332 TliAySACTIOXS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



the acre. He has had ears of corn producing more than two thoa- 

 sand grains. The time of planting is early in Maj', and the culti- 

 vation is very careful. Most of the fields are worked over eight or 

 ten times, and wet as the season has been, scarcely any weeds were 

 to be seen. We found that the gang-ploAv of Riggs was much used, 

 and were told that nine acres a day could be cultivated with this 

 machine. 



Oats were formerly sown to succeed the crop of corn, but as the 

 land has become richer, the growth of the straw is too rank. 



Wheat is often sown immediately after the corn, but this involves 

 much labor. The carrying off the fields the whole of the stalks 

 and corn in the green state, is the heaviest work of the year, and 

 this rotation is not generally adopted on that account. 



Frequently, two or more crops of corn are planted in succession, 

 even upon the uplands, and the lands here bear it well, though it 

 would be considered bad farming almost anywhere else in the 

 State. Corn has been grown on some of the redeemed meadows for 

 more than thirty years in succession, and all the crops equally good. 



The potato is a common intermediate crop between corn and 

 wheat. As in Monmouth, the potato is one of the most important 

 staples of Salem. Early this season the promise was very great, 

 but owing to the excessive rains, the first and largest tubers rotted; 

 but most fields were still found to yield from one hundi-ed to one 

 hundred and fifty bushels to the acre. 



Next to corn comes wheat in importance. We saw the barns 

 and the stacks, but all evidence of where the wheat had grown in 

 the fields, was lost by the dense growth of clover. In most of the 

 stubble-fields this j'oung clover was mown this season. We were 

 told that such hay was of but little value, except for litter, but it 

 would be in the way of mowing the crops next year. One farmer 

 said he took it off so as to be better able to apply a coat of marl. 

 The usual crop is from twenty to thirty bushels per acre, but as 

 high as forty bushels had been grown. The drill is chiefly used 

 in the cultivation of wheat; it saves about half a bushel of seed to 

 the acre; and leaving the earth ridged up between the rows of 

 grain, so as gradually to fall in about the roots of the young plants 

 during the winter and spring is another advantage. 



The growth of clover here is very rank. We saw no Canada 

 thistle, or any other thistles; no wild carrots or parsnips; very 

 few bull's-eye daisy, or any other weeds. Clover and other valu- 

 able grasses claim all the room in this part of the country. 



