344 



T)ie Farm of Clark Rice, Esq. 



Vol. XII. 



Mr. Rice lias been in the habit of apply- 

 ing 50 loads to the acre ; 25 loads spread on 

 the turf and ploughed in, and 25 loads spread 

 on the furrows and harrowed in. He has 

 come to the conclusion, however, from re- 

 cent trials, with a view to ascertain the pro- 

 per depth to bury compost, that he shall in 

 future introduce the plough two or three 

 inches deeper in breaking up his sward land, 

 which his present facilities for making com- 

 post will warrant, and spread the whole 

 dressing on top of the furrow, incorporating 

 it thoroughly with the soil above the sod. 



The building appropriated to the horse 

 barn and carriage house, has a cellar under 

 the whole of it, and the manure of two or 

 three horses goes into the part under the 

 stables, into which muck is also thrown, 

 from time to time, and six or eight working 

 hogs are faithful to their business of ming- 

 ling and pulverizing the materials with which 

 they are supplied. Bedding is freely used 

 under the horses to augment the mass. Un- 

 der the carriage house is the feeding apart- 

 ment, also a kettle and arch for cooking 

 their feed, and storage for the materials. 



There is still another cellar adjoining this, 

 which receives all the wash of the house and 

 the night soil, and which is liberally supplied 

 with muck to absorb it as occasion requires. 

 The objection to such places generally is 

 that they are difficult of access, but in this 

 case it is entirely obviated, the cellar being 

 sufficiently capacious to back a cart into it. 



The barn-yard is constructed differently 

 from any I have before seen. The main 

 yard, whore the fatting cattle run, is slightly 

 descending to the east to another yard, which 

 is well supplied with muck, and is calculated 

 to receive the wash or superabundant moist- 

 ure of the former. This arrangement gives 

 him a yard free from mire and water, which 

 at certain times is deemed essential to the 

 comfort of the fat cattle, and to his own 

 comfort and convenience in carting to and 

 f;om the barn such large quantities of hay, 

 &c. During the day the coarser forage of 

 the farm is mainly fed out in the lower yard 

 to the cows and young cattle which run 

 there, and the refuse of it is incorporated 

 with muck by the treading of the cattle. 

 Occasionally in the course of the winter, a 

 moderate coat of muck is spread over it, this 

 being deemed better policy than to put the 

 whole quantity of muck that the yard will 

 bear into it at once, in the fall. After plant- 

 ing in the spring, the contents of this yard 

 are carted out into a heap for fermentation; 

 it is immediately supplied with muck again, 

 and the cows are yarded on it over night 

 through the summer, excepting when too 



wet and miry from heavy rains, when they 

 are for a few days turned into the upper or 

 dry yard. In the fall, the contents are again 

 carted out, and a fresh covering of muck put 

 in for winter. The litter, &c., of the upper 

 yard is also carted out in the spring and com- 

 posted with muck, in all cases designing to 

 use tw^o parts of muck to one of manure. 



Irrigation. — ]Mr. Rice's system of irriga- 

 tion is in the highest state of perfection. At 

 the breaking up of winter quite a brook is 

 formed from the rains and melting of the 

 snow. It may be termed surface water from 

 the adjoining high lands, and probably its 

 marked effects in increasing the quantity 

 and quality of grass, may be attributable in 

 a great measure, to the fact that it is thus 

 formed, and not a living stream fed by 

 springs. 



A large embankment of earth has been 

 thrown up on the lower side of the swamp, 

 the other sides being surrounded by higher 

 lands, and thus a large reservoir is made 

 into which this temporary stream is conduct- 

 ed, and with which it is filled in March, and 

 afler, to the depth of several feet. Gates 

 are constructed in the embankment to draw 

 off this accumulation of water as wanted for 

 irrigation, and they are also calculated for 

 the thorough drainage of the swamp. The 

 water is conducted in ditches at different 

 heights, over 50 acres of grass land, which 

 lies more or less descending from the swamp. 

 The ditches run across the land at right an- 

 gles with its descent, and the water is taken 

 out of them by small outlets, made at suit- 

 able distances in the lower sides, so as to 

 flow gently over the whole land. 



The water is not let on the land till after 

 the frost is out in the spring, on account of 

 its liability to wash holes by getting under 

 the frozen ground ; neither is it continued 

 on the land afler about the middle of June, 

 or when the grass has grown so as to cover 

 the ground completely; if continued on 

 longer, the quality of the hay is injured. 

 Mr. Rice considers that the greatest benefit 

 is derived from the irrigation in April and 

 May, on account of the early and vigorous 

 growth it imparts to the grass; this effect is 

 no doubt increased greatly from the fact that 

 the temperature of the water is considerably 

 warmer by standing in the reservoir. 



Care and judgment is necessary in man- 

 aging the irrigation. Mr. Rice frequently 

 passes over the land when under the pro- 

 cess, and if any part of it is getting over- 

 charged with water, it is taken off, or if any 

 part is not receiving its portion, the same is 

 supplied as soon as discovered. When heavy 

 rains occur during the irrigation, it is stop- 



