390 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
watered was equal at least to the maintenance of 
another acre ; and that every thousand acres of land, 
judiciously irrigated, would give an increased rental 
of a thousand a year by means of that irrigation. It 
is estimated that there are half a million of acres 
irrigated in Devon—which, therefore, represents an 
increased rental of j£ 500,000 a year, over what the 
same land would fetch if it had remained without 
irrigation. 
Cetters from |Jrof. Norton—3XTo. 12. 
Notes of a Tour in Central New-York. 
Analytical Laboratory, Yale College, 1 
New Haven, Conn ., Nov. 4, 1850. J 
Messrs. Editors —It may be remembered, that 
in my last letter, when mentioning the various im¬ 
provements made by Mr. Jos. Watson of Clyde, I 
referred to a specimen of marl from his reclaimed 
swamp, as undergoing analysis in my laboratory; 
the analysis has since been completed, and has given 
me a high idea of the value of the marls in that, 
section, of which I suppose this to be a fair sample. 
It contains a remarkably large per centage of car¬ 
bonate of lime, and also traces of potash, sulphuric 
and phosphoric acids. These last, although in small 
quantity, add most materially to its value, and con¬ 
firm me in the opinion, that these marls are one day 
destined to be of immense importance in the agricul¬ 
ture of this region. If the present race of farmers 
find no use for them, or for the swamps under which 
they lie, they may rest assured that those who come 
after them, will not always labor under the same 
delusion. 
The exhibition of stock, implements, fruits, &e. 
at Clyde, was very creditable, and when the hour 
for the address came, I was greatly surprised, it 
being a very rainy day, to find the church quite filled 
by an audience that proved remarkably attentive, 
and that seemed disposed to consider the subject of 
the address—a special agricultural education, as 
one which deserved their most serious consideration. 
In coming up from the head of Sodus Bay, with 
Mr. Watson, he directed my attention to the line 
of the proposed Sodus canal. The excavation has 
been in a great degree completed, by the ingenious 
method of damming a stream which runs through a 
natural hollow in a straight line to the head of the 
bay, and then allowing the accumulated water to 
sweep down, bearing of course a large quantity of 
material torn from the banks with it. By a repeti¬ 
tion of this process, a large channel has been swept 
out, so that little remains but to build locks, and 
shape the banks. This canal will drain quite an 
extended tract of heavily timbered swamp, which, 
when dry, will make farms of the very richest de¬ 
scription. 
Near Clyde, we called for a few moments on Mr. 
Mackay, whose nursery and selection of fruit is well 
worthy of a longer visit than the closing day per¬ 
mitted us to make; he has a considerable assort¬ 
ment of the rarer fruits, shrubs, and flowers, and 
all in a highly thriving condition. 
From Clyde I went to Palmyra, on the canal, 
taking the packet by way of variety, in these 
days of railways and steamboats. I found it even 
slower than I had expected, and was quite content 
to stop at Palmyra, after a voyage of about 24 
miles. 
This beautiful village reminded me more in its 
appearance of Massachusetts or Connecticut, than 
any place that I saw in New-York. In company 
Dec. 
with Mr. Pardee, the active and intelligent secre¬ 
tary of the society, I made an excursion from Pal¬ 
myra to the shores of Lake Ontario, at Pultneyville, 
passing through Marion on our way, and returning 
through Walworth. This is a superb country, with 
wonderful natural advantages. The cultivation is 
in several respects improving; there is a general air 
of increasing neatness about the fields. Attention 
seems to be paid to the eradication of weeds, on 
many farms. The buildings too, bear marks of im¬ 
provement and thrift. Many of the farms are how¬ 
ever, evidently running down, and I heard of some 
that were almost entirely worn out. The new farm 
houses in all this section, are very generally built 
of small rubble stone, faced with regular round or 
oval ones, brought from the shore of the lake 
where they have been worn smooth by the action 
of its waves. This style of house seemed to me 
very appropriate for a farm-house, neat, warm, and 
solid, with a very comfortable, substantial look. 
It speaks well for the farmers of this section, 
that in this drive of about 40 miles, I did not see a 
single field of corn that was topped; it was all cut 
close to the ground, and was uncommonly heavy. 
Mr. Pardee, who has extended opportunities for 
forming a correct judgment, thinks that the average 
yield of wheat per acre in this part of the country, 
has rather increased; though very great numbers 
farm on an exhausting system, they have learned'to 
sow deeper, and thus to root the young wheat well so 
that it is not so liable to winter-kill. This improve¬ 
ment will not be a lasting one, if the farmers persist 
in their exhausting system, and will in that case 
soon cease to produce any such marked effects as it 
did at first. 
This county is remarkable for fine fruit, and for 
the extent to which it is cultivated. In an address 
delivered to the county society a year since, by Mr. 
Pardee, he brought forward facts to prove that 
Wayne county exceeded all others east of it on the 
line of canal taken together, in the amount of fruit 
shipped for market, both in a dried and fresh state. 
I saw many orchards that bore evidence of care and 
skill in their management, and some of them were 
very remarkable. There was one large orchard 
that we visited, some ten or twelve miles from Pal¬ 
myra, the proprietor of which was absent. His 
name I have unfortunately forgotten, and I regret 
this the more, as it was in the most healthy and 
flourishing state, of any large orchard that I ever en¬ 
tered. The trees were all young, just coming into 
bearing; the varieties being Russets, Greenings, 
Baldwins, and a few other standard kinds. I picked 
the largest Russett from one of the trees, that I ever 
saw. The trunks of all these trees had evidently 
been washed with a weak lye, or some preparation 
for cleaning the bark, as it was in a wonderfully 
smooth, silvery, thrifty state; presenting such a 
sight as, I will venture to say, can scarcely be sur¬ 
passed in any country. 
In the town of Walworth, we visited the farm 
and nursery of Mr. Theron G. Yoemans, and found 
it well worthy of attention. It is an instance of 
what enterprise and sagacity, may do with this 
land. We saw there peaches, plums, pears, apples, 
and cherries, all from 3 to 5 years old only, but 
wonderfully large for their age, and bearing most 
luxuriant crops of superb fruit, unsurpassed in size 
and quality. Mr. Yeomans commenced with but 
about 18 acres, on a small scale, as in my opinion 
every beginner should, and has gradually increased 
as he has improved, until he now cultivates about 
50 acres. The original 15 acres, were first dressed 
with about 70 loads per acre of muck, and leached 
