1848. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
363 
are handsomely divided, and the straight lines of heavy 
wall, make an imposing appearance. 
The farm of Jacob N» Blakeslee, Watertown, con- 
sists of about 200 acres, in addition to which he has 
100 acres in a farm where he formerly lived. The ca¬ 
reer of Mr. B. affords a good example of the success¬ 
ful “ pursuit of” farming “under difficulties.” He 
began the world without a cent’s aid from any body ; 
commenced on a rocky, side-hill farm, for which he ran 
in debt. Here he toiled for upwards of twenty years, 
gradually lessening his indebtedness, and constantly im¬ 
proving his farm; till in 1836, he purchased the place 
where he now resides, by which he incurred a debt that 
might have frightened one of less judgment and cour¬ 
age. But to him the way appeared plain, and the re¬ 
sult proved the clearness of his foresight. He has 
reared a large family—most of which are comfortably 
settled in the vicinity—has greatly enhanced the value 
of his farm, by various improvements, and has nearly 
cleared it from the incumbrance of debt. 
His principal products of sale have been cattle, horses, 
sheep and wool. lie now cuts from 100 to 150 tons of 
hay annually—keeps fifty head of cattle, two hundred 
sheep, and six horses. Eight of his cattle are full 
blood Devons, and the rest are from half to fifteen-six¬ 
teenths of that blood. He has twelve yoke of oxen and 
steers, most of which are fine, several extra. His six- 
year old oxen, three-fourths blood Devons, received the 
first premium on working oxen “raised by the owner,” 
at the late show at Litchfield, and have since, (we learn) 
been sold for $150, to go into the navy yard at Brook¬ 
lyn. They are splendid cattle, well broken, and of 
great vigor and power. Several of his cows, heifers, and 
other young stock are fine. 
Mr. B.’s flock of sheep has been widely known for 
many years. His home flock is now less in number than 
usual-—he has kept 400 to 600. He commenced this 
flock in 1815, by the purchase of some Negretti -and 
Montarco Merinos, imported by Peck & Atwater of 
New Haven. This stock was bred together till 1823, 
when it was crossed by rams bred by Daniel Bacon, of 
the Escurial, crossed on the Merino stock imported 
by Gen. Humphreys in 1802. Since 1828, Mr. B. has 
used only rams bred by himself. The present condition 
and character of his flock does him great credit. The 
sheep are in general of beautiful form, with white, soft 
elastic wool, ranking next to Saxon in fineness, and af¬ 
fording a large weight per fleece, in proportion to the size 
of the sheep, which are rather small compared to some 
Merinos. We are not able to state the precise relative 
weight of the fleece and carcass—the former weigh 
from four to five pounds each, washed. 
Mr. B.’s improvements on his farm, consist in drain¬ 
ing the wet portions, digging out stones, smoothing the 
rough places, and building walls, of which he has two 
thousand rods—much of it very thick and substantial. 
Mode of raising corn. —We noticed that Mr. B., 
as well as Mr. Nettleton and others in this neighbor¬ 
hood, adopt a mode of plowing their land for corn 
which we think well of, where the land is cold or wet. 
Two furrows are turned together, in the form of what 
is usually called “ back-furrows,” just so that the edg¬ 
es will nearly touch. This is commonly done in the 
fall, and the corn is planted at the proper time in the 
spring, in the centre of the ridge, or between the edg¬ 
es of the furrows. If manure is used, it is spread on 
the sward, and the furrows being turned together * it is 
kept within reach of the corn roots, while the extra 
warmth which the soil from its position receives, caus¬ 
es a rapid growth and gives a surer and better crop in 
many situations than could be had by the ordinary mode 
of plowing. We saw a good crop—at least forty bush¬ 
els to the acre—at Mr. Nettleton’s, raised in this 
way without manure, on a high hill, heretofore used as 
a pasture. 
We made very short calls at several other farms in 
this vicinity, but had not time to gather particulars. 
Mr. Heminway, the obliging agent of the Cultivator 
at Watertown, has a small, neat farm, remarkable for 
the production of grass. A portion of it is much be- 
nefitted by irrigation. Being engaged in trade, he is 
obliged to make agriculture rather a secondary than a 
primary object. 
Stephen Atwood, has a fine farm of 300 acres, ly¬ 
ing partly in Watertown and partly in Woodbury. This 
farm received the first premium from the county agri¬ 
cultural society the present year. Mr. A. was absent 
at the time of our call, on which account we obtained 
but little information in regard to the products and ma¬ 
nagement. The appearance of the farm is highly fa¬ 
vorable—the buildings well planned and in excellent or¬ 
der—the fences good—-the fields smooth and handsome. 
The farm is well stocked with fruit trees. The apple 
orchard is large, the trees flourishing, and the varieties 
good. 
His cattle comprise some good specimens of the De¬ 
vons, and several handsome grades. He has some 
good Merino sheep—-about seventy in the whole flock. 
They are strong, well-made sheep, rather large,“and 
yield heavy fleeces, of medium quality. The wool is 
thick, and highly charged with yolk, but we presume 
gives a good staple for manufacturing, when it has been 
properly cleansed. 
The farms of George F. Merriam, Dayton Mat- 
toon, Edward Hicox, (the latter having taken the 
first premium in the county several years since,) Chas. 
Atwood, James Garnsey, Andrew S. Darrow, and 
Chandler Judd, all exhibit creditable management, 
and show that the owners are awake to their true inte¬ 
rest. Their practice is evidently based on the princi¬ 
ple that the jimd should be improved, not deteriorated, 
if the greatest ultimate profit is to be secured. 
Education of the Young for Agricultural 
Pursuits. —Where an ardent thirst is begotten in the 
minds of youth, to become thoroughly prepared for an 
honorable and useful discharge of the active duties 
which make up the sum of a happy life, the great first 
step is taken towards the accomplishment of so glorious 
an end. We turn our attention to parents, the natural 
guardians of the young, possessing power to mould and 
fashion the tender mind, to lead and direct aright the 
early inclinations as they are first developed. To pa¬ 
rents we appeal, assured that their influence will be 
exerted, to lead the children under their care to con¬ 
tract an attachment to the employment in which they 
are engaged. Let the son be thoroughly instructed in 
every branch of labor to be performed upon a farm, 
and in its management in general, and no doubt, with 
proper opportunities for instruction from suitable books 
and w T ell-regulated schools, he will fall in love with the 
science, and delight in the practice of agriculture. In 
the successful prosecution of this highly honored and 
peaceful pursuit, female effort and influence are indis¬ 
pensable to lead to auspicious results. I am aware 
that some persons of near-sighted and contracted views, 
have expressed the opinion that the female mind ought 
to be occupied altogether in the contemplation of un¬ 
real things, of ideas that float in a feverish or excited 
imagination, and of outward accomplishments, and be 
content to dwell upon the surface of subjects, without 
an attempt to dig deep in the mine of knowledge. No 
one honored with the title of mother, can for a moment 
listen to any such suggestion; but will, I am sure, put 
forth their utmost exertion for the fullest expansion and 
enlargement of the intellectual and moral capabilities 
of their daughters as well as their sons.— Mr. Ives’ Ad¬ 
dress before the Jefferson Co,, N. Y. } Ag. Society. 
