668 
Oc. 3, 
Sow late p in December), finding thereby the 
advantage of a stiffer straw, and a greater yield ; and 
these would be afraid to decrease their quantity of 
seed. Two of the members entertaining these views had 
had the advantage of seeing Mr. Hewitt Davis's farm, 
but were not thereby convinced that the extreme of 
‘thin sowing there practised was applicable to this dis- 
trict. After a lengthened discussion it was decided that 
as the farming of the kingdom improved, the seed corn 
might be gradually reduced, but that at present for the 
general tillage of this district, the club could not re- 
commend a departure from that practice which long 
experience had sanctioned, of planting from five to 
six peeks per acre early, and eight pecks per acre 
late, with an intermediate quantity for an interme- 
diate time, As regards dibbling or drilling, the ma- 
jority of opinions were in favour of the latter, simply 
because of the correctness of machinery compared with 
the uncertainty of manual labour. There seemed to be 
a unanimous opinion, that if the dropping could be re- 
gulated with preeision, whieh machinery alone could 
effect, dibbling would be preferable on many soils. It 
has always, and continues to be largely practised in this 
ighbourhood. The advantages of treading in one case, 
and of horse-hoeing in the other, were not lost sight of 
in the discussion. Lastly, the cultivation of Bean 
stubbles for Wheat was considered, and evidence was 
given of superior cast from unploughed stubbles highly 
manured for the previous crop. On the other hand, it 
was found by some, that although the practice ensured 
an almost total absence from annuals, the deep-seated 
perennial weeds, such as Colt’s-foot, Cat's-tail, and, 
above all, Bind-weed (Convolvulus), not having received 
any check from ploughing, were dingly trouble- 
some, the latter particularly so at harvest time, Further 
irials were recommended to decide how far the advan- 
tages of a solid bottom and freedom from annuals 
terbal d these objecti The club cannot 
close this lengthened resolution without regretting that 
it is less decided than usual, which it trusts the nature 
of the subject satisfactorily accounts for. 
LEYLAND: Sept. 23.—The following report of farms 
was read at the meeting here, by Mr. Morell, the Secre- 
tary:— Having been honeured by being appointed 
inspectors for the Leyland Agrieultural Society of this 
year, we have paid every attention so as to discharge 
the trust committed to us, faithfully, without bias, and 
therefore beg leave to submit the following as the result 
of our observations. As we cannot lay too much stress 
upon a scientific system of draining, which we consider 
to be the root of all substantial agricultural improve- 
ments, we cannot sufficiently impress upon the minds of 
landowners and tenants paying the greatest attention to 
this subject, satisfied as we are that the ample remune- 
ration which they will obtain will be a cheering and 
solid proof to them. of the benefits to be derived from 
this branch. This they will/be early able to effect, now 
that they havea tile factory in their neighbourhood. 
which is upona highly improved principle, and which 
has been established under the auspices of this society. 
