60 THE CULTIVATOR. 
FARMING EAST AND WEST. 
In a Utter from A Farmer of Richmond County, New-York, 
to Solon Robinson, of Lake C. H., Indiana, dated at 
Staten Island, Dee. 12, 1842. (Laf. 30° 30'.) 
Dear Sir —The. October No. of the Cultivator, (vol. 
IX, p. 154,) contains an article headed‘‘ Western Farm¬ 
ing'—Wheat and Wool,” which attracted my attention, 
and shows on what a grand scale agricultural operations 
are conducted in the new and western states of our re¬ 
public. 'rhere is nothing like it in Europe, not even in 
Great Britain, in some parts of which a whole county is 
owned by a nobleman, and extensive tracts are leased to 
farmers with large capital, who have the advantage of 
employing men and women at exceedingly low wages. 
These persons are denominated ‘‘Hinds,” and “Bonda- 
gers,” who (as related in Howitt’s Rural Life in Eng¬ 
land,) are kept in mean and abject servitude. Notwith¬ 
standing these advantages of low labor, there is nothing 
compare with the magnificent husbandry of Ohio, In¬ 
diana, and Illinois, where the land is cultivated by free¬ 
men. 
Upon seeing the article above alluded to, I was de¬ 
lighted to read- of a field of wheat of five hundred acres, and 
a field of Indian corn of one thousand, and even twelve hun- 
di'edaeres. Were I younger, (thinks I to myself,)! would 
go a considerable distance to see the glorious sight. Oh! 
how my heart leaped at the idea of such a blessed coun¬ 
try as we inhabit, where Providence has poured out in 
such profusion for our use, every production that the 
earth can yield, and more than our merits deserve, or 
our wants require. 
The contrast between farming in these parts of the 
United States, in the small way, and agricultural opera¬ 
tions in the west, is so great, that some of our husband¬ 
men can hardly conceive how you carry them on. Here 
the land has been divided, and sub-divided, until most 
of the farms are small, and we have been obliged to bor¬ 
row the maxim and practice of Connecticut, to 
“ Till little, and that little -well.” 
Hence our movements are like those of a small boat, con¬ 
tending against wind and tide; while yours are like the 
motions of a ship of the line, with a stiff breeze, and a 
fair prospect ahead. 
The article on “Western Farming,” however, has 
suggested some inquiries, which I have thought you 
could answer more satisfactorily than any one I know. 
You may be surprised at such an application from one 
with whom you are not acquainted, but be assured that 
the writer of this, though he resides in an extreme cor¬ 
ner of the state of New-York, is well acquainted with 
you, and sees or hears from you almost monthly, in the 
Cultivator, and admires your writings. 
Know then, that after perusing the abovementioned 
account of “Western Farming,” it was read to one of 
my neighbors, called in for the purpose, who cultivates 
forty or fifty acres, who is not a hook farmer, but a person 
who jogs on in the old way, and makes a tolerable living 
for himself and family, without reading the Cultivator, 
or any other agricultural journal. He listened with at¬ 
tention, until I had finished reading the article. After a 
short pause, he asked, 
“And do you believe all that?” 
“ Certainly,” I replied. 
“ So do I,” said he, “ believe it to be—a lie.” 
“ But, my dear sir,” said I, “you must recollect that 
in the western states, land is cheap, and the virgin soil 
only requires to be plowed, and sowed, and the crops 
gathered.” 
“ And don’t we plow, and sow, and gather our crops?” 
“ Surely we do, and we have to plow, and re-plow, 
manure, and harrow, and cross-harrow, and house our 
crops, secure and husband our straw, husk our corn, and 
gather our stalks; and when all is done, we expend more 
labor with less profit, than they do in the west.” 
“ What becomes of their straw when their grain is 
thrashed,and their cornstalks when their corn is husked?” 
“ I presume these are of secondary consideration, and 
are left in the fields to rot, or be consumed by fire.” 
