306 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



APRII, 8, 1835, 



kind of turnip seed he would prefer ? Whetlirr 

 the turnip seed might not be sowed before the 

 last dressing and thereby covered ? &c. (See. 



Mr Editor, not being well i)ractiseil in agricul- 

 tural pursuits, as the above will [ilaiidy y>rove, I 

 ho|io I shall be indulged, and my partictdarinyms- 

 iliveness, not decnjed impertinence. 



I would remark, that the land I cultivate is a 

 light, and a])parently rather cold loam, on a sub- 

 stratum of sand and gravel to a great depth. 

 Uespecting difierent kinds, eight, ten, and twelve 

 rowed corn, I can only say, that I have always 

 found it growing promiscuously in ray fields ; have 

 planted, but could never keep it separate, and have 

 foiuid ten and twelve rowed cars on the same 

 blalk. Zacheus IIabilin. 



Barnstable, March 30, 1835. 



[From tile New Hampshire Pentinel.J - 

 Mr Editor, — I have been cultivating a piece 

 of Meadow or swamp land of about six acres, 

 and have often been inquired of respecting the 

 method of cultivation, and expense, what the 

 crops were, profits, &c. and if you think the fol- 

 lowing worth a place in your paper you are at lib- 

 erty to print it. 



The swamp alluded to, when I bought my farm 

 eighteen years ago, had' been partly cleared, and 

 was very wet, owing to the small brook that pass- 

 ed through it being filled up with brush, &c. It 

 produced some joint grass ; but principally flags, 

 hard hack, and moss. I first commenced by 

 opening the brook, which drained it and killed all 

 the flags and nearly all the grass ; I then cut a 

 ditch round a piece of about eighty square rods, 

 cut of all the stumps and the most prominent 

 bunches of moss, and after it was frozen, carted 

 on two hundred and fifty loads of gravel, and lev- 

 elled it ; carted on ten loads of fall manure, and 

 in the spring following, spread it, and sowed on 

 oats, and grass seed. I had a good cro]is of oats, 

 and the following season it was estimated by 

 good judges, that we had twentyfive hundred of 

 hay. The next year, I encircled about half an 

 acre more with a broad ditch, cut the turf and 

 moss into squares of twenty inches diameter each, 

 .-ind turned it over with a long prong hook, took 

 out all the stumps and roots, leaving it as level as 

 possible, and carted on two hundred loads of grav- 

 <■!, and eleven of niauure. In the spring follow- 

 ing sowed on oats and grass seed, spreading on 

 seventeen bushels of live ashe.s. I had a good 

 crop of oats, and the next year one and a half 

 tons best herds grass hay. The next piece of 

 about half an acre, I cultivated in the following 

 manner:— After enclosing it in a ditch, I began 

 on one side and cut the turf into squares, of about 

 twenty inches in diameter each, jjiled them out of 

 the way, and dug out the mud eight or ten inches 

 dei^p, then cut out another tier of squares, turned 

 I hem hito the trench, dug down as before, and laid 

 the mud on them, and in like manner until the 

 piece was completed, taking out all the stumps, 

 roots, &c. — the next sjiring planted it with [iota- 

 toes, manuring about the same as comrnou on up- 

 land : the potatoes yielding at the rate of three 

 hundred bushels to the acre. After taking ofl'the 

 crop in the fall we levelled the mud, and in Jjie 

 winter carted on about twenty loads of gravel, ten 

 of manure, and six of leached ashes. In the 

 spring after, spread all as equal as possible, sow- 

 ed oats and grass seed. The oats grew very large 



as did the grass the next season. The method 

 last mentioned, I have adopted in cultivating the 

 remainder of the old or cleared part of the mead- 

 ow. Of the part covered with wood we measur- 

 ed off one acre, cut a large ditch round it, cut by 

 the roots all the wood and brush, carried off' the 

 wood and stumps, burned the brush, carried on 

 sixteen loads of manure and in the spring follow- 

 ing, laid out the manure a suitable distance on the 

 top of the swamp, and planted it with potatoes, 

 raised three hundred and fifty bushels. After the 

 cro]) was ofl', we levelled it, taking out all the roots 

 near the top of the swamp, and sledded on ten loads 

 of leached ashes ; in the spring following, spread 

 them, sowed on oats and herds grass seed. The 

 oats grew very large, and lodged down early so 

 they did not fill. The grass took well ; and bids 

 fair for a large crop next season. The remainder 

 of the swamp I have cleared and planted in a like 

 manner, last season. 



