202 



Agricultural Letter from Gen. Washington. 



Vol. VII. 



est order for grass, to be sown in the time 

 and manner above .mentioned. But that no 

 more may be attempted than can be executed 

 well, proceed in the following- order with 

 them, according as the weather may hap- 

 pen to be, for this must be consulted, as dry 

 weather will answer to work in the low 

 parts best, whilst the higher grounds may 

 be worked at any time. 



1st. Begin with the swamp from Manley's 

 bridge upwards, and get all that is not al- 

 ready in grass well prepared for it, and in- 

 deed sown. 2nd. That part of the lower 

 meadow on the mill run, which lies between 

 the old bed of it and the race, and within 

 the fences. 3d. After this is done, take that 

 part in the enclosure above, which was in 

 corn last year, lying between the ditch and 

 fence of No. 1, up and down to the cross 

 fences. 4th. Then go over the ditch and 

 prepare slipe after slipe, as the ditch runs, 

 from the one cross fence to the other, and 

 continue to do this as long as the season will 

 be good, or the seed can be sown with pro- 

 priety and safety. 



I conceive that the only way to get these 

 grounds in good order and with expedition, 

 is to give them one good ploughing and then 

 to tear them to pieces with heavy harrows. 

 Whether it be necessary to cut down and 

 take off the weeds previous to these work- 

 ings, can be decided better by experiments 

 on the spot, than by reasoning on it at a dis- 

 tance. My desire is, that the ground shall 

 be made perfectly clean, and laid down 

 smooth; without which, meadows will al- 

 ways be foul — much grass left in them, and 

 many scythes broken in cutting what is 

 taken off. 



4th. The buckwheat which has been sown 

 for manure, ought to be ploughed in, the mo- 

 ment a sufficiency of seed is ripe to stock the 

 ground a second time; otherwise, so far from 

 its answering the purpose of manure, it will 

 become an exhauster. For this reason, if 

 the ploughs belonging to the farm are un- 

 able to turn it in, in time, those of Muddy 

 hole, Dague-run and Union farm, must com- 

 bine to do it, the work to be repaid by the 

 farm which receives the benefit, as soon as 

 the work is accomplished thereat. 



5th. Where clover and timothy seeds are 

 mixed and sown together, allow five pints of 

 the first, and three of the latter to the acre; 

 and where timothy only is sown, allow four 

 quarts to the acre. Let the seed be mea- 

 sured in the proportions here allotted, and 

 put into a half bushel, and the half bushel 

 filled with sand or dry earth, and extremely 

 well mixed together in your own presence, 

 or by yourself, which will answer two good 

 purposes, viz: 1st, to prevent theft, for seeds 



thus mixed, would not sell — and 2ndly, the 

 seedsman being accustomed to sow a bushel 

 of wheat to the acre, would be at no loss to 

 cast a bushel of this or anything else, regu- 

 larly on that quantity of ground. 



6th. It is expected you will begin to sow 

 wheat early in August, and in ground per- 

 fectly clean and well ploughed. I would 

 have, and do accordingly direct, that not less 

 than five pecks of seed be sown on each 

 acre. The plan of the farm over which 

 you look, is given to Mr. Lewis, from which 

 the contents of each field may be known. 

 And it is my express direction that every 

 watch, and the best attention may be given, 

 to see that this quantity actually is put inj 

 for I have strong suspicions, but this ought 

 not to be hinted to them, that the seedsmen 

 help themselves to a pretty large toll. 



7th. As soon as you have done sowing, 

 and even before, if it can be done conveni- 

 ently, you are to set heartily about thresh- 

 ing or treading out the wheat; and as fast 

 as it is got out, to have it delivered at the 

 mill or elsewhere, according to directions. 

 The longer this business is delayed, the 

 more waste and embezzlement will there 

 be of the crop. The wheat is to be well 

 cleaned ; the chaff and light wheat are to 

 be properly taken care of for the horses or 

 other stock — and the straw stacked and se- 

 cured as it ought to be, against weather and 

 other injuries ; and until the whole be de- 

 livered, it will require your constant and 

 close attention. 



8th. The oats at the farm you overlook, 

 are, I presume, all cut ; in that case, let all 

 the scythes, and cradles, and rakes, which 

 you have received, be delivered over to the 

 mansion house ; or if you choose to keep 

 them against next harvest, you must be re- 

 sponsible for them yourself. 



9th. The presumption also is, that the flax 

 is, ere this, pulled ; let it be well secured, 

 and at a proper season stripped of its seed 

 and spread to rot. During this operation ! 

 let it be often examined, that it be not over- 

 done, or receive injury in any other respect, 

 by lying out too long. 



10th. Get the cleanest and best wheat for j 

 seed, and that which is freest from onions. 

 I would have about one-third of my whole 

 crop sown with the common wheat; one- : 

 third with the white; and the other third 

 with the yellow bearded wheat. The over- 

 seers, with Davy, as he knows the state of 

 his own farm and the quality of the wheat 

 which grows upon it, may meet and decide 

 among themselves, whether it would be best 

 to have some of each of these sorts on every 

 farm ; or, in order more effectually to pre- 

 vent mixture, to have one sort only on a 



