1847. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
211 
not rather be first in the noblest of all pursuits, than 
to be least in one which the world calls honorable ? 
Let young men seek for our rich Wisconsin lands rather 
than for situations in stores, offices, or in what the 
world falsely calls the learned professions. 
A few words as to the circulation of the Cultivator, 
■which is rapidly gaining favor, especially with those 
who have been acquainted with it for the last year or 
two, and is now read with much interest by many of 
the merchants and professional men of our city. J. A. 
H Milwaukie, Wisconsin , April 10, 1847. 
Rotation—Use of Muck—Lime. —I thought a 
little sketch of our manner of farming might interest 
you. We go on the five year system; beginning with 
corn, or buckwheat, next oats, third wheat or rye; then 
seeded with timothy or clover two years. Some haul 
out their manure in the spring, unfermented, for corn, 
and some let it lay until fall and pat it where they wish 
to plant the following year; while others heap it up in 
June, and put it where they sow winter grain. Corn 
yields about thirty bushels to the acre. Oats about the 
same, and rye and wheat about fifteen; although a 
great many crops exceed those rates, as we had last 
year in this neighborhood, some oats that yielded seventy 
bushels to the acre. In the fall of 1842, I hauled out 
some muck and bedded my barn-yard with it. The 
next June I heaped it with the manure which I made 
that winter, and in the fall of 1843, I put it where I 
sowed my wheat, and when I came to harvest it, I found 
a clean bright straw, well loaded. I pursued the same 
course in 1844, also, and with the same result. 
I commenced using lime in the fall of 1844, spread- 
ing it on my ground after it was plowed the last time, 
just before sowing. I could not see any difference in 
the crop on that which was limed and that which was 
not. In the spring following, I put some lime on my 
sward, (about the same rate as above.) say one hundred 
and fifty bushels the acre, and planted it to corn, with¬ 
out any visible effect, and the next year to oats, when 
the limed ground was very easily distinguished by its 
rankness and greenness, even until harvest. The soil 
on which the above experiment was tried, is gravelly. 
My lime I burned myself. It was not the finest kind. 
I think many mistake the worth of muck by hauling 
it out and plowing it under too soon. I have confidence 
in lime and muck, and especially in the latter, for my 
gravelly ground. Lime, I think, is very slow to act. 
Philip D. Cookingham. Pleasant Plains, Dutchess 
Co., N. Y. ...... 
Breast Plowing.—I am very much inclined to be¬ 
lieve that the use of the breast plow might be benefi¬ 
cially applied in this country; more especially where the 
couch grass is so prevalent. There is no weed so inju¬ 
rious to the soil, or more impoverishing, and it chokes 
out almost every thing else sown upon the land; but 
when once it is banished may be easily kept clean. I 
have seen, in many instances, whole farms completely 
matted with it, the land bound together by this perni¬ 
cious, clinging, stealing, creeper. 
For instance, suppose a piece sown to wheat in the 
fall, with this ravenous plant stretching its roots in eve¬ 
ry direction, in search of the choicest food the land con¬ 
tains. It will not leave a spot unexplored, and the best 
food must be devoured by it. I know of no enemy that 
deserves a declaration of war so much as this. There 
is nothing on earth that more deserves death, and I 
know of no better instrument to accomplish this purpose 
than the breast-plow. 
When the little wheat is cut, which may grow on 
land under such circumstances, put the breast plow in. 
and cut the sod off about an inch thick, with the stubble, 
grass, and roots turned over together. When suffi¬ 
ciently dry, put it in heaps and burn it, spread the ashes, 
and plow with a very shallow furrow. Let it lay a 
short time, (say a fortnight,) and then cross-plow it, 
leaving it in that rough state the whole of the winter, 
which will give the frost a chance to kill the whole, and 
in the spring you will find the soil as mellow and fria¬ 
ble as desirable. It will bear almost any proper crop 
that you choose to put upon it. The choice food 
which this worthless plant has been gathering together, 
is converted into food for other plants, and will quickly 
dissolve to feed the crop you wish to grow. I would 
advise every farmer to keep this dangerous enemy from 
his farm, for it consumes more of his substance than he 
is aw are of. Wm. H. Sotham. Albany, June 4,1847. 
Challenge in Reference to “ Black Hawk.”— 
Our attention was called by a friend, a day or two 
since, to the advertisement in your May number, headed 
u Vermont against the World A The conditions of that 
challenge are such that I presume the Messrs. Hill do 
not expect to find a competitor on the day named; for 
the competitor is to be superior to Black Hawk in all 
the respects mentioned, or Black Hawk takes the prize. 
So far as we know, Black Hawk is “ the best and most 
perfect broke [entire horse] in harness ” in the world. 
He would therefore take the prize on this ground alone 
over any horse that might be offered, though inferior to 
his competitor in the other particulars. We presume 
no one will take the field against Black Hawk under 
such conditions. 
We should be happy, however, to meet him with 
“ Sir Henry,” and would not object to going to New- 
York for the sake of comparison, provided any reasona¬ 
ble conditions can be agreed upon. We have been ac¬ 
customed to consider the prime requisites in a stock 
horse to be—1st. Superiority of form, by which we 
mean those points which conduce to action, strength, 
and endurance, so symmetrically and perfectly combined 
as to sacrifice neither of these, and to result in the great¬ 
est beauty. This the horse himself must show. 2d. 
The power of transmitting this superiority to his off¬ 
spring. This his stock must show. If the proprietors 
of Black Hawk are willing to submit the decision to 
such a test, we will not trouble them to go out of Ver¬ 
mont to find a competitor. To be sure, 11 Sir Henry ” 
has won victories enough at the N. Y. State Fair, and 
a fourth triumph would be of no great consequence; so 
that, though we should prefer to meet Black Hawk 
here, at home, where people are more directly interest¬ 
ed—say, for instance; at Montpelier, in October next, 
where the whole state will be represented—yet we will 
not object to any reasonable arrangements as to time 
and place. We hope to send you an engraving of Sir 
Henry before long. Very respectfully, Lucius San¬ 
derson & Co. Burlington, Vt.' f May 21, 1847. 
P. S.—Perhaps the proprietors of Black Hawk would 
prefer to put the decision on the answer to the following 
question :—“ Which is the best horse as a getter of road 
sters ?” If so, we would not object. L. S. & Co. 
Agricultural Advantages of Illinois.— The 
high prices in Europe affect the interests of the farmers 
this way favorably, but not to the extent, in proportion, 
other sections of the United States enjoy, owing to their 
greater facilities of transportation. However, we shall 
soon be more favored in that respect, for the Michigan 
and Mississippi canal will be in working order next 
spring, and two railroads are about being commenced, 
crossing the state, uniting the lakes and eastern states, 
with the Father of Waters. With these improvements, 
Illinois will at once so extend her cultivation as to give 
a surplus of ten to twelve millions bushels of wheat, 
more of Indian corn, and other products in proportion. 
We look to the doings of the National Convention, to 
be held at Chicago, on the 5th of July next, for much 
