370 



Fine Farms in Dutchess County, K. Y. 



Vol. XII. 



RussELLiA joNCEA. — For the best speci- 

 men in flower, in a pot, $1. 



Manettia glabra. — For the best speci- 

 men in flower, in a pot, .$1. 



HoYA carnosa. — For the best do. $1. 

 Verbena. — For the best do. $1. 

 Verbenas. — For the best, three varieties 

 in pots, to be exhibited, $3. 

 For the second best do. $2. 

 Ferns. — For the best display in pots, do. 

 $2. 



Petunias. — For the best two specimens, 

 do. 9ifQ. 



AcHiMENES — For the beat display to be 

 exhibited, $3. 



Orchide.'e. — For the best do. §;3. 

 Designs formed of cut flowers, etc. — 

 For the best and most appropriate, .^40. 

 For the second best do. S30. 

 For the third best do. $20. 

 For the fourth best do. $1.5. 

 For the fifth best do. $12. 

 For the sixth best do. $10. 

 For the seventh best do. $9. 

 For the eighth best do. $8. 

 For the ninth best do. $7. 

 For the tenth best do. $6. 

 For the eleventh best do. $5. 

 Bouquets — To be confined to those suit- 

 able for the centre table. — For the best and 

 most approved, $7. 



For the second best do. $5. 

 For the third best do. $3. 

 For the fourth best do. $1. 

 For the best, of indigenous flowers, etc. 

 $5. 



For the second best do. $3. 

 For the best Basket of Flowers, $5. 

 For the second best do. $3. 

 For the third best do. $2. 

 Wreaths. — For the best pair, for festoon- 

 ing, $7. 

 For the second beSt do. $5. 

 For the third best do. $3. 



Fine Farms in Dutchess County, N. Y. 



Having lately had an opportunity of spend 

 ing a few hours at some fine places in Dutch 

 ess county, we submit a hasty and necessa- 

 rily imperfect sketch of some of the objects 

 which met our attention. 



The farm of J. W. Wheeler, Esq., of Hyde 

 Park, consists of 300 acres. It has been in 

 his possession for five years, but at the pre- 

 sent time about 200 acres are rented. The 

 natural situation of the place, on the east 

 bank of the Hudson, is very pleasant, and 

 Mr. W. has done much to improve and beau- 

 tify it. His buildings are tasteful and neat; 

 his grounds are handsomely laid out, and 

 mostly enclosed with stone walls of the best 



kind. It is designed that all the outline 

 fences shall be of stone, and that the few in- 

 ternal ones which are necessary, shall be of 

 iron. 



The soil of Mr. Wheeler's farm, generally, 

 is of rather a loose texture, somewhat gra- 

 velly in places, underlaid by slate rocks. It 

 is well suited to the production of Indian 

 corn, rye, and most kinds of fruit common to 

 the latitude — especially apples and pears. 

 There is a large number of pear trees, and 

 we have never seen finer or more healthy 

 ones, or those that were better set in fruit. 



The principal products of the farm are 

 fruits, Indian corn, rye, potatoes and hay. 

 The grain is chiefly used in fattening beef- — 

 the other articles are sent to the New York 

 market. Mos? of the cattle to be fattened, 

 are commonly purchased in the fall, fed 

 through the winter, and sold the following 

 May or June. Oxen are employed in farm 

 labour. They are at all times well fed, and 

 not being overworked, they get in high con- 

 dition, and with only a little extra feeding, 

 are turned off for beef at good prices. Mr. 

 W. showed us six handsome and well-fatten- 

 ed oxen, which had been sold to be taken 

 away in the month of June, at an average of 

 a hundred dollars each — estimated equal to 

 nine dollars per hundred for the nett beef, or 

 four quarters. 



All the stables and stock yards are con- 

 structed to prevent the waste of any portion 

 of the excrement, liquid or solid. Large 

 quantities of good manure are made by the 

 stall-fed cattle and other animals, and it is 

 all carefully saved and applied to the land 

 in the most judicious manner. The yards 

 are kept covered with muck and litter, and 

 the manure is made up into compost heaps, 

 where the decomposition is so regulated, and 

 the gases so absorbed, that there is no loss of 

 fertilizing elements. It is commonly applied 

 to hoed crops, and is thoroughly incorporated 

 with the surface soil. 



Mr. Wheeler has some Ayrshire and some 

 Durham cattle. He prefers the former for 

 the dairy. He has two Ayrshire cows and 

 a bull which were imported, and several 

 young animals of their produce. They are 

 good stock. Only one of the Ayrshire cows 

 had a calf the past spring. This one — 

 "Efiie," — and a "Dutch" heifer were put 

 on trial together, for butter, for a few weeks, 

 and the two yielded from 22 to 23| pounds 

 per week. Few cows, of any breed, carry 

 more good points for the dairy, than the Ayr- 

 shire last mentioned. 



We were highly pleased with the good 

 order, neatness, and the general evidences 

 of good management displayed on the premi- 

 ses of Mr. Wheeler, and regretted that cir- 