We were very much pleased to see, for the most part, 
some well cultivated crops of Swedish Turnips, which 
evinces considerable improvement. e have also seen 
a crop of Swedish Turnips transplanted upon land after 
a crop of forward Potatoes, which does great credit to 
the tenant, and which system, in our opinion, might be 
very much carried out in this district. The dairies also 
bear proof of good management. We now beg to offer 
a few words upon the subject of draining, which, in 
some parts, particularly of the Moss lands, we do not 
find sufficiently attended to. We generally find these 
lands are upon a low level, and of course the fetchings up 
of fall and the building of permanent platts, are a con- 
siderable hindrance to the drainage, but we wish to add 
that no other land is capable of so much improvement, 
and we suggest to the landowners the propriety of 
coming forward and assisting their tenants in this 
laudable work. We should also be glad to see much of 
the hedge-row timber taken down, for be assured if the 
trees are not improving, they are doing much injury 
yearly to the tenants, It is our wish to call attention 
to the following important subject in this locality, viz.— 
the laying down of land for permanent pasture ; as we 
ave seen some land intended for pasture which, after 
being green-eropped, has been succeeded by Wheat— 
a crop by no means calculated as a fost ther for 
Grass seeds 3 eonsequently, wherever this has been put 
in practice, there is a failure in the seeds, We congra- 
tulate the society on the improvements already effected, 
but must still remind them that much remains yet to 
be done, and would advise tenants to drain, clean, and 
manure their land, so that in due time they may receive 
the benefits arising therefrom. It is much to our gra- 
tifieation to see the samples of Grass seeds exhibited, 
which are highly creditable to the growers. This leads 
us to observe that a considerable proportion of the land 
in the Leyland district seems particularly favourable 
for pasturage, while, on the contrary, the western por- 
tion appears better for the cultivation! of the various 
root crops. We cannot but deplore thefawful visitation 
this year of the infectious disease, which only partially 
presented itself last year amongst the Potato crop, the 
cause of which hereunto seems to have escaped the ob- 
servation of our most scientific agricuiturists ; and, 
therefore, it is not surprising that we should be unable 
to suggest any plan calculated to check the disease, but 
we trust that a remedy will be eventually discovered 
for it.— Joseph Newlon: William Jackson. 
THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 
Farm Memoranda. 
American Farminc.—For judicious and economical 
management, few farms that we have ever visited will 
compare with that of A. Van Bergen, Esq., situated 
about three miles from Coxsackie landing. It consists 
of 700 acres, lying mostly in a body, about 500 acres 
being cleared, and the remainder wood-land. The nett 
proceeds from sales for the last 10 years have been 
from 2600 dollars to 6000 dollars yearly., The staple 
product is hay. About 300 acres are this year in mow- 
ing. The average yield is from a ton to a ton and a 
half per aere. The hay is pressed on the farm, and 
shipped to New York. ‘The price obtained per ton in 
that market is from 10 dollars to 16 dollars, The mow- 
ing grounds are laid out in large lots, thus obviating 
the expence and trouble of many inland fences. There 
are 212 acres in one field. One side of'this field, em- 
braeing 20 to 30 acres, having the benefit of the wash 
from the highway, has been in Grass for 40 suceessive 
years, and has yielded annually from one and a half to 
two tons per acre. But the usual course is to break up 
the meadows once in four or five years, take' a crop of 
corn and a crop of Oats, and then seed down again 
with Timothy and Red-top. Top dressings of manure 
T imes given, i tion with which the sward 
is searified, some Grass-seed sown if required, and the 
surface made smooth with the roller. The mode prac- 
tised by Mr. V. B. in making hay is deserving note. 
The Grass is never cut while wet with dew or rain; 
thus, from its dryness, it does not pack in the swath, 
but is so light that it admits the air, and dries rapidly 
without being spread. From the swath the hay is put 
into small Grass-cocks. "This is done very expeditiously 
with large wooden forks—one man being able to accom- 
plish more in this manner than three or four could 
with rakes. The next day the cocks are turned over 
for the moisture of the bottoms to dry off,which in good 
hay weather is all that is done before taking the hay to 
the barn. But if there is a prospect of rain, the cocks 
are carefully doubled and trimmed. After the bulk of 
the hay—that is,what was put in cock—has been carried 
off, the scatterings are collected with a spring-tooth 
horse-rake, an implement which answers admirably for 
this purpose, as well as for another, of which we shall 
speak presently. This mode of making hay we think a 
very cheap one, and it seems to answer well in this 
case, It should be remarked, however, that as Mr. 
Van Bergen sells his hay, a considerable object is to 
obtain the greatest weight with the least expence ; most 
of the Grass, therefore, is not cut till it has reached 
such a state of ripeness that the curing is effected with 
much less labour than it could be at an earlier stage. 
