AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
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A QR10ZTL TUBE IS THE MOST HEALTHY\ THE MOST USEFUL , AND THE MOST NOBLE EMPLOYMENT OF MAN. - Washington. 
PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY ALLEN & CO., 189 WATER ST. 
YOL. XII.—NO. 11.] NEW-YORK, WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 1854. [NEW SERIES.—NO. 87. 
FOR PROSPECTUS, TERMS, fa., 
SEE LAST PAGE. 
EDITOR’S FARM NOTES. 
FARMING IN EASTERN CONNECTICUT — RASPBERRY 
HILL FARM, &C. 
Having got most of the matter for this paper 
into the printer’s hands by Wednesday even¬ 
ing, we took passage on the favorite steamer 
Old Knick, which carried us safely over the 
Sound, and up the Thames river, to Norwich, 
(Conn.) We then passed over the Norwich 
and Worcester R. R. to West Killingly, and 
thence by stage three miles west to Brooklyn, 
the county town of Windham County, where 
we had in former times tried to sow a few seeds 
of agricultural improvement by way of lectures, 
and we desired to know how they were flour¬ 
ishing. The rain unfortunately prevented our 
making many observations, and we must defer 
to another lime the general notes we intended 
to make of the present state of Yankee Farming 
in that vicinity, and we will now briefly notice 
the farm of Messrs. Paris and Henry A. Dyer, 
situated on Raspberry Hill, about live miles 
west of Danielsonville (West Killingly) Depot, 
on the Norwich and Worcester R. R. 
Mr. Paris Dyer was for a long time engaged 
in commercial pursuits in Providence, R. I., till 
some 18 years since, when he came upon this 
farm with his son Henry A., who is well known 
as the indefatigable Secretary of the Connecti¬ 
cut State Agricultural Society. He has also de¬ 
voted much time to getting up an interest in 
agricultural improvements in his own town and 
county ; and these efforts, seconded by several 
other enterprising farmers in that vicinity, have 
placed the Windham County Agricultural So¬ 
ciety quite on a par with any other Society in 
the State. 
Raspberry Hill farm and nursery presents a 
very fair illustration, of what may be done by an 
intelligent application of capital and labor in im¬ 
proving the soil. The farm contains near 200 
acres of a heavy clay loam, lying upon a hill, 
and so situated that water flows out upon many 
parts of its surface. About 13 years since, the 
Messrs. Dyer commenced a nursery, which now 
occupies 25 acres, and is well stocked with every 
variety of fruit and ornamental trees. This nur¬ 
sery has one of the finest collections of ever¬ 
green trees we have seen in this country. Their 
method of preparing the soil for a nursery is, to 
thoroughly drain and sub-soil, and then supply it 
with abundant well-composted barn-yard manure. 
Notwithstanding the unpropitious character of 
the soil, with this preparation, the trees grow 
vigorously and healthy. We noticed one peculi¬ 
arity in this nursery which is worthy of remark. 
From 12 ti 18 inches below the surface is a 
hard sub-soil, so compact that the roots will not 
easily penetrate it, and they consequently 
spread out laterally, and when taken up they 
are supplied with a great abundance of roots and 
fibres, and on this account they are well adapted 
to setting out with a prospect of living. 
This farm has about forty acres of woodland, 
and the rest is all arable, though much of it is 
quite stony. Instead of investing their original 
surplus capital—as well as that derived from 
the proceeds of the nursery—in Bank or R. R. 
stocks, they have adopted what we consider as 
better economy, that of putting it into perma¬ 
nent improvements of the soil. They have al¬ 
ready more than doubled the annual products 
of grass and grain on the remaining part of the 
farm, after deducting the richest portions which 
have been set aside for nursery purposes. The 
soil was formerly considered as only fitted to 
grazing, but it is now nearly all capable of yield¬ 
ing good crops of corn and other grains. 
