THE SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
147 
From the Farmers’ Cabinet. 
Model Farm of the Lrulou."it .Mt. Airy, 
uear Phiiadelphia. Pa. 
Jarms Gow n’s Report t> the Committee on Farms 
Gentlkmen: It is ko jwn to most of you, 
that siuce I became a farmer I have spared no 
pains to fulfil the duties of the calling in a man- 
ner creditable to the community in which I 
live, as well as to myself and the Agricultural 
Society to which I belong; that while improv- 
iogmy>)wn practice, I have endeavored, by 
sundry means, to stimulate others to compete 
with me in spirited efiorts to arrive at e.tcel- 
lence in the highly u-elul and delightful pur- 
suits ofagriculture; and to promulgate as far 
as in me lav, such improvements and results 
as were likely to promote the general interests 
of the farmer. In carrying out this object, I 
have, as part of the system, always been found 
competing with the crops and cattle for the pre- 
miums offered by “ The Philadelphia Society 
for promoting Agriculture.” It is, therelore, in 
accordance with this praciice, that I now pre- 
sent my farm as worthy of note, v hen you come 
to award the premiums committed to your dis- 
tribution; in view of which, and in fulfilment 
of the rules and regulations of the Society, I 
submit tor your consideration a general state- 
ment of its character and condition. 
The Homestead farm contained, when I re- 
moved to it in 1834, about 60 acres, since which 
I have added to it by purchase, some 40 acres, all 
of which is contiguous; making over 100 acres, 
exclusive of the Woodland Farm, in Chelten- 
ham township, Montgomery Co., part of which 
is cleared and worked by me, and is in fine con- 
dition, as you may recollect from my commu- 
nication on the crop of rye raised there in 1842, 
From long neglect and a bad practice, pre- 
vious to. my coming on the Homestead, 1 found 
it in every respect in a wretched condition. The 
results of bad plowing and bad seeding, were 
visible in the unevenness of the surface, and 
the pertrtcious weeds that seemed to have en- 
tire possession. 1 at once took up the old 
fences which divided about 40 acres into 
small fields, plowed it up, eradicated the 
briers and brambles that filled so large a 
space along those fences, and removed the 
stones within plowing depth. It was cropped 
according to circumstances; alternately with 
potatoe.®, corn, grain, &c., until the soil had 
been brought into proper subjection in the fall 
of 1839, when it was laid down lor grass, by 
sowing 't with grain and timothy ; since which 
it has not been disturbed, with the exception of 
about eight acres in rye, this year; and yet this 
last summer it cut, I may safely say, two tons 
to the acre, and expect it to do as well next 
summer, should the season prove favorable. — 
By this practice, I brought every inch of the 
land to bear, aud saved ten years' expense, or 
wear and tear of the six fences which formerly 
stood inside this section. The fields in future 
will be divided by hedges of the Madura, thorn 
or Osage Orange, raised by myself; four of 
these hedges already in, with plenty of quick® 
on hand to supply the remainder. These re- 
marks, you will please observe, apply to the 
land lying on the southeast side of the lane that 
divides the farm. The land on the northwest 
side, opposite, called the Springfields, was, if 
possible, in a still worse condition. Owing to 
the swampv nature of part of it, and the wash- 
ings from the higher lands on the other side the 
lane, the posts were every spring thrown out 
of place as the frost left the ground, while the 
ravines, furrowed out by thaws and heavy 
rains, set at defiance all attempts at cropping or 
farming. To obviate the yearly setting up ol 
the fences, which was not only expensive, but 
vexatious, 1 substituted a stone and lime wall 
for the post and rail fence. The wall is about 
half a mile ir ng, is two feet below the suface at 
every point, two feet broad at base, and averages 
over six feet high from the bottom, ending with 
an eighteen inch coping. One large under- 
drain, with grating at the mouth, takes the 
water from ths lane, while several smaller 
drains keep the surlace of the land perfectly 
dry. The ravines were well filled up, and ever 
since, for a series of years, good crops of pota- 
toes, corn, grain and grass have been taken, 
where tormerly grew spatterdock and rushes. 
