S-20 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



MARCH 25, 1840. 



ROBERT COLT'S FARM IN PITTSFIF.LD. 



The answers of Robert Colt to the questions pro- 

 posed. 



Question 1. Of how much land does ynur farm 

 consist, exclusive of wood land ? 



Jlnswer. Three hundred acres. 



'2. What is the nature of your soil — does it 

 consist of sand, gravel, clay, loam, or peat ? 



Jlns. It consists (with the exception of \'i acres 

 of peat, or what was a few years since a black ash 

 swamp) of loam, with a hard pan subsoil, and a 

 mixture of lime stone. 



3. If of a part, or all of the abuvc kinds, whnt, 

 do you consider the best nelhcid of improving 

 them .' 



Ans. By a rotation of crops, viz., first, oats 

 on green sward ; second, corn or root crops, with a 

 dressing of manure ; third, wheat, barley, or oats, 

 (prefer wheat or barley) with a stocking six quarts 

 or 13 lbs. clover and 8 quaits of herds grass seed, 

 and remain clover two years and then taken up. 

 Always plougli in tlio spring, and on swafd use a 

 colter. My reasons for this are tliese ; sward 

 lands tiiat are ploughed in the fall, becoihc compact 

 during the winter, the finer parts washed between 

 the furrow slice excluding the air, and preventing 

 the surplus water from draining off, consequeirtly 

 the turf lies dormant, with but little benefit to the 

 crop. On the other hand, plough in the spring, 

 tlie soil is light, and receives tlie harrow kind- 

 ly, and the furrow slice does not become so com- 

 pact as to prevent the circulation of the air, and 

 allows the excess of water to tako its proper 

 course, and the land, when the crop comes off, will 

 be in a more forward state of decomposition than 

 if ploughed the fall before. I am fully satisfied 

 from experience, years since, that the ploughing of 

 green sward or stubble in the autumn, is a loss on 

 the following crop of at least 10 per cent. 



4. How many acres do you till, and how many 

 cart-loads of manure (meaning by cart-loads 30 

 bushels at least) do you put on an acre .' 



Jlns. Fiftyfive acres, — fifteen of which are 

 li'oed crops ; manured with 20 cart-loads of compost 

 manure to the acre. 



5. Is your manure applied in its long or green 

 state, or in compost ? 



Ans. Given under the preceding question No. 4. 



C. Do you spread and plough in your manures 

 put upon fields to be planted with corn or potatoes, 

 or put into the hills .' 



Ans. Is found under questions 13 and 14. 



7. What is your method of ploughing and cul- 

 tivating green sward ? 



Ans. Given under question 3d. 



8. How many acres of upland do you mow", and 

 what is the average quantity of hay upon an acre ? 



Ans. Sixty acres — average 2 tons per acre. 



9. How many acres of grass land do you irri- 

 gate — at what season, and how long do you allow 

 the water to flow your land, and what is the effect? 



- Ans. I have no lands so situated as to allow 

 irrigation. 



10. Do you manure the lands irrigated, or any 



other land you mow — how much to an acre and 



what kind of manure do you put on ? 



Ans. I manure 20 acres a year witii 10 loads of 

 unfermented sheep manure prr acre, drawn out 

 upon a sled from the sheep folHs before the snow 

 is off, in March, and spread immediately after the 

 ground is bare, and the ne.\t year the land thus 

 manured is plastered with 9 bushels to the acre. 



11. How many acres of low land not suitable 

 for the plough do you mow, — and what is the 

 quantity and quality of hay cut the present year .' 



Ans. I have 12 acres of red top with a mixture 

 of clover and herds grass, that give me this year 

 2 1-9 tons per acre. This piece of land six years 

 since, and at the time I purchased the farm, gave 

 me 5 loads (about 3 tons) of coarse wild grass, 

 most of which had to be carried out upon poles, as 

 it was too wet and miry for a team to pass over it. 

 A part was then hedged and cleared off, and that 

 season cleared the remainder, and drained the 

 whole thoroughly. The next spring, or five years 

 ago last spring, I gave it a dressing of 10 loads of 

 unfermented sheep manure per acre, and 2 years 

 last spring I gave it a similar dressing of manure, 

 and the last spring a part of it, and it has not given 

 me less than two tons, and from that to three for 

 the last five years, of a good quality of stock hay ; 

 and a team can now take a load of hay over any 

 part of it without, injury to the land. 



12. \Vhat is your method of reclaiming low, 

 bog, or peat lands, and what has been your suc- 

 cess .' 



Ans. After draining it thoroughly, extract the 

 stumps, alders, or what it may be wooded with, 

 pair the bogs and burn tlieoi all together upon the 

 grolind, sow a crop of oats, and stock it witli clover 

 and herds grass or red top. Tlie kind of seeding 

 would depend entirely on the state of the land, 

 whether it be wet or dry. The ashes being left 

 upon the land and spread, would throw up a vigo- 

 rous crop of oats, which will destroy all, or most 

 of the wild grasses. Ashes have a fine effect as a 

 top dressing on low lands, while lime, so far as I 

 have made the experiment, is worthless. 



13. How many acres of corn have you planted 

 the present year — what was your mode of prepar- 

 ing the ground and the seed — the kind and quality 

 of manure used to an acre — the manner of apply, 

 ing it, and the quantity of corn raised to an acre.' 



