822 



FARMERS' REGISTER- WESTOVER FARM- 



land with the wheat sowed and not dragged, the 

 wheat will most probably sprout before it can be 

 harrowed in, and the other operations will be im- 

 peded in the same way. I had six beds cauglit in 

 this situation last fall; not wishing to carry back 

 to the barn a remnant of wheat, as there was no 

 appearance of rain. We had, however, a heavy 

 rain during the night; and next day, tlie wheat 

 commenced sprouting before the land was in order 

 for the draggs. The consequence was, that we 

 Avere obliged to harrow it in wet ; these beds were 

 perceptibly worse the whole year, the land be- 

 came very much baked, when it got dry, and the 

 crop on it never recovered. 



The fallowing operations over, I commence on 

 the corn land, though it rarely happens that the 

 corn is sufficiently matured to be cut down as ear- 

 ly as the 10th of October. The corn rows being 

 5^ feet distance, two of these are thrown together, 

 making eleven feet beds. The ploughing here is 

 done equally as deep as the clover lay ; perhaps 

 deeper, as the land is more easily ploughed, being 

 cultivated during the summer. It is a matter of 

 great importance to deepen with the ploughs our 

 stiff soils, as by turning up some of tiie subsoil 

 it is pulverized by the frost of the winter. It is of 

 great importance also, that the corn land intended 

 for wheat, sliould be kept clean of grass, otlierwise 

 it would impede tlie plough, and consequently take 

 much longer to put in your wheat, and leave ne- 

 cessarily many hollows and irregular cavities, into 

 Avhich the wheat will fall, and probably perish; 

 owing to the depth at which the seeds will have to 

 vegetate : I greatly prefer eleven or twelve feet 

 beds lor wheat on our stiff hinds. By throwing 

 two corn rows together, the beds are not raised too 

 high, while the water is more easily drained fi-om 

 them. The ploughing and draining of our stiff 

 soils thoroughly, is unquestionably the most im- 

 portant operation in fiirniing; and many of our 

 barren, (and as some think worn out) soils may be 

 easily reclaimed, and brought info profitable culti- 

 vation by more attention to it. Ploughing to the 

 depth of from 8 to 10 inches, and making good 

 drains in every depression of the soil where water 

 is likely to stand, and opening trenches ibr the 

 water quickly to pass off, cannot be too closely at- 

 tended to, otherwise the land becomes " sobbed," 

 soured and steril, by being saturated with water. 

 By deep ploughing, the water is more readily ab- 

 sorbed, and the ditches and grips being sufliciently 

 spacious, carry it off immediately. I had a field 

 four years ago, which suffered so much for the want 

 of good ploughing and draining, that there was 

 very little or no growth on the greater part of it, 

 except blue and hen's-nest grass ; it was well 

 ploughed up for corn during the winter of 1829, 

 ditched and furrowed, and so thoroughly reclaim- 

 ed, that it promised this season after a clover lay, 

 to produce 30 bushels of wheat to the acre. When 

 in fallow before, it was scarcely high enough to be 

 cut, as I am informed by my neighbors. It took 

 freely in clover, with but very little mtinure ap- 

 plied to any of it. The land seemed to be fresh- 

 ened and revived from its sterility after the soften- 

 ing qualities of the frost had passed away, and it 

 changed from a white, to a good loam color. 



The little, and as yet very imperfect improve- 

 ments I have bestowed on the Westover estate, 

 may be attributed principally to the two opera- 

 tions of plougliing and draining. These may be 



justly termed the pabulum vita of profitable land. 

 Every estate which has been subjected to the dis- 

 astrous operations of the three sliift system, and 

 irregular rotations of croj)S, may he soon made by 

 these means and the proper application of clover, 

 to double, and finally to treble the product in 

 wheat. The four shift system, and the great ad- 

 vantages which result from it, have been lately so 

 clearly and forcibly illustrated by my friend Mr. 

 Hill Carter: (to whose skill, judgment and in- 

 telligence, James River farmers in Lower Virginia 

 are so greatly indebted,) that I shall be very brief 

 in detailing my own experience of this system. 



The Westover estate (with the addition of se- 

 veral hundred acres I have added to it, for the pur- 

 pose of standing pasturage,) contains about 1200 

 acres; whereof, rather more than 400 acres are at 

 present arable land. This area (of 400,) is pretty 

 nearly equally divided by a lane running through 

 it, from north to south ; each half is then divided 

 by a turning row running east and west, making 

 four fields of 100 acres each. The remainder be- 

 ing all converted into a standing pasture. 



I here give an account of the wheat and corn 

 made each year, and the product of each field; 

 shewing the difference between corn and fallow 

 land, as taken from my farming memoranda. 



Wheat niaUe , 

 nil fiillow. I 



Wlu-at Miadu 

 on Cdrii 1 iiid. 



W hole crop I Crop of 

 of wheat. corn. 



Busliels. 

 1,600 



Bushels-- 

 7S9 



Bushels 

 2,339 



Barrels 

 250 



1,730 



2,574 



3,991 



1830. Late in the fall of 1829, I purchased the 

 estate, with the privilege of seeding a crop of 

 wheat, too late almost to undertake fallowing, but 

 nevertheless I got all the land ready, (viz. 100 

 acres,) by the 17th October. It was sowed im- 

 mediately after ploughing; and most of it was 

 filthy, and but very partially taken in clover. I 

 made out by December, to put in wheat 200 acres ; 

 this crop as above stated, yielded 2,389 bushels. 

 You will discover from the above table of crops, 

 that the fallow land produced double that of the 

 corn ; although the corn land was much the best. 

 Wherever the clover was tolerably good, the 

 wheat was greatly better. All the manure was 

 applied to corn land. We had in corn, the field 

 alluded to, in the first part of this communication, 

 and which was apparently so very poor, that it 

 produced only 250 barrels by great exertions. 



1831. The crop of this year was 2,574 bushels. 

 The fallow land producing rather more than dou- 

 ble as much as the corn. The corn crop increased 

 125 barrels. Not more than half the fallow field 

 was sowed in clover, by my predecessor, believing 

 it too poor to produce it. The jwrtion which had 

 no clover on it, was very much injured by the fly, 

 and produced but little, although sowed in good 

 time. The clover land produced very heavy wheat. 

 The same land, when in wheat two years before, I 

 am told, [)roduced only about eleven hundred 

 bushels ; all the manure was again applied to the 

 corn land. 'I'he crop was considerably injured by 

 the rain before it was thrashed. 



1832. This was the first season we had the full 

 benefit of a clover fallow. All the field having 

 been sowed, it took remarkably well, and had a 



