162 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Shrinkage of Grain. —Wheat, gathered ripe, lost in forty-nine 
days, nearly one tenth of its weight; barley, in forty days, lost one 
seventh of its weight. This was in September. In October wheat 
lost, in twenty-four days, 2 lbs. 1 oz. 15 dr. per bushel of 70 lbs. In 
January wheat lost, in thirty-one days, at the rate of 2 lbs. 15 dr. 
per bushel.— George, Ess. vol. 2, p. 117. Grain stacked till April, 
sustained a loss of nearly 35 per cent. Farm. Mag. XVIII. 26. 
Indian corn, gathered dry and shelled in October, had lost in May 
following, nearly seven per cent in measure. 
Advantages of a light soil. —An open soil, if not too light in its 
own nature, will always produce plentiful crops. It readily receives 
the air, rains and dews, [and heat] into its bosom, and at the same 
time gives the roots of plants a free passage in quest of food. This 
is the true reason why land well tilled is so remarkably fruitful.— 
George. Ess. 1, p. 22. 
SUMMER FALLOWS. 
The Writer of the article “Agriculture,” in Brewster’s Ency¬ 
clopaedia, enumerates the following as the substance of the argu¬ 
ments urged against summer fallowing. 
“ 1. Nature does not require any pause or rest, and the earth was evidenlly 
designed to yield a regular uninterrupted produce. 
“2. As the productive quality of the earth never ceases, if corn is not sown, 
weeds will be produced; therefore it is our business to expel the unproductive 
plant, and to introduce others that are beneficial. 
“ 3. That the idea of leaving land to rest is ridiculous; for, by keeping it 
clean, and by a judicious intermixture of crops, it may be managed like a gar¬ 
den, and sown from one generation to another. 
“ 4. That fallows exhibit nothing but a conflict between the farmer and his 
weeds, in which the latter generally prevail; for at the best they are only half 
stifled, and never effectually killed/’ 
Admitting most of these arguments to be correct, the writer in¬ 
sists on the necessity of summer fallows, in heavy or cold soils, and 
upon every variety incumbent on a close or retentive bottom. “No 
doubt,” he adds, “a bare or naked fallow is not necessary upon 
light fine soils, because such may be worked in the months of May 
or June, and afterwards cultivated for turnips.” Summer fallows, 
upon cold or stiff soils, it is contended, are indispensable as the only 
possible means of keeping them clean, i. e. of freeing them from 
weeds, especially from the roots of such as are perennial. As soils 
of the latter description are neither adapted to the growth of Indian 
corn or turnips, the best cleaning crops, and as potatoes are seldom 
cultivated on a scale sufficiently extensive to effect this object, we 
admit the conclusion is not unreasonable, viz : that no soils adapted 
to the culture of Indian com and turnips require to be summer fal¬ 
lowed; but that all stiff or cold soils, not adapted to the culture of these 
hoed crops, and that cannot be cleaned with a potato crop, are manifest¬ 
ly benefited by an occasional summer fallowing. 
HARRIS’S CORN SHELLER, 
Mann & Rice, of Troy, are the proprie¬ 
tors of this patent for the state of N. York. 
With it, one man will shell, as the proprie¬ 
tors allege, 50 or 60 bushels of corn per day. 
We have seen it work, and think it a valua¬ 
ble acquisition to the farmer who is not al¬ 
ready provided with an implement of this 
sort. Its cheapness is a further recommen¬ 
dation ; No. 1, being $4, and No. 2, $5. 
Norman Francis, agent, State-street. 
Sheep Husbandry has become a matter of much interests to our 
country. Wool already forms the great staple of many districts. 
The supply is not yet equal to the demand, and the demand is likely 
greatly to increase, as will undoubtedly the extent of our flocks. 
We have frequently intimated, that our best sheep lands have as 
yet been but partially occupied: that these consist of the hilly and 
stony districts upon the head waters of our great streams ; that in 
these districts, illy adapted to tillage husbandry, wool may be grown 
much cheaper, and the flocks suffer much less from disease, than in 
districts which are flat and more fertile. With the view of pro¬ 
moting the interest of the wool grower, we shall devote a portion 
of several numbers of the Cultivator to this subject, and give such 
pictoral illustrations as may serve to render the matter interesting 
and useful. We commence the subject to-day; and shall hereafter 
speak of the value and uses of the pelt; of the nature and offices 
of the yolk; object and mode of salving; of the fibre and proper¬ 
ties of wool; of wool stapling; of the influence of temperature ; of 
pastures ; of trueness, soundness and softness, as essential proper- 
ties in the fleece ; of elasticity, color, and grades of fineness ; and 
of many other matters interesting to the growers and manufacturers 
of wool. 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
January 11, 1836. 
