1882.] 
AMERICAN AGrRIOULTERIS r J 
109 
all the droppings of the stock, except the 
fowls, are thrown. Here is work for rainy 
days, and there need not be an idle time for 
the farm hands through the whole year. I 
consider the manure made under cover worth 
at least a third more than that which is 
made in the open yard. The saving is quite 
as great in the spending of all forage crops. 
Pine boards closely rabbeted are an excellent 
substitute for hay and provender. The ma¬ 
nure rarely freezes in the stables above, and 
cattle will thrive better on two-thirds of the 
rations that are required at the stackyard or 
in an old shaky barn. The saving in fodder 
and in fertilizers in a few years will pay the 
whole cost of a barn.” 
At the south end of the barn was the tur¬ 
key roost, and this led to inquiries about 
The Turkey Crop. 
Deacon Smith says : “ Only farmers with 
a good range should undertake to raise this 
crop. On small farms, with near neighbors, 
they interfered very much with cultivated 
crops, and not infrequently lead to neigh¬ 
borhood feuds. But on my farm of 220 acres, 
and with a range of thirty acres of wood¬ 
land, largely stocked with oak and chestnut, 
I consider them one of the most profitable 
crops I can raise. I hold to breeding from the 
heaviest stock I can get, and as a rule prefer 
to use two and three-year-old cocks and hens. 
I bred two years ago from a two-year-old 
cock weighing 42 lbs., and the present season 
from one of his chicks that weighed 30 lbs. 
when he was ten months old The best of 
my hens weighed 24 lbs. I weighed several 
of my young birds last November, when 
about six months old, and found young cocks 
weighing 22 lbs., and hens weighing from 15 
to 19 lbs. They had not been fattened, and 
were not ready for market. I find on refer¬ 
ence to my note book, that the turkey crop 
has paid fairly. I have usually left from 
eight to eleven hen turkeys for breeders, 
and have raised from 99 to 137 in a season. 
In 1868 I sold my turkeys for 27 cents 
a pound; they amounted to $380.40. In 
1869 I sold for 25 and 27 cents a pound ; 
gross amount of sales $386.18. That year 
I kept an account of expenses and calculated 
the net profit at $213.58. In 1870 I sold for 
25 cents a pound ; amount of sales $311.37. 
In 1871 I sold for 18 cents a pound; gross 
amount of sales $286.13. I would rather 
raise turkeys and sell at 15 cents a pound 
than raise pork and sell at ten cents a pound.” 
Cleau Hay and Hay Seed. 
Deacon Smith next took us out into one of 
his meadows. He has about 75 acres in mow¬ 
ing, all remarkable for their clean cultivation. 
There are no wild cherries, hazel nut bushes, 
or other shrubs and briers along the walls. 
It is unbroken sod close to the wall, and 
no dock, catnip, nettles or daisy are tol¬ 
erated. Said the Deacon, “when I took 
charge of the farm my father said to me, 
‘my father bequeathed to me only four 
daisies and I give to you only two.’ I have 
gone upon the principle of allowing only one 
to go to seed, and that is the one that I can¬ 
not find. It is comparatively an easy job to 
keep a clean field, clear of daisies, or white 
weed, and other foul stuff that damages the 
hay. As soon as these weeds are fairly in 
blossom, lose no time in going through the 
fields and pull every weed by the roots, and 
carry it to the compost heap. Then if you 
save your own Timothy seed, and red-top and 
clover, you have a clean sod to start with, 
and foul seed can only come in on the wind, 
or by the brooks that run through your fields. 
A little watchfulness at the right time keeps 
the meadows clean and gives your hay and 
clover seed a high reputation in the market, 
which commands the best prices.” He next 
called the attention of the Committee to his 
Irrigated Meadows. 
A small brook runs through the farm, not 
half large enough for a mill stream, in most 
seasons, running through the summer, but 
occasionally dried up as in the past season. 
He has utilized this stream by turning the 
water into irrigating ditches and greatly in¬ 
creasing his hay crop. The ditches for carry¬ 
ing the water are of the simplest kind, no 
effort having been made to gather up the 
water of irrigation, and use it a second time, 
on the lower parts of the field. The same lot 
of about six acres is thus irrigated by pass¬ 
ing it in a single ditch around the upper edge, 
thus only the higher portion of the field is 
thoroughly irrigated, except in winter when 
the ground is frozen and the water is kept on 
the surface. There is the same arrangement 
on a seven-acre meadow further down the 
stream, which receives a larger portion of 
the water. This is considered the most pro¬ 
ductive in hay, of any lot upon the farm, 
and yields at two cuttings—three tons to the 
acre. These lots keep in good condition 
without any top-dressing, though this would 
add very much to their yield and as a matter 
of course, they would pay better dividends. 