The land adoed to the farm at sundry times 
within the last five or six years, was, in 
general, in as bad a condition in many respects, 
as ihe worst ol that already described; indeed, 
it could furnish material lor a more repulsive 
picture than any that has been drawn yet; but 
as most of j’ou have repeatedly seen it in its 
original state, I need not trouble you with a de- 
scription. To show its condition now, I need 
only remind you that two years ago I obtained 
a premium for raising upwards of fourhundred 
bushels of Mercer potatoes to the acre, on this 
land; and that on the succeeding year, from the 
same potato lana, I took upwards of fifty bush- 
els of wheat to the acre, without any additional 
manure. Also, that last year 1 submitted a 
field of some seven acres of corn, on another 
portion of this land, which yielded at the rate 
of 200 bnshels of ears, equal to 100 bushels 
shelled corn to the acre. My reports on the 
condition of these fields, and the aforesaid crops, 
are in possession of the Society. The corn 
land was in this year with potatoes and oats. — 
The potatoes, four acres, yielded over 200 
bushels to the acre ; the oats were very good. — 
It is now laid down with wheat and orchard 
grass. This sketch, with your own personal 
observations, will afford you some idea of what 
I had to contend with, and what I have accom- 
plished in the way of improving land, and the 
present condition of my farm. 
From the difficulty and expense in procuring 
manure from the city, and alter three or four 
years experience in that mode of supply, I gave 
it up, and adopted the plan of making a supply 
on the place, by an increased stock of cattle; 
from which I have derived my sole supply ever 
since, with the exception or light dressings of 
lime and gypsum, and a small lot ol stable ma- 
nure, which 1 was templed to purchase a few 
weeks since, at auction, and which I can dis- 
pense with, should 1 meet with a purchaser be- 
fore its removal in the spring. The keeping 
and breeding fine stock, had in itself strong 
claims upon my judgment, as well as my taste; 
as 1 could never thinkafarm was what itshould 
be, unless it could exhibit fine cattle as well as 
an improved culture. To maintain this stock, 
and bring my land to a high state of culti vati on, 
by the most efficient and economical practice, 
has been a leading object; and to accomplish 
this, required no ordinary management on 
such alarm. The stock in cattle has tanged, 
for years, from forty to filly head, in addition 
to the necessary horses, with a large slock of 
sivine for breeding and fattening; and -these I 
have fed from the produce of the farm, except 
the purchasing, occasionally, of some straw, and 
supplies of mill-feed tor the horses and swine, 
and some meadow fiay for the cattle, selling 
frequently its «=quivalent in timothy. During 
the same period 1 have sold hundreds of bushels 
of rye, some wheat, and, on an average, four 
hundred bushels potatoes annually, with some 
three to four hundred bushel® of carrots, besides 
providingfor the family. Butthechiel ineoma 
was derived from the cattle, of which I shall 
speak more at large presently. 
My expenditures during the whole period 
could not be otherwise than large; as I could 
not put up so much stone fence and picket fence 
as toenclose my farm, withcuHneurringa heavy 
outlay; but I view these improvements as 
cheap in the end. It may be safely inferred, 
that iherf* is not, at this day, any farm of the 
same extent in this part of the country, that 
can so easily be worked, or will rf'quire so 
little exrense for a series of years, in keeping 
the fences in order, especially when the hedges 
are taken into account. I am also of opinion 
that, taking in view the condition ofihe soil, as 
to the depth and richness, as well as its being 
en irely Ireeol stones and other impediments, 
that I can make it produce as much as any 
farm of iissi^e in any part ul the country lor a 
series of years, and at as small an expense. 
