174 
CULTIVATION OF TIMBER. 
practices. In that part of England referred to, 
wheat, is commonly reaped with the sickle, at an 
expense of from twelve to fifteen shillings ster¬ 
ling—nearly the half of seven dollars. Oats are 
mown with a naked scythe, and then “ taken 
out,” as it is called by the hands, and so bound 
into bundles. The scythe and snath resemble 
those used by us twenty years ago. 
I remember having tried to explain the con¬ 
struction and opertion of our grain cradle to one 
of their farmers. As soon as I had made him 
understand it was but little more than a simple 
scythe and snath, he at once saw what I meant , 
and said he would show me one. We repaired 
to his plow house, and he brought out a very 
antique scythe and snath, the latter armed with 
a switch or spring, the office of which was to 
throw the grain round, as the scythe cut it. This 
was the only grain cradle he had ever seen! 
If what I "have said is over-drawn, that is, if I 
have endeavored tq put American husbandry 
above that of England, I am misunderstood. If 
we excel the English in any of our labor-saving 
machines and implements, it is, without doubt, 
because we have been constrained to it by the 
low price of produce and the high price of labor 
in this country. As I said before, to meet the 
reduced prices of corn in England, her agricul¬ 
turists will have to adopt the same expedients. 
But this will not mend the matter entirely. 
Present rents are too high for present prices. 
Cayuga , N-Y ., April 10th, 1850. Egrec. 
; -r— —:-- 
CULTIVATION OF TIMBER. 
Twenty years ago, our county could boast 
of large forests of as fine ship timber as could 
be found elsewhere. Indeed, it is a good re¬ 
commendation to a ship, to say that she was 
built of Delaware white oak. As fine black 
oaks, also, as the country can produce, are found 
in this state. Nevertheless, they have fallen 
before the axe of the woodman, until we have in 
many cases to depend on Maryland and New 
Jersey for rails to keep up the fences of our 
farms. In view of these facts, I propose making 
a few remarks on the cultivation of timber to 
supply, as far as practicable, the deficiency, 
hoping thereby to induce some one to try to 
make two trees grow where only one grew be¬ 
fore. 
In 1839, I bought the property where I now 
reside, at which time it was destitute of timber, 
either for rails or fuel, and there was not rail 
timber enough on the farm to fence one field. 
In the fall of that year, I bought about half a 
bushel of chestnuts, mixed them with a portion 
of earth, put them in a box, and left them out 
exposed to the winter, which was unusually 
warm, and many of the nuts sprouted before I 
was aware of it. I planted them where I in¬ 
tended them to grow, in February, 1840. The 
spring was unfavorable to their vegetating ; nev¬ 
ertheless, after the crows, mice, and ground 
squirrels got their share, I have about 1,000 
left, many of them fine, thrifty trees, between 
30 and 40 feet high, and 18 or 20 inches in cir¬ 
cumference, which I would not have dug, or 
grubbed up, for a dollar each. These will soon 
do to cut, and the stumps will be worth more 
afterwards than the tree was before, as it is 
allowed that one good stump will produce a 
rail for each year, letting them remain ten or 
twelve years before cutting again. So, if 1 
can get a few hundred trees a growing, I may 
keep myself and posterity in rails for some 
years to come. Besides, they will thrive on the 
banks of creeks, gullies, or waste places, where 
nothing else valuable will grow. I find that 
they will grow anywhere that pine will thrive ; 
but I believe that a sandy loam is best adapted 
to them. So much for chestnut. 
Pine would next seem to claim attention, as a 
substitute for fuel, being the most convenient 
and productive, especially on worn-out land. 
In February, 1840,1 sowed a few quarts of 
long-leaved pine seed, costing $1 per quart, on 
a rough sedge field, or patch, without any pre¬ 
paration whatever. Sedge sward is better than 
clean land. I have now several acres of these 
trees well set, from 30 to 40 feet high, and some 
of them 30 inches in circumference. They have 
commenced seeding, and should I commence 
cutting to-morrow, I should have no fear of a 
constant supply of fuel; and that, too, from land 
too poor to pay for cultivation; indeed, not 
worth keeping under fence for any other pur¬ 
pose. There are many groves of pine in this 
county, all, or nearly all of which have been 
sown by the present generation. An old gen¬ 
tleman of my acquaintance sowed a lot in pine 
after he was forty years old, and lived to build 
a house from the timber. Although I may not 
live to reap the fruits of my labor, is it not a 
duty to sow and plant for posterity, and try to 
leave the world the better for having lived-in it % 
Kent County , Del. April , 1850. C. 
WISCONSIN FARMING-. 
This and the adjoining counties are fast filling 
up with imigrants. There are no government 
lands for some miles round this fountain city 
(Fon-du-lac); they are principally in the hands 
of actual settlers, who are mostly New-Eng- 
landers and New-Yorkers. The climate is 
beautiful, and the country exceedingly healthy. 
We were plowing until the 10th of December. 
Wheat does remarkably well here, yielding 
from 25 to 35 bushels per acre, under very 
poor cultivation. There is a great demand for 
all surplus produce, which is principally taken 
north. Wheat is now worth 60 cents per bushel, 
corn 50, oats 28, potatoes 31, flour $4 per bar¬ 
rel, butter 18(7. per lb. Limestone abounds in 
this region. 
This village, which, five years ago, consisted of 
one log house, now contains over 2,000 inhabit¬ 
ants, is more than amply supplied with stores, 
and has six large hotels, some of them as good 
as can be found in the west. We have the 
telegraph in operation here also. There are 
extensive iron works at Mayville, 20 mile south¬ 
west of Fond-du-lac, which are able to supply 
an almost unlimited demand with pig iron and 
castings of superior quality. Our winters here 
are not so severe as might be expected from the 
latitude. There is just about enough of timber 