This improved condition has been secured by 
extensive underground draining, a liberal use of 
various fertilizers, and a judicious system of ro¬ 
tation of crops. They have seized upon every 
new kind of fertilizer, including large quantities 
of shell lime, ashes, plaster, bone shavings, 
poudrette, super-phosphate of lime, woolen rags, 
refuse animal matters, such as hoofs, calves’ 
feet, &c., nitrate of soda, liquid sulphuric acid, 
ground bone, and especially of guano. Of horn 
shavings, they have applied to the soil with good 
profit, some 15 tons. All of these substances 
have been found more or less profitable, though 
they place first in the list, horn shavings at $25 
per ton, and second to this, Peruvian guano. 
They have used with good profit several thou¬ 
sand bushels of unleached ashes. "With only 
about 25 head of stock, including horses, oxen, 
cows and young cattle, and about a dozen hogs, 
they make annually from 500 to 800 loads of 
rich compost manure. We requested Mr. Henry 
A. Dyer to furnish us for publication an ac¬ 
count of their experience and success in drain¬ 
ing, which we hope to receive for a future num¬ 
ber. 
->»•- 
RHODE ISLAND HORSE PREMIUMS. 
The following letter contains some very im¬ 
portant hints, not only to the Rhode Island So¬ 
ciety, but to every other similar association, and 
we hope it will be generally read, and be an in¬ 
citement to a more just discrimination in making 
out future premium lists. We have looked 
over a number of such lists, and find that here¬ 
tofore the larger premiums have usually been 
given to fancy or fast horses, rather than to that 
class in most extensive demand as work or 
draught horses. It will be remembered that at 
the National Horse Show at Springfield, so little 
regard was shown for horses of the useful class 
referred to, that amid all the display of fine 
horses there exhibited, only four spans of 
draught horses were entered for premium. But 
hear our correspondent on this subject. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
I have received a premium list, issued by the 
Rhode Island Society for the Encouragement of 
Domestic Industry, for the benefit of that 
branch of domestic industry that breeds horses. 
I notice that while large premiums are offered 
for those varieties of horses that minister to the 
luxurious tastes of the wealthy citizen, the fast 
man, and the gentlemen of leisure, for the class 
that really needs encouragement, the Society 
offers a premium so ridiculously small as to en¬ 
tirely prevent any desirable competition. A 
premium of $50 is offered for the best gelding 
or family horse, $50 for the best pair of match¬ 
ed horses, $50 for the best trotting horse, $20 
for the best saddle horse, and only $10 for the 
lest fair of draught horses. 
It is well known that unlimited prices can be 
obtained by breeders for particularly fast, or 
parlicularly fine-looking, desirable carriage 
horses—and a horse that can trot in 2.25, is a 
small fortune to the lucky man that breeds, or 
oftener to the knowing man that buys him; 
and sufficient encouragement is thus offered to 
secure effort in the breeding of these varieties 
of horses. If individuals are willing to make 
effort, and raise means to secure a good show of 
such horses, I should like to be there to see it; 
and it is very well for the United States Agricul¬ 
tural Society or that of Rhode Island, to offer 
generous premiums for handsome and fast 
animals ; but unless the Rhode Island Society 
is disposed to abandon its profession as express¬ 
ed in its title, and to become an institution for 
the encouragement of domestic extravagance, 
instead of domestic industry , I see no reason 
for offering less premiums for useful than for 
fancy horses. If the wretched, broken-down 
hacks that are in the hands of our farmers, and 
the miserable colts that are got from mares past 
all other service, from disease or age, could be 
made to give place to well-proportioned, desira¬ 
ble draught horses, bred to the various kinds of 
service they are required for, much benefit would 
accrue to the common weal—but so long as the 
2.40 principle maintains, and the premium lists 
of our agricultural societies read like the one 
before me, we cannot hope for it. $100 are 
offered for the best stallion of any age. Sup¬ 
pose I offer an animal that is beyond question 
the best adapted to procure colts for the farmer 
and the drayman, do I have a chance for the 
