282 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



MARCH 8. 184 



11. I irrigate about 10 acres: it is flown early 

 in the spring, by large springs of water, which is 

 continued almost to the time of cutting, and the 

 effect is to produce large grass without manure. 



12. We manure our upland mowing ground with 

 manure from the yard; apply from 10 to 1,5 loads 

 fo the acre, and have of late found by experience, 

 that it is best to apply it in the fall of the year. 



1-3. I mow about 10 acres lowlands ; quality, 

 principally herds-grass and redtop : quantity, 2 tons 

 per acre. 



14. I have no bog or peat lands. 



15. Planted two acres with corn ; plowed in the 

 fall, harrowed in the spring; seed, eight-rowed 

 yellow corn ; manure made from sheep ; taJten 

 from under sheds last fall and put in heaps ; ap- 

 plied 10 loads to the acre, put in the hills; hoed 

 three times; plastered once. As I have not har- 

 vested my corn, I will slate that I entered my corn 

 to our Society fora premium ; the committee called 

 to examine it in the night, and husked 1-2 rod, 

 from wliich they obtained 1-2 bushel of ears, and 

 when we cut the stalks, we found six ears on those 

 hills. 



IG. Planted about 1 3-4 of an acre with pota- 

 toes ; put one large potato in a hill ; hoed twice; 

 10 loads of green manure to the acre: plastered 

 once ; those wh^re the manure was plowed in, 

 were plastered in the hill at the time of planting ; 

 those manured in the hill, plastered after coming 

 Dp. Quantity of product, 500 bushels — or about 

 980 bushels to the acre. Kinds, Mercers, flesh- 

 colorod, and white Orange. Not much difference 

 in the yield. 



17. I have not cultivated vegetables e.\cept for 

 family use. 



18. I have sowed about eight acres of oats ; 

 ground plowed last fall, and again in the spring, 

 and made mellow ; sowed llie last of April and 

 first of May; 3 bushels seed to the acre; had 220 

 shocks. One piece of two acres, gave 79 1-2 

 shocks; all reaped excepting a few shocks ; have 

 threshed a few oats, and got 1 bushel and 20 qts. 

 to the shock. 



19. I sowed 4 acres in the fore part of May, 

 with oats, 4 qts. of clover, and 8 of herds-grass 

 seed. I approve your recommendation of sowing 

 more herds-grass seed, as I have been convinced 

 of late that we do not sow seed enough of that kind 

 to the acre. 



20. We have not had much means of making 

 manure, except from our barns, straw, &c., but 

 have been plowing up turf at the side of the road, 

 and getting some out of low pjaces that are wash- 

 ed in this season. 



21. We have a pair of horses, three cows, four 

 young cattle ; we have generally kept through the 

 winter about 250 sheep, until the two last seasons, 

 when (lur hay was cut off by drought; have hired 

 Bonie pasture for our sheep in the summer. I will 

 state that three years ago we wintered 243 sheep, 

 without losing a single one, and sold 5 tons hay. 

 We have more hay this season than any previous 

 year. I have two barns; one 42 by 37 1-2 feet, 

 the other 53 by 20. No cellar under them. A 

 portion of the manure is kept under sheds. 



22. My cows are of native breed. 



23. Calves intended to be raLfod, I feed on new 

 milk two or three weeks, and then wjth skimmed 

 milk, adding a little scalded flax-seed. 



24. We have not weighed all our butter made 

 this year, but as near as we can calculate, we have 

 made 280 lbs., and 550 lbs. of cheese, 3-4 new milk. 

 Used milk and cream for a large family. 



25. Our average number of sheep is about 250, 

 in a common season, and selling 5 tons of hay; 

 our sheep are of the mixed breed of Saxony and 

 Merino; average 3 lbs. of wool the head; feed 

 them in winter with hay and grain, in board racks; 

 when the time of lambing approaches, feed rather 

 more grain and some potatoes, and shelter them 

 from storms in sheds ; lamb first of April ; lambs 

 coming at this early season are better to winter, 

 and the ewes get in better condition. We have 

 lost, for a number of years, from 5 to 20 lambs 

 from 100 ewes. They have died, some from the 

 sheep not having milk, and from being disowned by 

 their mothers ; some from being dropped in the 

 night, and getting chilled before acquiring strength 

 to suck ; some from being in a sickly and dying 

 state when born. Last spring most of the lambs 

 died without any apparent cause. My sheep were 

 healthy and had plenty of milk. Lambs seemed to 

 be strong; would get up and suck, and lie down 

 and die. Cannot assign any cause. 



26. We have generally kept three swine through 

 the winter ; one to have pigs in the spring; breed, 

 mixed Berkshire; have fattened from 10 to 15 

 hundred pounds of pork. Have not paid much at- 

 tention to pork. 



27. In summer, feed my swine principally on 

 grass with a little whey and milk; fatten on boiled 

 potatoes and apples with some meal and corn. 



28. I have from 8 to 10 loads of hog manure, 

 made of straw, vegetables, green-sward carted in, 

 cobs, &c. 



