113 
an innovation on the former,—it keeps the farm and 
the farmer in statu quo, or just as they were; upon 
the idea, that attempting to improve nature is warring 
against Providence—it keeps society stationary, as 
offering no inducements to emigration; the require¬ 
ments of life are not multiplied, as wealth is not amass¬ 
ed and luxury induced; and population is kept uni¬ 
form and steady. Another and still later system of 
farming is, Improving; whereby the soil is renovated, 
the crops more abundant, and the farmer is enriched. 
This is the latest innovation that has been made upon 
the old system of Skinning, and is antipode to it. It 
finds but few advocates yet, although its advantages 
are so superior; as it is hard to prove to men that 
they are and always have been blind. Men naturally 
incline to pre-conceived opinions, and do not willingly 
forsake them, as they are reluctant to acknowledge 
themselves in error ; and their minds are consequent¬ 
ly hardened against new impressions, however valua¬ 
ble, and advantages are forsaken which might have 
been easily secured. But with all man’s attachment 
to old ways and notions, the Improving system of 
farming is gaining ground every day. It is true that 
this system is somewhat in advance of the times, as 
the ignorance of the mass of farmers does not permit 
them to see and appreciate the correct principles upon 
which it is based. But as its utility and soundness 
are every day more and more developed and extended, 
its advantages become more and more apparent; and 
if its theory be not misunderstood, its results being 
visible, its precepts will be adopted and applied. 
I have said that farming is one of the plainest and 
easiest things in the world, if we but take hold of it in 
the right way; and having exhibited the different 
systems, Skinning, Let well alone, and Improving, 
with a brief view of their relative merits, it must be 
apparent that the latter is the best system of farming, 
and the right way of taking hold of it. Its advanta¬ 
ges over the other systems, I have said, were, it im¬ 
proves the soil, enlarges the crops, and enriches the 
farmer; it moreover diminishes the relative labor, and 
affords support to a more dense population. These 
are advantages of no ordinary magnitude, peculiarly 
resulting from this system. 
The principle upon which the Improving system of 
farming is based, is simply this—so managing the soil 
as to make it afford to the plants grown upon it, a 
full and sufficient supply of nourishment, to bring 
them to the highest degree of perfection ; and so ma¬ 
naging the plants cultivated, as to keep them in the 
most healthy state, that they may draw from the earth 
and the air the greatest amount of nourishment they 
can elaborate. This is the Alpha and Omega of this 
boasted and book-taught system. As different soils 
and crops require difference of management, I shall, 
for the purpose of illustrating the principles of this 
system, barely give a general outline of its features, 
upon which a fair estimate can be made with regard 
to its detail. First, and most important, the soil 
should be well enriched with barn-yard, manure; 
whereby it will be made more friable, more pervious 
to the atmosphere and the roots of the plants, and 
less subject to be injuriously affected by drought and 
heavy rams;—manure, besides, affords the most per¬ 
manent and important supply of nourishment to plants; 
and should be thoroughly incorporated with the soil, 
Another peculiarity of this system is rotation of crops. 
whereby the different constituents of the soil are all 
and equally taxed, and none of its energies left use¬ 
less and inactive—this is an important consideration. 
Where the soil can be adapted to it, the root culture 
should be a primary object, to the full wants and con¬ 
sumption af the farm stock, as affording the greatest 
profits in the largest amount of animal sustenance, and 
leaving the soil in a good condition for small grains. 
Clover is another important crop ; it is next to barn 
yard manure as a fertilizer and pulverizer of the soil, 
for which it should be ploughed under and permitted 
to rot. Other crops, as required, and adapted to the 
soil, following in rotation, with proper dressings of 
manure, will improve the soil, and yield golden har¬ 
vests to the farmer—if he will go one step farther, 
and manage his crops as well as he has his lands. 
The plants cultivated should have the soil all appro¬ 
priated to their use, by extirpating with the hoe, or 
otherwise, all weeds and other foreign plants; which, 
if permitted to grow, would absorb some of that nou¬ 
rishment from the atmosphere and the earth which 
would otherwise be taken up by the crops, in the more 
full and perfect development of their quality and 
quantity. As regards hoed crops, the surface of the 
soil should be stirred as often as practicable, but not 
so deep as to injure the roots; leaving the surface as 
near as may be, the same that it was when the seed 
was put into the ground. Nature having indicated 
the proper depth of the roots in the soil, it can neither 
be increased or diminished but to the disadvantage of 
the plant. 
