272 



Statement to the Agricultural Society. 



Vol. VIII. 



providence, of pleasure-seeking, and of ne 

 gleet of business, with all their necessary 

 consequences. Novv all has been changed. 



James Gowen's Statement. 

 To THE Committee on Crops, — 



Gentlemen, — As usual, I make my an^ 

 nual statement as a candidate for the So 

 ciety's premiums for crops of the growth of 

 1843. 



Carrots. — About half an acre, sowed by 

 hand on the 22nd and 23rd of May, in drills 

 18 inches apart. Soil light, intermixed 

 with mica — barn-yard manure, well rotted, 

 applied broadcast. Gathered between the 

 3rd and 10th of November. The yield 

 rating 687 bushels to the acre. 



Sugar Parsneps. — Over one-fourth of an 

 acre, sowed about the same time, and ma- 

 nured in same manner as the carrots — the 

 carrots raised for horse feed, the parsneps 

 for cattle ; both crops were thinned out to 

 stand about four inches apart; when fully 

 grown, they seemed to touch each other, 

 presenting a continuous line of carrot or 

 parsnep, as though they had been wedged 

 in. The parsnep when gathered, yielded 

 at the rate of 863 bushels to the acre. 



Sugar Beet. — Over one acre, sowed by 

 hand on the 8th and 9th of June, in drills 

 two feet four inches apart. Soil same as 

 carrot and parsnep ])atch. A portion of the 

 manure consisted of yard scrapings, the re- 

 mainder was made up of liquid manure, ap- 

 plied simply and economically by horse and 

 dray, with a large hogshead and hose at- 

 tached. Gathered from the 30th of October 

 to the 2nd of November. Yielded 1078 

 bushels, of 60 lbs. to the bushel — equal to 

 28i tons of clean, well topped roots to the 

 acre. It was the best crop as to quality, I 

 ever saw. 



Wheat. — Four acres, sowed on the 5th of 

 October, 1842, on the same land from which 

 the crop of potatoes was taken that year, 

 which yielded over 440 bushels to the acre, 

 and for which I received the premium. 

 There was no additional manure put on for 

 the wheat. Sowed two bushels, with three 

 bushels of orchard grass seed to the acre. 

 The wheat was called "Italian wheat," fur- 

 nished by my esteemed friend Captain John 

 Steele, of Lancaster county. Owing to the 

 severe drought, it did not come up till after 

 the rain of the 17th. On reaping, two acres 

 were accurately laid off, which produced 

 210 dozens, equal to 105 dozens to the acre. 

 Threshed of the same in September, on 

 irial, eight dozens, which yielded 4^ bush- 

 els, and then one dozen separately, taken 

 oft" by one of your committee — these nine 



dozen yielding over 4^ bushels, make the 

 yield 55 bushels per acre. From the heat 

 and moisture of the weather, the threshing 

 was unfavourable to the yield, while at the 

 same time the grain did not clean well, and 

 this increased the bulk, and lessened the 

 weight per bushel, but making all proper 

 allowance under the circumstances, the 

 yield cannot be less than 50 bushels to the 

 acre. The quality cannot be surpassed for 

 flour, as certified by Mr. Hinkle, the miller, 

 who weighed part of the wheat, and found 

 it to weigh 61 lbs. to the bushel. ,^ It is not 

 all threshed yet, but every threshing made 

 since September, proved the correctness of 

 the estimate then taken. 



Corn. — About eight acres, planted be- 

 tween the 23rd and 25th of May, in a field 

 which had but lately come into my posses- 

 sion : the land no doubt had been ploughed 

 some hundred times, and yet when I came 

 to disturb it, there was not, on an average, 

 three inches deep of soil on it. The plough- 

 ing, or rather quarrying, proved a trouble- 

 some job — pending the operation, lookers on 

 would try to look serious, if they inquired 

 whether I expected that kind of work would 

 pay, and I tried not to smile when I told 

 them my predecessors, like themselves per- 

 haps, concluded it would not pay, but that I 

 entertained a very different opinion, for I 

 expected the stone taken out, and the extra 

 crop of the present year, would more than 

 remunerate for all the trouble, to say nothing 

 of the easy working and abundant crops to 

 follow in future — and now my estimate holds 

 good, for the 40 to .50 bushels of corn to the 

 acre extra, will more than pay for the extra 

 labour, to say notiiing of the value of the 

 stone. Let them smile now at my success, 

 or rather let them profit by my e.xample, and 

 then I shall feel doubly paid. 



The corn was planted in drills, at the dis- 

 tance of ten to twelve inches to a plant — 

 the drills or rows three feet apart, precisely. 

 This was bold work, and was held to be im- 

 prudent, by almost every person who saw it. 

 Late planting and a bad season contributed 

 to discourage — so backward was it, that on 

 the 15th of June, the plants were so weak 

 that neither plough nor harrow could be 

 used; and as I must needs do something to 

 it before mowing, — rrty early grass being 

 then ready to cut, — I turned in the hands to 

 give it a slight touch of hand-hoeing, and it 

 was not until the 5th of July, fit to be worked 

 by horse-power. As the season advanced 

 and the weather became hotter, it was 

 cheering to see the rapidity of the growth, 

 and vigor of the stalks — there was then 

 every indication of the largest and best 

 yield ever made, and had it not been for the 