Land under Cultivation.—Mr. Van Bergen has this 
year about 100 acres under the plough, viz.: 32 acres 
in corn and Beans (in alternate rows), 40 in fallow, 
with Beans in rows 10 feet apart, 8 in Potatoes, 10 in 
Oats, and the remainder in Buckwheat. The cultiva- 
tion is admirably conducted ; the work is done in the 
most thorough manner, and with the least possible ex- 
penditure of eost, The soil, though of a character com- 
monly called * strong,” is not, on the whole, of 4 nature 
favourable to crops. A great portion of it is too flat, 
and it is mostly of a very tenacious texture, with a cold 
compact subsoil, which does not admit of the free de- 
scent of water, For these reasons crops are liable to 
suffer both from the excess and deficiency of water. If 
there is much rain the soil is made into mud, and from 
being thus run together, it bakes so hard when dry that 
the plants cannot extend their roots. We mention 
these disad g i as they serve to 
show in a more striking manner the superior skill 
and judgment used in cultivation. Against obstacles 
which really would have induced many farmers to 
relinquish the idea of obtaining profitable crops, Mr. 
Van Bergen has persevered, and has received for his 
well-directed labours an abundant * recompense of re- 
ward." Sixty bushels of corn per acre, and from 40 to 
60 bushels of Oats, have not unfrequently been taken 
from such land as we have described. That these crops 
have been obtained at small comparative cost, will be 
inferred from the fact that three men, under the direc- 
tion of Mr. Van Bergen, have done all the hand labour 
on the farm, from the opening of spring to the first of 
June. The secret of accomplishing so much with so 
few hands, lies in the performance of much the greatest 
portion of the work by improved implements drawn by 
horses. We cannot give at this time a particular de- 
scription of these implements and the manner in which 
they are used, but hope to obtain cuts before long, of 
some which we consider particularly valuable. It 
may be observed, however, that in cultivating the crops 
above mentioned, Mr. V. B. uses no less than three 
kinds of ploughs, three kinds of cultivators, and a har- 
row, besides a spring-tooth horse-rake, which is made, 
in some instances, to do the work of a harrow in an im- 
proved style. . In ploughing, as well as in all the after- 
culture, particular regard is paid to adapting the work 
to the nature and tendencies of the soil. The first object 
is to obviate the difficulties arising from the water re- 
maining too long on, or near the surface. For this pur- 
pose the land is Jaid partly in beds, with open channels 
80 disposed as to facilitate as much as possible the dis- 
charge of the water. The land is next thoroughly sub- 
soiled to the depth of 15 to 17 inches. In the course of 
p 
culture, particular attention is paid to keeping the soil 
open, which is effected by the use of tools which pene- 
trate and loosen to a considerable depth. The 30 acres 
of corn and Beans which we have mentioned were 
managed from first to last, entirely without the hand- 
hoe, and yet we have never seen an example of more 
clean and perfect cultivation than the field presents. 
Mr. Van Bergen assures us that a man and a boy wi 
readily tend 40 acres of corn, on his system, in a sea- 
son, and that tco in a most thorough manner-—not run 
over so as to have the ground full of “unclean things," 
as we have too often witnessed on the corn-lands of the 
west. The Bean crop of which we have spoken was 
planted with Lewis's seed-planter, an implement with 
whieh Mr. Van Bergen is much pleased. It is drawn 
by a horse, and does the work with great precision and 
dispatch, r. V. B. intends to use it hereafter for 
planting corn. Mr. Van Bergen’s fallows are managed 
on the true plan. The object is to clean the land, and 
this is done most completely. The land is alternately 
worked with culti , or ^ gang-plougl 
cultivators, and the spring-tooth horse-rake. 
