No. 8. 



St. George's Ploughing Match. — Worn-out Lands. 



243 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 St. George's Ploughing Match. 



Mr. Editor, — I pray you, do me the 

 kindness to insert the following extract of a 

 letter, which I have this day received from 

 Major John Jones, of Wheatland, on the 

 subject of the ploughing match of the St. 

 George's Society, which took place at Mid- 

 dletown, Delaware, on the 9th of November 

 last, the report of which was published in 

 the Cabinet for December. I beg to say, 

 the Major's account is perfectly satisfactory, 

 and it has relieved my mind from much un- 

 easiness, arising from the idea that justice 

 had not been done in the premises, without, 

 however, suspecting for a moment, that the 

 committee appointed on that occasion, had 

 not performed their duty in perfect fairness; 

 for if there be not probity in " Little Dela- 

 ware," 'twill be in vain to seek it elsewhere. 

 In the words of Dr. Ford, "They know their 

 duty, and knowing, they will perform it." 

 At all the exhibitions that I have attended, 

 my only wish has been for a clear field and 

 no favour; and finding that the failure of 

 the Centre-draught plough at Middletown, 

 arose entirely from accident, and not from 

 design, I am quite willing to await the next 

 meeting of the St. George's Society, for an 

 opportunity of wiping out the seeming dis- 

 grace. I have the assurance of Mr. Daniel 

 Corbit also, that the plough on that occasion, 

 lost none of the favour it had so recently 

 earned. Major Jones says : ^ 



"And now, as you may think that justice 

 was not done to the Centre-draught plough 

 at the Middletown ploughing match, I will 

 state as follows : You are aware that I take 

 an active part in these ploughing matches ; 

 in fact, the first match in this part of the 

 State, was got up by me, expressly for the 

 purpose of showing the superiority of the 

 Centre-draught and Subsoil plougiis of Prou 

 ty & Mears ; and you may see that my zeal 

 in the cause has not abated ; for on this oc- 

 casion I had three of the principal teams, 

 and as many of the best ploughmen, as good 

 as this State, or even the 'West Riding of 

 Yorkshire' could furnish. Two new ploughs 

 had been sent to me, expressly for trial on 

 this occasion ; one by Mr. Sinclair, and the 

 other by Mr. Eastman, both of Baltimore 

 . and T gave them my best teams, as I had 

 promised, for they had no other friend 

 amongst us; while I expected many warm 

 friends of the Centre-draught plough to be 

 present; but to my astonishment, not one of 

 them brought a plough in good order, the 

 only one on the ground, being dull and 

 rusty; and to this I hitched my mules, with 

 a good ploughman to be sure, but one that 



had never seen the mules or a Prouty 

 plough, until the hour of starting on that 

 day. If I had not been anxious to swell the 

 number of ploughs for contest, the Centre- 

 draught plough would not have been brought 

 forward in the state she was; but even in 

 that crippled condition, I am free to say, she 

 had the most friends. Come on then, next 

 season as you promise ; my teams shall be 

 always at your service. 



" As regards the self-sharpening principle 

 of the Centre-draught plough, I must state, 

 I put in 100 acres of oats, 70 acres of corn, 

 and about 70 acres of wheat the last year, 

 and did nearly all the ploughing with the 

 two Centre-draught ploughs, with the same 

 points and shares which you put to them 

 while at my house in September, 1842; the 

 other points and shares you sent, not coming 

 to hand until since Christmas, 1843. And 

 besides this, most of the hundred acres 

 ploughed last fall for my next corn crop, 

 was done with the same ploughs. 



"John Jones." 



And now, Mr. Editor, I appeal to you, and 

 ask, whether the report of the St. George's 

 Society's ploughing match, be not "the 

 strongest recommendation that the Centre- 

 draught plough has ever yet received'?" 

 Dear Sir, yours, 

 With perfect esteem and respect, 



James Pedder. 



Philadelphia, Feb. 14th, 1844. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 Worn-out Lands. 



In the American Farmer of December 

 27th, appeared an extract from a communi- 

 cation by John Jones, of Wheatland, to the 

 Farmers' Cabinet, in which he makes allu- 

 sion to the astonishing effects brought about 

 in the renovation of worn-out lands in Dela- 

 ware, by Dr. Noble, of Philadelphia. On 

 land which cost but $15 per acre, and pro- 

 duced but five bushels of wheat three years 

 ago, by the application of eight loads of ma- 

 nure, costing — freight included — less than 

 $1 50 per load ; the Doctor has raised forty- 

 seven bushels of wheat from one acre, and 

 from the remainder rather less, the average 

 being an enormous increase over the pro- 

 duce of former years. The editor of the 

 A. Farmer expresses an " intense desire" to 

 learn the secret by which the Doctor has 

 been enabled, at the small expense of less 

 than ^\2 dollars per acre, to effect such 

 astonishing results. 



We would inform him, there is no secret 

 whatever in the method pursued, but such 

 as any farmer might discover for himself, if 

 he would but take the trouble to read some 



