O'JS RYE. 63 



by the suggestion of some genllemen whose judgment I very 

 much respect, to submit for your consideration a statement of the 

 mode of cuhure with the produce. And that the success of the 

 experiment this season, may not appear to be altogether acciden- 

 tal, it will perhaps be as well to communicate the result of the 

 process for the three or four previous years. 



The land on which the experiment has been conducted is 

 situated on the Merrimack, about a mile and a half east 

 of Haverhill bridge ; and came into possession of my father in 

 1827. The soil is a sand, approaching to loam as it recedes 

 from the river. Perhaps the term ^;/f«"n land (by which it 

 usually passes) will better convey an idea of the quality of the 

 soil. It is altogether too light for grass. The crops we find most 

 profitable to cultivate on it are, winter rye, Indian corn, potatoes 

 and to some extent turnips. Oats might probably be raised to 

 advantage were it not that the land is completely filled with the 

 weed commonly called charlick, which renders it entirely imfit 

 for any spring crop, excepting such as can be hoed. The crops 

 of rye, on the neighboring soil of the same nature, vary I believe 

 from seven or eight, to twelve or thirteen bushels per acre, ac- 

 cording to the cultivation, and their approximation to the river. 

 We usually raise on land from thirteen to thirty bushels of Indian 

 corn per acre. Potatoes are very good in quality, but the quan- 

 tity is quite small ; not sufficient to be profitable w^ere it not that 

 the land is very easily cultivated. 



In the summer of 1827, we sowed three bushels of winter rye 

 near the river, on about two acres of land, which produced twen- 

 ty-eight bushels. 



In 1828, we sowed four bushels on four acres of land running 

 the whole extent of the plain from the river. This piece was 

 sowed in the spring with oats ; but they were completely smoth- 

 ered with charlick, and about the middle of June, the whole crop 

 was mowed to prevent the charlick seeding. By about the 

 middle of August, a second crop of charlick having covered the 

 land, it was ploughed very carefully, in order completely to bury 

 the charlick ; and then suffered to rem.ain until the 15th of Sep- 

 tember when we began sowing the rye in the following manner. 