vators or gang-ploughs leave the ground in small ridges 
a foot apart; the parers, which are narrow plates of 
steel of lengths varying from 1 ft. to 3 ft., are made to 
shave the surface, which levels the ridges and euts clean 
all vegetation ; the horse-rake, which is made of extra- 
sized wire to fit it for this purpose, follows after, rakes 
the ground smooth, collects weeds or grass where there 
is any, and leaves the ground in the most beautiful con- 
dition, "These different operations are repeated in the 
course of the season at various intervals, as may be 
necessary to keep the soil clean and light. ‘The last 
operation before sowing winter grain is to put the land 
in the small ridges (as described before) by the gang 
ploughs ; on these ridges the grain is sown, and is then 
harrowed in with the horse-rake, which running length- 
wise the ridges, brings the grain in regular rows, à 
foot apart. The gang-ploughs and the largest sized 
cultivators are drawn by two horses. Some of them 
work a breadth of 9 ft."at once, and a man and pair 
of horses will work over from 15 to 20 acres of fallow 
land a day, with one of them. Mr. V. B. has lately 
made one still larger than those we have mentioned, 
which cuts a space of 10 ft, in width, and requires three 
horses to draw it. It is designed partly as a scarifier 
for Grass-grounds, and partly to clean the foul growth 
from the fallows; and is at the same time so con- 
irived that differently-shaped tools may be readily 
fitted to it, so that at option it is metamorphosed from 
a scarifier to a mammoth cultivator, or set of gang- 
ploughs. It may be observed in passing, that Mr. Van 
Bergen makes considerable use of the subsoil plough in 
draining his Grass lands. It answers in this case a 
similar purpose to the mole plough. The implement is 
passed through the sward in such places as would be 
likely to effect the most drainage, and a channel is thus 
made which not only takes the water from the surface 
of the land, but conducts it off to natural courses, The 
plough does not turn over the sward, but only raises it, 
so that the Grass grows as well or better immediately 
over the channels as in other places. These spaces made 
by the subsoil plough remain open for two years, and 
are of great advantage. s 
Injury by the Wire-worm.— Mr. Van Bergen’s 
crops have been greatly injured this year by the wire- 
worm, His Wheat and corn have been almost totally 
destroyed ; his Oats have been considerably cut off, an 
even his Beans have not escaped ; and judging from the 
numbers which on examination we found preying on 
their roots, their chance of affording a crop must be 
small indeed. He has not found any mode of counter- 
acting their ravages. 
Live Stock.—Three pair of horses are kept by Mr. 
Van Bergen, which perform all the team-work on the 
farm, as well as all other service required by horses. 
A yoke of oxen have formerly been kept, in addition to 
the horses, but this season their use has been discon- 
tinued. A small stock only is kept. ‘The cows, 10 in 
number, are mostly Durhams, Ayrshires, and grades of 
these breeds. Several of the Durhams were imported. 
They are evidently of a milking family, and show ex- 
cellent points for the dairy. The Ayrshires are very 
pretty stock—silky haired, clean skinned, small boned, 
with all the indications of first-rate dairy-stock, Mr. 
V. B. formerly fatted calves for the New York market. 
He usually sold them at from 5 to 10 weeks old, and 
obtained for them an ayerage price of 9 dollars per 
head, He sold one year 160 calves fatted by himself. 
The business proved profitable for several years ; but 
competition after awhile reduced the profits till it 
became no longer an object. : 
Conclusion.—Mr. Van Bergen's farming must, on the 
whole, be considered eminently successful. Many, very, 
many farmers, even with greatly superior advantages 0 
soil, do not obtain anything like as good crops on t 1 
average, or realise half as good profits on their capita, 
invested in farming. What is the cause of this success, 
is the question obviously suggested. We answer, it 18 
to be found in the fact that “knowledge is power.” | 
mind well balanced, well disciplined, and discriminatings 
here exerts its energies; and the effect is seen in the 
systematic plan on which the various operations are 
based, and in the highly satisfactory pecuniary returns 
which are the ultimate results.— Albany Cultivator 
Miscellaneous. : ; 
Rotation of Crops in Belgium.—' The crops raised a 
Belgium are Wheat, Oats, Rye, Flax, Potatoes, T 
and Clover, as principal ; and, as secondary, Tur d 
Carrots, Buck-Wheat, Tobacco, and Spurry. 
farmers consider Flax and Rape the best paying 
they cultivate, and they are the most exhausting pi 
the enormous quantities of manure given t iem. 
Rape is sown in July, transplanted in September, d 
cut in June of the next year. The Clover, whic 
crops 