“ Read that again about a large field of corn.” 
“ I will, it is as follows,” viz: 
“ Go to the farm of the Messrs. Sullivant, near Colum¬ 
bus, and see on the beautiful river flats, from twelve to 
fifteen hundred acres of corn, while their fine flocks are 
covering a thousand hills; or visit the Illinois prairie 
farms, such as is the one described below, and you can 
form some conception of western farming.” 
“Now in the first place, these new countries are not 
thickly settled, and cannot be where there are such large 
proprietors, and large farms require many hands to work 
them. Where for instance, could they get farm laborers 
in sufficient numbers to plow and to plant twelve or fif¬ 
teen hundred acres of corn? Lend me your pencil, and 
let me calculate. 
“ If you allow, as we do in these parts,that upon an ave¬ 
rage, one man and team can plow an acre a day, it would 
require forty-six men and teams per day, for twenty-six 
days in March and April, to plow twelve hundred acres. 
‘ ‘ In the next place, 1200 acres are to be planted between 
the first and twentieth day of May. In 1841, I planted 
seven acres of corn, and eighteen days labor of men and 
boys, were required, with two teams part of the time, to 
cart out manure, drop it in the hills, cirop the corn, and 
cover it with the hoe. 
“ At the same rate, to plant 1200 acres, would require 
3085 days labor, or one hundred and fifty-four hands, daily, 
for twenty days of fair weather. Now where is the 
farmer, east or west, that can command, employ, and 
provide for such a regiment of men and boys? Tell me 
that, neighbor, and I may believe these big stories about 
western farming. Rest assured, they are got up by spe¬ 
culators in land, who want settlers to come and buy the 
large tracts they have monopolized.” 
“ That may in part be true, but still your calculation 
is much too large. In the new lands of the western 
states, they are not under the necessity of manuring as 
we do, nor do they spend much time in hoeing corn, 
cutting it down, stouting, husking, or housing the stalks.” 
“ I should like to know then, how they manage such 
large crops of corn and wheat. In the account which 
you have read to me, it mentions that Mr. Underhill has 
erected on the river, ‘ two large barns,’ 30 by 60 feet 
each. These I do not consider large barns, as we have 
larger ones here in Richmond county, on farms of 150 
and 200 acres. It is difficult for me to conceive how 
they contrive to raise crops of 500 and 800 acres of wheat, 
and to secure it in season, and in good condition at har¬ 
vest time. The cradling, the binding, and securing so 
much grain, must be done in a short time,-wheiL it^ is 
ripe and ready to be cut, and the interruptions of bad 
weather, and Sundays, might jeopard or destroy much 
of it. Mr. Underhill’s ‘ large barns’ would not hold the 
sheaves of grain, from one hundred acres. I would ask 
then, how many hands does it require to cradle and bind 
500 or 800 acres of wheat, where is it housed, where 
and how is it thrashed and cleaned, and how is the straw 
disposed of ?” 
“ I cannot solve your doubts, or answer your inqui¬ 
ries, but I will introduce you to Mr. Solon Robinson, 
who will.” 
“ Who is Mr. Robinson?” 
“ He is a farmer residing in the northern part of In¬ 
diana.” 
“Ha! ha! ha! how can you introduce me to him?” 
“ Thus: I will write a letter to him, and he will an¬ 
swer it through the ‘ Cultivator,’ and if you will take 
that valuable journal, you will become acquainted with 
him as I did.” 
“ That may all be well enough, but I don’t like these 
book farmers.” * 
“Mr. Robinson is a practical farmer, and knows all 
about how agriculture is managed in the west. If he 
was our neighbor, we could see and converse with him, 
but as we cannot have personal intercourse, his writing 
it down, and giving us the information you desire in the 
Cultivator, does not make that information less valuable 
or true.” 
“ Well, that’s very correct, have it your own way, and 
write; I should like to hear from him. Perhaps I’ll 
take the Cultivator.” 
