38 



consider the practice advantageous on the whole. Feeding tends 

 to thicken the grass and make it finer. Consequently, fields 

 ■which are fed closely will not yield good market hay so long as 

 those from which cattle are excluded. 



In breaking up land, we calculate to plough about seven inches 

 deep. At other times, from six to seven inches. We plough 

 sward land but a short time before planting ; and all other lands, 

 which are kept in cultivation, late in the Fall, so as to expose the 

 roots of weeds and many insects to the action of frost, and to 

 pulverize the soil more thoroughly. 



We do all our ploughing with a pair of horses, and use Ruggles, 

 Nourse & IMason's Eagle Plough, No. 2. 



We use the harrow but seldom, having substituted for it the 

 concave steel-toothed cultivator. 



We use the roller a great deal ; not only wlien laying down 

 grass lands in the Fall, but, also, on old grounds, when they are 

 to be planted in the Spring. It pays well to plough such grounds, 

 use the cultivator thoroughly, and then the roller to break up the 

 lumps. Then plough and cultivate again. We thus pulverize the 

 soil completely and render it light and easy to be worked. This 

 is our usual course Avith most of our lands. 



We seldom raise any of the small grains, making corn our prin- 

 cipal grain crop. For corn, we break up the land, as before 

 mentioned, a short time befure planting. We use from eight to 

 ten cords of manure, per acre ; cultivating in two thirds of it upon 

 the top of the sward (which has been previously rolled to prev^ent 

 its being turned up by the cultivator,) and putting the remainder 

 in the hills. AVe mark out the hills with a plough, as nearly three 

 feet apart, each way, as possible. We plant five or six kernels 

 in each hill, intending to leave only five to grow. We prefer the 

 Plymouth County corn — thinking it as good, at least, as any other 

 variety. We protect our corn fields by running a white line 

 around them as soon as they are planted. If this practice is de- 

 layed till the crows have got a taste of the corn, it will be very 

 difficult to stop their depredations in any way but by the gun. 

 We have never used any steep for corn, except water, in order to 

 sprout it before planting. The cultivator is used three times upon 

 our corn fields, and the hoe twice, making but very small hills. 

 Our crops of corn, for the last five years, have been fully equal 

 to one hundred bushels per acre. With good soil, manured in 

 the way already mentioned, we can safely calculate, in ordinarily 

 favorable seasons, on harvesting one hundred bushels per acre, 

 and the cost of raising it will not exceed, we think, fifty cents per 

 bushel. The great secret in this result, if there be one, is in 

 having a ])lenty of manure and giving the crop tliorough cultiva- 

 tion. The increase of measure beyond that of an ordinary crop is 



