276 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Greenland, JV. H., March 12, 1824. 



TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Sir, — It has not been in my power to send you 

 the following plan and description of my Har- 

 row before the present time. 



This Harrow combines the following good 

 properties. It is strong. It is leas liable to be 

 choked with sods or stones, than any other Har- 

 row, which cuts the ground as finely -and is in 

 use in this country, or is described in any agri- 

 cultural books, which have come to my know- 

 ledge, it is easily cleared, when choked. It is 

 so well balanced, that it needs no additional 

 weight to keep any part of it to the work ; and 

 it cuts all the ground, over which it passes, at 

 equal distances. It cuts deeper into the ground, 

 than harrows, whose teeth are placed nearer 

 each other. It is an improvement on one, which 

 1 invented in 1818; and has been used by me, 

 and many other persons in this and several other 

 towns, since the spring of 1820. As its excel- 

 lence arises from form, it is important, that this 

 should be carefully preserved. Some persons 

 have adopted a mutilated form of it ; and, by 

 shortening the inner beams, and inserting more 

 teeth in the outer ones, have destroyed the pro- 

 per balance of their harrows ; and rendered 

 them much more liable to be choked, than those 

 are, which are made agreeably to the plan. 



Joists 3j inches square, or 3i by 4 of oak, or 

 4 inches square of elm, will be'sutTiciently large 

 for the beams of a common field harrow to be 

 drawn by two horses. A harrow made on this 

 plan, having its teeth sufficiently near, and hav- 

 ing suitable handles answers an excellent pur- 

 pose for harrowing betwen the rows of corn, po- 

 tatoes, and other vegetables. 



To form this harrow let the outer beams be 

 butted together at A so, as to form with each 

 other an angle of an equilateral triangle ; or in 

 other words so, that the teeth at 6 and 6 may be 

 at the same distance from each other, that they 

 are from the tooth at a. The distances between 

 the teeth in the several beams must be equal ; 

 but may be greater or less at pleasure. The 



distance between the teeth in a tield harrow 

 may be a foot. But six or seven inches, is suffi- 

 cient for the distance between the teeth in a 

 harrow, designed to be used between the rows 

 of corn and other vegetables. The spaces be- 

 tween the traces, cut in the ground by the teeth, 

 will be only one quarter as great, as the dis 

 tance between the teeth in the beams. The 

 hindmost teeth in the harrow, that is used be 

 tween the rows of corn should be made so, as to 

 be fastened by a screw and nut at top so, that 

 they may be taken out, if necessary, to accom 

 modate the harrow to narrower spaces in the 

 latter stages of cultivation. — The inner beams 

 should each be parallel to one of the outer ones, 

 and tenoned into the other at c, so, that the line, 

 in which the teeth are inserted into them, may 

 intersect the line of the leeth in the outer 

 beams exactly in the midst, between the second 

 and third teeth from the foremost one. Let the 

 inner beams be halved together at g, where 

 they intersect each other. From the point c, 

 where the line, in which the teeth are inserted 

 in the inner beams, intersects the line of the 

 teeth in the outer ones, set off on one of the in 

 ner beams, at the distance of the teeth in the 

 outer beams, as many places for teeth, as there 

 are teeth in either of the outer ones; and on 

 the other one mark the same spaces ; but do 

 not insert teeth in the two forward places. Let 

 a bar o o, of suitable width and an inch or more 

 in thickness, be passed through all the beams 

 immediately before the hindmost teeth in the 

 outer beams, and behind the third place of the 

 teeth in the inner beams. If it be of suitable 

 width and properly inserted, it will not interfere 

 with the places designed for the teeth. Let a 

 similar bar be passed through the inner beams, 

 between the two hindmost teeth, at d d. Fas- 

 ten the two outer beams, where they are butted 

 together by a trennel at e, and at a little distance 

 behind the trennel insert an iron bolt at h to re- 

 ceive the hook of the chain, by which the har- 

 row is to be drawn. Let the tenons and the 

 bars be suitably pinned ; and let the teeth be in- 

 serted in the places designed for them. For 

 scarrifying ground not ploughed, teeth made flat 

 and sharp like the coulter of a plough and in- 

 serted so, that their sharp edge may be drawn 

 directly forwards are better, than the square 

 teeth, which are commonly used. — It must be 

 obvious to every one, who considers the princi- 

 ples, on which this harrow is constructed, that 

 it may be made larger or smaller, and with a 

 greater or less number of teeth according as the 

 object, for which it is designed may require. 

