FARM OF G. G. HOWLAND, ESQ. 
197 
waist high. It was not a patch here and another 
there, but at least 80 acres so near alike, that one 
square rod would hardly differ from another over 
the surface. The season had been quite dry 
and unpropitious for grass; yet, nevertheless, 
we can safely say, that these fields would average 
three tons to the acre, weighed as fast as it was 
taken from the field to the barn. A friend who 
accompanied us on our visit, and an accurate judge 
of such things, estimated that one field of 18 acres 
would average four tons to the acre. It certainly 
was a most extraordinary growth, and showed 
emphatically what Long Island land can do when 
well managed. This hay is usually worth $10 to 
$12 per ton standing, or $14 to $15 in the New 
York market, thus making it quite a profitable 
crop. 
The farm is handsomely laid out, and conve¬ 
niently arranged; the fences principally stone 
wall, and made in the most durable manner—the 
foundation being laid one foot below the surface 
of the earth, so as not to be endangered by the 
heaving of the frost. The superstructure is quite 
thick, rises to a good height, and is handsomely 
faced on both sides. Along the division fences 
rows of fruit trees are generally planted. The 
cherries have grown to a lofty height, and several 
of the farm-roads present such superb avenues of 
them, that at a distance they have more the ap¬ 
pearance of noble forest, than fruit-trees. The 
orchards are abundant, and present a great va¬ 
riety of the best selected apples, peaches, and 
pears. 
Manures.— Notwithstanding all the manure at 
home is carefully husbanded, still, in consequence 
of selling the hay from the farm, instead of con¬ 
suming it on the ground, it has hitherto been ne¬ 
cessary, in order to keep up the fertility of the 
land, to procure more or less from the city; but 
by draining a swamp which was formerly a great 
nuisance, large quantities of muck are now obtain¬ 
ed, and either carted into the barn-yard to be mix¬ 
ed with stable-dung, or it is laid up in heaps of 
alternate layers mixed with one fifth to one third 
of its quantity of lime; thus making one of the 
best composts, especially for grass lands, and ob¬ 
viating the necessity of any further purchases for 
the present from abroad. The lime costs eight 
cents per bushel, the muck merely the hauling, 
and load for load, this compost is pronounced by 
many to be equal, if not superior, in its lasting 
properties to ordinary stable manure. Then the 
swamp furnishing this muck, when all that is ne¬ 
cessary is taken from it, will be turned into a 
valuable meadow; so that the draining of it will 
operate as a three-fold benefit. In our rambles 
this summer, within a circuit of 100 miles from 
this city, we have seen thousands of acres now 
scarcely worth a penny a rod, which might be 
thus reclaimed at a moderate expense, and ever 
after form the most valuable part of the farm. 
Some action, however, we are glad to say, has 
commenced in this thing, and we are satisfied, 
that in frequent instances, if our farmers would 
drain their rich swamps instead of emigrating a 
thousand miles west for fertile lands, they would 
be all the happier , and quite as rich for their en¬ 
terprise. 
Farm Buildings. —These are among the most 
complete we have ever seen, the barns and stables 
especially; nothing short, however, of an engra¬ 
ving of the ground-plan and superstructure can give 
a definite idea of them. They are quite extensive, 
and embrace three sides of a quadrangle, enclosing 
a commodious yard, open only to the south. The 
arrangements for saving and making manure, liquid 
as well as solid, and for manufacturing it also in 
the cow-yard, deserve all praise. Troughs are 
placed under the eaves of the whole range of build¬ 
ings to catch the water and conduct it to a tank in 
the cellar, which holds 42,000 gallons. This fur¬ 
nishes water for the stock at all seasons, and has 
never been dry. It keeps perfectly sweet, as we 
can testify from a hearty draught which we took 
from the tank; and Mr. H. remarked, that when 
he wanted a particularly good drink of water, he 
always came here for it. But aside from furnish¬ 
ing the water for stock, the eaves-troughs should 
in all cases be appended to farm buildings in order 
to keep all the water which falls from the roof 
out of the yards, and from saturating the manures 
especially, as this is a great injury to them. 
Guano Manure. —We have abstained from 
saying much upon this subject in our paper, not¬ 
withstanding the numerous articles which are 
constantly appearing in the agricultural journals 
of Great Britain about it, simply because we know 
it would prove too expensive a fertilizer for Ameri¬ 
ca to import, especially when we consider the * 
great amount of wasted materials which are 
already to be found everywhere around us. Mr. 
Howland has imported some guano, and we be¬ 
lieve agrees with us in opinion. It is a powerful 
manure, and produces a superior effect upon vege¬ 
tation. He has made several experiments with it, 
and we hope to have an account of them in com¬ 
parison with other manures, at the end of the sea¬ 
son. 