Thus, Mr. Robinson, I have my own inclination, and 
my neighbor’s request,to write to you, and request an an¬ 
swer to the several doubts and quci-ies herein proposed, 
respecting the large crops in the western states. 
That you may understand how these doubts and queries 
have originated, I will furnish you with some abstract 
statements, showing how we have to strive, and labor, 
and calculate, to make ends meet, in these parts, where 
the lands are pretty well exhausted, require renovation, 
and yet cannot be purchased at low prices. 
In the first place, I will give you the whole statement 
of the labor expended on seven acres of corn, planted in 
1841, herein before mentioned by my sceptical neigh¬ 
bor, viz: 
24 days work in plowing, harrowing, spreading ma¬ 
nure to be harrowed in, harrowing again, and 
furrowing. 
18 days in dropping manure by the shovel in hills, 
dropping corn, and covering it with the hoe. 
24 days in replanting where the corn from exces¬ 
sive wet, had rotted in the ground, and had been 
pulled up by crows. 
20 days first plowing and hoeing. 
13 days second plowing and hoeing. 
10 days cutting down and stouting. 
87i days. 
Here then we have eighty-seven and a half days labor 
expended on a seven acre crop of corn, not including the 
expense of husking, which was done at intervals, partly 
in the field, and partly under cover in the barn. You 
will therefore not be surprised at the doubts of my neigh¬ 
bor, when you see the amount of labor we expend on a 
small crop, and compare it with your magnificent agri¬ 
cultural operations in the west. The value of the ma¬ 
nure applied to this crop, was $122.25, which added to 
the labor, was more than the value of the corn and stalks, 
which latter were preserved for fodder. The season 
was too wet and unpropitious for corn, and the crop, 
though manured at more than seventeen dollars in value 
per acre, was nevertheless a poor one. The land, how¬ 
ever, was improved for a subsequent crop. 
In the autumn of 1841, a field of six acres, worn out 
by preceding culture, was broken up, cleared of rocks 
and stones, bushes and briars, and stumps, and so highly 
manured, that it was thought to be in a good condition 
to bring a crop of grain. 'Ihe expense of labor and ma¬ 
nure, was $155.00; of manure alone, $132.36, or $22.06 
per acre. The field was partly sowed with wheat, and 
part with rye, and seeded with clover and timothy, to 
bring it into grass for hay. 
The winter of 1841 and ’42, was very open, and much 
of the grain was destroyed by frost. The succeeding 
spring and summer were wet, and the harvest a poor one. 
"The grass however, came forward after the grain was 
off, and in September, ten loads of hay were cut from 
the same six acres. But the wheat, the rye, and the hay, 
would not pay for the labor and manure applied. Thus 
are we sometimes disappointed on these old lands, not- 
yvithstanding our best exertions, and high manuring. But 
ft is not always so, as the following example will show, 
and also how close we have to calculate to make our 
profits. 
In 1840,1 planted ten acres of corn with the following 
result 
Product, 
976 bushels of ears of corn or 487;! bushels of shelled 
corn, at 56 cents, the then vvholesale price,.$279-25 
50 bushels hog corn, at 26 cents,. 12-50 
60 loads of corn stalks for fodder, at $2-00, .. lOO-OO 
Cobs saved for kindling wood, and ashes, valued at.... lO-OO 
Pumpkins grown amou g the corn,... 17-72 
$419-47 
Expenses. 