Ans. Seven acres of corn upon an oat stubble, 

 ploughed from the 1st to the 10th of May,and spread 

 on the furrow 20 loads of compost manure per 

 acre, followed with a thorough harrowing and 

 tightly ridged 3 feet 4 inches apart, witls a double 

 mould board plough, which covered the manure ; 

 planted the seed dry ; the hills two feet apart on 

 the ridge. A part of the seed was 12 rowed yel- 

 low, called the "Cady corn;" the remainder, the 

 Manchester 8 rowed. It was run through with the 

 cultivator and dressed with the hoo three times, <m 

 the 17th June, (Jth nnd 20th of July, with a sowing 

 of plaster at broad cast, of 2 bushels per acre after 

 the first hoeing. On the l(5th September cut up 

 and stnoked ; and husked on the lot three weeks 

 after, and stalks secured. The product was 110 

 bushel baskets per acre. I also sowed two rows 

 of the flat turnip after the last hoeing, and in Oc- 

 tober fed oft' by my sheep. 



14. How many acres did you plant with pota- 

 toes the present year — what was your method of 

 planting — your manner of cultivating — and wliat 

 the average quantity raised on an acre — and what 

 kind Jid you plant .' 



Ans. I planted 4 acres upon a clover sward ; 

 ploughed on the 20th May, with a dressing of 20 

 loads of manure per acre, most of it compost, spread 

 and harrowed in upon the surface; furrowed light- 

 ly, (not to disturb the turf) 3 feet apart ; potatoes 

 dropped 20 inches apart upon the surface between 

 the furrows and well earthed. On the 29th Juno 

 dressed with the cultivator, and slightly earthed 



with the hoe, and two bu.shels of plaster sowed at 

 broad cast, per acre. On the second week; of 

 October I harvested them, and the average was 

 400 bushels per acre ; 300 of which were the Mer- 

 cer and pink eye for the table, and 1300 of the 

 flesh colored, called the Burr, for feeding my stock. 



1.'). What number of acres of other vegetables 

 did you plant — what kind, and hnw many bushels 

 of product had you to the acre, and to what use 

 shall you apply them ? 



Ans. Four acres ; 1 of sugar beet, that gave me 

 600 bushels ; and 3 acres of ruta baga, which pro- 

 duced 800 bushels to the acre. This crop was 

 planted on land from which a potato crop was 

 taken the last year. It was ploughed twice, dress- 

 ed with 20 loads of manure per acre; hafroved 

 and ridged 28 inches apart; sowed with a drill 

 harrow one rpw on a ridge. The crop was dressed 

 out Ti ith a hoe twice, on the 10th and 25th July, 

 and plastered at first hoeing, and was harvested on 

 the third week of October. My beets are fed to 

 my swine after steaming, and to my milch cowg 

 with cut corn fodder. My turnips are cut and fed 

 lo working oxen and young cattle with cut straw, 

 and to my ewes at and before lambing, grated and 

 mixed with cut hay. My principle is, to feed no 

 grain or roots to cattle, sheep, or horses, without 

 bei!ig mixed with a portion of cut straw or hay. 

 '! wo bushels of grain or roots fed in this way, is 

 worth 8 bushels to pass through the stomach alone, 

 particularly if fed in large, quantities at a time. 



16. How many acres of winter or spring grain 

 did you sow the present year — how was this 

 ground prepared — what quantity of seed did you 

 sOTv on an acre — if you have raised wheat, of wliat 

 kinds — the nature of the soil — and was it sown 

 with or without using lime ? 



Ans. I sowed 40 acres, namely, 20 acres of 

 oatsr This field last year was a stiff award pas- 

 ture ; ploughed early and sowed to oats ; stubble 

 antl clover ploughed in during the first week end- 

 ing the 4th of May last, and Iiarrowod thoroughly 

 before sowing 2 1-2 bushels oats jier acre, c oss 

 harrowed and stocked with 4 quarts of clover and 

 8 of herds grass per 'acre. This field gave me 

 — judging from a portion threshed — CO bushels 

 per acre. A light dressing of plaster was cast on 

 the lot the last week in May. Ten acres of ivheat 

 and oats upon swani ploughed the Cih and 8tli of 

 May, harrowed lengthwise of the furrow; sowed 

 with 1 1-2 bushel of oats, and lialf bushel of 

 wheat per acre, harrowed well both ways after 

 sowing. It gave me .'iO bushels per acre. I sow- 

 ed 10 acres of spring wheat from the 18th to 20tli 

 of April inclusive, on a loam soil, (from which was 

 taken a crop of corn and roots the last year) plough- 

 ed twice, and harrowed, and sowed with 1 1-4 

 bushel of Tea wheat per acre, except two acres, 

 2 1-4 bushels per acre, all rolled in lime, after 

 having lain in salt, and saltpetre and water 12 

 hours. Stocked this part of 10 acres with 6 quarts 

 of clover and quarts of herds grass to the acre ; 

 harrowed, and designed for mowing. On the 

 24th of August finished the harvesting of my wheat, 

 and was satisfied that there was a difference of 15 

 per cent in favor (J' 1 1-4 seeding to the acre to 

 that of 2 1-4 bushels per acre. Tlie number of 

 shocks cut from the field was 2G6 ; and judging 

 from the yield of that already threshed, it will give 

 28 bushels to the acre. It is very essential that 

 all lands designed for small grains should be well 

 harrowed before sowing. Some experiments made 

 this year in my oat crop by sowing upon the fur- 



