CONNECTICUT FARMING. 
19 
CONNECTICUT FARMING. 
Connecticut to a traveller from the rich prai- 
ries of the west, unaccustomed to broken lands, 
will look like a barren waste made up of rocky 
ridges, narrow valleys, and small sandy plains ; 
the surface of its hills washed by the rains under 
two hundred years culture, until the better por- 
tion of its soil is removed, and the owners of 
such farms will be thought slovenly and unthrif- 
ty farmers. Yet such is a goodly portion of our 
State ; and it is indeed too true, that our ances- 
tors have cropped their more easily tilled lands, 
without returning anything to the soil, until 
large poi'tions of such have become exhausted 
and some quite worthless. Under such circum- 
stances, their descendants have been obliged to 
migrate to a new and virgin soil, or restore the 
exhausted and worn-out land of their native 
home. Between these alternatives many have 
chosen the former, and Connecticut's sons are 
now among the best farmers of Western New 
York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan; but 
a large portion of these descendants resolved 
upon the latter course, influenced by a love for 
their good old mother, and determined to reno- 
vate her soil, and make her what she once was, 
a luxuriant, fruitful, and happy mother of a 
growing family. That they are vigorously 
carrying these plans into effect, Mr. Robin- 
son might have seen if he had given himself 
time to look, or if he had sought for information 
at the right sources, and been able to compare 
the past with the present, he might have seen 
among the greater portion of respectable farm- 
ers, indications of thrift and signs of improve- 
ment, which should have influenced him to have 
given a different complexion to his "Flight 
through Connecticut," and in fact he is forced to 
confess " there is an air of neatness about their 
dwellings which is commendable, but these 
belong to mechanics, no farmer dwells there. " 
The soil of our State is divided into small 
farms mostly, and the proprietor of each culti- 
vates with his own hands, which with vigorous 
health is his only wealth ; but with these means 
he is yearly improving that soil so far as he is 
able to do and support his own family ; and 
although his progress is slow it is certain ; and 
the last twenty years has shown a marked 
change to those who have had an opportunity 
to see and judge. Connecticut farmers have 
learned, that her soil to feed her sons must be 
fed in return, and no good farmer now thinks of 
constant cropping, without a regular return to 
the soil of a liberal supply of the food of plants. 
I have delayed this communication to collect 
statistics of this season's crops, in my vicinity, 
in proof of my assertion, that Mr. Robinson 
has done us injustice. Ours is an agricultural 
town, and we have had as large a proportion of 
exhausted land within our limits as any section 
of the State. This, where it has been sold at all, 
has been sold as low as $3 per acre within the 
last twenty years, and there are portions of this 
land now, which is worth to cultivate from $40 
to -$50 per acre; and these are still improving. 
Our grass lands lying in the vicinity of our 
main street, produce on the average four tons to 
the acre, both crops, (we always cut two crops 
per year,) one field that was actually weighed, 
produced over five tons to the acre, and there 
are others which will quite equal that. There 
were three acres of oats, averaged 86 bushels 
per acre, one acre of which being limed pro- 
duced 92 bushels ; of corn there have been several 
pieces measured, some of the results I will state. 
One single acre produced 136 bushels; one 
piece of three acres produced 116f bushels per 
acre, weighing 60 lbs. per bushel. Another 
piece of six acres, one acre of which was mea- 
sured, produced 102 bushels, a fair average of 
the whole. In the same field were three acres 
of potatoes, which produced something over 600 
bushels sound tubers. There were other fields 
in corn which were estimated to produce more 
than the last named, but not measured. 
We have the pride also to believe that we 
rear as good horned cattle as any of our sister 
States. Our matched cattle sell at from three to 
four years of age, from 125 to 150 dollars per 
yoke ; we can show native cows (which if Mr. 
Robinson were to see, he would probably cite 
as examples of slovenly breeding,) from whose 
milk at grass alone, 2 lbs. butter per day are 
made ; and from a town in our vicinity which is 
considered as one of the poorest in our State, of 
only a population of 633, was exhibited at a late 
neighborhood cattle show, a team of nearly 80 
yoke, many of which were worth $100 per 
yoke. And now, Messrs. Editors, from these 
facts which I am able to substantiate, is Con- 
necticut farming at the low ebb your tourist 
represents ? or will he say that this is not a fair 
[ sample of the State ? But this shall not avail 
him. We can prove that in other parts of the 
State, crops of greater value have been raised 
than any I have stated, particularly wheat and 
tobacco, which we do not grow in this place. I 
could multiply facts to prove that the art of farm- 
ing is improving, facts that would go to show 
that by the improvements in agriculture, Con- 
necticut will probably sustain a much larger 
population than she now has. But I have already 
extended my communication too far : my apolo- 
gy is the unwarranted attack upon us. 
A Connecticut Farmer, 
Farmington, Nov. 5th, 1849. 
Our respected correspondent above, will see 
that we have somewhat abbreviated his commu- 
nication ; but we are certain he will be satisfied 
with the liberty we have taken, when he comes 
to read the December number of our paper, and 
finds that Mr. Robinson has commenced rever- 
sing the picture. He will have a good deal to 
say on the bright side of Connecticut farming 
before the year is up. As a further apology, 
we beg also to inform him, that Mr. Robinson is 
quite familiar with old Connecticut, for this is 
his native State ; and moreover he was brought 
up a farmer, and so continued till he was about 
twenty years old, when he emigrated to the West. 
Since this, he has visited Connecticut repeatedly, 
traversing the State in various directions. As 
soon as this meets Mr. R's. eye, we presume 
our correspondent will hear from him in answer, 
