1860. 



NEW ENGLAND FAEMER. 



For the Neic England Farmer. 

 PKAHHE BREAKING IN" KANSAS. 



Letter from a Ladj' — A Professional Man Turns Plowman — \e\v 

 Models his Plow — His Success as a Prairie Breaker — Distilleries 

 and Public Schools — Hard Plowing — Buffalo and Wild Horses. 



Kansas is now taking a resting spell, prepara- 

 tory to asserting her right as a Free State, and 

 claiming her privilege to enter into the circle of 

 the States, the coming session of Congress. Em- 

 igration is slow, business is stagnant just now, 

 and my husband, a professional man, finding too 

 much time to spare, and having imbibed quite a 

 fancy for farming, through the influence of your 

 paper, has concluded to gratify it. But he took 

 hold of the most laborious part, as his first at- 

 tempt — that of prairie-breaking, it being the most 

 profitable just now. Of course, as this is a coun- 

 try which promises but little business to "rock- 

 lifters" and "stump-pullers," he "pitched in" with 

 the confidence and energy of an old farmer, sure 

 of success. So he purchased three yokes of oxen 

 and a fifteen inch plow of vrcstern manufacture. 

 1 think it was manufactured in St. Joseph, Mo., 

 the place which supports two distilleries, that turn 

 out each ouc hundj-ed bogheads of whiskey daily, 

 but cannot support one public school, and has 

 a population of 10,000 inhabitants ! 



Of course, a description of a breaking up plow 

 will bo interesting, and perhaps amusing to many 

 of your readers, especially to the steam-plow ad- 

 vocates. 



He made two standards, perforated with holes, 

 an inch apart, and mortised them into the beam of 

 the plow. One standard was placed six inches, 

 perhaps, back of the clevis, and the other eight 

 jjoches from the end of the beam, between the plow 

 handles. Then he made two Avheels, one ten inch- 

 es and the other twenty inches in diameter ; said 

 wheels were cut from logs of that size, and were 

 six inches thick. He connected the wheels by an 

 axletree. He then mortised two upright standards 

 into the axletree, leaving a space between the up- 

 rights to introduce the end of the ploAv beam which 

 rests upon the axletree. Making a lever of suffi- 

 cient strength, he connected one end of it, by a 

 wooden pin, with the standard next to the clevis. 

 Mortising a hole through the other end of the lever, 

 he then introduced the standard between the plow- 

 handles through this mortise, and behold ! the 

 self-controling, non-holding plow was ready for 

 action ! The reason why one wheel is made larger 

 than the other is, the large wheel runs in the fur- 

 row and tlic small Avheel upon the sod, thus mak- 

 ing the plow run even. 



Now the theory of this simple affair is, that it 

 makes the plowing of uniform depth, and also dis- 

 penses with the laborious task of holding the 

 plow, needing only a man to guide the oxen. In 

 commencing to plow, at the beginning of the fur- 

 row, my husband raises the lover which puts the 

 point of the plow in the ground. The end of the 

 lever is then made fast by a wooden pin, to the 

 standard Avhich is between the plow-handles. The 

 furrov.-s were half a mile long, and the plow thus 

 adjusted would run the whole length upon the 

 wheels, without guidance, or making any "balks," 

 tlie ploAvman's plague. At the end of the furrow 

 he takes out the pin and lowers the lever, which 

 throws the point of the plow out of the ground. 

 Then it runs upon the wheels, and needs no tip- 



ping. He then drives to the other side of the 

 land, raises the lever again, and goes ahead. 



Breaking this way is certainly easier, as every 

 one will acknowledge, who has held the plow all 

 day. The labor of breaking the green sward in New 

 England is nothing in comparison to breaking 

 the virgin soil of the western prairies, which has 

 been rendered hard and tough by the unobstruct- 

 ed rays of the sun and centuries of trampling of 

 bufi'aloes, horses, and other wild animals. 



When the gi-ound is moist, a good team will 

 break two acres per day. Experience has i)roved 

 to us, that the lighter the sod is broken, the soon- 

 er it decays. The ground depth is two inches. 

 The price for breaking prairie is from three dol- 

 lars and a half to five dollars per acre, according 

 to the quaHty of the soil, and its froeness from 

 grubs and roots. So a good heavy team will net 

 the owner a fair profit, and the cattle need no oth- 

 er sustenance but the prairie grass, upon which 

 they will grow sleek and fat, in spite of their con- 

 tinual hard work. 



Of course, there are many discomforts with all 

 this profitable labor. When the strong wind aris- 

 es — and Kansas is provcrlnal for its high breezes 

 — the dust rises so thickly as to nearly choke the 

 plowman, and compelling' him to wear "goggles." 

 Then, perhaps, "Bright" or "Broad" -will break a 

 bow or snap a chain, and one must go two, three, 

 and sometimes ten miles, to get it repaired, which 

 is rather provoking to the time-saving, money- 

 loving farmer. Then, in this country, the cabins 

 are, as yet, "few and far between," and the prai- 

 rie-breaker must camp out in his wagon, cook his 

 own food, and be altogether his own servant. An 

 occasional "shake" is pleasant, if one does not 

 shake his clothes off", as it relieves the monotony 

 of his time, and teaches him how to appreciate the 

 philosophy of suffering. He must rise before the 

 sun, and search through the tall prairie grass — 

 most cattle wear bells — for his oxen. Rubber 

 boots and rubber leggings are indispensable, if on© 

 does not wish to go the whole day with wet gar- 

 ments ; for in the morning, the grass is as wet aa 

 if a shower had passed over it. 



But there_ is one good thing in breaking up 

 prairie, for if one does not Hue his pockets, he 

 certainly is richer in experience, and knows how- 

 to appreciate the domestic and social qualities of 

 home. Another good thing; my husband has 

 worn out all his old clothes, of which every one 

 in Kansas has a surplus. If any of your readers 

 have any old clothes to spare, please send them to 

 Kansas, for good clothes are not worn here. 



Yours, from the prairies, SusiE V. 



Sumner, K. T., Oct, 1859. 



SHEEP AND DOGS. 

 ;Mr. Powers, of the Wisconsin Farmer, after 

 publishing the statement that, in only eleven of 

 the nearly one hundred counties of the State of 

 Ohio, the assessors return over 7000 sheep killed 

 and nearly 8000 injured, in the year 1858, by dogs, 

 at a cost to the owners of over $25,000, says : 



"Is it not a shame and disgrace that the United 

 States, with all its various and unequalled facilitie* 

 for wool-growing, should, through its love of dogs 

 and hydrophobia, buy some twenty to thirty mil- 



