748 FARMERS- REGISTER-SHEEP-LEACHED ASHES AS MANURE. 



the produce of 94 sheep for three years, or ,^156 33 

 for one— equal to ir;;l,66 per head annually. ' 



I have made the following estimate of the ex- 

 pense of keeping 100 sheep for one year. I may 

 be incorrect, if so I liope some of your correspou- 

 dents will correct me. 



Twenty acres of good land, well turfed, will 



keep 100 shcej) a year viz : five acres of meadow 



producmg two tons of hay to the acre. Will winter' 



and fifteeii acres of good imstureland will summer 



them. J wenty acres of land at ,^40 per acre 



would cost 8800 ; and 100 sheep, at .^2 the head 



$200; making the cost of land and sheep §1,000.' 



Interest on if^lOOO one year, is !ii70,00 



Cutting and securing 5 acres of grass, 500 



Thirty bushels of corn, at 4s. 1.5'oO 



One barrel of salt, at 16s. 2'00 



Washing and shearing 100 sheep, s'oO 



897 00 

 If the above estimate be correct, it will be' seen 

 that I have realized from my flock a net profit of 

 more than fifty per cent, for three years together. 



^ ,, W. G. B. 



Genoa, March 31, 1834. 



LEACHED ASHES VALUABLE AS A MANURE. 



From the Genesee Farmer. 



Many years experience has established the fact 

 that for dry sandy loams, no other manure is so 

 lastingly beneficial as leached ashes. The farmers 

 residing on the borders of Hempstead j>lains, Lon<r 

 Island, have ascertained, that barren soil may be 

 made to produce heavy crops of grain and o-r^ss 

 by the use of this article; and although the ex- 

 pense to them IS heavy,— in many instances not 

 less than ^20 per acre,— the increase of crops so 

 richly remunerates them, that they are graduallv 

 enclosing the plains. A fkrmer residing there in- 

 formed me, that the beneficial effect of" tlic ashes 

 was visible for seven years; and his statement is 

 confirmed by that of a very respectalile flirmer of 

 VVayne county, whose soil is a sandy loam He 

 told me, that in passing through his corn last sea- 

 son, he aiscovered that a part was fbr inferior to 

 the rest of the field, and was at a loss to account for 

 It, unti he recollected that seven years before he 

 ashed that field, except a part, and discovered by a 

 mark he had made on the fence, that this inferior 

 part was that which was lefi unaslied. 



From a jwper in the 1st vol. of the New York 

 Ag. Soc. Trans., by E. L. Hommedieu, it ap- 

 pears "that ashes are found to succeed best on dry 

 loamy lands, or loam mixed with sand. It is con- 

 sidered as the cheapest manure that can be pro- 

 cured. Ten loads of this manure on poor lands 

 will produce ordinarily 25 bushels of wiieat, which' 

 exceeds by $5 the expense of the manure, and the 

 85 pays for the expense of labor in raising the 

 crop. The land is then left in a state for yieklino- 

 a crop of hay of between two and two and a half 

 tons per acre, which it will continue to do for a 

 great number of years. No manure continues so 

 long in the ground as ashes." 



In many parts of our country where sand pre- 

 dominates, leached ashes may be obtained without 

 any expense but drawing, and in some instances 

 the owners of pot aslieries have assisted to load foi^ 

 the sake of getting rid of them. Farmers thus 

 situated must be blind to their own interest, if 

 they do not profit by the privileo-e. 



I know by experience that apple trees are <rreat- 

 tLm" TT'l'^^ '''" applica/i!,n of ashes Wind 

 hem, and I have no doubt but that other fruit 

 trees would be equally benefitted 



It has been ascertained, that on wet lands ashes 

 are not beneficial, having a tendency to introduce 

 moss. 



Experience has also taught those farmers of 



Long sland,who have made the greatest use of 



lis article in years past, that when tiie effect of 



the ashes has disappeared, a change of manure is 



more fertilizing than a renewal of ashes. 



t IS said that grass on light soils is greatly ben- 

 efitted liy a top dressing of ashes, and that the ef- 



succe'' 1 ^^'"^ ^'^'"^'^ °" ^^'^ ^■'■''P^ ^^'""^'^ ^"^y 



ONTARIO. 



ENCOURAGEMENT OF AGRICULTURE, BY THE 

 LEGISLATURE OF VIRGINIA. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. 



Prince Edward, Ifarch 27th, 1834. 

 The perusal of the remarks of your correspon- 

 dent "J. M. G." has afforded me much satisfiic- 

 ion,not on account of the encomiums paid to your 

 humble servant, but because they are not de- 

 served. I am glad to see, that one, able to present 

 this important subject in a proper manner, has un- 

 dertaken it. I am glad that my remarks, hastily 

 put together, have attracted the attention of better 

 v.riters. 



I would respectfully address every reader of the 

 t armers Register, and ask him, if this is not a 

 sul)ject deserving his serious regard. Your pa- 

 per, sir, has, 1 am happy to see, a wide circulation : 

 It must lie taken by many members of our legis- 

 lature, of influence and intelligence. Will they 

 not give this subject serious attention.? He is the 

 best politician, who does most for the real interest 

 oi his country. And we now lack most, in the 

 attention paid to agriculture. 



The man who first raises his voice in the cause 

 of agriculture in the Virginia Legislature, and 

 who, by J tuhciniis action, produces beneficial re- 

 sults, will entitle himself to the gratitude of his 

 country. We do not want restrictive laws. We 

 want encouragement, given in other ways. We 

 \yant the attention of the people to be awakened to 

 this subject. 



The prosperity of every country depends on a 

 judicious system of agriculture. All history must 

 demonstrate this fact. Napoleon Bonaparte never 

 made a wiser remark, than when he said " finan- 

 ces, founded on a flourishing agriculture, cannot 

 fail. Agriculture is the first cause of production 

 If then, this is defective, all must be. If the 

 spring IS dry, the stream must stop. 



Modern times, dear sir, have produced many 

 changes in the sentiments of mankind, on this sub- 

 ject. Opinion now, has thrown a garb of disgrace 

 over this noble calling. Our young men thmk it 

 a disgrace to attend to a farm, or to work. It was 

 not so in old times. Virgil was a cultivator of the 

 earth. The man who restored the Roman com- 

 monwealth, was a daily laborer on his own farm, 

 home of the greatest men in ancient times, were 

 cultivators of the soil. If the young men in Vir- 

 ginia, would consent (o pay more attention to this 

 subject, we should soon see a change in public sen- 

 timent. 



Could any one, from some eminence, look down 



I 