These general rules, acknowledged correct and im¬ 
portant by all who have tried them, could they be 
reduced to general practice, would have a most salu- 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
tary influence upon the farming interests, and upon 
the interests of every other class in society. These 
rules are simple and easily applied. Always keeping 
one purpose in view, viz : making your crops healthy, 
by attending properly to them, and giving them 
enough to eat, and the great end of agriculture is at¬ 
tained. It is true, that farming requires intelligence 
to conduct it with pleasure and profit, as what occu¬ 
pation does not l The science teaches us the way of 
forcing nature to shower her blessings upon us in 
greater profusion—it enables us to grasp the cornu¬ 
copia with our own hands, and to pour out its trea¬ 
sures into our own laps. E. W. 
Pittsford, June 6, 1838. 
From, the New-England Farmer. 
I have great pleasure in presenting the subjoined 
statement to the agricultural community. It came to 
hand some time since, but its publication has been de¬ 
layed in the expectation of receiving the reports re¬ 
ferred to from the other families. Like every thing 
else which comes from this worthy people, the report 
is well drawn up ; and will be read with much interest. 
It is impossible I believe to find more striking exam¬ 
ples of neat, careful, exact, and skilful husbandry than 
are to be found in these industrious and temperate 
communities wherever they are planted in any part 
of our land. H. C. 
Report of the Farm of the United Society called Sha¬ 
kers in Canterbury. First Family. 
No. of acres. 
Tillage 25 to 30, 
Eng. Mowed 100, 
Wet Meadow 40, 
Pasture 500, 
Orcharding 30, 
Wood, Waste, &c. 500, 
Soil, Loamy; Dry; Rocky ; 
Live stock. 
Horses 10, 
Oxen 10, 
Cows 40, 
Sheep 300, 
Swine 40, 
Young Neat Stock 10, 
Hilly. 
Shaker Village, Merrimack co. N. H. \ 
Oct. 30th, 1837. $ 
Henry Coleman — Esteemed Friend —I have an¬ 
nexed a sketch below in answer to your inquiries with 
as much exactness as practicable, as I had to obtain 
it from those who had the experience of actual experi¬ 
ment, as we have never kept any record of any such 
thing, hence the difficulty of obtaining the desired in¬ 
formation. If any thing that I have written on the 
subject will be of use or interest to you, you are hear¬ 
tily welcome to the same; and were it not for the 
pressure of business and the limited time, I should 
have been glad to have given you a more lengthy and 
minute report. With much respect, your friend, 
WILLIAM WILLARD, for and in 
behalf of the first family at Canterbury, N. H. 
Amount of hay usually cut is from 140 to 250 tons 
per year, in this (first) family, exclusive of the other 
two families, who have made out (or will) their memo¬ 
randa separate, as you will perceive, viz : in year 1835, 
140 tons—1836, 226 tons—1837, 133) tons. 
We have one field of 12 acres, another of 10 acres, 
and part of another which has not been ploughed for 
upwards 30 yrs. In one of said fields we cut 32 tons 
to 12 acres the first mowing, or 2 8-12 tons to the acre, 
besides the second crop. We apply top dressing once 
in a few years and roll the same in by means of a roll 
filled with iron pikes, sharp, 4 or 6 inches long, drawn 
by oxen or horses. 
Wheat. —Our soil not being well adapted to wheat 
we can say but little about it, as we raise but little; 
generally not more than from 35 to 50 bushels per year, 
the most that w r e ever raised per acre was 40 bushels 
which is an extra crop for us. 
Corn. —We raise but little, from 50 to 70 bushels 
per acre. On a neighboring farm, 12 miles distant, was 
raised a few years since 112 bushels 5 qts. to the acre 
—was planted in hills, not dunged in the hills, but 
spread on the surface and ploughed in, which we think 
the best way. 
Oats. —Sow annually from 10 to 12 acres, yield on 
3 acres in year 1836, 80 bushels per acre—average 
yield of 10 acres 60 bushels per acre, with exceeding 
heavy straw; the land was of good quality and pre¬ 
pared in the usual way. 
Potatoes. —We usually raise from 2,000 to 2,500 
bushels annually. The largest crop we have raised 
was in year 1833, which was 400 bushels per acre, 
(common potato) the land had no extra preparation. 
Turnips. —Raise from 4 to 600 bushels annually, of 
the common English and Ruta Baga. In 1836 raised 
from 7 to 800 bushels of English, have raised from 4 
to 600 bushels of Ruta Baga per acre, consider them 
good for sheep, cows, and beef cattle. 
Flax. —Raise but little of this article of late years. 
In 1822 raised the greatest quantity, which was 900 
lbs. Flax from 5 pecks sowing on 1| acres of ground, 
prepared in the usual way. 
Carrots. —We annually raise more or less of these, 
some yrs. 1,000 bushels: one year raised 800 bushels 
per acre. 
Peas. —In year 1836 sowed on one piece 3 pecks, 
yield 16 bushels. 