 Your obedient servant, 



EPHRAIM ABBOT. 



From the Massachusetts Agricultural Repository. 



J^ewbimj, JVov. 15, 1823. 



TO THE COMMITTEE ON INDIA.V CORN. 



[Continued from page 260.] 

 Gentlemen, — The following is a statement of 

 the cultivation and production of an acre of In- 

 dian corn raised by the subscriber in Byefield the 

 present year. The soil is a dark loam and 

 very fertile, perfectly free from stones, and quite 

 level. In 1822 it was planted with corn and 

 produced equal to one hundred and eighteen bu- 

 shels. In April, 1823, there was about seven 

 exact loads of barnyard manure spread upon the 

 ticre and ploughed in. The first of May it was 



again ploughed and holed three and a half fe 

 apart, and eight loads of compost manure froi 

 the hog yard were put into the holes. Th 

 depth of ploughing both times was aboi 

 six inches : five grains of corn were placed f 

 each hill on the manure and covered with a hoi 

 The corn was of the eight rowed kind, an 

 weighed when gathered fifty-nine and a ha 

 pounds to the bushel. It was hoed three di 

 ferent times, the plough was used the first an 

 second lime hoeing; the third time the ho 

 only was used. It may be proper here to ol 

 serve, that at the second hoeing the numberc 

 stalks in each hill was reduced to four, audi 

 consequence of some high winds it was obsen 

 ed at the time of topping the stalks, that th< 

 average number of stalks remaining would nt 

 exceed three and a half. The stalks were top 

 ped about the middle of September, and 1 coo f.|| 

 sider the value to be equal to two tons of Ena 

 lish hay. It was harvested the middle of Oct! 

 ber, and there were one hundred and ninetjj ''|I 

 nine bushels of ears, which made by estimatigi n, 

 one hundred and thirteen and a half bushels^tt;, 

 shelled corn. The expense of cultivation, el J 

 timating labor at seventy cents per day, wf" 

 be as follows, viz. : 



15 loads manure at $1 per toad $15 

 April 28, Ploughing ] 



Mayfi, , Cross Ploughing ] 



" 8, Putting manure into holes & planting 2 



Junes, Hoeing first time 1 



" 12, Hoeing second time 1 



" 20, Hoeing third time 

 July 10, Destroying weeds 



Sept. 9, Topping stalks 2'1 



Oct. 14 and 15, Harvesting, measuring, &c. 5 H 



ta 



Yours respectfully. 



$30 

 JOHN LEES.» 



rl, 



Ne-jobury, M'ov. 26, 1 823. j 



TO THE TRCSTEES OF THE MASSACHD8ETTS AGRICV^ll||c)| 

 TDRAL SOCIETY. 



Gentlemen, — The following is a statement 0< 

 the cultivation and production of a lot of Indint i 

 corn raised by the subscribers in Newbury. The 

 soil as to quality is similar over the lot, of a claj 

 loam, and had been mowed three years. In No* 

 vember, 1822, there was drawn on to one h# 

 of the lot twelve ox cart loads of yard manure^ 

 spread on the grass stubble, and then ploughed; 

 the other part was not ploughed until May,' 

 1823. The part that was ploughed in the fallt 

 was then cross ploughed, then harrowed; the' 

 whole lot which contained about two acres wM 

 then holed about three and a half feet apart.— 

 There was ten cord of compost manure put in 

 the holes on the whole lot, and was planted be- 

 tween the 16th and 25th of May, with five 

 grains in each hole on the manure and covered 

 with a hoe ; the corn was the eight rowed yej* 

 low kind, selected the fall before from the matt 

 fruitful stalks. It was hoed four times : the 

 stalks were topped about the 20th of Septem- 

 ber. The suckers were taken out at the same 

 time. About the 20th of October there wM 

 one acre staked ofl' by a surveyor, which aCiS 

 was gathered, husked and measured ; and theti 

 was two hundred and thirty bushels of ears, ani 



fraction over. Six bushels of ears wert 

 shelled, and it produced three bushels of shel- 

 led corn, from which there was one hundred and 

 fifteen bushels and one quart of sound corn from 

 one acre of land. The other part of the lot 

 which was not ploughed till spring and no ma- 