The expense of ditching, digging up, and turn- 

 ing an acre of the old meadow in the way above 

 described, is about thirtysix dollars. The expense 

 of cutting the wood and brush, from the acre 

 above described, was twenty dollars. There were 

 twentytwo cords of wood. I sold the wood, 

 which paid for clearing. The profit of the pota- 

 to crop, after paying the expense was about 

 twenty dollars. Four acres of this land, 

 (which by the way was all there was into 

 grass then) produced the last season at twice 

 cropping, as near as could be estimated, sixteen 

 tons of good herds grass hay. Should it be asked 

 if this land will continue to be thus productive, I 

 answer, it will not, without manuring. It will 

 want atop dressing once in about three years. A 

 mixture of horse manure, loam and ashes, with 

 the mud, causes a fermentation, and produces 

 rapid vegetation. The object of the above de- 

 scription is two fold, — first, to answer the inquiry 

 of numerous individuals, as stated above; second- 

 ly, hoping that it will come under the notice of 

 some gentleman who has been cultivating this 

 kind of land, who will be willing to publish the 

 result of his experience: for I am fully of the 

 opinion that this kind of land, when known, and 

 properly cultivated, will be the most jirofitable we 

 have. John Conant. 



Jnffrcy, January 27, 1835. 



fFroni tlie Genesee Farmer.] 

 lilME <fcc. FOR CORN. 



Our readers will find below an account of a 

 large crop of corn raised by MrSemmes, of Mary- 

 land, the past season. The whole process pur- 

 sued in the improvement of this lan^ is not detail- 

 ed, but we are led to understand, that the great 

 product is in a considerable degree to be ascribed 

 to the use of a mixture of jdastcr and leached 

 ashes. Having ascertained the beneficial effects 

 of this manure by repeated experiments, we feel 

 ourselves well warranted in recommending the 

 use of it to such of our readers as can procure it. 



Let leached ashes and plaster be mixed, in the 

 pro|)ortion «f two linshels of ashes to one of plas- 

 ter, and let a small handful of the mixture be 

 dropped in eacli hill of corn, covered with it, ami 

 the eflect will be surprising, especially if a few 

 rows are left in the field to which the manure is 

 not applied, the difference will be visible and 

 great throughout the season, and we doubt wheth- 

 er this mode of manuring corn in the h]jL is not 



the cheapest, in proportion to the profit, of any 

 which can be applied. We beg our readers to 

 make the experiment, and satisfy themselves. 

 We have found unleached ashes equally good, 

 when mixed with plaster in the same proportion. 

 We have also found a similar application of slack- 

 ed lime to each hill, highly advantogeons, and 

 would therefore recommend it, especially to those 

 who cannot procure the plaster. The following 

 is the account rcferreil to. 



Extract from the Journal of a gentleman who tra- 

 velled for Agricultural information. 



JVov. 1st. 1834. — Visited Mr John Semmes, of 

 St Mary's county, Maryland, who informs us that 

 his great crop of corn averaged upwards of twenty- 

 five barrels the acre. Respectable judges of the 

 county were ajipointed to ascertain the quantity of 

 corn, and after having accurately measured one 

 acre the corn was gathered and measured. The 

 farm is uncommonly hilly. 



Process. — He prepares his ground by clover, 

 the ground laid off from five by two and a half to- 

 three feet. The corn then dropped, three grains 

 in the check, followed by persons who drop on 

 the corn, or even if they are in advance of the 

 corn-droppers, a handful of two-thirds leached 

 ashes, and one-third plaster, mixed before it is 

 dropped. Should the corn not come up regularly 

 he drops one or two S(!eds raore, as may be neces- 

 sary. Ile^ gathers his seed corn from the field 

 before gathering the crop, so as to have a choice of 

 ears. He plants from the 1st to the 10th of April, 

 and ploughs four inches deep. — Tennessee Farmer 



Diseases of Sheep. — Between the year 1812 

 and 1835, I was considerably in the sheep Jius- 

 bandry, and by purchase and sale frequently 

 changed my flock, reducing and enlarging it as 

 circumstances occurred. Twice I observed that 

 many of my sheep were running at the nose. I 

 took 



2 ounces of Scotch Snuff, 



J an ounce of Red Oxide of Iron, 

 reduced to a fine powder, and mixed intimately. 

 This mixture I put into the bowl of a common 

 smoking pipe, and on each occasion blowed a little 

 of the mixlure into each nostril of my sheep. It 

 produced sneezing, and soon checked the I'unning 

 at the uosp, and I never was troubled with it 

 afterward. 



My sheep were several times observed to shed 

 their wool, — to lose flesh, and appear dwindling 

 and sickly. I took 



2 ounces Gamboge, 



1 ounce Saltpetre, j 



6 quarts of Charcoal in pov.dcr, 



6 quarts common salt, 



1 ounce of scales of Iron from the black 

 smith's block, 

 reduced all to jiowderand mixed intimately. With 

 this mixture I salted iny sheep twice a week and it 

 soon checked the shedding of wool. They throve' 

 and did well. 



The rationale I take to be as follows : — Iron is, 

 a powcrfiil tonic, and where tone is properlyj 

 maintained we seldom are troubled with worms 

 the Gamboge in the form here prescribed operatei 

 as an expectorant, promotes the discharge of tin 

 skin — the Saltpetre is a good diuretic, and carri 

 off by the urine much offensive matter — thft 

 Charcoal is a powerful antiseptic, whether used 

 internally or externally, and tends much to correct 