Plowing, harrowing, furrowing, planting, ma- 
First plowing and hoeing, .. • • — ■ • 7-57 
Second plowing without hoeing, . 3-00 
Gathering corn, . 10-00 
Interest on $926-00, for one year, at7 per cent, 
cost of the land, at $92-60 per acre, . 64-76 
$217-00 
;he manure applied, deduct one-third, unex¬ 
pended in the soil, applicable to the next 
crop,... S9-26 
■-$177-76 
Nett proceeds of a crop of corn, of 10 acres, in 1840, • • • $241 -72 
With these statements before you, an opportunity will 
be offered of comparing great things with small, the cul¬ 
tivation of the soil by wholesale in the west, and the 
same by retail in the east. In casting my eyes about me, 
the freeholders and farmers, neighbors in sight, have 40, 
100, 130, 143, 65, and 200 acres of land, &c. I hope you 
will not fail to make a reply to this communication, to 
satisfy my fastidious neighbor, and at the same time, gra¬ 
tify your distant friend and fellow laborer, who is a cul¬ 
tivator of the soil, in the county of 
Richmond. 
SHEEP—WINTER MANAGEMENT. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —Sheep, and particularly 
ewes, ought to be carefully attended to, this month. To 
prevent disease and to raise plump lambs, depends upon 
the care you take of ewes the remainder of foddering 
time; they should be fed with roots of some description, 
twice a week: or daily will do them no harm. Sheep, 
at all seasons of the year, should have a supply of salt, 
to which they can have access at all times. Mr. S. W. 
Jewett’s mode, (as described in the last number,) is an 
excellent one. My custom is to place the salt in troughs 
under the shed. Water is another indispensable. Sheep 
will drink four or five times in a day, if they can get it 
without too much trouble. It is said that pea straw, 
thrown out two or three times in a week, will be snatehed 
with great avidity. Feeding sheep at stacks, and per¬ 
mitting them to help themselves, is poor economy; the 
wool becoming saturated about the neck, with dirt and 
grass seed, which it is impossible to cleanse in washing. 
To avoid this in a great degree, I propose that every 
farmer supply himself with sheep racks, as described in 
Cult. Vol. VH, No. 4. I prefer these to the board 
racks, because they are much lighter, (the wood, ex¬ 
cepting the boards, should be cedar,) more durable, and 
less liable to get out of repair, and can easily be moved 
by one person. All must perceive the fallacy in a wet 
time, of carrying out hay from place to place, to find 
some spot where the hay will not be trampled upon and 
wasted. Much is wasted in this way, by some farmers. 
A rack, as above described, will in a great degree, pre¬ 
vent the grass seed and other substances, from lodging in 
the wool. There is another advantage in feetiing in 
racks, in time and labor, (if your barns are at a distance,) 
by throwing in hay enough to last through the day, and 
it prevents the hay being scattered by the wind. 
Another error, in my opinion, which exists among 
farmers, is in allowing their sheep to wander over their 
lands, when bare in winter and spring, destroying their 
appetite, obtaining but little, if any nourishment, and of¬ 
ten bringing disease and death among them. This is the 
trying month for sheep; if you see any declining to eat, 
remaining behind when the others are fed, they should 
be separated at once, and receive more care, and more 
nourishing food. Above all, see that your stock have 
salt constantly; this is one of the best preventives of 
disease. Yours, &c. 
Shoreham, Ft. Feb. 19, 1843. E. H. Northrup- 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS, &c. 
Messrs. Editors —I am constrained to differ from 
many of the best friends and ablest advocates of agricul¬ 
tural improvement, on the important subjects of legislative 
aid and Agricultural Schools. 
It is useless to say that the farming interests have no 
need of aid, but it may be well questioned whether they 
have more need of legislative aid than anj'" other of 
the great interests of our state, and whether this is the 
best way of promoting these interests. To py nothing 
now of those great objections against partial and too 
much legislation; is there any thing peculiar in our pro¬ 
fession, t(hat it can be better promoted by the combined 
influence of government, than by the healthful influence 
of individual emulation, voluntary associations, and es¬ 
pecially agricultural papers? There are hundreds of 
farmers scattered in almost every part of the state, stimu¬ 
lated by their interests, by a love of their profession, and 
by a generous regard for the public good, to carry the 
improvement of their farms to the highest practicable 
point. They have all the means of improvement, and 