Tile Draiiiing 
is another of the Deacon’s strong points in 
husbandry. He has about ten acres of once 
swampy land, too wet for cultivation, under¬ 
laid with tile. Tins was done many years 
ago, and has made fields, once poor pasture, 
among the most productive on the farm. It 
is kept in grass, and yields readily about two 
tons of hay at one cutting, every year. 
Deacon Smith has drained nearly all the wet 
places upon his farm, and is an enthusiastic ad¬ 
vocate of underlaying the soil with crockery. 
A Reformed Alder Swamp. 
In the south part of the farm was an alder 
swamp. A railroad crosses the upper end of 
this swamp, and to perfect its drainage it 
was necessary to cut through it a broad ditch 
eight feet deep. This so completely took the 
water off that the swamp has become dry 
land. It was cleared of roots and rocks, cul¬ 
tivated a few years, and laid down to grass, 
and now yields two tons of hay to the acre 
without top-dressing. The area of this lot is 
about ten acres, and tile have not been used 
upon it. As an example of the working of 
deep drains, this lot is worth a good deal to 
the public. The Deacon has been a diligent 
reader of the American Agriculturist for 
thirty years, and his farm may be considered 
a good card for this paper. 
Hookertown , Ct., | Yours to-command. 
January 15,1882. ( Timothy Bunker. Esq. 
Cold. st lies.—The novice in the man¬ 
agement of cold frames, is more likely to 
meet with difficulties in the month of March 
than at any other time. During steady cold 
weather it is but little trouble to keep the 
plants properly dormant, but in March we 
are apt to have violent alternations and 
spring-like days may be suddenly succeeded 
by a cold as severe as any of the preceding 
winter. One should always keep in mind 
that the object of the cold frame is to keep 
plants from growing as well as to preserve 
them from severe freezing. In many locali¬ 
ties the weather will allow the cabbage plants 
to be set out during the latter part of this 
month, and in these the plants should be 
prepared by hardening them, which is done 
by removing the sashes altogether when the 
temperature is no lower than 30°, and when 
below this, they are to be opened more or 
less. Even when the temperature is as low as 
10°, some air must be given, by slightly 
tilting or shoving down sashes at the upper 
end. Should there be a considerable fall of 
snow, at this season, it will be well to remove 
it from the sashes, lest the plants become too 
warm, and start into an unhealthy growth. 
It is safe at this time to be prepared for 
sudden cold after a succession of mild days. 
In such cases, shutters, straw mats, marsh 
hay, or other litter, or even old carpets, should 
be in readiness to place over the sashes 
and protect the plants from sudden freezing. 
Gates with Wooden Hinges. 
A subscriber in Tasmania sends us sketches 
and following de- 
n r _ i . scription of a handy 
c g —|—-p gate with wooden 
hinges : “ Bore a 
large auger hole 
through the gate- 
post.both above and 
below ; make the 
sockets of tough 
wood dressed to 
drive through the 
auger hole, and put 
in a pin on the 
other side. The 
sockets for the gate 
are,of course,bored, 
and the ends of the 
gate head rounded 
to fit, with a should¬ 
er. This plan is 
superior to a socket 
placed in the ground 
which usually holds 
the water and soon rots.”—The arrangement 
of the parts described is shown in figure 1; 
the socket seen from above is given in 
figure 2.” The same correspondent 
says :—‘ 1 1 have constructed a gate, 
full sized gateway, say 10 feet, intend¬ 
ed to be merely temporary, but after¬ 
wards properly hung, and still as good 
as ever, four years’ old and continu¬ 
ally in use. It was made of pieces of 
an old roof, rafters and battens, and 
did not take more than half an hour 
to put it together. The rafters, 
for heads, here checked out 
the width and thickness of the 
battens with a saw, the check¬ 
ers knocked out with a chisel, 
the battens inserted in their 
proper places, and a batten 
nailed over the head. The nails 
'I/! . 
Fig. 1 . — GATE POST WITH 
WOODEN HINGES. 
jp io . g were clenched, and the whole g 
gate simply braced. The size 
of rafters was 2 by 3, and the battens 1 by 3 
inches.” A single head is shown in figure 3. 
Our subscribers in Tasmania and Australia are 
quite numerous and we hope others will give 
our readers the benefit of their experience. 