29. Have hired the present year, 12 days work 

 in haying; other labor done by myself and three 

 boys, two 14 years old, and one IG. 



30. We have about 140 bearing apple trees, 

 about 20 of which are grafted with choice fruit. 

 We have 70 trees planted last spring, all of graft- 

 ed fruit. We use our apples to a considerable ex- 

 tent for feeding, and make some cider for vinegar 

 and apple sauce. Do not drink any cider. Think 

 common apples worth more for feeding than for 

 any other use, generally. 



31. We have 4 pear and 4 plum trees, in a bear- 

 ing state, with a large number of young ones, and 

 some young peach trees, 



32. I have no information on the subject of cank- 

 er worms and borers. 



33. In the cultivation of my farm I use no ar- 

 dent spirits — cold water altogether. 



All which is respectfully submitted. 



ELIAS J. WERDEN. 



Ebenezer Richardson^s Statement. 

 Ans. 1. My farm contains 150 acres. 



2. Slate and peat soil. 



3. Depth of plowing, 7 inches. 



4. I- have no thin soil. 



5. My peat land I first drain thoroughly, then 

 turn the turf over with hoes and grabs, and take 

 nut the wood, which amounts to from 20 to 30 cords 

 per acre; then plant with potatoes, manuring well 

 in the hill ; after this crop, sow with grass : a coat 

 of gravel harrowed in at the sowing, is beneficial. 

 On slaty land I plow in my manure, or a succes- 

 sion of green crops. 



G. I till about C acres, and put 50 loads of ma- 

 nul-e per acre. 



7. Apply my manure in compost. Not having 

 cellars under my barns, I put peat under all places 

 where I throw out manure, to save the leachings : 

 in the spring, mix all together. 



8. I spread manure on hard land and plow it in. 



9. 1 plow green-sward as soon as is convoni 

 after the hay is off; let it be till spring, then n 

 nure and plow it in, being particular to cover al 

 can of it. 



10. I mow about 3G acres of hard land, two 

 reclaimed peat, and three of swails. I cut fr 

 50 to 55 tons of hard land hay. 



11. Do not irrigate. 



12. Do not manure any land that I mow. J 

 hard land was so bound out when I bought it, tl 

 it has taken all the manure I could make. It v 

 not in a proper state to spread manure on 

 plowed. 



13. I mow of low land about three acres ; qui 

 tity, 5 tons ; quality, half the value of hard la 

 hay. 



14. In reclaiming bog or peat lands, I first dr 

 thoroughly; then turn the turf over, and proce 

 as stated in answer 5. I have about 12 ac: 

 drained, and 9 of them turned over; from two 

 which I have taken an abundant crop of hay t 

 year; and three and a half more, which I plani 

 with potatoes and corn, produced good crops. 



15. Had in corn five acres — 4 1-2 of hard lai 

 which I plowed as soon after haying in 1841 a 

 could ; let it be till spring; then harrowed thorouf 

 ly ; spread 50 loads of manure per acre and plo 

 ed it in; then furrowed and planted it: yie 

 about 50 bushels to the acre. Peat land 1 man 

 eil in the hill : this produced nearly the same 

 the hard land. Seed, an early kind of eight-row 

 corn. 



10. Had about three acres in potatoes — mos 

 peat land, which I manure in the hill. Hard la 

 f manure the same for potatoes as for corn, 

 planted the lonj red, blue, and yellow kinds, wbi 

 yielded about 300 bushels per acre. 



17. Not any other vegetables. Considerin"' I 

 situation my land is in, I bolieve it to be more p 

 fitablo to raise potatoes. 



18. Sowed about five acres of oats the first 

 May, by splitting the corn-hills, then plowed i 

 other way of the rows ; put in three bushels ] 

 acre with a peck and a half of herds grass, h 

 a bushel of redtop, and six lbs. of clover per ac 



19. Five acres laid down to grass as descril 

 in answer 18. 



90. I have a plenty of the best of peat witl 

 forty rods of my barns, which I cart into the b; 

 and hog-yards, with wash from the road-side a 

 potato tops and leaves. 



21. I keep six oxen, ten cows, twelve you 

 cattle, one horse and twenty sheep: I have thi 

 barns, 40 by 30 feet, without cellars. 



22. My cows are of native breed. 



23. I learn my calves to drink milk, and fe 

 them with oats and meal. 



24. I made about 800 lbs. of butter and neai 

 the same quantity of cheese — all four-mealed 



2,5. Keep 20 sheep, of Merino and common 

 ed breeds, which produce about CO pounds of woi 

 I house them in a shed, with a place open so th 

 may run in and out when they please, except wh 

 the lambs are young in very cold weather. T, 

 sheep lamb generally in January or February 

 feed them with oats and meal and clover hay : 

 lambs generally all live. 



20. I kept five swine : their average weigl 

 350 lbs. : they are of the native or common, ai 

 Mackey breeds. 



27. I feed them on potatoes and the wash of tl 



