1S46. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
21 
beef hams, we know, may be so cured. Whether the 
smoking, which those articles receive, is indispensable 
to their preservation, is by no means certain. What a 
waste of salt, and of goodness of the meat, and even of 
the meat itself, (witness the thousands of cattle thrown 
away, except the hides, in South America,) would be 
prevented by a solution of that problem. 
This article is already too long; I therefore stop. I 
hope some of your able correspondents will take up this 
subject. If they do not, you may hear from me again. 
Noyes Darling. 
New- Haven, Conn., Nov. 17, 1845. 
FARMING iN OHIO 
GREAT CROP OF INDIAN CORN. 
I have just returned from a tour through Licking, 
Delaware, and Franklin counties. In passing through 
Brownsville, I called on my old friend Chas. Blandy, 
from whom I alw'ays learn something new and interest¬ 
ing to the agriculturist. He has just gathered in a 
crop of corn from three acres of rolling land, which 
measured a little over 400 bushels—(133 bushels to the 
acre)—which I think is a very extraordinary crop for 
this kind of soil. Mr. B. informs me that when he 
came in possession of this land, eight years since, it 
was very rough and uneven—it having been used for 
making and burning brick. After clearing off the rub¬ 
bish, filling up the holes, and digging 110 rods of under 
drain, he plowed, manured lightly, and sowed wheat 
with grass seed. His first crop was only eight bushels 
to the acre, and that was more than his neighbors ex¬ 
pected. Since then it has been occupied as a pasture 
lot for cattle and hogs. The surface soil was only three 
to four inches deep, of a sandy loam, and fragments of 
sand-stone in considerable quantity—the sub-soil of yel¬ 
low clay and sand-stone—the whole piece rather wet and 
spouty. He plowed it in October, 1844, ten inches deep, 
and last spring spread on 100 two horse wagon loads 
of compost manure from the yard where he had kept 
his cattle. This manure was made up from the stable, 
intermixed with coal-ashes, waste fodder, and several 
courses of saw-dust put on to make it clean and dry for 
the cattle. This had been accumulating for three years. 
After spreading this manure, he cross plowed 12 to 
15 inches deep, and harrowed thoroughly so that the 
surface soil and manure was well intermixed with a 
portion of the sub-fv?H and completely pulverized. 
He planted the corn in rows three feet apart, and two 
feet in the row—three corns in a hill. The manure 
being old and rotten, there were no weeds. The corn 
while young was harrowed once and plowed twice. 
The corn is a light mixed flesh color, commonly known 
here as the Pennsylvania corn—long grain and thickly 
set in straight rows—cob small, of reddish appearance, 
and the grain very heavy. 
I afterwards saw some of Mr. Blandy’s neighbors, 
who performed part of the work on this lot the past 
season, and assisted in getting the corn in, and what I 
learn from them is in confirmation of this statement. 
BROOM CORN. 
The fine intervale lands of the Messrs. Sullivant, near 
Columbus, have as usual been covered with corn this 
season, on 400 acres of which has been grown, Broom 
Corn, by Mr. Eaton, of Chillicothe, who I understand 
has this season grown the same crop near Circleville and 
Chillicothe, in all to the amount of 1000 acres, which 
has been very nicely prepared, put in bales and pressed, 
and has already gone forward to be shipped to England, 
where the owner has workmen employed in manufac¬ 
turing it into brooms. 
CROPS OF LAST SEASON. 
On all the flat lands in the nortern part of Licking, 
part.* of Delaware and Franklin, and considerable nor- 
tion of the adjoining counties nnrtn, !5he wheat crop of 
last season was almost a total failure, m eotusequ'ence of 
a frost on the 29th May. I am told that the farmers 
now have to buy their wheat for family use, and many 
who early in the spring thought their prospects good 
| for a crop of 400 to 600 bushels, did not get even so 
much as their seed. 
The corn crop was very good, and this is being hauled 
a distance of twenty miles to Newark to be shipped to 
the Western Reserve, where they have lost almost all 
their crops by the severe drouth. 
I perceive that business, in sections where they chiefly 
rely on the wheat crop, has considerably declined. In 
other places where corn and pork are considerable items 
j of their resources, business is about as good as usual, 
i In Muskingum county, they think they have little 
| more than half of an average crop of wheat, but what 
; there is, is of superior quality. They have here suffered 
| comparatively, but little with the drouth. They have 
| a new article of export—Hay. It is put into bundles, 
| pressed and shipped to Pittsburgh, paying- a good price 
to the grower, and a profit to the shipper. 
John R. Howard. 
Zanesville, Ohio, Dec., 1845. 
WOOL-GROWING ON THE PRAIRIES OF ILLINOIS. 
Luther Tucker, Esq. —But a few years since we 
emigrated from Vermont into this State. We soon be- 
| came satisfied that wool could be grown much cheaper 
I here than in our own native state. In 1843, we pur¬ 
chased in Columbiana county, Ohio, 2,300, and drove 
them through by land into this region. In crossing- 
streams without bridges, we managed to take about 50 
to the water's edge at a time, and by the aid of two 
shepherd’s dogs, would crowd them into the river. 
I Then these two dogs would go and aid the one that was 
left to guard the main flock, and urge them all up and 
into the stream together. They would all swim over 
without much difficulty. They travelled generally 
about twelve miles a day. 
On our arrival home we let and sold all but 1200. 
Our rule for letting was for half the wool and half the 
lambs, and as many sheep returned as let, at the end of 
the year. We wintered them on prairy hay, and a very 
little grain fed after the month of February, not to ex¬ 
ceed 160 bushels of corn. The first winter we lost 
about 60, and raised over 400 lambs. 
The second winter we fed part of the flock timothy 
and clover; the balance on wild prairie hay. 
Those wintered on the prairie hay did equally well 
as those fed on the English grasses. We met with con¬ 
siderable losses by dogs the second winter, otherwise 
the sheep came through finely without grain, except to 
about 30 stock bucks, wintered by themselves; these 
we fed a little grain daily through the winter. Our 
flock at this time amounted to about 1050. We also 
raised this season over 400 lambs. 
The first year our flock yielded a little short of three 
pounds of wool to each sheep, and sold for 33 cents. 
This season we sold for 27cents per lb., and the yield 
increased a little over one-fourth of a pound to the 
fleece. 
We procured good rams in Ohio at ten dollars each, 
said to be full blood merinos. It is no more than jus¬ 
tice to acknowledge the increase of our second clip 
from a lot of 64 lambs got by a yearling buck which 
we ordered from Vermont, from the flock of S. W. 
Jew-ett, said to be a son of this stock buck For¬ 
tune. Every fleece from this crop of 64, was weighed 
as fast as shorn, and we did not find one that sheared 
less than four pounds. The lot averaged over five and 
a half pounds. One lamb got by this young buck, and 
out of a ewe we purchased of Mr. Jewett, which 
dropped in the month of April, sheared this season, 
a fleece of eight lbs. fifteen ounces of beautiful wool. 
We therefore have become satisfied of the difference in 
breeds of sheep. We might have added that these two 
; Vermont sheep bore the first prize at our state and 
countv shows in 1843 and 1844- 
j VV e t.mriK oui sheep are octter washes r:n w* ?sed 
j to clean then, m Vermont. (Jui mod*, a washing is 
