168 



SILK MANUAL AND 



the acre ; also, four heavy two horse loads of well 

 cured corn stalks, worth more than a ton of the 

 best hay. 



Preparation of the ground, manure, ^-c. 



I have a fine lot containing six acres,lying east, 

 and in a full view from my house, slightly undu- 

 lating and gently sloping, on which two or three 

 years ago, I commenced farming in miniature, on 

 the rotation system, that 1 might judge of the com- 

 parative profit of good systematic culture, com- 

 pared with a slovenly and parsimonious habit, too 

 often persevered in, and I am so far much pleas- 

 ed with the result ; it speaks loud in favor of good 

 husbandry. This lot has for many years, (fifty or 

 more, for aught I know) been undisturbed by the 

 plough, from the erroneous opinion thatgood grass 

 land should remain for the scythe only. The soil 

 is mostly a sandy loam ; some part of it, however, 

 is low and wet ; this I have overcome by thor- 

 ough draining. 



I prepared by deep ploughing last fall, a part 

 of the above lot, carted and spread ujion it the 

 10th of May, thirty-eight loads of long unfermen- 

 ted stable dung to the acre, making five heaps to 

 the load, dropped at five yards distance each way : 

 this, after being carefully spread, was passed over 

 with a heavy roller, and afterwards well harrow- 

 ed, planted the 15th of May, and ashed as it made 

 its appearance above the ground. 



Estimate of expenses, Sfc. 

 Dr. 



To ploughing with 2 yoke of cattle, 1 1-2 



days, at $3,00, $4 50 



Rolling and harrowing 1- 1-2 days, 1 team, 



at $2,00, 3 00 



Seed corn, 1 00 



Preparing seed corn with tar, &c. 25 



Planting two days, at $1,00, 2 00 



Three hoeings, two days each, at $1,00 6 00 



Horse and man 1 1-2 days with cultivator, 



at $1,50 2 25 



Cutting and binding two days, at 1,00 2 00 



Picking and husking 7 days at 1,00 7 00 



38 loads of manure at 1,00 38 00 



Carting and spreading at 25 cents, 9 50 



Total, $47 50 



Deduct two-thirds for the succeed- 

 ing crops in the rotation, 31 61 



20 bushels ashes at 12 1-2 cents. 

 Spreading one day at 1.00 

 Interest on land valued at 1,50 



$153 36 



$56 39 



Cr. 

 By 62 1-2 bushels corn at 1,50 

 60 do. seed do. at 2,00 

 2 do. soft do. at 50 cents 

 4 loads stalks. 



Deduct expenses, 



Profit, 



I have not had experience enough to know 

 which is the most preferable, to plough old sward 

 land in the fall, and spread the manure on the 

 surface the following spring, or to spread the ma- 

 nure in the spring before ploughing, and then turn 

 it in. I think much may depend on the season, 

 in the first practice; if the season should be dry, 

 may not a good deal be dissipated by the winds? 

 and again, if it should be wet, may not the roots 

 reap a greater advantage, than if it lay beneath 

 the turf .^ I will thank you for your views on the 

 subject. 



[Old sward, for core land, is best ploughed in 

 the fall, and if long manure is at command, it may 

 be buried in the oj^eration, I will undergo but a 

 Slight, if any fermentation before ploughing, and 

 the soil will imbibe what it gives off" of nutriment. 

 A clover lay is best ploughed early in May, hav- 

 ing the manure previously spread. If, in the first, 

 manure is not at conmiand, we would recommend 

 that the plough be set deep, and that the manure 

 be turned in the spring, immediately preceding 

 planting, by a siifierficial furrow, which shall leave 

 the sod as nuich as possible undisturbed. — Editor 

 of the CuUivator.] 



Although I used my own teams, and hire my 

 labor, by the month, at 12 to $14, yet in conse- 

 quence of rainy weather, broken days, &c., I 

 think it but right to ciiarge the fair price of labor 

 by the day, both for man and team. In estimates 

 of this kind, the iahor is frequently charged per 

 day at the average of the price per month, which 

 makes quite a different result. The estimate of 

 corn, at $1,50, may appear to many overated, nev- 

 ertheless, it is a fact, that corn of an inferior qual- 

 ity is selling with us at that price. 



Yours very respectfully. 



H. G. Bowers. 



N. B. Since writing the above, it occurred to 

 me that, although in the preparation of seed corn, 

 tar is recommended, chiefly as apiotection against 

 birds, it may also have another very important ef- 

 fect, (thereby saving a replanting in consequenc 

 of wet weather) in y)roviding a coat, impervic^ 

 to the su[)erabundant water, until the sun sh'> 

 by its genial warmth, cause the germ to disenfg© 

 itself from its confinement. 



