AGRICULTURE OF THE CONNECTICUT VALLEY. 
305 
AGRICULTURE OF THE CONNECTICUT 
VALLEY. 
The agriculture of the Connecticut Valley, in the 
neighborhood of Northampton, is subject to some, 
ifaough not sudden or extreme changes. In the 
early settlements of the country, wheat formed one 
©f the principal staples; but it has long since 
ceased to yield a profitable return. Occasionally a 
field of winter wheat may be seen, which does not 
well repay the cost of cultivation. The spring 
grain gives a surer crop, but is subject to so many 
accidents that it seldom occupies the attention of 
the farmer, who finds his labor and tillage much 
better rewarded by the substitution of rye. This 
is generally a profitable crop for the light soils that 
abound throughout this region. 
Indian Corn. —This, from the first settlements to 
the present moment, has proved one of the most 
valuable of the staple products. The alluvial soil 
of this valley is peculiarly favorable to the produc¬ 
tion of corn ; and nowhere on the continent is it 
roduced in greater luxuriance ; and nowhere, do I 
elieve, to a greater profit. The farmers are very 
careful in the selection of choice kinds, especially 
of such as mature early, to avoid frosts that some¬ 
times injure those that ripen late. They also plant 
only such as have full, heavy ears, and yield seve¬ 
ral ears to each stalk. The ground is generally 
well manured, and well tilled, so as to give a large 
yield ; for it has long since been found that a man 
may keep poor by raising light crops, when he 
might just as well get rich by raising large ones, 
after deducting their extra cost for manures, labor, 
&c. The stalks will repay the cultivation in this 
neighborhood, where hay sells for $10 to $12 per 
ton, and the grain, which here always commands a 
comparatively high price, affords a handsome profit, 
besides an ample remuneration for the land and 
manure. 
Broom Corn .—Several years ago, this yielded a 
large profit. The seed and brush occasionally gave 
over $100 per acre, for nett profit, besides paying 
the rent of the land. Its cultivation was attended 
with a double advantage, as it furnished the neigh¬ 
borhood with a profitable winter’s w T ork in manufac¬ 
turing it into brooms. But the fertile west, the 
Scioto and Miami Valleys, Illinois, Wisconsan, and 
Missouri, have devoted some of their rich lands to 
this object, and it is furnished from these sources at 
rates which render it less an object of attention 
here than formerly. The brush produced at the 
west, however, is coarser and more brittle than that 
raised in the eastern states, on land long subject to 
tillage. Although not so general a crop as formerly, 
there are still large fields of broom corn raised here, 
which, with much that is brought from the west, 
is manufactured in the surrounding towns for ex¬ 
portation. 
Tobacco .—This crop occupies some of the best 
lands of this valley. No farmer devotes any con¬ 
siderable portion of his land to this plant, but many 
appropriate a few acres to it. It is a plant requir¬ 
ing great fertility to make it adequately productive, 
and much attention is needed at certain stages of its 
growth. For this reason, a small field may be very 
profitable where the requisite means are used, while 
a larger one, suffering even a partial neglect nay 
be attended with absolute loss. 
I noticed on the farm of the late Hon. Isr 
Bates, now T in the hands of his son, Mr. S. H •, 
of this town, some very choice fields of 1 •. , 
which he informed me had been culti vv 1 . i; .]i a 
satisfactory profit. His crop, last ye., averaged 
nearly 2,000 pounds of dried leaves per acre, ready’ 
for market, which sold, deliv ed at the railroad 
depot, near the farm, at 9| cet s per pound. This 
gave a nett profit of about $100 per acre. Some in 
this valley, have realized over $200 per acre, for a 
single crop. The kinds raised by Mr. Bates, are 
from seed imported from Brazil, the West-India 
Islands, and elsewhere, some of which had beta 
previously acclimated in this country. They are 
hardy, prolific varieties, with long, broad leaves, the 
ribs of which run nearly at right angles with the 
stem. These afford the most valuable kinds for 
cigar w’rappers, and for this purpose are generally 
preferred to the produce of the Spanish islands. 
The seed is sown early in April, in a rich mellow 
bed, where, if the season be cold, it lies till near the 
middle of May, before the young plants make their 
appearance. They are transplanted from four to 
six weeks afterwards, into well-prepared ground, in 
hills containing a single stalk each. They require 
about the same amount of cultivation as corn ; but 
in addition, it is necessary to prime, top, sucker, 
and worm them; thereby much increasing the labor 
necessarily bestowed upon the latter. The first two 
operations are performed but once in a season ; 
while the others require to be frequently repeated, 
as any neglect may materially impair the value of 
the crop. 
It is cut about the 10th of September, before frost 
makes its appearance, and immediately’ hung up to 
cure, under cover, where there is a free circulation 
of air. The leaves are stripped and bound for 
packing in damp weather, in November, or at any 
time subsequent. It loses in weight, but improves 
in quality, by keeping, sometimes commanding an 
advance equal to 100 per cent, per annum, for the 
first two or three years after curing, from the supe¬ 
rior flavor thereby^ acquired. 
Flax. —A company for the manufacture of flax 
into cordage, twine, shoemaker’s thread, &c., has 
been lately organized in this town, with a capital 
of $50,000. The proprietors have offered prices 
for the cultivation of flax, which have directed 
some attention to this subject the present season, 
and it is estimated that 1,500 acres will he put into 
this crop the ensuing season, in anticipation of the 
demand. The company pay $12 per ton for the 
undressed flax after threshing; and good land will 
produce 2,000 to 3,000 pounds per acre. The seed 
is worth $1.25 to $1.50 per bushel, which is 
yielded at the rate of 10 or 12 bushels per acre, 
This makes a profitable crop, even where considera¬ 
ble manure has to be purchased at high prices, to 
repair the exhaustion consequent upon the large 
demands made upon the soil, where the seed is al¬ 
lowed to ripen. If the flax is pulled before the 
seed matures, the exhaustion of the fields is much 
less, and the fibre is superior in quality ; but there 
is the total loss of seed, which, after expressing 