Beef. —The largest beef we have raised weighed 
1400 lbs; fattened on carrots, potatoes, with but a small 
quantity of meal. 
Pork. —There are a diversity of opinions in regard 
to the best and most expeditious manner of fatting 
hogs. We have tried perhaps as many different plans 
as we have had different hands to fat them. Some 
will say all corn, some part corn with potatoes, &c. 
We for 2 or 3 years have adopted the plan of gather¬ 
ing our apples into our hog-house instead of the cider 
mill, and feed them upon boiled apples, potatoes, and 
pumpkins, with the addition of a small quantity of 
meal, to be increased as the killing time draws nigh, 
and under this management we have never known our 
hogs to thrive better or faster. Another method we 
have tried, (when fed with corn.) Take a tight bar¬ 
rel, fill it half full of corn, pour boiling hot water until 
the corn be covered, Jet it stand a few hours, and the 
barrel will be full of corn, and very little if any water 
to be discovered; this answers when at a distance 
from mill, and is better than dry corn without grinding; 
but we think it will not fat so well as made into pro¬ 
per meal. We had 20 hogs fatted on meal, began 1st 
day of August, one of them killed last of October, 
weight 400 lbs ; the other 19 killed 23d December, 
average weight of the 19, 480 lbs ; the meal mixed 
part of the time with skimmed milk, mixed as dry as 
possible; gave them at first 1 quart of meal per day 
each, from that to 3 quarts per day each, and a time 
before they were killed they refused 3 quarts per day ; 
have frequently had hogs weigh 600, fattened on pota¬ 
toes and meal. Had one small shoat, very small size, 
taken away from the rest and fed on one pint of corn 
per day, with meadow hay, milk, and wash, from Sep¬ 
tember to December, weighed when killed 500 lbs ; this 
pig when separated from the rest was the smallest in 
the lot. We are decidedly in favor of apples for hogs 
and cows. We take them promiscuously as they 
grow, without regard to their being sweet and sour. 
Wool. —Average number of lbs. of wool for Meri¬ 
no bucks, from 7 to 9 lbs ; have sheared 10 lbs.; ave¬ 
rage number of lambs per year from 150 to 190 Me¬ 
rino. 
Breed of Cattle. —The Durham Short Horn for 
cows and stall, for labor we have not had sufficient 
experience of them. 
The most profitable article for cultivation are the po¬ 
tato and carrot for fatting hogs and beef, and for 
milch cows. 
Lime as a Manure. —We have used lime as a ma¬ 
nure to good advantage ; it restores and replenishes 
the soil that is apparently worn out. We air slack 
it and spread it and plough it in. Gypsum we have 
made no satisfactory trial of. 
We suggest the idea to all that can obtain it, the 
use of saw-dust as a litter for hogs, horses, cows, ox¬ 
en, &c. We have tried it for years ; litter all our 
horses with it, like it much better than straw. We in 
the spring haul the saw-dust from the mill and depo- 
site it in a convenient place to be got at, at night 
throw half a bushel or more under each horse, taking 
ca\re to scrape out all that is wet beforehand, and in 
the morning it mixes in with the manure, goes into 
the heap, absorbs the wet, and forms a compost, and 
in a similar way for hogs, oxen, cows, &c. 
Another effectual experiment I have tried, which 
is, before putting a quantity of oats into a close bin, 
(as we do frequently 7 or 800 bushels,) to throw or 
sprinkle fine salt among them; this prevents them 
from heating, also makes them relish better, and final¬ 
ly keeps them entirely free from must. 
Horse Rakes we use—when constructed on the right 
principle are a great labor saving machine; we usual¬ 
ly rake at the rate of 4 acres per hour. The same 
may be said of threshing mills. We have one of our 
own construction, a description of which would exceed 
the limits of this sheet. We usually thresh from 100 
to 150 bushels per day; at the same operation it is 
winnowed and cleaned already for putting up. 
The report of the second family, I have as yet been 
unable to procure. 
Amount of butter for 10 yrs. past, 2,436 lbs. per year. 
“ cheese “ “ 3,265 « “ 
Hints for Prevention of Disorders in Horses. 
Chiejly taken from Messrs. Clarke and White’s valua¬ 
ble Treatise on Horses. 
STABLES. 
Stables should be lofty, light, and airy, and should 
never contain more than six or eight horses. They 
are in general kept too close and hot. 
Too much clothing also is usually put upon the 
horses, which thus become so tender, that they catch 
cold upon every slight exposure to a cool air. 
The doors and windows of stables should be thrown 
open when the horses are out, but care must be taken 
that a cold current of air does not immediately blow 
upon them when in the stable, particularly if they are 
heated. 
