crop of my raising for a premium ; but hav- 

 ing by way of encouragement, promised the 

 premium to one of my men, should the 

 crop of corn be entitled to one, I now sub- 

 mit it on his account. 



I take occasion however to state, that I 

 had about seven acres of winter wheat; six 

 of Italian White, and one acre of a peculiar 

 Red, besides one acre of spring wheat — the 

 average of the whole computed at over 40 

 bushels to the acre. It is worthy of note, 

 that the ground sown with spring wheat 

 yielded the year previous over 900 bushels 

 of carrots. The wheat was sown last spring 



without any manure, the condition of the 

 land aller the carrots, being considered suf- 

 ficient to sustain the wheat. After the 

 wheat was reaped it was sown to turnips 

 under a light dressing of scrapings of yard, 

 with about eight bu.-iiels of lime — the yield 

 was over lOUU bushels. This will show, in 

 some degree, what land is capable of pro- 

 ducing under proper culture. 



Here are 900 bushels of carrots at 



40 cents per bushel, .$360 00 



40 bushels Spring wheat, at $1 40 00 

 1000 bushels turnips, at 12^ cts. 125 00 



$525 00 

 in two seasons, from one acre of land. 



1 had also eight acres of rye, average 

 yield, 38 bushels to the acre. The carrot 

 crop exceeded in quantity all former crops 

 raised by me — the yield being over 1000 

 bushels to the acre. Sugar parsnip, 800 

 bushels, and ruta-baga over 600 bushels to 

 the acre. Of potatoes, I had in three acres, 

 the yield, over 200 bushels of choice pota- 

 toes to the acre. 



I do not submit these crops for premium, 

 for the reasons already stated ; but should 

 the corn be deemed worthy of distinction, 

 yo'i will please award the premium to Solo- 

 mon Unruli, the individual to whom I pro- 

 mised it. 



Respectfully, 



James Gowen. 



Mount Airy, March 18th, 1846. 



To the Committee on Crops, of Philadel- 

 phia Agricultural Society. 



N. B. It would be proper, perhaps, to 

 state, that the above Report does not in- 

 clude all that was raised on the farm in 

 1845 — iu addition, 1 housed upwards of 100 

 tons of excellent hay, notwithstanding the 

 season was not favourable to the grass crop. 

 This will be considered doing pretty well, 

 on an upland farm of some 100 acres, while 

 maintaining during the summer over fitly 

 head of cattle. J. G. 



Dr. Brinckle's Strawberries— New Va- 

 rieties. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Cabinet : — 



My Dear Sir, — In compliance with my 

 promise, I now send you a report of some of 

 my horticultural experiments, with a descrip- 

 tion and the parentage of a number of the 

 new varieties of strawberries I have origi- 

 nated. 



In the formation of new fruit of excel- 

 lence, the most certain mode of proceeding 