The secret of keeping so large a stock on so 
little land, consists in my practice of partial 
soiling, and green crops, whereby I make some 
tour or five acres do the work of thirty acres, in 
the ‘slow and easy go way.’ From May to 
August my cattle are confined to one or two fields, 
most commonly one, to which they are driven 
more for exercise in the cooler parts of the day 
than for pasture, they being fed in the stables early 
in the morning, at noon, and at night with food 
cut for them from a lot adjoining the barn-} ard. 
This food is generally of lucerne, orchard grass 
and clover, oats and corn. The patches from 
which the corn and oats are cut, are always 
sowed wiih turnips in August. No one can 
credit, unless he has had proper experience in 
the matter, the quantity of food that one acre of 
lucerne, one of rich orchard grass and clover, 
and one of oats and corn, afford from May till 
August, nor can he estimate the great saving 
in manure, much less the comparatively good 
health of the cattle, from not being exposed on 
naked fields, under a fervid sun, toiling all day 
in search of food. This practice allows me to 
crop almost the whole of the land, and to make 
some 120 to 150 tons of hay annually. In the 
fall, from August till November, the cattle have 
the whole range of the mowed lands, as I do not 
cut second crop grass for hay. Then for winter 
feed, I have always an acre ol sugar beet, half 
an acre of sugar parsnips, hall an acre or more 
of carrois, for my horses, and generally three to 
four acres of turnips. I report to the committee 
on crops this season, over 100 tons of these roots. 
In 1843, I gathered from one acre 1078 bushels 
sugar beets, 60 pounds to the bushel : carrots at 
the rate 687 bushels; sugar parsnips, 868 bush- 
els. This year 972 bushels sugar beets; 970 
buihels carrots; 700 bushels sugar parsnips; 
and from three and a half acres, 2500 bushels ol 
turnips, sowed with timothy seed. 
The farm buildings consist ol three substan- 
tial Slone barns, one 70 feet by 33, another. 50 
bv 26, and another hipt roof with cupola, 57 by 
25, besides a large overshoot stable and hay- 
house, stable high, of stone, 60 feet by 30. The 
lower door of all these are made of broken 
stone, and lime, planked, being vermin proof. — 
There are also a corn-crib capable of holding 
1200 bushels of corn, one barrack, ample hog 
pens, and sheds for carts and wagons. The 
barn buildings have been filled this fall to their 
utmost limit, except the corn crib, 
A subsiantial stone wall encloses the princi- 
pal manure heap. The draining? from this 
heap are led into a place underground from 
the kitchen, as well as drainings from pigpens 
and the washings from all the yards. These 
drainings form an important item in the supply 
of manure to my land. It is a saving which! 
cannot estimate at less than $200 a year. This 
liquid, by a simple process, is applied to the 
patches of roots, &c., and to this may be as- 
cribed my great success in raising such crops. 
The dwellings, green house, shrubbery, and 
gardens, 1 n»ed not describe; but it is in point 
to notice tbs nursery ol young ornamental trees, 
and Madura for hedges, raised on places mostly 
waste on other farms, from which I have an 
ample supply for my owm setting out, and a 
considerable stock to spare, of Magnolia Tri- 
petalla, or Cucumber tree, and Silver Maple, 
offine size, suitable for transplanting. I sold 
over fifty dollars’ worth last spring of these trees, 
and have sevei-al hundred dollars' worth still oa 
hand, for sale. 
Of Improved Cattle, my first efforts was with 
the celebrated ‘Dairy Maid,’ still owned by 
me. Her first calf, Leander, by Whitaker’s 
Prince of Northumberland, w'as reared and kept 
by me for breeding. Dairy Maid’s calves alone, 
exclusive of Leander, have already sold for 
more than $500. It would be curious to trace 
her profit at this day, by stating an account of 
her first cost, her keep, and that of her son Le- 
ander; crediting her by sales of herown calves 
and grand calves, deducting lor the portion of 
capital w hich was invested in the dams that 
produced the grand calves. Toffo this would 