Dear Sir—I read last evening Gov. Marcy’s message, and this morn¬ 
ing your last Cultivator. The former I consider excellent, with some ex¬ 
ceptions; the latter decidedly the best number you have given to the pub¬ 
lic. It has less of the conjectural than any other which I have read. It 
has more physical science. By physical science, I mean the revelation 
of the laws of God. I think you are wrong in your remarks on irrigation. 
There is an immense loss in not saving the washings of roads. This is 
one chapter of irrigation. The price of hay at present would fully justify 
great outlays for irrigation, as practised in England. Your first article is 
excellent, as far as it goes; but if the writer had read Puvis’ essay on 
lime, in the October and November numbers of Ruffin’s Farmers’ Regis¬ 
ter, [which will be published in the March and April numbers of the Cul¬ 
tivator] his reflections would have been nearer up to the time in which 
we live. We do not understand physical science in the U. States. It is 
far better understood and applied to the arts in France. Lime has fed 
wheat lands, and wheat ha3 fed man for 5000 years, and it is time the 
debt was acknowledged. The farmers in the Mohawk valley could afford 
to pay you half a million of dollars for teaching them the use of lime. 
I thank you for your little space to common schools. Why should not 
the rising generation be taught the meaning of scientific terms of daily ap¬ 
plication through life ? It would be perfectly easy and practicable. We 
all neglect our duty to the young. How easy it would be to teach every 
boy in this state, that portion of chemistry and geology, which is applica¬ 
ble to agriculture. 
l'he results of our school libraries are most cheering indeed. The 
books are not stolen, nor injured, and are regularly returned, and what is 
more important, the books are read. These boys, when they become 
men, will understand your last Cultivator, which is more than can now 
be said of some of their fathers—but which every farmer ought to be able 
to understand. W. 
Kinderhook, Dec. 18 th, 1835. 
Dear Sir—In compliance with your request, I send you the annexed 
statement of the products of my farm, and their sale3, for the year 1835. 
This is simply the account of the marketable products. I have reserved 
enough of the several kinds for the consumption of my family the ensuing 
season, which are not included in this statement. My farm consists of 
173 acres, of which 145 are under cultivation; the remainder is in wood. 
The soil is sand and fine gravel, sand and loam, and sand and clay. Por¬ 
tions are well adapted for grain, and again other portions for pasture and 
hay. I have not lived on the farm sufficiently long fully to understand and 
elicit its capacities, as for a number of years I have cultivated high and 
rocky land, where the farmer’s principal profit was made from the pro¬ 
ducts of the dairy. My oats were a full crop, so were my potatoes; but 
first the wire worm or something else, and next, the early frosts lessened 
my corn crop, I think, one-half; and one of my pieces of wheat was some¬ 
what injured by the grain worm. The cultivation for my farm was done 
almost exclusively by myself and sons. The expenses of my family and 
farm, that is, money paid out, is $383.75, and this amount must be de¬ 
ducted from the gross sum stated as the income for the year. I will not 
pretend that I have raised more from the same quantity of land, perhaps 
not as much as many of my neighbors; if I did, their evidences of thrift 
and good farming would not bear me out in any such pretension. 
Products and Sales of the Farm for 1835. 
12 Calves,.$37 89 
196 lbs Butter, at 20 cts. 39 20 
1542 lbs Cheese, at 8 cts. 123 36 
30 Lambs, at 15s,. 56 25 
850 bushels of Oats, at 52 cts. 442 00 
375 bush. Potatoes, at 2s,. 93 75 
20 tons of Hay, at $15 per ton,. 300 00 
72 bushels of Onions, at 4s,. 36 00 
500 bush. Corn, at 6s 9d. 421 88 
220 bush. Wheat, at 12s,. 330 00 
4 Cows Beef,. 69 00 
2 Oxen and 2 Steers,. 130 00 
7 Shoats,. 17 00 
1440 lbs Pork, at 7 cts. 100 80 
22 Wethers, at $4 each. 88 00 
$2,285 13 
Deduct money paid out, 383 75 
$1,901 38 
