1817, 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
267 
some statistics in regard to the business, which we 
shall publish. 
Spread of Couch Gb. Ass^Triticum repens .““The 
idea is entertained that this grass, so pernicious in cul¬ 
tivated lands, is indigenous to this country, or that it 
springs up spontaneously 5 but there can be no reasona¬ 
ble doubt that the seed was first introduced here from 
Europe. Col. Cost related to us the history of its ap¬ 
pearance in this neighborhood, which is worth remem¬ 
bering. Several years ago there was a noted race¬ 
course at Oaks’ Corners, and horses were brought here 
to run from different parts of the country. On one 
occasion some horses came there from the Mohawk 
valley, where the couch grass had been common for a 
long time ; and as was customary, the owners of the 
horses took along their own hay, on which the horses 
were fed, in temporary booths erected for them near 
the course. The next season, the couch grass made 
its appearance near where these horses had been fed; 
but by a well-timed and determined attack, the enemy 
was exterminated before an extensive possession had 
been obtained. 
Col. Sherwood’s farm, at Auburn, has been de¬ 
scribed in a previous volume of the Cultivator, (vol. II, 
new series, p. 250.) It consists of 300 acres. From the 
state in which it came into Col. S.’s possession, he has 
been obliged to begin at the foundation, and proceed 
in most respects as if it were a new farm. He has 
not yet had time enough to bring everything into the 
most desirable state, though he has made many im¬ 
portant improvements, especially in buildings and 
fences. His farm is laid out in a very convenient man¬ 
ner, and can be managed with as much facility as any 
farm within our knowledge. He has devoted much 
attention to the improvement of live stock, and his 
herd of Short Horn cattle, and flocks of Merino and 
South Down sheep, are distinguished as among the 
best in the country. We have spoken more particular¬ 
ly of them, (as our readers have seen,) in another 
place. Of swine, he has Berkshires and Suffolks. A 
boar and sow of the latter stock, procured from Wm. 
Stickney, Esq., of Boston, are excellent hog’s. 
Col. Sherwood’s crops this season, are forty acres 
of wheat, most of which we thought very good; four 
and a half acres of Multicole rye, which looked fair 
for a very heavy crop; fifteen acres of barley; twenty- 
two acres of Indian corn; four and a half acres of oats; 
four and a half acres of peas; and about three acres 
in various kinds of vegetables. 
His land, like much of that in western New-York, 
(some of which we have described,) is much benefitted 
by deep tillage. He has this season broken up thirty 
acres of sward to the depth of nine to ten inches. His 
teams for doing this have been a pair of heavy oxen and a 
pair of heavy horses to each plow. This land, after hav¬ 
ing been thoroughly worked several times with a steel- 
tooth cultivator, is to be sown to wheat in autumn. 
Judge Richardson and his sons, have several fine 
farms near Auburn. They keep large flocks of fine- 
wooled sheep. The flock belonging to the old home¬ 
stead, consists of about a thousand, a portion of which 
we saw while they were being shorn. Their wool is 
generally of fine quality; the average weight of fleeces 
we did not learn. 
Mr. Ira Hopkins, Auburn, has long been much inte¬ 
rested in the improvement of agriculture and horticul¬ 
ture. He has now, however, given up the business 
principally to his sons. We regret that our engage¬ 
ments did not permit our calling on them. Mr. Hop¬ 
kins showed us an excellent cow, for which he re¬ 
ceived the first premium as the best native cow, at the 
State Ag. Society’s show at Auburn. 
In company with Col. Sherwood, we called at the 
summer residence of E. T. Thrc$p Martin, Esq., 
near Owasco lake. Few places which it has been our 
fortune to visit are more delightfully situated than 
this. From the dwelling, the grounds, diversified by 
green lawns and shady groves, descend pleasantly to 
the shores of the “ fair Owasco.” The grounds have 
been laid out with much taste, and are kept with scru¬ 
pulous care. We noticed around a plat which has 
lately been laid out for a garden, some young hawthorn 
hedges, which for strength and healthiness are not sur¬ 
passed. 
Mrs. Martin is a most devoted florist, and has a 
fine collection of rare plants and shrubs, managed 
under her special direction with admirable taste and 
perfect neatness. Our stay here was necessarily short 
-“scarcely long enough to admit of our seeing all the 
interesting objects belonging to this delightful rural 
retreat. 
From the vicinity of Auburn, we passed over to 
Skaneateles. Our first call here was on Wm. Fuller, 
Esq., a gentleman who has been warmly engaged in 
agriculture for some time, though it is but two years 
since he moved on his farm. It consists of 140 acres 
of land, lying mostly on the easterly side of a hill, 
overlooking the village of Skaneateles, and the beauti¬ 
ful lake on which it is situated. 
A great portion of Mr. F.’s farm was naturally very 
wet, and produced, a few years ago, only rushes and 
coarse grass. He has laid upwards of two thousand 
rods of drains, and much of the land which was com¬ 
paratively of no value, has been brought under the 
plow, and produces bountiful crops of grain and vege¬ 
tables. Nowhere have we seen finer and cleaner mea¬ 
dows than on some of these drained lands. The drains 
are filled with small stones, of which there were so 
many on the farm that it was necessary to remove 
them. 
Mr. Fuller and some others in this vicinity, prac¬ 
tice a mode of cultivation for wheat, somewhat dif¬ 
ferent from that generally pursued in the country. 
Instead of a naked fallow, a green fallow is adopted. 
The land is broken up in the fall or in spring, and in 
May is put to peas or beans, which come off' in ample 
time for sowing wheat in autumn. The peas and 
beans usually give from twenty to thirty bushels per 
acre, and they leave the ground clean and in excellent 
order for wheat. Manure is not applied in large 
quantities to peas and beans, as it tends to make them 
grow too much to vines. Mr. F. piles the manure in 
large heaps on the field, and after the peas and beans 
have been taken off, the ground is plowed and the ma¬ 
nure spread and worked in with the cultivator. The 
manure, by his management, becomes so much de¬ 
composed by the time it is used, that it does not, it is 
thought, cause the grain to blight. 
Mr. Fuller has some excellent Short-Horn cattle 
Several years ago he engaged in breeding this kind of 
stock somewhat extensively. His bull President, whose 
portrait was given in the seventh volume of the Culti¬ 
vator, page 108, is admitted to have been one of the 
best bulls ever in this section, or in the state. He has 
several very fine dairy cows, both full and part bloods, 
some of the best of which were got by President. 
We cannot omit a passing notice of Mr. Fuller s 
house. It was on the place when it came into his 
hands, but was out of repair, besides being incon¬ 
venient in its construction. He has thoroughly re-con¬ 
structed, and fitted it up in such a manner that it pre¬ 
sents a tasteful exterior, and is, altogether, a neat and 
convenient dwelling—the whole cost of the repairs 
being only one thousand dollars.. We mention this as 
an example within the reach of nearly all our farmers 
There are several fine farms in the vicinity, but want 
of time prevented our visiting many of them. 
We called with Mr. Fuller at the farm of Mr 
