368 HOUSATONIC SOCIETY. 



beautiful sight for the eye to behold. Twelve-rowed Button, 

 31i hills to the rod, and yielding 125 bushels of shelled corn 

 to the acre, all sound. The majority of farmers plant their 

 corn too thick ; 30 to 33 hills to the square rod of the twelve- 

 rowed Dutton will give the greatest yield of corn ; planting 

 thicker will give mere stalks. Thirty-three to 36 hills to the 

 rod of the Tillotson or any eight-rowed corn, will produce on 

 an average a greater yield than if planted nearer together. 

 From 20 to 50 loads of compost, or barnyard manure, is put 

 on to the acre, and the average product varies from 30 bushels 

 to 60 bushels to the acre. This being a staple crop with the 

 farmers in this county, its growth should be encouraged. 



Thirty-four pieces of oats were viewed by the committee. 

 The growth of straw being very much injured by the drought, 

 consequently not as large as in former years. This crop, in 

 southern Berkshire, is almost invariably restricted to land that 

 has grown corn or potatoes the previous year. It is generally 

 considered a great impoverisher of the soil, and would be aban- 

 doned but for the small expense attending its cultivation, and 

 the convenient time of sowing and harvesting, and grown upon 

 ground that is generally stocked down with a crop of timothy 

 or clover. Three bushels of seed to the acre is the quantity 

 usually sown. Nine fields of winter wheat were viewed, all 

 of them good and worthy of a premium. In consequence of 

 the ravages of the fly in previous years this crop had almost 

 been abandoned. From the successful experiments in wheat 

 growing, the committee feel assured that the time will speedily 

 come when the Berkshire farmers will no longer be dependent 

 upon a foreign market for the staff of life. But three pre- 

 miums were offered on this important crop, worthy of at least 

 as many as oats or rye. The quantity of seed sown is two 

 bushels to the acre. The field belonging to^ Capt. Baldwin, of 

 Egremont, would not suffer in comparison with the wheat 

 fields of the Genesee Valley, either in quantity or quality. 

 His field, containing fifteen acres, yielding 282 bushels by 

 measure, and 413 by weight, 60 lbs. to the bushel. A little 

 extra labor in washing or soaking the wheat in brine, and 

 liming, will prevent the smut. Eighteen pieces of winter rye 

 were examined, all good, and promising an abundant harvest. 

 The quantity of seed sown, 1^ bushels to the acre. 



