254 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
August 
however, about this time, and received $600 by his 
wife—the remaining $1,200 he made in the three 
years he rented the farm of Mr. S. Wheat and clo¬ 
ver seed were his leading crops. He is now considered 
wealthy. We passed his farm, and were pleased with 
its neat appearance, and with the fine wheat, barley, 
and corn crops we saw on it. 
From the western shore of Cayuga Lake, we passed 
over Seneca county to the eastern shore of Seneca 
lake. 
At Oaklands we called on John Delafield, Esq., 
formerly of the city of New-York. His farm consists 
of 352 acres He-lias resided on it four years, and has 
during that time made very great improvements. All 
the buildings, with the exception of a part of the house, 
have been put up by Mr. D., as well as nearly all the 
fences. He has proceeded in the most thorough man¬ 
ner with all his fixtures. His farm is well laid out, 
and all his expenditures have been on a liberal, but 
judicious and economical scale. His principal barn is 
sixty-five feet Ipng by forty-two wide. There is a 
cellar ten feet deep under it, which is divided into va¬ 
rious apartments. Some of them are made perfectly 
tight and free from dampness, for storing grain. 
Others are used for storing vegetables, and others 
for storing chaff and cut fodder. Attached to the 
barn is a shed sixty-two feet long and twenty-six wide. 
Apartments for the cattle are provided in one por¬ 
tion of the shed, and another portion affords shelter to 
a flock of 350 sheep. A stationary horse-power, on 
which six horses, if needed, can be worked, is placed 
in the barn. By this power he threshes and winnows 
his grain, cuts all his hay, straw, corn-stalks, and 
other fodder, cuts wood, Cuts boards and timber into 
various shapes and sizes, and grinds corn, (cob and 
all,) or other grain. 
The grain is threshed on the second floor. It is at 
once separated from the straw by an apparatus used 
for the purpose, and passes into the fanning-mill, 
which is in the basement, and is worked at the same 
time and by the same power which carries the thresher. 
The chaff from all kinds of grain is stowed away in 
bins, and used for feeding stock in winter. This, with 
cut straw and corn stalks, furnishes the only food given 
to cattle from the time they come off the grass till the 
first of February. The mode of feeding is somewhat 
peculiar. One of Mott’s agricultural furnaces, of a 
large size, is placed in an apartment in the barn cel¬ 
lar, which is fitted for the purpose. In this a quantity 
of water is heated. Barrels are provided, into each 
of which is put a quantity of the chaff or cut fodder. 
When the water boils, a sufficient quantity of it is 
turned into each barrel to completely moisten the straw 
or chaff, and the barrels instantly covered. In a few 
hours the chaff is cooked, when it is fed to the cattle, 
who eat it readily, and Mr. D. thinks do much better 
on it than on dry fodder. This course is pursued twice 
a day, so that the cattle are always fed with the chaff 
before it is cold. Mr. D. assures "us that he has suc¬ 
ceeded in keeping his cattle in fair condition on this 
food for the time mentioned. After the first of Februa¬ 
ry, hay is fed, and if the condition of the animals re¬ 
quires it, meal or roots are added. 
The great advantage, Mr. D. thinks, from cutting 
all the fodder, is, that the poorer parts, or what is not 
used as food, are more quickly converted into manure. 
The coarsest straw and the largest corn-stalks are 
readily worked into the manure—absorbing the liquids, 
and soon undergoing such a decomposition that they 
can be used to advantage for crops. 
Mr. D. makes a great saving of hand labor and a 
saving of expense by the use of machinery. We have 
alluded to the different kinds of work accomplished by 
the horse power. In addition to this, he has machines j 
for sowing grain of all kinds, harvesting grain, plant¬ 
ing corn, beans, peas, and other kinds of seeds. The 
sowing machine is Seymour’s. It is adapted to sow¬ 
ing all kinds of grain, clover, and grass seeds, broad¬ 
cast, as well as to sowing plaster, ashes, bone-dust, 
poudrette, &c. It performs its various operations with 
great exactness—regulating the quantity of seed to a 
quart per acre. It is drawn by a horse, and requires 
but one man to tend it. Twenty acres a day, on land 
in proper condition, may be considered a fair avejage 
of its performance. We saw several fields of wheat, 
barley, and oats, which were sown by this machine, 
and the crops stood better and were more even on the 
ground than hand-sown. grain usually is. The cost 
of the machine is $45. 
The harvesting machine is Hussey’s. It has been 
used by Mr. D. two seasons, and is much approved. 
It cuts the grain very clean, leaves it in good order to 
take up, and makes a great saving of expense. It re¬ 
quires a force of two men and a boy, and two horses, 
and will cut seventeen acres - per day. It cost $100. 
It is a simple and strong machine, not liable to break 
or get out of order. 
Mr. D., for the past season, used Emery’s seed 
planter in putting in his corn. He showed us twenty- 
five acres of corn, which stood well, and which was 
planted by this machine in two days. It is drawn by 
a horse, and requires one man to manage it. 
Mr. Delafield’s fences are mostly rails, put up in 
a superior manner. The stakes are placed at the 
corners (the fence being of the worm fashion,) upright, 
and are fastened by iron wire, twisted in the form of a 
withe. If properly put on, the wires need no atten¬ 
tion,as long as the stakes last. They do not prevent 
the stakes being,driven into the ground, as is rendered 
necessary by the heaving of frost or the decay of the 
bottoms. Their first cost is less than two cents per 
paiinel. 
We were highly gratified with the system, order, 
and neatness, observable in every department of Mr. 
Delafield’s farming. At the foundation of all, he 
has laid a comprehensive and well-arranged plan; 
next, he has provided everything for the performance 
of the various operations in the best manner; next he 
has provided a 'place for everything; and lastly, he has 
established a rule, which appears to be punctually ob¬ 
served by every individual on the farm, that everything 
shall he in its place. 
Every person employed on the farm, is furnished 
with a printed card, comprising the rules and regula¬ 
tions. Believing that these rules may be beneficially 
adopted by others, we subjoin them: 
It is expected that all persons employed on the Oak- 
lands Farm, will carefully attend to the following 
system: 
Regularity in hours. 
Punctuality in cleaning and putting away implements. 
Humanity to all the animals. 
Neatness and cleanliness in personal appearanco. 
Decency in deportment and conversation. 
Implicit obedience to the proprietor and foreman. 
Ambition to learn and excel in farming. 
Maxims of order and neatness. 
1. Perform every operation in proper season. 
2. Perform every, operation in the best manner. 
3. Complete every part of an operation as you pro¬ 
ceed. 
4. Finish one job before you begin another. 
5. Leave your work and tools in an orderly manner. 
6. Clean every tool when you leave off work. 
7. Return every tool and implement to its place at 
night. 
We shall continue our sketches next month. 
